Seascapes Program

SEASCAPES

March 3 rd , 2024

TROY SAVINGS BANK MUSIC HALL

Albany Pro Musica Concert Chorus

Alturas Duo

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of José Daniel Flores-Caraballo, Opalka Family Artistic Director

A MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD PRESIDENT

On behalf of the Albany Pro Musica Board of Directors, I welcome you to this concert, and to our notable 43rd season. We’re grateful for the opportunity to share some musical adventures with you.

Throughout the past four decades, Albany Pro Musica’s commitment has never wavered: to offer Capital Region audiences choral music at a level of excellence that can elevate the human spirit. While we each absorb a musical performance differently, the coming together of musicians and audience creates – for a while, at least –a new community. And as great music touches us in a setting as glorious as the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, we are carried beyond mere entertainment: We are transformed. That’s what we hope to offer you today.

We are particularly proud to salute Maestro José Daniel Flores-Caraballo as we celebrate the 10th season of his leadership of our organization. José Daniel’s dedication to extraordinary musical standards and to a broader reach for the ensemble has made us all aware of how fortunate we are to have drawn his unique talent to our community. We hope you get a chance to connect individually with the maestro during this season so that you can share with him your own perspectives on these performances.

One more thing: Our organization in recent years has renewed its commitment to music education, with an expanded High School Choral Festival (now held annually at the University at Albany) and, last summer, with the first-ever Pro Musica International Choral Festival, a dazzling success at Queen’s University in Canada. We have more plans in the works to ensure that future generations will get the opportunity, which so many of us have treasured, to experience glorious music.

Your presence here helps Albany Pro Musica continue this tradition of great choral music in our community. Thank you for sharing all of this with us. We hope to see you often this season.

Rex Smith, President Albany Pro Musica Board of Directors

Albany Pro Musica (APM) is the preeminent choral ensemble in New York’s vibrant Capital Region and is renowned for its distinctive artistic style and mastery of a wide range of musical genres. Critically acclaimed for its performances of intimate a cappella pieces and large-scale choral works alike, APM is led by Opalka Family Artistic Director Dr. José Daniel Flores-Caraballo and is Chorus-in-Residence at the historic Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. Now celebrating his 10th season with Albany Pro Musica, Maestro Flores-Caraballo has elevated the ensemble through ambitious programming, prestigious national and international collaborations, a renewed commitment to civic and educational engagement, and a bold vision for the future.

Locally and Internationally Celebrated

Albany Pro Musica’s reputation as a world-class chorus attracts large, diverse audiences who encourage newer, bolder projects to satisfy their growing desire for exposure to a rich choral repertoire. It’s also a draw for distinguished guest conductors, soloists, and composers, including composers-in-residence Bradley Ellingboe (2020-2023 seasons) and Ola Gjeilo (2017-2020 seasons), who partner with APM for concerts, premieres, and commissioned works. In addition to long-standing hometown collaborations with the Albany Symphony Orchestra, the Musicians of Ma’alwyck, the Capital District Youth Chorale, and others, APM has developed exciting new relationships with numerous internationally renowned musicians and ensembles, including Canadian Brass, ACRONYM, the American String Quartet, The Philadelphia Orchestra, New York City Ballet, Vienna Boys Choir, the Escher String Quartet, and the Alturas Duo.

Voices Capturing the Human Spirit at the Intersection of Creativity and Excellence

Albany Pro Musica is now in its fifth decade as a driving musical force in the Capital Region, the Northeast, and beyond. At the heart of Albany Pro Musica is the vital realization that choral music at its best is not merely entertainment but rather a transformational and emotional experience for performers and audiences alike. This perspective is reflected in Opalka Family Artistic Director Dr. Flores-Caraballo’s vision for APM, which balances exceptional technical competency, exquisite artistry, and purposeful programming that is relevant and meaningful in today’s society.

Under the leadership of Dr. Flores-Caraballo, APM is continuing to push the boundaries of choral performance in the area, embracing challenging musical programming and innovative new partnerships that elevate the ensemble to new heights. Dr. Flores-Caraballo has laid out a bold plan for APM’s future that includes the premieres of commissioned works; concerts across the Northeast; new civic events and partnerships; and the Pro Musica International Choral Festival, which was launched in July 2023 in partnership with the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada.

Our Season

Albany Pro Musica’s Concert Chorus is composed of 70 auditioned volunteer singers from several counties and states. For large choral and orchestral masterworks, the group expands to more than 100 singers as the Albany Pro Musica Masterworks Chorus, and is often joined by the instrumentalists of Orchestra Pro Musica. Albany Pro Musica offers four series concerts each season, including “Artist Series” concerts which bring world-renowned artists and ensembles to share the stage with APM; “Masterworks Series” performances of oratorios and other large-scale choral works with orchestra; and an annual Christmas program, which has become a beloved holiday tradition in the region. Each season is deliberately curated to include classical masterpieces from the choral canon, new compositions from modern and contemporary composers, and popular selections from the worlds of Broadway, traditional and folk music, and more.

Our Commitment to Education

Music education is one of APM’s pillars, and the organization’s educational programs have made a mark on the lives of more than 4,000 young students in the Capital Region and beyond. APM’s annual High School Choral Festival brings together gifted musicians from high schools across the region for an intensive day of rehearsal and performance with Maestro FloresCaraballo and guest clinicians, on campus at the University at Albany. The festival culminates with a fun-filled concert in which all the students join the voices of Albany Pro Musica’s Concert Chorus on stage for a festival chorus performance.

APM partnered with the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts at Queen’s University in Ontario and the University at Albany to offer the inaugural Pro Musica International Choral Festival in July 2023. The festival represented APM’s largest educational offering to-date and allowed students from across the United States and Canada to study and perform with the Festival’s guest clinician and composer Dr. Rollo Dilworth, as well as other distinguished faculty and world-class musicians. Generous funding from Bader Philanthropies, Inc. provided full fellowships to all participating students, allowing the Pro Musica International Choral Festival to waive the tuition and room & board fees for every attending student.

Our History

Albany Pro Musica was founded in 1981 by University at Albany Distinguished Professor Dr. David Griggs-Janower, who created a community chorus capable of performing at a professional level. He remained the group’s Artistic Director until his death in August 2013. After an extensive national search, Dr. José Daniel Flores-Caraballo succeeded Griggs-Janower as Artistic and Executive Director in August 2014. Dr. Flores-Caraballo came to Albany Pro Musica with an ambitious vision to build upon the group’s impressive and cherished legacy and elevate APM to be among the best choirs in the nation.

APM has made numerous recordings, including most recently the first professional recording of Bradley Ellingboe’s Star Song. APM was one of only 16 choruses selected for inclusion on the 2005 National Public Radio (NPR) CD Christmas Around the Country. In 2004 APM collaborated with the Albany Symphony Orchestra and composer Michael Torke to record the opera Strawberry Fields for mass distribution. The group has toured nationally and internationally, including to France in honor of the 60th anniversary of D-Day at Omaha Beach, and to the Czech Republic, Spain, and Ireland.

Albany Pro Musica has commissioned numerous works from American composers and performed local and regional premieres of masterpieces such as Bristow’s Oratorio of Daniel and Handel’s Oratorio of Esther. Under the composer-in-residence program launched by Dr. Flores-Caraballo, APM has expanded the group’s library of commissioned works, sponsoring new compositions by celebrated local, national, and international composers including Steven Murray, Donald McCullough, Ola Gjeilo, and Bradley Ellingboe. APM is frequently invited to sing at high-profile events such as

gubernatorial inaugurations, civic celebrations, and on stage with visiting artists, including Judy Collins, Kenny Rogers, Andrea Bocelli, and The King’s Singers. APM continues to introduce local audiences to challenging and bold choral repertoire, including Frank Martin’s a cappella Mass for Double Choir, the New York State premiere of Requiem by Raymond Torres, entire concerts devoted to musical theater, innovative programs including art forms such as visual arts and dance, and a powerful multimedia presentation of Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace.

TROY SAVINGS BANK MUSIC HALL

The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall opened in 1875, and its inaugural concert was performed to a full house and glowing reviews. In 1890 the Hall installed an Odell concert organ, the only unrestored 19th-century concert hall organ in existence in the United States, which helped it become the acoustical wonder it is today. Throughout its history, the Hall has been a hub of community activity, attracting premier musical groups—among them the Albany Symphony Orchestra, Albany Pro Musica, and Troy Chromatic Concerts, whose association with the Music Hall spans more than a century— and serving as the site for more than 300 recordings. Today, the Hall is one of only a handful of 19th-century concert halls in continuous operation in the United States and is a National Historic Landmark building.

LETTER FROM THE OPALKA FAMILY ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

As I enter into my tenth season with Albany Pro Musica, it is my great honor and pleasure to reflect on my time with this extraordinary organization, as we build a future together. APM’s founding director, David Griggs-Janower, built APM on a strong foundation; it has been a natural, organic process to build upon that legacy over the past nine seasons and bring APM into this next phase of the chorus’s life.

APM continues to elevate the quality of our performances by adding new talent and new growth opportunities for singers, performing ambitious repertoire, engaging remarkable guest artists, and more. Our Artist Series, launched in 2017, brings world-renowned instrumental ensembles to perform with APM. We continue to perform some of the great masterworks from the choral canon, in addition to more intimate works and contemporary repertoire. Through our Composer in Residence program, APM has engaged talented contemporary composers to commission and perform new works that add to the choral arts.

Albany Pro Musica has established and strengthened partnerships with educational and artistic institutions that inspire our chorus, invigorate our audiences, and open doors to new communities of music-lovers. They’ve also helped us expand our educational mission and programs, including the High School Choral Festival in partnership with the University at Albany, workshops and masterclasses, and the new Pro Musica International Choral Festival, launched in the summer of 2023 with Queen’s University. These ambitious and transformative programs are changing the lives of students in the Capital District and beyond.

For the 2023-2024 season we present four concerts that range widely in style. We launch the season in October with Legacy, an eclectic concert that celebrates our Composer-in-Residence program and features music by Donald McCullough, Ola Gjeilo, Bradley Ellingboe, and Steve Murray. My good friend Rafael Davila, celebrated operatic tenor, has special permission from The Met to join the chorus and orchestra for The Many Moods of Christmas

in December. In March, APM and the acclaimed Alturas Duo explore the flavor and traditions of South America with Cadera de las Islas, or Oceana, an evocative work for chorus, guitar, charango, and viola based on the poetry of Pablo Neruda. Finally, we end the season in April with J.S. Bach’s Mass in B minor, considered by some the most venerated work in the choral literature, with four phenomenal soloists and an orchestra comprised of period instrumentalists drawn from the Handel + Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Apollo’s Fire, Trinity Baroque, and others.

As I look ahead to Albany Pro Musica’s future, I am filled with tremendous optimism about the opportunities for continued excellence and growth in our artistic and educational mission. I am committed to expanding and strengthening those APM programs that make a difference in our community, which tell important stories, and which are inspiring and transformative—in both the concert hall and the classroom.

Our organization is strong, and our dreams are becoming a reality thanks to the generous support of our patrons and donors. APM’s budget has grown significantly in the past nine seasons, with increased fundraising to meet the operational and artistic needs of the organization. You, too, can be a protagonist in this exciting journey. Please consider joining APM’s committed donors, who make it all possible, by underwriting a concert or a season, contributing to the annual fund, becoming a corporate sponsor or providing foundation support, joining the Lux Aeterna Society for planned giving, or attending our special fundraising events.

Finally, I must add that I am humbled and honored by the tremendous trust and commitment of our Board of Directors, Council of Advisors, and staff; the remarkable artistry of our chorus; and the love and dedication of you, our audience. I’m so grateful for your continued support and shared vision. MUCHAS GRACIAS!

José Daniel Flores-Caraballo Opalka Family Artistic Director

MISSION

To perform a broad spectrum of quality choral music at the highest levels of artistic excellence that inspires and transforms our audiences, and to provide exceptional educational experiences that advance the choral art among new generations of singers.

VISION

Albany Pro Musica will be a leader in the choral arts in New York’s Capital Region, the Northeast and beyond ― bridging cultures, ethnicities, and generations.

CORE VALUES

Perform with excellence

Inspire new generations of singers

Engage expanded and broadly diverse audiences

Operate with integrity

Respect each other and our community

Albany Pro Musica’s mission inspires all that we do. It is at the heart of every rehearsal and concert experience, each selection of musical compositions performed, and every collaboration and partnership. It also provides a foundation for us to build upon as we strive to serve as a leader in choral excellence and choral music appreciation in New York State’s Capital Region, the Northeast, and beyond.

Our vision of excellence and leadership, bridging cultures, ethnicities, and generations, depends on our core values, which we cultivate purposefully:

• Albany Pro Musica aspires to excellence in performance and repertoire, with a demanding rehearsal schedule for singers and a rigorous, uncompromising approach to choral technique that Opalka Family Artistic Director Dr. José Daniel Flores-Caraballo has continued and expanded upon from his predecessor, founding director David Griggs-Janower.

• The ensemble is dedicated to inspiring new generations of singers through numerous educational programs and our continuous recruitment of talented new singers.

• APM is committed to engaging expanded and broadly diverse audiences through innovative programming, challenging repertoire, an emphasis on inclusivity, and a wide range of musical selections.

• Finally, we actively partner with civic, cultural, and educational organizations and institutions to leverage the talents, passions, and resources of our collaborators and amplify our joined voices for greater impact. APM’s partnerships with the University at Albany (SUNY), where rehearsals and master classes typically take place, and with the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, where the ensemble sits as Chorus-in-Residence, represent two of our most essential relationships.

ALBANY PRO MUSICA PRESENTS SEASCAPES

March 3, 2024 at 3:00pm

Troy Savings Bank Music Hall

ALBANY PRO MUSICA CONCERT CHORUS

JOSÉ DANIEL FLORES-CARABALLO

Opalka Family Artistic Director

ALTURAS DUO

SCOTT HILL, guitar I CARLOS BOLTES, viola and charango with GONZALO CORTÉS, flute, quena, and zampoña

NOAH PALMER, Assistant Director & Accompanist

BARBARA HOWARD, Orator

Support for our 2023-2024 season comes from our marquee season underwriters

Christine and George R. Hearst III

Ellen Jabbur

Chet and Karen Opalka

Wayne A. Senitta, Jr. and Daniel Washington

William Tuthill and Gregory Anderson

Additional season support provided by Michael and Linda Wolff

Support for this concert provided by

Gwen Krause and Ross Bennett

Massry

Charitable Foundation

This event is being professionally recorded, photographed, and filmed for archival and promotional purposes.

Please silence all electronic devices.

Albany Pro Musica Concert Chorus

David Childs The Moon is Distant from the Sea (2004) (b. 1969)

Stanley M. Hoffman Seascapes (2017) (b. 1959) Norm Thibodeau, flute

Eric Barnum The Sounding Sea (2009) (b. 1979)

Matthew Orlovich Tides of Ocean (1999) (b. 1970)

Alturas Duo

William Ernesto Centellas Ven a mí (1945-2009)

Peruvian Folk Ramis

hermanos Márquez (Illapu) Sipassy

Víctor Jara La partida (1932-1973)

Violeta Parra El canto de la quena (1917-1967)

Bolivian Folk Baila caporal

Bolivian Folk (Kjarkas) Vientos del sur ~ INTERMISSION ~

Javier Farías Cadera de las Islas (2009) (b. 1973) Maria Bedo-Calhoun, Abigail Cowan, Evan DeFilippo, Dan Foster, Noah Palmer, Xavier Ortiz-Reyes, Sandra Schujman, soloists

I Oceana nupcial, caderas de las islas

Ocean Lady, bride, hips of the islands

II Yo no soy

I don’t exist

III Oceana, reclina tu noche en el castillo

Ocean Lady, give your twilight rest in the castle

IV Entonces, fui gastando mi sonrisa

Back then I wandered, wasting my smile

V Cántame caracola

Sing to me, snail

VI Sirena o palma plena, paloma de la espuma

Siren or lush palm tree, foamy dove

VII Tengo hambre de no ser sino piedra marina

I yearn only to become the incarnation of marine stone

VIII Oceana, dame las conchas del arrecife

Ocean Lady, extend to me the shells of the reef

IX Plumajes!

Such feathers!

X Recuerda el corazón de pájaro que llevas en su jaula

Remember, you carry the bird’s heart in its cage

XI Al fin, al fin

At last, at last

The Moon is Distant from the Sea

Poem

by Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

The moon is distant from the sea –And yet, with amber hands –She leads him – docile as a boy –Along appointed sands –

He never misses a degree –Obedient to her eye He comes just so far – toward the town –Just so far – goes away –

O, Signor, thine, the amber hand –And mine – the distant sea –Obedient to the least command Thine eye impose on me –

Seascapes

Text by Jacqueline Tuffnell (1924-2010)

1. curling, curling, the waves never end curling, curling, the waves never end what bottomless thoughts they provoke

2. the radiance of a white seagull the radiance of a white seagull like a burst of sunshine after heavy fog

3. the sea birds skate along the sea birds skate along the shore such delightful patterns gone too soon

4. the sailboats glide out the sailboats glide out in formation across the blue green sea I hold my breath in wonder at the spectacle before me so chaste in white yet strong as a knight their sails are a shield ready to battle the wind which will never yield

5. a stranger on the shore a stranger on the shore whose life was closed ’til you opened the door

6. I sit and watch the pounding sea I sit and watch the pounding sea the sun and wind are ambrosia to me a horse and rider go cantering by and I recall a memory of you and I.

O, when I think of you, I dream of many tomorrows for the love we’ve shared has banished all my sorrows. my heart is filled with your love as the cup is filled with rare wine and I know that I am yours, dear, and pray, my sweet, that you are mine.

7. I hear sounds

I hear sounds

I see people pass by and cars flashing past the window I am alone but not entirely alone for in my mind

I see wave upon wave of memories crowding the shore of my reality

8. the islands and the sea are compatible at sunset

O, the islands and the sea are compatible at sunset

all mauve and turquoise—soothing the eye and the mountains are garbed in deep purple where does one look before the fading light?

The Sounding Sea

Poem

by George William Curtis (1824-1892)

O listen to the sounding sea

That beats on the remorseless shore,

O listen! for that sound will be

When our wild hearts shall beat no more.

O listen well and listen long!

For sitting folded close to me, You could not hear a sweeter song

Than that hoarse murmur of the sea.

Tides of Ocean

Poem

by Victor Carell (1916-2001)

I stand over tides of ocean, an eager grace at my feet,

The rhythm of speed surrounds me and my heart throbs with its beat.

The winds play at my nostrils, and clear stars tremble near,

The taut twang of the bowsprit sings music to my ear.

The rhythm of speed surrounds me.

The tumbling waves dash madly in the cauldron far below,

And creaking booms swing sadly obscuring the moonlit glow.

A moon-path stretches ghostly (fish! flash!) across the sea its hand,

And flying fish flash sparks like jewels, in a mirrored band.

Night birds in a flowing lane raucously fly the ship,

As onward, on winged feet we start our southward dip.

And now behold our course, rising from the dark of space,

A cross of gleaming stars reflects the joy upon my face.

My body thrills with life, my spirit wildly bounds,

My soul absorbs the triumph of all these joyous sounds.

I stand over tides of ocean, an eager grace at my feet,

The rhythm of speed surrounds me and my heart throbs with its beat.

I stand over tides of ocean.

Oceana

Poem by Pablo Neruda (1904-1973)

Translated by Ilan Stavans (b.1961)

I. Oceana nupcial, caderas de las islas, aquí a mi lado, cántame las desaparecidos cantares, signos, números del río deseado. Quiero oír lo invisible, lo que cayó del tiempo al palio equinoccial de las palmeras.

Dame el vino secrete que guarda cada sílaba: ir y venir de espumas, razas de miel caídas al cántaro marina sabre las arrecifes.

Translation:

Ocean Lady, bride, hips of the islands, here, beside me, sing to me, the vanished songs, signs, numbers from the river of desire.

I want to listen to the invisible, things fallen out of time onto the equinox’s canopy of palm trees. Give me the secret wine guarded within each syllable, the comings and goings of waves, races of honey fallen into the sea’s bucket, washed up on the reefs.

II. Yo no soy, yo perdí las días porque entonces

me faltaba, Oceana, tu guitarra florida y era de madreperla la boca de la aurora: entraba la marea con su trueno en las islas y todo era fulgor, menos mi vida, menos mi corazón sin azahares.

Translation:

I don’t exist – I lost days because back then, Ocean Lady, I didn’t embrace your flowery guitar.

The dawn’s mouth glittered like mother-ofpearl.

Like thunder, surf penetrated the islands, and everything churned to brilliance, except my life, except my heart, yearning for orange blossoms.

III. Oceana, reclina tu noche en el castillo que aguardó sin cesar pasar tu cabellera en cada ola que el mar elevaba en el mar y luego no eras tú sino el mar que pasaba, sino el mar sino el mar y yo qué pude hacer: era tarde, otro día se abría con mi llave, otra puerta, y el mar continuaba vacío.

Translation:

Ocean Lady, give your twilight rest in the castle which faithfully awaited the passage of your lush hair, in every wave that the sea raised up from its chasm, and then you weren’t yourself-but instead the fugitive sea, the sea, the sea, and what could I do? It was late, another day was opening with my key, another door, and the sea extended emptiness.

IV. Entonces, fui gastando mi sonrisa y cayeron

Uno a uno mis dientes en la caja de hierro. Furioso contemplé los santos enlutados, los ataúdes de ámbar que traía el crepísculo, los minerales prisioneros en su abismo, las algas lastimeras meciéndose en la niebla y sin tocar tus párpados, Oceana amarilla, Oceana negra, Oceana de manos transparentes, estiré mis sentidos hasta que sin saberlo se desató en el mar la rosa repentina.

Translation:

Back then I wandered, wasting my smile. One by one, my teeth dropped into an iron box.

Furiously, I contemplated saints in mourning, amber coffins carried by the dawn, minerals imprisoned in their abyss, the miserable algae rocking themselves in the fog, and without touching your eyelids, golden Ocean Lady, black Ocean Lady, Ocean Lady with transparent hands, I stretched my senses, until without knowing it, a sudden rose unfurled, blossoming over the sea.

V. Cántame caracola, cuéntame la campana, cántame la paciencia del trigo submarino, el tembloroso rey coronado de vértebras, la luna diametral que lloraba de frío. Y si hay alguna lágrima perdida en el idioma déjala que resbale hasta mi copa, bebiéndola sabré lo que no supe entonces: cántame lo que fue de labio a labio a labio haciéndose cantar sin tocar tierra, puro en el aire puro de las días de miel, alto en el aire coma la palma sempiterna

Translation:

Sing to me, snail; speak to me, bell; sing to me, patience of underwater wheat, the quivering king, crowned by vertebrae, the retrograde moon that cried in the cold. And if there exists a lost teardrop in the language, let it slip into my cup. By drinking it, I will know what I didn’t know then.

Sing to me the essence that traveled from mouth to mouth to mouth, becoming song without touching earth, pure in the pure air of honeyed days, high in the air like the everlasting palm.

VI. Sirena o palma plena, paloma de la espuma, sosiego de guitarras en lento y alto vuelo, repíteme el cantar que en mi sangre circula sin que tuviera voz hasta que tú llegaste, llegaste palpitante de espuma peregrina, de costas que no existen, duramente doradas, de las cuentos caídos hoja par hoja al agua y a la tierra poblada par negros regimientos.

Translation:

Siren, or lush palm tree, foamy dove, serenity or guitars in slow, high flight, repeat to me the song circulating in my blood. It had no voice until you arrived, arrived quivering in the sea’s bubbles, from hard and golden coasts of nonexistence, from stories, plunged, page by page, into the water, to Earth, populated by blackened governments.

VII. Tengo hambre de no ser sino piedra marina, estatua, lava, terca torre de monumento donde se estrellan olas ya desaparecidas, mares que fallecieron con cántico y viajero. Por eso cuando desde lo que no existe, Oceana, asomaron tus anchos ojos, y tus pulseras tintineando en la lluvia me anunciaron que llegabas, corola de los mares, tardía, mi corazón salió perdido par las calles y desde entonces cántame con ojos de guitarra.

Desde entonces suspírame con uvas de amatista, y manzanas y dátiles estrictamente tiernos, frutos, frutos recién robados a la aurora, agredidos aún por balas del rocío. Y que la cesta de agua contenga peras puras, mangos desarrollados a dulzura remota, guanábanas copiosas, pomposas, olorosas, los crímenes radiantes que esconde la granada, la miel en la barriga de pálidos melones

Translation:

I yearn only to become the incarnation of marine stone, statue, lava, a hard, towering monument where bygone waves explode, seas that perished with canticles and travelers.

So, Ocean Lady, when from nonexistence, your wide eyes appeared, and your bracelets, jingling in the rain, announced your arrival to me, a languid crown of che sea’s flowers, my heart exited and got lost in the streets. Reaching back to chat moment: sing to me with guitar-eyes.

From that instant: sigh for me with amethyst grapes, and apples, and strictly tender dates, fruits, fruits just stolen from the dawn, and further wounded by bullets of dew. And may the wet basket brim with the purest pears,

mangoes ripened to a distant sweetness, abundant guanbanas, radiant with perfume, shining crimes hidden by the pomegranate, the honey in the belly of pale melons.

VIII. Oceana, dame las conchas del arrecife para cubrir con sus relámpagos los muros, las Spondylus, héroes coronados de espinas, el esplendor morado del murex en su roca: tú sabes cómo sabre la sal ultramarina en su nave de nieve navega el Argonauta.

Translation:

Ocean Lady, extend to me the shells of the reef, to cloak walls with your lightning, the Spondylus, heroes crowned with thorns, the empurpled splendor of the murex on its rock.

You know the way: over the ultramarine salt the Argonaut navigates his snow-ship.

IX. Plumajes! Trae contigo el ave que enlaza la secreta profundidad y el cielo, ven envuelta en tu ropa natal de colibríes hasta que pluma a pluma vuelen las esmeraldas.

Translation:

Such feathers! Bring with you the bird joining the secret depths and heaven, come wrapped in your newborn nakedness of hummingbirds, until feather by feather, emeralds fly.

X. Recuerda el corazón de pájaro que llevas en su jaula: el debate de las alas y el canto, y de tantos violines que vuelan y fulguran recoge tú, recógeme sonido y pedrería. Hasta que envueltos en aire y fuego vamos acompañados por la sonora asamblea a la cascada de lingotes matutinos. Y nuestro amor palpite como un pez en el frío.

Translation:

Remember: you carry the bird’s heart in its cage: the debate of wings and song, so many violins, soaring and flashing. Gather, gather for me, the sounds and jewels, until wrapped in air and fire, we voyage accompanied by the congress of pure harmonies to morning’s waterfall of shimmering ingots. And may our love palpitate like a fish in the cold.

XI. Al fin, al fin no vuelvas a tu piedra marina, Oceana, alma mía, ámbar del Sur, donaire.

En nave nuestra, en tierra recibimos el polen y el pescado de las islas distantes, oyendo, oyendo lejos, susurro y barcarola, el rito matinal de las remos perdidos.

Yo soy, Oceana, sólo alguien que te esperaba en la torre de un faro que no existe, y éste es un cuento en donde no sube otra marea que tus senos marinas bajo la luz nocturna.

Y sólo dos verdades hay en esta sonata: tus dos ojos oscuros abiertos en el agua.

Translation:

At last, to end, do not return to your seastone.

Ocean Lady, my soul, southern amber and grace.

On our ship, our earth, we receive the pollen and fish of distant isles, listening, listening to the faraway whisper and barcarole, the sunrise ritual of lost oars.

Ocean Lady, I am just someone who hoped for you in the tower of an ethereal lighthouse, and this is the story where only one tide surges ... your aquamarine breasts beneath night’s radiance.

There are only two truths in this sonata: your two dark eyes, open in the water.

Albany Pro Musica’s professional recording of StarSong is now available to stream and purchase online!

Albany Pro Musica has released a professional recording of StarSong, a multimovement work by composer-in-residence Bradley Ellingboe. This work bridges historical periods, languages, and faith traditions and examines the idea that we are all, in the words of Carl Sagan, “made of star stuff” — composed of atoms that are unfathomably old and formed at the moment of creation. The album was recorded at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in March 2023 and features tenor Dann Coakwell and the American Modern Ensemble.

StarSong can be heard on major music streaming platforms

CDs are available at today’s concert! Stop by the lobby to purchase your copy.

PROGRAM NOTES

Overview: “I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky…”

This is the opening line to John Masefield’s 1901 poem “Sea-Fever,” verse ripe for recitation by school children back in the day.

How sneaky these few words are! Masefield, himself 60% water, is compelled to visit the waves and the depths, to exchange land for ocean. And notice that he says the sea is lonely, when, in fact, it perhaps is the poet himself who is, thus, with a transferred epithet, anthropomorphizing the inanimate. In nature do we often find ourselves.

The first half of today’s program includes four salutations to the world’s vast waters by artists as charmed and driven as Masefield, followed by instrumental music by the South American ensemble Alturas Duo—plus one! The second half is devoted to a single work, Javier Farías’s setting of Pablo Neruda’s “Oceana,” the poem that inspired the theme of this concert.

“THE MOON IS DISTANT FROM THE SEA”

Emily Dickinson yet again has her way with language and us, and composer David N. Childs is alert to her intentions. Here, the poet produces two stanzas of extended metaphor, and then in the third makes plain the connection. Like the relationship of the moon to the sea—tides that touch the shore but are contained—she, too, is subject to the will of God. Underpinned by musical iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter, odd but apt words like “appointed,” “obedient,” “just so far,” and “impose” stun.

Childs opens with a gently rocking, minor key piano prelude, followed by treble voices only: self-reflective Emily? In stanzas two and three the full choir explores the tremendous spiritual journey of the poet, landing on a major chord of relief and joy.

But then the mystery of life begins again as Childs returns to the opening stanza and concludes the piece in harmonic Dickinsonian dis-ease.

“SEASCAPES”

Jaqueline Tuffnell’s text, with music by Stanley Hoffman, gets to the very heart of Masefield’s opening line. She begins with a description of what one might see from the shore: a lone seagull, a flock of birds, and a fleet of sailboats, which her imagination turns into knights. Imagination then briefly

gives way to reflection of her own history, with a lover. Back to public sights: sun and sea, horse and rider.

But after a pronounced pause in the music, we learn that, in the city once more and looking through a window, she is meditating on the loss of the lover, left with memories only and the existential question, “Where does one look before the fading light?”

Hoffman’s alto and bass flute accompaniment is the rippling current on which the words float, changing tempi and meter as do tides and memories.

“THE SOUNDING SEA”

In two brief stanzas, beautifully enhanced by Eric Barnum’s word painting, Transcendentalist poet George William Curtis (1824-1892) shows us the ocean’s variegated personality—the waves, the undercurrents, the insistent lapping, the pounding, the murmuring.

But there’s more than scientific observation: the poem is addressed to someone sitting “close by.” Certain words haunt because of their peculiarity: “remorseless” and “hoarse murmur.” Suddenly, the sea’s utter unfathomability, as well as life’s, is the poignant point.

“TIDES OF OCEAN”

Victor Carell (1916-2001, born Ciocerelli) was an Australian singer, writer, and arts manager, with an international reputation.

About the inspiration for this text, Carell wrote, “It was my return home to Australia (in 1947) following ten years’ absence (that) I eagerly sought the first sight of the (constellation) Southern Cross as we dipped south.”

Composer Matthew Orlovich must also know something about homecoming because he has vividly described Carell’s voyage. In the first three stanzas the rhythmic vitality and the swoops are youthful anticipation! In the fourth and fifth stanzas, the mood is a bit subdued, reflective, as Carell engages with the ocean itself, and the fishy sound effects amuse, as do the low voices sinking as the ship steers southward. The music of the sixth and seventh stanzas begins to climb as Carell again remembers where he is going, and words tumble over each other with joy. Finally, Orlovich repeats the opening stanza, and we realize that Carell has had a psychological mini-journey on the physical ocean voyage.

“CADERA DE LAS ISLAS”

The following note, slightly edited, is by the composer, Javier Farias:

“In the year 2008, Hartford’s VOCE choir, through the Peter Bagley Commissioning Fund, invited me to compose a choral piece involving the “Alturas Duo,” a rare instrumental combination formed by guitar player Scott Hill and Carlos Boltes, who besides charango, also plays viola. From the very beginning I thought it a very attractive idea, given that I knew very well the rich versatility of the duo, as well as their excellent performance and knowledge of Latin American rhythms. This is why, when selecting the text, I immediately thought that the poetry of my compatriot, Pablo Neruda, would inspire me deeply to give a marked Latin American intention to the piece. I used his poem “Oceana,” part of his Ceremonial Chants. This is very lyrical, provocative, and sensual poetry that presents us with an expression of the act of love in its most varied marine forms. Of course, if we observe a map of Chile we will clearly understand how our oceanic vastness can inspire, one way or another, each Chilean in their daily life. How was it not to be an inspiration, then, for someone with the exquisite sensitivity of Neruda, who showed from an early age a fascination for the richness and marvels that the sea gifts us on our shores?

I originally named this piece “Oceana” and presented it for years with this title, unaware then of the existence of a same-named piece by the Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov. For this reason, I decided to change the name to “Cadera de las Islas” (Hip of the Islands) which is how it is presented nowadays.

I am enormously grateful to José Daniel Flores-Caraballo for including my music in the program, and for his deeply thoughtful interpretation of it; to Liz Friedman for her help allowing this collaboration to come to life; and to the Dúo Alturas, partners of so many marvelous musical adventures.”

For 35 minutes the music by Señor Farias and the text by Neruda (19041973) plunge us into a sensual water-world: the Spanish (bright vowels, soft consonants, and elisions), the poetic imagery, the ravishing harmonies and pulsing rhythms, spoken word, a fugue, and the accompaniment by charango, guitar, and mournful viola!

Neruda begins with an apostrophe to the Pacific Ocean, along which his narrow homeland runs 2,670 miles; and quickly we learn that desire is at the heart of his sentiments: “sing to me,” “I want to listen,” “give me”: phrases in the first of 11 stanzas. He looks to the ocean goddess to give him the power of the word, which is his craft.

Regret, too. In stanza IV he says, “Back then I wandered, wasting my smile. One by one my teeth dropped into an iron box.” In 1961, the year of the poem’s publication, Neruda is 57, having been a public figure (consul, controversial Communist), a twice-married man, a neglectful father, and a renowned poet; in other words, there is much for him to look back on and evaluate. He asks the Ocean for guidance, having been adrift from time to time.

Then, too, he thinks beyond himself, to those who have gone before on the human journey, those whom the Ocean also knew. Indeed, the Ocean and the entire natural world (stanzas VII, VIII, and IX) are the source for all that is uncorrupted. In stanza XI he is, finally, a supplicant, asking for nourishment (“your aquamarine breasts”) like a child or a lover.

On the Poetry Foundation web page, this quotation by American poet Mark Strand appears: “There is something about Neruda—about the way he glorifies experience, about the spontaneity and directness of his passion— that sets him apart from other poets. It is hard not to be swept away by the urgency of his language, and that’s especially so when he seems swept away.”

—

Program notes by Paul Lamar

BIOGRAPHIES

José Daniel Flores-Caraballo

Opalka Family Artistic Director

José Daniel Flores-Caraballo is a widely acclaimed conductor and musical director recognized for his artistry and integrity in stylistic performance of choral literature, his methodical and uncompromising approach to music learning, and his gifts as a patient and inspiring teacher. Dr. Flores-Caraballo brings that unique combination—along with an ambitious and energizing vision—to Albany Pro Musica (APM) as the Opalka Family Artistic Director, a role he has held since 2014.

As a trained organist as well as a celebrated orchestral and choral conductor, Dr. Flores-Caraballo places strong emphasis on technical precision as the fundamental seed from which musical artistry can grow. Dr. FloresCaraballo joined Albany Pro Musica with the goal of building upon the group’s impressive and cherished legacy and elevating APM to be among the best choirs in the nation. Through Dr. Flores-Caraballo’s leadership, APM is pushing the boundaries of choral performance in the area, embracing challenging musical programming, innovative national and international partnerships, and a renewed commitment to civic and educational initiatives.

Dr. Flores-Caraballo also serves as Conductor-In-Residence at the University at Albany (SUNY) and Chorus Director for the Vermont Symphony Orchestra Chorus. He has prepared his choirs for prominent orchestral conductors, including Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Bramwell Tovey, Stéphane Dèneve, and Kensho Watanabe of The Philadelphia Orchestra, Andrews Sill of the New York City Ballet, David Alan Miller of the Albany Symphony Orchestra, and Anthony Princiotti of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra.

Dr. Flores-Caraballo came to the Capital Region from Vero Beach, Florida, where he was a musical force for more than a decade. There, he founded and directed three auditioned, community choral groups that transformed the musical landscape in the Treasure Coast: the Atlantic Symphonic Chorus, the Atlantic Schola Cantorum, and the Atlantic Children’s Chorale. A native of Puerto Rico, Dr. Flores-Caraballo served as Dean of Academic Affairs at the Conservatory of Music in San Juan and has led prize-winning schooland church-based choral programs in Puerto Rico and across the mainland United States. He holds a Doctorate in Sacred Music with an emphasis on Choral and Instrumental Conducting from the Graduate Theological Foundation, a Master’s in Choral Conducting and Organ from the University of Illinois, and a Bachelor’s in Music Education and Instrumental Conducting from the Conservatory of Music in San Juan.

Noah Palmer

BIOGRAPHIES

Assistant Music Director and Accompanist

Conductor Noah Palmer is one of the Capital Region’s most in-demand collaborators. Noah was most recently appointed Artistic Director of Saratoga Voices and the Music at Trinity Lenox concert series; he also serves as Assistant Director and Accompanist for Albany Pro Musica and the Assistant Conductor of Concerts in the Village, in Kinderhook, NY. In 2018, Noah made his orchestral conducting debuts with both Concerts in the Village and Albany Pro Musica, following his opera debut with the Midwest Institute of Opera in 2015.

As a choral conductor Noah has led, among other groups, Albany Pro Musica, the Battenkill Chorale, the Northern Berkshire Chorale, the Sage Singers, and the Vermont Symphony Orchestra Chorus. In 2016, Noah was the Chorus Master at the prestigious Merola Opera Program with the San Francisco Opera.

In addition to conducting, Noah is an accomplished vocal coach and pianist. He has worked with several regional opera companies, including Sarasota Opera and Opera North. In 2021, Noah was the principal coach and rehearsal pianist for Tom Cipullo’s “Glory Denied” at the Berkshire Opera Festival and was subsequently invited back in 2022 for their production of Jake Heggie’s “Three Decembers.” Noah has performed with some of the Capital Region’s finest singers, including Andrew Boisvert, Vedrana Kalas, Sylvia Stoner, Irina Petrik, and the late Kevin Kees. In 2022, he accompanied violinist Elizabeth Pitcairn in a vibrant program of Russian and Polish music at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall.

As an educator, Noah was the Choral Director at Skidmore College in Spring 2021, where he led the college’s two choral ensembles through a series of innovative virtual performances during the COVID-19 pandemic. In collaboration with soprano Sylvia Stoner, Noah also directs the Skidmore College Opera Workshop.

Noah studied conducting with John Yaffe and Steve Osgood and attended conducting masterclasses with Markand Thakar, Christopher Zimmerman, Mark Gibson, and David Effron. Noah studied piano with the renowned Spanish pianist Jose Ramon Mendez at NYU (BA), and Bulgarian pianist Pavlina Dokovska at the Mannes School of Music (MM). Noah has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in the United States, Europe, and China.

Alturas Duo

BIOGRAPHIES

Praised by The Washington Post for its “marvelous virtuosity,” Alturas Duo is recognized as one of the most engaging chamber music ensembles today. Bringing together the worlds of South American folk and contemporary classical music, guitarist Scott Hill and violist and charango player Carlos Boltes have performed throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Central and South America to great acclaim.

Since its founding 2001, Alturas Duo has won numerous awards ranging from First Prize at the New England International Chamber Music Competition, a CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming to the 2020 World Folk Vision Popular Vote award by participants from 115 countries and the Jury selection for Best Latin Music Band.

The Alturas Duo’s quest for new musical experiences has led them to work with artists and ensembles as diverse as guitarist and composer Horacio Salinas, charango virtuoso Ernesto Cavour, Argentine bandonéon legend and Piazzolla bandmate Daniel Binelli, Voce Choir, Cuarteto Latinoamericano, Callsito Quartet, the Washington Choral Arts Society, the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, and East Coast Contemporary Ballet.

As their instrumentation is quite unique, Alturas Duo regularly works with composers to broaden the repertoire and expand their own musical possibilities. This has led to 60+ premieres that feature the guitar, viola and/ or charango in chamber music settings as well as works for the choral and orchestral worlds. Collaborations with composers include Leo Brouwer, Gwyneth Walker, David Macbride, Ronald Pearl, Javier Farías, Thomas Schuttenhelm, José Lezcano, and Raimundo Penaforte. Some of the most significant works Alturas Duo has commissioned and premiered include Farías’ Cadera de las Islas and El Vuelo de tu Alma (for guitar and charango with string orchestra), David Macbride’s No mas muertes, and Ronald Pearl’s The Places We Left Behind (for guitar and viola).

The Alturas Duo has performed in venues and for presenters such as Carnegie Hall, Symphony Space, Merkin Hall, the Smithsonian Institute, the Historic Asolo Theater, Le Petit Trianon (CA), La Maison de Mai (Paris), the 34th International Viola Congress, La Guitarra California, and Music Mountain. Alturas Duo has also recorded for releases on the Brioso, Con Brio, and Ravello Records (PARMA) labels in addition to its collaboration with Joseph Holt and the Choral Arts Society of Washington for an award-winning release of a collection of works by the celebrated Argentinian composer Ariel Ramírez, including Misa Criolla, for Naxos.

In addition to performing and commissioning new music, Alturas Duo embraces its role as educators and music advocates. The duo has given hundreds of lectures, outreach programs, and conferences at festivals, universities, and colleges with students ranging from elementary school to university level and beyond. At various points during its history, Alturas Duo has had the pleasure to serve as “Goodwill Ambassador” for the ChileanAmerican Foundation and as Artist-in-Residence for Intempo in Stamford, Connecticut. The name Alturas, Spanish for “heights,” is derived from the poem “Alturas de Macchu Picchu” by the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda.

Carlos Boltes, viola & charango

Carlos Boltes was born in Santiago, Chile where he began his musical studies by learning the charango from his brother Giovanni Vaccani, later mastering that instrument while touring extensively throughout South America as a member of the Chilean group Barrocco Andino. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the Universidad Catolica de Chile and a master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University, both in viola performance. His main teachers have been: Enrique López, Atar Arad, and Larry Dutton. Mr. Boltes has served as Principal Violist of the Orquesta de Cámara del Teatro Municipal de Santiago and Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra. He has recorded for Naxos, Brioso, and CBS Records. Mr. Boltes has been a recipient of the Boston Fund Individual Artist Fellowship and an Andes Foundation Performance Grant. He also received the Connecticut “Latino de Oro” 2010 award. In addition to his work with the Alturas Duo, Elqui and ADAA trios Mr. Boltes is a dedicated teacher. In addition to teaching privately, he has served on the faculties of the Community Division of the University of Hartford and Stamford, Connecticutbased InTempo program teaching charango, viola, and violin. He has also taught at many festivals in Latin America including the Eleazar de Carvalho Festival in Brazil, Classic Bolivia in La Paz, the Calbuco Summer Festival held in the Chilean Lake District, and the Mancera Festival in Valdivia, Chile. Mr. Boltes has also presented numerous master classes throughout the United States, Europe as well as Central and South America.

Scott Hill, guitar

Scott Hill, a native of Thunder Bay, Ontario, has performed with orchestras, choirs, instrumentalists, and vocalists throughout Canada, United States, Europe, and South America as a soloist and chamber musician. As a member of the Alturas Duo and soloist, Mr. Hill has premiered more than 75 pieces of new music, won a Chamber Music America/ASCAP Adventurous Programming

award, received grants from New Music USA and the Canada Arts Council, and was selected as laureate winner of the 2020 World Folk Vision awards. He has collaborated with a wide range of instrumentalists and ensembles including bandoneon player, Daniel Binelli, Cuarteto Latinoamericano, the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, Callisto Quartet, East Coast Contemporary Ballet, and Voce Choir of Hartford. Mr. Hill has had the honor of premiering works for solo guitar by Javier Farías and Masatora Goya as well as works for guitar and voice by Thomas Schuttenhelm and Maxim Vladimiroff. Most recently he has premiered music by Leo Brouwer, David MacBride, and Karina and Javier Contreras. In addition to his work with the Alturas Duo, he has served as a Play USA/Carnegie Hall Lead Teaching Artist and is a Suzuki-qualified guitar instructor who maintains a private teaching studio in Stamford, CT. Mr. Hill earned an Honours Bachelor of Arts from Lakehead University and a Master of Music and Graduate Professional Diploma from the Hartt School of Music.

Gonzalo Cortés, Andean woodwinds & Western flute

A native of Chile, Gonzalo Cortés was Principal Flute of the Classical Orchestra of Santiago, Chile from 1999-2000. As a soloist and orchestral musician, he has toured South America and the United States of America with different ensembles such as the Simon Bolivar Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de Chile, Classical Orchestra of Santiago, Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra, Chorus Angelicus and Gaudeamus, UCONN Opera Orchestra, and Symphony of Southeast Texas. He has performed at numerous festivals and venues including the Orford Arts Centre’s Academy of Music in Canada, Primer Festival Internacional de Flauta in Rio de Janeiro, Western Slope Music Festival in Crested Butte, Colorado, Semanas Musicales de Frutillar, Chile, International Festival of Arts and Ideas in New Haven, Connecticut, The Phoenicia International Festival of The Voice (Hudson Valley), Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, and Carnegie Hall.

Mr. Cortés studied with Alberto Harms at the Catholic University of Chile and at Duquesne University with Robert Langevin, Principal Flute of the New York Philharmonic. In addition to his classical training pursuit, Gonzalo is a proponent of World Music, particularly flutes from around the world. He has recorded with the internationally acclaimed Chilean folk group Inti-Illimani as well as the Choral Arts Society of Washington, DC for the Naxos label. He is also a skillful improviser and has explored other musical genres such as flamenco and Latin jazz.

Based in Connecticut, Gonzalo Cortés teaches flute in the Jazz and Popular Music sector at Hartt Community Division, Trinity College, and Miss Porter’s School. He is the founder and Artistic Director of the Hartford Flute Ensemble, Atacama Ensemble, and a member of Blue Madeiras.

ALBANY PRO MUSICA CONCERT CHORUS

SOPRANO

Rachel Balbi

Martha J. Bond

Tonya Burandt Hansen*

Brianne Conner

Marie Cox

Valerie Donovan

Meg Gallien

Paige Griggs

Nicole Lash

Heather Lessard

Mialisa Lindholm Herron

Hannah Long

Samantha Lyle†

Katie McNally

Rebecca Monaghan

Emily Peterson

Stephanie Saint Germain

Sandra Schujman

Teresa Maria Solé

ALTO

Emily Ball

Maria Bedo-Calhoun

Abigail Cowan*

Clara Eizayaga

Kathryn Farris

Meghan Garrison

Shay Gauthier

Devon Rooney

Irina Tikhonenko

Julie Weston

Lisa Wloch

TENOR

Gussie Bargeron

Eamon Daley

Mitch Cohen

John Favreau

Dan Foster^

Billy Golden

Jonathan Hansen*

Cal Miller†

Xavier Ortiz-Reyes

Joel Pattison

Lincoln Walton

John Xia

BASS

Philip Allen

Ross Brennan

Matthew Clemens

William Crankshaw

Evan DeFilippo

Colin Helie*

Jared Hunt

Tom Johnson

Daniel Lane†

Noah Palmer

John Rodier

Ryan Snyder†

Rex Smith

Michael Wolff

* Section Leader

^ Teaching Artist

† Music Intern

ALBANY PRO MUSICA STAFF

OPALKA FAMILY ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

José Daniel Flores-Caraballo

ARTISTIC STAFF

Noah Palmer, Assistant Director and Accompanist

SooYeon Justesen, Manager of Educational Programs

Tonya Burandt Hansen, Abigail Cowan, Jonathan Hansen, Daniel Washington, Section Leaders

Steve Murray, Honorary Composer in Residence

Dan Foster, Teaching Artist

Elizabeth Eschen Cacciola, Teaching Artist

ADMINISTRATION

Emily Sturman, Deputy Executive Director

Jared Shortmeier, Director of Operations

Liz Vinciquerra, Development Manager

Rebecca Monaghan, Audition Coordinator

Dharma Sanchez-Flores, Member Connections Liaison

Emily Hunt, Intern

Katharine Harris, Music Librarian

Ann-Marie Barker Schwartz, Orchestra Contractor

Michele Susko, Roya Consulting, LLC, Development Counsel

Primeau-Fahey Studios, Marketing and Public Relations

Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Box Office, Marketing, and Financial Management

Dan Czernecki

Javier Farías

Dan Foster

Liz Friedman

Gary Gold

Kathy Harris

Emily Hunt

Dan Irizarry

Paul Lamar

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Jean-Remy Monnay

Matthew Rogowicz

Sandra Schujman

Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate NY

Capital District Latinos

Primeau Fahey Studios

Troy Savings Bank Music Hall

University at Albany

WMHT Educational Telecommunications

ALBANY PRO MUSICA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Rex W. Smith, President

Jeanette Altarriba, Vice President

Tom McGuire, Treasurer

Jonathan E. Hansen, Secretary

DIRECTORS

M. Tracey Brooks

Mitch Cohen

Al De Salvo

James M. Gaughan

Robert T. Hennes

Ellen Jabbur

Gwen Krause

Steven E. Lobel (emeritus)

Douglas Petersen

Raona Roy (emerita)

Wayne Senitta

Marion Terenzio

Margery Whiteman (honorary)

Michael Whiteman

Russ Wilks

Michael Wolff

Edelgard Wulfert

ALBANY PRO MUSICA COUNCIL OF ADVISORS

George R. Hearst III and Chet Opalka, Co-Chairs

Alan Goldberg

E. Stewart Jones, Jr.

Kimberly Sanger Jones

Richard Miller

Paul Milton

John Nigro

Karen Opalka

Ellen Sax

Marcia White

Albany Pro Musica has a legacy in the Capital Region and beyond, as a choral group whose music truly captures the human spirit. Our Lux Aeterna Society allows donors to keep the “eternal light” of your own legacy alive through Albany Pro Musica, by including APM in your estate plans.

The Lux Aeterna Society recognizes individuals and their families who have remembered APM in their estate plans through a planned gift. A planned gift to Albany Pro Musica can offer tax advantages, and allows you to designate a contribution – large or small – that will support the music you love, for years to come.

To learn more about how to include Albany Pro Musica in your estate plans, please visit our website or contact us for a confidential consultation.

WAYS TO SUPPORT ALBANY PRO MUSICA

Did you know that ticket sales make up only a portion of the funds needed to present the high-quality performances and dynamic educational programs that you love? Like most performing arts organizations, Albany Pro Musica relies on the generosity of our donors to deliver our season. Please consider making a contribution today to ensure that Albany Pro Musica can keep singing, this season and for years to come.

To make a gift to Albany Pro Musica, please scan with your smartphone or visit our website to donate safely online: albanypromusica.org/donate.

RECURRING DONATIONS

Recurring donations are a important resource that form a revenue stream we know we can count on, which allows us to plan our programs with confidence. Contact us to set up a monthly or quarterly donation.

MATCHING GIFTS

Many employers offer matching gift programs and will match charitable contributions made by their employees. Some companies also match gifts by retirees and/or spouses. If your company has a matching gift program, please consider designating Albany Pro Musica as the beneficiary of your match. With matching gifts, you can double the impact of your gift! Examples of companies offering a corporate match include Bank of America, General Electric, IBM, Key Bank, MetLife, and many more.

GIFTS OF STOCK

Gifts of stock can offer tax advantages while allowing you to support Albany Pro Musica. Please contact us to learn more.

PLANNED GIVING

Planning for the future is vital, not only for individuals but for organizations as well. Turn your passion for music into a lasting legacy with a gift to the APM’s Lux Aeterna Society. If you’ve already made plans to recognize APM in your estate plans, or to learn more about supporting APM with a planned gift, please contact us.

Emily Sturman Deputy Executive Director

518.687.1947 or emily@albanypromusica.org

Thank you for your support.

THANK YOU TO OUR 2022-23 SEASON DONORS!

Listing reflects gifts made between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023

CIRLCE OF FRIENDS

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AFFILIATE ($500-$999)

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Jean Kirsch

George and Geraldine Koch

Maureen Frances Leary

Daniel Leinung

Tara A. Lindsley, PhD

Kathleen Lyman

Stephen and Ann Lyman

Michael and Susan Moyle Lynch

William M. Lynch

C. Ursula MacAffer*

William and Gail Madigan

Jean and Peter Maloy

Robert and Carleen Marino

Susan Linda Martin

Mike and Suzanne Mason

Joseph McCully

Corinne McLeod

Katie and Brendan McNally

Robert J. McNamara

Stephen Murray

Judith Ann Mysliborski

Nick and Carolyn Nicolay

Lori Nieberg

Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Older

Edwin and Carol Osterhout

Beth Ann Osthimer

Judith and Richard Palmer

Robert Pape

Bob and Loretta Parsons

Ruth Pelham

Peter and Susan Pezzolla

Chris and Carol Pfister

Christopher Price and Leah Scott

Edward Primeau

Allan Randall

Cheryl Reeves and Martha Schultz

C. Michael Reger

Dustin M. Reidy

Alison Rhodes-Devey

Gail and George Richardson

Dr. and Mrs. Eric Roccario

Yareli E. Rodriguez

Rosemarie Rosen

Steve Rosenblum

Mary Scanlan

Joanne Scheibly

Kendra Schrader

Ralph and Dorothy Schultz

Charles and Ann-Marie Schwartz

Robert and Gail Schwartz

Jack and Peggy Seppi

Alison Sheahan

Barbara Simoneau and Joseph Caron

Gary and Kathie Smith

Steve Snow

Robin L. Soroka

Donald Stauffer

Sheila A. Sullivan

Michele L. Susko and Fardin Sanai

Frederick S. and Christine B. Szczepanek

Jill Taylor and Paul Masters

Marion Terenzio and Patricia O’Connor

Roger Tippy

Doris F. Tomer

Congressman Paul D. Tonko

Lyle Van Vranken

Jeff Vandeberg

Liz and Joe Vinciquerra

Ann Volpel

Anonymous

Dawn Stuart Weinraub

Dan and Maribeth White

Barbara Wiley

Hannelore Wilfert and Karl Moschner

The Woytowich Family

Theodore and Susan Standfast Wright

Peter and Lynn Young

Barbara M. Zavisky

GIFTS IN MEMORIAM

In memory of H. Graham Jones

E. Stewart and Kimberly Sanger Jones

Jean and Peter Maloy

John Nigro

The Woytowich Family

In memory of Hugh G. Nevin, Jr.

Alison Sheahan

We apologize for any errors or omissions and would be grateful to have them brought to our attention.

* Denotes individuals who are now deceased

THANK YOU TO OUR 2022-2023 CORPORATE CIRCLE AND INSTITUTIONAL SPONSORS!

GOLD CIRCLE

($10,000 - $19,999)

Howard and Bush Foundation

New York State Council on the Arts

SILVER CIRCLE ($5,000 - $9,999)

IBM Corporation

BRONZE CIRCLE

($2,500-$4,999)

Amidon & Petersen Financials LLC

Massry Charitable Foundation

The University at Albany Foundation

CORPORATE SUPPORTERS (up to $2,500)

Amazon Smile

architecture+

Capital Bank

Community Care Physicians

Hannaford Supermarkets

Pursuit Foundation

Stewart’s Shops

United Way of the Greater Capital Region, Inc.

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

Albany Pro Musica is grateful for the support of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.

THANKS TO OUR 2023-2024 CORPORATE CIRCLE

GOLD

Massry

Charitable Foundation

SILVER

DIAMOND BRONZE

JOIN US FOR THE REST OF OUR 43RD SEASON!

BACH’S B MINOR MASS

April 28 th , 2024

Featuring renowned guest soloists and an orchestra of experts in historically informed performance, from the Handel + Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Apollo’s Fire, Trinity Baroque, and others. For information and tickets, visit albanypromusica.org/bach.

Pro Musica in Paradise

Presenting the 2024 Dr. Karen R. Hitchcock Award to Raona Roy

Spring Gala I Saturday, May 18, 2024 I Colonie Country Club

Co-chaired by Karen Opalka and Alan Goldberg

Information and tickets at albanypromusica.org/gala