To Touch The Sky

WELCOME Dear friends, In 2016, the first collaboration between our two ensembles ignited a powerful flame that continues to exist outside of individuals, burning as a community. It has been almost two years to the day since we last gathered as one ensemble, one audience, singing as one collective voice: La Caccina with Constellation Men’s Ensemble.

This weekend’s concerts are especially thrilling because for the first time, La Caccina Artistic Director Carling FitzSimmons is stepping out in front, leading us through a program of her own devising, as conductor. The process has been truly rewarding to have the intimate knowledge of one of Caccina’s own at the helm of your experience. I know you will experience the passion and drive with which Carling has led each rehearsal as you watch tonight’s performance.

Our performances would not be possible without the incredible generosity from our family of supporters. During intermission, I encourage you to make a meaningful gift to the future of both of these ensembles, ensuring our commitment to our artists, our commissioning of new music, and our educational engagement all continue to thrive.

As each of us turns toward spring in the coming weeks, may our outstretched arms continue to reach toward the returning sun, toward our dreams for this year, and toward one another.

Yours in Music and Brotherhood,

Ryan Townsend Strand Executive Director, Constellation Men’s Ensemble

A NOTE ON THE PROGRAM Composer Kevin Puts conceived of his multi-movement work To Touch the Sky as a celebration of feminine divinity. With the help of his aunt, poet Fleda Brown, Puts gathered texts from women across history that “concerned spirituality in the broadest sense.” The result is a piece that sinks its roots into Mary’s Biblical Magnificat, before blossoming outwards into a “loosely based arch form”, with musical motives that echo across its movements. Puts’s music gives listeners “a complete image of the Divine Feminine, an image at once transcendent and immanent, otherworldly and this-worldly, mystical and practical.”

While Puts finished To Touch the Sky in 2012, I first encountered it in 2020, when Ryan approached me about leading a third collaboration between La Caccina and Constellation Men’s Ensemble. Studying the score through the veil of the pandemic, I was struck not by the divinity present in Puts’s work but by its essential human-ness. The texts Puts chose do indeed all deal with spirituality, but that spirituality is frequently rooted in loss, grief, and pain. Each of the poets in To Touch the Sky found her life shattered by immense tragedy—estrangement from her family, the death of her siblings, a car accident that kept her in constant pain for the rest of her life. In times of crisis, these women turned to their art to give voice to their grief, shouting at the heavens, or quietly pondering God’s mysterious ways. The arch of Puts’s work begins with certainty but quickly descends (both lyrically and musically) into dissonance and discomfort, emerging on the other side with one certainty: we are unworthy as humans to understand divinity, unworthy with our two arms to “aspire to touch the sky.”

And yet, in a time when we were all longing for connection, another voice seemed to be hiding just behind the clouds of Puts’s work. This voice is sometimes the calming voice of God that “whispers in the heart,” and sometimes the voice of another person who is here with us, showing us the grace of God through companionship: “the Godroot within men.” It is the voice of the second half of the program, unrecognized until later, yet always present. Just as Puts envisioned an arc to his work, I envisioned the two halves of this program as a mirror to each other, a dialogue between our small selves and a greater sense of belonging.

The singers and I hope that, as you hear this music, you will also hear the connections between the two halves of the program, and find comfort in divinities both large and small.

Carling FitzSimmons Artistic Director, La Caccina

This project is partially supported by a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events.

PROGRAM NOTES To Touch the Sky Though in 1999 or so, I wrote a short choral work for the 300th anniversary of Yale University, To Touch the Sky is my first mature attempt at writing for unaccompanied chorus. Its genesis began during a discussion with Craig Hella Johnson—the visionary conductor of the Austin, Texas–based chorus Conspirare—who mentioned the idea of the “divine feminine” and its origins in the Magnificat as the potential basis for a large-scale choral work. While the religious concept of the biblical Mary is for me purely mythological, the following quotation from Mary’s Vineyard by Andrew Harvey nonetheless served as a point of departure: All the powers of all the world's Mothers—Tara, Durga, Kali, of the Tao—are in Mary. She has Tara's sublime protectiveness towards all creation; Durga's (the Fortress's) inaccessible, silent face; the grandeur and terribleness of Kali; the infinite awareness of balance and mystery of the Tao. . . .In Mary, then, we have a complete image of the Divine Feminine, an image at once transcendent and immanent, other-worldly and thisworldly, mystical and practical.

With this multicultural interpretation in mind, I began searching for poems by women concerning “spirituality” in the very broadest sense.

My aunt, the poet Fleda Brown, is always a tremendous resource when it comes to finding texts, and her assistance here was no exception.

She lead me first to Marie Howe’s beautiful Annunciation which I decided could be sung by a soprano soloist over the first lines of the Magnificat, sung by the rest of the chorus at the very opening. I found poems by Emily Brontë, whose tragic At Castle Wood lies at the center of what is a loosely based arch form. There are quotes from Sappho, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, poems by the 16th-century Indian poet-saint Mirabai, Amy Lowell, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Christina Georgina Rosetti, and the medieval composer, philosopher and mystic Hildegard of Bingen, in whose Most Noble Evergreen I found great inspiration.

To Touch the Sky was commissioned by the Thelma Hunter Fund of the American Composers Forum and Conspirare. It was premiered by Conspirare under Johnson’s direction on September 27, 2012.

— Kevin Puts

Photo by David White

Winner of numerous prestigious awards, including the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for his debut opera Silent Night, Kevin Puts’s works have been commissioned, performed, and recorded by leading ensembles, and soloists throughout the world. Commissioned and premiered in November 2011 by Minnesota Opera and co-produced by Opera Philadelphia, Silent Night has been produced at Fort Worth Opera, Cincinnati Opera, the Wexford Opera Festival, Calgary Opera, Montreal Opera, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Atlanta Opera, Opera San Jose, and Michigan Opera Theatre.

In 2013, his choral works To Touch The Sky and If I Were A Swan were performed and recorded by Conspirare. Puts’s second opera, The Manchurian Candidate, premiered in 2015. His latest opera, an adaptation of Michael Cunningham’s The Hours, has been cocommissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera and is slated for premiere in 2022. Puts’s new vocal work Letters From Georgia, written for Renée Fleming and based on the personal letters of Georgia O’Keeffe, premiered in New York in 2016, and his first chamber opera, an adaptation of Peter Ackroyd’s gothic novel The Trial of Elizabeth Cree, commissioned by Opera Philadelphia, premiered in September 2017, followed by performances with Chicago Opera Theater in February 2018.

Puts currently is a member of the composition department at the Peabody Institute and the director of the Minnesota Orchestra Composer’s Institute. kevinputs.com

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants The inspiration for Standing on the Shoulders of Giants came from a conversation with my father, shortly after the passing of my Lola and Laki (Filipino for grandparents). Their passing felt like I was losing a part of my culture, as they were my closest connection to the Philippines. I had a long conversation with my father, which helped me realize that I will never lose that part of my identity, because I am a part of the legacy they left behind. He told me to think of a line written by Isaac Newton, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” This made me reflect on my grandparents’ lives and the hard work they put in to set their future generations up for success. I dedicate this piece to my Lola and Laki and all of my elders who have contributed to the person I am today.

The piece starts off with an exposition, with lyrics that introduce the main theme and a constant rhythmic background. After that, there is a noticeable tone and mood switch. The harmonies and swelling in this section symbolize new beginnings and growth because of the hard work of my relatives. There is a moment of strength and stability with the lyrics “Standing on the shoulders of giants.” When these harmonies lock in, they reinforce the meaning and purpose of this piece.

Shortly after this climax, the theme from the exposition reappears, but with a newfound confidence. Even though the notes in the exposition and ending are the same, there is a big difference in meaning. I imagine the exposition being sung by only my Lola and Laki, whereas the conclusion is being sung by the entire family tree. It is very triumphant, but also reverent of the sacrifices and actions they made throughout their lives.

This piece starts small but ends with hope and ambition for the future.

This piece is very personal to my family, but I hope that the ideas and story is relatable to other people, especially to people with family backgrounds of immigration to the United States. I really hope that it highlights the efforts of those who came before us and inspires us to keep and grow the legacy they started. I am so excited for audiences to hear this piece. Thank you for reading and listening to my story.

— Gwen Maramba

Gwen Maramba is an eighteen-year-old Filipino-American vocalist and composer. A member of the Maine South High School Class of 2021, she currently is pursuing a bachelor of music degree in vocal performance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Maramba was a member of Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Youth Opera Council, a graduate of the Merit School of Music, and the inaugural recipient of Hearing in Color’s Young Composer Residency. She loves to sing and compose pieces for treble ensembles, and she is a member of the Women's Glee Club at the University of Illinois.

Maramba has loved music ever since she was young, and she is so excited to share her story through her composition, Standing on the Shoulders of Giants.

Carling FitzSimmons Conductor A Chicago native, soprano and conductor Carling FitzSimmons is thrilled to be making music in the city she loves. After graduating from Kenyon College, Carling returned to Chicago and has established herself as a masterful singer, conductor, and arts educator. As a conductor of young singers, Carling has worked for Pro Musica Youth Chorus, Chicago Public Schools, and the Merit School of Music, where she currently teaches voice and is Head of Choirs at the tuition-free Conservatory. Carling also serves as the Artistic Director of Spirito Singers, a feminist youth choir based in Chicago’s western suburbs. As a guest conductor, Carling has worked with the William Ferris Chorale and the Northwest Choral Society, and has led clinics at Goshen College, Kenyon College, and with the Young Naperville Singers.

Carling is also the Artistic Director and founder of La Caccina, an ensemble that champions and performs diverse, innovative repertoire for women’s voices. Under her guidance, La Caccina has established itself as the city’s premier treble ensemble, performing in a diverse range of styles, inspiring the next generation of musicians, and commissioning exciting new works, especially by composers whose voices have been under-represented in choral music. Through La Caccina, Carling has proven herself to be a champion of new music and an innovative conductor, earning praise from composer Augusta Read Thomas for her “visionary and generous” leadership. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Choral Conducting at Michigan State University.

La Caccina is a Chicago-based professional women’s vocal ensemble committed to musical excellence across a wide range of styles. La Caccina is dedicated to contributing new and innovative works from diverse voices to the treble canon and inspiring the next generation of musicians through femme-centered leadership and advocacy.

The ensemble finds its namesake in Francesca Caccini, a prolific Baroque composer known for her virtuosic musicality and beautiful singing voice. Following in Caccini’s footsteps, the women of La Caccina bring a variety of expertise to the ensemble, enabling them to easily adapt to a wide range of musical styles—from Renaissance madrigals to South African folk songs, and from contemporary pop songs to classical masterworks such as Vivaldi’s Gloria and Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols.

Over the past ten seasons, La Caccina has collaborated with ensembles including the Pavo String Quartet, the DuPage Symphony Orchestra, and bluegrass trio Glass Mountain, and has commissioned and premiered works by Katherine Pukinskis, Augusta Read Thomas, Matthew Harris, Melissa Dunphy, and Eric Malmquist, among others. No matter the music, La Caccina’s expressive, emotional singing highlights the versatility of the treble voice and brings musical excellence, integrity, and honesty to every performance.

Carey Crows, Alana Grossman, Anna De Ocampo Kain, and Patty Kennedy sopranos Tamara Ghattas, Elena Hensel, Lauren Iezzi, and Madeleine Xiang Woodworth altos

Constellation Men’s Ensemble is a Chicago-based vocal group dedicated to creating distinct performances in unique spaces, empowering the next generation of singers through educational engagement, and expanding the repertoire for men’s vocal music by commissioning new works from both emerging and established composers.

In 2016, CME founded their new music series NOVA—“New. Original.

Vocal. Art.” NOVA seeks to capitalize on their mission of commissioning new works. Last year, NOVA IV premiered works dealing with the theme of house & home including our first multimedia vocal oratorio by composer Sean Ellis Hussey, VOICES, telling stories of our nation’s foster care system and raising funding for three nonprofits dealing with the system. This year, NOVA V will feature the world premiere of Robert Maggio’s Man Up/Man Down, commissioned by CME and dissecting 21st century expectations, shortcomings, and toxicity of masculinity in America. Additional premieres include works giving voice to identity, perspective, and understanding all within our collective existence.

CME has partnered with Music of the Baroque to bring their music and passion to students within Chicago Public Schools. Workshop performances focused on careers in music, the joy of community through singing, and the multitude of ways that music can remain a part of your life post high school. Pre-COVID, they toured to New England and Maine, working with over 2,000 middle and high school students through their passion of connecting with the next generation of singers.

CME is the 2019 winner of the American Prize in Choral Performance, professional division.

Carl Alexander, Drew Benson, Matthew Cummings, and Ryan Townsend Strand tenors Matthew Brennan and Dimitri German baritones Ian Prichard and LaRob K. Rafael basses

Your Land / My Land To close its tenth season, La Caccina reflects on America and the music that has shaped the political and social landscape of the past two centuries. American protest music has given us some of the most iconic songs, from Billie Holiday’s haunting “Strange Fruit” to Bob Dylan’s contemplative “Blowin’ in the Wind” to Lady Gaga’s loud-and-proud “Born this Way.” In this program, La Caccina sings the modern American story, and explores the history of civil debate through the music we know and love.

Friday, May 20, 2022, 7:30 p.m.

Kibbitznest Books Brews and Blarney 2212 North Clybourn Avenue, Chicago

Saturday, May 21, 2022, 7:30 p.m.

Uncommon Ground 3800 North Clark Street, Chicago

Nova V: Humanhood New. Original. Vocal. Art. The artists of Constellation Men’s Ensemble will present the world premiere of Robert Maggio's Man Up/Man Down, exploring the idea of masculinity in America. Ideas of how we relate to one another, the masks we wear, and the lines that connect and divide our most vulnerable selves complete this program in an evening of world-premiere music for tenor and bass voices.

Friday, May 13 & Saturday, May 14, 2022, 7:30 p.m.

Guarneri Hall 11 East Adams Street, Suite 350A, Chicago

Please join us in thanking our season donors!

Luba Romantseva • Catherine Otis • Karen Meader Randi Woodworth • Dr. Benjamin Locke • Rob Streit Frank Villella & Eduardo Hernández • Paul & Kristi French Richard Hoskins • Nancy Stromp • Dr. Doreen Rao • Laura Baig Kait Barnes • Jenny Cantrel • Paul Casperson • Kathryn Coffey Judy Corbeille • Elisa Eobstel • Angela & Michael FitzSimmons Tamara Ghattas • Suzanne Haraburd • Jane Horowitz Lauren Iezzi • Emily Krasinski • Ellen Lawson • Linda & Fred Mast Gregory Peebles • Ricki Ravitts • Doreen Rice Christopher Toft • Ali Vernasco • Jane & Tom Barnes Nan Holcomb • Michael Mercer • Rachel Miller • Kate Pukinskis Jeffrey Schroeder • Sallie & Mark Smylie Kirsten Van Dyke Taylor • Bill & Candy Wallace • Scott Whitmore Tom Lariviere • Myra Epping • Philip Courington Brigid Finucane • Kristyn Friske • Sandra Grossman Ananda Levine • Nathan Kennedy • Marin FitzSimmons Jeanne Cuff • Sara Leginsky • Karen Nussbaum Jeanmarie Jacobs-Maramba • Miriam Burkland • Matthew Harris Marlene Tack & Jim Kennedy • Mary Kay Costello Deborah Sype

Adam Lenz • Alexander Poppens • Allison Cook • Andrew Fisher Andrew Saenz • Anna Mitran • Annie Gant • Austin Adams Ben Brunnette • Bonnie Bevers • Carol & Jim Fujimoto Charles Foster • Cydney Aperto • David Lentz • Dennis & Diane Roberts • Derek & Anne Boemler • Diane Monnich Dr. Dennis & Dr. Anne Wentz • Elio Bucky • Elisa Sutherland Emily Zhang • Ethan Coniglio Frank Villella & Eduardo Hernández Geoffrey Bleeker & Gabriel Mudd • Greg & Mark Fosheim Howard Bellerby • Isaac Sherman • Jacob Leaf • Jamie Morriss Janie Killips & Chelsea Lyons • Jeremy McElroy & Dave Beil Jeremy Edelstein • John Bierbusse • John Concepcion John Schwartz • John Welch • Kathleen Bromley Kathleen Lahouze • Kathy Montague • Kimberly Walker Lani Jordan • Laura Michelini • Linda Townsend • Lisa Ann Lang Mardia Bishop • Maren Brehm • Mary Lang Matthew Cummings • Matthew Brennan • Matthew Cramer Mavel Morales • Meredith Ford • Michael & Lindsay Strand Miriam Toney • Monica & Chuck Prewit • Mr. Christopher Jensen Mr. Gregory Brown • Mr. Jay Sackett & Alex Neubert Mr. John Ryan • Mr. Patrick Prewit • Ryan Townsend Strand Nat Wilburn & Jack McLean • Nathalie Colas Grant • Nick Lin Oliver Camacho • Patty & Carl Kennedy • Paul Herman Paula Getman • Philip & Brenda Hockberger Rebecca Thornburgh • Richard Benson Robert Maggio & Tony LaSalle • Sam Coker • Sarah Fisk Sharon Aperto • Stephen Edwards & Jonathan Pugh Steve Cisneros • Theresa Brancaccio & Kurt Hansen Tom Brennan • Torie Palacios • Val Beguin • Yuchi Chiu

La Caccina and Constellation Men’s Ensemble are 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations, and donations are tax deductible as allowed by law.

Board of Directors Doreen Rao co-president Sallie Smylie co-president Jeffrey Schroeder treasurer Val Demma secretary LaRob K. Rafael Sara Leginsky

Administration Carling FitzSimmons, artistic director Patty Kennedy, managing director 5107 North Western Avenue #2S • Chicago, IL 60626 206.963.4418 • info@lacaccina.org Photography by Joe Mazza, Brave Lux

lacaccina.org

Board of Directors Ryan Townsend Strand executive director Dominic German secretary Matthew Cummings treasurer Chelsea Lyons Denny Roberts 7330 North Honore Street, #1 • Chicago, IL 60626 info@constellationensemble.org Photography by Janie Killips

constellationensemble.org

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La Caccina and Constellation Men’s Ensemble would like to extend very special thanks to the following, whose generosity made To Touch the Sky possible Alice Millar Chapel Oliver Camacho The Copy Room, Evanston Andrea Lahouze Merit School of Music Spirito! Singers Frank Villella Wicker Park Lutheran Church __________________________________________________