20240111_University Singers Tour

FSU

JAZZ

FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MUSIC

UNIVERSITY SINGERS INSIDE COVER KEVIN FENTON, CONDUCTOR

PASSION. PURPOSE. MUSIC.

ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF MUSIC

­

GRADUATE

UNDERGRADUATE

Our Program

UNIVERSITY SINGERS Kevin Fenton, Conductor Sarita Gustely-Olson, Assistant Conductor Jeremy Moore, Assistant Conductor Victoria Coey, Collaborative Pianist PROGRAM Florida Music Educators Association Conference January 11, 2024 Asante

Sylvester Otieno Soloist: Sylvester Otieno

I am Glad

Daniel Schreiner Soloist: Alissa D’Alton

Holding the Light Agnus Dei

B. E. Boykin Jacob Narverud

Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world Have mercy on us and give us peace.

Coming Home

opb. Isaac Knots arr. John Haas Soloists: Gabriella Berrios and Achsah Martin

Fear Not Daniel Schreiner Soloists: Benjamin Reid, Jeremy Roldan Shayna Singer, and Aydyn O’Brien Tchaka Sydney Guillaume Percussionists: Sean Barnette, Shiloh DeFabia, and Sarita Olson-Gustely Turn up the fire! We are going to eat tchaka! Turn up the fire, stir up the corn, don’t forget the salt pork, We are going to eat a delicious tchaka.

We are going to cook up a mind-blowing stew.

At the sound of the three drums, everyone yells out hurray. If we join together we can all move forward.

Let us enmesh in lovely harmony. A delicious homemade stew, a musical tchaka.

Inspired by: The King has Boarded the Ship (Asante kente cloth), c. 1985

Come gather ‘round people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown And accept it that soon You’ll be drenched to the bone If your time to you is worth savin’ And you better start swimmin’ Or you’ll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changin’ Come writers and

It’s a delicious homemade stew, a national tchaka, A delicious homemade stew...

Turn up the fire! Turn up the fire! *Yanvalou, Kontredans, Rabòday are amazing.

Roots music, oh yes, that’s good stuff.Let’s stick together; side by side we can move forward.

Turn up the fire! Turn up the fire! The tchaka is cooking! *Ibo, Bolero, Banda, Mayi, Congo, Petro, Maskaron...

These are the rhythms of our roots.

We danced *Kalinda and we sang Rabòday, Heads together, with love, let us do great things.

Turn up the fire! Turn up the fire! We proclaimed hope and we sang of peace, So that the light of justice spreads throughout the earth. We’ll keep on singing...

We’ll keep on singing to make life more beautiful! In justice and in love, let’s eat a delicious tchaka! Amen!

The Times They Are A-Changin’

critics Who prophesize with your pen

Soloist: Artemis Xenick

And keep your eyes wide The chance won’t come again And don’t speak too soon For the wheel’s still in spin And there’s no tellin’ who That it’s namin’ For the loser now Will be later to win For the times they are a-changin’ Come senators,

opb. Bob Dylan arr. Adam Pod

Audience Sing with University Singers and Sylvester Otieno Mong’ong’o

Sylvester Otieno Soloist: Sylvester Otieno

congressmen Please heed the call Don’t stand in the doorway Don’t block up the hall For he that gets hurt Will be he who has stalled The battle outside ragin’ Will soon shake your windows And rattle your walls For the times they are a-changin’ Come mothers and fathers Throughout the land And don’t criticize What you can’t understand Your sons and your daughters Are beyond your command Your old road is rapidly agin’ Please get out of the new one If you can’t lend your hand For the times they are a-changin’ The line it is drawn The curse it is cast The slow one now Will later be fast As the present now Will later be past The order is rapidly fadin’ And the first one now Will later be last For the times they are a-changin’

Tshala Moya/Ke nna yo Morena

Traditional Sesotho arr. Michael Barrett

Pour down Holy Spirit, Lord, Messiah, pour down the Holy Spirit Eyes are piercing like bows/spears as they fight for the Lord Here I am. I have arrived.

PROGRAM

Tchaka 12 oz dried corn 12 oz dried kidney or pinto beans 1 1/2 pounds salt-cured pork feet or smoked turkey 1 pound of calabaza or kabocha squash, chopped into large pieces 1 chayote, peeled and cubed or sliced

12 oz coconut milk

3 cloves of garlic

thyme

1 Habanero or scotch bonnet pepper salt and pepper to taste Boil the beans and the corn in separate stock pots using unsalted water for 1 1/2 to two hours.

Boil squash until tender. Drain and crush in blender.

In a separate saucepan, add water to the smoked meat until it comes to a full boil and then drain.

Combine the beans and corn with their remaining cooking liquid into one pot and add the smoked meat.

When it all comes to a boil, add remaining ingredients.

Simmer until the desired thickness is achieved. Serve hot as a main dish.

Enjoy!

– recipe from Caribbean National Weekly caribbeannationalweekly.com/cuisine/recipe-tchaka-soup-haiti

“Wonder that Flows Without End” January 13, 2024 First Church, Sarasota – January 14, 2024 First Presbyterian Church, Fort Lauderdale I am Glad

Daniel Schreiner Soloist: Alissa D’Alton

Nocturne

Adolphus Hailstork Soloist: Lizzie Robertson

Holding the Light Agnus Dei

B. E. Boykin Jacob Narverud

Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world Have mercy on us and give us peace.

Fear Not Daniel Schreiner Soloists: Benjamin Reid, Jeremy Roldan, Shayna Singer, and Aydyn O’Brien Tchaka Sydney Guillaume Percussionists: Sean Barnette, Shiloh DeFabia, and Sarita Olson-Gustely Turn up the fire! We are going to eat tchaka! Turn up the fire, stir up the corn, don’t forget the salt pork, We are going to eat a delicious tchaka. We are going to cook up a mind-blowing stew.

At the sound of the three drums, everyone yells out hurray. If we join together we can all move forward.

Let us enmesh in lovely harmony. A delicious homemade stew, a musical tchaka.

It’s a delicious homemade stew, a national tchaka, A delicious homemade stew...

Turn up the fire! Turn up the fire! *Yanvalou, Kontredans, Rabòday are amazing.

Roots music, oh yes, that’s good stuff.Let’s stick together; side by side we can move forward.

Turn up the fire! Turn up the fire! The tchaka is cooking!

*Ibo, Bolero, Banda, Mayi, Congo, Petro, Maskaron...

These are the rhythms of our roots.

We danced *Kalinda and we sang Rabòday, Heads together, with love, let us do great things.

Turn up the fire! Turn up the fire! We proclaimed hope and we sang of peace, So that the light of justice spreads throughout the earth. We’ll keep on singing...

We’ll keep on singing to make life more beautiful! In justice and in love, let’s eat a delicious tchaka! Amen!

Coming Home

Isaac Knots arr. John Haas

Soloists: Gabriella Berrios Rosario and Achsah Martin

Au-Delá Du Chagrin

Sydney Guillaume

I Lived

opb. One Republic arr. John Haas

And the Stars

Rob Redei

The Times They Are A-Changin’

opb. Bob Dylan arr. Adam Pod

Soloist: Artemis Xenick Tshela Moya/Ke nna yo Morena

Traditional Sesotho arr. Michael Barrett

Pour down Holy Spirit, Lord, Messiah, pour down the Holy Spirit Eyes are piercing like bows/spears as they fight for the Lord Here I am. I have arrived.

Photo: “Enjoy the sunrise” commons.wikimedia.org

ABOUT THE GUEST ARTIST Sylvester Otieno Ogama, also known as Otieno R. Sylvester, is the current Chairman (Music Director) of the Parastatals, Ministries, Companies, and Counties Choral Organization in Kenya (PAMICCO), the Convener/Interim President of the Kenya Music Composers and Arrangers Network (KeMCANet), Founding Director of Blend Ensemble-Kenya (BEK), Founding Director of Talanta Afrika Youth and Music Initiative (incorporating the Talanta Afrika Singers), and a Commissar and Adjudicator of the Kenya Music Festival. He is a prolific and award-winning composer based at the Kenyatta University Department of Music and Dance, where he is a Senior Instructor of Musical Composition and Performance, as well as the Founding Director of the University Staff Choir and a Conductor of the University Students Choir, with over 33 years of experience.

As a composer, clinician, conductor, and performer, Otieno has continued to share his expertise and music internationally. In February 2019, he worked with several American choirs in Florida and Missouri including Festival Singers of Florida, Florida State University Singers, University of South Florida choir, University of Central Missouri (UCM), William Jewell College of Music, Staley High School, Wiregrass High School, Newsome High School, Gibbs High School, and Orange Schools Honor Choir. He also had the opportunity to observe the Masters Chorale of Tampa Bay and the Tallahassee Community Choir, in addition to providing lectures and presentations on Kenyan choral music to post-graduate students. He returned to Florida in April 2022 and performed with the UF Afro-pop band and Pazeni Sauti Africa Choir during the UF Afro Roots Festival held at Bo Diddley Plaza in Gainesville.

In June 2023, he conducted the Avoice4Peace concert with Dr. Adam Zrust, Dr. Frances Fonza, Dr. Steve Hankle, Dr. Bret D. Epperson, Dr. Marques L.A. Garrett, Wesley Roy, Kyle Gray, and Noah Ochomo at Sabis International School in Nairobi, Kenya. The concert organized and directed by Dr. Kevin Fenton and Ken Wakia brought together FSOF, FSU Singers, NMSU Choir, BEK, NCC, Talanta Afrika and singers from the University of Dayton in aid of Magoso Children’s Home and School.

In August 2019, Otieno was appointed by the International Federation of Choral Music (IFCM) as atelier conductor for the 1st Africa Cantat. He has written over 1000 songs including anthems, liturgical songs, patriotic songs, instructional music, advocacy songs, festival set pieces, concert music, gospel songs, signature tunes, etc. His song Mang’ong’o is published and distributed in the US by GIA Printers.

Otieno is a member of the Pan African Society for Musical Arts Education (PASMAE), the African Composers Forum, and the Kenyan Choral Directors Trust. He is a contributor to local and international journals of music, including the World of Music (New Series Vol. 3), The Festival of Christian Arts in Kenya, East African Journal of Music, Kenya at 50 Publication, Biographies of Kenyan Musicians, the Kenya Music Festival Year Book Vol. 1, Interpreting and Appreciating Choral Music: Echoes of African Scholars, and IFCM Magazine (October 2023 Edition).

In October 2020, he was recognized as a national music legend (Shujaa) by the Head of State for his enormous musical contributions and, more so, for developing and effectively using his compositions in a “one-man” virtual choir to sensitize the public on COVID-19 pandemic protocols during the lockdown. Sylvester Otieno, commonly known in Kenya as Shujaa Silvo, is an expert community music leader and is passionate about sharing the joy of Kenyan choral music with the world.

Personnel

SOPRANO 1 Alissa D’Alton ‘24 Gabriela Gaya ‘24 Achsah Martin ‘24 Aydyn O’Brien ’24 Isabella Pinilla ’25 Lizzie Robertson ’26

BM Vocal Performance BME Choral Music Education BA Commercial Music BME Choral Music Education BME Choral Music Education BM Vocal Performance

Orlando, Florida Ocala, Florida Orlando, Florida South Riding, Virginia Pembroke Pines, Florida Marietta, Georgia

SOPRANO 2 Sarah Burns ’24 Keyaira Henderson ’24 *Annie Lane ‘25 Sarita Olson-Gustely ’24 *Madeline Schneider ‘25 Lindsay VanAllen ’24 Sara Vanderford ’25

BME Choral Music Education BME Choral Music Education BME Choral Music Education MM Choral Conducting BM Vocal Performance BME Choral Music Education BA Music

Lady Lake, Florida Fort Lauderdale, Florida Roswell, Georgia Mexico City, Mexico Lorton, Virginia Tampa, Florida Cape Coral, Florida

West Palm Beach, Florida Melbourne, Florida Tallahassee, Florida Scotch Pines, New Jersey Delray Beach, Florida

Rebecca Smith ’25 Caroline Wheeler ’25 Artemis Xenick ‘24

BA General Music BME Choral Music Education BM Vocal Performance BME Choral Music Education BME Choral Music Education/ BM Vocal Performance BA Music/Liberal Arts BME Choral Music Education BM Music Therapy

ALTO 2 Gabriella Berrios Rosario ‘25 *Sophia Gannaoui ’24 Bridg Gorder ’24 Samantha Rivera ’24

BM Vocal Performance BME Choral Music Education BME Choral Music Education BA Music/Computer Science

Kissimmee, Florida Kissimmee, Florida Centennial, Colorado Celebration, Florida

ALTO 1 Shiloh DeFabia ’25 Candace Jones ’25 *Cecilia Malley ’25 Megan Sheehy ’24 *Shayna Singer ’24

Kissimmee, Florida Marietta, Georgia Tampa, Florida

TENOR 1 Sean Barnette ’25 Alfred (Tiger) Davis ‘26 Tobias Deggans ’26 Anderson Lange ‘23 Jackson Roberts ’26 Jeremy Roldan ‘24 TENOR 2 Seaira Anderson ’26 Kevin Borges ‘25 Michael Haves ‘25 *Kyle McDonald ‘24 Connor Mickey ’25 Jeremy Moore ’26 Alex Mortier ’26 Isaiah Ramsey ’25 BARITONE Myles Baron ’24 Espen Brante ’25 Owen Hillman ‘26 Jack Marshall ’25 *Everett Reed ‘24 Benjamin Reid ’25 John Valencia-Londono ’24 BASS *Vincent Amiel Bagay ‘26 Grayson Dannelly ’27 Ferris Kritzer ’25 Christian Noel ’25 Dylan Sneddon

BME Choral Music Education BM Vocal Performance BME Choral Music Education BS Political Science BME Choral Music Education BME Choral Music Education

Tampa, Florida Tallahassee, Florida St. Petersburg, Florida Longwood, Florida Orlando, Florida Orlando, Florida

BME Choral Music Education BME Choral Music Education BME Choral Music Education BM Music Composition BA Commercial Music/ BS Entrepreneurship PhD Choral Music Education BME Choral Music Education BME Choral Music Education

Safety Harbor, Florida Miami, Florida Weston, Florida Orinda, California St. Augustine, Florida

BME Choral Music Education BA Music and English BM Vocal Performance BME Choral Music Education BM Vocal Performance BME Choral Music Education BME Choral Music Education BA Computer Science

Raleigh, North Carolina Acworth, Georgia Marietta, Georgia Boca Raton, Florida Tallahassee, Florida Jacksonville, Florida Orlando, Florida

BS Accounting BME Choral Music Education BME Choral Music Education BM Vocal Performance BA Commercial Music

Orlando, Florida Niceville, Florida Tampa, Florida Chesterfield, Virginia Fort Myers, Florida

Prairie, Mississippi Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Tallahassee, Florida

* choir leadership

The University Singers Founded in 1949 by Dr. Wiley Housewright, University Singers is the undergraduate touring choir at Florida State University. The auditioned choir consists mostly of students majoring in music. During its rich history, University Singers has performed with remarkable musicians Simon Halsey, Krzysztof Penderecki, Bobby McFerrin, Sir David Willcocks, Aaron Copland, Norman Dello Joio, Billy Taylor and the esteemed Atlanta Symphony conductor, Robert Shaw. During the past nineteen years, University Singers has been invited to perform at national and regional conventions of the National Association for Music Education and the American Choral Directors Association, including their performance at the national conventions of ACDA in 2007 and 2013. Recent tours have included performances throughout the Southeastern United States and the Central Europe. In 2021, members of University Singers joined university choirs of Puerto Rico to perform Dan Forrest’s Requiem for the Living in San Juan.

Several distinguished conductors have led the University Singers in its 75-year history, including Walter James, Joseph Flummerfelt, Clayton Krehbiel, and André Thomas. Kevin Fenton has carried on traditions established by these outstanding conductors since 2000.

The Director KEVIN FENTON is professor of choral conducting and ensembles at Florida State University, where he conducts the FSU University Singers and Collegians (TB ensemble). He has conducted the Virginia Tech Meistersingers (1998), the University Singers (2002, 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2013), and the Festival Singers of Florida (2012 and 2018) in performances at regional and national conventions of ACDA and NAfME. Dr. Fenton has conducted choirs in 39 states, including thirty AllState choirs. Additionally, he has conducted the ACDA Southern Division High School Honor Choir (2008), the Dublin Ireland International Choral Festival (2016), the Xi’an China International Choral Festival (2017), and the Samarang Music Society AVoice4Peace concert in Indonesia (2017).

Dr. Fenton teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in choral literature and choral conducting. His textbook Foundations of Choral Conducting has been adopted throughout the country. He is a recipient of the Florida State University Teaching Award for Excellence, the Wayne Hugoboom Distinguished Florida Service Award, and the Gamma Mu Chapter of Delta Omicron Music Professor of the Year award. He taught at the Kenya Conservatoire of Music as a Fulbright Specialist to Sub-Saharan Africa, and he is in his sixteenth year as Artistic Director of the Festival Singers of Florida – a choir of music educators and performers based in Orlando dedicated to “inspiring and engaging through impassioned singing.”

A champion of new music, Dr. Fenton has conducted over forty premiere performances including Skip Stradtman’s Psalm 91 (2022); Andrea Clearfields’s Transformed by Fire: Choral Suite (2022); Kyle Pederson’s A Vision Unfolds (2022); Elaine Hagenberg’s Illuminare (2021); Hans Heruth’s When You are Old (2023); and Rob Redei’s …and the stars (2023).

University Singers Teaching Assistants Since 2000 2000-01 Carlos Vasquez-Ramos, Music and Worship Director, Nativity Catholic Church, Brandon, FL 2001-02 Shannon Marsh Chase, Director, Vox Nova Chamber Choir, Brunswick, ME 2002-03 Debi Chandler, Director of Choral Activities, University of Louisiana, Monroe, LA 2003-04 Christopher Aspaas, Director of Choral Activities, Texas Christian, Fort Worth, TX 2004-05 Josh Bronfman, Director of Choral Activities, Sam Houston State, Huntsville, TX 2005-06 Peter Durrow, DCA, Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, MO Mihoko Tsutumi, Director of Choral Activities, SUNY Oswego, Oswego, NY 2006-07 Michael Murphy, Director of Choral Activities, Stephen F. Austin University, Nacogdoches, TX Craig Zamer, Director of Choral Activities, Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, TN 2007-08 Sandra Babb, Choral Music Education, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR Rollo Fisher, Director of Choral Music, Monroe Community College, Rochester, NY 2008-09 Roger Hale, Director of Choral Activities, Utah Tech University, St. George, UT Jo-Anne van der Vat-Chromy, DCA, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA 2009-10 Angel Vasquez-Ramos, Director of Choral Studies, California State University, Bakersfield, CA Alan Zabriskie, Director of Choral Activities, Texas Tech, Lubbock, TX 2010-11

Stefanie Cash, Director of Music Education, Berry College, Rome, GA Troy Roberston, Director of Choral Activities, Tarleton State University, Stephenville, TX

2011-12

Michael Hanawalt, Director of Graduate Choral Activities, FSU, Tallahassee, FL Felicia Barber, Professor of Choral Conducting, Yale University, New Haven. Connecticut

2012-13 James Brown, Director of Choirs, East Millbrook Middle Magnet Academy of Arts, Raleigh, NC Amy Kotsonis, Director of Choral Activities, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 2013-14 Ryan Luhrs, Director of Choral Programs, Lenoir-Rhyne, Hickory, NC Erynn Millard, Director of Choral Activities, Florida International University, University Park 2014-15 Steven Hankle Choral Music Education, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH Adam Potter, Director of Choral Activities, Roberts Wesleyan College, Rochester, NY 2015-16 Sandy Hinkley, Coordinator of Music Education, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX Christopher Harris, Director of Choirs, Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, AR 2016-17

Adam Zrust, Director of Choral Activities, Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, MO

2017-18

Marques Garrett, Assistant Professor of Music in Choral Activities, U of North Texas, Denton, TX Jeremy Wiggins, Director of Choral Activities, Western Connecticut State University, Danbury, CT

2018-19 Riter St. Luc, Assistant Professor of Music Education, Oakwood University, Huntsville, AL Christopher Phalen, Director of Choral Activities, Buena Vista University, Storm Lake, IA 2019-20 Austin Thorpe, Visiting Director of Choral Activities, Shenandoah Conservatory, Winchester, VA Lauren Ramey, Director of Music Education/Associate Director of Choral Activities, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 2020-21 Morgan Luttig, Director of Choral Activities, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL Dante Webb, Director of Choral Music Education, Wingate College, Wingate, NC 2021-22 Brett Epperson, Director of Choral Activities, Hastings College, Hastings, NE Nicole Davis, Associate Director of Choral Activities, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 2022-23 Katie Kenkel, Director of Choirs, Monument Academy, Cologrado Springs, CO Ethan Murphy, PhD Choral Music Education Candidate, Tallahassee, FL

Our Faculty CHORAL MUSIC FACULTY Suzanne Byrnes Director, Capital Children’s Choir Kevin Fenton Professor of Conducting and Ensembles, Director of University Singers and Collegians (TB Choir) Michael Hanawalt Director of Graduate Choral Activities and Director of Chamber Choir and Tallahassee Community Chorus

OPERA FACULTY Bernard McDonald Associate Professor, Director of Opera Activities Matthew Lata Professor, Stage Director of Opera

VOICE FACULTY Marcía Porter Professor of Voice, Coordinator of Voice and Opera Wanda Brister-Rachwal Professor of Voice Alisa Hauser Program Director of Music Theatre Evan T. Jones Assistant Professor of Voice David Okerlund Associate Professor of Voice Eric Reiger Assistant Professor of Voice Natalie Sherer Assistant Professor of Vocal Coaching and Collaborative Artist Sudarat Songsiridej Music Specialist, Music Theatre Jeffrey Springer Assistant Professor of Voice Marcy Stonikas Associate Professor of Voice Sahoko Sato Timpone Associate Professor of Voice Valerie M. Trujillo Professor of Vocal Coaching and Accompanying

CHORAL CONDUCTING

Choral Conducting at FSU FSU offers conducting students individualized instruction and ample podium time in the context of a large, diverse graduate conducting cohort.

Conducting students encounter a wide variety of experiences, working with large ensembles, as well as both auditioned and non-auditioned collegiate ensembles. Graduate conductors serve as an integral part of the FSU choral area and are immersed in all aspects of running these collegiate programs, giving them a comprehensive experience.

STRONG COMMUNITY

The conducting program places a strong emphasis on collegiality, enabling students to form strong professional relationships that will enrich their future careers. Conducting students work together and with students from across the College of Music, building a plurality of lasting relationships.

In addition to the conducting faculty, students also learn from internationally-recognized faculty in the areas of music education, applied voice, music theory, and musicology. Students are actively encouraged to learn and grow from observation of and dialogue with each other.

A TAILORED FIT

Graduate conducting students earn degrees with ample customization, allowing for experiences important to the development of each unique individual. Degree programs allow students to focus on a future in teaching or as professional conductor in a myriad of settings.

DEGREES OFFERED: Master of Music Education (Summers only)

Conducting Faculty

Master of Music in Choral Conducting PhD in Music Education, Choral Conducting Emphasis

DR. MICHAEL HANAWALT Director of Graduate Choral Studies mhanawalt@fsu.edu

DR. KEVIN FENTON

Director of Undergraduate Choral Studies kfenton@fsu.edu

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