Christmas Concert

Concerts @ First presents

Christmas Concert Featuring FPC ‘s Choir and Orchestra and Organist Victoria Shorokhova

Christmas Concert December 12th, 2021 10:00 A.M Prelude and fugue in G major BWV 550

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Victoria Shorokhova, Organ

Now Come, the Gentiles Savior BWV 659 Chorale

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Victoria Shorokhova, Organ

Magnificat in C TWV 9:17

Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)

1. Sonata 2. Coro: Magnificat anima mea 3. Aria (Alto): Quia repexit 4. Coro: Quia fecit mihi magna 5. Aria (Soprano): Et misericordia 6a. Duetto Basso: Fecit potentiam 6b. Coro: Dispersit superbos 7a. Aria (Tenor): Esurientes implevit bonis 7b. Alto: Suscepit Israel 8. Coro: Sicut locutus est 9. Duetto Soprano, Bass: Gloria Patri 10. Coro: Sicut erat in principio FPC‘s Choir and Orchestra; Erin Barksdale, Soprano; Madison Tiegreen, Soprano; Ana Baida, Alto; Heather Witt, Alto; Brendan Callahan-Fitzgerald, Tenor; Rontray Miller, Baritone; Wade Thomas, Bass; Daniel Bara, Conductor

Translations

2. Magnificat anima mea Dominum, Et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo.

2. My soul doth magnify the Lord, In exultation, my spirit rejoiceth, now in God my Savior,

4. Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est, Et sanctum nomen ejus.

4. Wondrous things to me hath given, Almighty One. And blessed be His holy name.

6b. Dispersit superbos mente cordis sui.

Deposuit, potentes de sede, Et exaltavit, humiles,

6b. He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He hath put down the mighty from their seat: and hath exalted the humble and meek.

8. Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros, Abraham et semini ejus in sae cula.

8. As he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed forever.

10. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever 10.Sicut erat, in principio, et nunc, et semper, et shall be: world without end. Amen. in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

About the Artists Daniel Bara is the Co-Director of the Chancel Choir and Orchestra at First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, and also serves as the John D. Boyd UGA Foundation Professor of Choral Music and the Director of Choral Activities and Professor of Music at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music at the University of Georgia where he oversees seven university choral ensembles as well as the graduate choral conducting program. His university choirs have performed by juried invitation for state, regional, and national conventions of ACDA, MENC, and IMC. The UGA Hodgson Singers under Bara’s direction won the Grand Prix at the International Choral Competition Ave Verum in Baden, Austria in 2014 and has performed at Southern Division ACDA Conventions in 2014 and 2018.

Their 2017 Gothic Records professional recording, Grace Immaculate, is distributed internationally

by Naxos. Recent professional collaborations between Bara and the UGA Hodgson Singers include performances with Kathleen Battle, The Knights Chamber Orchestra, internationally acclaimed vocal sextet The King’s Singers with whom they premiered a jointly commissioned piece by Nico Muhly in 2018, the acclaimed British professional choir, Tenebrae, and the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra.

Dr. Bara is in regular demand as a guest conductor and clinician, having conducted all-state and honor choirs in 20 states and Carnegie Hall, and has served as clinician for conferences sponsored

by NAfME, ACDA, Chorister’s Guild, AGO, and other school and church musical organizations. He is a past-president of NC-ACDA, has held the Artistic Directorship of the New York State Summer School of the Arts – School of Choral Studies (2007-2009), and has served as conductor of the World Youth Honor Choir at Interlochen Arts Camp (2004-2006).

About the Artists Prior to his appointment at UGA, Dr. Bara was the Director of Choral Activities at East Carolina University, where he received the UNC Board of Governors Distinguished Professor for Teaching Award and the Robert L. Jones Award for Outstanding Teaching, and released two internationally distributed choral recordings, Greater Love (2007) and Eternal Light (2010) with Gothic Records. In 2001 he won the Walter Hagen Conducting Prize given at the Eastman School of Music, and the ACDA National Student Conducting Competition (Graduate Division) awarded at the National Convention in San Antonio, TX. Dr. Bara holds the DMA degree in conducting from the Eastman School of Music, organ and conducting degrees from the University of Michigan, and is a graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy. At UGA, Dr. Bara conducts the UGA Hodgson Singers, and oversees the graduate conducting student recital choir, The Repertory Singers.

Originally from Savannah, GA, Erin Barksdale is the Director of Choral Activities at Northgate High School in Newnan, GA and soprano 2 in the Choral Octet here at First Pres. Prior to her position at FPCA, Erin served as the Assistant Music Director at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Fayetteville, GA from 2015-2020. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Georgia State University with a Bachelor of Music degree in Choral Music Education.

Ana Baida resides in Atlanta, Georgia, where she serves as the Executive Director of Transition Support and Career Development at Kennesaw State University. When not fulfilling her fulltime responsibilities at Kennesaw State, she is delighted to sing with Conspirare and the Kinnara Ensemble. She is also a staff singer at the First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta and sings intermittently with various other groups.

Ana holds a Bachelors from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, a Masters from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, and a Doctorate from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.

Brendan Callahan-Fitzgerald is an Atlanta-based musician and teacher. In 2013 he spent the summer participating as an apprentice artist for the Des Moines Metro Opera. In 2013 he won the Georgia District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and received the Encouragement Award at the Regional level. He has performed the roles of Rodolfo in La boheme, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Don Jose in Carmen, The Duke in Rigoletto, Le Chevelier de la Force, in the Dialogues of the Carmelites, King Kaspar in Amahl in the Night Visitors, and Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, the title role in Werther, and Giles Corey in The Crucible, and Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Alfredo in La Traviata. He has also performed as an oratorio soloist in countless performances throughout the Atlanta area and beyond. Brendan holds a position as a staff musician at First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, and maintains a voice and piano studio in Atlanta.

Taylor Hoyt took singing lessons in high school and joined choir during undergraduate at Trinity University. Since then, he served as a chorister at First Presbyterian Church in San Antonio & First Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. He has also volunteered for several musical excursions including Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir 2.0 and weeklong choral residencies at Ripon Cathedral & Washington National Cathedral.

About the Artists With a BA in Vocal Performance, Rontray Miller II’s musical experience began while singing in church choirs led by his parents in San Diego, California. Currently, his resume consists of performing in productions of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” as Masetto (2016), Bernstein’s “Candide” as Maximilian (2018), Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi” as Marco (2019), and being a featured soloist on Georgia State University Singers’ Album “Heavenly Display” (2020). He was also a featured soloist in their participation in the Marktoberdorf Competition Choir (2017). Rontray is now pursuing his Master's degree in Choral Conducting at Georgia State University under the direction of Dr. Deanna Joseph.

Victoria Shorokhova graduated from the Saint Petersburg Conservatory (Russia) in piano in 2016 (Prof. Vladimir Shakin) and in organ in 2017 (Prof. Daniel Zaretsky). She earned a Master’s degree at Saint Petersburg State University in 2019, majoring in “Historical Performance on Keyboard Instruments” (organ, harpsichord and carillon).

Since January 2020, Victoria is pursuing a Master’s degree in Organ Performance at Georgia State University (Dr. Jens Korndorfer), and serves as music intern at First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta.

Victoria is a laureate of numerous international organ competitions, including the XXVI International Competition of Sacred Music in Rumia, Poland, in 2014 (2nd prize), and the International Braudo Organ Competition in Saint-Petersburg, in 2019 (Diploma and special prize).

Victoria participated in organ academies (Alkmaar, Netherlands, 2013, Graz, Austria, 2014, Kotka, Finland, 2015) and master-classes (L.Lohmann, A.Gast (Germany), G.Rost, J.Trummer (Austria), I.Quinn (USA), L.Ghielmi (Italy), H.Fagius (Sweeden).

Madison Tiegreen is currently pursuing a degree in Choral Music Education at Georgia State University. She serves as a called staff singer at many churches around the Metro Atlanta area, including First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta. Her choral singing continues in school with the Georgia State University Singers under the direction of Dr. Deanna Joseph, as well as the Georgia State Women’s Choir, Master Singers, and Chamber Ensemble. In her job with the School of Music at GSU, she assists in administrative work and serves on the Audition Committee planning for prospective School of Music students. Madison also currently serves as President of GSU’s American Choral Director’s Association Student Chapter.

Wade Thomas, a native of Calhoun, GA, has performed with both regional and international opera companies throughout his career. Wade’s vibrant vocal quality and compelling stage presence have garnered acclaim in performances including Marcello in La boheme, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, Germont in La Traviata. Wade has performed with Capitol City Opera, Atlanta Opera, St. Petersburg Opera, and Santa Fe Opera. Mr. Thomas’ concert and oratorio work include Carmina Burana, Mozart and Faure Requiem, and Five Mystical Songs

by Vaughn-Williams. Wade is a graduate of Samford University and The Ohio State University.

Heather Witt is known for her portrayal of a wide array of opera’s most notable mezzosoprano characters. She most recently performed the title role in Bizet’s Carmen and performed and recorded Flame Language by Laurence Sherr. In 2016 she performed in the debut of a fully staged production of Hans Eisler's Hollywood Songbook (Songfest). The L.A. Times called her performance “uniformly impressive." She is also an esteemed oratorio and concert soloist. Bachelor's of Music in Vocal Performance from Millikin University. Masters in Music in Vocal Performance from Georgia State University. She is currently an Artist in Residence at Kennesaw State University

Thanks to our generous donors for making this concert possible!

Concerts @ First 2021-2022 Donors Maestro

Patron

Orchestrator

Dave and Anne Drake in honor of Herb and Mary Archer

Mr. and Mrs. Baxter Jones in memory of Margaret and Bates Block

Elizabeth Fogartie

Ann and Eberhard Voit

Margaret Talmadge Howell

Underwriter

Benefactor

Cheryl Hughes in memory of Carlton Hughes

Mrs. Kenneth Taratus

Anne Pritchett

Clay and Eileen Scofield Gail and David Watson in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Brooks S. Lide, Friend Jr.; Mr. William R. Minnich, Jr. Joseph Bishop, M.D. and Stuart Noel, Angel Ph.D. Anonymous

Betsy and Lane Feltus

Anonymous in memory of Ellis Callaway Hooper

Lee and Mary Candace Passarella

Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Candler ,Jr. Lynne and Ralph Jenkins Charlotte and Tom Shields Martha Stringer in memory of Jack Stringer To help support performances like this one, please contribute to the Concerts @ First fund via: firstpresatl.org/GIVE

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