Chicago a capella-Red Carpet of Sound

The Red Carpet of Sound

Musical Pairings, a capella and with Piano Friday, Feb. 4, 2011, 8:00 pm Wentz Concert Hall 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville

Saturday, Feb. 12, 2011, 8:00 pm Nichols Concert Hall 1490 Chicago Ave., Evanston

Saturday, Feb. 5, 2011, 8:00 pm* Anne & Howard Gottlieb Hall at Merit School of Music 38 S. Peoria St., Chicago

Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011, 4:00 pm Pilgrim Congregational Church 460 Lake Street, Oak Park

*This performance is dedicated to the 60th Anniversary of 98.7 WFMT, with hearty congratulations and gratitude!

Chicago a cappella Kathryn Kamp, Soprano Cari Plachy, Soprano Elizabeth Grizzell, Mezzo-soprano Susan Schober, Mezzo-soprano Cary Lovett, Tenor Trevor Mitchell, Tenor Matt Greenberg, Bass Benjamin Rivera, Bass Brian Streem, Bass Founder and Artistic Director Jonathan Miller Music Director and Pianist Patrick Sinozich

Gold Sponsor:

Media sponsor:

Chicago a cappella is supported by the Klaff Family Foundation; Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; the MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation; the Arts Work Fund for Organizational Development; Dr. Scholl Foundation; a CityArts Program 2 grant from the City of Chicago Dept. of Cultural Affairs and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; the Oak Park Area Arts Council, in partnership with the Villages of Oak Park, Forest Park and River Forest; and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. The Naperville Sun is a media sponsor of Chicago a cappella’s series at Wentz Hall in Naperville.

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A B O U T C H I C AG O A C A PPEL L A Chicago a cappella is a vocal ensemble dedicated to performing fun and innovative concert programs at the highest possible musical standards.

Through its Chicago-area performances, touring engagements and recordings, the group enlightens and entertains audiences with repertoire from the ninth to the twenty-first century with a special focus on music written in the present generation. Now recognized as one of the area’s most accomplished ensembles, Chicago a cappella is known for its performances of early music, vocal jazz, and spirituals.

Founded in 1993 by Jonathan Miller, Chicago a cappella has released seven CDs, including its newest release, Christmas a cappella, on Cedille Records.

The group has introduced more than sixty works to Chicago audiences, including newly commissioned works

by Chen Yi, Tania León, Ezequiel Viñao, Stacy Garrop, and Rollo Dilworth.

In 2007, Jonathan Miller appointed Patrick Sinozich as the group’s first

Music Director. In 2008, Miller was honored with the prestigious Louis Botto Award from Chorus America in recognition of this innovative action and entrepreneurial zeal in developing a professional choral ensemble.

Chicago a cappella has presented over 150 concerts in the Chicago area in addition to guest appearances in 11 states and in Mexico. John von Rhein of the Chicago Tribune recently hailed Chicago a cappella’s “fine-tuned ensemble and secure blend” and American Organist praised the group’s “breathtaking ensemble and control [and] stylistic elegance... Chicago a cappella is a jewel in the crown of Chicago’s musical life.” The ensemble has been featured on national radio broadcasts and performed live concerts on Chicago’s WFMT Radio. Chicago a cappella has completed educational residencies in the Chicago Public Schools and is a proud business partner of Naperville North High School.

Find us on Facebook for photos, audio clips and more: www.facebook.com/chicagoacappella Read blogs and join the conversation at www.chicagoclassicalmusic.org

2936 N. Southport Ave., 2nd Floor, Chicago, IL 60657 Office: (773) 281-7820 | Fax: (773) 435-6453 Tickets: (773) 755-1628 www.chicagoacappella.org | info@chicagoacappella.org Founder and Artistic Director.................................................................................. Jonathan Miller Executive Director...............................................................................................Matthew Greenberg Music Director...............................................................................................................Patrick Sinozich Operations Coordinator..................................................................................................... Deb Hoban Education Outreach Coordinator.............................................................................Susan Schober Production/Operations Intern..................................................................................Shaina Farwell Marketing Intern.........................................................................................................Kennyetta Dillon Board of Directors Michelle Eppley William K. Flowers Helen C. Gagel (President) Joyce Grenis Howard Hush Leslie Lauderdale 2 Chicago a capella

Robert B. Linn (Treasurer) Linda Mast (VicePresident) Diana Ramirez (Secretary) Stephen Shaw Maria T. Suarez

Committee Members Carole Baumgart (Marketing) William Thomas Huyck (Finance/Legal) David Perlman (Marketing) Lisa Scott (Financial Development)

C H I C AG O A C A PPEL L A C D S Available in the lobby: $16 each (includes sales tax) Christmas a cappella: Songs From Around the World Our latest release on Cedille Records is a sparkling selection of seasonal songs including lively African works, delightful treatments of traditional French and FrenchCanadian carols, a unique Danish take on the Christmas story, distinctive works by leading American composers Stephen Paulus and Gwyneth Walker, two pieces based on Hebrew texts, and James Clemens’s brilliant, jazzinflected Jingle a cappella. The disc has received the coveted “10/10” rating from ClassicsToday.com.

Shall I Compare Thee?

Contemporary settings of Shakespeare’s timeless words

Eclectric New works, familiar favorites, pop & jazz.

“An overflowing cornucopia of choral delights” (ChicagoTribune)

Holidays a cappella Live Live performances of Christmas spirituals, Chanukah songs and holiday music from around the world

Go Down, Moses A stunning collection of spirituals

Mathurin Forestier: Masses World-premiere recording of breathtaking Renaissance church music

Palestrina: Music for the Christmas Season Brilliant Renaissance polyphony by the Italian master Palestrina

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L O C AT I O N I N F O R M AT I O N Smoking is prohibited in all venues. Food and beverage are not permitted in the audience seating area. No photography or recording of any kind is permitted.

Wentz Concert Hall 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville Restrooms and drinking fountain: in the main lobby.

Anne & Howard Gottlieb Hall Merit School of Music 38 S. Peoria St., Chicago Restrooms and drinking fountain: Near main lobby entrance on first floor.

Nichols Concert Hall Music Institute of Chicago 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston Restrooms and drinking fountain: On lower level; take stairs or elevator from lobby.

Pilgrim Congregational Church 460 Lake Street, Oak Park Restrooms: Off the lobby, in the southeast corner of the building.

Accessible restroom in south hallway near the chapel. Additional restrooms on the lower level.

R E S TAU R A N T S U G G E S T I O N S Show your ticket stub or program book to receive discounts at these area restaurants.

Naperville Catch 35 35 S. Washington St. Hours: Fri. & Sat. 5-10 PM, Sun. 4:30-8:30 PM 10% off food

Evanston Lulu’s Dim Sum & Then Sum 804 Davis St. (two blocks from Nichols Hall) Hours: 11:30 am – 10:00 pm 20% off

Quigley’s Irish Pub 43 East Jefferson Ave. Hours: Fridays until 2 AM Sundays until 1 AM 10% off food

Prairie Moon 1502 Sherman Ave. (one block west of Nichols Hall) Hours: Fri. & Sat. 4-11 pm Sunday 4-10 15% off

Tango Argentinean Grill 5 W. Jackson Ave. Hours: Fri. & Sat. until 1 AM, Sun. dinner 2:30-10 PM Free appetizer with purchase of two entrees Chicago Jaks Tap Bar & Grill 901 W. Jackson Blvd.

Friday 11 AM - 2 AM / Sat. 4 PM - 2 AM / Sun. 4-11 PM 15% off all pizzas Lloyd’s Chicago 1 S. Wacker Dr. Dinner 5:00-8:30 pm 10% off food Venus Greek Cypriot Cuisine 820 W. Jackson Hours: Fri. and Sat. 4:00 PM - 12:00 AM 15% off food + Complimentary Parking 4 Chicago a capella

Oak Park Café Winberie 151 N. Oak Park Ave. Hours: Sunday 1 pm - 10 pm 10% off Cucina Paradiso 814 North Blvd.

Hours: Sunday 5:00 - 9:30 pm 1/2 off wine bottles with purchase of two entrees (Reservations: mention Chicago a cappella) Hemmingway’s Bistro 211 N. Oak Park Ave. (in The Write Inn, 2 blocks north of Lake St.) Hours: Sunday until 9:00 pm 10% off food

PROGR A M Bound for Mt. Zion!

a cappella African-American religious song, arr. Robert L. Morris (b. 1941)

Hallelujah! I’m goin’ to praise His name!

with piano

*******

Alleluia

a cappella

Last Words of David

with piano

Gospel song, arr. Robert L. Morris

Randall Thompson (1899-1984) Randall Thompson

*******

To Be Sung of A Summer Night on the Water (2 sections)

a cappella

Two Songs for Children

with piano

Frederick Delius (1862-1934) Frederick Delius

*******

Gott ist mein Hirt (Psalm 23) a cappella Franz Schubert (1797-1828) Zum Rundetanz (Op. 17, No. 3)

with piano

Franz Schubert

*******

T’filat N’ilah L’Yom Kippur a cappella Reader’s Kaddish from the N’eilah (concluding) service for Yom Kippur Vayachalom (Jacob’s Dream)

trad. Hebrew liturgy arr. Max Janowski (1912-1991)

with piano

Max Janowski

*******

White Horses

with piano

Gwyneth Walker (b. 1947)

This Train

a cappella

spiritual, arr. Gwyneth Walker

INTERMISSION B’kori aneyni (Psalm 4)

a cappella

Jonathan Miller (b. 1962)

the preacher: ruminates behind with piano the sermon (from Gwendolyn Brooks Suite)

******* Les chansons des roses 1. En une seule fleur a cappella 2. Contre qui,rose a cappella 3. De ton rêve trop plein a cappella 4. La rose complête a cappella 5. Dirait-on with piano

Jonathan Miller

Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943)

* * * * * * *

Make Our Garden Grow (from Candide)

with piano

Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)

Latecomers will be seated at the discretion of the ushers. Unauthorized photography or sound recording of any kind are strictly prohibited. Thank you for your cooperation.

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UPCOMING EVENTS CHICAGO, CHICAGO

Join us for a musical trip through our city’s past, from pioneer days to the Great Fire, the World’s Fair, skyscrapers, Carl Sandburg, sports, politics, and more!

Chicago Friday, April 1, 8:00 pm Gottlieb Hall at Merit School of Music

Naperville Sunday, April 3, 7:30 pm Wentz Concert Hall

Evanston Saturday, April 2, 8:00 pm Nichols Concert Hall

Oak Park Sunday, April 10, 4:00 pm Pilgrim Congregational Church

SIMPLY SINATRA A One-Night-Only Gala Benefit Event Join us for a spectacular evening featuring the music of the legendary Frank Sinatra. You’ll enjoy hors d’oeuvres, wine, dessert, and a few surprises, all under the stunning Tiffany Dome of the Chicago Cultural Center. Let Chicago a cappella fly you to the moon with the music of Ol’ Blue Eyes, and show your support for the artistry of Chicago a cappella. We promise a fun and elegant night you’ll never forget.

Tribute Award Honoree: Dr. Robert Harris Friend of the Year: Terri Hemmert Thursday, May 12, 2011, 7:00 pm Chicago Cultural Center A limited number of reserved host tables are available, as well as general admission reservations.

TICKETS AND INFORMATION (773) 755-1628 or www.chicagoacappella.org

INTRODUCTION If this is your first Chicago a cappella concert, we wish you a hearty welcome. If you’ve joined us before, you already know that we are in the business of putting together gloriously sung, really cool, unusual programs that are created to stimulate you to think as well as feel. This program is no exception.

We have made it our business for 18 years to bring you the niftiest stuff imaginable for voices singing without instruments. You will still get a great deal of that tonight, along with something else. For the first time in our 18 years of existence, we are adding the wonderful element of a piano to our program, so that you can hear two sides of nine different composers—their a cappella side and their accompanied side. We have affectionately called this process “pairings,” sort of like what people like to do with wine and food.

A big reason for doing this concert is the fortunate presence on our staff of Patrick Sinozich, now in his fourth year as our music director. (See his bio on page 25.)

Patrick is a wonderfully gifted pianist, conductor, composer, arranger, vocal coach, and producer, who has been involved with Chicago a cappella since he accompanied our very first auditions. I still remember him playing the spiritual “Didn’t my Lord deliver Daniel” for Matt Greenberg in 1993. He hears our a cappella singing from a pianist’s perspective, and his experience beautifully complements the other strengths of our musical team.

For this program, we have had the joy of exploring repertoire that much of the wider choral world has been singing as a matter of course but which, by choice, we have kept out of our repertoire. The more we realized how promising the “pairings” idea was, the more fun it became. Patrick suggested “Make Our Garden Grow” from Candide. Ben Rivera suggested the Schubert Psalm 23 for women’s voices. At some point I remembered that my very first paid commission as a composer was to write a suite of three songs to the tremendously musical poetry of the late Gwendolyn Brooks, songs which just happened to have piano.

While accompanied repertoire obviously has not been my specialty with Chicago a cappella, many terrific accompanied works have made their impression in my other roles as a singer and conductor. These roles include church jobs, demo sessions, choral clinics, and so on, not to mention my formative decade in the Chicago Children’s Choir, where I first fell in love with Randall Thompson’s Last Words of David. Therefore, I found myself in an unusual position during the programming process for this concert: from time to time, I would have a thought something like, “Oh, we could finally do that piece! Yippee!” * * * * * * I usually find that my program research for CAC confirms a few hunches and turns at least one major assumption on its ear. I had enough graduate-school training in music history to expect that “common-practice” repertoire (basically, music from Bach through Mahler, or roughly 1725 to 1900) was the place to start for finding our “pairings.” I assumed in particular that we’d be drowning in scores for Chor mit Klavier as soon as we opened the great catalogues of Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, and so on.

But it was not to be. Despite these composers being titans of lieder for piano and solo voice, the choir-plus-piano combination didn’t figure much in their output.

As it turned out, mostly they were writing for slightly different combinations: choruses were usually combined with soloists and orchestra, or left to their a cappella selves. This was a letdown, since those were the very composers I had first targeted in my early program planning.

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P R O G R A M ( c o n t .)

“Whence the happy pairings, then?”, you may ask, in lofty 19th-century turn of phrase. “From our own time” is the answer. It has been left to more recent decades to bring the choir, accompanied by keyboard, into its own as a fully-flowered subgenre of choral music. With the exception of the Schubert pieces, everything that you’ll hear today comes from the 20th or 21st century. Composers and publishers are now offering thousands of such new works every year, perhaps fueled by the ready combination of choir and piano in every high school in America, not to mention middle-school, college, children’s, and community adult choruses. In fact, probably 80 percent of new choral works are for choral forces with piano; of the remaining 20 percent, at least half are a cappella.

There has also been a sort of natural swinging of the pendulum as a result of this program’s reach. If you think of a cappella music as occupying one side of the pendulum swing of repertoire, this concert has brought us a little closer to the center. It has been a little strange for us, for example, to have been early champions of Morten Lauridsen’s cycle Les chansons des roses—we gave them one of the earliest performances in the area—without ever having sung the final movement, which is the most iconic of them all! Now, finally, we get to sing the whole cycle in all its glory.

Thank you for being here and for bringing your friends. We always appreciate your comments, so please don’t hesitate to write your impressions on the audience survey, or drop me an e-mail (jmiller@chicagoacappella.org) or a comment on our Facebook page if you feel like it. Enjoy the show.

—Jonathan Miller

Proud sponsor of Chicago a cappella Please visit one of our 17 Illinois locations to meet all of your natural and organic shopping needs. www.wholefoodsmarket.com

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PROGR A M NOTES Robert L. Morris Robert L. Morris is one of the finest arrangers of spirituals and early gospel music active today. A resident of the Twin Cities, he most recently served as director of choral activities at Macalester College, where he is now professor emeritus. He spent much of his early career in Chicago, where he absorbed a wide variety of musical styles, and he was an arranger for Duke Ellington.

His publisher accurately notes: “Without sacrificing sincerity of intent, Morris updates spirituals in a way that subtly reflects the inevitable changes and diverse genre infusions that only living in northern urban areas could cause.” Morris has a keen ear for the small differences between forms of the spiritual, gospel music, and their respective characteristics (including the form called a “characteristic”!).

An awareness of these differences is crucial for approaching a performing interpretation with the appropriate style and sensibility. a cappella: Bound for Mt. Zion!

This song may be a spiritual or a gospel song; as Morris notes, “it has characteristics of both.” In his usual wonderful manner born of deep experience, he notes that there is “a body of songs that were congregational songs or other ‘church house’ songs which seems to be squarely on the line between the spiritual and the early gospel hymn/song. . . . The style of this setting is strongly influenced by jubilee and early gospel male quartet singing. The ‘ol’-fashioned’ sound belies the mild dissonances and slightly intricate, engaging rhythms.” accompanied: Hallelujah! I’m goin’ to praise His name!

This jubilant song has a distinct gospel feel, partly because of the written-out piano part, and partly because the lyrics are more in keeping with the sentiments of the urban church following the Great Migration: “every day he walks by my side” and “I know I’m in his care.” Morris brings consistent energy to the arrangement. He also leaves possible repeats of several sections up to the discretion of the director. Thus one performance of this piece may be quite different from another, though hopefully in all cases the requisite joy is there.

For the record: Two arrangements by Robert L. Morris appear on Chicago a cappella’s CD Holidays a cappella Live: “Glory to the Newborn King” and “Children, Go Where I Send Thee.” * * * * * * Randall Thompson Ira Randall Thompson was born in New York City. The son of an English teacher, Randall never strayed far from the academic environment. His early musical pursuits began at an old reed organ on the family summer farm in Vienna, Maine. His first attempts at composition began around 1915 with a piano sonata and a Christmas partsong. In 1916 he entered Harvard University; he auditioned for the chorus but was turned down by its conductor, Archibald T. Davison, who eventually became his mentor. Thompson later mused, “My life has been an attempt to strike back.”

In 1922 Thompson began studies at the American Academy in Rome where, inspired by the master composers of the Renaissance, he developed the musical Chicago a capella 9

P R O G R A M N O T E S ( c o n t .) style which led him to the forefront of American choral composers. Though he composed symphonies, songs, operas and instrumental works, he is best known for his choral compositions.

In addition to finely-wrought vocal lines grounded in the counterpoint he studied in Rome, Thompson also brought to his music a keen sensibility about poetic text. His care with choice and setting of words has doubtless contributed to his success. In setting lyrics from the Old Testament to Horace to Robert Frost, he espoused a vigorously ecumenical spirit. a cappella: Alleluia Thompson wrote this piece during the first five days of July 1940, at the request of Serge Koussevitsky, for the opening of the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood.

The renowned Harvard conductor, G. Wallace Woodworth, led the premiere on July 8th. Thompson surprised Koussevitsky, who had asked for a “fanfare”; Thompson was saddened by the war in Europe and especially by the fall of France. Rather than being jubilant, the introspective Alleluia is, in the composer’s own words, a very sad piece. The word “Alleluia” has so many possible interpretations. The music in my particular Alleluia cannot be made to sound joyous. It is a slow, sad piece, and ... here it is comparable to the Book of Job, where it is written,“The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

The work is Thompson’s best-loved and most popular composition. accompanied: The Last Words of David Upon hearing a concert of Thompson’s works conducted by the composer, a writer for the Harvard Crimson wrote in 1965: “What texts! Thompson chooses his texts with the care of a sculptor choosing his stone, a calligrapher his nib.” The Last Words of David, a choral work, was on that program, in its orchestral version.

The text does make its own impression, illuminated further by the remarkable skill of Thompson’s vocal lines.

The unusual text seems to have been set nowhere else in the choral world. It comes from the second book of Samuel (23:3-4), in which it is said that these are indeed the last words ever spoken by King David: He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain. * * * * * * Frederick Delius Born in England to German parents, Delius was the son of a wealthy wool merchant who made his fortune in Yorkshire. He showed an early aptitude for music but was steered into his father’s business; frustrated there, he made the rather unusual step of persuading his father to let him go to Florida in 1884 to grow oranges. The formative experience of Delius’s life happened there: in addition to studying music theory with a local organist, he heard the singing of the “Negro” plantation workers, which was an experience of sublime life-affirming energy that 10 Chicago a capella

P R O G R A M N O T E S ( c o n t .) he strove to capture in all his music thereafter. His early works from the 1890s included a few early songs and several instrumental and symphonic scores, all with eclectic influences ranging from Northern European music and mythology to his American immersion. In 1901 Delius hit his stride as a composer, writing effectively in a number of genres with a powerful and distinctive stamp that has stood the test of time. His music on today’s program comes from that fertile period, before illness curbed his activities. a cappella: To Be Sung Of A Summer Night on the Water These two short, meditative, impressionistic words for a cappella chorus are miniature tone-poems in the best Delius style. They are intense, compact, lyrical, and harmonically clear. The first one is an aethereal meditation that indeed evokes both summer and water. The second is more vigorous, almost a gentle sea-chantey. Both works were later to be rescored for a chamber ensemble of strings and recorded by Neville Mariner on an iconic recording, English Music for Strings. We sing them as an unbroken set. accompanied: Two Songs for Children These are the only choral pieces Delius ever composed with piano. In 1912, the influential American composer Horatio Parker contacted Delius with a proposed commission to write music to be published by Silver-Burdett in its Progressive Music Series. The series was an ambitious program aiming to teach basic music skills to children using tunes by important contemporary musicians. By the time he sat down with Delius in Grez-sur-Loing, France on January 21st, 1913, Parker had already been in contact with Debussy, Elgar, Stanford, Richard Strauss and others. The two resulting songs from Delius are on texts by Tennyson and May Morgan. Only the first, Little Birdie, was published in the collection, evidently because the second was more difficult than the publisher wanted; Oxford published both in 1924.

The scholar J. Bennett Tyre notes that the two poems set by Delius, while seemingly naïve, “present a memory of childhood to the grown-up, but their expression of a desire to preserve this childhood against the onslaught of the future resonates in a distinctly Delian manner. . . . developing irony, longing and bittersweet remembrance among adult listeners.” Tyre rightly notes that it is sometimes difficult for the listener to awake from the dreamlike state induced by these remarkable, short, rarely-heard works.

Little Birdie What does little birdie say In her nest at peep of day?

Let me fly, says little birdie, Mother, let me fly away!

Birdie, rest a little longer, Till the little wings are stronger!

So she rests a little longer, Then she flies away.

What does little baby say In her bed at peep of day?

Baby says, like little birdie, Let me rise and fly away!

Baby, sleep a little longer, Till the little limbs are stronger!

If she sleeps a little longer, Baby too shall fly away.

—Alfred, Lord Tennyson

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P R O G R A M N O T E S ( c o n t .)

The Streamlet’s Slumber-Song While beneath a cloudless sky Swallows over meadows fly, Bees are droning lazy tunes Through the sultry noons.

Drowsily I flow along, Murmuring my sleepy song, Slower, softer still it sighs, To a whisper dies.

While among the new-mown grass, Crickets cry, “Ah soon alas!

Bee and brook will sing no more, Summer will be o’er.”

Drowsily I flow along, Murmuring my sleepy song, Slower, softer still it sighs To a whisper dies.

—May Morgan * * * * * * Franz Schubert Quintessentially Romantic in his musical sensibilities and in his tragically short lifespan, Schubert wrote lieder, partsongs, symphonies, chamber music, and more. A product of Vienna, he had his first huge success at age 18, when his song “Erlkönig” made waves in the entire German-speaking world. His reputation spread rapidly through word of mouth, live concerts, and publishing; his rise to fame, using the best technology of the time, might be considered the 19th-century equivalent of a viral YouTube video. His solo songs are the cornerstone of his output, and his talent for vocal writing extends to his partsongs. accompanied: Psalm 23: Gott ist mein Hirt, D. 706 Some writers say that Psalm 23 rivals Schubert’s Ave Maria as a virtually perfect piece of religious music. Yet this work was written in December 1820 under circumstances that were not especially lofty, having been created as a test piece for the vocal pupils of Schubert’s friend Anna Frolich. It was originally composed for exactly the performing forces we employ here—one singer on each voice part, two sopranos and two altos, with piano. The German translation of the psalm was made by Moses Mendelssohn, the great German-Jewish philosopher whose son Abraham was the father of composer Felix Mendelssohn, so one may assume that Mendelssohn made a direct translation to German from Hebrew (or at least consulted the original Hebrew if he was translating from a Latin source). The German poetic lines are of uneven length, which means that he wasn’t trying to fit the words’ meaning into a metrical straitjacket; perhaps this is one of the reasons that Schubert’s music takes wing in the special way that it does. Listen for the contrasts in mood, especially for the change from more florid writing at the beginning to longer-held notes about halfway through at “Dein Stab und Deine Stütze” (“Thy rod and thy staff”), a form of word-painting which beautifully conveys a sense of solid stability amid the difficulties of life.

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P R O G R A M N O T E S ( c o n t .)

Gott ist mein Hirt, mir wird nichts mangeln. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Er lagert mich auf grüne Weide, He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: Er leitet mich an stillen Bächen, he leadeth me beside the still waters.

Er labt mein schmachtendes Gemüt, He restoreth my soul: Er führt mich auf gerechtem Stege he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness Zu seines Namens Ruhm. for his name’s sake.

Und wall’ ich auch im Todesschattens Tale, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, So wall’ ich ohne Furcht, I will fear no evil: Denn Du beschützest mich, for thou art with me; Dein Stab und Deine Stütze thy rod and thy staff Sind mir immerdar mein Trost. they comfort me.

Du richtest mir ein Freudenmahl Thou preparest a table before me Im Angesicht der Feinde zu, in the presence of mine enemies: Du salbst mein Haupt mit Öle thou anointest my head with oil; Und schenkst mir volle Becher ein; my cup runneth over.

Mir folget Heil und Seligkeit Surely goodness and mercy In diesem Leben nach, shall follow me all the days of my life: Einst ruh’ ich ew’ge Zeit and I will dwell in the Dort in des ew’gen Haus. house of the Lord for ever. a cappella: Zum Rundetanz (Op. 17, No .3) This strophic men’s partsong features unusual phrase lengths that give energy and lilt to the poetry. The poem stresses the ebb and flow of dancing couples to reflect the naturalistic images of clouds dispersing and night falling.

Auf! es dunkelt; silbern funkelt Dort der Mond ob Tannenhöh’n!

Auf! und tanzt in froher Runde; Diese Stunde Dämmert unbewölkt und schön!

Up! It’s getting dark; silvery twinkles the moon there above the fir-heights!

Up! and dance in a happy round; this hour it dawns as the clouds lift, and beautifully!

Hüpft geschwinde um die Linde, Die uns gelbe Blüten streut.

Laßt uns frohe Lieder singen, Ketten schlingen, Wo man traut die Hand sich beut.

Skip quickly around the linden tree That scatters yellow flowers for us.

Let us happy songs sing, Sling off chains; How dare one prey on the hands!.

Also schweben wir durch’s Leben Leicht wie Rosenblätter hin.

An den Jüngling, dunkelt’s bänger,

Thus we hover suspended through life, Light as rose-leaves.

To the youth—ever more anxious as it darkens— Let him pull to himself tightly His dear neighbor [dance partner].

—trans. Jonathan Miller

Schließt sich enger Seine traute Nachbarin.

—Johann Gaudenz von

Salis-Seewis (1762-1834)

* * * * * *

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P R O G R A M N O T E S ( c o n t .)

Max Janowski Born to a musical family in Berlin in 1912, Max Janowski had a mother who was an opera singer, a father who conducted choirs and coached cantors, an uncle who was a cantor, and singers all around him. He started playing piano at age four and won a piano competition at age twelve; he enrolled in the prestigious Schwarenka Conservatory and soon was appointed assistant organist at one of Berlin’s largest synagogues. Aware of anti-Semitic developments at home, he made it to Tokyo by winning a competition whose prize was the head piano-faculty position at the Mosashino Academy of Music. In 1937 he emigrated to New York and mostly wrote torch songs for a year, until he won yet another competition. This, the one that would set the course of the rest of his life, was a composing competition for K.A.M. Temple on Chicago’s South Side. As the winner, he was given the post of music director, which he held until his death in 1991. Max Janowski was probably the most prolific composer of classical liturgical music for Reform and Conservative synagogues in America, publishing more than 150 works himself and leaving dozens more in manuscript. From his home base at K.A.M. (later KAM Isaiah Israel after a successful merger), Janowski conducted concerts of Yiddish and Hebrew songs, directed no fewer than six high-holiday choirs (each rehearsed on a different day of the week in the summer), and transformed the landscape of synagogue music in the Midwest. He coached and directed young singers of exceptional talent, including Sherrill Milnes and Isola Jones. A man of liberal, ecumenical spirit, he also served as music director at All Souls Universalist in South Shore for more than three decades, where he arranged folk songs, pop songs, and spirituals for an enthusiastic mixed-race choir. a cappella: T’filat N’ilah L’Yom Kippur: Reader’s Kaddish from the Ne’ilah service for Yom Kippur Using the traditional nussach (cantorial chant) as his melodic basis, Janowski created this simple yet completely effective prayer for cantor and choir to begin the final service of Yom Kippur. This setting is found in the a cappella liturgy for the Conservative service, such as is currently in practice at Congregation Rodfei Zedek in Hyde Park. The chant tone is found nowhere else in the liturgical year and appears in a number of prayers during N’ilah. Rather than being the complete Kaddish said in mourning, this shorter “Reader’s Kaddish” prayer is instead used as a marker of sorts to indicate major divisions in the service.

Yitgadal v’yitkadash sh’mei rabah May His great name be exalted and sanctified Be’alma di vra khir’uteh in the world which He created according to His will! veyamlikh malkhuteh be’ayekhon uvyomekhon May He establish His kingdom during your lifetime and during your days Uv’khaye dekhol beit yisrael and during the lifetimes of all the House of Israel, ba’agala uvizman kariv ve’imru amen speedily and very soon! And say, Amen. yehe shmeh rabba mevarakh le’alam ul’alme almaya May His great name be blessed for ever, and to all eternity!

14 Chicago a capella

P R O G R A M N O T E S ( c o n t .)

Yitbarakh veyishtabbakh veyitpaar veyitromam Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, veyitnasei veyithadar veyitalleh veyithallal extolled and honoured, adored and lauded shmei d’kud’sha, brikh hu. be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, le’eila ul’eila min kol birkhata veshirata tushbekhata venekhemata above and beyond all the blessings, hymns, praises and consolations daamiran be’alma ve’imru amen that are uttered in the world! And say, Amen. accompanied: Vayachalom (Jacob’s Dream) This telling of the verse from Genesis about Jacob’s dream is one of Janowski’s most distinctive and beautiful works. Using musical language more like Debussy’s than like that of the traditional synagogue, Janowski wrote this setting in 1970 as a commission for Congregation Etz Chayim in the western suburbs of Chicago.

The soaring soprano solo conveys the sense of a ladder extended upward infinitely up to heaven, and the choir’s response in eighth notes moving up and down the scale provide word-painting of the angels ascending and descending on the ladder in a way that recalls the great Italian madrigalists. The piano part showcases the virtuosity that Janowski himself displayed regularly, with expression both tender and majestic.

In the first section of the Torah portion Vayetze (Genesis 28:10-14), the following takes place: And Jacob went out from B’eyr Shavah and went toward Charan.

And he lighted upon the place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep.

Song text begins here: Vayachalom v’-hiney sulam mutsav artsah And he dreamed; and behold, a ladder set upon the earth; V’rosho, magiah hashamaimah and the top of it reached to heaven, V’hiney malachei Elohim and behold, the angels of God Olim v’yordim bo. ascending and descending on it.

V’hiney Adonai nitsav alav, vayomer: And behold, the Lord stood beside him, and said: Ani Adonai Elohey Avraham avicha, I am the Lord, God of Abraham thy father, Chicago a capella 15

P R O G R A M N O T E S ( c o n t .)

Veylohey Yitzchak; And the God of Isaac.

Ha’aretz, asher atah shocheyv aleha The land whereon thou liest, L’cha etnenah ul’zarecha.

To thee will I give it, and to thy seed. * * * * * * Gwyneth Walker After her training as a composer and teaching at Oberlin Conservatory, Gwyneth Walker retired from academia and has been a full-time composer for almost thirty years. With a strong theatrical sense, she has been writing solo vocal, choral, and instrumental works that bring texts to life in unusual and striking ways. She employs unexpected and effective elements to create maximum emotional effect.

Chicago a cappella most recently performed music by Walker on the “Abundance” program (February 2009). accompanied: White Horses Based on a text by E. E. Cummings, Walker treats the tender poem as a sort of troubadour lyric. The piano part is an especially effective counterpart to the vocal lines, with a low bass line in the left hand and quicker notes in the right hand to fill in the soundspace created by the voices’ longer-held notes. after all white horses are in bed will you walking beside me, my very lady, touch lightly my eyes and send life out of me and the night absolutely into me -E. E. Cummings from Is 5, Poems by E. E. Cummings, ©1926 by Horace Liveright; Copyright renewed 1953 by E. E. Cummings; Used by permission of Liveright Publishing Corporation.

a cappella: This Train This work was composed for the 1998 All-OMEA (Oklahoma Music Educators’ Association) high-school chorus. Walker takes on with vigor the challenge of setting this spiritual in a way that brings images in the text to life. In addition to playing with the “ssssss” sound at the end of the word “this,” she uses words like “stop,” “joker,” and “weary” as springboards for word-painting. The composer has also added a few new verses, noting: Additional lyrics have been added for contemporary relevance (“This train will stop at the ghetto...and at the factory door”). And new musical sections (“If you reach up, reach up to the sky...”) have been inserted to broaden the formal structure.

Unusual musical devices used here include borrowings from traditional spirituals and the flashier-sounding settings by arrangers like Dawson and Hogan.

16 Chicago a capella

P R O G R A M N O T E S ( c o n t .)

This train is bound for glory, this train, if you want to get to heaven, then you got to be holy.

This train is bound for glory, this train.

This train don’t carry no gamblers, this train, no big time spenders, no midnight ramblers, This train don’t carry no gamblers, this train.

This train don’t carry no jokers, this train, no cigar smokers, no high steppin’ women, This train don’t carry no jokers, this train.

If you reach up, reach up to the sky, you can grab yourself a handle as the train goes rumbling by.

Hold on tight This is the train of freedom and it’s pulling out tonight.

This train will stop for the weary.

This train will stop for the poor.

This train will stop in the ghetto, will stop at the farm, will stop right here outside the factory door!

This is the train of freedom and glory and justice and it’s pulling out tonight.

-Traditional, adapt. by composer For the record: Gwyneth Walker’s “The Christ-child’s Lullaby” appears on Chicago a cappella’s CD Christmas a cappella.

INTERMISSION Jonathan Miller Jonathan Miller has been writing music for choirs since 1998, when, as music director at Unity Temple in Oak Park, he ran out of repertoire in the congregation’s music library that he felt was the right fit for the volunteer choir with the sermons and the service. As with his concert programming, his choral music is eclectic, drawing on a wide range of musical and poetic influences. His choice of texts run from biblical Hebrew and Latin to the work of poets such as Rumi, Gwendolyn Brooks, Peter Watson Jenkins, and Mark Jarman. He has composed a number of choral cycles, including Journey to Bethlehem (seven movements) and Capital City (three) as well as incidental music for Chicago a cappella’s more theatrical productions of The Nordic Wolf and Go Down, Moses. His music has been performed at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City and at the Pentagon; he conducted a performance of his work The Lincoln Memorial at the Lincoln Memorial to commemorate Lincoln’s 200th birthday. a cappella: Psalm 4: B’kori aneyni (world premiere) The composer writes: “This setting of Psalm 4 came to me last fall, after I had served for the first time as High Holiday cantor at Rodfei Zedek. It was a huge honor and a privilege to sing in that capacity, and I had great Hebrew coaching from both Cantor Julius Solomon and Rabbi Elliot Gertel. Although I’ve sung Hebrew since I was ten, I emerged from that experience with a new-found love for the language; I set myself to reading the first 23 Psalms to see if any of them would strike me as material for writing new choral music. Psalm 4 is the first one Chicago a capella 17

P R O G R A M N O T E S ( c o n t .) that grabbed me. I found myself desiring a beautiful melody most of all, and I was pleased with the result, especially after I found myself humming it and almost nothing else for about two months after I finished the piece.”

B’kori aneyni, Elohey tsidki; When I call, answer me, God of my righteousness; batzar, hirchavta li, Thou who didst set me free when I was in distress; choneyni, ush’ma t’filati. be gracious unto me, and hear my prayer.

B’ney ish, ad me ch’vodi lichlimah O ye sons of men, how long shall my glory be put to shame, Te’ehavun rik – t’vakshu chazav, Selah. in that ye love vanity, and seek after falsehood? Selah.

Ud’u ki hiflah Adonai, chasid lo; But know that the LORD hath set apart the godly man as His own; Adonai yishma b’kori eilav. the LORD will hear when I call unto Him. Rigzu v’al techeta’u; Tremble, and sin not; im’ru bi’lvav’hem al mishkavchem, v’domu, Selah. commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

Ziv’chu ziv’chey tzedek, uvit’chu el-Adonai.

Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD. Rabim omrim, mi-yareinu-tov: Many there are that say: ‘Oh that we could see some good!’

N’sa aleynu or panecha, Adonai.

LORD, lift Thou up the light of Thy countenance upon us.

Natata simcha v’libi; mey-eyt d’ganam v’tirosham rabu.

Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than when their corn and their wine increase.

B’shalom yachdav, esh’k’va v’ishan: In peace will I both lay me down and sleep; Ki atah Adonai l’vadad; lavetach, toshiveyni. for Thou, LORD, makest me dwell alone in safety.

18 Chicago a capella

P R O G R A M N O T E S ( c o n t .) accompanied: the preacher: ruminates behind the sermon The composer writes: “In 2001, I was at a party in Oak Park given by my dear friend, composer Glenn Meade. At the party was Linda Crabtree Powell, who at the time was the choir director at Emerson Junior High School, also in Oak Park. We got to talking; I mentioned to her that I had recently purchased a collection of poems by Gwendolyn Brooks and was reading through them, and that a few poems from A Street in Bronzeville were starting to suggest music to me. Linda replied that her school was going to be renamed for Brooks in the fall of 2002, and we cooked up the idea of setting three poems for her choir to be sung at the dedication. With support from the Oak Park Area Arts Council, the Gwendolyn Brooks Suite came into being, scored for three-part junior-high-school choir plus piano. Nora Brooks Blakely, the poet’s daughter and a talented artist in her own right, attended the dedication ceremony, and Linda Powell conducted the premiere. Nora told me afterward that I had really captured the essence of ‘the preacher: ruminates,’ which made me feel like the heavens had just opened in a blessing. The poem is indeed lonely, and I started hearing a combination of Satie-like chords in the piano and a gospel wail from the soloist. The section where God has a good friend slapping him on the back is the most fun, though.”

I think it must be lonely to be God. Nobody loves a master. No. Despite The bright hosannas, bright dear-Lords, and bright Determined reverence of Sunday eyes.

Picture Jehovah striding through the hall Of His importance, creatures running out From servant-corners to acclaim, to shout Appreciation of His merit’s glare.

But who walks with Him?—dares to take His arm, To slap Him on the shoulder, tweak His ear, Buy Him a Coca-Cola or a beer, Pooh-pooh His politics, call Him a fool?

Perhaps—who knows—He tires of looking down.

Those eyes are never lifted. Never straight.

Perhaps sometimes He tires of being great In solitude. Without a hand to hold.

–Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000) For the record: Chicago a cappella has recorded two works by Jonathan Miller, “Shehecheyanu” (on the CD Holidays a cappella Live) and “The Fall” (on the CD Eclectric).

Chicago a capella 19

P R O G R A M N O T E S ( c o n t .)

Morten Lauridsen Morten Johannes Lauridsen received the 2007 National Medal of Arts. He has been composer-in-residence for the Los Angeles Master Chorale from 1994–2001 and professor of composition at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music for more than thirty years. His work occupies a permanent place in the standard vocal repertoire of the 20th century. His seven vocal cycles, including the one we perform this evening, are among the bestselling choral works ever. In addition to Les Chansons des Roses, he is perhaps best known for the extended work Lux Aeterna—a Requiem in its form—and his sacred a cappella motets (O Magnum Mysterium, Ave Maria, O Nata Lux, Ubi Caritas et Amor and Ave Dulcissima Maria).

Writing of Lauridsen’s sacred works in his book, Choral Music in the Twentieth Century, musicologist and conductor Nick Strimple describes Lauridsen as “the only American composer in history who can be called a mystic, (whose) probing, serene work contains an elusive and indefinable ingredient which leaves the impression that all the questions have been answered.” In this sense Lauridsen is a spiritual peer to Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, whose works leave a similar impression. a cappella AND accompanied: Les chansons des roses In 1993 Lauridsen’s publisher released this extraordinary cycle of five settings of French poems by Rainer Maria Rilke. While Rilke is known mostly for German verse, these French poems made a strong impression on Lauridsen. It is in this

20 Chicago a capella

P R O G R A M N O T E S ( c o n t .) cycle that the chord voicing now associated with Lauridsen (which, in technical terms, is a 2nd-inversion or “6/4” chord) first made its powerful stamp.

There is some musical material shared between a few movements. In the second movement,“Contre qui, rose,” what starts out sounding like a melody in the sopranos with harmonic support from the lower lines then becomes more and more contrapuntal, with each voice part having something distinctive to say. (Listeners familiar with the composer’s O magnum mysterium may recognize its musical roots here, sung in D-flat to Rilke’s text instead of O magnum’s brighter key of D.) The fourth movement,“La rose complête,” borrows markedly from “Contre qui, rose” and features an unbroken segue into the accompanied final movement,“Dirait-on.” Lauridsen says that he wrote the last movement first and then went back to complete the cycle.

En Une Seule Fleur C’est pourtant nous qui t’avons proposé de remplir ton calice.

Enchantée de cet artifice, ton abondance l’avait osé.

It is we, perhaps, who proposed that you replenish your bloom.

Enchanted by this charade, your abundance dared.

Tu étais assez riche, pour devenir cent fois toi-même en une seule fleur;

You were rich enough to fulfill yourself a hundred times over in a single flower;

c’est l’état de celui qui aime…

Mais tu n’a pas pensé ailleurs, mais tu n’a pas pensé ailleurs.

such is the state of one who loves…

But you never did think otherwise.

Contre qui, rose Contre qui, rose, avezvous adopte ces épines?

Votre joie trop fine vous a-t-elle force de devenir cette chose armée?

Against whom, rose, have you assumed these thorns?

Is it your too fragile joy that forced you to become this armed thing?

Mais de qui vous protège cette arme exagérée?

Combien d’ennemis vous ai-je enlevés qui ne la craignaient point?

Au contraire, d’été en automne,

But from whom does it protect you, this exaggerated defense?

How many enemies have I lifted from you who did not fear it at all?

On the contrary, from summer to autumn you wound the affection that is given you.

vous blessez les soins qu’on vous donne.

Chicago a capella 21

P R O G R A M N O T E S ( c o n t .)

De ton rêve trop plein De ton rêve trop plein, fleur en dedans nombreuse, mouillée comme une pleureuse, tu te penches sur le matin.

Overflowing with your dream, flower filled with flowers, wet as one who weeps, you bow to the morning.

Tes douces forces qui dorment,

Your sweet powers which still are sleeping in misty desire, unfold these tender forms joining cheeks and breasts.

dans un désir incertain, développent ces tendres forms entre joues et seins.

La rose complète J’ai une telle conscience de ton être, rose complete, que mon consentement te confond avec mon coeur en fête.

I have such awareness of your being, perfect rose, that my will unites you with my heart in celebration.

Je te respire comme si tu étais, rose, toute la vie, et je me sens l’ami parfait d’une telle amie.

I breathe you in, rose, as if you were all of life, and I feel the perfect friend of a perfect friend.

Dirait-on Abondon entouré d’abondon, tendresse touchant aux tendresses…

C’est ton intérieur qui sans cesse se caresse, dirait-on;

Abandon surrounding abandon, tenderness touching tenderness…

Your oneness endlessly caresses itself, so they say;

se caress en soi-même, par son proper reflet éclairé.

Ainsi tu inventes le thème de Narcisse exaucé.

self caressing through its own clear reflection.

Thus you invent the theme of Narcissus fulfilled.

-Rainer Maria Rilke, from Les Roses

-trans. Barbara and Erica Muhl Texts and translations used courtesy of Peermusic Classical

For the record: “Contre qui, rose,” from Morten Lauridsen’s Les Chansons des Roses appears on Chicago a cappella’s CD Ecletric. Mr. Lauridsen’s “O Magnum Mysterium” appears on Chicago a cappella’s CD Holidays a cappella Live.

* * * * * *

22 Chicago a capella

P R O G R A M N O T E S ( c o n t .)

Leonard Bernstein One of the first American orchestral conductors to receive worldwide acclaim, Leonard Bernstein was the longtime music director of the New York Philharmonic.

In addition to his achievements as a conductor, he led an active life as a composer, pianist, and public spokesperson for the arts. His more classical side was balanced by his work on West Side Story, his most famous composition, which was premiered in 1957 after almost a decade of work. He embraced both recording and television as media for getting the word out about the music he loved. accompanied: “Make Our Garden Grow” from Candide Bernstein wrote in several theatrical genres, from musical theatre to “straight” opera to operetta. Candide falls in the last of these categories. Based on Voltaire’s French novella, it was originally set to a libretto by Lillian Hellman and premiered in that version in 1956. The abridged “Chelsea version” ran on Broadway for almost two years in a revision with a new book by Hugh Wheeler with lyrics primarily by Richard Wilbur. The full two-act version, first staged by Harold Prince in 1982, is a staple of opera companies. The shorter work is popular with music schools and is performed regularly.

Hellman’s inspiration for Candide was fueled in part by the parallels she perceived between Voltaire’s time and her own. On one hand, Voltaire satirized the Catholic Church’s Inquisition-fueled acts of torture and murder of “heretics.” On the other, Hellman was incensed at the similarly hyper-conformist attitudes of the House Un-American Activities Committee; as she observed in the 1950s, the HUAC baited dissenting political views and vilified the left through “Washington Witch Trials,” all in the name of protecting America from Communism.

“Make Our Garden Grow” is the finale of the show. Beginning with Candide proposing to his beloved Cunegonda, it sums up the action with a sentiment that tells us not to be too lofty or rigid in our ideals of perfection, but to live a more grounded, practical life.

SPECIAL THANKS 98.7 WFMT Chris Baer Enid Frandzel Evanston Symphony Orchestra Hendricks Pianos: Bill Jenkins Bill Hoban Merit School of Music: Tom Bracy, Nora Erickson Eric Miranda Music Institute of Chicago: Fiona Queen, Sam Nordlund North Central College: Ken Hannah Jim Parks Pilgrim Congregational Church: Joan Hutchinson, Joycelin Fowler Linda Powell Gwyneth Walker Thanks also to The Saints, Volunteers for the Performing Arts, for providing our house staff. For information visit www.saintschicago.org or call 773-529-5510.

Chicago a capella 23

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C H I C AG O A C A PPEL L A A R T I S T R O S T E R 2 010 -11 Jonathan Miller..............................................................................................................Artistic Director Patrick Sinozich................................................................................................................ Music Director Hoss Brock...................................................................................................... tenor (Chicago, Chicago) Matt Greenberg.....................................................................................................bass (entire season) Elizabeth Grizzell...............................................................................................mezzo (entire season) Kathryn Kamp................................................... soprano (Tastes; Red Carpet; Chicago, Chicago) Alexia Kruger.........................................................................soprano (Holidays; Chicago, Chicago) Cary Lovett................................................................................ tenor (Tastes; Holidays; Red Carpet) Trevor Mitchell......................................................................................................tenor (entire season) Cari Plachy............................................................................soprano (Tastes; Holidays; Red Carpet) Benjamin Rivera.....................................................................................................bass (entire season) Susan Schober....................................................................................................mezzo (entire season) Brian Streem............................................................................................................bass (entire season)

BIOGR APHIES Jonathan Miller, Founder and Artistic Director Jonathan grew up in the Chicago Children’s Choir and has devoted decades to giving back the joy that he found there. While studying math at the University of Chicago, he quickly found himself in five choirs and decided to pursue music more deliberately. An early step was earning his musicology doctorate at UNC-Chapel Hill, studying Renaissance music. Since 1993 Jonathan has been blessed to lead Chicago a cappella’s superb vocalists and musical team, who value ensemble work, adventuresome repertoire, and a sense of fun. Jonathan’s composing career began when, as choir director at Unity Temple in Oak Park, he wanted new music for worship.

He has written more than fifty choral works; his music has been sung at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City and on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Increasingly active in Jewish music, Jonathan leads the Rodfei Zedek Festival Choir in Hyde Park, serves as principal guest conductor of Kol Zimrah, writes synagogue music, and is honored to serve as publisher of the late Max Janowski’s catalogue. A board member of Chorus America, Jonathan lives with his wife and daughter in the woods of Downers Grove.

Patrick Sinozich, Music Director An acclaimed choral conductor, pianist, vocal coach, and chamber musician, Patrick Sinozich joined Chicago a cappella’s

musical staff in 2007 as Music Director. He is currently in his 15th season as Artistic Director of the Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus. Patrick did his undergraduate studies at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and completed graduate studies at Northwestern University. He is on the musical staff of the Chicago Symphony and has performed chamber music with members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Lyric Opera Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony and the Cincinnati Symphony. He has also produced four CDs for Chicago a cappella and three for the Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus (which featured many of his own arrangements). Patrick’s association with Chicago a cappella goes back to the ensemble’s very first auditions, which he accompanied, and he has provided musical support as the ensemble’s occasional rehearsal coach since 2005.

Matt Greenberg, bass Baritone Matt Greenberg has appeared frequently on Chicago’s concert and theater stages, singing everything from Bach to Broadway.

His solo appearances include Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, Mozart’s Requiem, and an evening of Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Matt is a longtime member of the Grant Park Chorus and sang for over 20 years with the Chicago Symphony Chorus, where he made over a dozen solo or small ensemble appearances. A founding member of Chicago a cappella, he has also performed with Music of the Baroque, William Ferris Chorale, and the Harwood Early Music Chicago a capella 25

B I O G R A P H I E S ( c o n t .)

Ensemble. Matt’s work in musical theater includes the Jeff-award winning Sylvia’s Real Good Advice, Hot Mikado, and appearances at Light Opera Works and Wisdom Bridge.

He has also appeared with the pop quintet Table For Five. Combining his performing with a career in arts administration, Matt is Chicago a cappella‘s Executive Director.

Elizabeth Grizzell, mezzo Mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Grizzell has performed with groups both in Chicago and abroad. She has appeared as soloist with the Tunbridge Wells Opera, the Marlow Choral Society, and the Wooburn Singers of England. As a member of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, she has recorded the role of Apprentice with the late Sir Georg Solti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Wagner’s Die Meistersinger. Especially fond of oratorio, her recent performances have included Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Mozart’s Requiem, and Dvorak’s Mass in D. Betsy records regularly for both GIA Publications and Hinshaw Music, and is a soloist with GIA’s Cathedral Singers. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree with a vocal emphasis from DePaul University. Of special note is her Musikgarten program, a musical education experience designed for children ages 16 months to 8 years old. Her studio in Naperville currently introduces more than 100 children to the fun and beauty of music.

Kathryn Kamp, soprano A good mix of opera, operetta, and musical theater productions and oratorio and concert engagements keeps Kathryn busy when she’s not singing with Chicago a cappella! She has appeared as soloist at the Ravinia Festival, Orchestra Hall at Chicago Symphony Center, Grant Park Music Festival, the Peninsula Music Festival, and Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, among others. Favorite works include Mozart Requiem and Despina in Cosi fan tutte; Haydn Creation and Dixit Dominus; Handel (Messiah); Poulenc (Gloria) and Brahms (Requiem); Gilbert and Sullivan ingenues (Patience, Rose Maybud, Yum26 Chicago a capella

Yum and Mabel); and anything by Steven Sondheim (Anne Egerman and Mrs. Segstrom). She also stage directs opera and operetta productions. Free time is spent in the garden, on a bike, cooking, reading, and hanging out with her husband. She always looks forward to the unique vocal demands and wonderful colleagues of Chicago a cappella.

Cary Lovett, tenor A veteran of the Chicago choral and musical-theater stage, where he has been seen as a middle-aged character baritone, a clueless tenor ingénue and an esoteric a cappella choral singer, Cary can rightfully be described as a truly eclectic performer. Most recently, Cary appeared with Light Opera Works, where he was hailed for his “..zesty dancing skills” performing the role of Alfred Doolittle in their production of My Fair Lady.

Immediately preceding this production, he sang the role of Fredrick in Pirates of Penzance. For over a year he was a member of the third national tour of Les Misérables, where he understudied the role of Jean Valjean. He has sung with the Grant Park Chorus and Music of the Baroque, and was a founding member of Chicago a cappella.

Visit his website: www.tenor4hire.com.

Trevor Mitchell, tenor Acclaimed as having “simply the most uniquely beautiful and easily produced tenor instrument most people will ever hear,” Trevór Mitchell’s career has taken him across the U.S. and to Austria, Italy, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. Recently audiences heard him in Bach’s B-Minor Mass, WeihnachtsOratorium, St. Matthew Passion, and St. John Passion, Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis and Ninth Symphony, Vivaldi’s Beatus Vir, Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, and several recitals, one being a recital for honored guest Paul, Duke of Oldenburg of Germany. Also this season, under the baton of the renowned John Rutter, Trevór performed Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music. Recent performances also

B I O G R A P H I E S ( c o n t .) include Messiah with the Baroque Band.

Trevór also recorded Don Meyers’ Meditation in Three Reflections with the Millennium Symphony of Norfolk, VA and was a tenor soloist on a recently completed recording of sacred music with St. John Cantius Church.

Cari Plachy, soprano Chicago native Cari Plachy is enjoying splitting her time between choral and opera singing. She has been seen throughout the Midwest with Opera for the Young, DuPage Opera Theater, Light Opera Works and Bowen Park Opera. Her choral work includes singing with the Chicago Symphony Chorus. In 2008, she had an opportunity to step out from the chorus and sing a solo in Bruckner’s Psalm 150.

The Chicago Sun Times recognized it as being a “sparkling, and aggressively sung solo.” Cari received her Bachelor’s degree in music education from DePaul University.

Since then, she has been working with the education department of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, bringing music to children all over Chicago. In addition to her work in Chicago, Cari is fortunate to bring her love of music to deaf children at Child’s Voice School in Wood Dale.

Benjamin Rivera, bass Bass-baritone Benjamin Rivera appears often as a concert and oratorio soloist. Recent appearances include performances of Bach’s St. John Passion, several Haydn Masses and a local premiere of a song cycle for baritone and instrumental sextet by Stacy Garrop. He is a longtime member of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, where he served in the position of section leader for several seasons. Benjamin also sings with the Grant Park Chorus during the summer. He recently completed his tenth season as conductor of the Chicago-area chamber choir Cantate, with whom he performs a wide range of mainly a cappella music. Benjamin holds the Master of Music degree in Music Theory from Roosevelt University and recently left a

teaching position at St. Xavier University to pursue doctoral studies in conducting at Northwestern University.

Susan Schober, mezzo Susan Schober is a founding member of Chicago a cappella. A native Chicagoan, she sang for nine years with the Chicago Children’s Choir, and has performed a wide variety of solo and choral music with Chicago-area ensembles.

Most recently, she was a soloist at the 23rd International Kodály Festival in Kecskemét, Hungary. In addition to solo and choral music, Susan has performed leading roles in several theatrical productions, including Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, Britten’s Albert Herring, Herman’s La Cage Aux Folles, and Sullivan’s Utopia Limited. Susan received her bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and a master’s degree in Music Education from Holy Names University in Oakland, CA. She is an accomplished music educator, specializing in the Kodály Method.

She has taught students at every level, from preschool to graduate level teacher training.

Susan loves both singing and teaching, but her favorite job is being a new mom to twins Katherine and Andrew.

Brian Streem, bass A lover of choral music, Brian Streem has been a member of some of Chicago’s finest choral ensembles, including the Chicago Symphony Chorus, the Grant Park Symphony Chorus, Bella Voce, the William Ferris Chorale, and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble. His theatrical credits have included Pippin (Pippin), Jesus (Jesus Christ Superstar), Sky Masterson (Guys and Dolls), Jack (Into the Woods), Philip (Lion in Winter) and the star of the one-man show All in the Timing. His recent work with Chicago a cappella was praised by critic Cathryn Wilkinson, who noted that he “pattered out a better maraca ostinato with his mouth than many drummers can with two hands.” Brian is a graduate of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, studying music theory with Dr. Rudy Marcozzi.

Chicago a capella 27

HELP CHICAGO A CAPPELLA ACHIEVE EVEN MORE! By being with us at this performance, you are part of an exciting musical endeavor. We have big plans at Chicago a cappella—and this is only the beginning.

Just in the last year, we expanded our season, worked with high school choral singers from all four of our communities, launched a new website, and recorded a CD to be released this year.

Our future plans include an educational outreach program with Whitney Young High School, newly-researched programs on spirituals and gospel music, and new CD recordings.

But we need your help now to take advantage of these opportunities.

You can be a part of Chicago a cappella’s future with your generous tax-deductible gift. Support of the arts is rapidly shrinking, and ticket sales cover only a portion of our expenses. We rely on contributions from friends like you for over 1/3 of our operating budget. In fact, individual gifts are our single largest source of revenue.

Please support the exciting and important work that makes Chicago a cappella a unique part of our region’s cultural arts scene. Use the envelope in this program to make your gift today, and be a part of our vital musical endeavor – and our exciting future!

Now it’s easier than ever to support the work of Chicago a cappella. In addition to our traditional giving options, our sustaining donor program allows you to set up an automatic contribution with your credit card: you can choose any amount you wish. You’ll receive all the benefits of your annual tax deduction without the hassle of writing checks – plus you’ll help us reduce fundraising costs and save paper and resources.

Chicago a cappella announces the launch of the

Program Development and Recording Fund.

The Fund will sustain our work in the years to come—paying for new recordings, commissions of new music, and concert productions. Our goal is to raise $500,000 by the end of our 20th season in 2013. Chicago a cappella has received a lead gift of $250,000 from the Klaff Family Foundation. This gift will support specific projects of Jewish music and spirituals/gospel music over the next three seasons. We are thrilled to envision our musical future and to find the partners who can help us make it happen. The Fund supports that future. If you have any questions about the Fund or about our upcoming musical plans, please feel free to e-mail Jonathan Miller at jmiller@chicagoacappella.org or Matt Greenberg at mgreenberg@chicagoacappella.org.

DONORS We offer our deep gratitude to our contributors who made gifts and pledges to Chicago a cappella between January 1, 2010 and January 20, 2011. We regret that we are unable to list the many thoughtful contributors who made gifts under $50. If this list contains an error, please accept our apologies and kindly let us know so that we may correct it.

INSTITUTIONAL CONTRIBUTORS FOUNDATION SUPPORTERS Arts Work Fund for Organizational Development Dr. Scholl Foundation The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation Klaff Family Foundation The MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation GOVERNMENT SUPPORTERS Illinois Arts Council

City of Chicago Dept. of Cultural Affairs Oak Park Area Arts Council MEDIA SPONSORS Naperville Sun (concerts at Wentz Hall, Naperville) 98.7 WFMT (The Red Carpet of Sound) CORPORATE SUPPORT, MATCHING GIFTS, AND OTHER SUPPORT Bank of America Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Illinois

First Bank and Trust Evanston Hendricks Pianos (Gold Sponsor, The Red Carpet of Sound) JP Morgan Chase Foundation King Insurance Agency G. Scott Miller, Ameriprise Financial Minibar-Winebar Morris Graduate School of Management at Robert Morris University Nuveen Investments Whole Foods Markets

INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTORS VISIONARY ($5,000 or more) Anonymous Hyslop Shannon Foundation ARCHANGEL ($2,500 or more) Ann and Roger Cole Howard and Jane Hush Murray Kopelow and Cathy Bachman 30 Chicago a capella

ANGEL ($1,000 or more) Anonymous Marguerite Bloch Bill and Jeanetta Flowers Frank G. & Gertrude Dunlap Fund Helen Gagel Joyce Grenis and Michael Koen Jay and Jackie Lauderdale Diana Ramirez

Priscilla and Steve Shaw Maria Suarez BENEFACTOR ($500 or more) The Nora Bergman Fund Michelle Eppley Marina Gilman Matt Greenberg and Chris Baer Hank and Becky Hartman

D O N O R S ( c o n t .)

Ann Hicks and Lawrence Hamilton Tom and Margaret Huyck Charles Katzenmeyer Douglas and Christine Kelner Leslie Lauderdale Ronna Lerner Bob and Fleury Linn Linda Mast and Bard Schatzman David Miller and Mary Ellen McNish Jonathan Miller and Sandra Siegel Miller Mary Miller Robert and Lois Moeller Ken Novak Carolyn Sacksteder SPONSOR ($250 or more) Claudia and Timothy Divis Don and Joanna Gwinn Anne Heider and Steve Warner Rae Kendrick Jean McLaren and John Nitschke Drs. Donald and Mary Ellen Newsom Alice and David Osberg Richard and Cindy Pardo David and Carole Perlman Dale and Donna Prest Caryl Rine Bette Sikes and Joan Pederson Ann Stevens Mary Beth Strahota Alexander and Robin Stuart Emily Troxell Jaycox Frank Villella and Oscar Ivan Zambrano John Washburn Lance and Stephanie Wilkening Duain Wolfe PATRON ($100 or more) Wendy Anker and Edward Reed Alison Ash Karen Atwood Bob and Rose Marie Baer David and Denise Bunning

Trent and Kara Coleman Laura and Gary Cooper Faith Davis Thomas Doyle Mary Ekins Ron & Judy Eshleman Kris and Julie Gagnon Howard and Judy Gilbert Norm and Judy Greenberg Sanford Greenberg and Betsy Perdue Judith Grubner and Craig Jobson Robert Harris F. James & Margery Heider Ann Hewitt Valerie Humowiecki Jean and Lester Hunt Karen Hunt Susan Kamp Melynda and Scott Kohl John and Karen Kruger Helen and John Lauderdale Stephen and Lisbeth Lerner Barbara and Martin Letscher Joan Levin Carol LoVerde Jay Lytle Jennifer Marling Linda Matonich Glenn and Sandy Meade Betsy Meisenheimer and Wes Westerfield Daniel Melamed and Elizabeth Sabga Ephraim and Ann Miller Vreni Naess Cathy and Paul Newport John and Gail Polles Jane Ann Prest Doris Roskin Kenneth Schug Jennifer and Warren Schultz Dennis and Patricia Smith Laura Smith Jeni and David Spinney Tom and Linda Spring Juan Suarez Geri Sztuk Barbara Volin Clark and Joan Wagner Shirlene Ward and Kevin Kipp Ellen Wehrle and Richard Pokorny

Tracy and Tony Weisman Robert and Barbara Wichmann Cheryl Wollin Shawn Ying and Jason Cohen John and Mary Zimmerman FRIEND ($50 or more) Anonymous Jill Abramson and Jonathan Malamy David and Patricia Agnew Carole Baumgart William and Betty Boyd Frank Brockway and Mimi Brile Jim and Ellen Dalton David E. Danielson Dale and Frances Dellutri Susan Eleuterio Anne Evans Dale Fitschen Frances Flowers Madelon and Roger Fross Don and Diane Gilliard Elizabeth and Phil Gould Carolyn Hayes Andy and Junia Hedberg Charles Hoffman and Tamara Schiller Laurie Howick Carol B. Johnson Carl and Carola Kupfer David and Darlene Landsittel Ivan and Jasna Lappin Diane and Doug MacDonald Marvin and Marlene Levine Catherine Marquis Scott, Kelly & Ian McCleary Cheryl and Tom McRoberts Patrice Michaels and Jim Ginsburg William S. Miles and Michele D. Raible Belverd E. Needles Charles & Janice Olson Margarita Prieto Virginia Russell Michelle and Jonathan Sales Joe and Joan Senko Judith and Richard Spurgin Chicago a capella 31

D O N O R S ( c o n t .)

SUSTAINING DONORS

By joining our Sustaining Donor program, the following individuals support the work of Chicago a cappella while reducing our fundraising costs and saving resources. Sustaining donors choose the level and frequency of their automatic payment, and receive the benefits of annual tax deductions without the hassle of writing checks. For more information, see the envelope in this program, visit our website, or call (773) 281-7820.

A huge thank you to our Sustaining Donors: Susan Beal Jean & Lester Hunt David & Carole Perlman Doug & Christine Kelner Carolyn Sacksteder Frank Brockway Leslie Lauderdale Warren & Jennifer Schultz Norma Felbinger Vreni Naess Tom & Linda Spring Patrice Michaels and Jim Donald & Mary Ellen Ann Stevens Ginsburg Newsom David & Carolyn Utech Sanford Greenberg & Betsy Ken Novak Frank Villella Perdue Alice & David Osberg Shirlene Ward & Kevin Kipp Ann Hewitt

IN -KIND CONTRIBUTIONS About Face Theatre Adler Planetarium AirTran Airways AirWave Recording Studios Aria Arlington Park Barrel of Monkeys The Belden Stratford The Buzz Café, Oak Park Chicago Architecture Foundation Chicago Blackhawks Chicago Botanic Gardens Chicago Chamber Musicians Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus Chicago Human Rhythm Project Chicago Opera Theatrer Chicago Shakespeare Theater Chicago Sinfonietta Chicago Sky Chicago Symphony Orchestra Circle Theatre Comedysportz Theater Cosi Restaurant, Evanston Court Theatre Dana Hotel and Spa Delicate Spa DeSoto House Hotel East Bank Club Eclipse Theatre Company Fairmont Hotel Chicago Norma Felbinger Flat Top Grill Footlights / Marcus Promotions Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust French Pastry School Fulcrum Point 32 Chicago a capella

Gethsemane Garden Center Give Me Some Sugah Bakery, Chicago Grant Park Music Festival Diana Hamann Hedwig Dances Terri Hemmert Munn Heydorn Homestead Hotel House Red, Forest Park, IL Inn at the Springs, Bonita Springs, FL J&L Catering Jewel-Osco/North Broadway Jewel-Osco/North Ashland Natalie Knight and Collin Tillotson L20 Restaurant Le Chocolat du Bouchard, Naperville Lifeline Theatre Light Opera Works Lloyd’s Chicago Lulu’s Dim Sum and Then Sum, Evanston Lynfred Winery Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire Metropolis Performing Arts Centre Music Box Theatre Music of the Baroque The Naperville Sun Northeastern Illinois University Northlight Theater Oceanique Old Town School of Folk Music Orion Ensemble Park Hyatt Chicago Piccolo Theatre Jim Parks

Press America, Inc. Province Restaurant Redhead Piano Bar Remy Bumppo Theatre Company Ritz-Carlton Hotel Chicago (A Four Seasons Hotel) Robert Morris University Robson Design Will Rogers St. Charles Singers Sax Chicago Hotel Susan Schober The Second City Shiralea Shure Sandy Siegel-Miller Maria Suarez Swedish American Museum Center Swedish Bakery Tall Ship Adventures of Chicago Timeline Theatre Company Trader Joe’s, Naperville TRU Vosges Haut-Chocolat 98.7 WFMT Whole Foods Market, Lakeview Whole Foods Market, Evanston North Whole Foods Market, River Forest Winberie Café, Oak Park Wild Mountain, Taylors Falls Recreation Cheryl Wollin Wrigleyville Rooftops Writers’ Theatre WXRT Radio Zanies Comedy Nite Club Zen Shiatsu