20240224_Chamber Choir tour program

FSU

JAZZ

FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MUSIC

CHAMBER CHOIR

MICHAEL HANAWALT, CONDUCTOR ETHAN MURPHY AND STEVEN OLSON, ASSISTANT CONDUCTORS

FEBRUARY 17, 2024 • 7:30 PM OPPERMAN MUSIC HALL FLORIDA SATE UNIVERSITY

FEBRUARY 24, 2024 • 12:00 PM ACDA SOUTHERN REGION CONVENTION CATHEDRAL OF THE ASSUMPTION, LOUISVILLE, KY

MUSIC.FSU.EDU | (850) 644-3424

INSIDE COVER

PASSION. PURPOSE. MUSIC.

Our Program

Hallelujah Leonard Cohen (1934-2016) arr. Michael Hanawalt & Justine Sasanfar Manuscript Shayna Singer, Maclain Hardin-Kurza, and Isabella Pinilla, soloists Justine Sasanfar, piano Regina coeli laetare, alleluia!

Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia!

Resurrexit, sicut dixit, alleluia!

Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia!

Queen of Heaven rejoice, Alleluia!

For He whom you were worthy to bear, Alleluia!

Has risen, as He said, Alleluia!

Pray for us to God, Alleluia!

- tr. Ron Jeffers I’ve heard there was a secret chord That David played, and it pleased the Lord But you don’t really care for music, do you?

It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth The minor falls, the major lifts The baffled king composing Hallelujah Your faith was strong but you needed proof You saw her bathing on the roof Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you She tied you to a kitchen chair She broke your throne, and she cut your hair And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah You say I took the name in vain I don’t even know the name But if I did – well, really – what’s it to you?

There’s a blaze of light in every word It doesn’t matter what you heard The holy or the broken Hallelujah I did my best, it wasn’t much I couldn’t feel, so I tried to touch I’ve told the truth, I didn’t come to fool you And even though it all went wrong I’ll stand before the Lord of Song With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen

Helletused Veljo Tormis (1930-2017) Fennica Gehrman Madison Roths & Alissa D’Alton, soloists Maggie Merrell, Annika Stucky, Harold Wright, Dorian Carr, quartet helle, hellelee, alleaa, alleaa tutuluu, tutuluu, eo, eo ek-eo-eo, ek-eo-eo Kui ma olin väiksekene Alleaa, alleaa helle, hellelee, alleaa, alleaa tutuluu, tutuluu, eo, eo ek-eo-eo, ek-eo-eo Dreaming of the days of childhood Alleaa, alleaa - Traditional; quoting from “Lauliku lapsepõli” by Miina Härma

Hands Jocelyn Hagen (b. 1980) Jocelyn Hagen Music Ashley Lewis & Steven Olson, soloists

Sanctus from Mass: A Celebration of Love and Joy

André J. Thomas (b. 1952) Heritage Music Press Marques Jerrell Ruff, soloist André J. Thomas, piano D’Arthur Godwin, electric bass Javier Laureano-Hernández, drum set Above him stood the seraphim and one cried to another: “Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God almighty who was and is to come. Holy, holy, holy, the Lord of hosts; heav’n and earth are full of thy glory.”

In the year that King Uzziah died I also saw the Lord. He was sitting on his throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

Above it stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he did fly. And one cried to another: “Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God almighty who was and is to come. Holy, holy, holy, the Lord of hosts; heav’n and earth are full of thy glory.”

Hosana in the highest. Hosana to the son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, God of hosts.

Like the seraphim I want two wings to cover my face. Oh Lord, I want to wings to fly away, so the world can’t do me no harm. We’re crying: “Holy, holy, holy, the Lord of hosts; heav’n and earth are full of thy glory.”

NOTES ON THE PROGRAM Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah was featured for the first time on the 1984 album Various Positions. While not initially successful, subsequent covers by John Cale (1991) and Jeff Buckley (2004) catapulted its popularity, ultimately resulting in its status as one of the most iconic pop songs of all time. In Cohen’s telling, the word “hallelujah” is of the earthly variety, a statement of gratitude for a life that wasn’t always perfect and didn’t always go according to plan. In this way it differs from the “alleluia” known as an exclamation of heavenly praise in religious settings. This arrangement seeks to acknowledge life’s imperfections, and at times brokenness, by juxtaposing Cohen’s hallelujahs with the alleluias found in the opening plainchant.

Estonian composer Veljo Tormis wrote Helletused (Herding calls) as an homage to his Estonian childhood. He notes, “On small ancient Estonain farmsteads, it was customary to have children herd the cattle. They called out to neighbors’ children and so kept in touch on woody pastures.

Everybody had his or her token melodies which varied according to the time of day, weather, or mood.” In the context of this program, the “calls” of the soprano soloists serve as a metaphor for reaching out amid society’s brokenness, an attempt to rekindle a focus on our common humanity as opposed to our disagreements.

Of Hands, Jocelyn Hagen writes, “I was honored to receive a commission from the International Federation of Choral Music for a performance at the World Choral Symposium in Barcelona in July of 2017. It was an incredibly exciting commission, but what text could I choose that would represent all the musicians attending the conference? I was pondering this while spending an evening with a dear friend strolling through crowded streets and happily holding hands. It dawned on me that this is exactly what this piece should be about: the act of uniting, coming together.” This vocalize, or wordless song, symbolizes the spontaneous joy possible when this happens. In this program we find this joy after experiencing brokenness in Hallelujah and subsequently reaching out to one another in Helletused.

André Thomas’s “Sanctus,” one of the movements to his Mass: A Celebration of Love and Joy, serves in this program to celebrate our collective “finding” of each other, experiencing community and mutual understanding. In one line of text, the såoloist speaks of wanting to “fly away so the world can’t do me no harm.” In this way, we hope that in this program and all our collective work throughout the choral world, we are able to begin the process of repairing the world’s brokenness and move toward a place where love and joy abound.

– Michael Hanawalt

2016 Mickey and Pete Armstrong Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Wichita State University College of Fine Arts.

Michael Hanawalt MICHAEL HANAWALT is the Director of Graduate

Choral Studies at Florida State University, where he conducts the Chamber Choir, teaches graduate courses in conducting and choral literature, and serves as Artistic Director for the Tallahassee Community Chorus. Previous appointments include Director of Choral Activities at Wichita State University, Chorus Director at the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, and Visiting Instructor of Music at St. Olaf College.

Dr. Hanawalt is a founding member of the professional male vocal ensemble Cantus, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Throughout his eleven-year tenure with the organization, he recorded twelve CDs, participated in 200 educational outreach events, and performed in or oversaw the booking of over 500 concerts, including collaborations with the King’s Singers, the Boston Pops, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Minnesota Orchestra. He also served for six years as Cantus’ Executive Director, overseeing its growth through organizational management, fundraising, and board development.

Active as a tenor soloist, Dr. Hanawalt is the winner of competitions held by the Schubert Club in Minneapolis, MN, Thursday Musical in St. Paul, MN, and the National Association of Teachers of Singing in Collegeville, MN. Recent past engagements include the Evangelist in J. S. Bach’s Matthäus-Passion with the Bethany College Messiah Festival of the Arts, as well as tenor soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Wichita Symphony Orchestra and in Mozart’s Requiem with the Tarleton State University choirs and orchestra and at Westfield State University in Massachusetts.

Dr. Hanawalt’s choral arrangements are published by Boosey & Hawkes, Colla Voce, and the Niel. A Kjos Music Company. His setting of “Amazing Grace” has been performed at two national conventions of the American Choral Director’s Association, and his arrangement of “Loch Lomond” is featured on the Cantus recording, Let Your Voice Be Heard.

Dr. Hanawalt holds a B.M. in Vocal Performance from St. Olaf College, an M.M. in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University, and a Ph.D. in Choral Music Education from Florida State University. He is the recipient of the

Ethan Murphy Originally from Northern Virginia, Ethan Murphy is currently a PhD student in Music Education/Choral Conducting at Florida State University. At FSU, he serves as an assistant conductor for the Chamber Choir, Choral Union, and has served as an assistant conductor for the University Singers. Ethan is the choir director at First Presbyterian Church in Tallahassee, FL and performs with the Festival Singers of Florida. In addition to conducting and teaching, Ethan has presented at state conferences and organizations in Minnesota and Virginia. Ethan received a M.M. in Choral Conducting at the University of Minnesota and a BM in Music Education from James Madison University .

Steven Olson STEVEN OLSON is currently pursuing an MM in

Choral Conducting from Florida State University. After finishing his BMME from the University of Kentucky in 2017, he taught for five years in the Georgia and North Carolina public schools, co-directed the Cary Youth Voices (grades 2-12), and is currently active as a church choir director. He has been awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award from the Cary Chamber of Commerce and the Richard G. Cox Award for Outstanding Emerging Choral Director from North Carolina ACDA. At FSU, he currently studies conducting with Dr. Michael Hanawalt and voice with Dr. Evan Jones.

Personnel SOPRANO

Yuliia Billa Alissa D’Alton Keyaira Henderson Madison Roths Ashley Lewis Madeline Schneider Angellina Fedullo Maggie Merrell Isabella Pinilla

ALTO

Sophia Gannoui Maclain Hardin-Kurza Ruth Springer Annika Stucky Michaela Stiles Crystal Berner Bridg Gorder Sarita Gustely Shayna Singer

TENOR

Kevin Borges Tiger Davis Kyle McDonald Harold Wright Michael Haves Robert Lovins Jeremy Moore Steven Olson Timothy Yu

BASS

Jordan Evans Justus Evans Owen Hillman Christopher Martinez Isiah Maxey Adam Ravain Dorian Carr Ethan Murphy Marques Ruff Kristopher Stam Kyle Keating

REHEARSAL PIANIST Dr. Judy Arthur

Special Thanks Todd Queen, Greg Jones, William Fredrickson Adrienne DeStefano, Michelle McDaniel, Megan Mowery, Nick Smith Judy Arthur, Kevin Fenton, André Thomas

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 (Summer 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

ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF MUSIC

­

GRADUATE

UNDERGRADUATE

STAY CONNECTED Just because the performance is over doesn’t mean we can’t still be friends! Stay up to date with College of Music news and events through social media and email:

NEWSLETTER Sign up to receive regular communications from the FSU College of Music with our new electronic newsletter: tinyurl.com/musicFSU

REQUEST INFORMATION Do you want to know more about the College of Music at Florida State?

Visit us at: music.fsu.edu/study/admissions/request-information

SOCIAL MEDIA Look for /musicFSU on your favorite social media platform!