THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY College of Music presents the
“While I Breathe, I Hope”
A Levana Fall Concert themed around the music of Dr. Andrea Ramsey
Levana
McKenna Stenson, Director
Rose Hellmers and Joshua Butler, Assistant Directors
Emma Anderson, Piano
Tuesday, November 4, 2025
7:30 p.m. | Opperman Music Hall
Worry Bird arr. Andrea Ramsey (b. 1977)
— World Premiere —
Select Ensemble: Abbey Fernandez de Castro, Arden Ruby, Stevens Roberson, Haydn Scrimgeour
Shiloh DeFabia, percussion
Jesu der du meine Seele, BWV 78
Johann Sebastian Bach
Aria: Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten (1685–1750)
Ava Stein, soprano and Kiley Berkery, alto
Itzelle Melendez, soprano and Rebekah Zogaib, alto
Abbey Fernandez de Castro, cello; Emma Anderson, harpsichord
Cuando La Cumbia Trae Lluvia
Camilo Rojas/Juan Camilo Molina (b. 1991)/(b. 1983)
Dancers: Arden Ruby, Jessica Estrella, Rachael Hayworth, Amy Arredondo
Gianna Garcia, Elizabeth Rivera, Isabelle Jocelyn, Isabella Baez
Lawrence Turner and Bryden Reeves, percussion
Dum Spiro Spero (While I Breathe, I Hope)
Andrea Ramsey
Canzone ró curtiell La Mòssa arr. Emmanuelle Ader
Verse 1: Lauren Haggard, Sophia Katsigiannis, Stevens Roberson, Calliope DeChant, Colista Washington
Verse 2: Isa Baez, Tyler Colgan, Clara de Almeida Neves Aguiar, Layla Mander, Ally Kelso
Verse 3: Isabelle Jocelyn, Lindsay Reese, Kai Jamison, Savannah Van Ost
Suffrage Cantata
I. It Is Coming II. Failure is Impossible
Edmarly Ariol, Isabella Baez, narrators
Sophonise Pierre, soloist
Jean-Luc Cataquet and Francesca Puro, violin
Noel Nedford, viola; Abbey Fernandez de Castro, cello
Bryden Reeves and Lawrence Turner, percussion
Andrea Ramsey
Kevin Phillip Johnson (b. 1961)
Soloists: Jordan-Taylor McIntosh, Jackie Jenkins, Nava Jones, Calliope DeChant Evie Trahan, Ava Stein, Colista Washington, Kylie Benoit, Gabby Sierra, Isabelle Jocelyn
Andrea Ramsey enjoys an international presence as a composer, conductor, scholar, and music educator. Her teaching experiences range from work with adolescent and children’s voices to high school and collegiate voices. She enjoys regular opportunities to conduct all-state and divisional level honor choirs, festival events at Carnegie Hall, and served as a principal conductor for the Pacific International Young Women’s Choral Festival in Eugene, Oregon and conducted the National ACDA Junior High/Middle School Honor Choir in 2023. An award-winning composer with nearly 200 works to date, Andrea previously held positions in music education and conducting at The Ohio State University and the University of Colorado, respectively. She believes strongly in the creation of new works, and her compositions are available with traditional publishers and through MusicSpoke, a digital sheetmusic marketplace. She regularly enjoys residencies and collaborations with ensembles and festival choirs across North America and abroad.
As a scholar, she has presented for state, divisional, and national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, the 6th Annual Symposium on Sociology in Music Education, as well as The Phenomenon Singing Symposium in St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada. Additionally, she has co-authored articles published in the Choral Journal, as well as the Journal of Research in Music Education.
A product of public education and the first in her family to attend college, Andrea grew up in rural Arkansas where she experienced firsthand the power of music to provide opportunities, a sense of community, and better understanding of our humanity. It is through the generosity of her many teachers and the state and federal funding of scholarships and fellowships that she is able to have the career and successes she enjoys today.
Soprano 1
Isa Abalo
Amy Arredondo
Kylie Benoit
Sydney Carter
Tyler Colgan
Celia Collazo
Cassidy Cruzada
Julianna Gargiulo
Isabelle Jocelyn
Kassandra Martinez
Anna Oppenheiser
Janet Rebollar
Stevens Roberson
Zoe Rue
Joanna Samuel
Haydyn Scrimgeour
Ava Stein
Rebecca Stewart
River Stone
Madilyn Taylor
Levana Personnel
McKenna Stenson, Director
Rose Hellmers and Joshua Butler, Assistant Directors
Soprano 2
Lauren Ankenbauer
Kristen Beck
Rebecca Costa
Riley Craft
Clara de Almeida Neves Aguiar
Callan Downing
Analise Fonseca
Brooke Geller
Lauren Haggard
Elliott Hall
Lily Hathaway
Elena Houghton
Jackie Jenkins
Sophia Katsigiannis
Norah McKnight
Itzelle Melendez
Sophie Nagy
Emma Reed
Arden Ruby
Marisa Santiago
Lydia Shackelford
Gabriella Sierra
Monica Turner
Colista Washington
Rosie Zaricki
Alto 1
Camila Aceituno
Sarah Arnold
Isa Baez
Marin Barker
Audrey Baudek
Kiley Berkery
Calliope DeChant
Angela Espenscheid
Jessica Estrella
Rachael Hayworth
Autumn Henry
Kai Jamison
Nava Jones
Allyson Kelso
Layla Mander
Jordan-Taylor McIntosh
September Peters
Taylor Phillips
Sophonise Pierre
Jillian Porter
Lindsay Reese
Elizabeth Rivera
Gabrielle Sasso
Amanda Stewart
Evelyn Trahan
Savannah Van Ost
Anika Van Rooyen
Caroline Wheeler
Alto 2
Edmarly Ariol
Mack Baderschneider
Jillian Bice
Rae Coe
Sam Conrad
Mia Cruz
Riley Curls
Hayley Elmore
Lauren Emmert
Abbey Fernandez de Castro
Gianna Garcia
Lynette Hernandez-Mancera
Katie Holt
Peryn Joyner
Erin Kane
Noelle Maschhoff
Kayleigh McGovern
Hannah Squires
Brianna Steele
Daelynn Trotman
Dylan Valdes
Rebekah Zogaib
Please refrain from talking, entering, or exiting during performances. Food and drink are prohibited in all concert halls. Recording or broadcasting of the concert by any means, including the use of digital cameras, cell phones, or other devices is expressly forbidden. Please deactivate all portable electronic devices including watches, cell phones, pagers, hand-held gaming devices or other electronic equipment that may distract the audience or performers.
Recording Notice: This performance may be recorded. Please note that members of the audience may at times be included in this process. By attending this performance you consent to have your image or likeness appear in any live or recorded video or other transmission or reproduction made in conjunction to the performance.
Florida State University provides accommodations for persons with disabilities. Please notify the College of Music at (850) 644-3424 at least five working days prior to a musical event to request accommodation for disability or alternative program format.