We Are One Voice Program Book July 2023

Ryan is a 2001 graduate of Ball State University. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Choral Music Education. He also completed a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration from Southern Utah University in 2017. Ryan is a proud member of American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). He has served as the Chair of the CCSD Honor Choir since 2015, and currently serves on the Nevada ACDA All-State Choir Committee. Duff has also served as the 2020 Western Region ACDA Honor Choir Chairman, the 2022 All-Conference Sing Coordinator for the 2022 Western Region ACDA Conference, and as a member of the Western Region’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force. He has served as President of the Nevada ACDA chapter, and currently serves as the Nevada ACDA Men’s Choir Repertoire & Resources Chairman. In 2017, he received a CCSD Heart of Education Award, recognizing Excellence in Teaching.

Currently, Ryan has been a High School Choir Teacher in the Clark County School District for 15 years. He just completed his 12th year as the Choir Director at Basic Academy in Henderson, where he directs 6 choirs, and serves as the Department Chair for the Performing and Visual Arts. Before his career as a teacher, Ryan worked as a Professional Singer and Entertainer. Outside of Las Vegas, he worked for Holland America Cruise Lines, Busch Gardens Theme Park Entertainment, Cedar Point Amusement Park Entertainment, and Harvey’s Lake Tahoe; he has also worked as Musical Director for several Professional Regional Musical Theatre Productions. His Las Vegas performing career as a singer and musician has included “Tony & Tina’s Wedding” at the Rio Hotel & Casino, “The Can-Can Cabaret” at the Paris Hotel & Casino, and performing as a Singing Gondolier at the Venetian Hotel & Casino.

Ryan is proud to serve as the Artistic Director for the Las Vegas Men’s Chorus, and this season we celebrate his 10th year leading and conducting us from the podium. He resides in Las Vegas with his husband and Las Vegas Men’s Chorus Choreographer, Justin McClendon.

Ryan Duff | Artistic Director

From our Artistic Director,

Hello and welcome to our 2023 Summer Production entitled “We Are One Voice.” This show continues to celebrate our 30th season of bringing high quality choral singing and entertainment to the Las Vegas community. Through this show, we will celebrate the power of music in our lives, how it has the power to unite us as a world, and how as a community of brothers, we can impact change through our singing.

Our ensemble members, our staff, and our Board of Directors have worked tirelessly to put this show together. I continue to stand in awe of the cooperative spirit of our leadership team, and I am so proud to share with you all of the hard work of our organization.

We are thrilled to continue to bring you high quality production value with our growing choral sound, plus added choreography, fun costumes, and exciting projections. Our Dance Line and our Featured Vocal Ensemble will continue to add their special flare to our show, and there will of course, be some surprises!

We are once again honored to take the stage in our new home, the beautiful Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall on the campus of UNLV. Thanks so much for sharing with us today, we hope you enjoy the show!

Ryan Duff Artistic Director, Las Vegas Men’s Chorus

Jonathan is a pianist, singer, actor, and educator. He began piano lessons at age five, competed in regional competitions in grade school, and started playing for church services in middle school. He received his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University in Chicago, IL.

In the Las Vegas Valley, he has been musical director and keyboardist for various churches, schools, and many local musical theatre productions with companies such as Signature Productions and Super Summer Theatre. Jonathan sang with the Las Vegas Men’s Chorus for three seasons as well as serving as Member-at-Large on the Board of Directors.

Jonathan Tuala | Collaborative Pianist

James Koperski | President

Welcome to We Are One Voice and LVMC’s 30th season!

Over the past 30 years the Las Vegas Men’s Chorus strives to bring our community together through the power of song. Today’s program “We Are One Voice” highlights the power of music to transcend our differences and reveal our shared humanity.

As we perform music in 5 different languages and from cultures all over the world, remember that music is our common language. It is one of the few things that every person on the planet shares.

Thank you for supporting the Las Vegas Men’s Chorus and enjoy the show!

James Koperski

President, Las Vegas Men’s Chorus

James Koperski

About the Las Vegas Men’s Chorus….

Our Mission: The Las Vegas Men’s Chorus creates safe spaces for our community and allies through musical experiences which inspire all of us to be stronger together.

Community Harmony Opportunity Respect Unity Service

Our Performance history has included performances for Golden Rainbow, Las Vegas Prime-Timers, Las Vegas Pride, World AIDS Day, and the Gateway Arts Foundation. Every year, in conjunction with the Clark County School District, we perform at “Sing Out,” a Tenor/Bass Choral Festival intended to bolster confidence and a lifelong love of singing in our community’s young men. As a GALA Chorus, we had the honor of attending the 2016 GALA Conference in Denver with over 125 other choruses from around the world. We have begun preliminary planning for our return to the GALA Festival 2024 in Minneapolis.

Open Rehearsal/Auditions for our upcoming Winter 2023 Concert and the kickoff to our 31st season, will be held on Sunday, September 10, 2023 at 1:00pm. We meet from 1:00pm – 4:00pm every Sunday starting on Sunday, September 17, 2023 at Blue Diamond Crossing, 4150 Blue Diamond Road #102, Las Vegas, NV 89139. If you are interested in joining our dance line, we have openings and auditions will be held on Sunday, September 24, 2023 at 10:00am at Arthur Murray Dance Center Las Vegas East, 2580 Wigwam Parkway, Henderson, NV 89074. Please follow us on all of our social media, reach out to a current member, or visit the website for more information. We would LOVE to have you add your talents to our ensemble.

On behalf of our Artistic Staff, the LVMC Board of Directors, and our entire ensemble, we want to thank you for spending your Sunday evening with us and we sincerely hope that you enjoy tonight’s show, a celebration of music, its uniting power for our world, and its important role in all of our lives. We are so excited to have you with us today in our beautiful new home, the Artemus W. Ham Hall, as we close out the celebration of our 30th season! Your support here today means everything to us all; we hope that you enjoy the concert. Have a wonderful and rest of your summer, we look forward to seeing you back here for our Holiday Concert on Sunday, December 17, 2023 @ 4pm.

SAVE THE DATES:

OPEN VOCAL AUDITIONS

Sunday, September 10, 2023 @ 1:00pm, Blue Diamond Crossing, 4150 Blue Diamond Road #102, Las Vegas, NV 89139

FIRST WINTER REHEARSAL

Sunday, September 17, 2023 @ 1:00pm, Blue Diamond Crossing, 4150 Blue Diamond Road #102, Las Vegas, NV 89139

OPEN DANCE LINE AUDITIONS

Sunday, September 24, 2023 @ 10:00am, Arthur Murray Dance Studio Las Vegas East, 2580 Wigwam Pkwy. Henderson, NV 89074

UPCOMING 31st CONCERT SEASON

SUNDAY DECEMBER 17, 2023

SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2024

SUNDAY JUNE 30, 2024

Friar Tux - Tuxedos

Tyler Williams - Bass

Jeremy Meronuck - Percussion

Justin Reed - Program Design

Ryan Miller - Producer

Sectional Rehearsal Hosts

LVMC Volunteers

Translation of songs

Tahiti

“Aha ha ere mai, Ta mu re, mu re rah”

(Come let us gather together for a party)

Lion King Celebration

“Fatshe leso lea halalela”

(This land of our ancestors is holy)

Sisi Ni Moja

“Sisi Ni Moja”

(We are one) Ritmo

Ritmo, Batir las manos al ritmo. Rhythm. Clap your hands to the rhythm. Hábilmente, Batir las manos al ritmo. Capably, Clap your hands to the rhythm.

Canten en coro gozoso, Sing in a joyful chorus, Con amor y esperanza. With love and hope.

Cantaremos en ritmo. We will sing in rhythm.

Cantaremos en coro. We will sing in chorus.

Hagen en harmonia. Make harmony. Vamos a cantar y a jugar. Let’s go sing and play.

Todas voces, todas gentes. All voices, all people. Hábilmente, con todas voces, con Capably, with all voices, with Instrumentos, con esperanza, y con ritmo. Instruments, with hope, and with rhythm.

Batir las manos al ritmo. Clap your hands to the rhythm.

Batir las manos con toda las gente, con Clap your hands with all the people, with Todas voces, con alegria y con gozo. All voices, with happiness, and with joy.

Cantaremos con gozo. We will sing with joy. Con amor y esperanza. With love and hope.

Cantaremos de paz. We will sing of peace.

Cantaremos de amor. We will sing of love.

Cantaremos con alegria y con gozo. We will sing with happiness and with joy. Ritmo. Rhythm.

LAS VEGAS MEN’S CHORUS BOARD

President: James Koperski

Vice-President: Christian Garcia

Secretary: Stephen Sumner

Treasurer: Tim Vogl

Member-At-Large: Michael Amesquita

OF DIRECTORS

Director: Marc Austin

Director: Michael Bond

Director: Joey Doherty

Director: Frederick Foster

Director: Tom McPherson

Members

Tenor 1

Michael Amesquita

Erick Canfield

Eduardo Celiz

Ari Christensen*

Chris Doucette

James Koperski

Ryan Miller

Michael Morell

Greg Phillips

David Pohl

Marty Posner

Jamie Richards

Joric Salvador

Rob Willis

Masa Yamakawa

Tenor 2

Gregory Acosta

Joey Doherty

Eric Endy

Stephen Flesher

Frederick Foster

Christian Garcia

Todd Gerber

Ralph Lozano

Sammy Mendoza

Connor Murphy

Mike Nagy*

Lee New

Kris Relph

Rob Scolari

Christopher Smith

Stephen Sumner

Stephen Trumble

Leonard Walker

Wayne Young

Baritone

Ben Adams

Gerry Allen

Jose Arias

Marc Austin

Lyon Brooks

Jeff Chase

Russell Doerig

Phillip Fife

Ricky Flores

Dan Gardner

Jim Long

Reed Merrell

Andy Phairas

James Raymond

Justin Reed*

Isaac Roachford-Gould

Timothy Wells

Jason Yocum

Bass

Dennis Aragon

Jason Blouin

Michael Bond

Kris Burrell

Fred Crescente

Dominic Gaon

Frank Gregory

Cherokee Hines

Nelson Lucero

Mark McCreery

Aaron Schave

Matthew Vance*

Tim Vogl

Section Representatives*

Director: Marty Posner

Director: Justin Reed

Director: Timothy Wells

Director: Rob Willis

Board Advisor: Ryan Miller

Dancers

Justin McClendon (Choreographer)

Stephen Trumble (Dance Captain)

Michael Bond

Eduardo Celiz

Ari Christensen

Joey Doherty

Dominic Gaon

Greg Phillips

Tim Vogl

Featured Vocal Ensemble

Michael Amesquita Tenor 1

James Koperski Tenor 1

Ryan Miller Tenor 1

Joric Salvador Tenor 1

Rob Willis Tenor 1

Masa Yamakawa Tenor 1

Gregory Acosta Tenor 2

Erick Canfield Tenor 2

Eric Endy Tenor 2

Christian Garcia Tenor 2

Marty Posner Tenor 2

Jamie Richards Tenor 2

Christopher Smith Tenor 2

Ben Adams Baritone

Gerry Allen Baritone

Jose Arias Baritone

Marc Austin Baritone

Dan Gardner Baritone

Jim Long Baritone

Timothy Wells Baritone

Jason Blouin Bass

Jeff Chase Bass

Philip Fife Bass

Frank Gregory Bass

Cherokee Hines Bass

Reed Merrell Bass

Justin Reed Bass

WE ARE ONE VOICE - ACT I

MUSIC HEALS US, SINGING UNITES US

Sing! as performed by Pentatonix

Come to the Music by Joseph Martin

Sing from “Sesame Street”

Can We Sing the Darkness to Light? by Kyle

Pedersen

I Sing Because I’m Happy Traditional Spiritual

ONE WORLD, ONE VOICE

The Wellerman New Zealand Sea Shanty

Soloists: Gerry Allen, Justin Reed, Frank Gregory, Cherokee Hines

Arirang Korean Folk Song

Featuring: James Koperski (Clarinet), Christian Garcia (Cello), Jonathan Tuala (Piano)

Tahiti Tahitian Folk Song, arr. Harris II

Lion King Celebration from “The Lion King”

Soloists: Timothy Wells, Chris Doucette

****There will be a 15-minute Intermission****

WE ARE ONE VOICE - ACT II

TURN THE WORLD AROUND

Turn the World Around as recorded by Harry Belafonte

Danny Boy Traditional Irish, arr. Juneau

Ritmo Traditional Spanish, arr. Davison

Featuring: Ryan Miller, Jonathan Tuala (Four-Hand Piano)

Roll Out the Barrel Traditional Polka

Featuring: The Las Vegas Men’s Chorus Dance Line

WE ARE ONE WORLD, WE ARE ONE VOICE

One Voice as recorded by Wailin’ Jennys Soloists: Gregory Acosta, Philip Fife, Masa Yamakawa

Sisi Ni Moja arr. Jacob Narverud

Brotherhood of Man from “How To Succeed in Business Soloists: Michael Amesquita, Frederick Foster without really trying”

One Voice (from “Sing for the Cure”)

arr. Joseph Martin

Soloists: Fred Crescente, David Pohl, Jamie Richards, Wayne Young