“BL ACKBIRD, FLY!”
Pacific Choirs Pacific Singers Darita Seth, conductor Patricia Grimm, piano
University Chorus Darita Seth, conductor Monica Adams, piano
Sunday, February 18, 2024 2:30 pm Faye Spanos Concert Hall
65TH PERFORMANCE OF 2023–24 ACADEMIC YEAR
FEBRUARY 18, 2024, 2:30 PM Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing (1900; 2014)
J. Rosamond Johnson (1873–1954) arr. Zanaida Robles (b. 1979)
Michelle Miracle, soprano Combined Choirs
Richard Burchard (b. 1960)
Sitivit anima mea (2014) Pacific Singers
When Dreams Take Flight (2017)
Rollo Dilworth (b. 1970) Craig Carnelia (b. 1949) arr. Anita Cracauer (b. 1977)
Flight (1992; ?)
Miranda Duarte, alto Aiden Valdez, tenor University Chorus
Kim André Arnesen (b. 1980)
Flight Song (2014) Molly Bolewski, conductor Combined Choirs
FEBRUARY 18, 2024, 2:30 PM Total Praise (1996; 2003)
Pacific Singers
Richard Smallwood (b. 1948) arr. Doreen Rao (b. 1979)
John Lennon (1940–1980) Paul McCartney (b. 1942) arr. Daryl Runswick (b. 1946) Gabby Campitelli, Rebecca Mahon, sopranos Miguel Velarde, bass University Chorus
Blackbird (1968; 1986)
Matthew Lyon Hazzard (b. 1989)
Flight (2020)
Elaine Hagenberg (b. 1979)
Measure Me, Sky! (2022) Pacific Singers
We Can Mend the Sky (2014)
Jake Runestad (b. 1986)
Charlize Price, soprano Robert McCarl, percussion Combined Choirs
View a digital version of this program at issuu.com/MusicatPacific.
TEX TS AND TRANSL ATIONS A. Rosmonde Johnson: Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Lift every voice and sing, Till earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty; Let our rejoicing rise High as the list’ning skies, Let it resound loud as the rolling sea. Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us; Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, Let us march on till victory is won. Stony the road we trod, Bitter the chast’ning rod, Felt in the days when hope unborn had died; Yet with a steady beat, Have not our weary feet Come to the place for which our fathers sighed? We have come over a way that with tears has been watered. We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered, Out from the gloomy past, Till now we stand at last Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast. God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way; Thou who hast by Thy might, Led us into the light, Keep us forever in the path, we pray. Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee, Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee; Shadowed beneath Thy hand, May we forever stand, True to our God, True to our native land. —James Weldon Johnson
Burchard: Sitivit anima mea Sitivit anima mea ad Deum fortem vivum: Quando vein am et apparebo ante faciem Dei mei? Quis dabit mihi pennas sicut columbae Et volabo et requiescam? —Psalms 41:3, 55:7
My soul hath thirsted after God, who is great and living: When shall I come and appear before the face of my God? Who will give me wings as of a dove And I shall fly and find my rest?
TEX TS AND TRANSL ATIONS Dilworth: When Dreams Take Flight Fly, fly fly. What dreams we have and how they fly Like rosy clouds a cross the sky; Of wealth, if fame, of sure success, Of love that comes to cheer and bless; When our dreams take flight, And how they wither, and how they fade, The waning wealth, the jilting jade; The fame that for a moment gleams, Then flies forever, dreams! What dreams we have and how they fly. O burning doubt and long regret O tears with which our eyes are wet Heartthrobs, heartaches, the glut of pain, The somber cloud, the bitter rain. What dreams we have and how they fly. —Paul Lawrence Dunbar
Carnelia: Flight Let me run through a field in the night, Let me lift from the ground ‘till my soul is in flight. Let me sway like a shade of a tree, Let me swirl like a cloud in a storm on the sea. Wish me on my way through the dawning day, I wanna flow, wanna rise, wanna spill. Wanna grow in a grove on the side of a hill. I don’t care if the train runs late, If the checks don’t clear, if the house blows down. I’ll be off where the weeks run wild, Where the seeds fall far from this earth bound town. And I’ll start to soar, watch me rain ‘till I pour. I’ll catch a ship that’ll sail me astray, Get caught in the wind, I’ll just have to obey ‘till I’m flying away. Let me leave behind all the clouds in my mind, I wanna float like a wish in a well, free as the sound of the sea in a shell.
TEX TS AND TRANSL ATIONS I don’t know but maybe I’m just a fool. I should keep to the ground, I should stay where I’m at. Maybe ev’ryone has hunger like this and the hunger will pass, but I can’t think like that. All I know is somewhere through a clearing There’s a flickering of sunlight on a river long and wide. And I have such a river inside. Let me run through a field in the night, Let me lift from the ground ‘till my soul is in flight. Let me sway like a shade of a tree, Let me swirl like a cloud in a storm on the sea. Wish me on my way through the dawning day, I wanna flow, wanna rise, wanna spill. Wanna grow in a grove on the side of a hill. Wanna shift like a wave rollin’ on, Wanna drift from the path I’ve been trav’ling upon Before I am gone. —Craig Carnelia
Arnesen: Flight Song All we are we have found in song: you have drawn this song from us. Songs of lives unfolding fly overhead, cry overhead; longing, rising from the song within. Moving like the rise and fall of wings, hands that shape our calling voice on the edge of answers you’ve heard our cry; you’ve known our cry: music’s fierce compassion flows from you. The night is restless with the sounds we hear, Is broken, shaken by the cries of pain: For this is music’s inner voice Saying yes, we hear you, all you who cry aloud, And we will fly, answering you, so our lives sing, Wild we will fly, wild in spirit we will fly. Like a feather falling from the wing, Fragile as a human voice, Afraid, uncertain, alive to love, we sing as love, Afraid, uncertain, yet our flight begins as song. —Euan Tait
TEX TS AND TRANSL ATIONS Smallwood: Total Praise Lord, I will lift mine eyes to the hills, Knowing my help is coming from You. Your peace, You give me in time of the storm. You are the source of my strength, You are the strength of my life. I lift my hands in total praise to You. Amen. — Psalm 121:1–2, Mark 4:39, Psalm 59:9–10, Psalm 63:4
Lennon and McCartney: Blackbird Blackbird singing in the dead of night take these broken wings and learn to fly; All your life you were only waiting for this moment to arise. Blackbird singing in the dead of night Take these sunken eyes and learn to see; All your life you were only waiting for this moment to be free. Blackbird, fly into the light of a dark, black night. —John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Hazzard: Flight The flight from my side of the world to yours Fills me with anticipation. My skin prickles reaching out to your hand and has forgotten the long held fear of flying. Every touch, every scent that reminds me of you brings me closer to us. Launch jitters, jolt the cavernous cabin The breath of the powerful engine Fills the air, its force pushing me into my seat. and we embrace the sky. The world passes slowly beneath the shivering silver fin of the skybird And now it grows smaller: small enough for me to step Across continents towards you. —Matthew Lyon Hazzard
TEX TS AND TRANSL ATIONS Hagenberg: Measure Me, Sky! Measure me, sky! Tell me I reach by a song Nearer the stars; I have been little so long. Horizon, reach out! Catch at my hands, stretch me taut, Rim of the world: Widen my eyes by a thought. Sky, be my depth, Wind, be my width and my height, World, my heart’s span; Loveliness, wings for my flight. —Leonora Speyer
Runestad: We Can Mend the Sky In my dream I saw a world free of violence hunger suffering a world filled with love Now, awake in this world I beg, let my dream come true. Soo baxa.
Let’s go.
Naftu orod bay kugu aamintaa.
To save your life, run with all your might
If we come together, we can mend acrack in the sky. —Jake Runstad, based on Let My Dream Come True by Warda Mohamed and two Somali proverbs
ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES Cambodian-American conductor, haute-contre, and composer, Darita Seth was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. He is founder, president, and director of Choral Audacity, a chamber choir advocating for QBIPOC voices. Currently, Seth is interim director of choral studies at University of the Pacific. Seth’s prior conducting credits include: director of music at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Long Beach, California; director of music at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Danville, California; associate director of the Danville Girls Chorus, associate director of the Cantabella Children’s Chorus; and interim director of the Grammy Award–winning Pacific Boychoir Academy. In 2016 Seth concluded his tenure with Chanticleer, the Grammy Award–winning San Francisco–based men’s vocal ensemble and is currently a member of the Grammy Award–winning Los Angeles Master Chorale. A Sigma Alpha Iota distinguished member, he has made appearances as guest soloist with the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony, Light Chamber Choir, Reconciliation Singers Voices of Peace, and the Philippine Saringhimig Singers. An active choral clinician, Seth has presented at conferences on topics such as “Nurturing and Embracing Ethnic Diversity within the Choral Ensemble,” “Mysteries of the Countertenor Voice,” “The Aging Voice,” and “How To Change Your Church’s Singing Culture.” Seth holds a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from Capital University’s Conservatory of Music and a Master of Music degree in choral conducting from California State University–Long Beach. Outside of music and teaching, Seth enjoys cooking meals from his proud Cambodian-American heritage, weightlifting, traveling with his partner, and being a dog-dad to his American dingo, Remy Martin. Patricia Grimm currently serves as organist at Fremont Presbyterian Church in Sacramento. At Pacific she teaches sight singing, collaborative piano, and serves as a collaborative pianist. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in sacred music from Duquesne University, a Master of Music degree in choral conducting from Kent State University, and a Master of Music degree in collaborative piano from the Hartt School of Music. Monica Adams holds a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from University of the Pacific. She studied piano with Frank Wiens, voice with William Whitesides, George Buckbee, and John DeHaan, and conducting with William Dehning and Robert Halseth. She has been a collaborative pianist at Pacific since 1995.
PACIFIC CHOIRS The Pacific Singers select, mixed-voice chamber choir who collaborate with University Chorus for two choral concerts each semester and perform at major University events and ceremonies. They also work with University Symphony Orchestra and the Stockton Symphony to perform major choral and orchestral pieces.
Sopranos I
Tenors I
Ria Patel Charlize Price* Katie Pelletier Bell Souza
Parker Deems Leo Hearl Michael Megenney*
Sopranos II
Matthew Miramontes Ian Orejana Christopher Penn
Juliette Frediere Shannon Lyons Michelle Miracle Jordan Yang Altos I Magdalena Bowen Jasmin Hernandez Stella Mahnke Karlie Makhoul Altos II Molly Bolewski† Alexis Bondoc Mia Janosik* Elizabeth Neumeyer
Tenors II
Basses I William Giancaterino Jordan Guitang Landon Horstman* Austin Nie Basses II Walker Austin Lilac Robertson Sevastian Schlau *section leader †assistant conductor
PACIFIC CHOIRS University Chorus is a large, mixed chorus collaborating with other choirs for two performances each semester and performing both a cappella and choral-orchestral works in a wide variety of genres.
Sopranos
Tenors
Gabby Campitelli Rachael Cross Judy Kim Zoie Macapanpan* Becca Mahon Olivhea Ross Clarice Yoon Jasmine Valentine Vanessa Vazques-Bartolo Sydney Zucco
Patrick Bartholomy Robert McCarl Davis Robinson Aiden Valdez*
Altos Jade Anderson Liza Bagdasarian Sarah Burke-Baker Huey Chan Miranda Duarte* Natalae Gong Jordan Hendrickson* Maggie Juarrez Jayden Laumeister Jinling Li Claire Petersen
Basses Chaz Cisneros William Giancaterino Severyn Kurach Andrew Seaver Miguel Velarde* Aiden Webb* *section leader
Pacific Voice and Choral Faculty Daniel Ebbers, program director Eric Dudley Robin Fisher James Haffner Darita Seth Jonathan Latta, ensembles program director
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Coming soon . . . Feb 21, 7:30 pm, Recital Hall Composer-in-Residence Gabriela Lena Frank Feb 24, 7:30 pm, Faye Spanos Concert Hall Pacific Wind Bands Mar. 1, 7:30 pm, Faye Spanos Concert Hall Pacific Jazz Ensemble Keith Brown, piano
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