Concert Program: Maria and Cecilia

MARIA AND CECILIA

Choral music in honor of two remarkable women

Sunday, November 3 3pm at Church of St. Vincent Ferrer 869 Lexington Ave., New York, NY 10065

MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

W

elcome to Musica Viva NY’s 2019-2020 season! This year we put a spotlight on our artists in intimate and subtly complex repertoire. Each concert showcases the choir’s fulsome sound and their versatility, starting with tonight’s program for a cappella choir and organ, Maria and Cecilia.

From Hildegard von Bingen, a medieval-era nun who wrote visionary plainchant from her cloistered cell, to Zachary Wadsworth’s “The Greater O Antiphons”, tonight given its New York premiere, the Musica Viva NY choir and Trent Johnson on organ take us on a journey through the centuries of music written in honor of St Cecilia, the patron saint of music, whose feast day has occasioned well-known poems and music since its declaration in the fourth century; and Mary, the mother of Jesus, a central figure of worship in the Christian and Islamic traditions.

The rest of the season brings the return of our ensemble-in-residence, Aeolus Quartet. We return to Bohemian National Hall in a program that Aeolus Quartet will curate of Czech works for string quartet as part of our partnership with the Dvořák American Heritage Association. In our concerts in March and May, they will be featured as collaborators, performing alongside the choir. In Great Romantic Composers, the textures of the double choir in Rheinberger’s mass and Mendelssohn’s string quartet alternate, finding unity in an arrangement of Mahler’s stunning RückertLieder. And in Bachmaninoff, the elegant and miraculous simplicity of a Bach cello suite in the midst of Rachmaninoff’s formidable “All-Night Vigil” will surprise and delight.

We’re so glad you can join us for another spectacular year of choral and chamber music with the wonderful artists we are proud to present. Thank you for your support and your presence tonight and all season long.

—Danielle Buonaiuto, Executive Director, Musica Viva NY —2—

Sunday, November 3, 3pm Church of St. Vincent Ferrer

MARIA AND CECILIA

Choral music in honor of two remarkable women Musica Viva NY Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, Artistic Director Trent Johnson, Assistant Director and Organist

Program HILDEGARD VON BINGEN (1098-1179). . . . . . . . . . . . . O Splendidissima Gemma Jianing Zhang, soprano ARVO PÄRT (b 1935). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Salve Regina, for choir and organ CARLOTTA FERRARI (b 1975). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arbre de Paradis ROBERT PARSONS (1535-1571/2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ave Maria MICHAEL PRAETORIUS (1571-1621)/JAN SANDSTRÖM (b 1954). . Es ist ein Ros entsprungen Jianing Zhang, soprano; Barbara Fusco-Spera, mezzo soprano Shawn Bartels, tenor; Erik Anstine, bass OLIVIER MESSIAEN (1908-1992). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . L’ascension: I. Majesté du Christ demandant sa gloire à son Père BENJAMIN BRITTEN (1913-1976). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hymn to St. Cecilia Shabnam Abedi, soprano; Barbara Fusco-Spera, mezzo soprano Shawn Bartels, tenor; Erik Anstine, bass

Intermission ZACHARY WADSWORTH (b 1983). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Greater O Antiphons (New York premiere) I. O Sapientia V. O Oriens II. O Adonai VI. O Rex Gentium III. O Radix Jesse VII. O Emmanuel IV. O Clavis David VIII. O Virgo Virginum Jianing Zhang, soprano; Nathan Siler, tenor; Devony Smith, mezzo soprano MARCEL DUPRÉ (1886-1871). . . . . . . . Magnificat V: He Remembering His Mercy Has Holpen His Servant Israel JAMES MACMILLAN (b 1959). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cecilia Virgo HENRYK GÓRECKI (1933-2010). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Totus Tuus NADIA BOULANGER (1887-1979). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Prélude in F Minor FRANZ BIEBL (1906-2001). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ave Maria David Baldwin, bass; Nathan Siler, tenor

This program is presented with the generous support of the Ida and William Rosenthal Foundation.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

M

ary, the mother of Jesus, is not only the matriarch of an entire religion, but also a symbolic figure of endurance—the often set Magnificat, one of the Bible’s more uneasy, human moments, the annunciation, the realization of her then-new reality of who her baby will turn out to be. For Mary, the acknowledgments in art, especially (but not limited to) visual art, are too numerous to mention. In these works she is greeted, implored, honored, espoused, and sainted, but the Marian hymn, carol, and ode runs through the entire ethos of Western Classical Music.

Saint Cecilia, with good cause, has for centuries given artists a reason to celebrate—from writers like Chaucer or Kleist, rock musicians like the Foo Fighters, and the breadth of composers featured by the chorus today. But beyond her obvious attraction to composers (being the patron saint of music), having acquired her sainthood by resisting marriage to a Pagan emboldened by her singing, she stands today, in different times, as a potent symbol of female resistance. Her feast day is in November, and this concert honors that.

Hildegard Von Bingen—one of the first composers to whose music we can attach a name—was a musician, a poet, mystic, an abbess and theologian who, in a time where even women of prodigious thought experienced precious little in the way of respect, we know Hildegard was consulted by Kings and Popes. Her piece O Splendidissima Gemma (“Oh Splendid Gem”) is a setting of her own text drawn from a book of her own motets Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum, with music to match the “ecstatic” (as it is often referred to) nature of her text. It directly refers to large natural phenomena like the sun or a coursing river, and suggests that, though Eve (of Adam and the garden) disturbed the prime matter of the world, it was Mary who rent it asunder, allowing the “word” of the Bible to be made flesh.

Estonian composer Arvo Pärt wrote his Salve Regina in 2002 at the behest of a bishop who wanted, for his 75th birthday, a work to honor the “Golden Madonna.” The text means “Hail queen” and is a slow burn of big and uncompromised religious ecstasy—it is a work made both to praise and to be a kind of story in how praise is experienced and meted out: it requires careful listening and wears its devotion in a sub rosa fashion. Somber minor-key unison (or at least in rhythmic unison) gives way to a more complex texture involving multiple vocal lines, which eventually returns (somewhat) to the original idea and ideal.

In 16th Century England, during the time of Reformation after the death of Henry VIII, the newly refashioned Church wanted some different music to prove it was just as thrilling and musically devoted —4—

p.5 ABOUT THE PROGRAM as that old Catholic Church. New hymnals were created, bursting with music—less Latin, more English—by the likes of Thomas Tallis and the lesser known Robert Parsons. But though English through and through, his still-Catholic heart occasionally produced some works on original Latin texts, the most famous of which is his Ave Maria, a work that is decidedly polyphonic (multiple voices hold down independent musical lines) and which carves its potent effect from these individual, deliquescing melodies.

Sometimes, to paraphrase American composer Charles Ives, the only fitting reaction to a piece of music is another piece of music, and it is so very true in this 1990 work of Swedish composer Jan Sandström. He took the work of pre-Baroque German composer Michael Praetorius, the carol Es ist ein Ros entsprungen (translated as “Lo, how a Rose e’er Blooming”, with the Rose being a Marian symbol), and built an endlessly respectful work around it. The Praetorius is there—not just the melody but the full flower of the graceful harmony, around which Sandström outlines overtones, inserts humming, and allows tones to linger, paying direct but subtle musical homage to his predecessor.

Music history is full of storied collaborations, but few so engaging and effulgent as that between poet W.H. Auden and composer Benjamin Britten. The composer loved the saint not just because she was the patron saint of what he did better than just about anyone, but because her official feast day doubled as his birthday. The poet made the text to order in 1940, and the work —cast in three parts— intermingles images of the patron saint of music with the Black Swan (who, as did St. Cecilia, mixed singing and death), Venus on the Half Shell, Greek Mythology, and images of the two artists themselves.

As the poem, so is the piece divided into three movements, with a breakneck middle section—this heartbreaking cri de coeur “love me,” set unattainably high and almost off the cuff to close—bookended by two lush, slower offerings.

Young American composer Zachary Wadsworth offers a contemporary take on St. Cecilia and the Virgin Mary, both of whom feature in the texts of the Magnificat ‘Greater O Antiphons’, made to be sung on the last days of Advent. These texts have been inspiration for many other composers, from Arvo Pärt to Vaughan Williams, and Wadsworth’s settings run the gamut, from jaunty to reverential, polyphonic to more static, even including some indeterminate music—work that, predicated on boundaried improvisation, sounds different in each performance. The Greater O Antiphons was commissioned by the St. Cecilia Fund of the Cathedral Church of the Advent and this is its New York premiere.

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ABOUT THE PROGRAM An anonymous Medieval Latin text about St. Cecilia formed the basis of Scottish composer James MacMillan’s Cecilia Virgo. The 2012 work is plush and spiky in equal measure, often pan-tonal (meaning different lines are in different keys) and plays up the reverent ecstasy of the moment rather than directly intoning on the text. The words are precise—ending with the hortatory “St. Cecilia, pray for us”—and MacMillan deploys playful counterpoint, quick mood shifts, and quirkily harmonized melodies to portray it.

The Virgin Mary not only gave birth to Jesus, she also doubles as the Patron Saint of Poland, the birthplace of the most successful composer in history (if record sales are to be a marker) Henryk Górecki. In 1987 he was commissioned to write an a cappella piece to be sung at the event of Pope John Paul II making a pilgrimage to Poland, and provided Totus Tuus, or “Totally Yours,” a Polish Catholic composer’s devotional to his home country’s own saint and one of his more enduring works. The text was provided by Maria Boguslawska, a Polish poet and activist associated with the Warsaw Theological Academy, the location of the work’s premiere. Górecki opts—as is his most consistent wont, especially when aiming his voice most clearly to his vision of heaven—to set the words, which pay direct and obvious penitent tribute to Mary, in a style that is both diatonic (meaning the sounds are made deliberately to be consonant not dissonant) and repetitive, a kind of ecstatic minimalism that brooks little argument as to its intent. The opening and closing intonations of the saint’s name make the clear case even clearer, and to boot the composer made one of the intentionally plainest settings of a text possible— uncomplicated and palpable devotion is the work’s lone ambition.

While Bavarian composer Franz Biebl is not a marquee name, in the early 1960s this effulgent and elegant Ave Maria became his signature work. According to a program note the composer helped prepare, “…the text is unique in its conjoining of two sources. The first source is the thrice-daily devotional exercise called the Angelus in the Catholic Church. It is cued by the ringing of the “Angelus” bell, sometimes referred to as the “Peace Bell.” It consists of a thricerepeated “Hail Mary,” each with an introductory versicle based on the Gospel, followed by a concluding versicle and prayer.” His music captures and elevates this.

—Daniel Felsenfeld

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MEET THE ARTISTS

F

ounded in 1977, Musica Viva NY is a chamber choir of thirty professionals and highly skilled volunteers, based in Manhattan’s historic All Souls Church. Its mission is to bring world-class music to a widening community through its annual concert series, outreach programs, and an ambitious artistic vision. Under the baton of Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez since 2015, Musica Viva NY has been praised by The New York Times as an “excellent chorus.” Musica Viva NY has toured in France (2004), Germany (2006), and Italy (2012).

Esteemed conductor and pianist Dr. Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez was named Artistic Director of Musica Viva NY and Director of Music at the historic Unitarian Church of All Souls in Manhattan in 2015. He is also Co-Founder of the New Orchestra of Washington and Artistic Director of the Victoria Bach Festival. He has earned accolades from The Washington Post as a conductor “with the incisive clarity of someone born to the idiom,” as well as praise from The New York Times for leading “a stirring performance” of Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem. At a concert commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the WWI Armistice (featuring the world premiere of Joseph Turrin’s cantata And Crimson Roses Once Again Be Fair) Oberon’s Grove wrote: “Maestro Alejandro HernandezValdez drew rich, warm sounds from the musicians” in “a beautiful and deeply moving program”. He is featured in El mundo en las manos/ Creadores mexicanos en el extranjero (The World in Their Hands/Creative Mexicans Abroad), a book by the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs honoring Mexican nationals who are leading figures in diverse artistic fields. He is the recipient of a 2016 Shenandoah Conservatory Alumni of Excellence Award for his exemplary contribution to his profession, national level of prominence, and exceptional integrity. He resides in New York City and Washington, D.C. Trent Johnson is an organist, composer, pianist and conductor. He is the Organist and Assistant Director of Music of the Unitarian Church of All Souls in New York City and the Music Director of the Oratorio Singers of Westfield, New Jersey. An active organ recitalist, Mr. Johnson has performed recitals in many of the major churches, concert halls and cathedrals in the United States, Europe and Asia. Some notable recital venues in New York have included the Riverside Church, St. Thomas’ Church 5th Avenue, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, and the Brick Presbyterian Church. He is an organist at Radio City Music Hall in NYC, where he plays the “Mighty Wurlitzer” organ for the Christmas Spectacular Show. Mr. Johnson is a graduate of the Peabody Institute and The Juilliard School.

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MARIA AND CECILIA: THE TEXTS HILDEGARD VON BINGEN (1098-1179) O Splendidissima Gemma Text by the composer O splendidissima gemma et serenum decus solis qui tibi infusus est, fons saliens de corde Patris, quod est unicum Verbum suum, per quod creavit mundi primam materiam, quam Eva turbavit.

O jewel resplendent and bright and joyous beauty of the sun that’s flooded into you— the fountain leaping from the Father’s heart.

This is his single Word by which he did create the world’s primordial matter, a motherhood into confusion cast

by Eve.

Hoc Verbum effabricavit tibi Pater hominem, et ob hoc es tu illa lucida materia per quam hoc ipsum Verbum exspiravit omnes virtutes, ut eduxit in prima materia omnes creaturas.

This Word the Father made for you into a man— and this is why you are that bright and shining matter, through which that Word has breathed forth every virtue, just as he brought forth all creatures in a primal motherhood.

Latin collated from the transcription of Beverly Lomer and the edition of Barbara Newman; translation by Nathaniel M. Campbell.

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MARIA AND CECILIA: THE TEXTS ARVO PÄRT (b 1935) Salve Regina, for choir and organ Marian hymn Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiæ, vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.

Ad te clamamus exsules filii Hevæ, Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle.

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, Hail our life, our sweetness and our hope.

To thee do we cry, Poor banished children of Eve; To thee do we send up our sighs, Mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.

Eia, ergo, advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte; Et Jesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.

O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.

Turn then, most gracious advocate, Thine eyes of mercy toward us; And after this our exile, Show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

ROBERT PARSONS (1535-1571/2) Ave Maria Catholic prayer Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum; benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui.

Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Amen.

MICHAEL PRAETORIUS (1571-1621) / JAN SANDSTRÖM (b 1954) Es ist ein Ros entsprungen Marian hymn Es ist ein Ros entsprungen aus einer Wurzel zart, wie uns die Alten sungen, von Jesse kam die Art und hat ein Blümlein bracht mitten im kalten Winter, wohl zu der halben Nacht.

Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming from tender stem hath sprung!

Of Jesse’s lineage coming, as men of old have sung.

It came, a floweret bright, Amid the cold of winter, when half spent was the night —9—

MARIA AND CECILIA: THE TEXTS BENJAMIN BRITTEN (1913-1976) Hymn to St. Cecilia Text by W. H. Auden (1907-1973) I. In a garden shady this holy lady With reverent cadence and subtle psalm, Like a black swan as death came on Poured forth her song in perfect calm: And by ocean’s margin this innocent virgin Constructed an organ to enlarge her prayer, And notes tremendous from her great engine Thundered out on the Roman air.

Blonde Aphrodite rose up excited, Moved to delight by the melody, White as an orchid she rode quite naked In an oyster shell on top of the sea; At sounds so entrancing the angels dancing Came out of their trance into time again, And around the wicked in Hell’s abysses The huge flame flickered and eased their pain.

Blessed Cecilia, appear in visions To all musicians, appear and inspire: Translated Daughter, come down and startle Composing mortals with immortal fire.

II. I cannot grow; I have no shadow To run away from, I only play.

I cannot err; There is no creature Whom I belong to, Whom I could wrong.

I am defeat When it knows it Can now do nothing By suffering.

All you lived through, Dancing because you No longer need it For any deed.

I shall never be Different. Love me.

Blessed Cecilia, appear in visions To all musicians, appear and inspire: Translated Daughter, come down and startle Composing mortals with immortal fire.

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MARIA AND CECILIA: THE TEXTS

III. O ear whose creatures cannot wish to fall, O calm of spaces unafraid of weight, Where Sorrow is herself, forgetting all The gaucheness of her adolescent state, Where Hope within the altogether strange From every outworn image is released, And Dread born whole and normal like a beast Into a world of truths that never change: Restore our fallen day; O rearrange.

O dear bright children casual as birds, Playing among the ruined languages, So small beside their large confusing words, So gay against the greater silences Of dreadful things you did: O hang the head, Impetuous child with the tremendous brain, O weep, child, weep, O weep away the stain, Lost innocence who wished your lover dead, Weep for the lives your wishes never led.

O cry created as the bow of sin Is drawn across our trembling violin.

O weep, child, weep, O weep away the stain.

O law drummed out by hearts against the still Long winter of our intellectual will.

That what has been may never be again.

O flute that throbs with the thanksgiving breath Of convalescents on the shores of death.

O bless the freedom that you never chose.

O trumpets that unguarded children blow About the fortress of their inner foe.

O wear your tribulation like a rose.

Blessed Cecilia, appear in visions To all musicians, appear and inspire: Translated Daughter, come down and startle Composing mortals with immortal fire.

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MARIA AND CECILIA: THE TEXTS ZACHARY WADSWORTH (b 1983) The Greater O Antiphons Text from the Salisbury Antiphony I. O Sapientia O wisdom, which camest forth out of the mouth of the Most High, and reachest from one end to the other, mightily and sweetly ordering all things: Come and teach us the way of prudence.

II. O Adonai O Lord and Ruler of the House of Israel, Who appearest unto Moses in a flame of fire in the bush, and gavest unto him the Law in Sinai: Come and redeem us with a stretched out arm.

V. O Oriens O Orient, Brightness of Eternal Light, and Son of Righteousness: Come and lighten those that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

VI. O Rex Gentium O King of the Gentiles, and their Desire, the Corner stone both one: Come and save man, whom Thou hast made out of the dust of the earth.

VII. O Emmanuel O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, the Desire of all Nations, and their Saviour: O Emmanuel, Come and save us, O Lord our God.

III. O Radix Jesse O Root of Jesse, Who standest for an ensign of the people, at Whom Kings shall shut their mouths, VIII. O Virgo Virginum unto Whom the Gentiles shall pray: O Virgin of Virgins, Come and deliver us, and tarry not. how shall this be?

For neither before thee was there IV. O Clavis David any like thee nor shall be after, O Key of David, nor shall there be after. and Scepter of the House of Israel, Daughters of Jerusalem, why Thou that openest and no man marvel ye at me? shutteth, The thing that ye behold is a divine and shuttest and no many mystery. openeth, Come, and loose the prisoner from the prison house, and him that sitteth in darkness, from the shadow of death.

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MARIA AND CECILIA: THE TEXTS JAMES MACMILLAN (b 1959) Cecilia Virgo Cecilia Virgo, tuas laudes universa concinit musicorum turba, et tuis meritis supplices a Deo exaudiri possint.

Juncta voce et uno corde tuum nomen invocant, ut luctum mundi in paradisi gloriam mutare digneris; tuosque pupilos, tutelaris Virgo, aspicere velis, piam Dominam, inclamantes, et semper dicentes: Sancta Cecilia, ora pro nobis.

O virgin Cecilia, the worldwide multitude of musicians sings your praises, and through your merits, supplicants may be heard by God. With one voice and a single heart they call upon your name, that you may be worthy of turning the mourning of the world into the glory of paradise; and may you be willing, O protecting Virgin, to look upon your orphans, who call upon Our Lady most merciful, forever saying: Holy Cecilia, pray for us.

Anon, medieval Translation by Edward Tambling

HENRYK GÓRECKI (1933-2010) Totus Tuus Text by Maria Boguslawska Maria!

Totus tuus sum, Maria, Mater nostri Redemptoris, Virgo Dei, virgo pia, Mater mundi Salvatoris.

Totus tuus sum, Maria!

O Mary!

I am wholly thine, Mary, mother of our Redeemer, virgin (mother) of God, holy virgin, mother of the Saviour of the world.

I am wholly thine, Mary!

Translated by Richard Abram

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MARIA AND CECILIA: THE TEXTS FRANZ BIEBL (1906-2001) Ave Maria Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae et The Angel of the Lord announced concepit de Spiritu Sancto. to Mary and she conceived by the Holy Spirit.

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. You are blessed among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.

Maria dixit: Ecce ancilla Domini.

Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum.

Mary said: Behold the handmaiden of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word.

Et verbum caro factum est et habitavit in nobis.

And the word was made flesh and lived among us.

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. You are blessed among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.

Sancta Maria, mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus. Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis nunc et in hora mortis nostrae.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us not and in the hour of our death.

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SAVE THE DATES FOR THE REST OF OUR 2019-20 SEASON Sunday Feb 2, 2020 at 4pm Bohemian National Hall A CELEBRATION OF CZECH HERITAGE: With Aeolus Quartet and Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez A co-presentation of Musica Viva NY and the Dvořák American Heritage Association Sunday March 8, 2020 at 5pm All Souls Church GREAT ROMANTIC COMPOSERS: Mahler, Mendelssohn, & Rheinberger Musica Viva NY and the Aeolus Quartet Sunday May 17, 2020 at 5pm All Souls Church BACHMANINOFF: Spirituality and Beauty in Bach & Rachmaninoff Musica Viva NY Tickets available at www.musicaviva.org/tickets COME TO THE CABARET! Saturday, Dec 7 at 7pm Reidy Friendship Hall All Souls Church Join us for a celebration of the Great American Songbook, presented by your favorite Musica Viva NY singers, featuring songs by George Gershwin, Johnny Mercer, Irving Berlin, Kurt Weill, Harold Arlen and other favorites. Festivities begin at 7pm with wine, canapés and a Silent Auction to support Musica Viva NY – you could be the winning bidder on one (or more!) of the unique items. Following the performance, enjoy bubbly, confections and conversation.

Tickets $70 on our site or at the door

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MUSICA VIVA NY Choir SOPRANO

TENOR

Shabnam Abedi* Lindsey Blackhurst Elizabeth Clancy Mary Esbjornson Molly O’Neil Frank Kate Wolfe Johnson Birgit Matzerath Emily Mikesell Reldalee Wagner Sarah Worthington Jianing Zhang*

Shawn Bartels* Paul D’Arcy* Erik Resurreccion Douglas Purcell* Nathan Siler* Andrew Troup*

ALTO Emily Ariese Barbara de Bellis Holly Drew Barbara Fusco-Spera* Natalie Lebert Dinah Nissen Jennifer O’Neill Chloë Schaaf* Devony Smith* Bradley Strauchen-Scherer

BASS Erik Anstine* David Baldwin* James Dargan* Bryan McNamara Harold Norris Gary Press Christopher Rothko Augustus Young *Section leader

SPONSOR MUSICA VIVA NY There are many opportunities to play a role in bringing Musica Viva NY’s season to life as a sponsor, including: ⚫⚫ Underwriting a concert ⚫⚫ Underwriting the appearance of a professional singer or orchestra member ⚫⚫ Underwriting an appearance by the Aeolus Quartet ⚫⚫ Underwriting an intimate post-concert reception with the artists

Naming opportunities are available for sponsors.

Contact Danielle Buonaiuto, Executive Director at dbuonaiuto@musicaviva.org.

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MUSICA VIVA NY Staff Artistic Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez Conductor and Artistic Director Trent Johnson Assistant Director of Music

Administrative Danielle Buonaiuto Executive Director Bryan McNamara Production and Chorus Manager Dinah Nissen, Esq. Marketing Director Barbara de Bellis Librarian Hannah Nacheman Digital Marketing Consultant

Board of Directors Melanie Niemiec President Bill Bechman Vice President Winnie Olsen Secretary

Lisa O’Brien, Esq. Treasurer Constance Beavon Shu-Wie Chen Dinah Nissen, Esq. Harold Norris

Kate Phillips David Rockefeller, Jr. Thomas Simpson Epp Sonin

Advisory Board Seymour Bernstein Laurel Blossom Renée Fleming

Galen Guengerich Susan Jolles Walter Klauss Artistic Director Emeritus

Jean-Louis Petit Bruce Saylor

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for photos, videos, and more facebook.com/musicavivany

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@musicavivany

MUSICA VIVA NY PATRON SUPPORT LEVELS FOR OUR 2019-20 SEASON

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ecome a Patron of Musica Viva NY today! We need your generous contributions to support the outstanding concerts and outreach programming of the Musica Viva NY choir and instrumentalists. There is a level for every budget, and you will enjoy special benefits as a measure of our thanks.

Your contribution can be made as a one-time gift, or on a recurring basis.

PATRON LEVELS APPASSIONATO $10,000 and above ⚫⚫ Up to four Musica Viva NY soloists will perform at your private event in the NYC area ⚫⚫ Invitation to a dinner featuring a special performance by the Artistic Director ⚫⚫ Invitation to an exclusive reception with the Artistic Director and the Aeolus Quartet after a concert ⚫⚫ Six complimentary season subscriptions ⚫⚫ Reserved seating CON FUOCO $5,000 to $9,999 ⚫⚫ Invitation to a dinner featuring a special performance by the Artistic Director ⚫⚫ Invitation to an exclusive reception with the Artistic Director and the Aeolus Quartet after a concert ⚫⚫ Four complimentary season subscriptions ⚫⚫ Reserved seating CON BRIO $3,000 to $4,999 ⚫⚫ Invitation to a dinner featuring a special performance by the Artistic Director

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Invitation to an exclusive reception with the Artistic Director and the Aeolus Quartet after a concert Three complimentary season subscriptions Reserved seating

RISOLUTO $1,000 to $2,999 ⚫⚫ Invitation to an exclusive reception with the Artistic Director and the Aeolus Quartet after a concert ⚫⚫ Three complimentary season subscriptions ⚫⚫ Reserved seating ESPRESSIVO $500 to $999 ⚫⚫ Invitation to an exclusive reception with the Artistic Director and the Aeolus Quartet after a concer ⚫⚫ Two complimentary season subscriptions ⚫⚫ Preferred seating CANTABILE $100 to $499 ⚫⚫ Preferred seating DOLCE $25 to $99 ⚫⚫ Acknowledgment in program at all levels

To learn about the ways you can support Musica Viva NY, including sponsorship, monthly giving, employer matching, volunteering, and more, visit www.musicaviva.org.

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MUSICA VIVA NY PATRONS 2019-20

W

e are deeply grateful to our Patrons listed below for their support of our 2019-2020 season. Thank you for joining us! Your support for our outstanding Musica Viva NY artists, our high-caliber, innovative choral and chamber music performances, and our educational outreach is vital and essential.

Corporate and Foundation Support Gunleif Jacobsen and Thomas Simpson Charitable Fund Heart & Soul Charitable Fund The Ida & William Rosenthal Foundation

Appassionato $10,000 and above David & Susan Rockefeller Melanie & David Niemiec

Con Fuoco $5,000 to $9,999 Jennifer Shotwell Georgia Wall & Don Gogel

Con Brio $3,000 to $4,999 Catherine & Robert Brawer Shu-Wie Chen Liz Harvey Dinah Nissen & Elizabeth Apelles Madonna K. Starr, in memory of Evelynn C. Gioiella Brenda Walker & Peter Swords

Risoluto $1,000 - $2,999 Constance Beavon Bill Bechman & Tom Garlock Stillman Brown & Meg Raftis Lisa & Richard Cashin Holly Drew Lois Gaeta & David Baker Dr. Holly Atkinson & Rev. Galen Guengerich Pamela Healey Ricardo A. Mestres Jr. Winnie Olsen Epp Sonin Aracy and Klaus Winter Susan Witter

Espressivo $500 - $999 One anonymous patron Barbara de Bellis, in memory of Greta Minsky

Robin Bossert Dixie Goss & Dan Cryer Yangnim & Larry Kurz Jerry Moss Marilynn Scott Murphy Rose & Frank Patton Kate Phillips Ingrid & Fritz Reuter Deborah Taylor Edward B. Whitney Beth & Chris Wubbolt

Cantabile $100 - $499 One anonymous patron Ann Tarlov Barbul Anne Brewer Michelle M. Boston Cornelia Do Sandra Lotz Fisher Holley Flagg Jeffrey & Marjory Friedlander Mary Geissman Christine Goodwin Mary Ella Holst & Guy Quinlan Steven Lane Millie & John Liebmann Howard Leifman John Mascio Betty McCollum Peggy Montgomery John Moran Leslie Rondin Gayle S. Sanders Nancy Simmons Karen Steele Richard White

Dolce $25 - $99 One anonymous patron Christina Bellamy Susan Cooper Michael Doddy Mary Dugan Marion Ockens Neil Osborne

This list reflects gifts received from June 1, 2019 to Oct 18, 2019. — 19 —

Musica Viva NY is extremely grateful for the following help with its 2019-20 season from:

All Souls Unitarian Church (www.AllSoulsNYC.org) for Musica Viva NY’s meeting, rehearsal, performance, and reception spaces as well as for the facilities and events staff who help make all productions run smoothly

Greater than One (www.greaterthanone.com) for Musica Viva NY’s website and publicity design

Heart & Soul Fund, Inc. for its longtime support of our outreach programming

Musica Viva NY 1157 Lexington Avenue New York, NY 10075

212 794 3646 info@musicaviva.org