Louisiana ACDA State Conference Invitational Performance
Friday, October 17th at 7 p.m.
Immaculate Conception Jesuit Church
130 Baronne St.
New Orleans, LA 70112
Program Note
“ThisisAmerica:abrilliantdiversity,spreadlikestars,likeathousandpointsoflight,inabroad andpeacefulsky.”- George H. W. Bush
The greatest experiment in the history of the world was the birth of the United States of America. A nation born from revolution and diversity, America’s heartbeat comes from the melting pot of cultures and ideas. But the unalienable rights that were designed for all of America’s citizens started wars and fought battles both in our communities and as a nation at large. Sown over the course of our nation’s history, division and hatred against one another over diIerences of race, ideas, political beliefs, and everything in between is at a boiling point. There are those who may say America is equal, fair, and just, but today’s current events tell another story.
Between each selection, students will share excerpts of Langston Hughes’ LetAmericaBe AmericaAgainand Emma Lazarus’ TheNewColossusthat help influence and shape the arc of our program. Beginning with Johnson’s arrangement of Hard Times, Stephen Foster’s 1854 tune rings true to humanity’s struggles today. Johnson’s treatment of each verse as the musical clamor increases elucidates the sublime melodic writing against the troublesome harmonic context seeking refuge through the call: “Oh, Hard Times, come again no more.” Caroline Shaw’s Her beacon-hand beckons from ToTheHandspersonally reflects on TheNewColossustext while describing a sonic world where refuge isn’t just an act of all humanity, but a deeply personal one. A trio of trebles highlights the fortuitous Mother of Exiles while the tenors and basses illustrate the “tempest-tossed” nature of the narrator struggling to find refuge.
The cornerstone of our program, Joel Thompson’s America Will Be showcases the two poems featured and uses 11 diIerent languages to highlight the ethnic diversity and artistic unity of America’s people. Thompson’s program note says: “…the piece aims to make plain how far we are from the ideals we’ve set for ourselves, but it also clings to the hope that we will one day achieve them.” The final selection is Make Them Hear You from RagtimetheMusicalwhere the undertones of diversion run rampant, but the overall message is most important: “make them hear you.” We have a responsibility to speak justice into action through our words – may our stories continue to inspire everyone to live for justice for all.
Tonight’s program reflects on what America is, was, and is yet to be. It is a reflection of our division turning to unity that is needed to create what America will be. Through the synthesis of our program and the voices of Hughes and Lazarus, we can inherently connect to the true rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and strive to create an America that will be for all its citizens.
Program
Hard Times……………………………………………………………..……………..………….Stephen Foster arr. Craig Hella Johnson b.1962
Kat Wilkinson, Claudette Cruz, Douglas Flores, and Phillip Voorhees, soloists
AMP0598
III. Her beacon-hand beckons from ToTheHands……….……….…………………..Caroline Shaw b.1982
manuscript from composer’s website
America Will Be………………………………………………………………………………….Joel Thompson b. 1988
Claudette Cruz, Lhareen Lazo, and Clairie Parent, soloists Galaxy Music 7.0739
Make Them Hear You from Ragtime………………………………………………Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens Music by Stephen Flaherty arr. JeI Funk
Adam Philley, collaborativeartist Alfred Music CH9851
Texts and Translations
Hard Times
Let us pause in life’s pleasures and count its many tears
While we all sup sorrow with the poor.
There’s a song that will linger forever in our ears; Oh Hard Times, come again no more.
‘Tis the song, the sigh of the weary.
Hard Times, Hard Times, come again no more.
Many days you have lingered around my cabin door, Oh Hard Times, come again no more.
While we seek mirth and beauty and music light and gay,
There are frail forms fainting at the door;
Though their voices are silent, their pleading looks will say, Oh Hard Times, come again no more.
‘Tis the song, the sigh of the weary.
Hard Times, Hard Times come again no more.
There’s a song that will linger forever in our ears; Oh! Hard Times, come again no more.
There’s a pale drooping maiden who toils her life away
With a worn heart whose better days are o’er.
Though her voice would be merry ‘tis sighing all the day Oh! Hard Times, come again no more.
‘Tis a sigh that is wafted around the troubled wave
‘Tis a wail that is heard upon the shore.
‘Tis a dirge that is murmured around the lowly grave, Oh Hard Times, come again no more.
It’s the song, the sigh of the weary.
Hard Times, Hard Times, come again no more.
There’s a song that will linger forever in our ears…
Words by Stephen Foster
Her Beacon Hand Beckons, in response to “The New Colossus” by Emma L
Her beacon-hand beckons: give give to me those yearning to breathe free tempest-tossed they cannot see what lies beyond the olive tree whose branch was lost amid the pleas for mercy, mercy give give to me your tired fighters fleeing flying from the from the from those yearning to breathe free those yearning to breathe free those yearning to breathe i will be your refuge i will be your refuge i will be we will we will be your we will be your refuge
azarus
America Will Be, adapted from L angston Hughes’ LetAmerica Be America Again, Emma L azarus’ The New Colossus, and students from the Freedom High S chool Chorus in Orlando, FL
Yosueñodeunnuevoamanacer
I dream of a new dawn
Who are you that mumbles in the dark and who are you that draws your veil across the stars?
Mageanagathasinduwa
Umaasaakonomaypagbabago
‘Atamanaa‘analbasharyatealamonyuhib
I sing for the future
I hope there is a change I hope that people can learn to love
Eucantoporqueestoulivre I sing because I am free
I’m the one who dreamt a dream while still a serf of kings A dream so strong, so brave, so true that even yet it sings. To build a homeland of the free. The free?
Wǒ mèngxiǎngzhe měihǎo de wèilái
Give me your tired,
Give me your poor,
I dream of a be+er future
Seigi o motomote I hope for jus7ce
Your huddle masses yearning to breathe free
Ich singe für eine Flucht aus der Welt I sing for an escape from the world
Give me the wretched refuse of your teeming shore
Còn u’o’č mong hoà biǹh I dream of peace
Mwen chante pou lapè I sing for peace
Send these to me!
I li@ my lamp beside the golden door!
For all the songs we’ve sung, and all the dreams we’ve dreamed, America was never America to me, and yet I swear: America will be!
Make Them Hear You Lyrics by
Lynn Ahrens
Go out and tell our story. Let it echo far and wide. Make them hear you. Make them hear you. How justice was our battle and how justice was denied. Make them hear you. Make them hear you.
And say to those who blame us for the way we chose to fight that sometimes there are battles which are more than black or white. And I could not put down my sword when justice was my right. Make them hear you. Make them hear you…
Go out and and tell our story to your daughters and your sons. Make them hear you. Make them hear you.
And tell them, in our struggle, we were not the only ones. Make them hear you. Make them hear you.
Your sword can be a sermon or the power of the pen.
Teach ev’ry child to raise his voice and then, my brothers, then will justice be demanded by ten million righteous men. Make them hear you. When they hear you.
I’ll be near you again.
About the Artists
Northwestern State University Chamber Choir
The flagship choral ensemble at Northwestern State University of Louisiana, the NSU Chamber Choir is an auditioned mixed chorus comprised of highly skilled vocal musicians that serve as the choral ambassadors for the university. Made of undergraduate and graduate students of all majors, Chamber Choir has competed across the United States and Europe and won significant awards at global competitions. They have been invited to perform at state, regional, and national conventions of the National Collegiate Choral Organization, American Choral Directors Association, and the Louisiana Music Educators Association. Chamber Choir frequently tours across the southern region and commissions new works from acclaimed choral composers. A beacon of musical excellence in northwest Louisiana and the Natchitoches community, the NSU Chamber Choir frequently shares innovative choral programming and performances across the state and beyond.
Dr. Shane Thomas, Director of Choral Activities
Dr. Shane Thomas is the Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor of Music in the Dear School of Creative and Performing Arts at Northwestern State University where he conducts the Chamber Choir, Cane River Singers, and the Northwestern Choral Artists. He teaches courses in undergraduate and graduate vocal music education, choral methods, choral literature, and administrates the choral activities within the department. Thomas serves as the founder and artistic director of the Louisiana Vocal Arts Ensemble. He also serves as the Louisiana ACDA President-Elect.
Thomas spent two years as the Director of Choral Activities and Coordinator for Vocal Music Education at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, LA where he was responsible for significant program growth and acclaimed for innovative storytelling through choral performance. He created the McNeese Choral Festival and Summer Vocal Camp which brought over 450 middle and high-school students to campus. While in southwest Louisiana, Thomas founded the Louisiana Vocal Arts Ensemble, a new professional chorus committed to sophisticated, relevant choral performance connecting and serving all peoples.
Prior to his journey in higher education, Thomas served the Director of Choral Activities at Martin County High School in Stuart, FL for five years. Choirs under his direction were repeatedly named “Choir of Distinction” by the Florida Vocal Association and were accepted to perform at state and regional ACDA conferences. He served as the FLACDA Secretary for five years and in Florida Vocal Association District Leadership for three years.
Thomas received a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from the University of Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of Music, Master of Music in Choral Conducting with distinction from Westminster Choir College, and a Bachelor of Music Education from Stetson University. He holds professional memberships in ACDA, NCCO, NAfME, Chorus America, Pi Kappa Lambda, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
NSU Chamber Choir
Dr. Shane Thomas, conductor
Adam Philley, collaborativeartist
S opranos
Claudette Cruz
Personnel
Bocaue, Philippines
MM – Music Education
Dorcia Gillam Cheneyville, LA Vocal Performance
Audrey Gorum Sulphur, LA Vocal Performance
Lhareen Lazo Las Piñas City, Philippines
MM – Vocal Performance
Madison Lenser Shreveport, LA Secondary Education
Clairie Parent
Shreveport, LA
Vocal Performance
Candace Paul Melissa, TX Music Business
Ashlyn Underwood West Monroe, LA Musical Theatre
Altos
Allison Flores Reyes San Pedro Sula, Honduras Instrumental MUED
Holland LaGrone West Monroe, LA Vocal MUED
Torin Merchant Angleton, TX Communications
Jaime Perdue Kingwood, TX English
Ashlynn Rice Shreveport, LA Vocal MUED
Abbygale Sims West Monroe, LA Liberal Arts
Emma Wale LaPlace, LA Vocal Performance
Kat Wilkinson Patterson, LA
Tenors
J. Cole Becton
MM – Vocal Performance
Lake Charles, LA Musical Theatre
Juan Campos Irving, TX
Douglas Flores Reyes San Pedro Sula, Honduras
Vocal Performance
MM – Vocal Performance
Harry Hoben Ball, LA Vocal MUED
Gabriel McCalmon Keithville, LA
Vocal MUED
Jeremiah McKinney Alexandria, LA Vocal Performance
Joel Ramos Alvarado San Pedro Sula, Honduras Music Business
Colin Sebren Eros, LA
Vocal MUED
Phillip Voorhees Gulfport, MS Vocal Performance
Basses
Garner Allen Ruston, LA
Jace Atchison
William Boyd IV
Josue Bustillo Aguero
West Monroe, LA
Texas City, TX
San Pedro Sula, Honduras
Carlos Diaz del Valle San Pedro Sula, Honduras
Lyle Harriman Alvin, TX
Joshua Noyola
Adam Philley
Dallas, TX
Shreveport, LA
Maximillian Pinkney Shreveport, LA
Vocal MUED
Vocal MUED
Vocal MUED
Instrumental MUED
Music Business
Instrumental & Vocal MUED
Vocal Performance
Associate DCA
BSN - Nursing
The NSUChoralDepartmentgratefully acknowledges thegenerous supportof:
NSU Administration
Scott Burrell, Director of the H.D. Dear, Sr. and Alice E. Dear School of
Creative and Performing Arts
Dr. Terrie Sanders, Chair of the Department of Music
Daniel Blosser, Dr. Mary DeVille, Jocelyn Donlon, Molly Getsinger, Amanda Goldberg
Melinda Morrell, Craig Parent, Tim and Rhonda Perdue, Amber Potter, Elizabeth Stoker, Tanya Voorhees, and First United Methodist Church of Natchitoches
UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES
• Music Education • Music Performance • Music Business • Sacred Music
GRADUATE DEGREES
• Music Education • Music Performance
Mrs. H.D. Dear, Sr. and Alice. E. Dear School of Creative and Performing Arts
DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC
Make Music at NSU
Choral & Vocal Studies
The Dear School of Creative and Performing Arts at Northwestern State University offers a comprehensive Choral and Operatic program that prepares both music and non-music majors for the demands of the professional and performing worlds.
With over 150 participants across five choral and vocal ensembles, students work with exceptional faculty through applied lesson instruction for majors in:
• Music Education
• Vocal Performance
• Music Business
• Sacred Music
Students will engage with diverse repertoire and participate in innovative performances that will allow them to find their voice.
Northwestern Opera Theatre allows the opportunity to perform full operatic productions and scenes on stage as well and provides a deeper understanding of the operatic repertoire. The Choral and Voice area provide opportunities for international travel, significant touring and performances, and experiences with pedagogical leaders in the field.
Sing
Your Story AT NORTHWESTERN STATE UNIVERSITY!
FIND YOUR
VOICE
NORTHWESTERN VOCAL ENSEMBLES
Northwestern Chamber Choir
The flagship choral ensemble at Northwestern State University, Chamber Choir is an auditioned SATB chorus comprised of highly skilled vocal musicians who serve as the choral ambassadors for the university. Chamber Choir has performed across the United States and Europe and won significant awards at global competitions. The ensemble has been invited to perform at state, regional, and national conventions of the National Collegiate Choral Organization, American Choral Director’s Association, and Louisiana Music Educators Association. The Chamber Choir presents the annual Lessons and Carols in the Minor Basilica in Natchitoches, LA and tours across our region. Admission into this ensemble is by audition only.
Lyrica
Lyrica is the premier, unauditioned treble chorus comprised of all majors across NSU. Lyrica has performed in regional and international performances and garnered coveted awards, such as Gold and the Best Treble Choir at the Laurea Mundi Budapest Competition. Lyrica has been a featured ensemble at the state conference of the Louisiana Music Educators Association, tours annually, and performs across our community. They sing a variety of repertoire and seeks to provide an uplifting community for all its singers. Admission into this ensemble is open to all majors across NSU.
Cane River Singers
Cane River Singers is an unauditioned mixed chorus comprised of all scholarship students, faculty, and community members specializing in the performance of choral masterworks. Cane River Singers has provided performances of timeless choral literature, including Orff’s Carmina Burana, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Admission into this ensemble is open to all majors across NSU and community members across central and northwest Louisiana.
Orpheus
Orpheus is an unauditioned tenor-bass chorus comprised of all majors across NSU. With over 30 years of incredible music-making, Orpheus sings across our community and has been a featured ensemble in the Christmas Gala. Orpheus performs repertoire from all styles and genres and seeks to provide an uplifting community for all its singers. Admission into this ensemble is open to all majors across NSU.
NSU Opera Theatre Ensemble
The NSU Opera Theater Ensemble is an auditioned group open to any NSU student who is interested in honing their musical and theatrical skills through operatic stage work. Each semester the ensemble presents a fully staged production. Recent productions include: Menotti’s The Medium, Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte & Le nozze di Figaro, and Stoltz’ Im Weißen Rößel. For more information, please contact Dr. Robert Cardwell at cardwellr@nsula.edu.
