Rainbow Women’s Chorus Concert Program - Around the World and Over the Moon - May 2023

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Our Mission

Rainbow Women’s Chorus works together to develop musical excellence in an atmosphere of mutual support and respect. We perform publicly for the entertainment, education and cultural enrichment of our audiences and community. We sing to enhance the esteem of all women, to celebrate diversity, to promote peace and freedom, and to touch people’s hearts and lives.

Our Story In 1996 Silicon Valley Gay Men’s Chorus (SVGMC) returned from the GALA (Gay And Lesbian Association) choral festival in Tampa so inspired that they wanted to host a GALA Festival here in San Jose. However, GALA required that both men and women needed choral representation, so Len Chandler, singer with SVGMC, asked their former music director, Lynne McLaughlin, if she would be interested in starting a “Sister Choir.” In agreeing to do so, Lynne became the music director of what the original singing members voted to name Rainbow Women’s Chorus. Our logo was designed by Lynne’s son, Tom McDonald.

Rainbow Women’s Chorus is a nonprofit corporation governed by the Action Circle, a group which is dedicated to realizing the organization’s mission. RWC is available to perform at church services, diversity celebrations, awards ceremonies, community meetings and private events. Visit our website at www.rainbowwomen.org.

Rainbow Women’s Chorus is a member of the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses (GALA). In 2000, RWC co-hosted, along with Silicon Valley Gay Men’s Chorus, the GALA Festival in San Jose —10 days and over 5000 singers! Since then, RWC has participated in GALA Festivals in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016: Montreal, Miami and twice in Denver. We look forward to attending GALA Festival in Minneapolis in 2024 (Covid cancelled Festival 2020). In 2006, members of RWC sang with a dozen other choruses at Carnegie Hall in a concert benefiting breast cancer and HIV research, and in 2010 we attended the Sister Singers Festival in Chicago. But we like it best when we are here at home, singing for you!

Join t he Ch or us!

The members of Rainbow Women’s Chorus encourage you to join us and share in our joy of singing and entertaining. We welcome singers and volunteers. For more information visit our website, www.rainbowwomen.org, or call (408) 603-9367.

Rainbow Women’s Chorus Staff Ruth Huber, Co-Artistic Director, Composer-in-Residence

Ruth Huber was instrumental in founding both RWC and Tapestry Singers (the Austin Women’s Chorus). She holds three music degrees, including a Master of Music in Composition from the San Francisco Conservatory, and has studied conducting at San Jose State University.

An award-winning composer, she enjoys writing for RWC, and her latest commissioned work, “In the Forest,” will be premiered by Orange County Women’s Chorus on June 4th. She is a member of the Music Teachers National Association, serves as Music Director for Campbell United Congregational Church, and resides in San Jose with her wife, Brenda Meng, and an assortment of adorable, high-maintenance cats.

Betsy Wagner, Co-Artistic Director, Choralographer

Betsy Wagner has a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education with a dual major in voice and piano. In 2017, she retired after 35 years of teaching music to K - 12 students, with the past 27 years leading the awardwinning choir program at Morrill Middle School. Betsy has been singing with Rainbow Women’s Chorus since 1997 and has been co-director since 2000. She creates the choralography for RWC performances. According to her mom, her natural musical ability showed up at the early age of two, when she played “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” by ear on her toy piano.

In her spare time she has discovered a love for the card game of bridge, and spends several days a week playing.

Doug Forsyth, Accompanist

Doug Forsyth joined RWC as accompanist in 1998, left the Chorus in 2009 to pursue other opportunities and is now back with us again.

He graduated from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music, concentrating on piano performance.

He has performed as a singer and an instrumentalist with the Silicon Valley Gay Men’s Chorus, and accompanies numerous other performers, theatrical productions and choruses. With his characteristic good humor, Doug says, “Rainbow Women’s Chorus has offered me many musical challenges with these concerts.” He is appreciated by both singers and directors for his unfailing musicianship and his ability to read our minds.

Singers g

h

Artistic Directors Ruth Huber Betsy Wagner

Accompanist Doug Forsyth

Sopranos

Amanda McClure Beatrice Fanning Clio Mykland Deirdre McNamara Eleanor Grant-Strong Jan Blossom Jessica Ganz Karen Parker

Lizzie Anastasiu Maria Rojas Marjorie Pearson Roxie Arnold Sheila Kamp Staci Dayley Taetem Sims Zandria Ebert

Altos

Alyssa Anne Weatherston Kelly Lam Alyssa Kate Haroldsen Kim Wallace Angie Hexum Laurie Pepin Aurora Olivares Laurie Willis Deva Luna Lily Kuo Eileen Hamper Liz Vogel Jalayne Forrester Meg Sanders Kathy Wasowski Nancy Arvold

Soprano/Alto

Lindarae Polaha Marion Steeg

Patty McIntyre Sally Cooperrider

Rainbow Women’s Chorus is supported in part by grants from Horizons Foundation, and Silicon Valley Creates in partnership with the County of Santa Clara.

Production Volunteers

Stage Manager: Brian Singer Slides: Clio Mykland Graphic Design: Maria Rojas Concert Program: Eileen Hamper Concert Production: Laurie Pepin and Maria Rojas Wardrobe: Jan Blossom Volunteer Coordinator: Larry Edson/Mary Edson Piano tuning: Brenda Meng Ushers/Lobby Volunteers: Bettie Owen, Eileen Soeder, Erika Grant, Françoise Vincent, Kim Daniel, Marnie Singer, Suz Floethe, Tanya Kamp -- and friends, family and our singers.

Production: Sound: Charles Ryan Live Streaming:

Luis Pedro Castillo Pictures hg

Action Circle.....

President: Kathleen Stensrud Vice President: Eleanor Strong Treasurer: Kim Wallace Secretary: Liz Vogel Members at Large: Kathy Wasowski Eileen Hamper Laurie Pepin Maria Rojas

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Sail Away, Ladies!

— First Half —

Traditional song. Arranged by Judith Herrington, J. Herrington, © 2009 by Pavane Publishing. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Suo Gân

Welsh lullaby, arranged by Jude Roldan, © 2015 by Hal Leonard Corporation International. Copyright secured. All rights reserved.

Soloists: Clio Mykland and Roxie Arnold

El Coqui

Hispanic folksong. Arranged by Judith Herrington and Sara Glick. © 1995 by Pavane Publishing. All rights reserved

Farewell to Tarwathie

Traditional Scottish song, arranged by Mark Sirett. © 2014, Cypress Choral Music Publishing. All rights reserved. Soloist: Eleanor Strong

Shosholoza

Traditional South African work song, arranged by Albert Pinsonneault, www.earthsongschoralmusic.com. All rights reserved.

J'entends Le Moulin

French-Canadian Folk song, arranged by Emily Crocker. Published by Hal Leonard.

All rights reserved.

Song of the Refugees

Words and music by Ruth Huber. © 2015 Nobody’s Fool Publishing, BMI All Rights Reserved.

Sisi Ni Moja

Words and music by Jacob Narverud, © Santa Barbara Music Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.

h Intermission g

Plena

— Second Half —

Words and music by Diane V. Saez, Roger Dean Publishing. All rights reserved.

Prayer of the Children

Words and music by Kurt Bestor, arranged by Andrea S. Klouse. All rights reserved.

Loch Lomond

Traditional, arranged by Jonathan Quick, voiced for treble voices by Larry Nickel. © 2000 by Cypress Choral Music. All rights reserved.

Soloists: Karen Parker and Alyssa Anne Weatherston

Ikan Kekek

Traditional Maylay song. Arranged by Yu Hang Tan for USC Thornton Oriana Choir. © 2022 by Walton Music Corporation. All rights reserved.

Soloists: Taetem Simms and Jan Blossom

The Moon Represents My Heart Words by Sun Yi and music by Weng Ching-Hsi, classical version arranged by Luo Maishuo, made famous by Teresa Teng’s version 1977. © by Li Ge Record Company.

All rights reserved.

Dynamite

Words and music by Jessica Agombar and David Stewart, arranged by Audrey Snyder. © 2021 by Stellar Songs Limited. All rights reserved.

Soloists: Clio Mykland and Kelly Lam or Jessica Ganz

Arirang

Traditional Korean song, arranged by Hyo-Won Woo. © 2018 by Walton Music Corporation.

All rights reserved.

h Musicians g

Piano: Doug Forsyth Percussion: Kim Wallace and Sequoya Reader

Program Notes Sail Away Ladies

It is one of the quintessential American fiddle tunes. Like many, it clearly has its origins in Irish or Scottish folk music and was probably brought across by immigrants in the early 19th century. It is most associated with the Appalachian mountains and Betsy the string band traditions.

Suo Gan

Wales is fondly known as “The Land of Song” and just like Ireland has St. Patrick, so Wales has St. David, whose patron saint day is celebrated on March 1st every year.

In school, this day is celebrated with an Eisteddfod (Eye-steth-vod) - a festival and competition of cultural arts, music, dancing, poetry and prose. It would be near impossible to have an Eisteddfod without hearing Suo Gân, (See-oh Can), the beautiful Welsh Lullaby, in some musical form whether it be a solo, a duet, a choral or ensemble piece or in any orchestral or instrumental version. The song is over 200 years old and just like it transcends the yearning of a mother’s love for her baby, hearing Suo Gân, will bring back “Hireath”, (heareyeth), to any Welsh person who hears it.

Hireath has no real translation but simply means a nostalgia or longing for the Welsh homeland.

Sheila

El Coqui is about the tree frog, called a coqui, that lives on the island of Puerto Rico. The coqui frog comes out at night and sings a song that sounds like, “coqui, coqui.” The lyrics mean, “El Coqui sings

a sweet song at sunset. He is singing as sleep comes to me. When I wake all alone in the moonlight, El Coqui sings goodnight Betsy from the tree.”

Farewell to Tarwathie is a traditional

early 1850s Scottish folksong written by George Scroggie, a miller from Federate, near Aberdeen, Scotland. The. Tarwathie is also in Aberdeenshire, northwest of the whaling port of Peterhead. Whaling in the 1800s was a challenging trade which required a tough breed of fishermen. Yet a song like Farewell to Tarwathie reminds us that even the toughest of people might be touched by gentleness especially when separated from loved ones.

Betsy

Shosholoza is a Nguni call-and-response

song originally sung by mine workers to express the challenges of working in the mines in South Africa. The word shosholoza means go forward. It is used as a term of encouragement and hope for the workers as a sign of solidarity. The sound “sho sho” is an imitation of the sound made by the steam train. “Stimela” is a Nguni word for steam train. In contemporary times, it is sung to show support for any struggle.

The meaning of the words are “Go forward from those mountains on this train from Betsy South Africa.”

J’entends Le Moulin is a French Ca-

nadian folksong from Quebec. In Canada, English and French are both official languages. Quebec is primarily French speaking. Windmills have been used for centuries

to grind corn and wheat. Windmills are also used to produce electric power by pumping water. In this song the words, “tique, tique, taque” imitate the sound of the windmill when the wind blows. The meaning of the lyrics are, “I hear the windmill, tique, tique, taque. My father had a Betsy fine house built.”

Song of the Refugees

In September, 2015, the world was shocked by the image of a small boy’s lifeless body washed up on a beach in Turkey. As thousands of desperate refugees, fleeing war and devastation, poured into Europe from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Africa, the global community was challenged to respond, sometimes with open arms, sometimes with vitriol and rejection. Now, more than ever, the Buddhist adage seems relevant: “hatred never ceases by hatred, but by love alone is healed.”

part of the island. The Plena was a “sung newspaper,” communicating significant community events. It became popular among sugarcane workers at plantations in the coastal regions. Our “Plena” is a fun song celebrating contagious rhythm and dance. The words mean “Plena, let’s dance. Plena, Puerto Rican, with lots of flavor. It’s played with hand drum, guiro, and drum. Let’s dance the plena, with lots Betsy of flavor.”

Prayer of the Children

This touching, heartbreaking song was written by composer Kurt Bestor, who had been a missionary in Serbia in the 1970s.

He describes it as having been “channeled”— both the melody and lyrics — as he thought about how the children on all sides of the conflict suffered as a result of the Bosnian war. The words near the end of the song are in Croatian. Arranged by

Ruth Huber, December, 2015 Andrea Klouse especially for children’s choirs, it is even more relevant today Sisi ni Moja because of the hundreds of thousands of Ever clever, composer Jacob Narverud came refugee children throughout the world. We up with a highly rhythmic celebratory comdedicate the song to them. Nancy position. The title translates “We are one,” the theme being that all human beings Loch Lomond is a traditional Scothave much in common. The energetic tish folksong first published in 1841. It is djembe sets the tone, the piano adds its own thought that the subject of the song was a rhythmic design, and the singers deliver the captured Scottish rebel Highlander who message, at times sounding as though there knows that it is unlikely that he will again should be a campfire at the center of their spend any time with his true love by the circle. Great fun, a profound message, and shores of Loch Lomond, the setting for this an intriguing piece, this is a winner! Betsy song. Loch Lomond is the largest Scottish freshwater lake, which is overlooked by Plena the mountain, Ben Lomond. Listen for the The plena is an early 20th century sound of bagpipes!

Betsy Afro-Puerto Rican rhythm from the southern

(Continued on next page)

Ikan Kekek is a Malay folksong about pony fish. The message of the song is to remind us to keep searching for beauty and magic in everyday life. The meaning of the lyrics are, “The pony fish, the croaker fish, wait a second, my dear younger ones. Let’s go home together. There is a herring, its body long and striped, with more bones than flesh. It will taste good if cooked in a sour, spicy broth.” “Mak iloi, iloi” and “mak Betsy ilai-ilai” are nonsense syllables.

The Moon Represents My Heart

Songwriter Weng Ching-Hsi wrote the melody of “The Moon Represents My Heart” while he was studying at Berklee College of Music in Arizona in 1973. After returning to Taiwan, he picked the songs that he thought were good and gave them to his friend Sun Yi to write the lyrics while the bad songs (such as this one) were to be thrown into the trash can.

Sun, however, discovered this song among Weng’s discarded works and within one hour, completed the lyrics. It wasn’t made famous though until 1977 by the Taiwanese singer, Teresa Teng. At that time, such romantic songs had been nonexistent in mainland China as they were considered bourgeois and decadent.

“The Moon Represents My Heart” is considered to be one of the most famous and beloved Mandarin classic pop songs, and Chinese people everywhere are familiar with it. This song is particularly special to me because my husband (who isn’t Chinese and doesn’t speak Mandarin) and I sang it together at our wedding many, many moons ago.

Lily

Dynamite is a song recorded by South

Korean boy band BTS in 2020. It is an upbeat disco-pop song with 1970’s elements of funk, soul, and bubblegum pop. It was written with the intent to soothe listeners during the Covid-19 pandemic, talking about joy and appreciation for the little things that make life valuable.

Betsy

Arirang is a well-known Korean folk-

song. The exact origin of the song is unknown but “Arirang” is said to be the name of a mountain pass in Korea. It is believed that the song originated over 600 years ago in Jeongseon, where boatmen, crossing the river while fighting against tough currents sang Jeongseon Arirang.

The song was inspired by the story of a woman’s unrequited love. There are many interpretations, translations, and versions of this song, but the basic meaning of this song is about the love between two people and how they are longing for each other. The song is about deep sorrow and longing for someone or something, which doesn’t have to be related to love Betsy between two people.

Thank You to Flo Galvez and Ken True, on the staff at UCC Campbell, for their assistance in providing the space and equipment to rehearse and bring you this concert.

GALA Festival 2024!

We are getting excited!

Every four years (with the exception of 2020), Rainbow Women’s Chorus has the opportunity to participate in an international choral festival, produced by GALA Choruses (Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses). GALA Festival celebrates more than 15,000 singers representing nearly 200 LGBTQ+ choruses in North America and beyond.

In 2000, when RWC was a brand new chorus, less than three years old, we joined Silicon Valley Gay Men’s Chorus in hosting Festival 2000 here in San Jose. In 2004, RWC traveled to Montreal, Canada. Four years later we met in Miami and the next two Festivals were in Denver. Covid canceled the 2020 Festival. We are looking forward to traveling to Minneapolis in July, 2024.

Besides the never-ending concert performances, there are workshops and seminars on all aspects of choral performance. RWC brings back what we learn and share it with you, our audience.

RWC will be putting together a fundraising campaign for the 2024 Festival so that all of our singers are able to attend. Stay tuned for more info. We appreciate your support!

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