I Believe Westminster Chapel Choir Marion Jacob, conductor Gregory Stout, piano Jody Rajesh, violin
Westminster Jubilee Singers Vinroy D. Brown, Jr., conductor Akiko Hosaki, piano Daniel Ware, drums
October 28, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. Gill Memorial Chapel Rider University 2083 Lawrenceville Road Lawrenceville, N.J.
Conductor’s Note It is with immense gratitude and pleasure that we welcome you to today’s program, exploring and celebrating an element so fundamental to our humanness: belief. I Believe in the Sun. In what is hidden, What is unseen, In growth and decay, And the cyclical nature of the seasons of life. I Believe in Love, A nurturing Love, A self-sacrificing Love, A persevering Love. I Believe in God– God, or, something more than myself. In Art. In Music. In Togetherness. When all else fails, I Believe. We are grateful for the faculty, staff and upperclassmen who have been our ardent supporters in preparing Chapel Choir’s first concert at Westminster Choir College. We are especially grateful to Professor Vinroy Brown and the Westminster Jubilee Singers, for their love and guidance this semester. Thank you for being part of this moment for our students and our school. Marion Jacob Conductor, Westminster Chapel Choir
Program I. Lift Every Voice & Sing–Audience, please stand
James Rosamound Johnson arr. Roland Carter
I Believe
Mark Miller Julia Gerst, soloist Combined Choirs II
Salve Regina (tonus solemnus) Adoro Te Devote Roses of Life
Mariano Garau Sarah Rimkus Text by Paul Lawrence Dunbar Haley Soule, soloist Westminster Chapel Choir
Down By the Sally Gardens arr. John Rutter Westminster Chapel Choir Tenors & Basses Grown Wild
Melissa Dunphy Westminster Chapel Choir Sopranos & Altos
Christ Lag in Todesbanden Westminster Chapel Choir
Heinrich Schein
III Love’s Philosophy
Roger Quilter Julia Gerst
When I Think Upon the Maidens Ronan Flynn I Love All Graceful Things
Michael Head Eric Thiman
Anna Maher
Into the Night
Clara Edwards Shaye Walker
Largo, from Xerxes
G. F. Handel Wesley Howell IV
The Word Was God
Rosephanye Powell
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
Margaret Bonds
Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel
Traditional Negro Spiritual arr. Moses Hogan Westminster Jubilee Singers V
Total Praise
Richard Smallwood
The Lord Bless You & Keep You Combined Choirs
Peter Lutkin
About the Artists WESTMINSTER CHAPEL CHOIR Founded in 1949, the Westminster Chapel Choir takes its name from Westminster’s rich history of leadership in the field of sacred music. The ensemble has evolved over the years, and today its repertoire includes both sacred and secular works. Composed of students in their first year of study at Westminster Choir College, this ensemble is a defining choral experience that remains with Westminster alumni throughout their lives. Recent seasons have included performances of Mozart’s Coronation Mass with the Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra and Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms with the Westminster Conservatory Youth Chorale, as well as concerts in Newtown, Pa. and Wilton, Conn. In addition to on-campus performances throughout the year, the Westminster Chapel Choir has toured extensively along the eastern United States with great success. The Westminster Chapel Choir has also performed with many symphony orchestras, including the Trenton Symphony Orchestra (N.J.), the York Symphony (Pa.) and the Queens Symphony (N.Y.). At the request of Leopold Stokowski, the ensemble premiered Universal Prayer by Polish composer Adrezej Panufnik. It was heard by millions when it sang for the annual televised Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at Rockefeller Center. Previous performances have also included participation in Princeton University’s “Opera and Society” Conference, where it was the featured chorus for the conference and a chapel service honoring the centennial of worldrenowned organist and teacher Alexander McCurdy, Jr. The ensemble has also been honored to give several world premiere performances of works by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Lewis Spratlan, Stefan Young, Ronald Hemmel and Philip Orr.
WESTMINSTER JUBILEE SINGERS Composed of students selected by audition, the Westminster Jubilee Singers is modeled after the historically acclaimed Fisk Jubilee Singers. Its repertoire, while specialized and select, is very diverse and focuses on solo and ensemble artistic expressions from its singers. Part of Westminster Choir College’s Sacred Music Department, the ensemble performs literature that includes African-American spirituals and folk songs; classical music by African-American composers; gospel music and secular songs by musical greats such as William Dawson, Duke Ellington, Walter Hawkins, Andraé Crouch, Richard Smallwood, Kirk Franklin and Dr. Nathan Carter, as well as Westminster graduates, Rosephanye Powell, Donald Dillard and M. Roger Holland. Also explored and performed are works by non-African-American composers, including George Gershwin, Alice Parker, Robert Shaw, Robert Page, Gail Poch, Steve Pilkington and others who have composed and/or arranged music of the
African-American experience. In addition to its rich repertoire of African-American spirituals, hymn arrangements and gospel songs, the Westminster Jubilee Singers has performed classical works, such as And They Lynched Him On a Tree by William Grant Still and Shout for Joy and I Will Lift Up My Eyes by Adolphus Hailstork. Highlights of recent seasons include the performance of Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concerts and R. Nathaniel Dett’s The Ordering of Moses. The ensemble’s 2021-2022 season included concerts in Lawrenceville, participation in An Evening of Readings and Carols in Princeton, and a concert at the Bent But Not Broken Choral Festival in Wilmington, Delaware. Previous seasons have included appearances at the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) in Kansas City and Regional Conference in Baltimore; the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Eastern Regional Convention in Boston; a performance with Denyce Graves at New York’s Apollo Theater to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Children’s Defense Fund; a joint concert entitled Living the Dream with Penn State University’s Essence of Joy ensemble as a tribute to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; and its Lincoln Center debut performing in An Evening of Choral Artistry, presented by the American Choral Directors Association. The ensemble has performed at Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops Orchestra, under the baton of Skitch Henderson, in a concert version of Porgy and Bess. At the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, Westminster Jubilee Singers presented joint concerts with the Fisk University Jubilee Singers and the legendary Sweet Honey in the Rock.
MARION JACOB, CONDUCTOR Marion Jacob (she/her) is the Conductor of the Westminster Chapel Choir. Jacob holds a Master’s degree in Choral Conducting from Westminster Choir College where she was a student of James Jordan and Simon Carrington. She also earned an M.M. in Music History from Temple University, and a B.M. with distinction in Piano Performance from the University of Delaware. Attending the Westminster Conducting Institute, Jacob studied with Donald Nally and Charles Bruffy. Jacob has been a guest lecturer for the University of Delaware, Temple University, and Padua Academy, and currently teaches World Musics and Cultures for Temple University. Jacob is the founder and director of Sine Nomine, a chamber choir active in the Delaware and Chester County area, and the Director of Music at St. Elizabeth Church in Wilmington, DE. Jacob recently held the position of the Assistant Director of the five performing choirs of the Wilmington Children's Chorus, where she prepared ensembles for concerts and collaborations with Westminster Choir College’s Symphonic Choir, the Wilmington Ballet, and Delaware Choral Arts. Prior to studying at Westminster Choir College, Jacob was the director of music at Daylesford Abbey, and the director of the Padua Academy Women’s Chorus, where she also developed and taught the course, Music In Action.
Jacob recently participated in the Sarteano Chamber Choral Workshop as an Advanced Conductor with Simon Carrington and Tony Thornton, and has participated in the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival as a singing Fellow. Jacob is a member of The Same Stream, and has been a member and soloist for Westminster Choir, Westminster Williamson Voices, the Chester County Choral Society, and the University of Delaware’s Schola Cantorum and Collegium Musicuum.
VINROY D. BROWN, JR., CONDUCTOR Vinroy D. Brown, Jr. holds credits in conducting, sacred music and music education. He is a member of the choral studies, music education and sacred music faculty at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, where he conducts the Westminster Jubilee Singers and teaches in the Baccalaureate Honors Program. A church musician, he is director of music & worship arts at Elmwood United Presbyterian Church. He is also artistic director and conductor of Capital Singers of Trenton. A sought-after clinician and lecturer, he has presented at numerous academic institutions and education conferences, and conducted honor choirs and headlined festivals throughout the country. This year, he will lecture at both Yale and Princeton universities, conduct the Central Jersey Region II Intermediate Treble Choir, headline the Bucks County Women’s Chorus Festival in addition to residences and guest conducting opportunities nationwide. He will also serve as Cover Conductor for the North Carolina premiere of Rihannon Gidden's Omar with Carolina Performing Arts Center. Professor Brown holds active membership in numerous music and education-based organizations. In addition, he is Vice President of the Board of Trustees of Essence of Harmony Choral Society, a Board Member of the Open Arts Performing Center, a grant panelist for the Arts Institute of Middlesex County and sits on the board of the National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc. for which he is Eastern Region Director and Chief Editor of EMERGENCE: Research & Performance Topics in Black Music, a scholarly publication which will be released in 2023. Brown is also a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity, Inc. He holds the Master of Arts in Practical Theology degree from Regent University, and Bachelor of Music degrees in Sacred Music and Music Education from Westminster Choir College of Rider University.
GREGORY STOUT, PIANO Gregory Stout has been a collaborative pianist with conductor James Jordan since 2017. He currently serves as accompanist to Westminster Symphonic Choir and The Westminster Choir, and has also served as accompanist to The Same Stream, Westminster Schola Cantorum and Westminster Williamson Voices. Mr. Stout can be heard on the Westminster Williamson Voices recording A Scattered Light in Winter and on The Same Stream recording A Time for Healing: The Music of Roger Ames. He also serves as accompanist to the choral ensembles of Ramapo College of New Jersey. An active church musician for over ten years, Mr. Stout is currently director of music at
Flemington United Methodist Church in Flemington, NJ. He received the Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and completed further studies in accompanying and vocal coaching at Westminster Choir College as a student of James Goldsworthy and J.J. Penna.
AKIKO HOSAKI, PIANO A native of Osaka, Japan, Dr. Akiko Hosaki is acclaimed for her sensitive playing, and one of the most sought-after collaborative pianist and vocal coach in the New York – New Jersey area. She is currently an adjunct assistant professor and the pianist coordinator of the University Accompanist Program at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, and a staff member at the College of New Jersey and Bard College. Dr. Hosaki was the assistant to Dalton Baldwin, legendary collaborative pianist, at Académie internationale d’été de Nice since 2013 until his passing in 2019, and at Mozarteum Sommerakademie in 2017 and 2018. She has collaborated with opera companies, such as Castleton Festival, New Jersey State Opera, Opera North, Opera New Jersey, Boheme Opera, and Princeton Festival Opera. She also enjoys collaborating with instrumentalists, and frequently performs in chamber music concerts and the keyboard/basso continuo in orchestras. Dr. Hosaki holds degrees from Musashino Academia Musicae in Japan, Westminster Choir College, and University of Minnesota. Her future engagements include Voice Advantage Princeton Immersion during Summer 2023.
WESTMINSTER CHAPEL CHOIR Marion Jacob, conductor
Gregory Stout, accompanist Makiah Robinson, graduate assistant Christian Johnson, graduate assistant Maya Cooper, graduate assistant SOPRANO Kamanay Belcher, Easton, PA Lauren Gregorovic, Hamilton, NJ Dari Russoniello, Somerset, NJ Haley Soule, Middleboro, MA Elena Trapasso, West Milford, NJ Shaye Walker, Parlin, NJ
ALTO Chloe A. Davis, Lawrence. NJ Julia N. Gerst, West Milford, NJ Jada Laws, Pine Beach, NJ Anna Maher, Ipswich, MA
TENOR Xavier Derosiers, Southampton, PA Phillip Schneller, Doylestown, PA D’Andre Wright, Trumbull, CT
BASS Ronan Flynn, West Bablon, NY Wesley Howell, Wadsworth, OH Weicheng Ying, Shanghai, China
WESTMINSTER JUBILEE SINGERS Vinroy D. Brown, Jr., conductor Akiko Hosaki, accompanist
Max Brey, graduate assistant Andrew Chojnacki, graduate assistant SOPRANO Elizabeth Berger, Hereford, MD Juli Chiriboga, Huntington, NY Maya Cooper, Fairfax, VA Olivia Dixon, Woodbury, NJ Jada Laws, Pine Beach, NJ Annie McCasland, Potomac, MD Arianna McMorris, Wading River, NY Abbey Ritter, Geneva, NY Payton Tharp, Hamilton, NJ Sarah Vawdrey, Teaneck, NJ Julia Wilder, Carmel, NY TENOR Andrew Chojnacki, Delran, NJ Denver H. Edwards, Goshen, IN Daniel J. Piver, East Hampton, NY Michael H. Woods, Colonie, NY
ALTO Emilie Beals, Carlisle, PA Cherisse R. Bonefont, Lumberton, NJ Alessia D. Bradley, Pleasantville, NJ Emma Clark, Danville, PA Alyssa M. Lester, Monroe, NJ Abigail A. Rose, Perkasie, PA Anna Spendley, LaGrangeville, NY Jasmin U. Villatoro, Holbrook, NY
BASS Zyheim Bell, Fort Myers, FL Max Brey, Tallahassee, FL Lucas Heredia, East Brunswick, NJ Alastair Stewart, Pointe Claire, Quebec
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
Kelly Bidle
Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
Jason Vodicka
Director of Choral Studies
James Jordan
Director of Performance Management
Kristen Rodgers
Associate Director of Performance Management
Leandra Acosta
Coordinator of Performance Management
Samuel Stephenson
About Rider University & Westminster Choir College Located in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, Rider University is a private co-educational, student-centered university that emphasizes purposeful connections between academic study and real-world learning experience. Rider prepares graduates to thrive professionally, to be lifelong independent learners, and to be responsible citizens who embrace diversity, support the common good, and contribute meaningfully to the changing world in which they live and work. The College of Arts and Sciences is dedicated to educating students for engaged citizenship, career success, and personal growth in a diverse and complex world. The college cultivates intellectual reflection, artistic creativity, and academic maturity by promoting both broad academic inquiry and in-depth disciplinary study, while nurturing effective and ethical applications of transferable critical skills. The College consists of four schools: the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, the School of Communication, Media, and Performing Arts, the School of Science, Technology, and Mathematics, and Westminster Choir College. Culturally vibrant and historically rich, Westminster Choir College has a legacy of preparing students for thriving careers as well-rounded performers and musical leaders on concert stages, in schools, universities, and churches, and in professional and community organizations worldwide. Renowned for its tradition of choral excellence, the college is home to internationally recognized ensembles, including the Westminster Symphonic Choir, which has performed and recorded with virtually all of the major orchestras and conductors of our time. In addition to its choral legacy, Westminster is known as a center for excellence in musical pedagogy and performance.
Upcoming Performances WESTMINSTER CHOIR: MUSIC OF AWE & WONDER Sunday, November 5, 7:30 p.m. Gill Chapel FALL STUDENT DANCE CONCERT Friday, November 10, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, November 11, 7:30 p.m. Rider University – Bart Luedeke Center Theater MOZART REQUIEM: WESTMINSTER SYMPHONIC CHOIR & PRINCETON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Saturday, November 11, 8 p.m. Sunday, November 12, 4 p.m. Princeton University – Richardson Auditorium FALL OPERA: SUOR ANGELICA & HERMIT SONGS Friday, November 17, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, November 18, 7:30 p.m. Rider University – Yvonne Theater RIDER UNIVERSITY CHORALE CONCERT Saturday, November 18, 7:30 p.m. Rider University – Gill Chapel WESTMINSTER JUBILEE SINGERS FALL CONCERT Sunday, November 19, 7:30 p.m. Rider University – Gill Chapel WESTMINSTER CONCERT BELL CHOIR AT OCEAN COUNTY COLLEGE Friday, December 1, 7:30 p.m. Ocean County College WESTMINSTER CONCERT BELL CHOIR: TOMORROW SHALL BE MY DANCING DAY! Saturday, December 2, 4 p.m. Gill Chapel
NATASHA, PIERRE AND THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 Friday, December 8, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, December 9, 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. Sunday, December 10, 2 p.m. Rider University – Bart Luedeke Center Theater AN EVENING OF READINGS AND CAROLS Friday December 8, 8 p.m. Saturday, December 9, 8 p.m. Princeton University Chapel – Princeton, NJ FOR MORE INFORMATION ON UPCOMING PERFORMANCES, SUBSCRIPTION AND PATRON PROGRAM OPTIONS, VISIT RIDER.EDU/ARTS.