RIDER UNIVERSITY
Westminster Choir College
of
T idings Comfort Joy and
Westminster Concert Bell Choir Kathleen Ebling Shaw, conductor
Westminster College of the Arts
of
T idings Comfort Joy and
PERFORMANCES
Saturday, December 4, 2021 | 4 p.m. Sunday, December 5, 2021 | 4 p.m Gill Memorial Chapel, Rider University Friday, December 17, 2021 | 7:30 p.m. Packer Memorial Church, Lehigh University For details and information about additional performances go to rider.edu/arts.
Program I. Prelude to Christmas Eve
Kathleen Ebling Shaw
Gaudete!
Piae Cantiones, 1582 arr. Michael J. Glasgow Jordan Allen, percussion Christopher Simon, percussion
NUN KOMM, DER HEIDEN HEILAND, RORATE CAELI, VENI, EMMANUEL arr. Sandra Eithun
Savior of the Nations, Come
Olivia Dunleavy, percussion Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy
West Indies Carol arr. Hart Morris Tyler-Minseok Kim, percussion Rachel McNamara, percussion Jordan Mongel, percussion Christopher Simon, percussion
Sussex Carol
Traditional English Carol arr. Phil Young
The First Noel
THE FIRST NOWELL arr. Cathy Moklebust
Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)
Paul O’Neill and Robert Kinkel arr. Hart Morris
Olivia Dunleavy, flute Gregory Nappa, tubular chimes Ashley Reinhardt, cello/percussion
INTERMISSION
Felix Bernard arr. Joel Raney
Winter Wonderland Jordan Allen, percussion Tyler-Minseok Kim, percussion Gregory Nappa, percussion
Irving Berlin arr. Cynthia Dobrinski
White Christmas
Jule Styne & Sammy Cahn arr. Douglas E. Wagner
Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Kelly Ye, percussion Christmas Song
Mel Torme and Robert Welles arr. Douglas E. Wagner Johnny Marks arr. Joel Raney
A Holly Jolly Christmas Liv Dunleavy, percussion Tyler-Minseok Kim, percussion Sleigh Ride
Leroy Anderson arr. Martha Lynn Thompson Rachel McNamara, percussion Samantha Noble, percussion Christopher Simon, percussion
Please note the unauthorized use of any recording device, either audio or video, and the taking of photographs, either with or without flash, is strictly prohibited. Out of courtesy to the performers and everyone in the audience, please refrain from using cell phones and electronic devices during the performance.
Westminster Concert Bell Choir KATHLEEN EBLING SHAW, conductor Based at Rider University’s Westminster Choir College and conducted by Kathleen Ebling Shaw, the 16-member Westminster Concert Bell Choir is composed of undergraduate and graduate students selected by audition. This year celebrates the 44th year of the handbell curriculum at Westminster Choir College, the first institution in the world to develop such a program. Hailed for its virtuosity, the Westminster Concert Bell Choir performs on the largest range of handbells in the world – eight octaves, from C1 to C9. Many of the bells are made of bronze and range in weight from four ounces to 11 pounds; the Choir also uses the large “Basso Profundo” aluminum-cast bells that are a new phenomenon in handbell ringing. The Choir supplements its handbell set with a six-octave set of Malmark Choirchime® Instruments from C2 to C8 – the widest range in existence. The Westminster Concert Bell Choir has appeared on Public Television’s Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and several holiday broadcasts of the Today show, including one in which the ensemble was joined in a performance by NBC hosts Katie Couric and Willard Scott. Its holiday performances have been heard annually on Performance Today, and it is included on NPR’s Christmas Around The Country II recording. The Choir has performed at Carnegie Hall twice during the Christmas season and was featured on New Jersey Network’s State of The Arts program. In December 2002 the ensemble joined Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Charlotte Church and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for a critically acclaimed 15-city tour titled A Royal Christmas. Most recently, the Choir performed with singer Josh Groban at NBC’s nationally televised lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. The Choir has made eleven recordings: The Pealing Bells, Westminster Concert Bell Choir, Christmas Bells, Westminster Rings!, Praise and Adoration, Christmas at Westminster: The Westminster Concert Bell Choir, By Request, Westminster Concert Bell Choir: 30th Anniversary Collection, A Time To Dance, An English Christmas and Let Freedom Ring!
WESTMINSTER CONCERT BELL CHOIR Kathleen Ebling Shaw, conductor Kelly Ye, student assistant Jordan Allen, Plainsboro, NJ
Shayna Lee, Brea, CA
Liberty Ashe, Quakertown, PA
Rachel McNamara, North Attleboro, MA
Michaela Carey, York, PA
Jordan Mongell, North Andover, MA
Samuel Day, Narragansett, RI
Gregory Nappa, Newton, NJ
Olivia Dunleavy, River Edge, NJ
Samantha Noble, Jersey City, NJ
Devin Embrich, West Palm Beach, FL
David Sherman, Marlboro, NJ
Charlie Ibsen, San Jose, CA
Christopher Simon, Mendham, NJ
Tyler-Minseok Kim, Siheung, South Korea
Kelly Ye, Hangzhou, China
The Westminster Concert Bell Choir is grateful to have on loan the lower eighth and ninth octave bass handbells, the lower seventh octave Choirchime® Instruments, and the C6 to C8 CymBells® from Malmark, Inc. – Bellcraftsmen, Plumsteadville, PA. On the web: www.malmark.com
Marking her 31st year as conductor of the Westminster Concert Bell Choir, KATHLEEN EBLING SHAW is a member of the sacred music department at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, where she teaches classes in handbell training and conducts a second handbell choir. She is director of sales and marketing for Malmark, Inc. and serves as the creative director of ChimeWorks®, an online resource community for educators who use handchimes. She is a graduate of Westminster Choir College. Well-known as a handbell clinician, Mrs. Shaw has conducted sessions for the Handbell Musicians of America (AGEHR) on the local and national levels. Her other engagements have included sessions for the American Guild of Organists; the New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas Music Educators Conferences; Choristers Guild; Presbyterian Association of Musicians Conferences; the St. Olaf Church Music Conference; and International Handbell Symposia in Japan, England, Korea, Australia and the United States. She traveled with the Westminster Concert Bell Choir during a critically acclaimed 15-city North American A Royal Christmas tour, performing with Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Charlotte Church and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.
The Westminster Concert Bell Choir under the direction of Mrs. Shaw made its Carnegie Hall debut in December 2001 as the first American handbell ensemble to perform in that historic landmark. She has conducted the Westminster Concert Bell Choir in performances for Lifetime Television, QVC, NBC’s Today Show, New Jersey Network, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and NBC’s nationally televised lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. She has also produced eight recordings with the Westminster Concert Bell Choir. Mrs. Shaw is also the recipient of an Alumni Merit Award from Westminster Choir College of Rider University in recognition of her dedication to the art of handbell ringing and her enthusiasm and accomplishments in the classroom as well as the concert hall.
RIDER UNIVERSITY’S WESTMINSTER COLLEGE OF THE ARTS is composed of four divisions: Westminster Choir College; the School of Fine and Performing Arts; Westminster Conservatory, the community music school, and Westminster Continuing Education. Mission Westminster College of the Arts inspires, prepares, and empowers emerging artists through a supportive, immersive, and unique arts community. Our students achieve a high level of artistry and acquire the professional skills to become contemporary leaders who transform local and global communities through humanity, inclusion, and access for all. Vision Westminster College of the Arts aspires to be a flourishing arts destination for creative students, artists, community members, and industry professionals; a center for public-facing artistic projects supported by faculty and student research; and a catalyst for innovation through the arts. Westminster Choir College is a four-year music college and graduate school that prepares musicians for careers as leaders in schools, universities, and churches; on concert stages and in professional and community organizations. Renowned for its tradition of choral excellence, Westminster has become a center of excellence in solo performance as well. The college has three curricular choirs, including the Westminster Symphonic Choir, which has performed and recorded with virtually all of the major orchestras and conductors of our time, and four choirs selected by audition. Celebrating 95 years of music excellence, Westminster Choir College of Rider University has significantly influenced the cultural life of our nation.
Westminster College of the Arts WESTMINSTER CHOIR COLLEGE
2083 Lawrenceville Road Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
R I D E R.E D U/A RT S