the sense of senses
The Westminster Choir
Donald Nally, conductor
Eric Plutz, collaborative keyboards
Frankie Carr, cello
Maxwell Brey, graduate assistant conductor
Christian Gray Johnson, graduate assistant conductor
Saturday, May 3, 2025 at 5:00 p.m.
Gill Chapel
2083 Lawrenceville Road Lawrenceville, N.J.
Wednesday, May 14, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.
All Saints’ Episcopal Church
16 All Saints Road Princeton, NJ 08540
Please note the unauthorized use of any recording device, either audio or video is prohibited by law. Out of courtesy to the performers and everyone in the audience, please refrain from using cell phones and electronic devices.
Program
i. about the future again (2005) David Lang (b. 1957)
ii. every wound caused by others
Heu, mihi Domini, SWV 65 (c. 1625) Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672)
iii. you will become Sanctus, from Night Mass (2003)
iv. stop worrying
Non nobis, Domine (2002)
Sebastian Currier (b. 1959)
Rosephayne Powell ‘87 (b. 1962)
Celebrating the composer’s Honorary Doctor of Music Degree from Rider University, to be awarded May 17, 2025
v. singing when the violin (2018) Reena Esmail (b. 1983)
vi. will then lean down We bloomed in Spring (2014) Edie Hill (b. 1962)
vii. such a drunk laughing nuisance
Lobet den Herrn, BWV 230 (early 18th c.)
viii. forgive the past
J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
The Twelfth Madrigal, from Gian Carlo Menotti (1911-2007)
The Unicorn, the Gorgon, and the Manticore (1956)
ix. the heart starts
The sense of senses (2021) Lang
About the Artists
THE WESTMINSTER CHOIR
“The Gold standard...”- American Record Guide
Setting the standard for choral excellence since 1920, when it was founded by John Finley Williamson in Dayton, Ohio, Westminster Choir is composed of undergraduate and graduate students at Westminster Choir College of Rider University. From well before millions first heard the choir in Walt Disney’s Fantasia. with Leopold Stokowski conducting, the choir has thrilled audiences around the world and in American concert halls with its singularly unique sound and artistry. The legendary conductor Joseph Flummerfelt led the ensemble from 1971-2004, bringing it to a new level of exposure and renown.
Westminster Choir has toured extensively, holding residencies at Il Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy, Spoleto USA, in Charleston, SC, the Festival International de Colmar in France, and numerous appearances in Asia and all across the United States.
Westminster Choir has been recording choral masterworks for nine decades. Recordings by Flummerfelt of Brahms, American Folk Songs, and Christmas music have been audiophile favorites for decades.
Praised by The New York Times for its “full-bodied, incisive singing,” Westminster Choir is hailed as one of the nation’s finest choral ensembles. Singing in this worldrenowned choir is at the core of the only choral college in the world. For graduate students in choral conducting, it is the central experience which has molded generations of conductors. Music-Making and compelling artistry at the highest levels are the hallmark of this 100-year musical legacy.
This season, Westminster Choir is conducted by Professor and Director of Choral Studies, Donald Nally, known especially for his work in opera and as America’s leading commissioner of new works for choir.
Donald Nally, conductor
Christian Gray Johnson and Maxwell Brey, graduate assistant conductors
Eric Plutz, collaborative keyboardist
Nidhi Advani, Columbus, NJ
Nathan Anderson, Dickson, TN
Emilie Beals, Carlisle, PA
Mackenzie Berry, Frederick, MD
Maxwell Brey, Tallahassee, FL
Kevin Catalon, Fords, NJ
Emma Clark, Danville, PA
Grace Comeau, Bristow, VA
Maya Cooper, Fairfax, VA
Skylar Derthick, Camas, WA
Olivia Dixon, Woodbury, NJ
Alexa Farah, Northvale, NJ
Claire Fritz, Elizabethtown, PA
Emily Huguenin, Howell, NJ
Grisha P. Ivanov, Brooklyn, NY
Christian Gray Johnson, Covington, GA
Ben Kirk, Lumberton, NJ
Duomi Liu, Beijing, China
Annie McCasland, Potomac, MD
James Moyer, Yardley, PA
Daniel J. Piver, East Hampton, NY
Juliana Rappaport, Frederick, MD
Katelyn Reinhard, Fort Wayne, IN
Abby Rose, Perkasie, PA
Ricky Sazon Salazar, Queens, NY
Alastair Stewart, Quebec, Canada
Arseniy Vasilyev, Moscow, Russia
Sarah Vawdrey. Teaneck, NJ
Julia Wilder, Carmel, NY
Rider University gratefully acknowledges the generous support of: Richard and Heather Frye-Ginsberg & Michael T. '89 and Susana Santaguida '89 Gummel for their support of our Rider Friend of the Arts patron program.
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
NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT
Friday, May 2, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 3, 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 4, 2 p.m.
Yvonne Theater
SPRING THEATRE FESTIVAL: BFA ACTING SHOWCASE
Tuesday, May 6, 7:30 p.m.
Bart Luedeke Center Theater
SPRING THEATRE FESTIVAL: DIRECTING CLASS SHOWCASE
Thursday, May 8, 7:30 p.m.
Spitz Theater
RACHMANINOFF WITH NATASHA PAREMSKI FEATURING WESTMINSTER SYMPHONIC CHOIR
Saturday, May 10, 8 p.m.
Sunday, May 11, 4 p.m.
Richardson Auditorium – Princeton University 68 Nassau St, Princeton, NJ 08540
WESTMINSTER CHOIR COLLEGE CHAPEL SERVICE
Friday, May 16, 4 p.m.
Princeton University Chapel
FINAL BOW: MUSICAL THEATRE SENIOR SHOWCASE
Friday, May 16, 7 p.m.
Yvonne Theater
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON UPCOMING PERFORMANCES, SUBSCRIPTION AND PATRON PROGRAM OPTIONS, VISIT RIDER.EDU/ARTS.
