Brake for Christmas
Featuring The Jazz Protagonists & San Marcos HS Varsity Mixed Choir
DECEMBER 20 Friday • 7:30PM
Diane Bennack Concert Hall
DECEMBER 21 Saturday • 7:30PM
Judson I.S.D. Performing Arts Ctr.
Proudly presents
Brake for Christmas
FEATURING
Richard Bjella, Artistic Director
Dr. Eric Thompson collaborative pianist Gilbert Garza, saxophone
The Jazz Protagonists
San Marcos HS Varsity Mixed Choir
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2024 • 7:30PM
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2024 • 7:30PM
This concert is presented by grant funding from the City of San Antonio Department of Arts & Culture
Through exquisite music and innovative programming, the San Antonio Chamber Choir elevates the spirit, enlightens the mind, and nurtures the soul.
BRAKE FOR CHRISTMAS
I
Ubi caritas
Carol of the Bells / Wayfaring Stranger
Ola Gjeilo (b. 1978)
Mykola Leontovych and Peter J. Wilhousky Traditional spiritual arr. McCay Crockett
soloists: Nancy Poffenbarger, Seth Lafler
II
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel Anonymous (15c.) Jazz Protagonists arr. Barry. Brake, Greg Norris, Darren Kuper
III
Virga Jesse Anton Bruckner (1824–96) saxophone part arr. Richard Bjella
“And the Glory” from Messiah
Gilbert Garza, saxophone
George Fredrick Handel (1685–1759) adapted by Paul Ayres
IV
“For Unto Us” from Messiah G. F Handel
Go Tell It on the Mountain Traditional Spiritual Jazz Protagonists arr. Kuper, Brake, Norris
V
O, Little Town Lewis Redner (1931–08) arr. Jackson Berkey (b. 1942)
Nordic Winter Pictures
1. The Frozen Breath
2. The Howling Wind
Michael Zuniga, bass and Gilbert Garza, saxophone
Tormod Tvete Vik (b. 1975)
O Holy Night Eoin Conway
Lindsay Selli, soprano
Intermission
VI
The World for Christmas
Children Go Where I Send Thee
San Marcos HS Varsity Mixed Choir
Dawn Sheridan-Reinhuber & Brigitte Smith, directors
Anders Edenroth (b. 1963)
Kevin Johnson (b. 1942)
BRAKE FOR CHRISTMAS (continued)
VII
Silent Night
Good King Wenceslas
Franz Gruber (1787–1863) arr. Brake, Kuper, Norris
13th c. Carol Jazz Protagonists arr. Brake, Kuper, Norris
VIII
Elves Bells
Stephen Chatman (b. 1950)
Angels We Have Heard on High 19th c. Carol arr. Saunder Choi (b. 19)
Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming
The Little Drummer Boy
What Child Is This
Sussex Carol
Soloists: Seth Lafler, Crystal Jarrell Johnson
IX
Michael Praetorius (1571–1621) arr. Shawn Kirchner (b. 1970)
Katherine K. Davis (1892–1980) arr. Kuper, Brake, Norris
English folk song (16th c.)
text Luke Wadding (17th c.) folk melody discovered by Ralph Vaughan Willliams (1872–1958) arr. Brake, Norris, Kuper
SAN ANTONIO CHAMBER CHOIR
Richard Bjella, Artistic Director
Roland Barrera, Executive Director
SOPRANO 1
Cami Everitt
Nancy Poffenbarger
Lindsay Selli
SOPRANO 2
Carrianne Bernatis
Lindsey Johnson
Maureen Broy Papovich
ALTO 1
Isabella Ness
Jennifer Quintero
Valerie Jeannin
ALTO 2
Christian N. Cruz
Crystal Jarrell Johnson
Jennifer Root
TENOR 1
Cristian Cantu
Mary Cowart
Seth Lafler
TENOR 2
Klint Fabian
Manny Lopez
Sean Osman
BARITONE
Chaz Nailor
Colin Powell
Noah Reinhuber
Rob Saldaña
BASS
Evan Blaché
Alejandro Oliveros
Michael Zuniga
SAN MARCOS HS VARSITY MIXER CHOIR
Haley Lynn Aguilar
Jessie Nicole Alkire
Isaiah Matthew Barber
Lukas Timothy Bauerkemper
Delaney Taylor Booth
Yarettzi Anahi Cedillo
Dexter Close
Olivia Maricella Coronado
Daniel Joseph Cruz
Thomas Maximo De La Cruz
Alyssa Kathleen Ensle
Andres Lorenzo Garcia
Brynn Marie Gardner
Janessa Abrey Garza
Matthew Ayden Garza
Esai Gabriel Gutierrez
Chandler Jude Hammett
Emma Ruthann Harbert
Marcus Helling
Myalynn Nicole Hernandez
Xzavien Herrera
Keira Lacey Eleanor Hinton
Kiefer Arlo Hinton
Isabelle Rose Hiracheta
Celeste Roylene Hunter
Abigail Joy LaCoss
Daniela Andrea Lopez
Dylan Jared Manauth
Daniella Marissa Martinez
Marcos Martinez
Jude McConkey
Helena Jayne McConkey
Abby Gail Otey
Santi Perez
Anissa Renee Ramirez
David Ismael Rodriguez
Aidan Duval Rodriguez Marrero
Mary Lane Salmi
Robert Matthew Silguero
Molly Marie Sivilay
Sareha Carmela Soto-Rivera
Frankie Myron Jr Spates
Presley Taylor Thurman
Kaelynn Michelle Villareal
Dr. Joachim Reinhuber, collaborative pianist
Andrew McNair & Xzavian Herrera, djembes
PROGRAM NOTES by John Silantien
IOla Gjeilo is Norwegian by birth and currently resides in New York City as a freelance composer. His early home musical environment included an eclectic mix of jazz, pop, folk and classical styles. He studied at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City and at the Royal College of Music in London.
Gjeilo’s setting of Ubi caritas has become so popular that the composer has written a setting of the Latin hymn’s second verse, Ubi caritas II. The piece has even been arranged for wind ensemble. In his original choral setting, Gjeilo uses the plainchant Ubi caritas in the soprano, while the lower parts provide a modern, block-chord harmonization. As we hear this text that is usually sung on Maundy Thursday at Christ’s washing of the apostles’ feet, we may both exult in Christ’s birth while realizing the humility that will be a hallmark of his life’s work. In a 2011 performance by the Central Washington University Chamber Chorale, Gjeilo demonstrated his jazz skills by providing a piano improvisation to accompany the choir’s singing of the motet. That improvisation was later transcribed and notated. In today’s performance, our SACC pianist Eric Thompson plays that transcription with the choir.
In the next setting, arranger McCay Crockett juxtaposes two very disparate holiday pieces, the joyous Carol of the Bells and the meditative spiritual Poor Wayfaring Stranger. He wrote a virtuosic arrangement for the male a cappella group Vocal Point, an ensemble at Brigham Young University in Salt Lake City, Utah. In 2006 the group took first place in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella Ensembles at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall in New York City. Crockett, a former member of Vocal Point, utilizes in this arrangement the full range of the male voice from the lowest bass pitch to the highest tenor tessitura. He employs a familiar compositional technique as the constant fast-moving rhythm of the Carol of the Bells provides a continuous underpinning for the plaintive long notes of the spiritual. The juxtaposition of the two texts also presents a stark contrast of emotions.
II
The Jazz Protagonists derive their unusual name from the state of jazz at their formation some twenty years ago. The group’s pianist, Barry Brake, remembers: We came along at a time when there was a rising tide of young musicians dedicated to the essentials of jazz—the swing beat, the blues harmonies, the group improvisation, the full-spectrum use of instruments. After a whole long period in which those things were left by the wayside, we insisted on them. We knew that if we did we'd please audiences as well. A protagonist is someone who pushes a cause: that's who we wanted to be!
PROGRAM NOTES (continued)
They describe their treatment of O Come, O Come Emmanuel on the liner notes of their CD We Three Kings (1998), as a “hard swinging Latin chant.” On another occasion they imagine a “deep dark, kind of blue” interpretation. In one improvisatory lick on the CD, one can hear in the piano a series of parallel-fifth intervals reminiscent of medieval music.
III
This year celebrates the two-hundredth anniversary of Anton Bruckner’s birth near Linz, Austria. SACC music director Rick Bjella has chosen one of his favorite Bruckner motets, Virga Jesse, for today’s program. He was moved to write an original obligato, improvisatory-like part for soprano sax. He uses the new part, at first, as inserts between sections of the motet and then to simultaneously color the choral parts. Bruckner’s passionate setting ranges from triple forte at “pacem Deus reddidit” (God hath given back peace) to subito piano at “in se reconcilians imo sumis” (reconciling in himself the lowest with the highest).
Arranger Paul Ayers has created a new version of “And the Glory” from G.F. Handel’s Messiah. He takes the notes of Handel’s movement, which is scored in triple meter (3/4), and places them in a swinging duple meter (2/2).
IV
The Jazz Protagonists next play another Messiah movement, “For Unto Us” in an upbeat swing tempo. They then launch into the spiritual Go Tell It on the Mountain, and give it what Darren Kuper calls a “Ramsey Lewis treatment.” Bassist Greg Norris adds that he firmly believes that “on a program there always ought to be one song that makes you want to do the Snoopy dance.”
V
The concluding set of pieces on the program’s first half begins with Jackson Berkey’s arrangement of O Little Town of Bethlehem. Berkey is most famous for founding in 1974, along with Chip Davis, the group Mannheim Steamroller. The two met when both were on a concert tour with the famous Norman Luboff Choir, Davis as a singer and Berkey as the accompanist. The name of the Mannheim Steamroller derives from the late eighteenth-century Mannheim school of composers. The “Mannheim roller” referred to a technique in which scale passages were played with a measured tremolo in the strings along with a large crescendo. The Mannheim Steamroller has sold more than thirty-one million Christmas records.
In Nordic Winter Pictures by Tormod Tvete Vik, conductor Bjella admires the composer’s unique use of various vocal and non-vocal techniques “to recreate the cold, frenetic energy or calm of winter weather.” The first two of four movements depict “The Frozen Breath” and “The Howling Wind.”
Eoin Conway arranged O Holy Night for the New Dublin Voices who premiered it in December 2015 at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland. The composer writes, “The choir holds a Kris Kindle every year, with participants encouraged to make presents rather than buy them. So every year I give the gift of a new arrangement, and the following year they give me the gift of singing it beautifully.”
VI
Anders Edenroth has been a full-time member of the Swedish vocal jazz ensemble the Real Group since 1989. For a long time, he harbored a deep concern for the future of the planet. His vision for a musical expression of his feelings crystalized when he met Leia, the three-day old baby of his friend Emma. For his choral piece, The World for Christmas, he framed his words with quotations from the famous poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” or “Twas the Night Before Christmas” by Clement Clarke Moore and Henry Livingstone Jr. He borrowed Leia’s voice to pray that one day all the children of the world might “inherit the beautiful blue-green, healthy planet of their dreams.”
Conductor of the Spellman College Glee Club in Atlanta, Georgia, Kevin Johnson writes that his motto is to “amaze and inspire” all members of the choir. He recalls that Children, Go Where I Send Thee was first made popular by the Golden Gate Quartet in the 1930’s. Willie T. Johnson was the lead singer of the group. He was Kevin’s father and “like him I use rhythm in exciting new ways.” His arrangement of the spiritual includes three separate parts for jembes and a rap solo crafted by Ayana Davis. The SACC welcomes the collaboration of the Chamber Singers from San Marcos High School.
PROGRAM NOTES (continued)
VII
The Jazz Protagonists perform Silent Night as a meditative ballad. Good King Wenceslas, on the other hand, is cast as a peppy samba—a type of tropical chorale. Drummer Darren Kuper serves as the driving force in this interpretation. On an early recording, instead of using his standard drum sticks, he grabbed two bunches of bamboo.
VIII
Stephen Chatman is a Canadian composer who served as Professor of Music at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. His compositional style before 1982 was complex, virtuosic and atonal. When he began writing choral music, however, he transitioned to a more lyric style often inspired by folksong. His concern was to reach a wider audience. In Elves Bells, his entire text consists of “Ding dong bong.” The piece was commissioned by the Maryland State Boychoir. It serves as a good example of Chatman’s goal of writing accessible music suitable for the target group.
Sander Choi comes from a Filipino-Chinese background. He moved to America at age twenty-three to study music. He performed as a singing member of the famous Filipino Madrigal Singers. He has written music for that ensemble and other leading groups such as the Seattle Pro Musica, the Crossing, and the Los Angeles Master Chorale. He currently serves as Director of Music at the Unitarian Universalist Community Church in Santa Monica and as a teaching artist with the Los Angeles Master Chorale.
Choi’s arrangement of Angels We Have Heard on High begins with a plainchant setting in Latin for men’s voices. The basses then set out a fast, lilting 5/4 rhythm, while the upper voices sing the familiar carol tune with chromatic harmonies. The ladies then take over the ostinato figure, while the men sing the tune. The “gloria” cascading sequence receives a more symmetrical treatment in 6/4 meter. The next verse “See Him in a manger lay” is set in a slow, warm, poco rubato gospel style. The final verse then reverts back to the quick 5/4. Conductor Bjella feels the 5/4 as “hauntingly reminiscent of jazz artist Dave Brubeck’s revolutionary jazz standard Take Five.”
Michael Praetorius’ simple harmonization of Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming (1609) has been used as source material for countless works both large and small. Shawn Kirchner’s arrangement creates a simple gospel setting. The piano accompaniment sets the tone, while the voices sing in unison, in two parts, and in a diatonic triadic harmonization for SATB voices. The saxophone plays a jazzy verse alone and then joins the chorus. They conclude very softly humming the simplest chordal progression, IV, V, I.
IX
Katherine K. Davis attended Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts, where she eventually came to teach music theory and piano. She later studied composition with the famous teacher Nadia Boulanger in Paris. She composed The Little Drummer Boy in 1941, while “trying to take a nap. Some sources cite two hundred different versions of the piece in seven languages. In Barry Brake’s arrangement, the vocal part consists entirely of scat syllables Drummer Darren Kuper takes the lead in a quick 5/4 meter. Brake writes, “as we symbolically arrive at the manger, we’ve got to give the gift we’ve got, our noisy tribute to the kid who shaped the world.” Finally, the voices go to pianissimo and the drums take it out.
The lyrics of What Child Is This, one of our most beloved carols, were written by Englishman William Chatterton Dix in 1865. Then in 1871 it was set to the traditional English folk tune “Greensleeves.” Brake’s arrangement takes up the tune in a gentle jazz waltz. The choir sings a scat-chordal accompaniment to multiple improvised solos by the Jazz Protagonists.
Our program’s closing piece is the Sussex Carol, often remembered by its first line, “On Christmas night all Christians sing.” It was first published by Luke Wadding in 1684. The most common version was written down by Ralph Vaughan Williams in Sussex. Brake’s arrangement begins in E-flat major with strong unison declarations of the tune and text. In this piece, the choir sings real words without syncopations or jazz rhythms. The tune set in steady quarter notes modulates up to F Major and concludes with a climactic “Amen.” The final harmonically extended, colorful, fully voiced chord reminds us that today we just witnessed an exciting melding of instrumental and vocal styles, of jazz meets classical.
Ubi caritas
Where charity and love are, God is there. Love of Christ has gathered us into one. Let us rejoice in Him and be glad. Let us fear, and let us love the living God. And from a sincere heart let us love one. Amen
Carol of the Bells / Wayfaring Stranger Hark! how the bells, Sweet silver bells, All seem to say, “Throw cares away.”
Christmas is here, Bringing good cheer
To young and old, Meek and the bold.
Ding, dong, ding, dong That is the song With joyful ring All caroling (Oh, oh, ah) One seems to hear Words of good cheer From everywhere Filling the air
Oh, how they pound, Raising their sound, O'er hill and dale, Telling their tale,
Merry, Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas Merry, Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas On, on they send, On without end, Their joyful tone To every home.
I'm just a poor wayfaring stranger Travelling through this world below There's no sickness, no toil, nor danger In that bright land to which I go
I'm going there to see my Father And all my loved ones who've gone on I'm just going over Jordan I'm just a goin’ over home
To every home, I’m going home. I’ll soon be free from every trial, My body sleep in the church yard: I’ll drop the cross of self-denial, And enter on my great reward.
PROGRAM
I’m going there to see my Saviour, To sing his praise forevermore. I’m just a goin’ over Jordan, I’m just a goin’ over home. To every home. Over home.
Virga Jesse
The rod of Jesse hath blossomed: a Virgin hath brought forth God and man: God hath restored peace, reconciling in Himself the lowest with the highest. Alleluia.
(Isaiah 11:1-3)
And the Glory
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it
Together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
(Isaiah 40:5)
O, Little Town
O come to us, abide with us, Our Lord Emmanuel!
O, little town of Bethlehem. How still we see thee lie!å Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by.
Yet in the dark street shineth the everlasting light; The hopes and fears of all the years Are met in thee tonight.
How silently, oh, so quiet: How silently, how silently The wondrous gift is given! So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.
O, holy Child of Bethlehem. O, little town
O, Bethlehem.
O, holy Child of Bethlehem, Descend to us, we pray: Cast out our sin, and enter in, Be born in us today.
Yet in thy dark street shineth
The everlasting light; The hopes and fears of all the years Are met in Thee tonight.
PROGRAM
O Holy Night
O Holy night!
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining 'Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn
Fall on your knees; O hear the Angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born O night, O holy night, O night divine!
Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming
There came three Wise Men from the Orient land
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger In all our trials born to be our friend.
Fall on your knees; O hear the Angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born O night, O Holy night, O night divine!
(John Sullivan Dwight)
Angels We Have Heard on High
The Angels sing heralding the new-born Lord, Peace to us, and pardon for humanity. Joyful, all ye nations rise, with the heavenly hosts proclaim God’s Son, Our King is born in Bethlehem. Hark the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King!
Angels we have heard on high Sweetly singing o'er the plains And the mountains in reply Echoing their joy astray Shepherds why this jubilee? Why your joyous strains prolong? What the gladsome tidings be Which inspire your heavenly song?
Gloria in excelsis Deo
See Him in the manger lay Jesus, Lord of heaven and earth
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid
With us sing our Savior's birth
Gloria in excelsis Deo In excelsis Deo
Come to Bethlehem and see Him whose birth the angels sing Come adore on bended knee
Christ the Lord the newborn King Gloria in excelsis Deo
Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming Lo, how a rose e'er blooming From tender stem hath sprung! Of Jesse's lineage coming As men of old have sung It came, a flow'ret bright Amid the cold of winter When half-spent was the night
Isaiah 'twas foretold it
The rose I have in mind
With Mary we behold it
The virgin mother kind To show God's love aright She bore to men a savior When half-spent was the night.
This flower, whose fragrance tender With sweetness fills the air
Dispels with glorious splendor
The darkness everywhere
True man, yet very God From sin and death he saves us And lightens every load.
Sussex Carol
On Christmas night all Christians sing, To hear the news the angels bring, News of great joy, news of great mirth, News of our merciful King's birth.
Then why should men on earth be so sad, Since our redeemer made us glad, When from our sin he set us free, All for to gain our liberty.
When sin departs before his grace, Then life and health come in its place; Angels and men with joy may sing, All for to see the newborn King.
All out of darkness we have light, Which made the angels sing this night: 'Glory to God and peace to men, Now and for evermore. Amen.'
BIOGRAPHIES
Richard Bjella
Richard Bjella has distinguished himself as a conductor, clinician, choral pedagogue, and choral arranger. In 2014 Bjella was appointed Artistic Director of the San Antonio Chamber Choir.
He retired from Texas Tech University in 2017. He previously served 25 years as Director of Choral Studies at the Lawrence Conservatory of Music, leading the Concert Choir in an acclaimed performance at the 2009 National ACDA Convention. The Texas Tech University Choir has been celebrated for its excellence in Carnegie Hall, Orchestra Hall, at TMEA convention appearances, and at the 2013 ACDA Convention.
Bjella has presented workshops at several ACDA national and regional conventions and has been a headliner for countless events from Alaska to Florida for teachers and students alike. It has also been his honor to conduct and present masterclasses worldwide and at over 400 festivals and workshops in 34 states, including several appearances at Lincoln Center, Orchestra Hall, and Carnegie Hall. He has presented workshops and conducted in South Korea, England, France, Switzerland, Lithuania, Columbia, Haiti, Estonia, Latvia, Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, and Italy. He led the European tour for the Texas Choral Directors to Vienna, Prague, and Budapest in June and July. He is also deeply honored to be the 2025 Texas All-State Mixed Choir conductor, performing in San Antonio at the TMEA Convention and the national ACDA convention in Dallas. He is also actively promoting creative choral programming and is a writer for The Oxford Handbook of Choral Pedagogy (2017) with his chapter, The Art of Successful Programming: Study, Selection, and Synthesis
Bjella received a ‘2017 Professing Excellence Award’ at Texas Tech University and the Lawrence University Teaching Award in 2008. This award is given to outstanding faculty who go “above and beyond,” both inside and outside the classroom, to impact student learning and academic success. He was also honored to receive the ‘Morris Hayes Lifetime Achievement Award’ from the Wisconsin Choral Directors.
The Jazz Protagonists
The Jazz Protagonists have been making music, delighting audiences, and getting awards since they started together in 1990. The San Antonio Express-News has called them "classy and classic," "irrepressible," and "top-flight," and says that in "the world of the Jazz Protagonists. . . the music is hot and cool" and "art and fun coexist." Their popular and influential weekly radio show, The Protagonists Jazz Party, airs at 9 pm every Tuesday on krtu.org and KRTU 91.7 FM. They've released four albums: We Three Kings, Blizz Blazz, Live At Luna, and Sixties Night. The Jazz Protagonists have served as Artists in Residence at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, did a 3-year stint as the house band for Holy Trinity Anglican Church, and have performed dozens of jazz masses, services, and concerts at churches all over Texas.
Greg Norris
String Bassist Greg Norris is a sought-after performer and studio musician. He studied composition at Trinity University, and arranging at North Texas. Described by the Express-News as "sharp, experienced, and versatile," Norris has performed with the Temptations, Jazz Ambassador and Texas Women's Hall of Fame member Beverly Houston, the Valery Grokhovsky Quartet, the Gypsy Jazz Trio, and Latin Grammy winners Lara and Reyes, and has shared the stage with Ray Charles, Steve Lawrence & Edie Gorme, Julio Iglesias, Etta James, Selena, Dave Brubeck, George Benson, Jon Anderson of Yes, Dr. John, and the Rippingtons.
Darren Kuper
Drummer Darren Kuper began playing professionally in 1988, and co-founded the Jazz Protagonists with Brake in 1990. While earning a degree from UTSA, he was the guitarist/composer for the popular rock group Bluecanoe. He switched to drums in college, and since then he has become San Antonio's go-to drummer. Renowned for his ebullient style, Darren has performed and recorded with the King William Jazz Collective (one of the premier large jazz ensembles in the US, with recordings on the national charts), crooner Ken Slavin, the Bill King quartet, the Ron Wilkins Fourtet, Nobuko, Ron Westray of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Olivia Revueltas, the surf-rock band King Pelican, the modern rock band the saarinens, and a sold-out tour of Russia with the Valery Grokhovsky Quartet. As part of Trinity University's Year Of Jazz series, he performed in the premiere of composer Aaron Prado's "San Antonio Jazz Suite."
BIOGRAPHIES
Barry Brake
Pianist Barry Brake began playing at the Gunter Hotel as a high-school student, before earning a Composition degree from Baylor University, and a Master's in English literature from UTSA. He is now a free-lance composer, arranger, performer, and producer of music, with numerous film soundtracks, stage shows, commercials, and CDs to his name. The San Antonio Current has described him as a "respected pianist-composer" whose music "captivates us all." He has collaborated with the San Antonio Symphony, Jon Anderson of Yes, Paul Rogers of Bad Company, and numerous local legends. His clients include Texas MedClinic, Carlsberg Beer, Subaru, Jeep, Sea World, KFC, and the Wall Street Journal. He has also produced and co-produced numerous albums, including singer Ken Slavin’s I'll Take Romance and You Gotta Have Heart, recorded live at New York's famous Metropolitan Room, award-winning children’s artist Owen Duggan’s An Elephant Never Forgets and Puppy Dog Jig, and guitarist Mike Brannon’s Off The Map, which includes the final tracks recorded by legendary drummer Don Alias. He won a Bronze Addy award for Sound Design for his work on the CBD children's storybook app Noah's Ark Since 2019, he has hosted Classical Connections, Texas Public Radio’s weekday radio program that features music from San Antonio and Texas.
Eric Thompson
Eric Thompson was born and raised in San Antonio, graduated from John Jay High School and received degrees in piano performance from UTSA and The University of Texas. He has been employed at Texas State University-School of Music since 2006 and currently holds the position of Program Faculty of Collaborative Piano.
The San Marcos HS Varsity Mixed Choir
The San Marcos HS Varsity Mixed Choir is composed of auditioned singers, many of whom have been in choir for 6-7 years in the San Marcos CISD combined choral programs. This group possesses a willingness and enthusiasm to tackle literature that many would say is beyond them. San Marcos is a one-high-school town with a very diverse student population. The members of this ensemble are extremely dedicated to this program while maintaining outside interests and responsibilities. These students are involved in other musical organizations, sports, CTE programs, and part-time employment outside of school. Many of them seek additional opportunities by investing in voice lessons, summer choir camps, and Young Artist Musical/Opera programs. This ensemble has received Sweepstakes ratings for the past 10 years. The choir directors at San Marcos HS (Dawn Sheridan-Reinhuber and Brigitte Smith) are happy to say that the future looks bright and choral music is thriving in our area of Texas!
Brigitte Smith
Brigitte Smith is in her 18th year of music education, all of which have been in San Marcos CISD. Brigitte received her Bachelor of Music Education from Texas State University and her Masters in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University. Under her direction, choirs of all levels have received numerous Sweepstakes awards and Division I ratings. In addition to her director duties, she is the SMHS advisor for the Texas Future Music Educators and is a founding member of the Purgatory Creek Chorale. Smith serves as a clinician and adjudicator throughout the state and is an active member of the Texas Music Adjudicators Association. She has had the honor of serving the Texas Music Educators Association as Middle School Vocal Coordinator, Region Choir Clinician, Region Choir Organizer. When she is not teaching choir or singing, she is planning her next camping trip with her family.
Dawn Sheridan-Reinhuber
Dawn Sheridan-Reinhuber received her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at Rice University where she studied with voice teacher Virginia Babikian, and Vocal Coach and Choral Director, Thomas Jaber. After completing her undergrad, Dawn moved to Frankfurt, Germany, with her husband (and pianist) Joachim Reinhuber, where she did graduate work in Vocal Performance at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt am Main. She worked in the Städtische Musikschule Aschaffenburg for 14 years teaching voice, chamber music, and directed several vocal ensembles. After having had 3 beautiful children, Daniel, Noah, and Emma- her family moved back to Texas in 2006, where she began her career as a full time choir director. The choirs at San Marcos HS are consistent Sweepstakes winners and have repeatedly had students place in the Texas All-State Choirs. She has served as Region Vocal Chair and is an active member of TMEA and TMAA. She had the privilege of serving as Texas All-State Treble Choir Coordinator in 2022 and 2023. Mrs. Sheridan received her
BIOGRAPHIES (continued)
Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Texas State University in 2017, and is in her 33rd year of teaching. She has 3 sweet doggos- Bailey, Chloe, and Jamie.
Dr. Gilbert Garza
Dr. Gilbert Garza completed his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in saxophone performance at The University of Iowa with his recording thesis, “Music from Latin America.”, all while under the tutelage of Dr. Kenneth Tse. Dr. Garza holds a Bachelor of Music Studies degree with EC-12 Texas All-Level Certification from Texas State University and a Master of Music degree in Saxophone Performance from The University of Texas at Austin. He has earned several awards including first prize in the 2019 Concurso Panamericano en el Encuentro Universitario Internacional De Saxofón in Mexico City, finalist in 2017 and 2018 for the Iowa Concerto Competition, Hispanic Scholarship Fund Scholar in 2016 and 2017, and was named a semi-finalist for the 2016 NASA solo and quartet competition. His students have had success at TMEA all-state and other competitions. Dr. Garza is a saxophone lecturer at Texas A&M University – Kingsville and a masterclass instructor for Sandra Day O'Connor High School in San Antonio, TX.
UPCOMING CONCERTS
A Musical Wilderness of 29 MARCH
Saturday • 7:30PM
Alamo Heights United Methodist Church, San Antonio, TX
30 MARCH
Sunday • 3:00PM
The Chapel of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, TX
ADDITIONAL SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Bach Reflections & Reverberations
This is the inaugural program of a multi-year project in celebration of the music and influence of J.S. Bach, a composer who stands at the fountainhead of Western classical music and whose influence on the history of music is as profound as any musician who has ever lived.
J.S. Bach: Easter Oratorio
Fri., April 11 @ 7:30PM
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower
Sat., April 12 @ 7:30PM OLLU Sacred Heart Chapel
Mon., May 12 @ 7:00PM
St. Mark's Episcopal Church
Composer Armando Bayolo’s “Cancionero de luto” is his heartwrenching response to events at the Robb Elementary shooting in 2022 & others like it. Cancionero de luto
(“Mourning Songbook”) sets six texts in as many languages with the aim to fill the need for an ecumenical music of grief that also embraces freethinkers, atheists, and other nonspiritual traditions as well. Commissioned by SOLI Chamber Ensemble & Yale University, this new work is scored for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, & percussion with chorus, & will be SOLI’s second wonderful collaboration with SACC. This will be the World Premiere performance of this new work.
Kelly Ranson, President
SACC BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President, Ranson Properties
Kay Sherrill, Vice President
Retired High School Choir Director, Judson I.S.D.
James Reed, Treasurer
Claims Replacement Manager, USAA
Sarah Brandt
Senior Director of Prospect Management & Research, University of Texas at San Antonio
Adam Cason
Director of Product Marketing, Futurex
Carol Gamble
Volunteer Coordinator, Corazon San Antonio
Norbert Gonzales, Jr., C.P.A., J.D.
Owner & President, The Gonzales Group, CPA
Natalie Luna Kuhn, C.P.A. & C.F.E.
Director of Audit Services, Randy Walker & Co.
Angus McLeod, Secretary
Retired Music Educator, Alamo Heights I.S.D.
Kit Powers, M.D.
Cardiologist, University Medical Associates
John Silantien, D.M.A.
Choral Studies Professor Emeritus, University of Texas at San Antonio
Music Director Emeritus, San Antonio Mastersingers
AD HOC MEMBERS
Rick Bjella, Artistic Director
San Antonio Chamber Choir & Retired Director of Choral Studies
Texas Tech University
Roland Barrera, Executive Director
San Antonio Chamber Choir & Director of Music & Worship Arts
Tarrytown United Methodist Church (Austin, TX)
Tracy Bjella Powers
Alamo City Street Choir Director
SACC CIRCLE OF SUPPORTERS
(based on cumulative gift totals of sustained givers since July 2023)
Maestro’s Circle:
$25,000 and above
H-E-B Grocery Co.
Kelly Ranson
Mary Ann Winden
Sponsor’s Circle:
$10,000–$24,999
Bexar County
Caritas Concert Series
City of San Antonio
Dept. of Arts & Culture
Kronkosky Foundation
Bonnie Mut Estate
Edith De Lay, executor
Becky & Jeffrey Nodland
San Antonio Symphony League
Composer’s Circle:
$5,000–$9,999
Jennifer & Scott Rose
Texas Commission on the Arts
Diamond Level:
$2,500 to $4,999
Linda & Rick Bjella
Sarah Brandt & A. Thomas Papagiannakis
Adam & Mollie Cason
Cynthia I. Gonzales
Norbert Gonzales Jr.
San Antonio Area Foundation
The Gonzales Group CPA Firm
Tracy Bjella Powers & Kit Powers, MD
Randy Walker & Co.
Platinum Level:
$1,000 to $2,499
Roland Barrera
Cristian Cantu
Frost Bank
Natalie & Frank Kuhn
Pat & Kevin Pernicano
Cathy & James Reed
Kay Sherrill
Jill & David Trawick
Jennifer Whatley
Gold Level: $500 to $999
Carol & Bruce Cauley
Frances & Jim Garner
Lamont Jefferson
Nancy & Cliff Jenkins
Ann & Carl Leafstedt
Scott MacPherson
Gwen & Angus McLeod
Angus Ranson
Terri Peña & Allan Ross
Harold Sager
Caroline Vickrey
Silver Level: $250 to $499
Rosalinda & Pedro Barrera
Klint Fabian
Carol Gamble
Janice Grantz
Mildred & James Harnish
Anna & Bruce Liesman
Renee Meriwether
Anne Mulligan
Patrice & Joey Oliver
Pathways of Hope
Adrienne P. Bingamon
University Methodist Church
John Silantien
Marga Speicher
Alice & Sergio Viroslav
Bronze Level: $100 to $249
Sandra & Steven Alexander
Calhoun Law Firm
Shirley Coffman
Nancy Cook-Monroe
Lynne & Merlin Gackle
Alex Gmeinder
Mary Greer
Valerie Jeannin
Joan Kearl
Kealey & Kieth Martinez
Kevin Meidl
Joseph Milligan
Paul Myers
Warren Neisler
Anna & Joe Osterman
LaDawn Petersen
Karen Pfefferle
Lars Ranson
Kim Riojas
James Rodde
Kimberly Sherrill
George Spencer
Joy & William Surbey
Cathy Talcott
Ana M. Valadez
Friends: up to $99
Daryl Anderson
Alyssa Avenatti
Gabriela Barba
Rachel Benefiel
Diane Burchers
Karla Busch-McEwen
Joan Carlson
Regina Chew
Juliette Conte
Mary Cowart
Robert Dalglish
John Davenport
Dean David
Paul De Stefanoi
John Debner
Mary Esther Escobedo
Cass Everitt
Debra Faszer-Mcmahon
Jaimes Flores
Donald Frantz
Jesus Garcia
Melissa Garza
Mireya Garza
Laura Giacomoni
Silva Gitsas-Pourliakas
Gary Goethe
Billie Gonzales
Tom Grothues
Debra Habingreither
Jerry Hamilton
John Hammer
Barry Hubbard
Crystal Jarrell Johnson
Carrie Jasso
Denise Kellum
Stephanie Key
Minji Kim
Rebecca Krogness
Elizabeth Lampright
Debra Lolmaugh
Gary Mabry
Clay Mayo
Susan McAllister
Melie McIntosh
Megan Miller
Patricia Morgan
Elizabeth Nabutovsky
Dena Orth
Marianne Orton
Casey &
Maureen Papovich
Melissa Peck
Lauren Phillips
Jeanette Pierce
Richard Reams
Harriet Redman
Keith Riggle
Christina Rivera
Maryann Robledo
Kelly Robles
Kathy Scruggs
Linda Smith
Raul Soria
Aimee Stead
Irma Taute
Maria Velasco
Margi Wallace
Nicki Weaver
Tribute Giving: In memory of Len Bjella In memory of Mimi Gonzales In memory of James Hare In memory of Muriel Leafstedt In memory of Art Winden In honor of Roland Barrera In honor of David Becker In honor of Richard Bjella In honor of James Brown In honor of Alyx Gonzales In honor of Kelly Ranson In honor of Kay Sherrill In honor of Tracy Bjella Powers & the Alamo City Street Choir In honor of Jennifer Whatley In honor of Mary Ann Winden
Special Thank You:
Jadin Blanchard
Sarah Brandt
Evan Feist
Norbert Gonzales Jr.
Elizabeth James
Angus McLeod
Tracy Bjella Powers & Kit Powers
Kelly Ranson
John Silantien
THANKS TO OUR GENEROUS 2024 – 2025 SPONSORS:
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
PARTNERS
CORPORATE SPONSORS
FOUNDATION SUPPORT
SACC COMMUNITY CONNECTION PROGRAMS
Alamo City Street Choir Tracy Bjella Powers, Director
Started in 2019, The Alamo City Street Choir offers a musical outlet for those experiencing homelessness and severe disadvantage. Their voices of hope and wisdom will bring the community to a higher level of beauty through the art of singing. ACSC meets weekly at Travis Park Church in partnership with Corazon San Antonio. H-E-B generously underwrites this program. Contact Tracy Bjella Powers, Director for more information please email - tracy@sachamberchoir.org.