A Christmas Concert
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15TH, 2024
SAINT ANN ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
Introduction - Maryann Burt – Glee Club President
The Meaning of Christmas
A reading from the Book of Luke 2:8-20 – recited by Maryann Burt over “Silent Night”; adapted from “A Charlie Brown Christmas”.
The Little Drummer Boy Harry Simeone and Katherine K. Davis
Ave Maria Giulio Caccini - Duet Performed by Anya
Vasudevan and Chiara Secades
Panis Angelicus Cesar Franck - Soloist - Sophia Poston
Minuit Chrétien (Cantique de Noël) Soloist - Miranda Shepherd
Composer - Adolphe Adam
Christmas Around the World
A La Nanita Nana
Spanish Carol arranged by Norman Luboff
Stille Nacht Franz Gruber - Arranged by John Rutter
Duet - Miranda Shepard and Joan Dimaya
Il Est Né Le Divin Enfant
Duets - Sophia Poston and Joan Dimaya
The Carol of the Star
French Traditional Carol arr. by John Rutter
Latin American Carol arr. by Harry Simeone
Selections from A Ceremony of Carols
Composed by Benjamin Britten
Performed by The Dominoes
Kindly refrain from applauding until the entire “Ceremony of Carols” is performed.
We also ask that no flash photography is used during the program. Thank you.
1. Procession – Hodie Christus Natus est –“Today, Christ is born….” is taken from the vespers of the nativity and this text is used as both the procession and recession. Traditionally, the Dominoes process with candles and hold these throughout the performance.
2. Wolcum Yole! – This movement is a miniature of the liturgical calendar of the Christmas Season. The heavenly child is welcomed as important feast days of the season are referenced. Steven, John and Thomas each have a feast day during this season. December 28th is known as Holy Innocents Day. The New Year and epiphany (twelfth day) are mentioned, as well as the saints who have left and dear to us.
Candelmesse refers to February 2nd, which remembers Mary’s purification at the temple, and Jesus’ presentation to Simeon.
3. There is no Rose – Mary was unparalleled in virtue and, in her womb, (Rose) heaven and earth were in the same space. “For in this Rose contained was heaven and earth in little space.”
4. Balulalow – Solo performed by Joan Dimaya – Showing great humility, Mary sings a good and proper lullaby to the infant Jesus.
5. This little Babe – A list of metaphors in this piece depicts Christ’s battle with Satan. Infant images are juxtaposed with the imagery of weapons and battles.
6. Spring Carol - A duet to thank God for Spring. (The birth of Christ) Duet performed by Sofia Conti and Olivia Conti.
7. Deo Gracias – Adam’s fall is paradoxically a blessing because it makes possible the Savior’s coming. “Blessed be the time the apple taken was.” Humanity was bound by sin for four thousand winters until the birth of Christ.
Dedication Speech to the Class of 2025 Glee Club Members
Anya Vasudevan - Class of 2026
White Christmas (Senior Song) Irving Berlin
Once Upon a December Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (from “Anastasia”) Arranged by Carl Strommen
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry and Phil Spector
Solo by Maeve Barry - Class of 2026
Carol of the Bells
Ding Dong! Merrily On High!
Finale’
M. Leontovich; arr. by Peter J. Wilhousky
Old French Carol
Snow! (A Winter Celebration) Arranged by Teena Chin
Including Let it Snow!, A Marshmallow World, Winter Wonderland, Jingle Bells and Sleigh Ride
Three Traditional Carols (audience sing-along) Joy to the World
Joy to the World! The Lord is come; let earth receive her king. Let every heart prepare him room, and heaven and nature sing, And heaven and nature sing, and heaven and heaven and nature sing.
He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove; The glories of his righteousness and wonders of his love, And wonders of his love, and wonders, wonders of his love.
O Come All Ye Faithful
O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant; O come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold him, born the King of angels; O come let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord
Sing choirs of angels, sing in exultation; Sing all ye citizens of heaven above. Glory to God, in the highest; O come let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
Silent Night
Silent Night, Holy Night, all is calm, all is bright; Round yon Virgin Mother and Child; Holy infant so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace.
Silent Night, Holy Night, Song of God love's pure light; Radiant beams from thy holy face, with the dawn of redeeming grace; Jesus, Lord at thy birth, Jesus Lord at thy birth.
Acknowledgments
Maryann Burt, Eliza Curtis, Sofia Conti, Emily Sullivan
The Saint Dominic Academy Alma Mater
Lift your voices, lift your spirits. Sing with zest and love and glee! Boast of courage, truth and honor, taught at this Academy. Raise her Banner; wear her Emblem, pledge to God and country too. Keep her spirit, keep her counsel, She will always follow through! Saint Dominic Academy, we pledge our hearts in loyalty, Our Alma Mater here’s to thee, we love our school devotedly. May all our efforts during life, in all our triumphs and in strife, By the patron of our school blessed be, Saint Dominic Academy!
The Saint Dominic Academy Glee Club
The Glee Club is one of the largest and most honored activities at the Academy. Approximately twenty percent of Saint Dominic Academy students have been members of the Glee Club during Mr. Napoli’s 46 years at SDA.
The Glee Club has long been considered the one of the most accomplished all girls parochial school choirs in the Archdiocese and in the tri-state area. The Glee Club attended regional competitions every year from 1992 - 2018 and won Grand Championship awards in 14 of those 27 competitions.
In December, 2004, The Glee Club performed a Christmas Concert in the Winter Garden Atrium at the World Financial Center. They were one of the first choirs to perform at this historic site following its restoration after the September 11, 2001 attack on Lower Manhattan.
On December 26th, 2015, members of the Glee Club traveled to Rome and performed at a New Year’s Day, 2016, World Peace Day Papal Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in Saint Peter’s Basilica.
On May 26th, 2023, the Glee Club performed Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s “Stabat Mater” with other treble choirs in Carnegie Hall. This was the third time that the Glee Club performed in that historic venue.
The Glee Club has sung six times at the annual Radio City Christmas Spectacular, opening for the renowned Rockettes, most recently on Thursday, December 5th, 2024.
The Dominoes
The Dominoes are Glee Club’s elite choir. The Dominoes have performed, by invitation, 13 times at Carnegie Hall. Other famous New York City venues they have performed at include the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the General Assembly of the United Nations, Saint Malachy’s Church in the theater district (the “Actor’s Chapel”), the Waldorf-Astoria, Rockefeller Center and Radio City. 4.
In January 2008, the Dominoes were invited by the Barack Obama campaign to perform at Senator Obama’s appearance at Saint Peter’s College. The next day, the Dominoes sang for and met the future president.
The Dominoes performed with American composer Tim Janis at Caldwell College in April, 2010; Janis was so impressed with the choir that he arranged for the Dominoes to perform a featured number, Michael Jackson’s “Earth Song”, with international star André Rieu at the Nassau Coliseum in June, 2010. During the 2011 school year, the Dominoes performed live on Fox 5’s Good Day New York and News 12 New Jersey’s “Sounds of the Season”.
On March 1st, 2018, the Dominoes performed with the Newark Boys Chorus at Saint Peter’s University Church.
The Dominoes have sung twice as the featured liturgical choir at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart - the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. In December, 2017, 2018 and 2019, the Dominoes performed at the prestigious New York Athletic Club.
Locally, the Dominoes performed Christmas concerts for over twenty years at the Jersey City Women’s Club on Fairview Avenue, now Saint Dominic Academy’s Siena Hall, and many times at the Liberty House Restaurant’s “Snowflake Award Ceremony”, at various municipal tree lightings, for elderly members of the community and annually at the Cusack Care Center’s Blessing Tree Lighting and at the Mayor’s Annual Holiday Concert at the Landmark Loews Theater.
The Dominoes, along with the Glee Club perform an annual concert with Saint Peter’s Prep’s Vox choir each May.
James Redcay - Piano Accompanist
A native of Allentown, Pennsylvania, James E. Redcay III currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of MidAmerica Productions (where he has worked since 2015), presenting large-scale classical performances at Carnegie Hall and throughout Europe as part of an annual season of concerts. A graduate of New York University, Redcay spent years in New York City as an accomplished pianist, composer and teacher, performing and composing for numerous concerts and institutions. During this time Redcay held the position of Composer-in-Residence at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ. After graduating from NYU, Redcay moved abroad to Macao, where he taught music at the Conservatory of Macao and created and managed large-scale arts and entertainment programs and daily operations for Sands China Ltd., a subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands. After six fruitful years, Redcay relocated to the United States and now resides in the Philadelphia area.
Joseph P. Napoli - Saint Dominic Academy Glee Club and Dominoes Director
Joseph P. Napoli has taught at Saint Dominic Academy since 1979 and today marks the forty-six Saint Dominic Academy Christmas Concert under his direction. Mr. Napoli has also directed the Manhattan College Singers, Saint Peter’s College Glee Club and the Saint Dominic Academy Women’s Choir.
In 2005, the Council for American Private Education named Napoli New Jersey’s Non Public School Teacher of the Year. In 2006, he was honored as Italian-American Educator of the year by the Bayonne Columbus Committee and was similarly honored by Jersey City’s Dante Alighieri Society in 2011. In November, 2011, Saint Dominic Academy honored Mr. Napoli with the Dominican Pillar Award. In September, 2015, the Cusack Care Center honored him as “a partner in caring” at their 12th annual Generations Benefit Luncheon.
Mr. Napoli’s choirs have made two recordings; “A Saint Dominic Academy Christmas” (Dominoes, 2002) and “Voices of Winter” (Women’s Choir, 2006). He lives in Hoboken with wife Rose and their dog, Benji. 5.
Saint
Dominic Academy Administration
Elizabeth Christou Woodall
Dr. Maureen Fonseca
Kamila Pawka
Alyssa Ruiz
Sharon Buge
Mary Murphy
Maureen Cravath
Saint
Dominic
Joseph P. Napoli
Stephanie Vargas Herrera
Maryann Burt
Eliza Curtis
Emily Sullivan
Sofia Conti
First Sopranos
Olivia Pope-Bayne
Olivia Conti *
Alice Correro
Cherubim Cruz-Perez *
Emelina Dunn
Maeve George *
Chrissa Gumtang
Judy Hafiz
Kayla Lac
Emma Moloney *
Caitlin Nilla
Dia Parekh *
Sophia Poston *
Sofia Rodriguez*
Ashley Sanchez *
Miranda Shepard**
Emily Sullivan *
Anya Vasudevan*+
Sophia Woodford
Head of School
Associate Head of School
Director of Athletics and Leadership
Dean of School Culture
Director of Finance
Director of Advancement and Enrollment Manager
Head of Admissions
Academy Glee Club Board of Directors
Director
Assistant Director and Business Manager
President
Vice President
Secretary
Stage Manager
The Saint Dominic Academy Glee Club Membership
Second Sopranos
Sarah Abraham
Nicolett Borjas
Sophie Chapman *
Korinne Coaxum
Sofia Conti *
Joan Dimaya **
Vanessa Fazio
Marina Neris Fontanella
Helena Gevedon
Sophia Lee *
Catharine Malangone
Alexis Manocchio *
Camila Rosario *
Sofia Santomauro *
Ava Sotomayor *
Kira Varela *
Metztli Villanueva
Nina-Marie Wheeler *
Lily Torres *
Scarlett Vaca *+
Altos
Zara Alam *
Audrey Bagwan *
Maeve Barry *
Keira Barth
Izabella Perez-Bombino
Maryann Burt*
Ava Chirichella
Eliza Curtis *
Genesis Dominguez *
Alison Fontamillas
Jillian Lapinski
Connie Liu
Keona Potenza*
Maira Qaiser
Angelina Quizon
Chiara Secades **
Eleana Sevilla *
Mila Varela *+
