Spring Concert Repertoire
Welcome and Introduction - Maryann Burt Class of 2025 Glee Club President
Psalms, Praise, and Prayers
Our opening songs celebrate faith, gratitude, and spiritual reflection, reminding us that music is a bridge between the human and the divine.
Non Nobis Domine William Byrd
Lift Thine Eyes to the Mountains From ‘Elijah” composed by Felix Mendelssohn
Psalm 23
Srul Irving Glick
In loving memory of Pope Francis, in gratitude for a life of humility and service.
I Thank You God Gwyenth Walker; poem by E.E. Cummings
Ave Maria J.S. Bach/Charles Gounod - Sophia Poston – Soloist
Songs for Women’s Voices - Gwyneth Walker and May Swenson
Songs for Women’s Voices are musical settings of six poems by May Swenson. The songs address a variety of topics - from feminism to God to romance to death - yet they speak with one voice, one style and one life-affirming philosophy. The musical settings are intended to present these poems in a simple and straightforward manner which seeks to portray the beauty, humor and passion of the words. (notes by the composer, Gwyneth Walker)
May Swenson (1913-1989) published over 450 poems in her lifetime, much of which was spent in Greenwich Village, New York City, where she was chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. Permission for use of her poetry has been granted by the estate of May Swenson.
The Glee Club will perform these four songs in Carnegie Hall on June 29th, 2025
Songs for Women’s Voices -
Gwyneth Walker and May Swenson
1. Women Should Be Pedestals - Women should be pedestals, moving to the motions of men - or should they be little horses - those wooden, sweet, old fashioned painted rocking horses - the gladdest things in the toy room - the pegs of their ears so familiar and dear, so familiar and dear to the trusting fists - To be chafed feelingly and then unfeelingly - to be joyfully ridden - rockingly, rockingly, rockingly ridden - until the restored egos dismount and the legs stride away - Immobile, sweet lipped, sturdy and smiling. Women should always be waiting - willing to be set into motionWomen should be pedestals to men.
Women Should Be Pedestals is a stinging parody of outdated gender ideals. Gwyneth Walker’s setting is full of exaggerated charm, wit and biting sarcasm. This is not a celebration of female virtue it is a dismantling of the passive roles women have been asked to play, willingly and without protest.
2. I Will Be Earth - I will be earth, you be the flower, You have found my root, you are the rain, I will be boat, and you the rower. You rock me and toss me, you are the sea.How be steady earth that is now a flood. The root is the oar afloat where has blown our bud. We will be desert, pure salt the seed. Burn radiant love, born scorpion need.
3. Mornings Innocent - Solo performed by Ashley Sanchez; performed by The Dominoes - I wear your smile upon my lips - Arising on mornings innocent - Your laughter overflows my throat, Your skin is a fleece about me - With your princely walk I salute the sun - People say I am handsome - Arising on mornings innocent birds make the sound of kisses - Leaves flicker dark and light like eyes - I melt beneath the magnet of your gaze - Your husky breath embraces my ear - Alert and fresh as grass I wake and rise on mornings innocent.
4. Love is a Rain of Diamonds - Love is a Rain of Diamonds in the mind, the fruit of the soul sliced in two, a dark spring loosed at the lips of light, under earth-waters unlocked from their lurking to sparkle in a crevice parted by the sun - a temple not of stone but cloud, beyond the roar of the heart and all violence, blue permanence - love is a rain of diamonds in the mind. Diamonds duet sung by Joan Dimaya and Miranda Shepard
Selections by the Dominoes
The Dominoes will perform these songs in Carnegie Hall on June 29th, 2025
Wild Embers
Melissa Dunphy and Nikita Gill
“We are the descendants of the wild women you forgot, we are the stories you thought would never be taught. They should have checked the ashes of the women they burned alive. - Because it takes a single wild ember, a single wild ember - to bring a whole wildfire to life.”
Wild Embers honors the “wild” women who were silenced, forgotten, and burned alive for being too bold and too free. The young women who sing this song are not merely telling someone else’s story. They are the descendants. They are the story. They are the wildfire.
Katerina Gimon
In “Fire”, Katerina Gimon uses a range of percussive vocal effects tongue clicks, ululations, breathy exhalations, and rhythmic syllables to conjure the crackling energy of flame. The score is marked by asymmetrical meters, chant-like refrains, and sudden dynamic shifts that mimic fire’s unpredictability: it dances, it rages, it devours, it renews.
There is no traditional text instead, the voices become the element itself. This wordless setting invites singers to tap into something primal and physical; wild embers come to life.
Never Enough
From “The Greatest Showman’
Solo performed by Miranda Shepard
Never Enough is a soaring ballad about longing, love, and the ache for something just beyond reach. Brought to life by Miranda Shepard, the song captures the deep yearning we all feel when words alone aren’t enough to express the heart.
Classic Pop and Soul Favorites
Chapel of Love
The Shoop Shoop Song
Tribute to Our Seniors
Tightrope
Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry
Rudy Clark; solo by Maryann Burt
Maeve Barry - Class of 2026
Senior Songs
Eliza Curtis - Soloist
Tightrope (from The Greatest Showman) is a song about love, loyalty, and the courage to follow dreams into the unknown. Eliza Curtis dedicates this song to her fellow seniors as they get ready to take their next big steps into the future.
The Rose
For Good
Seasons of Love
Amanda McBroom Solo - Sofia Conti
From “Wicked”; Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Duet - Maryann Burt and Eliza Curtis
Jonathon Larson Solo - Sofia Santomauro
The Greatest Showman - Story and Song Summaries
The Greatest Showman is a movie musical inspired by the life of P.T. Barnum, a man who dared to dream big by creating a dazzling, unconventional circus that celebrates individuality and wonder. The story captures the emotional truth of Barnum’s vision: to make the extraordinary feel possible, and to give a spotlight to those once living in the shadows.
“The Greatest Show” bursts onto the stage with the promise of spectacle and possibility. It introduces us to Barnum’s bold vision and the magic of a world where the extraordinary comes to life.
“A Million Dreams” is sung by young Phineas Barnum who shares his vision of the future with Charity, the girl who will become his wife. The song captures the wide-eyed imagination of a child who sees possibility where others see limitation.
“This Is Me” gives voice to those who have been pushed aside, shamed, and ostracized. Sung by the Bearded Lady, it is a powerful anthem of self-acceptance. “I’m not a stranger to the dark ‘hide away,’ they say, ‘cause we don’t want your broken parts.” Her voice refuses to be silenced as she proclaims, “I am brave, I am bruised, I am who I’m meant to be this is me.”
In “Come Alive”, Barnum's performers embrace their uniqueness and step into the spotlight. The song pulses with energy, capturing the moment they reclaim their identities not as curiosities, but as stars. As they sing, “And the world becomes a fantasy, and you're more than you can ever be, ’cause you're dreaming with your eyes wide open,” we witness a joyful awakening from a dream into life.
The Greatest Showman - Choral Highlights Arranged by Ed Lojeski
The Greatest Show
A Million Dreams
Nina Marie Wheeler – Soloist
Small Ensemble - Chiara Secades, Joan Dimaya, Eleanna Sevilla and Sophia Lee
This is Me Kira Varela – Soloist Come Alive
When You Believe
Finale
Words and Music by Stephen Schwarz
Small Ensemble - Joan Dimaya, Maeve George, Kira Varela, Nina-Marie Wheeler
Acknowledgements
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,
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!
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 Spring 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.
The Saint Dominic Academy Glee Club
The Glee Club is one of the largest activities at Saint Dominic 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.
The Glee Club traveled to Rome in December, 2015, and performed at the New Year’s Day, 2016, World Peace Day Papal Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in Saint Peter’s Basilica.
The Glee Club has sung six times at the annual Radio City Christmas Spectacular, opening for the renowned Rockettes, most recently in December, 2024.
In May, 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. They will join the San Diego Womens’ choir at Carnegie Hall on June 29th, 2025, singing Gwyneth Walker’s Songs for Women’s Voices and The Tree of Peace.
The Glee Club performs an annual concert with Saint Peter’s Prep’s Vox choir each May, this year’s performance being on Saturday, May 17th at 7:00 P.M. here in Saint Ann Church.
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.
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. They 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.
Saint Dominic Academy Administration
Elizabeth Christou Woodall
Dr. Maureen Fonseca
Kamila Pawka
Alyssa Ruiz
Head of School
Associate Head of School
Dean of Student Leadership & Activities
Dean of School Culture
Sharon Buge Director of Finance
Maureen Cravath Head of Admissions
Saint Dominic Academy Glee Club Board of Directors
Joseph P. Napoli Director
Stephanie Vargas Herrera
Assistant Director & Business Manager
Maryann Burt President
Eliza Curtis Vice President
Emily Sullivan Secretary
Sofia Conti Stage Manager
Saint Dominic Academy Glee Club Members
First Sopranos
Olivia Pope-Bayne
Olivia Conti *
Cherubim Cruz-Perez *
Emelina Dunn *
Maeve George *
Chrissa Gumtang
Caitlin Nilla
Dia Parekh *
Sophia Poston *
Sofia Rodriguez*
Ashley Sanchez *
Miranda Shepard**
Emily Sullivan *
Lily Torres *
Anya Vasudevan*+
Sophia Woodford
Second Sopranos
Nicolett Borjas
Sophie Chapman *
Sofia Conti *
Joan Dimaya **
Vanessa Fazio
Marina Neris Fontanella
Sophia Lee *
Catharine Malangone
Alexis Manocchio *
Camila Rosario *
Sofia Santomauro *
Ava Sotomayor *
Kira Varela *
Metztli Villanueva
Nina-Marie Wheeler *
Scarlett Vaca *+
Altos
Zara Alam *
Audrey Bagwan *
Maeve Barry *
Izabella Perez-Bombino
Maryann Burt*
Eliza Curtis *
Jillian Lapinski
Connie Liu
Keona Potenza*
Maira Qaiser
Angelina Quizon
Chiara Secades **
Eleana Sevilla *
Mila Varela *+
Section Leader +
Dominoe Member *
Dominoe Member/Model Voice **