C4 and the West Village Chorale present
FIRE AND LIGHT Works for choir and double choir Sunday, June 2nd, 2019 at 5pm
Judson Memorial Church
West Village Chorale
Colin Britt, artistic director and conductor Elena Belli, piano
Sunday, June 2nd at 5:00pm Judson Memorial Church 55 Washington Square South (at Thompson Street) New York City
Noriko Okabe, recording engineer Katie Sanborn-Price, program
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Fire and Light Panda Chant II
Meredith Monk (b. 1942)
In the Middle
Dale Trumbore (b. 1987)
We are the night ocean
Arianne Abela (b. 1986)
Ashes
Trevor Weston (b. 1967)
Colin Britt, conductor C4 and West Village Chorale
Colin Britt, conductor West Village Chorale
Colin Britt, conductor Tim Krol, baritone Jacqueline Jones, soprano West Village Chorale
Benjamin Arendsen, conductor Artemisz Polonyi, soprano Hilary Purrington, alto Drew Ivarson, tenor Perry Townsend, bass C4
Psalm 117
James Bassi (b. 1961)
Perry Townsend, conductor C4
At a Window
Abbie Betinis (b. 1980)
Colin Britt, conductor West Village Chorale
Under the Harvest Moon
Abbie Betinis
Colin Britt, conductor Ellen Gottlieb, soprano Jichen Li, cello West Village Chorale
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Turn
Tarik O’Regan (b. 1978)
Mirabile Mysterium*
Hayes Biggs (b. 1957)
Curiosity
Reena Esmail (b. 1983)
Lux nova
Eric Whitacre (b. 1970)
Belief*
Colin Britt (b. 1985)
Melissa Wozniak, conductor Karen Siegel, soprano Sherwin Chao, tenor C4
Daniel Andor-Ardó, conductor C4
Colin Britt, conductor Marguerite Easterbrook, soprano West Village Chorale
Colin Britt, conductor Katie FitzGerald, soprano West Village Chorale
Karen Siegel, conductor C4 and West Village Chorale
Let my love be heard
Jake Runestad (b. 1986)
Jubilant Song*
Martha Sullivan (b. 1964)
Colin Britt, conductor West Village Chorale
Colin Britt, conductor Artemisz Polonyi, soprano C4 and West Village Chorale
*world premiere
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West Village Chorale Board of Directors Marguerite Easterbrook, President Katie FitzGerald, Vice President Dianne Patterson, Secretary John Onderdonk, Treasurer Steven Bizzell James Dantas Danielle Dowler Grace Goodman Maureen McCarthy Liam McNamara Catherine Morrison Perin Panayotatos Edward Shiner
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West Village Chorale Singers
SOPRANO
Altos
Madolyn Accola Claire Aidem Catherine Bryson Danielle Dowler Wei-Ting Duo Marguerite Easterbrook Maria Faul Katie FitzGerald Gayle Fuentes Ellen Gottlieb Jenna Johnson Jacqueline Jones Anna Sofia Kircher Tara Leighton Maureen McCarthy Kaitlin Olson Perin Panayotatos Victoria Powell Katie Sanborn-Price Sondra Ward Gail Williams
Anzhelika Basile Ana Beranek Renée Vera Cafiero Fang-Ru Chang Johanna Cook Chapman Emily Currin Amy Daly Evelyn Ellis Katherine Freedman Elizabeth Gao Grace Goodman Hadley Taylor Christina Longo Sara Mael Juliet Milhofer Dianne Patterson Marge Pfleiderer Julia Rutkovsky Katherine Schoonover Joette Warren
Tenors
Basses
Steven Bizzell Andrew Charles Jane E. Colvin Davis Foulger Joseph Hatem Liam McNamara Alexander Minter John Onderdonk Terry Quinn Edward Shiner Tom Terry
Justin Beck Michael Beiser Teedo Bilecky Jack Darcey John Herzfeld Louis Krefsky Tim Krol Benjamin Rutkovsky John Stout Will Treece 5
C4’s Board of Directors Fahad Siadat, Chair Colin Britt Rebecca Ehren Karen Siegel Larry Siegel Melissa Wozniak, Treasurer C4’s Advisory Board Eric Banks Lisa Bielawa David Harris David Hurd Aaron Jay Kernis Tania León Harold Levine Clara Longstreth Ian David Moss Tarik O’Regan Kent Tritle Toby Twining
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C4 Singers SOPRANO Zoe Hart Leah Ofman Artemisz Polonyi Karen Siegel Joy Tamayo Jennifer Wu ALTO Catey Esler Jamie Klenetsky Fay Leonore Nelson Hilary Purrington Miles Yves Salomé Melissa Wozniak TENOR Benjamin Arendsen Sherwin Chao Mario Gullo Drew Ivarson Joseph Smeall Richard Tucker BASS Daniel Andor-Ardó Hayes Biggs Alexander Boostrom Brian Mountford David See Perry Townsend
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Fire and Light Texts and Program Notes
Panda Chant II
Meredith Monk
panda panda panda panda panda panda panda panda panda panda... *Program Note*
“Panda Chant” is a section from The Games: a science fiction opera by Meredith Monk and Ping Chong, which was originally created for the Schaubühne Ensemble of West Berlin. Monk composed the music and also collaborated with Ping Chon on the scenario, choreography, and direction. Set on an imaginary planet, The Games takes place in a post-nuclear future where survivors and their descendants are involved in the repetition of ritual games reenacting Earth’s culture in order to preserve the shards of civilization. Coming at the middle of the opera, “Panda Chant” is an energetic ritual performed by the whole community as preparation for the third game, Memory. The Games won the National Music Theatre Award in 1986. —Meredith Monk
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In the Middle
Barbara Crooker
In the middle of a life that's as complicated as everyone else's, struggling for balance, juggling time. The mantle clock that was my grandfather's has stopped at 9:20; we haven't had time to get it repaired. The brass pendulum is still, the chimes don't ring. One day I look out the window, green summer, the next, the leaves have already fallen, and a grey sky lowers the horizon. Our children almost grown, our parents gone, it happened so fast. Each day, we must learn again how to love, between morning's quick coffee and evening's slow return. Steam from a pot of soup rises, mixing with the yeasty smell of baking bread. Our bodies twine, and the big black dog pushes his great head between; his tail, a metronome, 3/4 time. We'll never get there, Time is always ahead of us, running down the beach, urging us on faster, faster, but sometimes we take off our watches, sometimes we lie in the hammock, caught between the mesh of rope and the net of stars, suspended, tangled up in love, running out of time. *Program Note*
Barbara Crooker’s poem In the Middle describes the struggle to connect in the rush of ordinary life. In this setting, the piano serves as an unreliable timekeeper, ebbing and flowing as our perception of time does. Sometimes, it pushes us on, frantic; sometimes, the pace relaxes in a moment of peace. The word “time” itself occurs over and over within the piece, serving as a sort of refrain, a reminder to slow down. I first read this poem of Barbara’s last summer, at the beach house where my family has gone since I was very young—an annual trip I’d missed, for one reason or another, for the last three years. There, the poem’s metaphors were made real—a literal hammock in the backyard, a beach just across the street—and it seemed especially important to set this text. It is so easy to forget, in the context of everyday life, that time will ultimately catch up with all of us. There’s no antidote, but in the meantime, we should “take off our watches” more often, finding ourselves “tangled up in love” with another or just with this life, and granting time permission, if not to stop, then to slow. —Dale Trumbore
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We are the night ocean
Rumi
We are the night ocean filled with glints of light. We are the space between the fish and the moon, while we sit here together. *Program Note*
Living on the Detroit River, I so often would look out and marvel at the sight of the moon shimmering over the water. The nights spent on my balcony with my husband and daughter in silence, just listening to the crashing water and watching the light dance on its surface, are memories that I will always cherish. When I came across Rumi’s text, it instantly reminded me of these quiet moments that simultaneously felt so full of energy. Even though we’d sit in silence, the night felt alive and sacred, full of dance, light, and joy. —Arianne Abela
Ashes
Psalm 102, Book of Common Prayer
I have watched, and even as it were a sparrow, that sitteth alone upon the housetop. I am become like a pelican in the wilderness, and like an owl that is in the desert. Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my crying come unto thee. My days are gone like a shadow, and I am withered like grass. For I have eaten ashes as it were bread, and mingled my drink with weeping; Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my crying come unto thee.
*Program Note*
“Ashes” was composed as an empathetic musical response for those who suffered from 9/11 and all other acts of senseless violence. The profound images of the destruction of the World Trade Towers are the basis of the sound world in “Ashes.” One scene that often appeared on television showed individuals running toward a camera on a sunny New York City street chased by a cloud of ash and rubble. The cloud eventually envelops everything, creating a haunting, nuclear, winterlike scene of horrible stillness. Sorrow itself overtakes our being, leaving us frozen and motionless in disbelief. “Ashes” is, therefore, mostly static. The violence against innocents on that day connected the US to similar atrocities worldwide. Representing a common global expression of sorrow, “Ashes” opens with chantlike material because unaccompanied vocal music is common to all cultures. Throughout the piece the semichorus communicates the intimate inner thoughts of isolation that are amplified by the larger chorus. The drama builds to a symbolic creation of the two towers, a “tall” chord consisting of two notes for each voice part. The towering chord is dissolved with individual expressions of sorrow, followed by repeated supplications for mercy. —Trevor Weston
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Psalm 117
Latin Vulgate Bible
Laudate Dominum omnes gentes laudate eum omnes populi Quoniam confirmata est super nos misericordia eius et veritas Domini manet in saeculum Translation: O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. For his mercy is confirmed upon us: and the truth of the Lord remaineth forever. *Program Note*
This work was commissioned and premiered by The Manhattan Choral Ensemble, directed by Thomas Cunningham. The opening section of music, animated and rhythmic, features canonic writing in the upper voices. After a full choral statement, the material gives way to the central section, a fugato, warmer and more lyrical. The opening rhythmic music eventually returns, freely developed with various overlapping voices. The music concludes with another full choral statement, asserting the strong faith reflected in the text. —- James Bassi
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At a Window
Carl Sandburg
Give me hunger, O you gods that sit and give The world its orders. Give me hunger, pain and want, Shut me out with shame and failure From your doors of gold and fame, Give me your shabbiest, weariest hunger! But leave me a little love, A voice to speak to me in the day end, A hand to touch me in the dark room Breaking the long loneliness. In the dusk of day-shapes Blurring the sunset, One little wandering, western star Thrust out from the changing shores of shadow. Let me go to the window, Watch there the day-shapes of dusk And wait and know the coming Of a little love. *Program Note*
The first of two Carl Sandburg settings commissioned by the Knox College Choir, “At a Window” plays elaborately with the contrast between dissonance and consonance, between anguish and hope. The cello part underscores and punctuates the choral writing, until finally emerging in a passionate cadenza following the poet’s plea for “a hand to touch... breaking the long loneliness.” Finally, the chorus returns and asks to “go to the window,” waiting for “the coming of a little love.” —Colin Britt
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Under the Harvest Moon
Carl Sandburg
Under the harvest moon, When the soft silver Drips shimmering Over the garden nights, Death, the gray mocker, Comes and whispers to you As a beautiful friend Who remembers. Under the summer roses When the flagrant crimson Lurks in the dusk Of the wild red leaves, Love, with little hands, Comes and touches you With a thousand memories, And asks you Beautiful, unanswerable questions. *Program Note*
Cello and chorus are fused closely together in the second of Abbie’s pieces, creating a shimmering glow much like the moon in Sandburg’s poem. The poem, which personifies Death and Love, is sculpted meticulously in rich and complex harmonies, with a radiant climax at Love’s arrival. But just as the poem ends slightly unresolved, the music captures a sense of mystery at the “beautiful, unanswerable questions” Love asks us. —Colin Britt
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Turn
Albert Verwey (English translation by Cliff Crego)
I am a spark without goal, without direction, Thrown into the universe as my journey began, Before long another sun bound itself to me And turning I lived for an unmeasured while, A kernel of life, empty in itself, Full of the energy that around me spun. O that I could without knowing for centuries Turn within the ungrasped radiating rose. Endless world, incomplete universe And without beginning, but where each part Image is of the whole and a lightshow Along the eternal ways, tell me, shall once, shall Ever there be an end to your steady fire, You, a diamond in the hollow of a hand? Original Dutch poem: Cirkelloop Ik ben een vonk die doelloos, richtingloos, Geworpen in ‘t heelal mijn vaart begon, Toen bond me aldra aan zich een andre zon En wentlend leef ik ongemeten poos, Een kern van leven, in zichzelven voos, Vol van de kracht die in en rond mij spon. O dat ik zonder weten eeuwig kon Wentlen in de onbegrepen stralenroos. Oneindge wereld, onvoltooid heelal En onbegonnen, maar waarin elk deel Beeld van het heel is en een lichtgespeel Langs de eeuwge banen, zeg, zal eenmaal, zal Ooit zijn het eind van uw gestaadgen brand, Gij diamant in ‘t holle van een hand?
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Mirabile Mysterium
St. Sophronius, the Patriarch of Jerusalem
Mirabile mysterium declaratur hodie, Innovantur naturæ: Deus homo factus est; id quod fuit, permansit, et quod non erat, assumpsit, non commixtionem passus, neque divisionem. Translation: A wondrous mystery is declared today, an innovation is made upon nature: God is made man; that which he was, he remains, and that which he was not, he takes on, suffering neither commixture nor division. *Program Note*
For many years, on and off, beginning in 1988, I composed a piece of music that served as my personal holiday greeting at Christmas time. The first of these was a reharmonization of Gustav Holst’s tune Cranham, best known as a setting of Christina Rossetti’s poem “In the bleak midwinter.” Some of them were unaccompanied choral motets to traditional Latin texts, some were for soloists or chorus with a few instruments, and still others were composed to various seasonal texts (Advent, Christmas and Epiphany) in English, Middle English and Spanish. The most recent one is a setting (in the original German) of the ending of one of Rilke’s poems from Das Marien-Leben for chorus and chamber orchestra, and there is also a chorale prelude setting for organ on „Nun lomm der Heiden Heiland.” “Mirabile mysterium” was composed in 2012 and was inspired by an unusually chromatic sixteenth-century setting of this text by Jacob Handl (aka Gallus), though my setting makes no direct musical reference to that work. My evocation of the mystery involves an overall sense of uneasy stillness, with occasional outbursts, and a harmonic palette that often leans toward the bitonal. —Hayes Biggs
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Curiosity Haiku from the “Going to Mars” haiku competition (various authors) Other texts are names of stops on the map of Curiosity’s route (Mars Science Library) I. Through a telescope A pale red dot glows Full of curiosity. Cosmic detritus Stirring for billions of years Coalesced planet Red dust atmosphere Sun reflects off ancient sphere Pioneers draw near. Thirty-six million miles of whispering welcome. Mars, you called us home. Bradbury Landing, Goulburn, Link, Coronation, Hottah, Jake Matejevic, Bathurst, Point Lake, John Klein & Cumberland Yellow Knife Bay, Shaler, Glenelg, Rocknest, Twin Cairns Island, Elsie Mountain, Yellorex From Earth we reach out Out of curiosity To find life or dust. II. Ions for Eons Have stripped noble Mars bare Of breathable air Flawless face of rouge Serene silent elegance Gracing her named War We named this neighborworld for the one god we’d like to banish from ours.
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Amidst sand and stars We scan a lifeless planet To escape its fate O Bringer of War May our boundless curiosity III. Do no harm Mealy Mountain, Kennedy Mount Berg, Clarabelle Prospect Mesa, Jetty Macquarie Island Allan Nunatak, Darwin Amelang, Mount Arena Tingey Weaver Slide Mountain Beers Hill Cooperstown *Program Note*
“Curiosity,” is in essence, Earth’s perspective on what lies beyond it, through the lens of the Mars rover Curiosity. Pasadena’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory sent this rover off to Mars in late 2011, and it has since been roaming the Red Planet. The texts for this section are a combination of stops on the map that Curiousity has traversed as well as short haikus written by people around the world and submitted to an online haiku competition. —Reena Esmail The first movement of “Curiosity” is in essence portraying the voyage to Mars, full of expectation and yet sadly aware of the lifeless rock awaiting the rover. The second movement ponders the naming of the planet Mars, named for the “one god we’d like to banish from ours.” This movement transitions to the third with an earnestly imploring request: “May our boundless curiosity ... do no harm.” The entire piece features a glimmering and virtuosic piano part worthy of the masterful playing of Elena Belli. —Colin Britt
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Lux Nova
Edward Esch (Translated to Latin by Charles Anthony Silvestri)
Lux, Calida gravisque pura velut aurum Et canunt angeli molliter modo natum. Translation: Light, warm and heavy as pure gold and angels sing softly to the new-born babe. *Program Note*
A few years after I composed “Lux Aurumque” I began work on a musical called Paradise Lost. The central theme of the story is about an angel without wings who longs to fly, and at the climax of the show the onstage angels sing the word “paradise” over and over [in a song] called “Bliss.” When I made the wind symphony transcription of “Lux” in 2005 I decided to replace the existing middle material with fourteen measures from “Bliss.” I felt that the addition of the new middle material brought a greater dramatic arc to “Lux,” and for me at least,” greatly affected the way I heard the ending of the piece. With the addition of those fourteen bars the sonic colors of the last twelve measures felt shinier and more, well, golden. The added concept of “paradise” gave the entire piece a sense of soaring aspiration that I don’t think it had before. Now the circle is complete: I’ve taken the wind symphony version and reimagined it as a choral work. I love both versions and can’t decide which should be out in the world, so with deep humility and gratitude I offer them both. —Eric Whitacre
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Belief
Colin Britt
* Program Note*
Like so many of us, I followed the Supreme Court confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh with horror and dismay, and I struggled to think of how I, a privileged straight white male, could be any kind of advocate for survivors of sexual assault. The idea of belief and of believing survivors became engrained in me, and I came up with the idea of a piece in which one choir voices, in heightening volume, register, and confidence, the assurance of belief. The other choir sings a combination of quotations from various trials and hearings, including the Kavanaugh and Thomas hearings, statements from the Stanford student who, while she was unconscious, was raped by a prominent student swimmer, and testimony given during some high-profile cases, including allegations by Taylor Swift and Kesha. Quotations from those who contest or refute the testimony of survivors are set in the tenor and bass voices in a speechlike, almost mumbling parlando, while testimony from survivors and allies are sung melodically by sopranos and altos. The overall shape of the piece builds toward the final convergence of all voices, expressing more confidently the assurance of belief. —Colin Britt
CHOIR 1 I believe her I believe them I believe you
We believe her We believe them We believe you
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CHOIR 2 S/A
It would have been more comfortable to remain silent. But when I was asked by a representative of this committee to report my experience, I felt that I had to tell the truth. I could not keep silent. (Anita Hill) I am here today not because I want to be. I am terrified. I am here because I believe it is my civic duty to tell you what happened to me. (Christine Blasey Ford) It was hard for me to breathe. (Christine Blasey Ford) I’m being blamed for the unfortunate events of his life that are a product of his decisions. Not mine. (Taylor Swift) You don’t know me, but you’ve been inside me. (Survivor of sexual assault by Brock Allen Turner) I decided, I don’t want my body anymore. I was terrified of it. (Survivor of sexual assault by Brock Allen Turner) My damage was internal, unseen, I carry it with me. (Survivor of sexual assault by Brock Allen Turner) I would rather let the truth ruin my career than lie for a monster ever again. (Kesha Rose Sebert) That was an image that of something that happened to me, and I felt and knew in my heart that she was telling the truth, and I believe her. (Lady Gaga, speaking about Kesha) Why on earth would this girl tell the entire world this happened? Do you know what it’s like for survivors? Do you know what it’s like to tell people? (Lady Gaga, speaking about Kesha)
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CHOIR 2 T/B
Your continued withholding of material evidence despite multiple requests is unacceptable. (Chairman Charles Grassley to Dr. Christine Blasey Ford) This is the most unethical sham since I have been in politics. And if you really wanted to know the truth, you sure as hell wouldn’t have done what you’ve done to this guy. (Sen. Lindsey Graham to Senate Democrats) Your coordinated and well-funded effort to destroy my good name and to destroy my family will not drive me out. (Judge Brett Kavanaugh to Senate Democrats) This is a circus. The consequences will extend long past my nomination. The consequences will be with us for decades. This grotesque and coordinated character assassination will dissuade competent and good people of all political persuasions, from serving our country. (Judge Brett Kavanaugh to Senate Democrats) You may defeat me in the final vote, but you’ll never get me to quit. Never. (Judge Brett Kavanaugh to Senate Democrats) It is drowning my life, my career and my integrity. And you can’t give it back to me, and this committee can’t give it back to me, and this Senate can’t give it back to me. You have robbed me of something that can never be restored. (Judge Clarence Thomas to Sen. Howell Heflin) If you want to really be fair, you parade every single one before you, and you ask them in their relationships with me whether or not any of this nonsense, this garbage, this trash, that you siphoned out of the sewers against me, whether any of it is true. (Judge Clarence Thomas to Sen. Orrin Hatch) I am witnessing the destruction of my integrity. (Judge Clarence Thomas to Sen. Orrin Hatch) Didn’t it cross your mind that if you needed to defend yourself from what you anticipated he might do, that your evidentiary position would be much stronger if you had made some notes? (Sen. Arlen Specter to Anita Hill) How sure can you expect this committee to be on the accuracy of your statements? (Sen. Arlen Specter to Anita Hill)
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Let My Love Be Heard
“A Prayer” by Alfred Noyes
Angels, where you soar Up to God’s own light, Take my own lost bird On your hearts tonight; And as grief once more Mounts to heaven and sings, Let my love be heard Whispering in your wings. *Program Note*
Though originally written for Choral Arts Northwest [and premiered in 2014], this work has taken on a new life in light of the atrocities in Paris and Beirut in 2015. Jonathan Talberg, the conductor of the choir at Cal State Long Beach, led his singers in a performance during the memorial vigil for Nohemi Gonzalez, a Long Beach student who was killed in the Paris attacks. The day after the vigil, the choir was supposed to begin rehearsing holiday music; however, Jonathan felt that was not appropriate and wanted time for the singers to grieve this loss. So, at the beginning of rehearsal, he passed out a brand new piece of music (“Let My Love Be Heard”), rehearsed it, and then recorded it. It was posted on SoundCloud and shared in memory of Nohemi and as a plea for peace. Their musical offering is a powerful outpouring of grief but also a glimmer of light. I am honored that this piece, “Let My Love Be Heard,” has helped to provide hope in the darkness of our world. —Jake Runestad
Jubilant Song
Text from two poems by Walt Whitman: “A Clear Midnight“ and “A Song of Joys”
O to make the most jubilant song! —This is thy hour, O Soul, thy free flight into the wordless, Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson done, Thee fully forth emerging... —O to make the most jubilant song! Full of music! ... O for the voices of animals—O for the swiftness and balance of fishes! O for the dropping of raindrops in a song! O for the sunshine and motion of waves in a song! 22
O the joy of my spirit—it is uncaged—it darts like lightning! It is not enough to have this globe or a certain time, I will have thousands of globes and all time. ... O the joy of increase, growth, ... the joy of concord and harmony. ... O to realize space! The plenteousness of all, that there are no bounds, To emerge and be of the sky, of the sun and moon and flying clouds, as one with them. ... O to have life henceforth a poem of new joys! To dance, clap hands, exult, shout, skip, leap, roll on, float on! ... full of rich words, full of joys. *Program Note*
Combining choirs to make new music is an act of profound generosity and grace, large and expansive. And no poet speaks so generously as Walt Whitman. To create the text for “Jubilant Song,” I searched Whitman’s poems for words about music, and words that embody the different types of singing these two choirs, C4 and the West Village Chorale, do when they are at their very best: C4, specializing in surprising lines and harmonies, moving sleekly through the score, and the singers of the Chorale, at least twice the number of C4, filling the hall with their rhythm and their rich sonority. The music asks for keen tuning and ebullient call-and-response singing, two choirs sometimes trading motives back and forth, sometimes joining together to make one unified harmony. This piece is not made to showcase virtuosity; it does not mean to test the ears of the singers or the audience. Rather, it invites performers and listeners alike to enter the sonority of massed voices interacting to create something richer than an individual can achieve, plenteous, uncaged, jubilant. —Martha Sullivan
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Colin Britt, Artistic Director and Conductor. Colin holds a bachelor’s degree in music composition from the Hartt School, a master’s degree in choral conducting from the Yale School of Music, and a doctorate in choral conducting from Rutgers University. He has conducted Amuse Singers, the Rutgers University Choir, the Hartford Chorale Chamber Singers, and the Hartt Choir and Camerata, and has sung and conducted with C4 (the Choral Composer-Conductor Collective). His compositions have been performed by ensembles at Rutgers, Westminster Choir College, Hartt, Yale, and Seraphic Fire, the Yale Schola Cantorum, the Yale Alumni Chorus, C4, VOCE, and the Riverside Choral Society, and by ensembles across the country and on four continents. In addition to conducting the West Village Chorale, Colin currently serves as Choir Director at Rutgers Preparatory School and as music director for Grace Church Van Vorst in Jersey City. In Fall 2016, he served on the conducting faculty at SUNY New Paltz. He lives in Jersey City with his wife, actress Victoria Britt.
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Elena Belli, Pianist and Assistant Conductor, is a versatile concert artist and influential teacher who has appeared nationally and internationally as both soloist and chamber musician. A sought-after collaborator, she has performed with prestigious instrumentalists and vocalists from leading ensembles, including the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Orpheus, and the New York Philharmonic. She has toured throughout Europe with members of the Berlin Philharmonic, and been hailed “a captivating performer…elegant and poetic” by the Correiro del Povo in Brazil. Closer to home, she has been heard in NYC’s major venues, as well as on WNYC and WQXR, and been the featured soloist with local orchestras. Always a champion for new music, she has played a broad array of world premieres, some composed expressly for her. She takes an active role in promoting young talent, is often invited to conduct Master Classes for aspiring young pianists, and for over a decade chaired the AMTL Young Musicians Concerts at Carnegie Recital Hall. Ms. Belli holds both bachelor and master of Music degrees from the Manhattan School of Music. Past faculty positions have included The New School and Concordia College. Currently, she is on the piano faculty of the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division, and the Hoff-Barthelson Music School. A devoted and valuable part of the WVC community, Ms. Belli has been the pianist for the West Village Chorale since 1988.
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C4: The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective is a unique, awardwinning ensemble of singers, composers, and conductors, operated collectively by its singing members. C4 exists to enrich artists and audiences alike through passionate advocacy of new choral works, performing pieces written within the last 25 years, premiering in concert and commissioning new choral works, and mentoring emerging singers, composers, and conductors of today’s choral music. C4 is a proud recipient of the 2019 Chorus America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming. The ensemble also won the award in 2014.
C4 is proud to be part of the C4’s activities are funded in part with the generous assistance of:
www.c4ensemble.org 26
Praised by The New York Times as possessing a “well-blended sound,” the West Village Chorale was established by founding Director Gwen Gould in 1971 as a community chorus. Following Gwen was interim Director Andy Megill, 1999–2000, and Artistic Director and Conductor Michael Conley, 2000–2015. Michael developed the Chorale into an auditioned ensemble, and—in partnership with a devoted and energetic board and a motivated, talented group of singers—helped bring the Chorale to new levels of accomplishment. Malcolm J. Merriweather joined the Chorale as an interim Director in the 2015-16 season, continuing a tradition of excellence. Appointed in 2016, Colin Britt has picked up the WVC baton as Artistic Director and Conductor. The Chorale is flourishing through its creative and innovative programming, a rehearsal environment characterized by friendliness and a devotion to growth and self-improvement, and a continued dedication to the concept of musical service to the community, including the popular audience-participation Summer Sings of great choral works, an open sing of Handel’s Messiah in December, and an annual West Village Caroling Walk. The Chorale has limited openings in all voice parts, and is always interested in attracting new members with strong sight-reading skills and the ability to blend. Contact information: West Village Chorale, 239 Thompson Street, New York, New York 10012 www.westvillagechorale.org ² westvillagechorale@gmail.com
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West Village Chorale Donors The West Village Chorale gratefully acknowledges contributions received through May 15, 2019.
Angels - $1000+ Anonymous Terry and Jane Quinn Katherine Schoonover Edward M. Shiner Benefactors - $500 - $999 Claire and Larry Aidem William Fabricius and Doris Burke Olivia Lee Susan Leicher Maureen McCarthy Diane Scarborough John Tamagni Patrons - $200 - $499 Steven Bizzell The Bryson Family in honor of Catherine Bryson Renée Vera Cafiero Katie FitzGerald Grace Goodman Ellen Gottlieb Helen Nowicka Gail Williams
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Donors - $100 - $199 Fang-Ru Chang Marguerite Easterbrook Barbara Furman Jean-Michel Loubeau Carmen Mendez Juliet Milhofer Mission Impossible Denton/Harris Nancy Pasley Christina Rackow West Village Chorale in Memory of Joan Dyer Friends - Up to $99 Sarah An Anonymous Stephanie A. Cowell Teresa Fischer Lydia Gordon Laurie Huff Jacqueline Jones Juliet Milhofer Thomas Peters Mary Rix in honor of Warren Moore Joan Shavit Carolyn Swartz Lois Whitman Tracie Wong
THANK YOU! We are grateful to our donors and sponsors for allowing us to give the gift of choral music. Without their generosity we could not bring you these wonderful programs so thoughtfully conceived by our abundantly talented Artistic Director, Colin Britt. If you love choral music, or if you love someone who loves choral music, please consider a donation to West Village Chorale. With your assistance, we can continue to lift up our voices and provide not only our concerts, but also our popular Summer Sing series and annual and quintesentially New York Christmas Caroling stroll through the West Village. NAME ADDRESS CITY
STATE
ZIP
m Friend (Up to $99) m Donor ($100 - $199) m Patron ($200 - $499) m Benefactor ($500 - $999) m Angel ($1,000 Plus) m Gift in memory/honor of ______________________________________ m Please keep my gift anonymous Mail your check to West Village Chorale, 239 Thompson Street, New York, NY 10012, hand it to a chorale member or make a donation through our website at westvillagechorale.org
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C4’s DONORS Concert Sponsors Feryal Algosaibi Lauren Mitchell & Michael David Ellen Stafford-Sigg & Daniel Sigg
Contemporary Circle Thomas Baker John Blaylock-Cooke Elizabeth Clark Nan Corbin Donald Crockett Orianne Dutka Kathy & Hugh Eddy Karen Fay Sara Flowers Joseph Fong* Andrea & David Gelber Ellen Gesmer Grace Goodman Diane Gottlieb Jeanine Hartnett Ernest Hood & David McCorkle Larry Iversen Kamilah Jackson Janet Keogan Bob & Jan Klump Jon & Miriam Lafferty Parky Lee Stanley & Nannette Lieblein Evelyn Liston Shavon Lloyd James Stephen Longo Clara Longstreth Peter Lurye Stella McKeown Angela Menghraj Peter & Christine Metz Mary Meyer Ruth Mueller-Maerki
Cutting-Edge Circle Kit Smyth Basquin Innovative Circle Colin Britt James Hudspeth Debby Katz & Ian David Moss Bruce Saylor Patricia Siegel Creative Circle Jonathan David Charles Dorkey John Evans Gerald Gelber Ira & Becky Horowitz Linda & Leslie Libow Elizabeth Marker Sue Backstrom & Jon Minikes Charles Natt Amy Rice Claude & Maryalice Schleuderer Linda Schrank* Harold See Gregory Shikhman Kenneth & Jean Telljohann Mary Ellen Townsend David Wozniak
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Contemporary Circle (cont’d) Valerie Norton Tarik O'Regan George Orzel Debra Rich Joseph Rubinstein Bong & Edith Santiago Phillip Schroeder Mina K. Seeman Mary Severinghaus Nancy Smardz Martin & Barbara Solomon Caroline Stinson Anne Thulin* Richard Walker William Wydro Katharyn Zinn Includes donations from 7/1/18 - 5/16/19 Concert Sponsor: $1,000-$4,999 Cutting-Edge Circle: $600-$999 Innovative Circle: $350-$599 Creative Circle: $125-$349 Contemporary Circle: $1-$124
If we have made an error, please accept our apologies and notify us at info@c4ensemble.org. * = Friend of C4
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/c4ensemble/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/C4Ensemble Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/c4ensemble/
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Connect with us
@WVChorale
www.facebook.com/westvillagechorale
Subscribe to our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/user/westvillagechorale
Join Us! The Chorale has limited openings in all voice parts, and is always interested in attracting new members with strong sight-reading skills and the ability to blend. Please sign up to receive the e-newsletter on our website. Support WVC’s efforts to go green!
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West Village Chorale Summer Sings 2019 The West Village Chorale Summer Sings, begun in 1972, provide a musical treat for New Yorkers. Under the batons of leading local metropolitan area conductors, with music scores provided, choral music enthusiasts can participate in the singing of classic masterpieces in the historic Judson Memorial Church. These Sings have been noted for their friendly, informal atmosphere and high quality of musical performance. Our rehearsal format gives participants, amateur and experienced singers alike, a closer look at these monumental choral works. Solos are sometimes sung by guest artists, audience members or entire sections. Participants have an opportunity to meet the conductor and to discuss the evening’s work at the intermission, during which light refreshments are served. Mondays, June 10–August 19 at 7:30pm Admission $15; Students $10 (scores provided) Admission is available at the door. Or, save more than 20%—-Season subscriptions for all eleven Sings just $130! Come and sing with us in our air-conditioned space! Judson Memorial Church 55 Washington Square South at Thompson Street For more information visit www.westvillagechorale.org or contact us at westvillagechorale@gmail.com
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west village chorale Mondays at 7:30 PM SUMMER SING SCHEDULE 2019 July 22 June 10 Mendelssohn: Elijah Bach: Magnificat Mozart: Ave Verum Corpus Conducted by Ira Spaulding Thompson: Alleluia Professor of Vocal/Choral Music, City College of New York; Conducted by Ted Sperling Artistic Director, The Hudson Chorale Artistic Director, MasterVoices; Music Director, My Fair Lady (Broadway) July 29 June 17 Mozart: Mass in C Minor Poulenc: Gloria Vivaldi: Gloria Conducted by Kathleen Hayes Conductor and Artistic Director, Conducted by Mark Shapiro Conductor, The Cecilia Chorus of Fieldston Choral Society New York, Cantori New York, The Prince Edward Island Symphony, The Juilliard School (Evening Division) June 24 Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem Conducted by Colin Britt Artistic Director and Conductor, West Village Chorale
August 5 Duruflé: Requiem Conducted by Stephen Black Conductor, World Peace Day Singers, NYC
July 1 Rutter: Requiem Duruflé: Ubi Caritas Lauridsen: Sure on This Shining Night Conducted by Ryan James Brandau Artistic Director, Amor Artis
August 12 Fauré: Requiem Fauré: Cantique de Jean Racine Conducted by John Maclay Music Director, The Choral Society of Grace Church
July 8 Handel: Messiah Conducted by Dusty Francis Principal Conductor, New York City Master Chorale
August 19 Mozart: Requiem (K. 626) Conducted by Patrick Gardner Director, Riverside Choral Society; Director of Choral Activities, Rutgers University
July 15 Bernstein: Chichester Psalms Conducted by Philip Cheah Music Director, Central City Chorus; Music Director, Amuse Singers, Co-Artistic Director, Cheah Chan Duo