Yale Glee Club Commencement Concert - May 17 2025

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supplantabuntur gressus ejus). This timeless message, which will live well beyond another two hundred years, reminded me on September 4th that uncertainty is ephemeral when the heart is certain. Os Justi is a concise composition, with Bruckner even being asked Ist’s der ganze Text? “Is this the whole text?” But the experience it affords, one of pondering, profound reflection, and newfound certainty, takes the center stage in the listener’s repository of memories. In our times of need, to dispel insecurity and uncertainty, Os Justi shines as a beacon, illuminating the path for our steps forward. Prithvi Narayanan

Sixty-Seventh Psalm Charles Ives (1874-1954)

God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth.

Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.

God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him. —Psalm 67

This year we celebrate the 150th birthday of Charles Ives, an alumnus of the Yale Glee Club and one of the earliest composers in the modernist movement. An insurance man by trade, Ives did not need to rely on the success of his compositions for money. With this ability to compose more freely, Ives introduced to church music the trademark dissonance of modernism. In his “Sixty-Seventh Psalm,” Ives experiments with polytonality: throughout the piece, the sopranos and altos sing in a different key from the tenors and basses. As major and minor chords clash, the listener never experiences true resolution, and must find solace in discord. In my role as conductor, I have enjoyed a front-row seat to this tremendous work of art, and I hope our performance fills you with the same sense of awe that I have felt in every rehearsal with the Glee Club. —Ava Dadvand

Nuestra Mirada Micaela Carballo (b.1988)

Nuestra mirada que no es nueva sino que nunca antes había sido compartida. Pensar escribir Crear compartir

Nuestra mirada. No es más que otra forma de ver y crear un nuevo mundo.

Nuestra mirada que no es nueva sino que nunca antes había sido compartida.

Sospechosos, testigos, de la mujer silenciaron su voz.

Nuestra mirada que no es nueva sino que nunca antes había sido compartida.

Our view Our view is not new but has never been shared before.

Think, Write, Create, Share, our view. It is nothing more than another way of seeing and creating a new world.

Our view is not new but has never been shared before.

Suspects, witnesses, of the woman silenced her voice. Our view is not new but has never been shared before.

Nuestra mirada is a setting for choir of an original Spanish poem by Argentinian writer and film director Sabrina Odoguardio. It is inspired by an interview with two women artists: Victoria Ocampo and Maria Luisa Bemberg, and is about the view of women on the arts, history, life, that never was shared before because suspects, witnesses of women, silenced her voice. Women’s voices are not new, but they are being heard for the first time. There is another story, which was never told, and has a woman’s perspective. —Micaela Carballo

Break Silence Carlos Cordero (b.1992)

Composed for the 164th Yale Glee Club can we break silence without breaking each other can we break like waves of water waves of light waves of love soft and bright with life

—Julie Flanders

I write music that allows us to explore how to be kinder with each other and with this commission I had the opportunity to dream a reality where we are vulnerable, honest, and embracing of each other’s nuances. Through Julie’s poetry, I saw possibility and love. Break Silence might feel like a strong demand at times, but my hope is that we can sit down and talk about how we can hold each other up, not tear ourselves apart. I love thinking about phrases within phrases and when writing Break Silence I thought a lot about the following inner phrases: Can We Break? Can we break silence without breaking each other? Can we break without breaking each other?

I took this exploration further and sought the statement out of the question: We Can. —Carlos Cordero

Not later, not less

All signs repeat: Rejoice. Morning, and the opening of the eyelids, And mind lifting up its voice, And world come safe in sight:

Wakening, and the witnessing of objects

Thronged on the pier of light

As night had never been.

The meanings massed, awaiting

The hands that, gathering in, Weigh home all truths in one: Morning, and the gaiety of the body

In the stations of the sun.

—Marie Boroff

Not later, not less was composed by Glee Club Director Jeffrey Douma for the inauguration ceremony of Maurie McInnis, twenty-fourth President of Yale University, and was premiered by the Glee Club in Woolsey Hall on April 6, 2025. President McInnis chose the text, a poem by Sterling Professor Emerita Marie Boroff (1923-2019), who in 1959 became the first woman to teach in Yale’s English department.

The Times They Are A-Changin’

Come gather ’round people wherever you roam

And admit that the waters around you have grown

And accept it that soon you’ll be drenched to the bone

If your time to you is worth savin’

And you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone

For the times they are a-changin’.

Come mothers and fathers throughout the land

And don’t criticize what you can’t understand Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command

Your old road is rapidly aging

Please get out of the new one if you can’t lend a hand

For the times they are a-changin’

The line it is drawn the curse it is cast

The slow one now will later be fast

As the present now will later be past

The order is rapidly fading

And the first one now will later be last

For the times they are a-changin’!

Written amongst protests over civil rights and the Vietnam War, and first performed after the assassination of JFK, “The Times They Are A-Changin” captured the spirit of the societal changes of the 1960s. Bob Dylan sought to emphasize shifting societal norms, though the song transcends the time in which it was written. The Nobel Prize-winning poet employs repetitive structure and style to highlight his message in simple-sounding verse. Using the movement of water to symbolize the inexorable shift in society, Dylan uses the phrases “waters around them have grown,” “drenched to the bone,” and “you better start swimming, or you’ll sink like a stone.” Dylan makes multiple allusions throughout his lyrics, including to the biblical verse, “But many that are first shall be last, and the last first” (Mark 10:31), which he morphs into “The first one now will later be last.” This song is not simply an aspirational song, but also a call for action, and the poet specifically calls out “writers and critics, who prophesize with your pen,” asking mothers and fathers not to “criticize what they can’t understand,” and “senators, congressmen, [to] please heed the call.” Though the tumultuous era of the 60s and 70s is over, the timelessness of Dylan’s aspirational call to change inspires us today. —Stephen Morris

Bob Dylan (b.1941) arr. Adam Podd

Yale Glee Club Chamber Singers Alex Whittington mm ’25, conductor iii.

Gather at the River Stacey V. Gibbs (b. 1962)

My home is over Jordan. Deep river.

When we gather at that river:

The river that flows by the throne of God. Oh, shall we gather? We shall gather.

Shall we gather at the river where bright angel feet have trod With its crystal tide forever flowing by the throne of God?

On the margin of the river washing up its silver spray, We will talk and worship forever all the happy golden day.

Soon we’ll reach the silver river; soon our pilgrimage will cease; Soon our happy hearts will quiver with the melody of peace.

It flows; yes, it flows!

I want to go where peaceful waters flow by the throne of God.

—Robert Lowry (1826-1899), with additional text from traditional Spirituals

“Gather at the River” is a contemporary setting of Dr. Robert Lowry’s 1864 hymn “Shall we gather at the river.” Although Dr. Lowry wrote the song rapidly—within a single afternoon—in his lifetime, it rose to unexpected popularity. He recalls, once, getting into a truck and hearing workmen singing the hymn, laughing and celebrating. He realized, at that moment, that his song had done legitimate good in the world, bringing people together and carrying them through hard times. In my mind, our current arrangement is similar. We cannot sing the tight, precise harmonies required for this piece without genuinely listening to and connecting with the singers around us. And when we do, this piece soars in celebration of its beauty, and we find ourselves in the song. Even now, 160 years later, Dr. Lowry’s work is still bringing people together, and letting us answer that timeless question—“shall we gather at the river?” with a rousing chorus of “we shall.” —Everett Tolbert-Schwartz

The Promise of Living Aaron Copland (1900–1990) from The Tender Land

The promise of living With hope and thanksgiving Is born of our loving our friends and our labor. The promise of growing With faith and with knowing Is born of our sharing our love with our neighbor. The promise of living, The promise of growing Is born of our singing in joy and thanksgiving.

For many a year we’ve known these fields And known all the work that makes them yield. Are you ready to lend a hand?

We’re ready to work, we’re ready to lend a hand. By working together we’ll bring in the harvest, the blessings of harvest. We plant each row with seeds of grain, And Providence sends us the sun and the rain.

By lending a hand, by lending an arm Bring in from the land, bring out from the farm, the blessings of harvest.

Give thanks there was sunshine, Give thanks there was rain, Give thanks we have hands to deliver the grain.

O let us be joyful, O let us be grateful to the Lord for His blessing.

The promise of ending in right understanding Is peace in our own hearts and peace with our neighbor. (Simultaneously)

O let us sing our song, And let our song be heard.

Let’s sing our song with our hearts, and find a promise in that song.

The promise of living, The promise of growing, The promise of ending is labor and sharing and loving. iv.

“The Promise of Living” is a central chorus of Aaron Copland’s folk opera, The Tender Land, which he finished in 1954. The opera explores themes of idealized Americana in a period of growing Cold War tensions, especially the strength and unity of rural American communities, and this chorus focuses on a group of farmers who express their hopes for the future, particularly in relation to the land they care for. Throughout the piece, Copland uses harmonic, textural, and rhythmic contrasts to weave together the different voices, which, in the opera, represent the different farmers. The piece alternates between steady hymn-like rhythms and vibrant, dance-like sections, evoking the seriousness of farm labor as well as the joy and vitality that accompany a shared sense of purpose. Ultimately, the “farmers” come together to sing the final words—“The promise of living, the promise of growing, the promise of ending is labor and sharing and loving”—which encapsulate the spirit of community, cooperation, and resilience that permeates the piece. Many of Copland’s works celebrate the American spirit, and “The Promise of Living” is no exception. It touches on themes of optimism, renewal, and unity through diversity, drawing attention to the inherent pride farmers have in their labor, the joy they find in shared work, and their united and enduring hope for a better future. Ultimately, Copland’s music captures a traditional vision for America where hard work, compassion, and the collective effort of individuals contribute to a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts—a promise of living not just for ourselves but for our respective communities and for future generations. —Nate Stein

Canticle of the Turning Traditional Irish tune arr. Jeffrey Douma

My soul cries out with a joyful shout

That the God of my heart is great

And my spirit sings of the Wondrous things

That you bring to the ones who wait

You fixed your sight on your servant’s plight

And my weakness you did not spurn

So from east to west shall my name be blest

Is the world about to turn?

refrain:

My heart shall sing of the day you bring

Let the fires of your justice burn

Wipe away all tears for the dawn draws near

And the world is about to turn!

Through the halls of power to the fortress tower

Not a stone will be left on stone

Let the king beware for your

Justice tears ev’ry tyrant from his throne

The hungry poor shall weep no more

For the food they can never earn

There are tables spread, ev’ry

Mouth be fed

For the world is about to turn.

Canticle of the Turning is a hymn based on a sturdy, traditional Irish tune with new lyrics by Rory Cooney inspired by passages from the Gospel of Luke. The message of the text, emphasizing justice and equity, is perhaps best encapsulated by a line from the third verse: “Let the king beware for his justice tears every tyrant from his throne.” Canticle of the Turning was a favorite hymn of Glee Club alum Sarah Grube ’22, whose fierce passion for social justice was matched only by her love for singing with others. We sing this new arrangement in loving memory of Sarah, with gratitude for the many gifts she gave us. —Jeffrey Douma

Down by the Riverside Traditional spiritual arr. Stacey V. Gibbs

Gonna lay down my burden down by the riverside.

Gonna lay down my burden down by the riverside, and study war no mo’.

Yes, gonna lay down my burden down by the riverside.

Gonna lay down my burden down by the riverside, and study war no mo’.

I ain’ goin’ study war no mo’.

Lord, I’m gonna lay down my sword an’ shield down by the riverside. Lord, I’ll lay my burden down, down by the riverside, and study war no no mo’.

I ain’ goin’ study war no mo’!

The beloved spiritual “Down by the Riverside” has long been a fixture not only of the concert hall but also of anti-war protests. Like many spirituals, it awaits a time of liberation for those who cross the River Jordan to freedom, and its themes of peace and reconciliation have made it an especially timeless piece for audiences throughout the world. This exciting new arrangement is the work of Stacey V. Gibbs, one of the most prominent and prolific composers active in the spiritual genre today. Gibbs’ arrangement skillfully blends traditional characteristics of the concert spiritual with newer harmonic ideas and textures.

Bayanihan Arianne Abela

Alex Whittington, conductor

Sama sama tayo

Sa fiesta at trabaho

Kaibigan o pamilya

Siguradong masaya

tara na tara na

Bayanihan

Sa hirap at ginhawa

Dahan dahan ang paglipat

Kayang kaya ang pagbuhat

Sandali lang, tapos na

Balita ko may lilipat

Tawagin ang lahat

Ang bayan ay tutulong

Sa paglipat at angat

Bayanihan, Bayanihan

Salu-salo

Magtulungan

Magsaya

Kain na

sayaw na

sama na

halika na

salamat

walang anuman

Bayanihan

Let’s all be together

In celebration or at work

Friend or family

It surely will be fun

Come on, come on

Bayanihan

In hardship or in good times

Slowly we make the move

Carrying is so easy

In a moment we are done

I heard that someone’s moving

Call everyone to come

The community will help us

With the lifting and the move

Bayanihan, Bayanihan

Get together

Help one another

Celebrate and have fun

Eat already

Dance already

Join already

Come here already

Thank you

No problem!

Bayanihan

Bayanihan (buy-uh-nee-hun) is derived from the Filipino word “bayan” meaning nation, town, or country. This term refers to a Filipino tradition where people in a town or community are asked to help a relocating family. The relocation is not just belongings but the actual transfer of the house to a new location. To thank people, the family throws a party with food and dancing. Today bayanihan spirit means helping others in need without expecting anything in return.

I included in the piece a section reminiscent of the tinkiling, a traditional Filipino dance with bamboo sticks. The dance is always in three, with emphasis on beats 2 and 3. Dancers must be comfortable with the choreography to avoid hurting

Senior Song

Sung by the Yale Glee Club Class of 2025 v.

Here Let Me Stop (#3, The Beauty of the Day)

Nico Muhly (b. 1981)

Here let me stop. Let me too look at Nature for a while. The morning sea and cloudless sky a brilliant blue, the yellow shore; all beautiful and grand in the light. Here let me stop. Let me fool myself: that these are what I see (I really saw them for a moment when I first stopped) instead of seeing, even here, my fantasies, my recollections, the ikons of pleasure.

–C.P. Cavafy (1863–1933)

Translated by Daniel Mendelsohn

The Power in Our Voices Omeno Abutu ’27 Winner, 2024 Fenno Heath Award

There is power in our voices

There is power in the song

Healing communion

There is power in our voices

And with our song, may hearts draw nigh And bonds grow strong as years go by For love, I sing And joy, I sing And peace, I sing, I sing!

There is power in our voices

There is power in the song

Goodness and peace

Healing communion

There is power in the song!

“Power in Our Voices” is a piece written for the Yale Glee Club as a way to reflect on what singing in choirs means to me. Firstly, voices have the power to bring people together, either to witness the song or to take part in it. Perhaps this is because choirs rely on the hallmarks of a good community, the ability to relate with one another harmoniously and to respect each other in dissonance, to be on the same page and to respectfully disagree. Maybe this is why choirs naturally foster community. Further, the various levels of connection in singing—harmonically through counterpoint, physically in a space, and spiritually through shared purpose—make it an endlessly rewarding, communal pursuit.

Growing up, my mother always told me that when we sing, we pray twice, so I think there is no better way to express my prayer for the Yale Glee Club than through song. My first wish is that each member feels empowered as an individual. I like comparing a choir conductor to an inverted glass prism, one that is fed the rainbow and spits out a single stream of white light. While the sound that reaches the audience is beautiful, pure, and refined, it is nothing without the unique color that each member brings. A choir draws its strength from the diversity of voices within it, and that individuality is worth celebrating.

My last wish is that our song can inspire goodness, that the magic of our voices can encourage peace, unity, and healing in this world rife with bitter division. It is the concept of a choir, a place where each person has an important voice and stands shoulder to shoulder with other humans, that inspires this piece.

—Omeno Abutu

’Neath the Elms

Eli Yale

Traditional Student Song arr. Jonathan Clune

Traditional Student Song

Anya AitSahlia ’25, president, and Ines Gilles ’25, manager, soloists

Raise Your Voices

Time passes quickly here, everything new. Childhood behind us now, fading from view. Four years stretch out before you, hope rushing in. Just breathe in and close your eyes, Time to begin.

Raise your voices here for an evening. Raise your voices with me for a time. Raise your voices, and in the weaving, Yours will lift the sound of mine.

Time passes quickly still, life richly drawn, Wisdom of lessons learned, youth nearly gone. Our bright college years endure as memories within, But always the song rings out. Once more begin.

Jeffrey Douma

Yale Football Medley arr. Fenno Heath ’50

Bright College Years

Carl Wilhelm arr. Robert Bonds ’71

soprano ii

Violet Barnum ’25 Music†

Kylie Berg ’28 Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry

Senlee Dieme ’26 History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health

Inès Gilles ’25 Sociology†

Sophia Groff ’25 English†

Katie Gurney ’26 Mathematics*

Aurelia Keberle ’27 Biomedical Engineering

Rose Kosciuszek ’27 Political Science

Catharine Lee ’27 Cognitive Science; Comparative Literature

Christina Logvynyuk ’25 Economics and East European Studies†

Cayley Tolbert–Schwartz ’28 Applied Physics; Theater*

Claire Zhong ’28 Cognitive Science*

alto i

Omeno Abutu ’27 Music

Anya AitSahlia ’25 Classics†

Ziqi Cui ’27 Undeclared

Logan Gilbert ’28 Mathematics and Music*

Mika Hiroi ’28 Undeclared

Alistair Lam ’27 Cognitive Science; Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Peighton Lotwis ’26 History; Music

Emily Patrick ’26 Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies with certificate in Education Studies

Sofia Sato ’28 Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Sarah Sparling ’25.5 Linguistics*†

Abigail Taylor ’25 English; Ecology and Evolutionary Biology†

Angélique Wheeler ’26 History; Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology*

alto ii

Alexis Cruz ’28 Astrophysics

Tesse Okunseri ’25 Neuroscience†

Catalina Ossmann ’27 Cognitive Science

Aryana Ramos–Vázquez ’26 Biomedical Engineering*

Myla Toliver ’28 History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health

Hai Yen Tran ’26 Statistics and Data Science; Ethics, Politics, and Economics

Ruthie Weinbaum ’25 History†

Thisbe Wu ’26 Art

Anna Zoltowski ’27 Classics

tenor i

Matthew Chen ’27 Ethics, Politics and Economics; Sociology

Schandy Cordero Schlatter ’28 Environmental Engineering

Ayush Iyer ’26 Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry; Economics

Jack Purdue ’25 Humanities*†

Bill Qian ’26 Computer Science

John Raskopf ’27 Music

Gbemiga Salu ’27 Applied Mathematics

Nate Stein ’28 Ethics, Politics, and Economics; Undecided

Alex Whittington mm ’25 Choral Conducting†

tenor ii

Jonathan Akinniyi ’26 Political Science; History

Charles Calkins ’26 History

Andrew Jean–Charles ’27 Ethics, Politics, and Economics

Tavian Jones ’26, Math, Physics, & Economics

David Liebowitz ’26 Architecture

Stephen Morris ’27 Political Science

Prithvi Vijay Narayanan ’28 Political Science*

Jaden Nicita ’28 Theater and Performance Studies

Max Ondik ’28 Political Science and East Asian Studies

Ari Panagiotis Tsomocos ’27 Economics

Bobby Xiao ’25 Computer Science and Economics†

Andrew Xu ’27 Computer Science and Mathematics

Vincent Zhen Tan ’25 Humanities†

bass i

Lukas Bacho ’25 Philosophy†

Andrew P. Boanoh ’27 Political Science; Philosophy

Ava Dadvand ’25 Classics; Linguistics†

Quinn Evans ’25, Environmental Studies & Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Aviv Fetaya ’26 Computer Science; Music

Creed Gardiner ’26 American Studies

Cameron Gray–Lee ’27 Undeclared

Alexander Kingma ’28 Computer Science and Mathematics*

Lukas Koutsoukos ’27 Ethics, Politics, and Economics

August Rivers ’28 Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies

Everett Tolbert–Schwartz ’26 Applied Physics; Chemistry*

Jeffrey Yang ’28 Economics

bass ii

Seung Min Baik ’26, Economics; History*

Even Brock ’25, Math & Music

Benjamin Graham ’28 Statistics and Data Science*

Jiayang Jin ’27, Undeclared

Sohum Kapadia ’25, Cognitive Science†

Deven Kinney ’24 Global Affairs and History; ’25 Master’s in Public Policy†

Joshua Li ’26, Global Affairs; Astrophysics

Kyle Thomas Ramos ’26 Political Science

Liam Richardson ’25 Statistics & Data Science†

Evan Stein ’28 Undeclared*

Lucas Vander Elst ’28 DS–Pre Med; Comparative Literature

Ben Weiss ’27 Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry

Benjamin Xu ’26 Computer Science and Mathematics

*Chamber Singer †Class of 2025

from its earliest days as a group of thirteen men from the Class of 1861 to its current incarnation as a 80-voice all-gender chorus, the Yale Glee Club, Yale’s principal undergraduate mixed chorus and oldest musical organization, has represented the best in collegiate choral music.

In recent seasons, the Glee Club’s performances have received rave reviews in the national press, from The New York Times (“One of the best collegiate singing ensembles, and one of the most adventurous … an exciting, beautifully sung concert at Carnegie Hall”) to The Washington Post (“Under the direction of Jeffrey Douma, the sopranos—indeed, all the voices—sang as one voice, with flawless intonation … their treacherous semitones and contrapuntal subtleties became otherworldly, transcendent even”).

The students who sing in the Yale Glee Club might be majors in music or biology, English or political science, philosophy or mathematics. They are drawn together by a love of singing and a common understanding that raising one’s voice with others to create something beautiful is one of the noblest human pursuits.

The Glee Club’s repertoire embraces a broad spectrum of music from the 16th century to the present, including motets, contemporary works, music from folk traditions throughout the world, and traditional Yale songs. Committed to the creation of new music, the Glee Club presents frequent premieres of newly commissioned works and sponsors two annual competitions for young composers. They have been featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition, WQXR’s “The Choral Mix,” and BBC Radio 3’s “The Choir.”

Choral orchestral masterworks are also an important part of the Glee Club’s repertoire; recent performances include Verdi Requiem, Mozart Requiem, Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms, Shaw Music in Common Time, Orff Carmina Burana, Vaughan Williams Dona Nobis Pacem, Bernstein Chichester Psalms, Britten War Requiem and Cantata Misericordium, Fauré Requiem, Haydn Missa in Tempore Belli, Missa in angustiis, and Creation, Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem, Nänie, and Schicksalslied, Mendelssohn Elijah, Penderecki Credo, Aaron Jay Kernis Symphony of Meditations, Purrington Words for Departure, and choral symphonies of Mahler and Beethoven.

One of the most traveled choruses in the world, the Yale Glee Club has performed in every major city in the United States and embarked on its first yale glee club

jeffrey douma

Jeffrey Douma is the Marshall Bartholomew Professor in the Practice of Choral Music at the Yale School of Music, and has served as Director of the Yale Glee Club since 2003. The Glee Club has been hailed under his direction by The New York Times as “one of the best collegiate singing ensembles, and one of the most adventurous.” He also heads Yale’s graduate program in choral conducting and serves as founding Director of the Yale Choral Artists and Director of the Chamber Choir and Choral Conducting Workshop at Yale’s Norfolk Festival.

Douma has appeared as guest conductor with choruses and orchestras on six continents, including the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Orchestra, Singapore’s Metropolitan Festival Orchestra, Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Estonian National Youth Orchestra, Daejeon Philharmonic Choir, Buenos Aires Philharmonic Orchestra, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Solistas de la Habana, Istanbul’s Tekfen Philharmonic, Norway’s Edvard Grieg Kor, the Symphony Choir of Johannesburg, the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, and the Central Conservatory’s EOS Orchestra in Beijing, as well as the Yale Philharmonia and Yale Symphony Orchestras. He also serves as Musical Director of the Yale Alumni Chorus, which he has lead on eleven international tours. He served previously as Choirmaster at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford, CT, where performances with the professional Schola Cantorum ranged from Bach St. John Passion with baroque orchestra to Arvo Pärt Te Deum, and recently served as Director of Music at the Unitarian Society of New Haven.

Choirs under his direction have performed in Leipzig’s Neue Gewandhaus, Dvorak Hall in Prague, St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Notre Dame de Paris, Singapore’s Esplanade, Argentina’s Teatro Colon, the Oriental Arts Center in Shanghai, Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher and Alice Tully Halls, and Carnegie Hall, and he has prepared choruses for performances under such eminent conductors as Marin Alsop, William Christie, Valery Gergiev, Sir Neville Marriner, Sir David Willcocks, Dale Warland, Krzysztof Penderecki, Nicholas McGegan, Craig Hella Johnson, and Helmuth Rilling.

Douma has presented at conferences of the ACDA and NCCO, and the Yale Glee Club has appeared as a featured ensemble at NCCO national and ACDA divisional conferences. Active with musicians of all ages, Douma served for several years on the conducting faculty at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. He frequently serves as clinician for festivals and honor choirs. Recent engagements include conducting masterclasses at the China International Chorus Festival, the University of Michigan School of Music, the Jacobs School of Music at

Indiana University, the Royal Academy of Music in London, the Hochschule der Künste in Zurich, the Florence International Choral Festival, and the Berlin Radio Choir’s International Masterclass, as well as residencies at the Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing and at Luther College as Visiting Conductor of the internationally renowned Nordic Choir.

An advocate of new music, Douma established the Yale Glee Club Emerging Composers Competition and Fenno Heath Award, and has premiered new works by such composers as Jennifer Higdon, Joel Thompson, Caroline Shaw, Dominick Argento, Paola Prestini, Ayanna Woods, Bright Sheng, Ned Rorem, Rodrigo Cadet, Ted Hearne, Han Lash, Martin Bresnick, David Lang, Derrick Skye, Rene Clausen, Bongani Magatyana, and James Macmillan. He also serves as editor of the Yale Glee Club New Classics Choral Series, published by Boosey & Hawkes. His original compositions are published by G. Schirmer and Boosey & Hawkes. A tenor, Douma has appeared as an ensemble member and soloist with some of the nation’s leading professional choirs.

In 2003, Douma was one of only two North American conductors invited to compete for the first Eric Ericson Award, the premier international competition for choral conductors. Prior to his appointment at Yale he served as Director of Choral Activities at Carroll College and taught on the conducting faculties of Smith College and St. Cloud State University.

Douma earned the Bachelor of Music degree from Concordia College, Moorhead, MN, and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting from the University of Michigan. He lives in Hamden, CT, with his wife, pianist and conductor Erika Schroth.

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David Pressel ’69

Lynne Bolstad pa ’79

Valerie Norton

Tom Mazza

Ronald D Levin ’58

Sarah Dewey

Kate Levin

Martha Coven

Anonymous

John H. Hughes, md

Clay Kaufman

Lansing R. Palmer

Stefan W Goff ’73

James Newby

Thomas K. Emmons

William P. MacKinnon y60

donor

Charles and Meghan Greenberg Lockwood

Sandra L. Cashion bk ’92

Franklin Best

Marla Schay Barker

Michelle Kanter Cohen ygc ’03

Zoya Afridi

Connor Kenaston

Amanda Mahaffey

Alex Tang ’80 & Bob Bagnall ’77

Sandra Higgins

Bryan Cory

Daniel Olson

Mari Kawakatsu

Scott M. Nelson

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