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Concert Etiquette
The members of the Ariana Women’s Choir and Orpheus Men’s
Choir have been working very hard to provide you with a concert
experience of musical excellence. For our mutual enjoyment, we
ask that you respect and kindly attend to a few simple rules:
1. If you have a young child who begins to cry, kindly exit
the performance hall. Please return once your child has
calmed down.
2. Wait for applause to enter or exit the auditorium; please
do not do so while the performers are singing, as it can
be distracting.
3. Turn off all beepers, pagers, hour chimes on watches,
and cell phones.
4. Please refrain from anything that will disrupt this
concert. Inappropriate behavior is not acceptable!
5. The use of flash cameras and video cameras is strictly
forbidden and violates copyright law.
Thank you in advance for helping to create a positive
environment for this concert presentation. Our mission is to provide an environment that culturally
enriches the community through exposure to the performing arts.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Jane Buatti
President
Catherine Selin
VP Artistic Development
Jennifer Fraim
VP Business Development
Dale Marchand
Treasurer
Charlotte Kroft
Secretary
PROGRAM
Please hold your applause until the end of each numbered set. Combined Choirs
I.
Musick’s Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lloyd Pfautsch
From Triptych
I Go Among Trees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Giselle Wyers
Poem by Wendell Berry
Ariana Women’s Choir
II.
How Do I Love Thee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nathan Christensen
Poem based on Elizabeth Barrett Browning
III.
Ave Maria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David MacIntyre
Queen Jane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .arr. Stephen Hatfield
Traditional Kentucky Folksong
Rebecca Shealy and Heather Vogel, sopranos
I Thank You God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Gwyneth Walker
Poem by e.e. cummings
Orpheus Men’s Choir
IV.
Ramkali . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . arr. Ethan Sperry
Indian Raga
Kevin DeYoe, tenor
I Believe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lon Beery
Anonymous WWII Poem
Ignacio Angulo-Pizzaro, tenor
V.
The Moon is Distant from the Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David N. Childs
Poem by Emily Dickinson
Demon in My View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jeffrey T. Horvath
Poem by Edgar Allen Poe
Hush! Somebody’s Calllin’ My Name
Greg Carson, tenor
arr. Brazeal W. Dennard
Traditional Spiritual

INTERMISSION

Orpheus Men’s Choir
VI.
Tshotsholoza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . arr. Jeffrey L. Ames
Traditional South African Freedom Song
Stephen Wilburn, tenor
The Two Sisters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . arr. Joshua Shank
Appalachian Murder Ballad
Jordan Hodess, baritone
Down Among the Dead Men . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ralph Vaughan Williams
th
12 Street Rag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Euday L. Bowman
Arr. Bobby L. McCullar
Stephen Wilburn, James Alexander,
Andrew O’Neill and Kevin DeYoe, solo quartet
Ariana Women’s Choir
VII.
Adiemus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Karl Jenkins
From Song of Sanctuary
Beth McAdoo, flute
Song of Ezekiel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Torke
Ezekiel 17:22-24
Koowu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maryann Khoury
Carli Visconti and Jennifer Fraim, sopranos
Kevin DeYoe, percussion
Ain’t No Grave Can Hold My Body Down . . . . . . . . . arr. Caldwell/Ivory
Traditional Spiritual
Combined Choirs
VIII.
Duerme Negrito . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . arr. Emile Solé
Latin American Lullaby
Miku Shiota, mezzo-soprano
Horizons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peter Louis Van Dijk
PROGRAM NOTES
Musick’s Empire
Lloyd Pfautsch
Lloyd Pfautsch, one of the most prolific American choral composers of the 20th
Century, wrote Musick’s Empire as the first movement of Tryptich, a collection of
three Andrew Marvell odes set to music. The words speak of the natural sounds of
the world and of creation ordering themselves into the sounds of voices and
instruments, spreading across the earth and giving birth to all forms of music.
First was the World as one great Cymbal made,
Where Jarring Windes to infant Nature plaid.
All Musick was a solitary sound,
To hollow Rocks and murm'ring Fountains bound.
Jubal first made the wilder Notes agree;
And Jubal tun'd Musicks Jubilee:
He call'd the Ecchoes from their sullen Cell,
And built the Organs City where they dwell.
Each sought a consort in that lovely place;
And Virgin Trebles wed the manly Base.
From whence the Progeny of numbers new
Into harmonious Colonies withdrew.
Some to the Lute, some to the Viol went,
And others chose the Cornet eloquent.
These practising the Wind, and those the Wire,
To sing Mens Triumphs, or in Heavens quire.
Then Musick, the Mosaique of the Air,
Did of all these a Solemn noise prepare:
With which She gain'd the Empire of the Ear,
Including all between the Earth and Sphear.
Victorious Sounds. yet here your Homage do
Unto a gentler Conqueror then you;
Who though He flies the Musick of his praise,
Would with you Heavens Hallelujahs raise.
-Andrew Marvell
I Go Among Trees Giselle Wyers
Wendell Berry was born in Kentucky in 1934. A prolific author of novels, short
stories, poems and essays, his work reflects his upbringing as the son of a
tobacco farmer with a 125-acre farm on the banks of the Kentucky River. In
Berry’s poem “I Go Among Trees,” the reader (or singer) goes through the
process of viewing nature as something foreign and fearful, to recognizing it as
part of oneself. As one recognizes their own true nature, they are able to “sing”
that out to the world. This profound and picturesque poem appears first in his
124 poem collection, A Timbred Choir: The Sabbath Poems.
I go among trees and sit still.
All my stirring becomes quiet around me like circles on water.
My tasks lie in their places where I left them, asleep like cattle.
Then what is afraid of me comes and lives a while in my sight.
What it fears in me leaves me, and the fear of me leaves it.
It sings, and I hear its song.
Then what I am afraid of comes.
I live for a while in its sight.
What I fear in it leaves it, and the fear of it leaves me.
It sings, and I hear its song.
After days of labor, mute in my consternations,
I hear my song at last, and I sing it.
As we sing, the day turns, the trees move.
-Wendell Berry
How Do I Love Thee?
Nathan Christensen
Nathan Christensen composed How Do I Love Thee? at the suggestion of his high
school music theory teacher in 1996 as an entry for the Diva Complex
composition contest. Needless to say, his composition won! The text is adapted
from Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s original poem.
How Do I Love Thee? Let me count the ways!
I love thee like the Earth and sky and will throughout my days.
I love thee in the morning and I love thee in the night,
And if you ask me how I feel, I’m doin’ all right.
My life is dark without you and I love you for the light
That seems to gather round whenever you’re in sight.
I love thee from the smallest little detail of thy face,
And I love thee to the greatest distance measurement can trace.
More precious than diamonds, you are my luxury,
But I could never give you up: you’re my necessity.
This love I give you freely, this love I give is pure.
And I love you with a passion you ain’t never known before.
-Adapted from Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Ave Maria
David MacIntyre
Canadian composer David MacIntyre’s Ave Maria was commissioned by the
Canadian Music Centre in 1994 to celebrate its 25th anniversary, but was
composed specifically with Elektra in mind, a well known women’s choir based
in Vancouver. The composer notes, “In 1994, the request to write a short work
for Elektra Women's Choir came at a time when I was deep in research for a new
opera about paranormal spiritual events occurring in war-torn BosniaHercegovina, particularly the daily visitations of the Virgin Mary to a small group
of children and adults who live there. During my research, I was struck by the
celebratory nature of these visitations and the necessity of connecting with the
feminine, maternal nature of the divine.” MacIntyre doesn’t use the traditional
“Ave Maria” text because the piece is not about the text, but rather the
anticipation of the vision and connection with the divine. He simply used the
words “Ave Maria” as the repeated chant or mantra of the children.
Compositionally, MacIntyre’s carefully placed rests and open spaces in the music
give a wonderful sense of expectation, waiting, hope – in that the vision will
appear.
Queen Jane
arr. Stephen Hatfield
“Queen Jane is Jane Seymour, the third and most beloved wife of Henry VIII,
who died giving birth to the short-lived Edward VI. The ballad of Queen Jane,
which adheres to the inaccurate but enduring tradition of a Caesarian delivery,
originally acted as both a newscast and tragic legend. Centuries ago the ballad
traveled to America where it settled in the musical Galapagos of the isolated
Kentucky hills, and slowly developed into a beautiful and distinctive version all
its own. Singers prized the song for its melancholy power, but feared it also, and
often forbade it to be “sung in the house.” By the time musical anthropologist
Cecil Sharp notated the ballad, the singers no longer had any idea that Queen
Jane was based on English history. There are three characters, each of whom
should have a distinctive timbre. The treble I’s take the part of Jane Seymour,
the treble III’s that of Henry VIII, while the treble II’s are the narrator.” Stephen Hatfield
Queen Jane was in labour six days and some more.
The women grew weary, and the mid-wife gave o’er.
Oh women, kind women I take you to be,
Pierce my right side open and save my baby.
Oh no, said the women, that never shall be.
King Henry will reach you in the hour of your need.
King Henry came riding, he knelt by her bed.
What’s the matter with my flower, makes her eyes grow so red?
Oh Henry, kind Henry, pray listen to me.
Pierce my right side open and save my baby.
Oh no, said King Henry, that never shall be.
I shall lose my fair flower for to save my baby.
Queen Jane, she turned over. She fell in a swound.
They pierced her right side open, and the baby was found.
So black was the morning, so yellow the bed,
So costly were the white clothes they wrapped round her head.
Six men went before her, six men bore her along.
King Henry followed after with his black mourning on.
King Henry, he wept ‘til his hands were wrung sore.
The flower of England shall flourish no more.
I Thank You God
Gwyneth Walker
Dr. Gwyneth Walker holds B.A., M.M., and D.M.A. degrees in music
composition and has composed over 130 commissioned works for orchestra,
band, chorus, and chamber ensembles. She was the recipient of the “Lifetime
Achievement Award” from the Vermont Arts Council, where she now currently
resides. The text in I Thank You God is adapted from the E.E. Cummings poem
“i thank you God for most this amazing day.” The composer says of the work,
“This is a song of praise. A piano introduction spans the broad range of the
keyboard, as if expressing the breadth of space and life. The chorus enters,
offering thanks to God for ‘the leaping, greenly spirits of trees,’ ‘a blue true
dream of sky’ and ‘everything which is infinite.’ A central phrase of ‘I who have
died am alive again today’ returns frequently. This is an expression of the rebirth
of the soul with each amazing day.”
i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes
(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday; this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings: and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth
how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any--lifted from the no
of all nothing--human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?
(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)
-e.e. cummings
Ramkali
arr. Ethan Sperry
Ramkali is a lively, rhythmic piece based on an Indian raga (scale) of the same
name which is considered “one of the most complex ragas to sing as it is perfectly
symmetrical (unlike either the major or minor scale) and contains many of the notes
that are most dissonant against the drone. This arrangement asks the choir to speak
what might be “percussion solos” during raga using sollakattu (“rhythmic
solfege”). The music, taken with the text, expresses a deeply ardent, almost
religious love on the part of the singer, and this piece has become one of our
favorites to perform. - based on notes by Ethan Sperry
Hoon tho vari vari jawoon thumuhre gus. I am entirely devoted to you my lord.
Huhmuhri bath kachu maan pyare.
At least heed my plea, my love.
Thumuhre milanuh ki ahsuh pyare.
I hope to be united with you, my love.
Chayan na parat mare pyare.
Peace of mind is not mine, my love.
I Believe
Lon Beery
“This text, found by Allied troops, was written on the walls of a Cologne,
Germany basement. It was evidently written by someone hiding from the
Gestapo. Even in its simplicity, it is a profound statement of faith in the
midst of tremendous adversity.” - Lon Beery
I believe in the sun even when it is not shining.
I believe in love even when feeling it not.
I believe in God even when God is silent.
-Anonymous
The Moon is Distant from the Sea
David N. Childs
In this poem by Emily Dickinson, the moon and the sea are lovers separated
by space but connected by their yearning and love for each other. They can
see each other but can never touch, never meet, which is perhaps a reference
to Dickinson’s infamous shyness and eventual reclusiveness. This sense of
longing and separation is prevalent throughout much of Dickinson’s poetry.
David N. Childs uses flowing, deep arepeggios in the left hand of the piano
and lighter, slower melodies high in the right hand to evoke the natures of the
two lovers, with the rolling sound of waves being particularly evident. The
writing for the singers increases in tension and complexity throughout the
first two stanzas, building to a climax at the final declaration of devotion in
the beginning of the final stanza.
The moon is distant from the sea,
And yet with amber hands
She leads him, docile as a boy,
Along appointed sands.
He never misses a degree;
Obedient to her eye,
He comes just so far toward the town,
Just so far goes away.
Oh, Signor, thine, the amber hand,
And mine the distant sea,
Obedient to the least command
Thine eye impose on me.
‐Emily Dickinson Demon in My View
Jeffrey T. Horvath
Demon in My View is a setting of Edgar Allen Poe’s "Alone," a 22-line poem,
originally written in 1829 and left untitled and unpublished during his lifetime.
The original manuscript was signed "E. A. Poe" and dated March 17, 1829. In
February of that year, Poe's foster mother Francis Allan had died. In
September 1875, the poem, which had been in the possession of a family in
Baltimore, was published with its title in Scribner's Monthly. The editor, E. L.
Didier, also reproduced a facsimile of the manuscript, though he admitted he
added the date himself. The poem is now often included in anthologies.
"Alone" is often interpreted as autobiographical, expressing the author's
feelings of isolation and inner torment. Poet Daniel Hoffman believed "Alone"
was evidence that "Poe really was a haunted man." The poem, however, is
introspective about Poe's youth, written when he was only 20 years old.
From childhood's hour I have not been
As others were; I have not seen
As others saw; I could not bring
My passions from a common spring.
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow; I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone;
And all I loved, I loved alone.
Then- in my childhood, in the dawn
Of a most stormy life- was drawn
From every depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still:
From the torrent, or the fountain,
From the red cliff of the mountain,
From the sun that round me rolled
In its autumn tint of gold,
From the lightning in the sky
As it passed me flying by,
From the thunder and the storm,
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view.
­Edgar Allen Poe Hush! Somebody’s Callin’ My Name
arr. Brazeal W. Dennard
Brazeal W. Dennard, born in Detroit just before the Great Depression, was an
important voice in the development and promotion of the African American Spiritual
as a cultural and historical art form beyond the confines of the church. In 1972 he
founded the Brazeal Dennard Chorale, a group of highly trained singers dedicated to
developing the choral art to its highest professional level. With this group, he
premiered many of his own arrangements of traditional spirituals, including Hush!,
which he has arranged for men’s voices, women’s voices, and mixed voices so that
any choir may perform it.
Hush, hush somebody's calling my name
Oh my Lord, Oh my Lord what shall I do, what shall I do?
I'm so glad that trouble don't last always
Oh my Lord, Oh my Lord what shall I do, what shall I do? Refrain
I'm so glad I got my ‘ligion in time
Oh my Lord, Oh my Lord what shall I do, what shall I do? Refrain
Soon one mornin’ death come come creepin’ in my room
Oh my Lord, Oh my Lord what shall I do, what shall I do? Refrain
-traditional
Tshotsholoza
arr. Jeffrey L. Ames
According to African author Dougmore Boetie, “Tshotsholoza is the song that South
Afircan blacks sing under hardship.” The soloist and the choir alternate in a
responsorial style typical of many south and west African work songs. It allows a
leader or foreman to set the pace of the work, be it hammering, threshing, digging, or
some other repetitive task. Work songs often speak of the future, travel, or a new life.
As such, Tshotsholoza contains a mix of emotions; the text has an urgency about it
while the music with its steady pace, slow build, and soaring melodies brings a
distinct message of hope.
Shosholozah Ku lezontabah
Stimela siphum' eSouth Africa
Wen' uyabalekah Ku lezontabah
Stimela siphum' eSouth Africa
You are moving fast on those mountains
The train is coming out of South Africa
You are running away on those mountains
The train is coming out of South Africa
The Two Sisters arr. Joshua Shank
The Two Sisters is a murder ballad that recounts the tale of a girl drowned by
her sister. It is first known to have appeared on a broadside in 1656 as "The
Miller and the King's Daughter." Two sisters go down by a body of water,
sometimes a river and sometimes the sea. The older one pushes the younger in
and refuses to pull her out again; generally the lyrics explicitly state her intent
to drown her younger sister. Her motive, when included in the lyrics, is sexual
jealousy — in some variants, the sisters are being two-timed by a suitor; in
others, the elder sister's affections are not encouraged by the young man.
When the murdered girl's body floats ashore, someone makes a musical
instrument out of it, generally a harp or a fiddle, with a frame of bone and the
girl's "long yellow hair" (or "golden hair") for strings.
Born in 1980, Joshua Shank is quickly becoming recognized as a talented and
innovative young composer whose music has been widely performed
internationally by educational and professional ensembles alike. Joshua
received his undergraduate degree Luther College in Decorah, Iowa where he
studied conducting with Weston Noble and composition with John Morrison
and Neil Flory.
There were two sisters walking down by a stream
Oh, the wind and the rain
The older one pushed the younger one in
Oh, the dreadful wind and rain
Pushed her in the river to drown
Watched her as she floated on down
Floated on down to the old mill pond
Floated on down to the old mill pond
Pushed her in the river to drown
Watched her as she floated on down
The miller fished her out with his long, long hook
He brought this maid in from the brook
He made a fiddle bow from her long yellow hair
He made a fiddle bow from her long yellow hair
He made a fiddle bridge from her own nose bridge
He made a fiddle bridge from her own nose bridge
He made a fiddle from her own breast bone
The sound could melt a heart of stone
The only tune that fiddle would play was,
“Oh, the dreadful wind and rain!”
Down Among the Dead Men
Ralph Vaughan Williams
When listening to this piece, it is easy to imagine a group of British soldiers,
perhaps retired, sitting around for round after round of drinks, toasting the King,
life, and beautiful women; by the third verse, they’ve even started toasting to the
alcohol itself! While this is a celebratory and joyful song, there is dark edge that
speaks to a looming dread. Even in their celebration, it seems that the next
conflict is just around the corner.
Here's a health to the King and a lasting peace,
To faction an end, to wealth increase;
Come, let us drink it while we have breath,
For there's no drinking after death,
And he that will this health deny;
Down among the dead men,
Down among the dead men,
Down, down, down, down,
Down among the dead men let him lie.
Let charming Beauty's health go round,
In whom celestial joys are found;
And may confusion still pursue,
The senseless woman hating crew,
And they that woman's health deny;
In smiling Bacchus' joys I'll roll,
Deny no pleasures to my soul.
Let Bacchus' health round briskly move,
For Bacchus is the friend of love.
And he that would this health deny; May love and wine their joys maintain,
And their united pleasures reign;
While smiling plenty crowns the board,
We'll sing the joys that both afford:
And they that won't with us comply;
-John Dyer
12th Street Rag
arr. Bobby L. McCullar
12th Street Rag is a barbershop-style song all about the most annoying thing in
the world: getting a song stuck in your head. The tune, taken from a genuine
piano rag by Euday L. Bowman, is alarmingly catchy and will have your toes
tapping and your head gyrating for days…
Down in Kansas City someone wrote a pretty ditty,
A melody for all the world to know.
Full of finger-swingin’, singin’, harmony, it came to me –
From the start it never let me go.
Soon into the weary ear of the tune a record played quickly,
Put some ginger in your feet.
Sound beat, real treat,
That’s the tune they call the 12th Street.
Joy to every dancer and delight to each romancer
And lucky for the leader of the band.
In a bar or on a show or over any radio,
Bet your boots that it will get a hand,
And you can brag; it’s in the bag
When they play that 12th Street Rag.
Oh 12th Street Rag have pity, won’t you let me be?
Why don’t you go back to Kansas City and stop trailin’ me?
You barge in at the moment I have work to do.
I can’t shake you – you won’t leave and I can’t make you.
Oh, music man who wrote you knew no sympathy.
I hope you get his goat just like you worry me.
Oh, why, string band, my head is set on a jag
When they play that 12th Street Rag.
-Andy Razaf
Adiemus from Songs of Sanctuary
Karl Jenkins
Songs of Sanctuary, of which Adiemus is the first movement, was conceived in
the European classical tradition, but it was Karl Jenkins’ intention that the vocal
sounds reflect the style of ethnic or world music. The text is invented, and was
written phonetically with the words viewed as instrumental sound in an effort to
maximize each expressive vocal phrase by removing the “distraction” of words.
To simulate the tribal sound, which is in the original recording of this work, the
performers sing forte with minimal vibrato. The sound is meant to be universal,
like the language of music; one that transcends the barriers of time, culture, and
religion.
Song of Ezekiel
Michael Torke
Michael Torke has created a substantial body of works in virtually every genre,
each with a characteristic personal stamp that combines restless rhythmic energy
with ravishingly beautiful melodies. Torke has helped define post-minimalism,
a music which utilizes the repetitive structures of a previous generation to
incorporate musical techniques from both the classical tradition and the
contemporary pop world. All of these characteristics can be heard in Song of
Ezekiel, which he has composed to impeccably reflect the meaningful scripture
that speaks of lifting the lowly trees and bringing low the high trees. Of the text,
Michael Torke states:
“The prophet Ezekiel lived in exile and was very concerned about
the restoration of Israel. These verses I have chosen – about high
trees and low trees – can serve as a political metaphor for the
kings and leaders of the time, that through God, He will lift the
“lowly tree,” and make the “withered tree bloom,” restoring Israel
to its majesty, and bringing down her enemies. But to me these
verses are about human beings’ expectations of the world. It is
only through God that a branch planted will bear fruit, it is not
through credit of our own. Therefore, God had the power to bring
low the high and lift high the low. Consequently, this teaches us
acceptance and an accompanying inner peace: it is not through
our own that we will bloom. These verses are God speaking.
Through the voices of both youth and wisdom, God’s message
becomes poignant, sincere, and expressive. This short text is
exceptional in sentiment and construction. It speaks of all that is
embodied in youth – a life that resonates with meaning and
purpose, fullness, enchantment and magic. The wistfulness of
mature perspective, however, is present as well.” And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the Lord,
Bring low the high tree, lift high the lowly tree,
Wither up the green tree, and make the withered tree bloom.
As I, the Lord, have spoken, so will I do.
I, too, will take the crest of the cedar,
From its topmost branches tear off a tender shoot,
And plant it on a high and lofty mountain;
On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it.
It shall put forth branches and bear fruit,
And become a majestic cedar.
Bids of every kind shall dwell beneath it,
Every winged thing in the shade of its boughs.
-Ezekiel 17: 24, 22-23
Koowu
Maryam Khoury
In Arabic, Koowu means “strength”. As a child, Maryam Khoury’s father told
her stories about the difficulties he experienced growing up in Palestine.
Koowu is an expression of how different her life would be if her father had not
moved to the United States.
I have a caged bird who longs to fly away.
Her name is Koowu.
I have a caged bird who is weeping.
I dare not set her free.
Her song, I am keeping.
But soon this Dove will die,
If she does not get the chance to fly.
I have a caged bird who is weeping.
Koowu do not cry.
If it is freedom you are seeking,
Then my bird must fly away.
I am Koowu and her keeper.
Taste the wind, breathe the air,
I’ll be waiting for you there, Koowu.
-Maryam Khoury
Ain’t No Grave Can Hold My Body Down
arr. Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory
Caldwell and Ivory began arranging music together spontaneously in the early
1990s when they were both working with a community based youth choir in
Grand Rapids, Michigan. Their musical partnership was further cultivated from
1993-1997 during summers spent together at the American Boychoir School in
Princeton, New Jersey. In 1998, Paul became the founding Artistic Director of
the North American Choral Company and named Sean his Associate Conductor.
They shared directorship of the company’s touring choirs until Paul moved to
Chicago in 2001. Toay, Sean is the Principal Conductor of the North American
Choral Company as well as the choral director at Frest Hills Central High
SchoolAlthough the arrangers are unsure of its initial origin, the traditional refrain
which inspired the arrangement of Ain’t No Grave Can Hold My Body Down
seems to have been popular with gospel singers in the American South in the first
half of the twentieth century. The texts and tunes which comprise the verses are
not based on traditional material, but were composed by the arrangers.
Duerme Negrito
arr. Emile Solé
“In this lullaby composed by Atahualpa Yupanqui, one of the most popular Latin
American composers of the 1960s and 1970s, the little black child is given
impossible promises and warned of dire consequences, while the sad plight of the
sick, hard-working mother is depicted in word and song. According to our
translator Carlos Lopez, Negrito literally means ‘little black one’, or, in modern
usage, simply ‘darling’ or ‘dear little one’. But other words in the text leave no
doubt about the setting of this ‘black’ lullaby. The omission of the ‘r’ in trae’
(traer), ce’do (cerdo), and ca’ne (carne) and the omission of an ‘s’ in e’ta (esta)
and fre’ca (fresca) all reflect the black Spanish pronunciation of the uneducated
slave culture. The references to the brutal practice of cutting a person’s foot off
to prevent escape and to the sick mother working hard in the fields and not
getting paid can only be understood in terms of the dehumanizing conditions
slaves endured for centuries in many parts of the world.” -Maria Guinand, editor
Duerme, duerme negrito
Sleep, sleep little black one,
Que tue mama e’ta en el campo negrito. your mama’s in the fields, little one.
Drume, drume mobile
sleep, sleep little one.
Te va a traé’ codonise para tí,
She’s going to bring quail for you,
Te va a traé’ fruta fre’ca para tí,
she’s going to bring fresh fruit for you,
Te va a traé’ ca’ne de ce’do para tí,
she’s going to bring pork for you,
Te va a traé’ mucha’ cosa’ para tí. she’s going to bring many things for you.
Y si negro no se duerme,
And if the black one doesn’t go to sleep,
Viene e’ Diablo blanco y zás
the white devil will come and zap!
Le come la patica chica bú
he’ll eat your little foot, chica bú;
Apura, chica bú.
hurry, chica bú!
Duerme, duerme negrito,
Sleep, sleep little black one,
Que tue mama e’ta en el campo negrito. your mama’s in the fields, little one.
Trabajando duramente, trabajando si,
She’s working hard, working, yes,
Trabajando y no le pagan, trabajando si,
working and they don’t pay her,
working, yes,
Trabajando y va tosiendo, trabajando si,
working and she’s coughing
working, yes,
p’al negrito chiquitito,
for her sweet little black one,
p’al negrito si.
for her little black one, yes.
Horizons
Peter Louis Van Dijk
Horizons was written at the request of the King’s Singers for their 1995 South
African tour and commissioned for them by the Foundation for the Creative Arts.
The composer notes:
“In a cave, somewhere in the Western Cape region, is a well-documented San
(Bushmen) painting of a Dutch ship, resplendent with flags and sails, rounding
the Cape. The painting dates back to the early 1700s and serves as a poignant
reminder of the incredible powers of observations of these now virtually extinct
people. Sadly, the very people the San saw as gods, certainly in terms of stature
and relative opulence, were to become their executioners. Physically small, the
San described their larger neighbors as animals without hooves, and were often
mistakenly regarded as cowardly due to their non-confrontational approach to
conflict with friend and foe alike. The eland (a large antelope) represented more
than just food and took on an almost supernatural significance, while the rain
was seen, supernaturally, to be either male or female (either rain-cow or bull)
depending on its intensity.”
Sleep, my springbok baby,
Sleep for me, my springbok child.
When morning comes I’ll go out hunting,
For you are hungry and thirsty, thirsty and hungry.
Small moon, Hai! Young moon,
When the sun rises you must speak to the Rain,
Charm her with herbs and honeycomb,
O speak to her, that I may drink,
This little thing, that I may drink, that I may drink.
She will come across the dark sky:
Mighty Raincow, sing your song for me
That I may find you on the far horizon, far horizon.
Sleep, my springbok baby,
Sleep for me, my springbok child,
When morning comes I’ll go out hunting,
For you are hungry and thirsty, thirsty and hungry.
O Star, Hai! Hunting Star,
When the sun rises you must blind with your light
The Eland’s eyes,
O blind his eyes, that I may eat,
This little thing, that I may eat, that I may eat.
He will come across the red sands:
Mighty Eland, dance your dance for me
That I may find you on the far horizon, far horizon.
Sleep, my springbok baby,
Sleep for me, my springbok child,
When morning comes they’ll come a-hunting.
For they are hungry and thirsty, thirsty and hungry.
They will come across the waters:
Mighty saviours on their sailing ships,
And they will show us new and far horizons, far horizons.
And they came, came across the waters:
Gods in galleons bearing bows of steel.
Then they killed us on the far horizon.
Horizon, horizon.
ARIANA WOMEN’S CHOIR
Jane Buatti
Angela Burridge
Rebecca Drozd
Kalee Foley
Jennifer Ford
Jennifer Fraim
Christina Hodess
Meg Kelly
Bethany Loesche
Beth Mcadoo
Barbara Mercer
Lynn Shealy
Rebecca Shealy
Stephanie Sherman
Miku Shiota
Liz Gilbert
Carli Visconti
Heather M. Vogel
Marie Weber
Katelyn Werley
S. Katherine Shealy, director
Meg Kelly, accompanist
ORPHEUS MEN’S CHOIR
James Alexander
Griffin Allen
Ignacio Angulo-Pizarro
Ryan Battin
Jake Berting
Tyler Brooks
Frank Buatti
Greg Carson
Kevin DeYoe
Arreon A. Harley
Jordan Hodess
Michael C. Manwaring
Andrew O’Neill
Ryan Olson
Chris Pickering
Nicholas Rosamilia
Aaron Shealy
Dave Shealy
Wesley R. Weber
Stephen Wilburn
Christopher G. McGinley, director
Sheri Segal-Melcher, concert accompanist
Jodi Bohr, rehearsal accompanist
Auditions for Fall/Winter Season By appointment Sunday, August 28, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, August 31, beginning at 7:00 p.m. at Paoli United Methodist Church 81 Devon Road Paoli PA 19301 Contact: S. Katherine Shealy at skshealy@gmail.com or (484)459‐0739 or Christopher G. McGinley at mcginley.chris@gmail.com or (484)883‐9005 The Pennsylvania Academy of Performing Arts would like to express sincere thanks to the following people and organizations : Paoli United Methodist Church and Calvary Lutheran Church for providing rehearsal and performance Facilities Choir Committee Members who have donated their time to helping our organization run efficiently Kevin DeYoe for providing audio recording equipment and services for the performances Jane Buatti for organizing and coordinating the Program Ads and program layout Bill Carpenter for his volunteer time working on the organization web page Jodi Bohr for her talents in providing rehearsal accompaniment for the Orpheus Men’s Choir R. Steven Porreca, Attorney at Law
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A professional pianist, accompanist, choral director and educator, Sheri Segal-Melcher has performed three
chamber music recitals at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital
Hall with Philadelphia Orchestra musicians Richard
Amoroso, violin and Adam Unsworth, horn. She has performed in
recital with internationally acclaimed violinist Eugene Fodor at the
Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C, and with members of the
Baltimore Symphony and National Symphony Orchestras. Mrs.
Melcher has collaborated with the Concert Opera of Philadelphia,
Astral Artistic Services, Philadelphia Singers, and the Mendelssohn
Club of Philadelphia. As the associate director and accompanist of The
Choral Society of Montgomery County, she has traveled to the Czech
Republic, Wales, and Hungary to compete in choral festivals. A
member of the music faculty at Chestnut Hill Academy since 1995,
Mrs. Melcher teaches music history, theory and world music. She also
co-directs the school’s Boychoir and Handbell Choirs and is the
musical director for the Middle School Drama Program. Mrs. Melcher
is the organist and choir director at Jarrettown United Methodist
Church in Dresher, PA. She resides in Blue Bell with her husband
Michael, daughter Kayla and son Sam.
Meg Kelly started studying piano at the age of 5 and has
played ever since. She began accompanying as a
teenager, performing with the Downingtown Senior
High Vocal Ensemble, and also playing church services and assisting
with choral activities. In addition, Meg has worked with Kate Shealy
on many musical projects including past PAPA seasons and work with
the Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School Center for Performing
and Fine Arts. Over the years, Meg also picked up various other
instruments including clarinet, tenor & alto saxophones. Meg holds an
MA in Literature from West Chester University, and is currently
preparing to audition for Drexel University’s Music Therapy program.
S. Katherine Shealy obtained her Bachelor of Music in
Choral Music Education from the University of
Delaware with Paul Head. During the summer of 2006,
Ms. Shealy directed and led PAPA’s envoy of singers on
a tour of four cities through China as part of the Fourth Annual Eric
Whitacre International Choral Festival. Currently, she is the
co-founder and director of the PAPA Chamber Choir, an advanced
ensemble that specializes in outreach performances throughout the
community, and the Ariana Women’s Choir, a women’s ensemble that
rehearses and performs during the summer. Additionally, Ms. Shealy
was honored to have recently been appointed as the Director of the
Masterworks Choir. Ms. Shealy teaches Vocal Music at the PA
Leadership Charter School’s Center for Performing and Fine Arts in
West Chester, Pennsylvania, and is currently working toward her
Master of Music in Choral Conducting at West Chester University.
Christopher G. McGinley received his formal choral
training from Paul Head at the University of Delaware.
He currently teaches general music, chorus, and music
history at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, an Independent School
for girls and boys in Chestnut Hill. There he serves as artistic
director of Musica Mundi and oversees Players, the extracurricular
theatre program in the upper school. Mr. McGinley is the founder and
director of Orpheus Men’s Choir, and has been proud to sing in, direct,
or assist nearly every choir in PAPA.