Academy Girl Choir Concert

Lawrence Academy of Music presents
The
Rhythm
of Life
Academy Girl Choir Concert
Saturday December 12, 2015
Academy Young Men’s Chorus, guest artists
Established as a not-for-profit community school, the Lawrence
Academy of Music became a certified member of the National Guild
of Community Schools of the Arts in 1983. Today it services more
than 1,600 families throughout Northeast Wisconsin through music
lessons and classes, an Early Childhood music program, youth
ensembles, adult music programs, summer music camps, and the
Girl Choir program.
Learn more at go.lawrence.edu/academy
!
1
ADMINISTRATION
Brian Pertl, dean, Lawrence University Conservatory of Music
Karen Bruno, director, Lawrence Academy of Music
Anne Powling, youth ensembles coordinator
Cheryl Boyle, registrar
Theresa Shifflett, program and marketing assistant
LAWRENCE ACADEMY OF MUSIC
Street address:
100 West Water Street
Appleton WI 54911
Mailing address:
711 East Boldt Way
Appleton, WI 54911-5699
920-832-6632
acad_music @lawrence.edu
go.lawrence.edu/academy
go.lawrence.edu/academy-girlchoir
Like Us: www.facebook.com/lawrenceacademy
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Appleton East High School Choirs
David Been
The Crafty Penguin
First English Lutheran Church
Carol Foust
Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Gail Heiks
Gordon Lind
Mark Merrifield
Jon Meyer
Michelle Northey, Flower Girl Design Studio
David Powling
Mark Scheffler
Jason Weijola
2
GIRL CHOIR HISTORY
January 1991: The Lawrence Academy Girl Choir was founded for girls in fourth through sixth grade.
September 1991: A training choir for fourth-grade girls was added, creating a sequential Girl Choir.
The original choir expanded to include girls in fifth through seventh grade.
September 1997: Due to the large number of girls who wished to participate, the program expanded in
both directions with the addition of Primo—then third and fourth grade—and Cantabile—then seventh
through ninth grade.
September 1999: The eldest Cantabile singers couldn’t bear to leave the program after ninth grade and
became the founding members of Bel Canto, a choir for high school girls.
September 2007: After waiting several years to fulfill the dream of offering a non-auditioned choir,
the program was able to secure additional rehearsal space. Ragazze, a non-auditioned training choir,
was born.
March 2011: The Girl Choir celebrated its twentieth anniversary and featured alumnae in the combined
choirs’ finale.
September 2013: After attempting a variety of rehearsal structures to accommodate Intermezzo, the
largest choir at 70–80 singers, an additional choir was added. Intermezzo was eliminated and replaced
with two choirs, Capriccio and Arioso.
March 19, 2016: Save the date and plan your visit! The Girl Choir will celebrate its 25th birthday.
Alumnae will be invited to sing as a choir.
MISSION STATEMENT
The Lawrence Academy of Music Girl Choir is the only nonprofit girl choir in the Fox Valley. Through
the study and performance of the highest quality music, the girls develop vocal technique, musical
skills, creativity, expressive artistry and an awareness of various cultures. The Girl Choir creates
an atmosphere that encourages girls to respect the uniqueness of others, to take risks that foster
individual growth and to continue their development into self-assured young women.
3
THE CHOIRS
ARTISTIC PERSONNEL
Ragazze: Non-auditioned choir for girls in third
through fifth grade. Focuses on healthy vocal
production using folk songs and singing games.
Performs on spring concert only.
Ragazze
Patricia Merrifield, teacher
Ann Boeckman, pianist
Gillian Payne, manager
Primo: Auditioned choir for girls in third through fifth
grade. Performs on winter and spring concerts.
Primo
Allegretto: Auditioned choir for girls in fourth
through sixth grade. One additional community
performance annually.
Karrie Been, teacher
Capriccio: Auditioned choir for girls in fifth
through seventh grade. One additional community
performance annually.
Allegretto
Arioso: Auditioned choir for girls in sixth
through eighth grade. One additional community
performance annually. One day tour available
(optional).
Karen Bultman, manager
Cantabile: Auditioned choir for girls in eighth
through tenth grade. National tour offered biannually
(optional). Additional community performances as
opportunities arise.
Kristin Heiges, ’11, pianist
Nell Buchman, pianist and manager
Cheryl Meyer, teacher
Janet Erbach, pianist
Capriccio
Toni Weijola, ’01, teacher
Heather Urness, manager
Arioso
Jaclyn Kottman, ’12, teacher
Bel Canto: Auditioned choir for girls in tenth
through twelfth grade. Local tours and additional
performances as opportunities arise, generally
several times per year.
Kristin Heiges ’11, pianist
Lauren Vanderlinden ’17, manager
Cantabile
Debbie Lind, teacher
GUEST ARTISTS
Janet Erbach, pianist
Young Men’s Chorus
Cayla Morton ’15, manager
James Heiks, teacher
Bel Canto
David Fisher, ’19, manager
Karen Bruno, teacher
Nell Buchman, pianist and manager
!
As a courtesy to the singers and other audience members, please silence all cell phones and refrain from
whispering or rustling paper. Turn off all electronic devices with a screen while the concert is in progress
and refrain from flash photography. Thank you.
4
FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
I am fortunate to have, as of this writing, a grandmother still alive and well. Born in
1919, she experienced first-hand many events we read about in history books—wars,
women’s suffrage, the Great Depression. She was an army nurse in World War II, then
took up a second career as a math teacher while raising two daughters. In retirement,
she traveled, remarried (the man she left to marry my grandfather!), moved to Florida
and then to California and continues to remain physically and mentally active. Her life
has been—and continues to be—an inspiration to me.
Although my life has been very different from hers, there are common experiences that
bind us: family celebrations and holidays, marriage, parenthood and teaching. It got me
to thinking about the rhythms in each of our lives and the ways in which they intersect.
This concert celebrates the events that make our lives whole: births and deaths;
celebrations and milestones; the natural beauty of the earth and its seasons; our daily
interactions and experiences; life plans, struggles, and accomplishments; memories
and tributes. We build community through these shared experiences.
Today we expand our singing community to welcome the Academy’s newest program: the
Young Men’s Chorus. The middle- and high-school boys singing with us today are looking
for the same experiences our girl choir singers enjoy. We are thrilled to welcome them
as today’s guest artists and to the Academy of Music for years to come.
We hope you see some of your own experiences in the rhythms we share today.
On behalf of the singers and staff,
Karen Bruno, artistic director
Lawrence Academy Girl Choir
5
Lawrence Academy of Music’s Girl Choir and Young Men’s Chorus present
THE RHYTHM OF LIFE
Saturday, December 12, 2015 • Lawrence Memorial Chapel
from The Sprig of Thyme
Irish Folk Song
1. I know where I’m going
arr. John Rutter
One of the things Primo discussed over the course of the semester is the idea that text often drives
the rhythm of a melody. This is certainly true in each of these five verses, the changes which present a
challenge for young singers. Verse three is set with space between the phrases, giving us reason to discuss
why the arranger would set it so differently than the other verses. Notice that the melody of each verse ends
on the second scale degree, which gives it a sense of being incomplete. This mirrors the uncertainty of the
text, “But the dear knows who I’ll marry.”
Victoria Ebel-Sabo
Dance of the Willow
(b. 1957)
The lilting vocal melody and buoyant piano accompaniment imaginatively capture the freedom and graceful
movement of a willow blowing in the breeze. The meter is in three, which evokes the sensation of swaying.
In our hectic daily schedules, this song reminds us to take a breath, feel the breeze and gently dance.
Newfoundland Folksong
A Great Big Sea
arr. Lori-Anne Dolloff
This song tells the story of a fishing community in Newfoundland, the easternmost province of Canada, whose
economy was affected by an ocean flood. This arrangement proceeds through several keys, rising just as
the water did. The piano accompaniment in verse four incorporates dissonant harmonies to represent the
dire state of the town. Finally, we hear a sense of determination to set off for a better life if conditions didn’t
improve. Each of the verses has a rollicking rhythmic refrain, bringing levity to a time of difficulty.
PRIMO
8
Scottish Folk Song
The Raggle Taggle Gypsies
arr. Robert I. Hugh
This song is loosely based on the execution of Scottish gypsy chief Johnny Faa in 1624. Under James V of
Scotland, all “gypsies” were ordered out of Scotland in 1540. They were exiled again in 1609. Johnny Faa
and seven others refused to leave and were hanged in 1624. As time progressed, the facts were obscured
and Johnny Faa became John Faa of England. He is in love with Lady Jean Hamilton, wife of the sixth Earl of
Cassilis. While the Earl is attending Westminster Abbey, Lady Hamilton runs away with Faa, who is disguised
as a gypsy. The Earl returns, pursues his wife and the band of gypsies, led by Faa.
As this version evolves, the “lady” abandons her life of luxury for the romantic freedom of the gypsies,
eluding capture and living out her life in tranquility. The ballad’s melody is accompanied by the piano in the
style of a guitar. While learning the song, the singers had several discussions about how different their lives
are from Lady Hamilton, especially in the choices that are available in education, career, travel and leisure.
Joy (adapted from Seligkeit)
music by Franz Schubert
(1797–1828)
new text by Harold Whitehall
In addition to his well-known lieder, a style of song that conveys a story through text painting and the equal
partnership of voice and piano, Schubert composed songs in the style of folk music using strophic form and
simple piano accompaniment. In 1816, Schubert set Ludwig Heinrich Hölty’s poem, Seligkeit (Bliss), in this
folk song style.
In today’s performance, the waltzing melody of Seligkeit partners with Harold Whitehall’s poem, Joy. Each
verse suggests where to find joy: in nature; in friendship; in the qualities of honor, truth and beauty. After
first experiencing the music by moving to its melody, the singers explored the rise and fall of the pitches,
the meter of the text, and finding and creating joy in their lives and the world.
from Reflections of Youth
Mark Hierholzer (b. 1960)
Red Tail
Red Tail is a song about the red-tailed hawk commonly seen in the Texas hill country. The beauty of the sight
inspires one to consider the nobility and wisdom of the hawk as well as the very laws of nature that reveal a
wisdom deeper than our own. Reflecting on these thoughts, the singers explored answers to some of life’s
questions through what is routinely seen and experienced in life. We hope that you can hear and imagine
the swooping and gliding hawk through the melody and text as the choir sings.
ALLEGRETTO
9
George F. Handel
Sing With Pleasure
(1685–1759)
ed. and arr. Patrick Liebergen
A joyous and rhythmic piano part sets the tone for this celebratory anthem, inviting all to rejoice with
singing. The interplay between the singers and the piano is one of continuous forward motion, suggestive
of dancers moving gracefully through a progression of steps at a formal Baroque social dance. Singers
considered all types of celebrations and milestones in life: birthdays, holidays, marriages, baby’s first
steps, riding a bicycle, weeklong sleep-away camps, even college acceptance letters. But the singers also
considered the celebrations of day-to-day life: rising to a new day, having healthy bodies, enjoying food and
appreciating friends. If every day is seen as a gift, then gladly we sing with pleasure!
music by Charles Collins
Tuuti, Tuuti Tummaistani
text from Kaanteletar, 19th c. Finnish poetry
Hush, hush my little dark one,
Lying in the hush of darkness
By the dark one who gently rocks you
In your dark cradle.
This lullaby is a farewell. It is sung by a peasant mother to her deceased child, wishing for safe passage to
the afterlife. Collins’ setting of the poem includes three repetitions of the poem, layered over an unyielding
undercurrent of eighth notes from the piano. Each repetition adds musical intensity; first the choir sings in
unison, then in a round. Individual parts unfold before the third verse, revealing a tender, mournful scene in
which mother sings to her child, pondering the life that passed away too soon.
music by Craig Hella Johnson (b. 1962)
Will There Really Be a “Morning”?
text by Emily Dickinson
Though life can be filled with adversity, hope rises every day with the dawn. Like the daily rising of the sun,
the short melodic theme rises in repetitive fashion, and like the waters of a river, the piano part pours
forth expressively as it ebbs and flows with the tempo. Singers examined the poem and reflected on the
character of the narrator, wondering what inspired the writing of the poem. From this question, singers then
considered how a person can overcome hardships and trials, like separation, disappointment, death and
grief. The answer was found in the conclusion of each verse: “Morning, morning, where does morning lie?”
After the darkness of night, the sun rises, bringing with it the promises of life, light and hope—morning.
CAPRICCIO
10
music by Randall Thompson (1899–1984)
A Girl’s Garden (from Frostiana)
text by Robert Frost
From the vivid writing of beloved American poet Robert Frost comes a tale of what one young woman was
able to create when given the tools to bring her vision to life. Set to a sprightly accompaniment, the unison
melody tells the tale of a woman who looks back on the time she decided to plant a “one-girl farm.” From
the perspective of a neighbor girl soaking in the wisdom from the woman’s story, the poem takes us through
her year—from finding the courage to ask for the ideal bit of land, to cultivating and tending it herself, to
harvesting her bounty. Arioso singers explored ways in which they were inspired to use the strength of their
own arms and voices to bring their ideas to fruition.
Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643)
Ahi che si parti (Ah, Must We Part)
arr. Owen Goldsmith
Ah, must we part, beautiful sun whom I adore.
Why do you want to leave me, my sun?
Ah, do not go, my heart,
For if you leave me, you will leave me dying.
You would deny me your bright rays
That sweeten my sorrow and torment.
This song is a musical expression of what can be one of the most difficult experiences in life: saying
goodbye to someone we love. Rising and falling, moving from major to minor, from canon to unison and
back again, sighing lines give voice to the heartache that can come with parting. In stark contrast to the
intertwining melodies that often move in opposite directions between the three voices, the unison ending of
each section sounds lonely yet also reminds us that we all experience loss.
Michael D. Mendoza (b. 1944)
Sing a Song of Sixpence
How fitting for middle schoolers to tackle a piece that turns a childhood nursery rhyme completely on
its head! Mendoza’s setting reinvents the sing-song children’s tune with sudden melodic turns, complex
rhythms and fighting meters. Much like the unexpected turns we encounter in our own lives, what once
seemed so simple has become just the opposite. Rests and accents on unexpected beats throw us off
balance, singers who carried the upper part earlier in the song suddenly find themselves on the bottom
of the harmonies, the rollicking accompaniment bounces us along and then turns on a dime to fight the
singers’ rhythms and altered scale degrees—like turning the reliably familiar leading tone “ti” into its
unstable-sounding flat counterpart “te”—leave the melody feeling (literally) unresolved until we finally arrive
at our triumphant finish.
ARIOSO
11
Folk Song from British Columbia
Savory, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
arr. Donald Patriquin (b. 1938)
Cayla Morton, temple block
This Canadian folksong was originally an English ballad from the North Yorkshire town of Scarborough, a
harbor town along the North Sea. Scarborough Faire was an actual agricultural and craftsman fair originating
in Medieval times, during the mid-1200s. The more well-known ballad, Scarborough Fair, tells the tale of a
young man who instructs the listener to send a message to his former love to perform for him a series of
impossible tasks, such as buying him an acre of land between the ocean and the seashore and plowing
it with one ram’s horn. But then the woman sends back a message of equally impossible tasks, such as
making her a shirt without any seams or needlework and washing it where water never flowed since the
earth was made. What is the purpose of the back-and-forth banter between the two lovers? Is it scorn-filled
sarcasm? Romantic flirtation? Provocative dares? The 6/8 meter, or tree swing meter, helps to accentuate
the back-and-forth, back-and-forth teasing mood of the song. The tempo moves so swiftly, however, that
Cantabile has renamed it the “skipping race meter.” Finally, the herbs are not selected just to aid the song’s
rhythm. These Medieval herbs carried strong symbolism: savory (parsley) cleansed bitterness of digestion,
and thus of life; sage was to give wisdom and strength; rosemary was used in wedding bouquets; and
thyme was a sign of love and courage.
music by Ola Gjeilo (b. 1978)
Tundra
text by Charles A. Silvestri
Cayla Morton, soprano
Ola Gjeilo wrote this music as an effort to describe part of his native Norway that is very dear to him: the
Hardangervidda mountain plateau, located in the mountains between Oslo and Bergen. This area is vastly
barren, icy, and intensely beautiful. He claims it is easy to feel one is treading on sacred land when there.
The lyrics, sung by the soloist, express this:
Wide, worn, and weathered, sacred expanse of green and white and granite gray;
Snowy patches strewn, anchored to the craggy earth, unmoving;
While clouds dance across the vast eternal sky.
Not encumbered by text, the choir sings almost entirely on “Oh,” enhancing the image of endless,
relentless, wide-open space. Without quick rhythms, obvious breaths, or consonants to interrupt the sound,
the choral lines create a stunning, mysterious tableau. Consider listening to this song with your eyes closed,
drinking in the sound.
CANTABILE
12
Old Hungarian Dancing Song
Tambur
arr. Lajos Bardos (1899–1986)
A Tambur is a drum, etymologically related to the tambourine. “Andandori” is a nonsense word that
describes the tambur’s rhythmic sound. The cimbalom is a stringed instrument that looks like a hammered
dulcimer and makes a “tzin-tzini-tzin” sound. The bass drum booms “dzuma-dzum-boom” and the pipe sings
“tu-lu-lu-lu-loom” … at least that is what the singers think! They also sing of true love, roses fresh from
the garden, clasping hands and stepping sprightly, sighing, yearning and wooing and of love’s ultimate joy
forever. Faster and faster and faster they sing to keep up with their beating hearts! And so a little movement
is a must.
CANTABILE AND YOUNG MEN’S CHORUS
Chain Gang Song
Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder
arr. Robert De Cormier
Alice Parker, a well-known American composer and conductor, suggests that every piece of music be
approached by asking the question: is this music driven by rhythm or pitch? She goes even further by
having singers create a relationship between the music and dance. How would you dance the piece? What
is your body’s relationship to the floor? Does it call for steady stomps, or floating leaps? Rainbow ’Round My
Shoulder, an authentic chain gang song, asks for heavy boots on the ground, driven by a steady, pounding,
angry beat.
Irish Ballad
She Moved Through the Fair
arr. Timothy C. Takach
This Irish love song requires almost the exact opposite approach to the melody as did Rainbow ’Round My
Shoulder. This “pitch piece” floats as if gravity didn’t matter. The melody is driven not by a steady beat, but
rather by the fluidity of the text, requiring the chorus to feel the push and pull of the phrases. The singers
must become one voice connected by a common understanding of the poetic text.
YOUNG MEN’S CHORUS
13
Macedonian Folk Song
Sto Mi E Milo
collected and arr. Ethel Raim
Oh, how I’d like to have a shop in Struga! “Hey, girl! Hey, Kalina!” To have a shop in Struga,
where I can sit at the front of the store and watch the Struga girls go by with their colorful
water jugs on the way to the cold stream to meet with their friends there.
“The folk vocal traditions of music from Bulgaria, Macedonia and southeast Europe are those of fellowship
and play through singing. The repertoire in the folk realm is generally all women singing together, or all men
singing together; rarely both. The text is completely secondary to the primary element in group singing of
this repertoire: the sonic experience of close harmonies locking together. There is something visceral and
utterly satisfying about this kind of music when sung with the correct energy and tonal concept.”
—Daniel Hughes
from So Many Voices
Stephen Hatfield (b. 1956)
Family Tree
Take a Step
The suite So Many Voices was commissioned by a group of schools to honor the women who were teachers
and guides to the present generation. The composer, Tsur Mishelo Achalnu, writes:
No more heroic example of female mentorship can be found than in the experience of
immigrant mothers, caught between two worlds and anxious that their daughters benefit
from opportunities in the new country without losing touch with the birthright of their
ancestral culture. Family Tree is in a way a duet for great-great-grandmother and great-greatgranddaughter … The daughter’s melody is adapted from Ev Chistr ‘Ta Laou!, a song from
Breton often used at weddings. The grandmother’s lullaby has a melody that appears in the
Sephardic plyyut (religious song).
Take a Step, whose melody was also inspired by Sephardic tradition, begins with a young mother talking to
her baby daughter in an immigrant neighborhood. By the end of the piece, we realize that the mother is now
an old woman. Hatfield writes:
As the years and generations telescope into a single moment, she sees every young
woman who passes as both herself and her daughter, for she realizes that through her
own struggles she has advanced them all.
Through the study of these songs, Bel Canto girls explored the rhythms of generations. The lives of
our grandmothers and our own lives are so different and yet so similar: we have hopes for ourselves,
expectations of our culture and society, and decisions to make about who we wish to be in the world.
14
The Lord is My Shepherd (Psalm 23)
Schubert
Schubert wrote this piece for women’s choir in 1820, although it was not published until 1832, four years
after his death. This composition came at a difficult period in his life. In 1820, Schubert wrote two major
works, Die Zwillingsbrüder, a singspiel, and Die Zauberharfe, a melodrama. While critics thought the music
beautiful, neither work had significant plots, causing each to be withdrawn from the theatre after only a few
performances. In addition, he traveled in a circle of students who were under constant police surveillance. A
friend of Schubert’s was arrested while they were together, and Schubert received a warning for “maliciously
reviling the authorities.”
Bel Canto singers noted that the music has a sense of calmness that mirrors the text of the psalm. Further,
the piano accompaniment is steady and constant, and almost always contains triplets (possibly signifying
the divine) while the singers sing in duple rhythms (possibly representing humanity). The piano part
generally supports—and sometimes doubles—the vocal lines, which may be another way in which Schubert
musically portrayed the meaning of the text.
BEL CANTO
Rev. Robert Lowry
How Can I Keep from Singing
arr. Robert I. Hugh
“My life flows on in endless song …” is a perfect way to conclude a concert about the rhythms of life. This
simple, pentatonic melody is beautifully paired with Amazing Grace near the end of the song. Whether our life’s
song is harmonious or dissonant, music “sounds an echo in [our] soul.” How can we keep from singing?
COMBINED CHOIRS
15
CHOIRS
PRIMO
Ella Bauman
Gianna Bay
Claire Benz
Elianna Coussons
Rowan Cruz
Taylor Davis
Madelyn Dillenburg
Lucy Dollevoet
Ashlyn Doran
Jenna Dugal
Julia Gurholt
Hailie Herron
Vivienne Holtien
Jenna Hooyman
Keira Jahner
Caroline Jia
Abigail Kallio
Elana Lacey
Lola Levin
Anna Lindsay
Victoria Lopez
Greta Melzl
Alexia Nelson
Greta Nolte
Amelia O’Leary
Elizabeth Osorio
Elena Owens
Mihret Patterson
Grace Peters
Hannah Radtke
Talia Roselaar
Nevaeh Roug-Schmitz
Breanna Schilling
Eva Schmidt
Aurora Smith
Karen Somers
Lydia Sorem
Molly Stonelake
Elsa Thiel
Gracie Tucker
Abigail Winters
Jocelyn Wittkopf
Lily Yaun
ALLEGRETTO
Morgan Aldana
Renna Amaral
Sophia Bauman
Hailey Bay
Isabelle Bestul
Madison Chang
Millie Cisler
Alanna Dehn
Grace Dollevoet
Maria Draves
Eliza Duimstra
Katherine Heller
Abriel Hooyman
Trinity Inman
Lydia Johnson
Caroline Kiesnowski
Keira Knuppel
Zoe Kraus
Michaela Krisher
Paige Marcoe
Leah McElhaney
Linnea Olson
Elisabeth Owens
Elaina Plankey
Emma Rademaker
Madison Rechner
Olivia Rechner
Anya Riabov
Ella Ryan
Mara Schell
Eva Schneider
Lauren Schneider
Kaylee Trzebiatowski
Sophie Van Stippen
Audrey Vogel
Shanice Warigi
Katherine Warner
Meredith Weston
Susan Yao
CAPRICCIO
Nora Austin
Maria Benz
Abbey Bernard
Bailey Bidwell
Carly Bomier
Hannah Brown
Reese Brunette
Willa Carman
Haili Casey
Rosie Cobb
Jessica Cuff
Eleanora Dane
Colette Ferguson-Roug
Solara Gomez
Ellie Gregersen
Alice Harke
Elizabeth Hartman
Ella Heiks
Emily Hodson
Lola Hunt
Emma Huntley
Claire Hyde
Madison Kneisler
Téa Koehler
Sarah Long
Madeleine McDermott
Nola McDonald
Tatum Moderson
Karina Mose
Koryn Moua
Katie Phee
Hannah Pitterle
Drew Pollard
Chelsea Poppleton
Emma Reis
Maya Ruffolo
Jenna Sabrowsky
Kellin Scheel
Lauren Stefl
16
Colleen Tebo
Avianna Thyssen
Danika Trzebiatowski
Gillian Ulrich
Annika Urness
Abigail Van Elzen
Eleanor Van Nuland
Clara VandeHey
Anna Vechart
Eleanor Vogel
Samantha Jo White
Claire Wiley
Rose Williams
ARIOSO
Pippa Austin
Ashley Authement
Irysa Bauer
Kate Bernecker
Kayla Books
Mollie Brackett
Jane Brinkmann
Kaitlyn Bubolz
Charlotte Buchman
Madelyn Carey
Bree Casey
Maya Corcoran
Lauren Doney
Laura Esselman
Sophie Fellinger
Abigail Gentz
Elsa Harvey
Brianna Hauser
Alisha Jahnke
Sigrid Lokensgard
Ruby March-Torme
Abby Moard
Claire Moten
Claire Olson
Madison Price
Sophie Quick-Laughlin
Jenna Quinn
Caitlin Scheel
Tessa Schreiter
Isabella Sierra
Kate Slesar
Claudia Smith
Bethany Steenbock
MaKayla Strohmeyer
Madison Irwin Tetzlaff
Alyssa Van Domelen
Emmaline Van Dyke
MayLynn Vang
Rachel Vogel
Kelsey Wadleigh
Moriah Webster
Chloe Zering
CANTABILE
Ellie Grace Bernier
Lily Birschbach
Claire Boldt
Grace Brinkmann
Clara Brown
Khloe Casey
Alana Christen
Geena Coffey
Haley Corcoran
Ashley Evans
Emma Frederick
Emilie Gilligan
Grace Gollnick
Olivia Groenewold
Alyssa Keller
Holly Krabbe
Makenna Kraus
Camryn Maes
Emmalee Mindock
Gabrielle Mitchell
Lucy Morris
Emma Nolte
Clare Northey
Jacy Olszewski
Julia Pengrazi
Chloe Peterson
Sydney Pittner
Anna Rettler
Claire Sawall
Elizabeth Schulz
Maria Serna
Steph Serrato
Claire Slocum
Kathryn Stonesmyth
Emily Tesch
Samantha Wells
Alayna Werner
Marilee Williamson
Carrie Willson
BEL CANTO
Elena Anderla
Rachel Bascue
Emily Been
Julia Benner
Isabelle Blank
Hannah Borchert
Zoe Bossert
Chloe Celsor
Corrina Czarnik
Abby Dollevoet
Eleanor Erbach
Phoebe Frantz
Haley Gabler
Imogen Gillard
Paige Gleason
Claire Gorges
Emma Hager
Emalie Hartley
Madeline Hass
Tess Hurley
Alyssa Jansen
Jenna Keller
Katharina Keller
Laura Kelley
Valerie Lambert
Meg Lehman
Ashley Marcusen
Elizabeth Moran
Anna Olson
Gillian Payne
Colette Pollard
McKenna Seegers
Emma Simon
Lena Simon
Rachel Sina
Aime Skrober
Ashley Smith
Julia Soma
Jordyn Ulman
Alaina Verstegen
Fiona Villaca
Rachel Westra
Hannah Wolfrath
Bethany Zoch
YOUNG MEN’S CHORUS
Alex Arbaugh
Nicholas Bauer
Mauricio Bentley
Benjamin Bomier
Daniel Bomier
Michael Bray
Nathan Campshure
Hunter Cook
Peter Duimstra
Spencer Eaton
Connor Foust
William Hansen
James Kellerman
Matthew Knick
Seth Kohlbeck
Miles Kubicki
Aaron Leschke
Nathan Leschke
Drake Moore
Tim Rausch
Jack Russell
17
David Salazar
Paul Schaefer
Austin Schwartz
Nicholas Stan
Jackson Vendola
Hunter Wohlrabe-Fritsch
BIOGRAPHIES
Patricia Merrifield, who teaches Ragazze singers, teaches elementary general music in the
Appleton Area School District and frequently serves Lawrence University’s Conservatory as a
cooperating teacher. She is currently co-teaching a Lawrence class in recorder and guitar
methods for music education majors. Merrifield holds a Bachelor of Music from Michigan
State University and teaching certification and master’s degree in music education with a
Kodály emphasis from Silver Lake College. Before entering the field of teaching, she worked
in orchestra management for the Phoenix, Ariz. and Fairfax, Va. Symphony Orchestras. Merrifield is a past
Board member of the Association of Wisconsin Area Kodály Educators (AWAKE), has co-chaired the AWAKE
Singing Games Festival and is a member of the Wisconsin School Music Association and Music Educator’s
National Conference.
Karrie Been, who teaches Primo singers, graduated from Carroll College (University) with a
Bachelor of Science in music education and earned her Master of Music in music education
with a Kodály emphasis from Silver Lake College. She is currently the general and vocal
music instructor at Woodland and Mapleview Intermediate Schools in Kimberly, where she
also serves as curriculum coordinator for the district’s general and choral music staff.
Previously, Been taught in Franklin, Wisc., teaching elementary music, middle and high
school choirs and worked as the orchestra conductor for the high school’s musical theatre productions. She
was the founding chair of the Association of Wisconsin Area Kodály Educators (AWAKE) Children’s Choir
Festival and served on the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association choir festival committee. She is a member
of the Wisconsin School Music Association, American Choral Director’s Association and Music Educator’s
National Conference. She has served Lawrence University’s Conservatory of Music and St. Norbert College,
working as cooperating teacher and practicum adviser. Been and her husband both sing with newVoices,
formerly the White Heron Chorale..
Cheryl Meyer, who teaches Allegretto singers, received her Bachelor of Music from
UW–Madison. She joined the Academy as a conductor in the Girl Choir Program in 1992,
the first full year of the Academy Girl Choir program. A vocal music specialist with the
Appleton Area School District, Meyer is an advocate for the Comprehensive Musicianship
through Performance (CMP) method of teaching. She is a frequent cooperating teacher and
practicum teacher for Lawrence Conservatory students and is currently co-teaching a class
in recorder and guitar methods for music education majors.
As a member of the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association (WCDA), Meyer has conducted Singing in
Wisconsin youth choirs, presented sessions and choirs at state conventions and served as Children’s
Choir Repertoire and Standards Chair. She is also a member of the Wisconsin Music Educators Conference
(WMEA) and the Organization of Kodály Educators, serving as a past conductor of the AWAKE Youth Honor
Choir. Currently an adjudicator for the Wisconsin School Music Association, Meyer also conducts the Camp
Choir during the Academy of Music’s residential summer band camp.
18
Toni K. Weijola, who teaches the Capriccio singers, is an alumna of Lawrence University
with a Bachelor of Music in choral and general music education and vocal performance.
She also holds a Master of Music in music education with a Kodály emphasis from
Silver Lake College. Weijola is an elementary music teacher with the Appleton Area School
District and collaborates regularly with Lawrence as a cooperating teacher for future music
educators. A member of Wisconsin Music Educators Association (WMEA), Wisconsin
Choral Directors Association (WCDA) and the Association of Wisconsin Area Kodály Educators (AWAKE),
she is also an advocate for the Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance (CMP) model of teaching.
As an active musician and educator in the Fox Valley, she has previously served as conducting intern with
the Girl Choir program, taught with the conducting staff of the Appleton Boychoir, conducted private studio
instruction in voice and served as soprano section leader with the newVoices choir. Weijola continues
to sing with newVoices and, with her husband, currently co-leads the music and worship ministry at
their church.
Jaclyn Kottman, who teaches Arioso singers, previously served as a manager and
conducting intern with all three middle and high school Academy Girl Choirs. Kottman
graduated from Lawrence University with a Bachelor of Music in choral and general
music education and a minor in religious studies. She has taught in New Zealand,
Costa Rica, Appleton and Boston. She is currently teaching choral music in the Appleton
Area School District at Einstein Middle School, Classical School and North High School
and teaches voice through the Lawrence Academy of Music. Kottman is a member of the Wisconsin Music
Educators Association (WMEA), the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), the Sigma Alpha Iota
music fraternity and is the recipient of Lawrence University’s Pi Kappa Lambda Award for excellence in
music education.
Debbie Lind, wwho teaches Cantabile singers, is a graduate of the University of Nebraska–
Lincoln with a Bachelor of Music in education, vocal and instrumental. In June, 2011,
she retired from 25 years of teaching vocal and choral music in the Appleton Area School
District, having served most recently as choral music director at Appleton East High School.
She taught in Omaha, Neb., and Schofield, Wis., before coming to Appleton.
Lind has been a clinician for the Wisconsin School Music Association and a guest
conductor for WCDA’s Singing in Wisconsin. She has been actively involved in church music as a choral
director, accompanist and singer throughout her career. She is a member of the Voicecare Network,
Wisconsin Music Educators Association (WMEA) and the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association (WCDA).
Lind has worked and continues to work with future and new music educators as a cooperating teacher, a
practicum advisor and a mentor for the AASD new teacher mentoring program.
19
James Heiks, who teaches singers in the Young Men’s Chorus, taught choral music in
Appleton, Wis. public schools for 30 years. During those years he started a men’s singing
movement in the high schools resulting in Varsity Men’s Choruses of 80–90 voices in each
school. He is also a founder of the Appleton Boychoir, established in 1979.
In 1987 he led the Appleton Boychoir on a Mission of Peace to the former Soviet Union.
In 1997 he received the Kohl Fellowship for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching from
Sen. Herb Kohl and was nominated for Wisconsin Teacher of the Year. In 1998 he was awarded Outstanding
Teacher in Wisconsin by Lawrence University. His high school choirs have won critical acclaim for their
compact disc recordings and are featured along with choirs from around the globe on the Best of High
School a cappella CD released in 2003 by Varsity Vocals. From 2004–07 he served as associate professor
of music at Goshen College in Indiana where he directed the Goshen College Choral and Men’s Chorus.
Since 2007, he has served as Fine Arts Coordinator for the Appleton Public Schools and adjunct professor
of music at Lawrence University.
Karen Bruno, who teaches Bel Canto singers, is the artistic director of the Girl Choir
program. She received the Bachelor of Arts from Smith College, a teaching certificate
from Lawrence University’s Conservatory of Music, and the Master of Music from
Boston University. She has taught choral music in the Appleton and Oshkosh school
districts, and at an international school in Senegal, West Africa. Bruno has been a guest
speaker and adjunct faculty member for Lawrence Conservatory music education classes
and has served as both cooperating and practicum teacher for students from Lawrence and St. Norbert
College. She is currently the director of the Lawrence Academy of Music.
Bruno has conducted the South Dakota All-State Children’s Choir, numerous regional honor choirs, and is
a past staff member of the Wisconsin School Music Association’s Treble Honor Choir. She served for six
years as the repertoire and standards chair for Children and Community Youth Choirs in the North Central
Division of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), is a member of the VoiceCare Network, and
serves on the committee advocating the Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance (CMP) method
of teaching. Bruno is a two-time recipient of WCDA’s Five-Star Award, a recipient of Lawrence University’s
Pi Kappa Lambda award for excellence in music education, is a Rotary Scholarship Award winner, and was
recognized by the Danbury (CT) Music Centre for providing outstanding musical opportunities for youth in
the United States. Under her tutelage, Bel Canto was awarded Second Place in the national American Prize
competition and has performed, by audition, on state and divisional conventions of choral conductors.
20
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Arioso Mini-Tour to Milwaukee
Saturday, October 24, 2015
Clinic with Miriam Altman, experience Tokwe dance and drumming
Allegretto sings at First English Lutheran Church
Sunday, November 15, 2015
10:30 a.m. service
Bel Canto sings at Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Sunday, November 22, 2015
10:45 a.m. service
tutti Online Fundraiser
December 3–14, 2015
www.biddingforgood.com/lamtutti
Purchase holiday gifts and support Academy tuition assistance
Cantabile sings at Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Saturday, January 23, 2016
4:30 p.m. service
Girl Choir 25th Anniversary Concert
Saturday March 19, 2016, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Alumnae choir rehearsal Saturday, March 19, 10 a.m.–noon
To receive event information: go.lawrence.edu/academy-alum
Cantabile Tour to New York City
April 1–4, 2016
Carnegie Hall performance Sunday, April 3, 2016
Auditions for 2016–17
April 2016 (watch for registration material in February or March)
go.lawrence.edu/academy-girlchoir
Young Men’s Chorus Concert
Sunday, April 10, 2016
With Appleton Boychoir: info@appletonboychoir.com
Lawrence Memorial Chapel
21