December 6 - 11, 2012

December 6 - 11, 2012
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Thursday, December 6, 2012, 7:30 pm
First United Methodist Church, Victoria
Friday, December 7, 7:00 pm
Laurel Heights United Methodist Church, San Antonio
Saturday, December 8, 2:30 pm and 8:00 pm
Sunday, December 9, 2:30 pm and 8:00 pm
The Carillon on Exposition, Austin
Monday, December 10, 8:00 pm
Long Center for the Performing Arts, Austin
Craig Hella Johnson, Artistic Director & Conductor
Company of Voices
Guest Artists:
Kathlene Ritch, soprano
Charles Wesley Evans, baritone
Thomas Burritt, percussion
Season Sustaining Underwriter and Sponsor of the Holiday Gala
The San Antonio performance is sponsored by
the Russell Hill Rogers Fund for the Arts
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PROGRAM
SONGS FOR REMEMBERING (Ancient Heart, One Voice)
In loving memory of William Burritt, Cassandra James,
& David Clark, cherished family & friends
please refrain from applause except where indicated by
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PROLOGUE (How Will I Know)
My Heart Will Always Remember
Veni Emmanuel
Satisfaction
Folk melody
Chant
Mick Jagger & Keith Richards
GHOSTS IN MY MACHINE
On Your Wings
Ghosts in My Machine
Softly and Tenderly
I Dreamed a Dream
Come Ye Disconsolate
Veni Sancte Spiritus Comfort, Comfort Ye My People
A la Claire Fontaine
Love Calls You by Your Name
Wie Soll Dich Ich Empfangen
Kontakion on the Nativity (Stanza 1)
Joy to the World
Jauchzet dem Herrn
Sam Beane
Annie Lennox
Will L. Thompson
Claude-Michel Schӧnberg
Samuel Webbe, Sr.
Plainsong chant
Freu Dich Sehr
Traditional French, arr. Norman Luboff
Leonard Cohen
Melchior Teschner
Richard Toensing
G. F. Handel
Heinrich Schütz
William Hawley/ Leonard Bernstein
Shall We Gather/ One Hand, One Heart
The Song Remembers When
Hugh Prestwood
Trains I Missed
Walt Wilkins
One Voice Ruth Moody
One Voice Gordon Chambers & Phil Galdston
Let go Imogen Heap & Guy Sigsworth
Bonse Aba Traditional Zambian, arr. Andrew Fischer
Sing
Andrew Lloyd Webber & Gary Barlow, arr. Nancy Grundahl
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COME LOVE, CAROLING
Come Love, Caroling
Sydney Carter
O Come all Ye Faithful
Tune: Adeste Fidele
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Felix Mendelssohn
The Holly and the Ivy
Traditional English carol
Un Flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle
French carol
In the Bleak Midwinter
Gustav Holst
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Hugh Martin
Feliz Navidad Jose Feliciano
Children Go Where I Send Thee
Spiritual
Angels We Have Heard on High
French carol
Silent Night
Franz Gruber
CLOSING
With So Little to be Sure Of
Stephen Sondheim, arr. Craig Hella Johnson
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Be at Peace with Yourself Bill Fay
We Clasp the Hands Craig Hella Johnson
WHAT THE HEART WANTS (True Names)
I Could Have Danced All Night Frederick Loewe, arr. Craig Hella Johnson
Craig Hella Johnson
Ysaye Barnwell
Jerome Kern
Rumi/Mary Frye
Richard Rodgers
Eric Whitacre
Stephen Sondheim/
Sondheim/Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman/
John Whitehead, Gene McFadden, & Victor Carstarphen
Mos Def
George Merrill, Shannon Rubicam, & Narada Michael Walden
Until Even the Angels
We Are
All the Things You Are Say I Am you/Do Not Stand at My Grave
Younger Than Springtime i thank You God for most this amazing day
Move On/Being Alive/Wake up Everybody
Sun, Moon, Stars
How Will I Know
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Arrangements not otherwise noted are by Craig Hella Johnson.
Performances of Conspirare Christmas are being recorded for a CD.
Please help us keep the concert hall as quiet as possible except
where applause is indicated by ++++++++.
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Texts & Translations
PROLOGUE (How Will I Know)
To a weary, waiting world, long in darkness shrouded…
(My heart will always remember,
true love it cannot forget.
Deep in the quiet forest, so deep that no one knows.
There where my heart was happy…)
–French chanson
The dark around us, come,
Let us meet here together,
Members one of another,
Here in our holy room,
Here on our little floor,
Here in the daylit sky,
Rejoicing mind and eye,
Rejoining known and knower,
Light, leaf, foot, hand, and wing,
Such order as we know,
One household, high and low,
And all the earth shall sing.
-Wendell Berry
Veni, veni, O Oriens;
Solare nos adveniens,
Noctis depelle nebulas,
Dirasque noctis tenebras.
Gaude! Gaude! Emmanuel,
Nascetur pro te, Israel!
(How will I know if he really loves me
I say a prayer with every heart beat
I fall in love whenever we meet
I’m asking you what you know about these things)
O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
disperse the gloomy clouds of night
and death’s dark shadow put to flight.
–The O Antiphons
(I can’t get no satisfaction. Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can’t get no. I can’t get no…)
GHOSTS IN MY MACHINE
On Your Wings
God, there is gold hidden deep in the ground
God, there’s a hangman that wants to come around
How we rise when we’re born / Like the ravens in the corn
On their wings, on our knees / Crawling careless from the sea
God, there are guns growing out of our bones
God, every road takes us farther from home
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All these men that you’ve made / How we wither in the shade
Of your trees, on your wings / We are carried to the sea
God, give us love in the time that we have
–Sam Beane
(Peace is a complicated business…
Healing is only a dream)
I’m still a wayfaring stranger / wanderin’ through this world below…
I know dark clouds will gather ‘round me,
I know my way is hard and steep
I’m goin’ there to see my Mother
She said she’d meet me when I come.
So, I’m just goin’ over Jordan
I’m just goin’ over home.
I keep reaching for you / Can’t bridge this gap
I keep reaching for you / Cryin’ over you
I believed the lies, we’re separate you and I
You’re no good, you’re no good
I’m grieving this through, for me, for you
–Traditional
God, there are guns growing out of our bones…
(O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer / Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, / And death’s dark shadows put to flight.)
Ghosts in my machine
Oh come and take this pain away
Oh come and take this pain away
Oh come and set my spirit free
I’ve seen too much / I know too much / I hurt too much
I feel too much / I dread too much / I dream too much
I’m caught up by the ghosts in my machine
I’m bruised and battered by the storm
Can’t find a place to keep me warm
My mind is broken and forlorn
I think too much / I do too much / I fall too much
I fail too much / I cry too much / I die too much
I’m haunted by the ghosts in my machine
Give me some of that medicine
To make me forget (I can’t find it)
I need something easier (can’t find it)
‘cuz I ain’t found it yet / I ain’t found it yet / I ain’t found it / Oh no no no
Oh womankind was born of pain / My soul keeps hurting just the same
Oh come and take this pain away
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I give too much / Get used too much
I lose too much / Get bruised too much
I bleed too much / I need too much
I’m sleeping with the ghosts in my machine.
I said I love you baby / Guess I always do…
–Annie Lennox
(Weep not, child, / Weep not, my darling,
With these kisses let me remove your tears,
The ravening clouds shall not long be victorious;
They shall not long possess the sky, they devour the stars only in apparition… )
–Walt Whitman
Come home, come home
Ye who are weary, come home
Earnestly, tenderly, hear now this calling
Calling / O dreamers / Come…
Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish,
Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel.
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish;
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.
Here see the Bread of Life, see waters flowing
Forth from the throne of God, pure from above.
Come to the feast of love; come, ever knowing
Earth has no sorrow but heaven can remove.
–Thomas Moore
To a weary, waiting world
(to a weary, waiting world)
(I dreamed a dream in times gone by
When hope was high / And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung / No wine untasted…)
–Alain Boublil, Jean-Marc Natel, & Herbert Kretzner
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Creator, Spirit, heavenly dove, / Descend upon us from above;
With graces manifold restore / Your creatures as they were before.
I dreamed a dream in times gone by…
(Could it be that the desert will really bloom?)
To you, the comforter, we cry; / To you, the gift of God most high,
True fount of life, the fire of love, / The soul’s anointing from above.
Comfort, comfort now my people, Tell of peace, so says our god.
Comfort those who sit in darkness, Mourning under sorrow’s load.
Your light to every sense impart, /And shed you love in every heart;
Your own unfailing flow supply / To free us from infirmity.
–Roman Liturgy
To all people now proclaim That this Loving waits for them,
Tell them that their war is over;
–Johannes G. Olearius, Geistliche Singe-Kuns
(to a weary, waiting world…)
Love will reign in peace forever.
A la Claire Fontaine
Il y a longtemps que je t’aime,
My heart will always remember,
Jamais je ne t’oublierai.
true love it cannot forget.
A la Claire fontaine, m’en allant promener, Deep in the quiet forest, so deep that no one knows.
Jai trouvé l’eau si belle
There where my heart was happy
que je m’y suis Baigné :
one lovely fountain flows.
Il y a longtemps que je t’aime,
Jamais je ne t’oublierai.
Sous les feuilles d’un chêne,
je me suis fait Sécher;
Sur la plus haute branche,
un rossignol chantait. My heart will always remember,
true love it cannot forget.
Deep in the crystal water,
your tender face I see,
Oh what a sweet reflection there
smiling up at me.
Il y a longtemps que je t’aime,
Jamais je ne t’oublierai.
Chante, Rossignol, chante,
toi qui as le coer gai:
Tu as le Coeur à rire,
je l’ait à pleurer. Il y a longtemps que je t’aime,
Jamais je ne t’oublierai.
My heart will always remember,
true love it cannot forget.
How lonely is the forest,
save for the nightingale,
Sweet song that once was happy,
now tells a sadder tale.
My heart will always remember,
true love it cannot forget
–French chanson
between the ocean and your open vein,
between the snowman and the rain,
once again, once again,
love calls you by your name.
–Leonard Cohen
Prelude in C Major (Love calls you by your name)
O love, how shall I meet You, how welcome you aright?
All peoples long to greet you, my Hope, my heart’s Delight.
O kindle, Love most holy, a lamp within my breast,
To do in spirit lowly all that may please you best.
–Paul Gerhardt
He comes to make these blessings flow
Far as the curse is found
(Joy to the world,
Now Love is born…)
Kontakion on the Nativity (Stanza 1)
Bethlehem has opened Eden, come and let us see;
We have found delight in secret, let us receive
The things of paradise within the cave.
For a root unwatered, flowering forgiveness, has appeared,
And discovered is the undug well
Where David once had longed to drink;
For the Virgin has brought forth a Babe,
Quenching at once both Adam’s and David’s thirst;
So let us hasten there where has been born
A little child, He who from eternity is God.
–St. Romanos the Melodist
(Audience please remain seated and sing):
Joy to the world, the savior reigns,
Let earth her songs employ,
Let fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy… (repeat 2x)
Love rules the world in truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of this righteousness
And wonders of this love… (repeat 2x)
You thought that it could never happen
to all the people that you became,
your body lost in legend, the beast so very tame.
But here, right here, / between the birthmark and the stain,
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Jauchzet dem Herren (Shout for Joy)
Jauchzet dem Herrn, alle Welt!
Dienet dem Herrn mit Freuden; kommt vor sein Angesicht mit Frohlocken!
Erkennet, daß der Herr Gott ist! Er hat uns gemacht,
und nicht wir selbst zu seinem Volk und zu Schafen seiner Weide.
Gehet zu seinen Toren ein mit Danken,
zu seinen Vorhöfen mit Loben; danket ihm, lobet seinen Namen!
Denn der Herr ist freundlich,
und seine Gnade währet ewig und seine Wahrheit für und für.
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve God with gladness;
come before his presence with rejoicing!
Know that the Lord is God.
He has made us,
and not we ourselves,
to be his people and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving
and into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him, praise his name!
For God is kind,
and his mercy is everlasting,
and his truth endures forever and ever.
Ehre sei dem Vater und dem Sohn
und auch dem heilgen Geiste
wie es war im Anfang, jetzt und immerdar
und von Ewigkeit zu Ewigkeit. Amen.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and also to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning, is now and always,
world without end. Amen.
–Psalm 99 (100)
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WHAT THE HEART WANTS (True Names)
Oh wandering heart, what is thy source…
Ancient heart, tell my true names…
The glory of God is the human being fully alive.
–St. Iraneus
Until Even the Angels
What the heart wants / is to follow its true passion
to lie down with it / near the reeds beside the river,
to devour it in the caves / between the desert dunes,
to sing its notes / into the morning sky
until even the angels / wake up / and take notice
and look around / for their beloved
(Know who you are / Carry it in your heart,
Walk in silence / The moment will come / in your heart.)
–Dorothy Walters
We Are (from Lessons)
For each child that’s born a morning star rises
and sings to the universe who we are.
We are our grandmothers’ prayers.
We are our grandfathers’ dreamings.
We are the breath of our ancestors.
We are the spirit of God. / We are Mothers of courage,
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Fathers of time, Daughters of dust, Sons of great vision.
We are Sisters of mercy, Brothers of love,
Lovers of life and the builders of nations.
We are Seekers of truth / And keepers of faith,
Makers of peace and the wisdom of ages.
For each child that’s born a morning star rises
And sings to the universe who we are.
–Y. M. Barnwell
All the Things You Are
You are the promised kiss of springtime
That makes the lonely winter seem long.
You are the breathless hush of evening
That trembles on the brink of a lovely song.
You are the angel glow that lights a star,
The dearest things I know are what you are.
Some day my happy arms will hold you,
And some day I’ll know that moment divine,
When all the things you are, are mine!
(Time and again I’ve longed for adventure,
Something to make my heart beat the faster.
What did I long for? I never really knew.
Finding your love I’ve found my adventure,
Touching your hand, my heart beats the faster,
All that I want in all of this world is you.)
You are…
–Oscar Hammerstein II
(Love calls you by your name.)
(Say I am You.
I am morning mist, and the breathing of evening.
I am wind in the top of a grove, and surf on the cliff…
Silence, thought, and voice.
The musical air coming through a flute, a spark of stone, a flickering in metal.
Both candle and the moth crazy around it. Rose, and the nightingale lost in the fragrance.
I am all orders of being, the circling galaxy,
the evolutionary intelligence, the lift, and the falling away.
What is, and what isn’t. You who know.
You the one in all, say who I am. Say I am you.)
–Rumi
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I heard the wind call my name; it sang the song deep within me.
(to a weary, waiting world)
(How will I know?)
(Stop worrying where you’re going / Move on
If you can go where you’re going / You’ve gone
Just keep moving on
I am a thousand winds that blow, / I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain, / I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush / I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight. / I am the soft star-shine at night.
I chose and my world was shaking, so what?
The choice may have been mistaken, the choosing was not
You have to move on
–Mary Frye
Exaudio carmen a corde directe (I heard a song directly from the heart):
Look at what you want, not what might have been
Only what could be
Here is a miracle.
That we are here is a miracle.
Younger Than Springtime
Younger than springtime, are you / Softer than starlight, are you,
Warmer than winds of June, / Are the gentle lips you gave me.
Gayer than laughter, are you, / Sweeter than music, are you,
Angel and lover, heaven and earth, / Are you to me.
And when your youth / And joy invade my arms,
And fill my heart as now they do, / Then younger than springtime, am I,
Gayer than laughter, am I, / Angel and lover, heaven and earth,
Am I with you!
And when your youth / And joy invade my arms,
And fill my heart as now they do,
Then younger than springtime, am I, / Gayer than laughter, am I,
Angel and lover, heaven and earth, / Am I with you.
–Oscar Hammerstein II
i thank You God for most this 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
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Look at all the things you did for me / Opened up my eyes,
taught me how to see / Notice every tree, / Opened up my eyes,
(The sun that shines within is joy.)
I want to explore the world / I want to find how to get through…)
You taught me how to see, look at every tree, opened up my eyes.
–James Lapine
(The questioner asks again: How will I know?)
The glory of God is the human being fully alive.
–St. Iraneus
Being Alive
Someone to hold you too close / Someone to hurt you too deep
Someone to sit in your chair / And ruin your sleep
And make you aware of being alive
Somebody, crowd me with love, / Somebody, force me to care,
Somebody, Let me come through, / I’ll always be there,
As frightened as you, / To help us survive
Being alive, / Being alive, / Being alive!
–Stephen Sondheim
(Wake, awake for night is flying.)
Wake up everybody / No more sleepin’ in bed
No more backward thinkin’ / Time for thinkin’ ahead
The world has changed / So very much
From what it used to be / There is so much hatred
War and poverty, whoa, oh
Wake up, all the teachers / Time to teach a new way
Maybe then they’ll listen / To what’cha have to say
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‘Cause they’re the ones who’s coming up
And the world is in their hands
When you teach the children
Teach ‘em the very best you can
The world won’t get no better / If we just let it be, na, na, na
The world won’t get no better / We gotta change it, yeah
Just you and me
–John Whitehead, Gene McFadden, and Victor Carstarphen
How will I know if he really loves me?
Of rocks and trees come up,
Of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought.
Sun, Moon, Stars
A night where beautiful life is real
The mathematic to acting still
The unfamiliar the warm embrace
The family ties and the stranger’s face
The lighting thunder the power steed
The what it is and the what is believed
The strong connections desire to need
The waking now or the moment to dream
The laugh the murmur the moan and the scream
The voice of reason somewhere in between
The one and all the me and the we
The I and I the thou and the thee
A man a design a child of the streets
The daily chore the impossible feat
The drum the chorus phenomenal beat
Easy to touch and the harder to reach
The sweetest fruit in the top of the tree
The sun the moon the stars and the breeze
I’m coming to it, and it’s coming to me
How will I know if he really loves me / I say a prayer with every heart beat
I fall in love whenever we meet / I’m asking you what you know about these things
How will I know if he’s thinking of me / I try to phone but I’m too shy (can’t speak)
Falling in love is all bitter sweet / This love is strong why do I feel weak
You are a thousand winds that blow,
You are the diamond glints on snow,
You are the sun on ripened grain,
You are the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush
You are the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
You are the soft star-shine at night.
Oh, wake me, I’m shaking, wish I had you near me now
Said there’s no mistaking, what I feel is really love
If he loves me, if he loves me not…
–George Merrill, Shannon Rubicam and Narada Michael Walden
(Call Me by My True Names
Look deeply: I arrive in every second
to be a bud on a spring branch, to be
a tiny bird, with wings still fragile, learning to sing in my new nest, to be a
caterpillar in the heart of a flower, to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone…
…Please call me by my true names, so I can hear all my cries and laughs at
once, so I can see that my joy and pain are one.
Please call me by my true names, so I can wake up, and so the door of my
heart can be left open…)
–Thich Nhat Hanh
I’ll be loving you, always…
With a love that’s true, always…
(They say that falling in love is wonderful.)
–Mos Def
How Will I Know
There’s a boy I know, he’s the one I dream of
Looks into my eyes, takes me to the clouds above
Ooh I lose control, can’t seem to get enough
When I wake from dreaming, tell me is it really love
How will I know (Don’t trust your feelings) /How will I know
How will I know (Love can be deceiving) / How will I know
(undeniable, irrefutable)
We can be together now and forever, I love you…
How will I know?
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If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths,
you are there.
–Psalm 139:8
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SONGS FOR REMEMBERING
(Ancient Heart, One Voice)
Shall We Gather
Shall we gather at the river, / where bright angel feet have trod,
with its crystal tide forever / flowing by the throne of God?
Yes, we’ll gather at the river, / the beautiful, the beautiful river;
gather with the saints at the river / that flows by the throne of God.
One Hand, One Heart
Shall we gather at the river / Make of our hands, one hand,
Where bright angel feet have trod / Make of our hearts, one heart.
With its crystal tide forever / Make of our vows, one last vow
Flowing by the throne of God? / Only death will part us now.
Yes, we’ll gather at the river, / The beautiful, the beautiful river;
Make of our lives, one life. Day after day, one life.
Gather with the saints at the river / That flows by the throne of God
Now it begins, now we start, One Hand, One Heart.
Shall we gather…
The Song Remembers When
I was standing at the counter / I was waiting for the change
When I heard that old familiar music start / It was like a lighted match
Had been tossed into my soul / It was like a dam had broken in my heart
After taking every detour / Getting lost and losing track
So that even if I wanted / I could not find my way back
After driving out the memory / Of the way things might have been
After I’d forgotten all about us / The song remembers when
We were rolling through the Rockies / We were up above the clouds
When a station out of Jackson played that song / And it seemed to fit the moment
And the moment seemed to freeze / When we turned the music up and sang along
And there was a God in Heaven / And the world made perfect sense
We were young and were in love / And we were easy to convince
We were headed straight for Eden / It was just around the bend
And though I have forgotten all about it / The song remembers when
I guess something must have happened / And we must have said goodbye
And my heart must have been broken / Though I can’t recall just why
The song remembers when
But that’s just a lot of water / Underneath a bridge I burned
And there’s no use in backtracking / Around corners I have turned
Still I guess some things we bury / Are just bound to rise again
For even if the whole world has forgotten / The song remembers when
Yeah, and even if the whole world has forgotten / The song remembers when
–Hugh Prestwood
(Deep in December, it’s nice to remember,
Although you know the snow will follow.
Deep in December, it’s nice to remember,
Without a hurt the heart is hollow.
Deep in December, it’s nice to remember,
The fire of September that made us mellow.
Deep in December, our hearts should remember
And follow.)
–Tom Jones
The Trains I’ve Missed
Here’s to the trains I missed / The loves I lost
The bridges I burned / The rivers I never crossed
Here’s to the call I didn’t hear / The signs I didn’t heed
The roads I didn’t take / The maps that I just couldn’t read
It’s a big old world but I’ve found my way
And the hell and the hurt lead me straight to it
Here’s to the trains I missed
I’ve been a clown, I’ve been a fool / And I pushed on every chance
I searched far and wide trying to crawl out of God’s hands
There were stones I didn’t throw / And hearts I didn’t break
And a little hope that i held onto with each silver shining thread of faith
It’s a big old world but I’ve found my way
And the hell and the hurt lead me straight to it
Here’s to the trains I missed
Here’s to this place I’ve found / The love I’ve known
The earth and the sky / That I call home
Here’s to the things I need / Bigger than me
And the moments I find myself right where I’m supposed to be
It’s a big old world but I’ve found my way
And the hell and the hurt lead me straight to it
Here’s to the trains I missed
–Walt Wilkins
Well, for all the miles between us / And for all the time that’s passed
You would think I haven’t gotten very far / And I hope my hasty heart
Will forgive me just this once / If I stop to wonder how on Earth you are
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Come home, come home… ye who are weary, come home…
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One Voice
This is the sound of one voice / One spirit, one voice
The sound of one who makes a choice / This is the sound of one voice
This is the sound of voices two / The sound of me singing with you
Helping each other to make it through / This is the sound of voices two
This is the sound of voices three / Singing together in harmony
Surrendering to the mystery / This is the sound of voices three
This is the sound of all of us / Singing with love and the will to trust
Leave the rest behind it will turn to dust / This is the sound of all of us
This is the sound of one voice / One people, one voice
A song for every one of us / This is the sound of one voice
This is the sound of one voice
–Ruth Moody
(They say that falling in love is wonderful / It’s wonderful, so they say
And with a moon up above, it’s wonderful / It’s wonderful, so they tell me)
–Irving Berlin
One Voice
I had a dream, a crazy vision / It may sound strange, this intuition
But it was true beyond description / And somehow I knew that it was real
When I saw / One sky above
There is just one source of love / If I got one chance, one choice
I’ll sing it from the heart, one song, one voice
I’ve seen the fires of deep division / The hearts of stone, the cold ambition
But I have found my sacred mission / To live in this world and still believe
That there is / One sky above
There is just one source of love / If I got one chance, one choice
Let Go
Drink up baby doll / Are you in or are you out?
Leave your things behind / ‘Cause it’s all going off without you
Excuse me too busy you’re writing your tragedy
These mishaps / You bubble-wrap / When you’ve no idea what you’re like
So, let go, let go / Jump in / Oh well, what you waiting for?
It’s all right / ‘Cause there’s beauty in the breakdown
So, let go, let go / Just get in
Oh, it’s so amazing here / It’s all right
‘cause there’s beauty in the breakdown
It gains the more it gives / And then it rises with the fall
So hand me that remote / Can’t you see that all that stuff’s a sideshow?
Such boundless pleasure / We’ve no time for later
Now you can’t await / your own arrival / you’ve twenty seconds to comply
So, let go, so let go / So, let go, / Jump in
Oh well, what you waiting for?
It’s all right / ‘Cause there’s beauty in the breakdown
So, let go, yeah let go / Just get in / Oh, it’s so amazing here
It’s all right / ‘Cause there’s beauty in the breakdown
In the breakdown / ‘Cause there’s beauty in the breakdown…
So amazing here / ‘Cause there’s beauty in the breakdown
–Imogen Heap and Guy Sigsworth
Bonse Aba
Bonse aba mu pokelela
Ba li pele maka akuba bana
kuba bana kuba bana
kuba bana bakwa lesa
All who sing have the right
to be called the children of God.
–Bemba (Chibemba)
‘Cause there is one sky above / Just one source of love
If I got one chance, just one choice / Sing it from the heart, one song, one voice
Sing
Some words they can’t be spoken only sung,
So hear a thousand voices shouting love.
There’s a place, there’s a time in this life when you sing what you are feeling,
Find your feet, stand your ground,
Don’t you see right now the world is listening to what we say?
One sky above, just one sky above / One source of love
If I got, if I got one chance, just one choice
Sing it from the heart, one song, one voice
Sing it with one song, one voice
Sing it louder, sing it clearer, knowing everyone will hear you,
Make some noise, find your voice tonight.
Sing it stronger, sing together, make this moment last forever,
Old and young shouting love tonight.
Song, a song that heals / A melody of reason and freedom
With words that will speak for the weak / The hopeful and the strong
Sing it for everyone
–Gordon Chambers and Phil Galdston
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To sing we’ve had a lifetime to wait (wait, wait, wait)
And see a thousand faces celebrate (together celebrate)
You brought hope, you brought life, conquer fear, no it wasn’t always easy,
Stood your ground, kept your faith,
Don’t you see right now the world is listening to what we say?
Hark the herald angels sing / Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild / God and sinners reconciled
Joyful, all ye nations rise / Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim: / Christ is born in Bethlehem
Hark! The herald angels sing / Glory to the newborn King!”
Sing it louder, sing it clearer, knowing everyone will hear you,
Make some noise, find your voice tonight.
Sing it stronger, sing together, make this moment last forever,
Old and young shouting love tonight.
Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace! / Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings, / risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by, / born that we no more may die,
born to raise us from the earth, / born to give us second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing, / Glory to the new born King!
Some words they can’t be spoken only sung,
To hear a thousand voices shouting love and life and hope.
Just sing; just sing; just sing; just sing.
Sing it louder, sing it clearer, knowing everyone will hear you,
Make some noise, find your voice tonight.
Sing it stronger, sing together, make this moment last forever,
Old and young shouting love tonight.
Hear a thousand voices shouting love.
–Charles Wesley
(Audience please be seated)
The Holly and the Ivy
The holly and the ivy, now both are full well grown,
Of all the trees that are in the wood, the holly bears the crown.
Refrain:
Oh, the rising of the sun and the running of the deer,
The playing of the merry organ, sweet singing in the choir.
–Andrew Lloyd Webber and Gary Barlow
(All who sing have the right to be called the children of God.)
COME LOVE, CAROLING
Come Love, Caroling
Come, love, caroling along in me! / Come, love, caroling along in me!
All the while, wherever I may be, / I carry the maker of the world in me.
In the beginning you were there, I know, / And you will carry me wherever I go.
I’ll carry you wherever I may be, / I carry the maker of the world in me.
–Sydney Carter
(Audience please stand and sing boldface text):
Oh, come, all ye faithful, / Joyful and triumphant!
Oh, come ye, oh, come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold him / Born the king of angels:
Oh, come, let us adore him, / Oh, come, let us adore him,
Oh, come, let us adore him, / Christ the Lord.
Sing, choirs of angels, / Sing in exultation,
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God / In the highest:
Oh, come, let us adore him, / Oh, come, let us adore him,
Oh, come, let us adore him, / Christ the Lord.
The holly bears a blossom as white as lily flower,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ to be our sweet saviour
(Refrain)
The holly bears a bark as bitter as any gall,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ for to redeem us all.
(Refrain)
–Traditional English carol
Un flambeau, Jeanette, Isabelle
Un flambeau, Jeanette, Isabelle –
Un flambeau! Courons au berceau!
C’est Jésus, bonnes gens du hameau.
Le Christ est né; Marie appelle!
Ah! Ah! Ah! Que la Mère est belle,
Ah! Ah! Ah! Que l’Enfant est beau!
Bring a torch, Jeanette, Isabelle!
Bring a torch, to the stable run
Christ is born. Tell the folk of the village
Jesus is born and Mary’s calling.
Ah! Ah! beautiful is the Mother!
Ah! Ah! beautiful is her child
Doucement, dans l’étable close,
Softly now unto the stable,
Doucement, venez un moment!
Softly for a moment come!
Approchez! Que Jésus est charmant!
Look and see how charming is Jesus,
Comme il est blanc! Comme il est blanc!
Look at him there, how white He is!
Comme il est blanc! Comme il est rose
Look at him there, His cheeks are rosy!
Do! Do! Do! Que l’Enfant repose!
Hush! Hush! see how the Child is sleeping;
Do! Do! Do! Qu’il rit en dormant! Hush! Hush! see how he smiles in dreams!
–French carol
–John F. Wade
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23
In the Bleak Midwinter
In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.
(Audience please remain seated and sing boldface text):
What can I give him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
if I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give him: give my heart.
Shepherds, why this jubilee? / Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be / Which inspire your heavenly song?
Gloria in excelsis Deo…
–Christina G. Rossetti
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Have yourself a merry little Christmas / Let your heart be light
From now on your troubles will be out of sight, yeah
Have yourself a merry little Christmas / Make the Yuletide gay
From now on your troubles will be miles away, oh
Here we are as in olden days / Happy golden days of yore, ah
Faithful friends who are dear to us / They gather near to us once more, ooh
Through the years we all will be together and / If the fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bow, oh yeah, oh
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now
–Ralph Blane
Feliz Navidad
Feliz Navidad… Prospero Año y Felicidad.
I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas… from the bottom of my heart.
–Jose Feliciano
Children, Go Where I Send Thee
Children, go where I send thee / How shall I send thee?
I’m gonna send thee one by one
One for the little bitty baby / Born, born, born in Bethlehem.
Children, go where I send thee / How shall I send thee?
I’m gonna send thee two by two / Two for Paul and Silas…
…Three by three / Three for the Hebrew children…
…Four by four / Four for the four that stood at the door…
…Five by five / Five for the gospel preachers …
…Six by six / Six for the six that never got fixed…
…Seven by seven / Seven for the seven that never got to heaven …
…Eight by eight /Eight for the eight that stood at the gate…
…Nine by nine / Nine for the nine all dressed so fine…
…Ten by ten / Ten for the ten commandments...
…Eleven by eleven / Eleven for the eleven deriders…
…Twelve by twelve / Twelve for the twelve Apostles…
Angels we have heard on high / Sweetly singing o’er the plains
And the mountains in reply / Echoing their joyous strains
Gloria, in excelsis Deo! / Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Silent night, holy night / All is calm and all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and child / Holy infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace / Sleep in heavenly peace
–Joseph Mohr
CLOSING
With So Little to Be Sure Of
With so little to be sure of / If there’s anything at all
If there’s anything at all / I’m sure of here and now and us together.
All I’ll ever be I owe you / If there’s anything to be.
Being sure enough of you / Makes me sure enough of me.
Thanks for everything we did / Everything that’s past
Everything’s that’s over too fast. / None of it was wasted,
All of it will last: / Everything that’s here and now and us together!
It was marvelous to know you / And it isn’t really through.
Crazy business this, this life we live in / Can’t complain about the time we’re given
With so little to be sure of in this world / Hold me / Hold me.
–Stephen Sondheim
(This is the sound of one voice. One people, one voice.
A song for everyone to sing. This is the sound of one voice…)
Be At Peace With Yourself
At the end of the day / Ain’t nobody else / Gonna walk
In your shoes / Quite the way / You do
So be at Peace with yourself / And keep a spring in your heel
And keep climbing that hill / And be at Peace
With yourself
In the cold winter chill / When the wind blows like hell
There’s a way / Where there’s a will
Don’t cry over / Milk that spilt
At the end of the day / Ain’t nobody else
Gonna walk in your shoes / Quite the way that you do
So be at Peace with yourself / And keep a spring in your heel
And keep climbing that hill / And be at Peace with yourself
–Bill Fay
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25
We Clasp the Hands
We clasp the hands of those that go before us,
And the hands of those who come after us.
We enter the little circle of each other’s arms
And the larger circle of lovers, / Whose hands are joined in a dance
And the larger circle of all creatures / (Passing in and out of life,)
Who moves also in a dance, / To a music so subtle
And vast that no ear hears it / except in fragments.
–Wendell Berry
I could have danced all night
On Christmas night we hear the angels singing…
I could have danced all night… And still have begged for more
Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright
I could have spread my wings and done a thousand things
I’ve never done before
Gloria…
I’ll never know what made it so exciting
Why all at once my heart took flight
I only know when he began to dance with me
I could have danced, danced, danced / All night…
Dance then wherever you may be.
–Alan Jay Lerner
(Know who you are.
Carry it in your heart.)
Where Everything is Music
Don’t worry about saving these songs!
And if one of our instruments breaks,
it doesn’t matter.
We have fallen into the place
where everything is music.
The strumming and the flute notes
rise into the atmosphere,
and even if the whole world’s harp
should burn up, there will still be
hidden instruments playing.
So the candle flickers and goes out.
We have a piece of flint, and a spark.
This singing art is sea foam.
The graceful movements come from a pearl
somewhere on the ocean floor.
Poems reach up like spindrift and the edge
of driftwood along the beach, wanting!
They derive
from a slow and powerful root
that we can’t see.
Stop the words now.
Open the window in the center of your chest,
and let the spirits fly in and out.
–Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks
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Artistic Personnel
Craig Hella Johnson
Artistic Director & Conductor
SOPRANO
Mela Dailey
Estelí Gomez
Julie Keim
Abigail Lennox
Gitanjali Mathur*
Stefanie Moore
ALTO
Wendy Bloom
Cina Crisara
Pam Elrod Huffman*
Laura Mercado-Wright
Keely J. Rhodes
Kathlene Ritch
TENOR
Matt Alber
Cole Blume*
Jack Byrom
Paul D’Arcy
Carr Hornbuckle
BASS
Cameron Beauchamp
Rick Gabrillo*
Robert Harlan
Harris Ipock
John Proft
Paul Max Tipton
Thomas Burritt, percussion
Adah Toland Jones, flute
*Section Leader
Performing Note
Conspirare has the privilege of performing in a variety of beautiful venues that
best enhance choral performances. While our performing venues and the texts
of some of our repertoire may be representative of specific traditions, it is in no
way intended to be exclusive of any individual whose experience or set of beliefs
is not represented. Conspirare respects and celebrates the great diversity of
religious, artistic, and human experiences represented among our singers and
audience members. The audience creates the space in which the music is held.
In tune with the arts
in San Antonio
Anne Morris
M o r r i s M a r ke t i n g C o m mu n i c a t i o n s
210-431-3300
morris-a@sbcglobal.net
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After earning a Bachelor’s of Music Studies
degree from the University of Texas at Austin,
soprano Kathlene Ritch moved to New York
where she sang with such noted ensembles as the
New York Philharmonic, London Sinfonietta,
and Vienna Philharmonic. In 2001 she made her
solo debut at Lincoln Center with the American
Symphony Orchestra in Listz’s Dante’s Inferno.
With that same ensemble, she recorded a live
concert version of Die aegyptische Helena as
Hermione, opposite Deborah Voigt’s Helen.
Kathlene’s true passion, musical theater, has been a lifelong pursuit. Her first
role came at the age of 4, when she was cast as Marta in The Sound of Music.
Some of her favorite roles include Sandy from Grease, Adelaide in Guys and
Dolls, Maria in The Sound of Music, and Eliza in My Fair Lady. Two of her
career highlights were performing Sweeney Todd at Lincoln Center with George
Hearn, Patti Lupone, and Neil Patrick Harris, as well as the concert version of
Carousel at Carnegie Hall with Audra McDonald and Hugh Jackman.
In 2011, Kathlene moved to Santa Fe to be the accompanist for the Santa Fe
High School Choral Department and the Director of the Royal School of Church
Music at the Church of the Holy Faith. She also has her business, The RedHeaded Chef, and still finds time to sing with ensembles around the country
including Conspirare (for 20 years!) and the Santa Fe Desert Chorale. She also
enjoys being an on-air announcer for Classical 95.5 KHFM in Albuquerque.
Charles Wesley Evans
Georgia-born singer Charles Wesley Evans has
been applauded by the New York Times for his
“elegant, mellifluous and expressive baritone”
by the Miami Herald. Mr. Evans began singing
professionally at age eleven as a chorister at
The American Boychoir School (Princeton,
NJ), where he toured both nationally and
internationally, singing under the batons of such
notables as John Williams, Zubin Mehta, James
Levine, Kurt Masur, and Claudio Abbado.
Mr. Evans’s successful career as a concert
soloist and professional chorus member has led to awards from numerous
organizations and vocal competitions, including the National Association of
Teachers of Singing, Mobile Opera Auditions, Orpheus Vocal Competition,
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Atlanta Music Club Auditions, and Georgia Young Artist Competition.
His most recent engagements have included concerts with the Cathedral of
the Basilica Chorus and Orchestra, the Dryden Ensemble, the San Antonio
Symphony Orchestra, Music in the Somerset Hills, and as a featured artist for
the Carmel Bach Festival’s recital series. Mr. Evans is also proud to be on the
roster of Seraphic Fire, Clarion Ensemble, Spire Ensemble, and a proud member
of Austin’s own Conspirare.
MUSIC
at the
BLANTON
Highlights of his current season include performances with TENET ensemble,
Choral Society-Grace Church of New York, Spire Ensemble, and a concert tour of
the southeast with pianist Damien Sneed. Mr. Evans holds a Bachelor of Arts in
Music from Brewton-Parker College in Mt. Vernon, GA with further study at the
Boston Conservatory of Music and Westminster Choir College of Rider University.
THOMAS BURRITT
Percussionist Thomas Burritt received music
degrees from Ithaca College School of Music,
Kent State University (MM), and Northwestern
University (DMA). Active in the creation and
performance of new music for percussion, Burritt has built a reputation in chamber music, as
a percussion soloist, and a concert marimbist.
He has performed regularly at the Leigh Howard Stevens International Marimba Seminar
and was a featured faculty performer at the
2007 and 2009 Zeltsman Marimba Festival.
In April 2004 Burritt performed in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall as member of the Hammers and Sticks Ensemble. Later the same year the Hammers
and Sticks Ensemble released a CD on the Innova label featuring works by Steven Mackey, Zhou Long, Alvin Singleton, Alex Shapiro, Joseph Harchanko, and
Belinda Reynolds. Burritt has been active as a percussion soloist, performing
percussion concertos by Steve Mackey, Joseph Schwantner, Michael Dougherty,
David Maslanka, John Mackey, Eric Ewazen and James MacMillan.
Burritt has recorded for guitarist Eric Johnson, recording artist David Byrne,
and Conspirare. His latest solo marimba recording Groundlines is now available at thomasburritt.bandcamp.com, iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and Rdio.
In 2011 Burritt was named “Best Guy to Beat the Drum for Percussion” by the
Austin Chronicle, and in spring 2012, he was cited as being one of “The Most
Influential Music Professors on Twitter.” He is currently Associate Professor
of Percussion and Director of Percussion Studies at the University of Texas at
Austin and is a clinician for LLC/Malletech Instruments, Malletech Mallets,
Zildjian Cymbals, and Grover Pro Percussion.
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Bach Cantata
A joint program with the UT Butler
School of Music. Performances held
in the Blanton’s Rapoport Atrium.
Tuesday, January 29 | 12pm
Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid BWV 3
Tuesday, February 26 | 12pm
Sei Lob und Ehr dem höchsten Gut BWV 117
Tuesday, March 26 | 12pm
Missa Brevis in F BWV 233
Tuesday, April 30 | 12pm
Freue dich, erlöste Schar (St. John Baptist
June 24) BWV 30
Media sponsor:
The University of Texas at Austin | MLK at Congress
Austin, TX 78701 | blantonmuseum.org | (512) 471-7324
facebook.com/BlantonMuseumofArt
SoundSpace: Alt-classical
Sunday, March 10 | 2pm
Exciting visual and sonic experiences
in simultaneous performances
throughout the museum. Featuring
music by young composers who
transcend distinctions between
classical and rock.
Brass Ensemble: Renaissance
Sunday, March 3 | 2pm
Scott Hanna conducts an ensemble
from the Butler School of Music
performing compositions from the
Renaissance era.
Jazz Trio: Expressionism
Sunday, May 5 | 2pm
Jeff Hellmer leads a faculty trio from
the Butler School of Music through
improvisations inspired by the
expressionist era in art and music.
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About Conspirare
nominations. Harmonia Mundi released Requiem internationally in 2009, and
it received the Netherlands’ prestigious 2010 Edison Award in the choral music
category. The Edison is the Dutch equivalent of the U.S. Grammy.
A third recording, Threshold of Night, was released worldwide in September
2008 on the Harmonia Mundi label, Conspirare’s first title for the distinguished
recording company. Threshold of Night received two Grammy nominations.
In October 2008, in cooperation with Austin’s public television station KLRU,
Conspirare filmed a PBS television special, “A Company of Voices: Conspirare
in Concert.” The program was broadcast nationally in March 2009, is available
on both DVD and CD, and received a Grammy nomination. Conspirare’s latest
recordings, Sing Freedom! African American Spirituals and Samuel Barber:
An American Romantic were released in September 2011 and September 2012
respectively, both on Harmonia Mundi.
In 2005 Conspirare received the Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence
from national service organization Chorus America. In 2007, as one of the select choruses to receive a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts under
its American Masterpieces initiative, Conspirare presented a four-day festival
with a distinguished gathering of composers and conductors, performances of
three world premieres, and a gala closing concert with a 600-voice choir.
The word “conspirare” derives from the Latin “con” and “spirare”
translated as “to breathe together.”
Founded in 1991 to present a summer classical music festival in Austin, Texas,
Conspirare has grown to become an internationally recognized, professional
choral organization now celebrating its twentieth season. Led by founder and
artistic director Craig Hella Johnson, Conspirare is comprised of two performing ensembles and an educational program. A professional chamber choir
(“Company of Voices”) of extraordinarily talented singers from around the
country is presented in an annual concert series in Austin, other Texas communities, and locations in the U.S. and abroad. The Conspirare Symphonic
Choir of both professional and volunteer singers performs large choral/orchestral works, often in collaboration with other organizations such as the Austin
Symphony. The Conspirare Youth Choirs is an educational program for singers
ages 8-17, who learn and perform in two separate ensembles, Kantorei and the
Conspirare Children’s Choir.
In July 2008 Conspirare represented the U.S. at the Eighth World Symposium
on Choral Music in Copenhagen, joining invited choirs from nearly forty
countries. The choir has performed at the American Choral Directors Association annual convention and for several regional ACDA conventions. Conspirare
received the 2010 Dale Warland Singers Commission Award from Chorus
America to support the commission of a new work by Seattle composer Eric
Banks. In February 2011 Conspirare gave three invited performances in New
York City under auspices of the Weill Music Institute of Carnegie Hall. In
March 2012 the ensemble toured several Midwestern states, and in fall 2012
traveled to France for six invited performances at the Polyfollia Festival and a
public concert in Paris.
Conspirare made its first commercial recording, through the green fuse, in 2004
on the Clarion Records label. A second CD, Requiem, also on Clarion and since
reissued by Harmonia Mundi, was released in 2006 and received two Grammy®
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33
About Craig Hella Johnson
a way that I have never experienced before. He is a great musician.” Composer
and collaborator Robert Kyr observed, “Craig’s attitude toward creating a community of artists … goes beyond technical mastery into that emotional depth
and spiritual life of the music.”
Johnson was Director of Choral Activities at the University of Texas at Austin (1990-2001) and remains an active educator, teaching and giving clinics
statewide, nationally, and internationally at conferences and universities. In
fall 2012 he became the first Artist in Residence at the Texas State University
School of Music. As composer, arranger, and music editor, Johnson works with
G. Schirmer Publishing and Alliance Music Publications; his works have sold
thousands of copies.
Johnson has been honored with numerous awards, including 2008 induction into
the Austin Arts Hall of Fame, Chorus America’s 2009 Louis Botto Award for Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal, and the 2011 Citation of Merit from
international professional music fraternity Mu Phi Epsilon. Johnson studied at
St. Olaf College, the Juilliard School, and the University of Illinois, and earned
his doctorate at Yale University. He has been a Texas resident since 1990.
Craig Hella Johnson brings unparalleled depth of knowledge, artistic sensitivity, and rich imagination to his programs. As founder and artistic director of the
five-time Grammy®-nominated, Austin-based professional choir Conspirare,
Johnson assembles some of the finest singers in the country to form a worldclass ensemble. Johnson is also artistic director of the Victoria Bach Festival,
a major regional summer festival that attracts audiences from all over the state.
He has also served as guest conductor with the Austin Symphony, San Antonio
Symphony, and others in Texas, the U.S., and abroad.
Through these activities as well as Conspirare’s recordings on the internationally distributed Harmonia Mundi label and performances in multiple Texas
communities and beyond, Johnson brings national and international recognition
to the Texas musical community.
Beloved by audiences, lauded by critics and composers, and revered by vocal
and instrumental musicians, Johnson is known for crafting musical journeys
that create deep connections between performers and listeners. A unique aspect
of Johnson’s programming is his signature “collage” style: programs that
marry music of many styles from classical to popular to create profoundly moving experiences. The Wall Street Journal has praised Johnson’s ability to “find
the emotional essence other performers often miss.” Distinguished composer
John Corigliano wrote, “I believe that [Johnson] has understood my music in
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35
Board of Directors Staff
Craig Hella Johnson
Robert J. Karli, Chair
Artistic Director
Mary Anne Connolly, Secretary
Larry Collmann, Treasurer
David C. Smith
Doug Bain
Interim Managing Director
Ken Beck
William C. Bednar
Tamara Blanken
Fran Collmann
Online Services Manager
Patrick DeLaune
Toya Cirica Haley
Melissa J. Eddy
Robert Harlan
Publications & Grants Manager
Richard Hartgrove
Eric Leibrock
Rick Gabrillo
Hope Morgan
Associate Conductor, Production Manager
E. Stuart Phillips
Marion Lear Swaybill
Wravan Godsoe
Sheila Wojcik
Office Manager
Sheila Youngblood
In memoriam: David Clark
David Hammond
Director of Patron Relations
Advisory Board
Stephen Aechternacht
John Aielli
Sue Barnes
Mark Bierner
Ray Brimble
David Burger
David Claflin
Virginia Dupuy
Maydelle Fason
JoLynn Free
Billy Gammon
Vance George
Helen Hays
Dan Herd
William B. Hilgers
Wayne Holtzman
Judith Jellison
Bob Murphy
Lynn Murphy
Gayle Glass Roche
Nancy Scanlan
Angela Smith
Bernadette Tasher
Louann Temple
Eva Womack
In memoriam: Cassandra James
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Supporters
Season Sustaining Underwriter
Business & Foundation Supporters
The Aaron Copland
Bain
Fund for Music
Consulting
The Ann & Gordon
Getty Foundation
Robert Harlan
Production Coordinator
Meri Krueger
Artist Relations
Kristie McCune
Director of Finance
Ann McNair
Executive Assistant to the Artistic Director
& Director of Artistic Operations
Nina Revering
Director, Conspirare Youth Choirs
Jennifer Tynan
Director of Marketing and Public Relations
Manager, Conspirare Youth Choirs
Nicki Turman
House Manager
Ashton Wingfield
Administrator, Conspirare Youth Choirs
The Kodosky
Foundation
The Mattsson McHale
Foundation
The Still Water
Foundation
The Keating
Family
Foundation
Russell Hill Rogers
Fund for the Arts
The Rachael &
Ben F. Vaughan
Foundation
Public Funding Agencies
This project is funded and supported in part by a grant from the
Texas Commission on the Arts and the City of Austin through the
Cultural Arts Division, believing an investment in the arts is an
investment in Austin’s future. Visit Austin at NowPlayingAustin.com.
This project is also supported in part by an award from the National
Endowment for the Arts. Art Works.
Media Sponsors
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annual fund
Support Conspirare
ANNUAL FUND FOCUS: BEHIND THE PODIUM - THE COMPANY OF VOICES
Craig Hella Johnson assembles some of the finest singers in the country to form Company
of Voices, the award-winning chamber choir committed to creating dynamic choral art. The
singers typically gather in Austin shortly before each concert. Under Johnson’s direction,
the ensemble rehearses and shapes each program to world-class performance standard
within a matter of days.
Inspired by the power of music to change lives,
conspirare engages audiences in extraordinary musical experiences
through world-class choral performances and recordings.
YOUR ANNUAL FUND GIFT AT WORK
Your Annual Fund gift will help bridge the gap between ticket sales and operating expenses.
Your contribution is a sound investment:
the reach of Conspirare: where our singers live and tour
• Over 70 cents of every dollar contributed goes directly towards programming
• Allows Conspirare to offer $10 tickets to any student
(7)
(2)
(2)
(2)
• Keeps ticket prices affordable for all lovers of choral music in our community
(4)
(2)
Conspirare’s Revenue Sources
(2)
(2)
(2)
(19)
C O N S P I R A R E T O U R L O C AT I O N S
COPENHAGEN
PA R I S
C O M PA N Y O F V O I C E S S I N G E R L O C AT I O N S
Learn more about each singer at
Conspirare.org/our-choirs. Turn to
page 32 in this program to read more
about Conspirare and Craig Hella Johnson.
YOUR GIFT TODAY MATTERS EVEN MORE…
An anonymous friend has awarded Conspirare a $40,000 challenge grant for all new, renewed,
WE SING THANKS
and increased gifts received by December 31. This means when you join the Annual Fund
Music creates a living circle that links the hearts of composer, performer, conductor, and
today, your gift will count double.
listener. We invite you to be yet another important part of this dynamic circle: the supporter.
And, when you join today you could win tickets to Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis: Give $100
The music itself – and its promise to inspire and enrich lives – calls Conspirare to a bold
or more by December 31 and your name will be entered to win four premium seats at the
and courageous artistic vision, and we invite supporters to join the musical adventure.
June 9 concert at The Long Center.
We ask you to engage with us and invest in music that has the power to transform. Every
gift you share energizes and sustains us as we make music together and share it with the
broadest audience possible.
38
GIVE TODAY at Conspirare.org/Support
See the insert in this program or visit us online for more information about giving levels and benefits.
39
LEGACY OF SOUND
CELEBRATING TWENTY YEARS AND SHAPING CONSPIRARE’S FUTURE
As we launch our third decade, we are excited and challenged by the opportunity to build
upon the successes of the past 20 years.
Conspirare now seeks to secure its future and solidify its reputation as one of the world’s
finest choral instruments with an ambitious building effort. Our “building,” however, will
not be one of bricks and mortar. Rather, we invite our friends, patrons and supporters to
join us in building A Legacy of Sound.
The goal of this initiative is $2.2 million and we are delighted to announce a total of $1.7 million already raised! A roll of donors to this special effort is listed on page 43 of this program.
This special campaign, over and above annual operating support, focuses on five priority
areas that, with your help, will take Conspirare to a new level musical excellence:
• Expanded Recording Program: $1 million to increase the number of commercial releases to two or more per year
• Fund for Artistic Innovation: $500,000 to support groundbreaking programs and new works
• Classics of the Repertoire: $125,000 for performances of choral/orchestral
masterworks, especially Baroque
• Expanded Touring Program: $375,000 to meet increased demand for the
choir’s appearances throughout Texas, nationally and internationally
• Financial Stability: $200,000 to retire debt and establish a cash reserve
If you would like to help expand the musical mission of Conspirare with a gift to the Legacy
of Sound, or learn more about this special initiative, please contact Fran Collmann, Twentieth
Anniversary Committee Chair, at 512-422-4746 or visit Conspirare.org/support. Thank you for
helping to expand Conspirare’s stature as an internationally-renowned local treasure.
Celebrate Conspirare’s 20th Anniversary at wondernight. All proceeds from this
fundraiser benefit the Legacy of Sound initiative. See page 47 for more information.
40
Donors
Gifts to Conspirare provide financial support for concerts, recordings, tours,
educational programs, and outreach activities. The following roster of donors
includes cash and in-kind gifts received from individuals, family and private
foundations, businesses, and government agencies between October 1, 2011 and
November 21, 2012. We express our gratitude to each and every one of our donors.
Maestro Circle
City of Austin Cultural Arts Division
Fran & Larry Collmann
The Kodosky Foundation,
Jeff & Gail Kodosky
The Mattsson McHale Foundation
National Endowment for the Arts
South Texas Money Management
Still Water Foundation
Sheila & Ryan Youngblood
Impresario Circle
Anonymous
Catherine & David Clark
The Aaron Copland Fund for Music
Robert & Lara Harlan
Richard Hartgrove & Gary Cooper
The Keating Family Foundation
Michael & Jeanne Klein
Wendi & Brian Kushner
Eric Leibrock & Ellen Justice
Gayle Glass Roche & Mike Roche
Marc & Carolyn Seriff
Benefactor Circle
Mark Bierner & Cassandra James
Helen & Bob Hays
Robert & Trish Karli
Louise Morse
Jack & Susan Robertson
Nancy Scanlan
TesCom
Sheila Wojcik
Platinum Baton Circle
Bain Consulting
Ken & Joyce Beck
William C. Bednar & Flo Ann Randle
Patrick DeLaune & Sadaf Khan
The Fetzer Institute
Susanna & Richard Finnell
Charles Martin
Joyce Mayer
Jerele & Elizabeth Neeld
Louise N. Reeser
Russell Hill Rogers Fund for the Arts
Dian & Harlan Stai
Jeffrey L. Taylor & Janelle Curlin-Taylor
The Rachael & Ben F. Vaughan Foundation
Jeanie & Bill Wyatt
Golden Baton Circle
Dan Bullock & Annette Carlozzi
David & Janis Claflin
Jeri DeAngelis
William R. Dickson
Thomas Driscoll & Nancy Quinn
JoLynn & Gregory Free
Mary Nell Frucella
Ann & Gordon Getty Foundation
Cheline Jaidar
Lou Ann & Bill Lasher
Vincent Parsons
Carlisle Pearson
Stu Phillips
Rebecca & Phil Powers
Scott & Pam Reichardt
Dick & Lynn Rew
The Honorable Bea Ann Smith
Susanne Tetzlaff & Eric Tiblier
Texas Commission on the Arts
Sandi & Bob Tomlinson
William & Anne Wagner
Eva & Marvin Womack
Silver Baton Circle
Anonymous(2)
Katherine Brooks
Robert & Pat Brueck
Ernest & Sarah Butler
Chris & J. Dennis Cavner
Mike Chesser
Mary Anne Connolly
Marie Crane
Crutch & Danna Crutchfield
Robert F. Dailey
Melissa Eddy & Tracy Schiemenz
Lot Ensey
Rev. Dr. Ann Fields
Fischer & Wieser Specialty Foods
R. John & Susan Fox
Rick & Evelyn Gabrillo
Susan & Jerry Gatlin
Impact Austin
Morris & Marge Johnson
Cynthia Keever
Joan & Thomas Kobayashi
Timothy Koock
Mark & Lauren Levy
Peter Scott Lewis
Thomas Lukens
Mary Matus
John & Marcy Melanson
Janet Miller
Milton D. Miller II
Hope Morgan & Mike Taborn
Andy Murphy
Doug & Suzi Nelson
William Nemir
Linda & Robert Ramsey
Forest & Susan Rees
Karin Richmond
Peter & Alice Rose
Peter Schram & Harry Ullmann
Max & Gene Alice Sherman
Angela & Charles Smith
David Smith
James Stolpa
Marion Lear Swaybill
Bernadette Tasher
Ben & Daphne Vaughan
Kathleen Wicoff
Catherine & David Wildermuth
Susie Wilson
Sponsors
Anonymous
Robert Abrams & Cynthia Vance Abrams
Robert & Patricia Ayres
Frank Bean & Carolyn Boyd
Becky Beaver & John Duncan
Klaus Bichteler & Mary Parse
Kyle Bryson
Richard Campbell
Pablo Cardenas
David & Nathasha Collmann
41
Stuart & Paula Damore
Dorothy Drummer & Greg Eden
Maydelle F. Fason
Gwen & Bruce Flory
Cheryl Fuller
Kim & Steve Gilbert
Susan Gregerson
Toya Haley
Janet Hendricks
Jeanne & Van Hoisington
Carr Hornbuckle & Jack Leifer
Diane Ireson
Julie Keim
David Kendrick
Ellen Key
Eva & Chris Laskaris
Karen & Paul Leeke
Kati Lewis
Carolyn & W. Jackson Long
Kelly Loudenslager & Christopher Goodpastor
Sheila Lummis
Phil & Sue Maxwell
Ivan Milman & Janie Keys
Linda Monk
Ann Moody
Jack & Karen O’Quin
Oregon Community Foundation
Graydon Parrish
Brian & Lynn Powell
Donna & Christy Salinas
Amy Shipherd
Margo Smith
Anna & Don Sorensen
Virgil & LaFern Swift
Chris & Chesney Szaniszlo
Carole Taxis
Lois VanLaningham
Marc & Suzanne Winkelman
42
Patrons
Molly Anderson
Bob & Marcia Bailey
Cindy & Pat Behling
Brenda Berstis
Pat Fatter Black
Ann & Jeff Bomer
Casey Boyter
Patricia Cherico
Dean & Gwen Collmann
Janie Cook
Eric & Lisa Craven
Paula D’Arcy
Paul Dlabal
Sharon Duboise
Bobby & June Dunn
Carol Flake
Carolyn Fritz
Billy & Regan Gammon
Barbara Gibbs & John Driggers
Harvey & Kathleen Guion
David & Martha Harrington
Brian Hencey & Chuck Ross
Walter & Ann Herbst
Debbie Horne
Melissa Huebsch
Bobbie Kaye Jones & David Gilliam
Greg & Cynthia Kozmetsky
Lawrence Lawver
Nora Lieberman
Emily Little
Krzysztof & Teresa Lyson
Peter Martino
Debe & Kevin McKeand
Ann McNair
Bert & Phyllis McNelly
Evan Morgan
Susan Nash Fekety
Anne Praderas & Tony Vance
Randalls
Flo Ann Randle
Bev & Milbrey Raney
Jean G. Rather
Louis Renaud
Hamilton & Joanne Richards
Martha Rochelle
Michal Rosenberger
Augustin Rubio
Dan Seriff
Jackie & Bob Shapiro
Marilyn Sharratt
Carole & Charles Sikes
Derald Skeen
James T. Sotiros
Elizabeth Stewart
Robert & Eileen Sudela
Don & Faith Trapp
Nicki & Scott Turman
Linda & Nick Van Bavel
Barbara Vervenne
Ben Wear
Jimmy Williams
Bill Wood & Elsa Vorwerk
William Wood
Nancy & Brown Word
Suzanne M. Mitchell & Richard A. Zansitis
Sustainers
Anonymous(2)
Hillary Anderson
Joy Anderson
Brent Baldwin
Scott Ballew
Kevin J. & Barbara Barry
Ross & Kristin Bassinger
Susan Beckerman
Andrea Black
Billye Brown
Neil Bubke
Anne Busquet
Nancy Campbell Cise Hanchett
Janet Carlsen Campbell
Julie Carterson
Harvey Caughey
Nathaniel & Elizabeth Chapin
Sandy Chase
Terry & Barbara Collier
Dwayne & Barbara Cooper
Cina Crisara
Karel Dahmen
Peter Bay & Mela Dailey
Donald Davis
Richard J. Davis
Mary Alice & Michael J. DeBow
Peter & Carol Deninno
Lory & Fred Denson
Karl & Robin Dent
Nina & Jeffrey Di Leo
Sandy Dunn & Paul Harford
Carl & Kathryn Ehlert
Scott Elkin
Bert & Elaine Enriquez
Sally Estes
Juli Fellows
John & Barbara Fibiger
Kyle Fieleke
Carol Fleming
Claire & Chris Flynn
Christa Burns
William G. Gamel
Elliot Gerson
Mary Gifford
Vivian & Bob Glick
Glenda Goehrs
Joan Goldfield
Jim & Jo Green
James & Mary Louise Gwynn
Karen Hale & Al Lindsey
Randy & Suzie Harriman
Carolyn Harris-Hynson
Jane Hembree
Robert Hollingsworth
Celeste Hubert
Jeffrey Hudson & Robert Blodgett
Todd Jermstad
Beth & Greg Judd
James Kelly & Mariam Noland
Gary & Carol Lazarus
Michael Levy
Emily Lodine & Gary Overgaard
Steve & Diane Loeschen
Kathryn & Don Lougheed
Linton & Donna Luetje
Devra Marcus & Michael Horowitz
Jyoti & Aditya Mathur
McAllister Piano Studio
Marsha D. McCary
Karen McLaughlin
Mary McLeod
Connie McMillan
Janis McSwain
Ted & Carol Middelberg
Phyllis Miller
Susan & Jerry Mitchell
Elizabeth Hansing Moon
Nancy Moore
Sean & Beverly Moore
Susan Morgan
Robert Morrell
Chip & Jan Morris
Rebecca Muniz
Judith & William Munyon
Cynthia Norvell
Margaret H. Overbaugh
Thomas Overbaugh
Jim & Joyce Parrish
Cathie Parsley
Robert Patterson & Diana Sellers
Thomas Pavlechko
Edward Pierce
Karen Pope
Diane Post
Mary Pozorski
Anita Prewett
Gary & Cheryl Pyle
Elaine Salazar & Edwin Ramos
Elaine Rathgeber
Ellen W. Rienstra
Gerhild B. Rogers
Leilani Rose
Mary Sanger
Dennis Schaffer
April Schweighart
John & Carol Sharp
Jare & Jim Smith
Jeffrey & Sandra Smith
John Spence
Don & Karen Stabeno
Paul & Alyson Stone
Rebecca Stucky
Mrs. Louis Stumberg
John C. R. Taylor III & Peter Flagg Maxson
Emily Tracy & Berthold Haas
Susan Trautmann
Ben & Barb Truskoski
Kathryn Turpin
William Twilley
John Uglum
Carla Umlauf & Cass Cheesar
Cynthia & Mark Vanderberg
Willis Waldron
Debra Watkins
Deborah Wattman
Kendra Welton-Lipman
Valerie Wenger
Doreen Wheeler
Geoff & Ginny Willig
Martin Wojciechowski
Neile & Jan Wolfe
Conspirare also thanks all donors of gifts under $100
and regrets that space does not permit the listing of each
name. Your support is equally appreciated. We strive to
publish an accurate donor list. If an error or omission is
noticed, please let us know.
Legacy of Sound
Conspirare thanks these donors for their generous gifts
and pledges, made over and above ongoing annual
giving. For more information, please see page 40.
Anonymous
Bain Consulting
William C. Bednar & Flo Ann Randle
Robert & Pat Brueck
David & Catherine Clark
Fran & Larry Collmann
Patrick DeLaune & Sadaf Khan
Thomas Driscoll & Nancy Quinn
Robert & Lara Harlan
Helen & Bob Hays
Robert & Trish Karli
The Kodosky Foundation
Wendi & Brian Kushner
Lou Ann & Bill Lasher
Eric Leibrock
The Mattsson McHale Foundation
Louise Morse
E. Stuart Phillips
Rebecca & Phil Powers
Jack & Susan Robertson
Nancy Scanlan
The Hon. Bea Ann Smith
Still Water Foundation
Catherine & David Wildermuth
Sheila Wojcik
Sheila & Ryan Youngblood
Memorial Gifts
Received between August 1 & November 21, 2012
In memory of David Clark:
Christa Fuller Burns
Catherine Clark
Terry & Barbara Collier
John & Kathryn Dyer
James Kelly & Mariam Noland
Emily Lodine & Gary Overgaard
John & Carol Sharp
Don & Karen Stabeno
Chris & Chesney Szaniszlo
Kathryn Turpin
United States Rowing Association
Linda Wurzbach
In memory of Avis Jane Davis:
Donald Davis
In memory of Cassandra James:
William & Jessica Barrick
Mark Bierner
James & Toni Bruseth
Diane Burke
James Coates
Fran & Larry Collmann
Peter & Carol Deninno
Dick & Ina Eiseman
Lynn & Jerry Eisenstatt
John & Judy Hovre
Eric Leibrock & Ellen Justice
Michael Levy
Devra Marcus & Michael Horowitz
Karen Pope
Anita Prewett
Susan Rankin
Gayle Glass Roche & Mike Roche
Norton & Judith Waterman
Bill Wilson
Martin Wojciechowski
43
Thank You
The Holiday Gala
JoLynn Free, Chair
Table Hosts:
Ken & Joyce Beck
Fran & Larry Collmann
Susanna & Richard Finnell
JoLynn & Gregory Free
Richard Hartgrove & Gary Cooper
Jeff & Gail Kodosky
Wendi & Brian Kushner
Carolyn, Marc & Dan Seriff
South Texas Money Management
Sheila & Ryan Youngblood
Conspirare Christmas
44
Austin American Statesman
Austin Chronicle
Roland Barrera
Cameron & Beth Beauchamp*
Taja Beekley
Bruce Biermann
Pat Black
Blanton Museum of Art
Sam & Ann Byars*
Chez Zee
Chris Cavner
Cheryl Crews
Kevin Culver
Vickie Dunlevy
Dale Elmshaeuser
James Elrod
Marion Elrod*
Michelle Fisher
Caroline Frommhold
Mary Gifford
Glenda Goehrs*
Kathryn Govier
Becky Greathouse
Kate Groesbeck
Helen Hays
Jeanne Henry
Sara Hilgers
Hornaday Design
Rod Howard
Virginia Hyde
Valerie Jeannin
Nora Klier
KMFA-FM
KUT-FM
Kathy Leighton
Lewis & Joy Lucke
Maurice & Julie Mazel
John & Ginger McKay
Deborah Meleski
Nancy Michalewicz
Ray & Kathy Moore*
Jeanette Morton
Valerie Morton
Bill Nemir*
Christopher Novosad, Tiki2.com
Trish O’Day
Philip Overbaugh
Darla Peek
Betsy Pharis
Diana Phillips
PEACE
COMFORT
JOY
Karen Sachar Photography
South Texas Money Management
– Jeanie Wyatt, Josie Dorris
Bernadette Tasher*
TesCom, Inc.
Beth Thomas
Veryan & Greg Thompson
Brian Trodden
Colleen and Rob Tulloh
University Federal Credit Union
Victoria Bach Festival – Nina Di Leo
Carol Walker
Ben Wear
Mitch Weynand
Sheila & Ryan Youngblood*
*Special thanks to
Artist Hospitality Volunteers
Victoria Performance
Concert Sponsors
Texas Commission on the Arts
University of Houston-Victoria
Cheryl Atherton & William Powell
Victoria Advocate
Victoria Television Group
Wendall Wheeler Wilson
Border Swabbing, Inc.
Alice & Gary Childress
John Griffin & Lynn Knaupp
Hardin Tubular Sales
Kelly & Casey Kucera
Dr. Fred Lykes
Thomas M. O’Connor
Aggie & John Quitta
Roth Construction
Anne & Will Wagner
Ron & Kay Walker
Dorothy Alcorn
Ann & Elton Calhoun
First Victoria
Mary Sue & Tom Nelson
C.L. Thomas, Inc.
Betty & Bill Thomas
Acknowledgments
Concertronics – Wilbur Collins
KEDT/KVRT 90.3/90.7 FM
Leo J. Welder Center for the Performing Arts
George & Joyce Matthews
Junior League of Victoria
Matthew Schneider
Rev. Jarrell Sharp
Victoria Symphony
Calibration Services
•
• Certified Metrologists
• Local Pickup & Delivery
• Expedite Service Available
• Accredited to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 &
ANSI/NCSL Z540.1.1994
• Repair Depot
• Sale of New & Refurbished Equipment
Season Sustaining Underwriter
and Sponsor of the Holiday Gala
Since 1999
45
Come celebrate
the wonder
that is Conspirare.
Stand with us in awe
of this authentic
expression of song.
Of humanity. Of joy.
Be part of a magical
monumental evening
of feasting, voices,
experiential delight,
immersive musical
moments and a
joining together of
those who lovingly
contribute to the
wonder of it all.
Tickets and
Sponsorships
512.476.5775
or
conspirare.org
46
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48