Voices of Hope, A Choral Tapestry

Program

*Please hold applause until after indicated selections.
Philip Camp, Director
Anh Van Collins, Collaborative Pianist

Zion's Walls

Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
Praise Choir

Come fathers and mothers,
Come sisters and brothers,
Come join us in singing the praises of Zion.
O fathers, don’t you feel determined
To meet within the walls of Zion?
We’ll shout and go round
The walls of Zion.

For the better part of four decades, as composer of operas, ballets, orchestral music, band music, chamber music, choral music, film music, teacher, writer of books and articles on music, organizer of musical events, and a much sought after conductor, Copland expressed “the deepest reactions of the American consciousness to the American scene.” He received more than 30 honorary degrees and many additional awards. With original melody and words credited to John G. McMurry, compiler of the Social Harp (1855), Aaron Copland’s setting of this 19^th century Revivalist hymn tune was also used in his opera, The Tender Land.

Sing, my Child

Sarah Quartel
Chamber Singers
Soloists: McKenna White, Ethan Christian
Percussion: Ben Haley

Sing for the promise of each new morning.
Sing for the hope in a new day dawning.
All around beauty is bright!
Wake in the morning and sin, my child, sing, my child.

Dance in the joy of the day unfolding.
Dance as you work and dance as you’re learning.
All around is beauty bright!
Take in the day and dance, my child, dance my child.

But when troubles come and worries is all that can be found,
Gather your strength and hear your voice.
Sing, my child.

Laugh in the cool and the fresh of the ev’ning,
Laugh in your triumph, laugh in succeeding.
All around is beauty bright!
Rest in the ev’ning and laugh, my child.

Peace in the stillness and dark of the night.
Peace in the dreams of your silent delights.
All around is beauty bright!
Sleep in the night, and peace, my child, peace my child.

But when troubles come and worries is all that can be found,
Gather your strength and hear your voice.
Sing, my child,
Dance, my child,
Laugh, my child.
Peace, my child, oh…peace, my child.

Canadian composer and educator Sarah Quartel is known for her fresh and exciting approach to choral music. Deeply inspired by the life-changing relationships that can occur while making choral music, Sarah writes in a way that connects singer to singer, ensemble to conductor, and performer to audience. Her works are performed by choirs across the world, and she has been commissioned by groups including the American Choral Directors Association, the National Children's Chorus of the United States of America, and New Dublin Voices. Since 2018 she has been exclusively published by Oxford University Press, and she continues to work as a clinician and conductor at music education and choral events at home and abroad.

This joyful text celebrates the beauty found all around us in everyday life. Characterized by tight harmonies and a dynamic percussion line, the buoyant 7/8 meter of the opening drives the piece forward. Lush harmonies color the hymn-like B section as the text evolves into a call for strength despite the troubles that may come. 

This is My Father's World

Arr. Roy Ringwald
Praise Choir
Solo: Brieanna Buescher

Choir directors everywhere rated Roy Ringwald as one of the most accomplished arrangers of the 20^thcentury. His work as an arranger and composer has an individuality of style that has retained its freshness over many years. Battle Hymn of the Republic; Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor; God Bless America; and No Man Is An Island are but a few of the hundreds of his stirring arrangements. Ringwald continued to write music until his death July 11, 1995 at the age of 84.  In this beloved hymn, Ringwald achieves remarkable expression with changes of texture from the simple unison statement opening phrase to fully orchestrated chords that range from high soprano to low bass.

i thank you God for most this amazing day*

e.e Cummings/Dan Forrest
Praise Choir

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)

Dan Forrest found the inspiration for this work while on a bike ride along the Atlantic coast. He described the event:

I’m riding my bike across this narrow bridge that goes across the marsh to get back to the mainland and the wind is pushing through all the reeds on the marshes, and the sun is shining — it’s just the most beautiful thing. And then out of nowhere this beautiful egret rises up out of the marsh, this white bird with a huge wingspan just pure snow white, and it rises up effortlessly and just starts floating across this sea of marsh grass blowing in the wind. And I thought, “i thank you God for most this amazing day.” It was seeing the kind of beauty that e. e. Cummings was talking about in that text. It was very shortly after that, something about the vast marshes and how it’s just grass as far as you can see may have lent itself to that kind of minimalism that starts the work… just a very simple idea like one blade of grass but just repeated as far as the eye could see and yet constantly changing and moving in the wind and morphing into new things and then this bird just rising and floating over the top of all. It is almost like the choir rising and floating over top of all this grass underneath.

Earth Song

Frank Ticheli
Chamber Singers

Sing, Be, Live, See….

This dark stormy hour,
The wind, it stirs.
The scorched earth
cries out in vain:

O war and power,
You blind and blur.
The torn heart
cries out in pain.

But music and singing
Have been my refuge,
And music and singing
Shall be my light.

A light of song
Shining strong: Alleluia! Alleluia.
Through darkness and pain and strife, I’ll
Sing, Be, Live, See….

Peace.

Frank Ticheli's music has been described as being “optimistic and thoughtful" (Los Angeles Times), “lean and muscular" (New York Times), “brilliantly effective" (Miami Herald) and “powerful, deeply felt crafted with impressive flair and an ear for striking instrumental colors" (South Florida Sun-Sentinel). Ticheli (b. 1958) joined the faculty of the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music in 1991, where he is Professor of Composition.  From 1991 to 1998, Ticheli was Composer in Residence of the Pacific Symphony.

Composing both words and music, Ticheli’s Earth Song is an introspective work that expresses both deep longing of peace and healing as the writer experiences extreme tumult and pain. The heartfelt lyricism and rich harmonies add much expression to the poignant text, reflecting both the tension and resolution in the text.

Sure on This Shining Night*

Morten Lauridsen
Chamber Singers

Sure on this shining night
Of star made shadows round,
Kindness must watch for me
This side the ground.
The late year lies down the north.
All is healed, all is health.
High summer holds the earth.
Hearts all whole.
Sure on this shining night I weep for wonder wand'ring far
alone
Of shadows on the stars.

Morten Lauridsen was born in 1943 in the Pacific Northwest, and worked as a Forest Service firefighter and lookout on an isolated tower near Mt. St. Helens, and attended Whitman College before traveling south to study composition at the University of Southern California. He began teaching at USC in 1967 and has been on their faculty ever since. Sure on This Shining Night, on a 1934 poem by James Agee, is the third movement from the Song Cycle Nocturnes. The work utilizes lush, sweeping lines and warm harmonies to evoke a sense of wonder and quiet reverence.

Tshotsholoza

Traditional South African, Adapted by Jeffery L. Ames
Soloist: Matthew Davison
Percussion: Ben Haley
Performed in Zulu and Ndebele dialects

Go forward, go forward on those mountains;
The train is coming from South Africa.
You are running away on tose mountains;
The train is coming from South Africa.

Performed for many generations, Tshotsholoza is often referred as the "unofficial" anthem of South Africa. This song of freedom was sung by the ancient miners who toiled in the South African diamond and gold mines, and by those celebrating Nelson Mandela's release from prison. Furthermore, it was included in the soundtrack from the Oscar-nominated movie "Invictus," and most recently, it served as South Africa's 'battle-call' at the 2010 World Cup.