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SAN JOAQUIN CHORALE
Soprano 1
Katie Holloway
Jane Ludlow
Carol Penner
Joleen Siebert
Marie Swasey
Chelsea Vongehr
Cindy Wulfing
Soprano 2
Mai Betterley
Tiffany Dunbar
Gloria Green
Anne Guenther
Sharon Krause
Rebekah Martin
Kathy Penner
Christy Rocca
Karen Taggart
Alto 1
Jocelyn Bergman
Meg Buckingham
Tina Carter
Marissa Clay
Marlis Croissant
Suzy Gazlay
Audrey Hanson
Patti Hyder
Toshiko Norimoto
Karen Peterson
Kristine Roberson
Amy Scott
Linda Sward
Lori Wall
Denise Wiens
Alto 2
Jill DePartee
Carol Gibbons
Virginia Jolliff
Glenda Mabry
Shirley Roberts
Arlene Steffen
Melody Whiteaker
Melissa Vallejos
Julie Wiens
Website: sanjoaquinchorale.com
Tenor 1
Bryan Carlson
Davis Maga
Rob Roberson
Enrique Vasquez
Tenor 2
Oscar Luna
Bobby Martin
Robert Mertens
Eli Micu
Dick Peterson
Eduardo Piña
Baritone
Roger Bergman
Bruce Bybee
Barry Guenther
Bill Holloway
Peter McMullen
Hunter Reilly
Roger Salley
Esteban Solis
Ken Wenger
Fresno Pacific University Music Department
presents
San Joaquin
CHORALE
The Colors of Christmas
Bass
Kenneth Berg
Mark Carter
Greg Lanson
Jeffrey Lusk
Gene Sperling
James Stroup
Walter Wall
FLUTE
Marissa Clay
TAMBOURINE
Peter McMullen
Dr. Roy L. Klassen, director
Kevin Memley, accompanist
Saturday, December 7, 2013 at 7:30 p.m.
First Mennonite Church, Reedley
MUSIC DEPARTMENT
1717 S. Chestnut Avenue, Fresno, CA 93702
559-453-2267 [email protected]
fresno.edu
Sunday, December 8, 2013 at 7:30 p.m.
First Congregational Church, Fresno
San Joaquin Chorale
PROGRAM
• Gaelic Alleluia
arr. Craig Courtney (b. 1954)
A native of Indiana, Courtney began playing the piano at the age of three and
the cello at the age of eleven. He received Bachelors and Masters degrees in piano
performance at the University of Cincinnati. During this time Mr. Courtney began
directing a church choir and composing sacred choral music. He now resides in
Columbus, Ohio.
Gaelic Alleluia is a setting of the traditional hymn tune Puer Nobis,
thought to have its origin in Trier, Germany. However, it may have
originated even earlier with roots in folk culture. Courtney’s Advent
setting is from a text by Charles Coffin (1676-1749)
• Ave Maria gratia plena a 8
Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599)
Guerrero was one of the two great Spanish composers of his generation,
second only to Tomás Luis de Victoria. At the age of 17, he was already appointed
maestro de capilla (singing master, i.e. music director) at Jaén Cathedral in Spain.
Later he took a similar position in Seville. While there, Guerrero traveled to the
Holy Land. On the return trip his ship was twice attacked by pirates who
threatened his life, stole his money, and held him for ransom. He returned to
Spain, but unfortunately had no money and endured a series of misfortunes
including some time in debtors’ prison. In 1599, the Cathedral granted him leave
to revisit the Holy Land but he died of the plague in Seville later that year.
Ave Maria or Hail Mary, is a traditional Christian prayer asking for the
intercession of the Virgin Mary. Based on the greeting of the angel
Gabriel to Mary in the Gospel of Luke, the prayer takes different forms in
various traditions. In Roman Catholicism, it forms the basis of the Rosary.
In the Eastern Orthodox Churches, a similar prayer is used in formal
liturgies, both in Greek and in translations.
Mother of God and Virgin, rejoice, Mary full of grace, the Lord is
with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, for thou hast given birth to the Savior of our souls.
• The Piping Carol
James Sclater (b. 1943)
James Sclater took piano lessons as a young child and started clarinet in the
eighth grade. After some early attempts at composition, he enrolled at the
University of Southern Mississippi as a composition major. In 1970, he was
awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition from the University of Texas at
Austin. Sclater taught music theory and composition at Mississippi College in
Clinton, MS for forty years, retiring in 2010.
The composer wrote the text and music for The Piping Carol in 2004. It
was one of two winners in the Vocal Essence 2004 ‘Welcome Christmas’
contest and was premiered by Philip Brunelle and the Vocal Essence
chorus at their Christmas concert.
AARON M. BRYAN
Aaron is a native of the Fresno area,
currently residing in Dinuba with his wife
Tracy and sons, Luke and Matthew. Aaron
received his B.A. in Music Education and
California Teaching Credential from
Fresno Pacific University and completed
the coursework for his Master of Music Degree at California
State University, Los Angeles under the mentorship of Donald
Brinegar and Dr. William Belan. Aaron has been teaching
choral music for 11 years, currently serving as the director
of the Choral Music Department for Riverdale Joint Unified
School District. Aaron has been a featured soloist in Fresno
Pacific University’s Pacific Artist Series, performing Brahms’
Liebeslieder Walzer and, most recently, the tenor role in
Mendelssohn’s Elijah, under the baton of Dr. Roy Klassen.
MELINDA (MINDY) RAMOS
Mindy, originally from Paso Robles, has
called Fresno her home for the past 15 years.
She completed a degree in Vocal Performance
and a Teaching Credential from Fresno Pacific
University and currently holds a private voice
studio. Ramos has performed on numerous
musical theater and classical stages,
including, Into the Woods (Rapunzel), Amahl
and the Night Visitors (Mother), Die
Zauberflöte (Pamina), Dido and Aeneas (Dido),
Hansel and Gretel (Hansel). Some of her most
memorable performances were her soprano solo work in
Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Brahms’ Requiem. Ramos has
had the privilege of working and studying with Dr. Klassen
for 15 years and is thrilled to share the stage with him again.
She is happily married to her husband Andre; they have two
beautiful daughters, Amelia and Sophia, and this year
welcomed their son Alexander.
• Child of the Stable’s Secret Birth
Thomas Hewitt Jones (b. 1984)
Jones is an award-winning composer of both concert and commercial music and
was winner of the BBC Young Composer Competition in 2003.
“Child of the Stable’s Secret Birth was the first Christmas carol I ever
wrote, just after leaving Cambridge University, where I produced a couple
of recordings for John Rutter. He premiered this carol in his Albert Hall
concert with the Cambridge Singers & the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in
2012. I really enjoy writing carols because the form of a carol requires a
very structured approach to provide a musical journey that helps the words
(rather than fights them), and fully evokes their emotion and feel. I
decided to set these words by Timothy Dudley-Smith because they are a
very beautiful alternative representation of the birth of Jesus.”
Solo: Melinda Ramos, Christy Rocca
• Gospel Magnificat
Patti Drennan (b. 1952)
Drennan earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree at Oklahoma State
University and a Masters of Music Education degree at the University of Oklahoma.
She taught Choral Music for twenty-eight years in Norman Public Schools where
she was voted “Teacher of the Year”. In 2004, she was awarded the coveted
“Director of Distinction Award” given yearly by the Oklahoma Choral Directors
Association. She retired from teaching in 2004 in order to compose and stay active
as a clinician and workshop presenter. She also serves as Music and Worship Arts
Director at First Baptist Church, Norman.
Gospel Magnificat demonstrates Drennen’s love for writing and playing
gospel music. “I love all facets of this genre. I was given a rough idea from
a choral editor to write this Luke 1:46-55 scripture in a gospel style. Call
and response with a soloist is so prevalent in this type of music and thus
found in my anthem.”
Solo: Melinda Ramos
• Ding Dong! Merrily On High
arr. Stephen Mager (b. 1956)
Mager has been composer-in-residence for the Bach Society of Saint Louis since
2004. He was honored as the Composer of the Year by the American Guild of
Organists in 2001, an award that acknowledged his service to the cause of sacred
music.
About Ding Dong! Merrily on High the composer states, “Rather than
attempt to improve upon the original theme, one ought to display its
beauty so that it shines to its own best advantage. My objective as a
composer is to present this carol in a style that reflects its own distinctive
national and expressive character.”
• Ave Maria
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Mendelssohn is regarded as the 19th century equivalent of Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart. He may have realized more import during his lifetime had his life not been
marred with hardships. After his death he was recognized as one of the best and
most influential composers to have lived. He wrote a significant amount of sacred
music covering a time span from 1821 -- when he was 12 -- to the year of his
death.
This setting of Ave Maria is from Three Sacred Choruses written in
1830 and was first performed in Bonn in the same year. Nowhere is
Mendelssohn’s creative talent more poignantly exposed than in his choral
works. Tonight’s performance includes only the first 48 measures of a
much longer work. The Three Sacred Choruses were composed directly in
response to one of his first visits to Vatican City. In the Neue Zeitschrift
für Musik a critic wrote, “This music speaks so convincingly of Mary’s
sanctity that it could lead a non-Catholic to her. Here we find the most
tender tonal colors of edification, worship and religious thought directed
toward Heaven.”
Solo: Aaron Bryan
• Lullay My Liking
Stephen Chatman (b. 1950)
One of Canada’s most prominent composers, Chatman, Professor of Composition at The University of British Columbia, since 1976, is the first Canadian ever
short-listed in the BBC Masterprize International Competition. As Professor of
composition, orchestration, co-director of University of British Columbia
Contemporary Players new music ensemble, and Head of the UBC School of Music
composition division, Dr. Chatman has taught a generation of prominent Canadian
composers.
Lullay My Liking is a setting of a well-known early Renaissance
traditional English text.
Solos: Melinda Ramos, Christy Rocca, Arlene Steffen
• A Night of Birth
Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)
arr. Severin Behnen (b. 1953)
Behnen received his Ph.D. in Music Composition from UCLA in 2008. He
teaches at Los Angeles Valley College and continues research into the
development and testing of various types of musical notation in an interactive
motion graphics environment. Chopin, a Polish composer, wrote this etude in
1830.
Based on Chopin’s piano Etude in C# minor, this is an original choral
setting by Behnen. With his permission, the Christmas text was written by
Roy Klassen.
• O Little Town of Bethlehem
arr. Steven Paulus (b. 1949)
Paulus is an American composer best known for his operas and choral music.
He has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and Guggenheim Foundation and won the prestigious Kennedy Center Friedheim Prize. Paulus
co-founded the American Composers Forum in 1973, the largest composer service
organization in the U.S.
The text for O Little Town of Bethlehem was written by Phillips Brooks
(1835–1893), an Episcopal priest and Rector of the Church of the Holy
Trinity, Philadelphia. Inspiration to write this hymn came after a visit to
Bethlehem in 1865. This arrangement was written by Steven Paulus in
1998. He uses the original melody, left the text the same, but set them to
new harmonies.
• Noe! Noe!
arr. Mack Wilberg (b. 1955)
Wilberg is a composer, arranger, conductor, and choral clinician, as well as the
music director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He attended Brigham Young
University and earned a bachelor’s degree in music in 1979. He then earned a
Ph.D. in music from the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern
California.
Noe! Noe! is a traditional Christmas melody originating in France.
Wilberg’s arrangement was premiered by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in
2008.
• The Colors of Christmas
John Rutter (b. 1945)
Born in London, Rutter studied music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he
was a member of the choir. He served as director of music at Clare College from
1975 to 1979, and led the choir to international prominence. In 1981, Rutter
founded his own choir, the Cambridge Singers, which he conducts and with which
he has made many recordings of sacred choral repertoire (including his own
works). He resides in Cambridgeshire.
The Colors of Christmas was released October 24, 2011. Rutter fell in
love with Christmas carols when he was a chorister in grade school. “It
was really a short step from singing and enjoying carols to saying ‘Why
don’t I write some of my own?’” Rutter explains. “Every now and again I
write a new carol and it’s like a thread that runs through my musical life.
It always brings me back to those happy days as a little boy soprano,
getting so excited about Christmas. For me it just never seems to grow
stale. I look forward to Christmas, hand on heart, every year.”
INTERMISSION
• Magnificat in G
Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)
Sir Charles Stanford was an Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor. He
was educated at the University of Cambridge before studying music in Leipzig and
Berlin. While still an undergraduate, Stanford was appointed organist of Trinity
College, Cambridge. In 1882, he was one of the founding professors of the Royal
College of Music, where he taught composition for the rest of his life. From 1887
he was also the professor of music at Cambridge. Among his pupils were rising
composers whose fame went on to surpass his own, such as Gustav Holst and
Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Magnificat in G is one of Stanford’s best-known choral works. In this
setting, he assigns the “role” of Mary to a solo soprano, though perhaps
we shouldn’t read too much into this because, in the cathedral, the part
would have been sung by a boy treble and tonight by a tenor. The
Magnificat is a translation of the Latin text from the Roman Vespers
Service into English. The words are those sung by the Blessed Virgin Mary
after an angel tells her she is bearing the Christ child.
Solo: Aaron Bryan
• There is No Rose of Such Virtue
Kevin A. Memley (b. 1971)
Kevin started piano lessons at five and began composing at twelve, largely due
to a bet with his father. Kevin’s skills as a composer have been largely self-taught.
His music has been performed world-wide. He currently teaches Music Technology
at Clovis East High School and directs the church choir at the Kingsburg
Community Church. Kevin has been the accompanist for the San Joaquin Chorale
for 12 years.
There is No Rose of Such Virtue was commissioned in 2010 by Travis
Rogers for the Napa High School Chamber Singers. Once written, it was
placed in the Jo-Michael Scheibe Choral Series of Pavane Publishing where
it has remained one of Memley’s most popular a cappella works to date.
Known for his use of complex harmonies and rhythms, Memley has earned
the title of “being a cross between Bernstein and Rutter”. A review of the
piece from music distributor Hal Leonard reads as follows:
“Selected for the Jo-Michael Scheibe Sacred Choral Series,
Kevin Memley brings new life to a classic Christmas text. The textures,
the harmony, the word coloration, the elements that lift this setting
to compete with the established settings in choral literature.”
• Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind
Michael John Trotta (b. 1978)
Trotta earned a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from Louisiana
State University. He has held positions at the middle school, high school, and
university levels. He is currently the Director of Choral Activities at Virginia
Wesleyan College. He currently lives in Virginia Beach. Trotta commented, “Taking
part in choral music, whether as an audience member, singer, conductor, or
composer, is an opportunity to slow down time long enough to allow the beauty of
life to catch up with you.”
Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind is a well-known Shakespeare poem,
taken from Act II, Scene 7 of As You Like It. This song states that physical
suffering caused by frost and winter wind is preferable to the inner
suffering caused by man’s ingratitude.
• Mary Had a Baby
arr. Craig Courtney
Every verse of Mary Had a Baby ends with ‘The people keep a-comin’ and
the train done gone.’ Trains were a new reality in the newly emerging
industrial age of the early nineteenth century. They connected places that
had been previously isolated. Trains represented a way out, whether
physical, spiritual, or imaginative. There is also the historical image of the
Underground Railroad, which took passengers from station to station on
its way to physical freedom. Mary’s baby represents freedom, salvation
and deliverance. Jesus is the way out of sin and death.
Solo: Melinda Ramos