Women’s Chorale
ITHACA COLLEGE
Janet Galván, conductor
Sarah Broadwell and Marci Rose, collaborative pianists
Conrad Alexander, percussion
Elizabeth Simkin, cello
Emily Preston, graduate conductor
NYSSMA Winter Conference • Lilac Ballroom
Thursday, December 4, 2014 • 8:45 p.m.
Ithaca College
What’s new at the
School of Music?
Delivering innovative and evolving
curricula to educate and prepare music
leaders for the 21st century.
TOURING
Student touring, a cornerstone of the Ithaca experience, will be realized
again this coming April, as the Ithaca College Choir, Wind Ensemble,
and Contemporary Ensemble perform at Lincoln Center. Watch the
2013 documentary film showcasing the previous tour:
b ithaca.edu/music/tour
CONCERTS & GUEST ARTISTS
In addition to more than 350 faculty and student concerts, recent
guest artists, including Richard Goode, Judith Ingolfsson, Calmus,
Distractfold, Chanticleer, the Weilerstein Duo, and Vadym Kholodenko,
have performed on campus. Sign up to receive our concert calendar:
b ithaca.edu/concerts
SUMMER MUSIC ACADEMY
Over 370 students from all over the United States and around the
world are experiencing advanced music instruction with world-class
faculty at our residential pre-college summer program. Watch the
2014 music video documentary:
b ithaca.edu/sma
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Students and faculty are connecting with our community by creating
new partnership programs and participating in dozens of performance
and teaching opportunities:
b ithaca.edu/music/community
WEB STREAMING
Viewers from around the world are tuning in to enjoy an expanded
schedule of concerts in Hockett Family Recital Hall and the newly
renovated Ford Hall with our state-of-the-art web streaming technology:
b ithaca.edu/music/live
PROGRAM
I Cannot Dance, O Lord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stephen Paulus
Snow Angel (New York Premiere). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sarah Quartel
III. God Will Give Orders / IV. Sweet Child
V. Snow Angel
Conrad Alexander, percussion*
Elizabeth Simkin, cello*
The Kiss. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jussi Chydenius
Soloists:
Laura Stedge
Karimah White
The Little Road (World Premiere). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Moira Smiley
Give Me Just a Little More Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Albert E. Brumley
arr. Derrick Fox
Soloists:
Emily Preston
Laura Hoalcraft
D’Laney Bowry
Juliana Joy Child
Heather Barnes
Gloria Kajoniensis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Levente Gyöngyösi
Conrad Alexander, percussion*
Thomas Smith, percussion
*Ithaca College faculty
BIOGRAPHIES
Janet Galván, director of choral activities
at Ithaca College, has conducted national,
regional, and all-state choruses throughout the United States. She has conducted
her own choral ensembles in Carnegie
Hall, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall and
Avery Fisher Hall, as well as in concert
halls throughout Europe and the United
Kingdom. Her choral ensembles have also
appeared at national, regional, and state
music conferences. She has conducted
the chamber orchestra, Virtuosi Pragneses, the State Philharmonic of
Bialystok, Poland, the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, the Madrid Chamber
Orchestra, and the New England Symphonic Ensemble in choral/orchestral performances. Galván was the sixth national honor choir conductor
for ACDA and the conductor of the North American Children’s Choir,
which performed annually in Carnegie Hall from 1995 to 2007. She
was also a guest conductor for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in 2002.
Galván has been a guest conductor and clinician in the United Kingdom,
Canada, throughout Europe, and in Brazil as well as at national music
conferences and the World Symposium on Choral Music. She was on the
faculty for the Carnegie Hall Choral Institute, the Transient Glory Symposium in 2012, and the Oberlin Conducting Institute in 2014. She has
been recognized as one of the country’s leading conducting teachers, and
her students have been finalists and have received first-place awards in
both the graduate and undergraduate divisions of the American Choral
Directors biennial National Choral Conducting Competition. She was a
member of the Grammy Award-winning Robert Shaw Festival Singers
(Telarc Recordings).
Conrad Alexander, percussionist, received
a master of music degree from Southern
Methodist University and a performer’s
certificate from the Eastman School of
Music. He studied with John Beck, Don
Liuzzi, Kalman Cherry, Doug Howard, John
Bannon, and Charles Owen. He has been an
instructor at Ithaca College and Mansfield
University, and a teacher at the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina. He has also
taught at Interlochen Center for the Arts,
James Madison University, University of Virginia, the Odessa/Midland
(Texas) school system, and the Blue Lake (Michigan) Fine Arts Camp.
He has performed with the New York City Opera touring orchestra, the
Albany and Harrisburg Symphonies, as well as the Dallas, Richmond,
Greensboro, Knoxville, Oklahoma, and Anchorage Symphonies. He is
the owner of DAY Percussion Repair, specializing in all facets of keyboard
modification and percussion instrument repair.
Elizabeth Simkin, associate professor of
violoncello, did her doctoral study at the
Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. Her master of music degree is from
the Eastman School of Music, and her
bachelor of music degree is from Oberlin
College. Simkin studied with Janos Starker, Steven Doane, Richard Kapuscinski,
and Toby Saks. She served as a teaching
assistant to Janos Starker and as a faculty
member at Indiana University, Earlham
College, Eastman School of Music, Bowdoin Summer Music Festival,
and the Heifetz International Music Institute. Simkin was also a member of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra and the Cayuga Chamber
Orchestra. She has played with the Ariadne String Quartet, Ensemble
X, and the Taliesin Trio. She has also performed as a soloist with the
Buffalo Chamber Orchestra, New Music Festival. She had a fellowship
at the Tanglewood Music Center and has also performed international
recitals as a United States artistic ambassador.
PROGRAM NOTES
I Cannot Dance, O Lord was composed by Stephen Paulus, who passed away
on October 19, 2014, at the age of 65, after suffering a debilitating stroke.
Raised in Minnesota from age two, Paulus studied piano in his youth and later earned a doctorate degree in composition from the University of Minnesota, where his teachers included Dominick Argento. While a student in 1973,
Paulus, ever a supporter of the music and careers of his colleagues, cofounded the American Composers Forum, still the largest composer-advocacy
organization in the United States. His music has been described by critics as
rugged, angular, lyrical, lean, rhythmically aggressive, original, often gorgeous, moving, and uniquely American. I Cannot Dance, O Lord comes from
The Songs of Meditation, a set of pieces for female chorus. We celebrate his life
and the legacy of his wonderful music.
Snow Angel is a five-movement choral work with narration. After receiving performances at a host of prestigious venues including the 10th World Symposium
on Choral Music and the 2014 Chorus America Conference, this is the piece’s
New York premiere.
Through song and narrative, Snow Angel weaves together stories of love and
light, rebirth and rejuvenation, and highlights the strength and beauty a child’s
voice can bring to our often-troubled world. Three angels speak the narrative
between movements, written by Lisa Helps. The first angel, old and grey, is
looking back at a different time of life. The second, young and tattooed, is aching to make a difference in the life of a human charge. The third, a playful angel
child, is happy to bring a smile to the face of a sad friend. Tonight’s performance includes movements sung by the second and third angels.
Before the third and fourth movements (no pause between), the angel says
I’m Grace. That’s what my Father calls me anyway, although most days
I’m not sure why. My friends call me Gray ’cause I’m somewhere in the
middle, between black and white, boy and girl, angel and human. I do
have wings though, and I’m seventeen and hip, so they’re tattooed. I’ve
even got a piercing in my nose. So this is how it goes. We’ve been hanging around up here for a while now, waiting for heaven to fall, waiting
for a call. Every day we look out across the sky, across the city, the urban
playground for earthbound teenage angels. And every day we look, we
see the city spread, we watch with dread the trees disappear, the rivers
run dry; we anticipate the end of thousands of harvests. We watch with
fascination, angels in human form look without seeing, hear without listening, touch without feeling. I watch compassion disappear as if it were
simply going out of fashion. Compassion. Out of fashion as I suppose my
own wings might be, tattooed when I’m old and wise.
So in a flurry, I transcend the borderland of the sky between you and I. I
swoop down into the heart of New York City, of Montreal, of Moscow. I
creep quietly through graffiti-covered alleyways, looking for a message,
looking for direction. I look into the eyes of the people passing by for a
message, for direction. And on one corner sits a woman, with a boy child.
She looks at me with innocent eyes. I touch her face gently. She smiles and
then cries. Around the bend near the end of yet another shop-lined street
lies a man. I help him to his feet.
And then I come to you.
You look at me as if I were anything but heaven sent. You cannot see past
my tattoos, my piercings, past all of me that is different from all of you.
Yet I am also the same, you see, and so you let me take your hand. “Let
me show your compassion,” I say. I lead you to what used to be a garden;
it was your Father’s when you were a child. But you had forgotten, you
see, and in the meantime it became a parking lot. “But look,” I pointed.
And there, pushing up through the pavement a solitary red flower, unselfconsciously perfect. “I remember,” you assure me, and so I leave you
graced, an adult child in the garden of your Father.
Before the fifth movement, the small angel says
I am a small angel. Eight years old to be exact. I have a crooked nose and
tiny wings. I like them because they make me a little bit different than
everyone else, and that makes me special. I know I’m a special angel for
other reasons, too, because I’m one of the only angels my age who has a
human friend. She’s like me—eight. Where she lives it’s almost springtime, and the flowers in her mother’s garden are poking their heads up
through the snow. But she’s sad. At first I thought it was because she
couldn’t see her own wings, but I learned the other day it’s because her
best friend moved away and she doesn’t know how to love anymore. She
is what adults call “lonely.” But I am a young angel with a big heart and
tiny wings, and I know how to love. So I went to visit her before bedtime
the other night as she sat at her window looking out at winter’s end. She
smiled as I danced and sang my song, and she giggled, hiding her face in
her hands when I threw myself into the snow and flapped my wings. And
when I got up there was a picture of me left behind in the snow. And I felt
happy because the little girl had laughed. And I felt happy because she
could see love, like a picture in the snow.
Sweet child, I say, here at dawn from the rock of my old age. Sweet children, what do we do when the snow melts, when love remains although
love’s imprint is gone? Once upon a time I told you I couldn’t see my
wings not because they weren’t there but because in seeking light, I had
forgotten how to give it. The energy of generosity, of compassion, of love,
is circular. Inside we know no differently.
Look and see. Hear and listen. Touch and feel. Each of us inside—a child in
the garden, a flower pushing through pavement, an angel in the snow. Go.
Sarah Quartel’s compositions have been featured by groups such as the National Youth Choir of Canada, the Nathaniel Dett Chorale, and the a cappella
group Rajaton. In 2015 her ACDA commissioned work, Wide Open Spaces,
will receive its premiere performance under the baton of Bob Chilcott at the
American Choral Directors Association national conference in Salt Lake City.
The Kiss is by Finnish composer Jussi Chydenius, who is well known for
singing bass in the vocal ensemble Rajaton. This is his setting of a poem by
Sara Teasdale. Did you ever look forward to something so much only to be
slightly disappointed when it happened?
Listen carefully to the lyrics. You may be surprised to discover why this
woman is so sad.
The Little Road was commissioned by Ithaca College for the Ithaca College
Women’s Chorale, and tonight’s performance is the world premiere. The intent
of the commission was to have an original piece by Moira Smiley in three parts
with body percussion. The poetry is by Josephine Preston Peabody and talks
about the dilemma of a young person deciding whether to follow the road that is
tempting her or to stay with the house that beckons her to remain.
Moira Smiley is a singer/composer who creates and performs. Her voice and
compositions are heard on feature films, BBC and PBS television programs,
NPR, and on more than 60 albums. Smiley’s recordings feature vocally driven
collections of warped traditional songs, original polyphony, and body percussion. She is also in high demand as a choral clinician, composer, and arranger.
Moira Smiley and VOCO (her female ensemble) is a visionary blend of voices,
redefining harmony singing with the power and physicality of folk song, the
avant-garde fearlessness of Béla Bartók, and the vaudevillian accompaniment
of cello, banjo, ukulele, accordion, and body percussion. Smiley’s award-winning original music and spellbinding American and eastern European folk
song light up the stage with rompin’ stompin’ body percussion and warm wit.
Give Me Just a Little More Time is an example of a tradition in music that
began after the Civil War when The Sacred Harp, a tune book rooted in the
four-shape tradition, became a significant source of religious musical material
in the African American community in the southern United States. In the late
19th century, gospel music infiltrated shape-note hymn traditions in the small
rural churches of the South. The gospel tradition was published largely in the
seven-shape-note system and was referred to as seven-shape gospel music,
distinguishing it from other music written in the seven-shape notation. The
use of this type of notation was not uncommon in both black and white communities, and by the 1930s, there were about 30 seven-shape gospel companies
publishing tune books in the southern United States. A product of arranger
Derrick Fox’s dissertation research, this piece showcases the many musical
characteristics commonly found at shape-note singings in the African American community.
Gloria Kajoniensis uses text published in 1676, which was written by the
Franciscan friar János Kájoni of Transylvania. The text has a folk character,
and the music is quite close to Hungarian folk music. The refrain of the piece,
which is an arrangement of the folk song “Take Care, Old Woman,” has a
wild, barbaric character.
Levente Gyöngyösi was born in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, moved to Hungary when he was 14, and was admitted to the Béla Bartók Secondary Music
School. He studied composition with György Orbán at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music and has written many choral works. He was awarded the Erkel
Prize in 2005 and the Bártok-Pásztory Prize in 2009.
Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace
among those whom He favors.
Holy peace to believers and those
who confess their sins to You.
We praise You, Lord,
we say Your blessings,
and we adore You.
King and eternal Father
and only Son,
the Father’s descendant.
Oh my God, Lamb of God,
who takes away sins of the world,
please, have mercy on me.
You, who takes away the sins of the world,
we unclean are begging you,
let us overwhelm You with our questions.
Because You are called the Saint,
You rule over everything,
and only You are worshipped.
Although with the Holy Spirit
we sing this song for You,
who reigns with the Father.
Amen.
READY
to conduct change
Soprano I/II
PERSONNEL
Lucrezia Ceccarelli............ Swampscott, MA
Magdalyn Chauby............. Grand Island, NY
Juliana Joy Child........ East Bridgewater, MA
Christina Christiansen........... Palo Alto, CA
Laura Douthit.............Colorado Springs, CO
Kimberly Dyckman................. Dix Hills, NY
Haley Evanoski...............................Ithaca, NY
Allison Fay........................... Montgomery, NJ
Edda Fransdottir..................... New York, NY
Caroline Fresh.................... West Chester, PA
Julia Gershkoff............. North Kingstown, RI
Jennifer Giustino....................... Armonk, NY
Ann-Marie Iacoviello......North Andover, MA
Xandry Langdon....................... Oneonta, NY
Imogen Mills......................... Pennington, NJ
Katie O’Brien............................. Endicott, NY
Emily Preston.................................Ithaca, NY
Kelly Timko................................. Reading, PA
Victoria Trifiletti..........................Suffern, NY
Soprano II
Hannah Abrams......................... Newark, DE
Emily Beseau........................... Rochester, NY
Kendra Domotor........................ Portland, PA
Elizabeth Embser........................Arnold, MD
Emily Gaggiano.................. Philadelphia, PA
Lauren Hoalcraft.................. Fayetteville, NY
Carrie Lindeman....................Gettysburg, PA
Cynthia Mickenberg................. Armonk, NY
Haley Servidone.......................Herkimer, NY
Rachel Silverstein....................Pittsburgh, PA
A chance encounter in women’s
chorale changed my major and my
life. Performing and touring with
Ithaca College ensembles solidified
my desire to conduct. Once a
student, now the teacher, I strive to
inspire young artists daily.
Soprano II/Alto I
Brittney Aiken.................. West Babylon, NY
Annina Hsieh......................... Brookline, MA
Alexa Mancuso........................ Rochester, NY
Hillary Robbins........................ Concord, MA
Alto I
Ellen Atwood................................ Dayton, VA
Heather Barnes........................... Yonkers, NY
Megan Brust.................................... Media, PA
Ellen Jackson................. Shaker Heights, OH
Alexandria Kemp..............Williamsville, NY
Jenny Schulte............................. Syracuse, NY
Alto I/II
Catherine Barr........................Drexel Hill, PA
Sarah Broadwell........................Lancaster, PA
Gillian Lacey.......................... River Edge, NY
Meghan Murray..........................Latham, NY
Marci Rose.....................................Gilmer, TX
Jessica Voutsinas...................... Newtown, PA
Alto II
Cailey Blatchford..............Londonderry, NH
D’Laney Bowry.............................Duluth, GA
Mattina Keith........................... Palo Alto, CA
Carolyn Kruzona.............. Grand Island, NY
Amanda Nauseef...................... Cortland, NY
Bergen Price................................... Skytop, PA
Laura Stedge.................................Suffern, NY
Karimah White.......................... Monroe, NY
– Sophia Miller ’06, Music Education
Summer Graduate
Studies in Music
Education
Take Advantage of
Summer Graduate
Workshops
Experience the breadth and depth of the
academic year curriculum by completing this
acclaimed, affordable graduate degree in three
beautiful Ithaca summers.
These one-week summer graduate workshops
offer an outstanding professional development
experience for educators in the field:
June 29–August 7, 2015
USE YOUR SUMMERS TO GET AHEAD
Expand your skills and grow your career during
summer break. In just three summers, you can
earn your master’s degree in music education
from Ithaca College.
BENEFIT FROM EXCEPTIONAL VALUE
Graduate assistantships can offset a portion of our
already affordable graduate tuition. These renewable
awards are competitive and based on experience,
audition results, and undergraduate academics.
June 29–July 3, 2015
•
CHORAL MUSIC EXPERIENCE
Music: Power and Influence
Led by Janet Galván, professor, Ithaca College
with guest composer Jim Papoulis
•
ITHACA COLLEGE NORTHEAST WIND
CONDUCTING SYMPOSIUM
Led by Steve Peterson, professor, Ithaca College
•
SUCCESSFUL LEADERSHIP IN
CONTEMPORARY MUSIC EDUCATION
Led by Keith Kaiser, professor and chair of
music education, Ithaca College
Application Deadline
APRIL 1, 2015
Learn more at ithaca.edu/gradmusicsummer
Ithaca College
Summer Music Academy
2015 DATES ANNOUNCED!
HIGH SCHOOL DIVISION
July 12–25, 2015
INTERMEDIATE DIVISION
July 26–August 1, 2015
b Entering grades 10–12
b Band: entering grades 7–9
b Orchestra, vocal, wind ensemble, b Orchestra: entering grades 5–9
and jazz programs
b Musical theatre: entering grades 5–9
MISSION
The Ithaca College Summer Music Academy exists to provide a creative and
supportive environment for young adults to grow as musicians and people.
HIGHLIGHTS
b Rich, residential pre-college experience
b F
aculty consisting of renowned guest artists, top music educators,
and Ithaca College faculty
b State-of-the-art facilities in a beautiful campus setting
b Over 20 electives in music and non-music areas
b Enrollment of 370 students last year from all over the United States
and around the world
Learn more at ithaca.edu/sma