The Choral Foundation in the Midwest Proudly Presents
The William Baker Festival Singers
Music of Timeless Beauty and Worth in Kansas City Since 1998
Dr. William O. Baker, Music Director & Conductor
Christine Freeman, Associate Music Director & Senior Vocal Coach
Jamea Sale, Choral Assistant
Jennifer Berroth, Student Intern
Central States Concert Tour
Friday, 29 April 2016, First United Methodist Church, Emporia, Kansas
Saturday, 30 April 2016, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma
Friday, 6 May 2016, Pine Ridge Presbyterian Church, Kansas City, Missouri
When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we first begun.
SOLI DEO GLORIA
What wondrous love is this, O my soul?
The William Baker Festival Singers
William O. Baker, DMA
Founder & Music Director
Lynn Swanson, MME
Executive Associate Music Director
Wayne Burdette
Operations Manager
Kenna Babcock ‘06
Laura Rene Baker ‘99
Chris Barnard ‘09
Danelle Huckabey ‘15
Brenda Bennett-Pike ‘99
Jennifer Berroth ‘14
Elyse Biethman ‘14
Christine Freeman, MME
Associate Music Director/Senior Vocal Coach
Martin Boos ‘15
Scott C. Smith
Choral Associate & Administrator, Atlanta
Joyce Braddock ‘07
Jamea Sale, MME
Choral Assistant, Kansas City
Pamela Hite ‘13
Jill Holtkamp ‘07
Jocelyn Botkin ‘04
William Brubaker ‘15
Jim Jandt ‘01
*Gary Jarrett ‘02
Amanda Kimbrough ‘08
Ross Kimbrough ‘11
Stacey Knoell ‘08
Fred Leif ‘15
Eric Newlin ‘13
Sandra Buntin ‘15
*Melissa Overton ‘06
Debbie Casolari ‘02
Avaree Norman ‘15
Kim Claxton ‘12
*Brad Piroutek ‘01
Amy Thropp
Director, Zimria Festivale Atlanta
Thomas Cochran ‘16
Julie Piroutek ‘07
Jill Davis ‘12
Jamie Roberts ‘12
Charles Nelson
Director, Northwest Georgia Summer Singers
Laura Dickinson ‘04
John Rowland ‘16
Thomas Sheets
Assistant Conductor,
Lynn Swanson Festival Singers
Chris Barnard
Administrator, Kansas City
Kent Dickinson ‘03
*Michelle Egbert ‘07
Christine Freeman ‘06
Cindy Sheets ‘09
Daniel Freeman ‘08
Pratima Singh ‘06
Emily Goldt ‘15
Edwina Smith ‘15
Karen Kay Hall ‘12
Kathleen Harrison ‘11
R. Douglas Helvering, DMA
Contributing Editor, Amber Waves Music
Jamea Sale ‘02
Susannah Seipel ‘15
Michael Hegge ‘99
Marcia Higginson ‘02
Gary Smith ‘15
Stephanie Sullivan ‘11
Pam Winn ‘02
*Section Leaders
Jennifer Berroth & Albert Clark
Student Interns
The Board of Trustees
Leanne Elmer Herrmann
Soo Jin Kim
Steven McDonald, DMA
Ivy Belk Pirl
Rosanne St. Clair
O. Wayne Smith, DMA
Staff Accompanists
The William Baker Choral Foundation, Inc.
5450 Buena Vista Street, Suite 100
Roeland Park, Kansas 66205
913.403.9223
404.909.8357
[email protected]
www.FestivalSingers.org www.ChoralFoundation.org
David Barker, Belton, Missouri, Chair
Mary Puetz, Sioux Center, Iowa, Vice Chair
Ann Stoskopf, Marietta, Georgia, Treasurer/CFO
Greg Wegst, Mission, Kansas, Executive Secretary
David Chastain, Acworth, Georgia
Joseph Ferst, Marietta, Georgia
Harley Granville, Ph.D., Smyrna, Georgia
Ross Kimbrough, Overland Park, Kansas
John Schaefer, Kansas City, Missouri
Trustees Emeritus
William W. Dreyfoos, Atlanta, Georgia
Dr. Michael S. McGarry, Atlanta, Georgia
Ross Malme, Atlanta, Georgia
Brad Piroutek, Spring Hill, Kansas
Scott Smith, Atlanta, Georgia
Dr. William O. Baker, Founder of the Festival Singers
William O. Baker has earned a reputation as an entrepreneurial conductor and creator
of choral organizations. He founded the DeKalb Choral Guild in 1978 at the age of 19.
By the age of 21 he had conducted Brahms’ German Requiem, Vivaldi’s Gloria,
Schubert’s Mass in G, and Handel’s Messiah with professional orchestras, launching a
career of ambitious artistic leadership that now has extended nearly forty years. In the
last few years he has conducted the St. Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor of Bach,
and the Sacred Service of Ernest Bloch, at the time of the performances the only Kansas
City-based conductor to lead the works in over a quarter-century.
Baker created the Atlanta-based William Baker Festival Singers, originally called
“Gwinnett” Festival Singers, in 1985, and established the William Baker Choral Foundation in 1990. In 1998 the
conductor moved his home to the Kansas City area and created the Kansas City ensemble of the Festival Singers.
The Choral Foundation has created over a dozen ensembles based in three states, involving hundreds of singers in
the course of any year. His choirs have performed for numerous conventions of the American Choral Directors
Association, the National Association for Music Education, and the American Guild of Organists, in addition to the
1982 World’s Fair and music festivals in the United States and Great Britain, most notably appearances before
capacity audiences at Charleston’s Piccolo Spoleto Festival since 1989. He has led the Festival Singers in the
production of 23 nationally released recordings, and in television and radio appearances across the nation, including
The First Art, The Sounds of Majesty and National Public Radio’s Performance Today.
No stranger to the orchestral podium, William Baker created the Mountain Park
Wind Symphony in 1994 and the Kansas City Wind Symphony in 1998. Recent
orchestral performances have included Vivaldi: The Seasons, Sibelius: Finlandia,
Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, Bizet: Suite L’Arlesienne, Haydn: Symphony No.
59 “Fire,” Mozart: Symphony No. 41, Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 and Symphony
No. 9. Choral collaborations have included projects with members of the Kansas
City Symphony, the Kazanetti Chamber Orchestra, the Atlanta Youth
Symphony Orchestra, the Kansas City Civic Orchestra, the Baton Rouge
Symphony, the Gwinnett Symphony Orchestra, and the Charleston Symphony
Orchestra. He is Founder & Music Director of the Atlanta-based Orchestra of
the American Heartland.
Dr. Baker served as Minister of Music for a number of significant Lutheran, Presbyterian and United Methodist
congregations across the South and the Midwest. Major appointments have included the historic Grace United
Methodist Church in Midtown Atlanta and The Village Church in suburban Kansas City, the nation’s second
largest Presbyterian congregation. Presently, he serves as director of The Cathedral Chorale, the choir for Grace
and Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kansas City’s 8:00 AM Eucharist. He is the author of Hearts & Hands & Voices:
Weekly Reflections on Music and the Church, published by Amber Waves Music.
An Atlanta native, Dr. Baker studied voice and choral conducting at Mercer University and the University of
Georgia before culminating his formal education at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago where he
earned the Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting. His accomplishments have been recognized in his native
state through proclamations by two Georgia Governors, Joe Frank Harris and Sonny Purdue, by United States
Congressman Phil Gingrey, and by a 2015 proclamation by the State of Georgia House of Representatives. In 2012
he was honored for his lifetime contributions to the cultural life of his hometown by the Pro-Mozart Society of
Atlanta. In 2015 he was named Conductor Emeritus of The DeKalb Choral Guild.
The William Baker Festival Singers
Music of Timeless Beauty and Worth in Kansas City Since 1998
The William Baker Festival Singers has been hailed by
The Kansas City Star as “The best of the several volunteer choirs
in the city…” Though the membership of the 50-voice semiprofessional chorale is comprised entirely of volunteers, a large
majority of the singers hold music degrees and many are
vocational musicians. It is the mission of the Festival Singers to
bring the highest standards of musicianship and professionalism
to the realm of community music. Now concluding its
eighteenth concert season, the metro Kansas City-based ensemble
has enjoyed numerous triumphs through a tradition of ambitious
concerts, recording, touring and broadcasting.
Tours have taken the ensemble throughout the Midwest, South, and Northeast, including performances in
New York, Chicago, St. Louis, San Antonio, Austin, New Orleans, Atlanta, Omaha, Des Moines and many other
cities. Their richness of tone, diversity of programming and expressiveness has won praise from audiences and
critics alike. On 11 April 2013 the Festival Singers presented their debut concert in Helzberg Hall, a
performance that featured the Requiem of Maurice Durufle performed with members of the Kansas City
Symphony. John Heuertz, in the Kansas City Star said, “It’s hard to know where to begin praising this chorus’
performance…What came across Thursday night above all was the great warmth in this chorus’ singing. It was
almost like hearing a family.” The memorable season ended with performances before large and enthusiastic
audiences in Miller Chapel at Princeton Theological Seminary and in the nave of the historic Trinity Wall Street
Church in New York City. The Festival Singers plan a tour of the Washington, DC area in 2017.
The signature repertoire of the William Baker Festival Singers is short-form sacred a cappella classics and
spirituals from all eras and cultures. The chorus also performs a major choral/orchestral masterwork each spring.
Recent highlights have included the Requiems of Faure, Durufle, Mozart, Brahms and Rutter, the Dona Nobis
Pacem of Vaughan Williams, and the Laudes Organi of Kodaly. The Festival Singers own the distinction of being
the first Kansas City-based ensemble to perform the Mass in B minor and the St. Matthew Passion of Bach, in
addition to Ernest Bloch’s Avodath Hakodesh (Sacred Service) in a quarter century.
Visit Us On: Facebook (William Baker Festival Singers)
Twitter (@WBFS_KC) YouTube (WBakerCF)
The Festival Singers is an ensemble of The William Baker
Choral Foundation, a national organization based in
Roeland Park, Kansas, that presently sponsors choral
ensembles based in three states involving hundreds of men,
women and youth. The Foundation also sponsors Amber
Waves Music Publishing, a creative company that offers
more than 50 quality titles in worldwide distribution
(www.AmberWavesPublishing.com). The Choral
Foundation offers a year-round Student Intern program for
conductors in masters-level study, and a Choral Scholar
program for conductors studying at the doctoral level, and is
the sponsoring organization for the Institute for Healthy Singing. The unique continuing education program
enables aspiring conductors to gain practical experience in musical leadership and management of a major arts
organization. The staff of the Choral Foundation also offers consulting services nationwide for church,
community, and professional musical organizations. For additional information, please call the Kansas City
office of the Choral Foundation at 913.403.9223, or email [email protected].
THE WILLIAM BAKER FESTIVAL SINGERS
Dr. William O. Baker, Music Director & Conductor
Christine Freeman, Associate Music Director & Vocal Coach
Jamea Sale, Choral Assistant
Eric Newlin, Student Intern
AUDITIONS
The William Baker Festival Singers has
delighted audiences from Chicago to Atlanta and from
New York to Texas since coming to Kansas City in 1998.
The Festival Singers’ 19th season signature programming includes
short-form sacred a cappella classics and spirituals in addition to
th
20 century masterworks by Leonard Bernstein, Zoltan Kodaly, Norman
Dello Joio and Howard Hanson with members of the KC Symphony.
MEMBERSHIP BY COMPETITIVE AUDITION
Openings in All Sections for Our 2016-2017 19th Season
REHEARSALS TUESDAY EVENINGS, 7:00-9:30
COUNTRYSIDE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
6101 Nall Avenue, Mission, Kansas
For Information or to Schedule an Audition Appointment
Please Call TODAY 913-488-7524 or Email [email protected]
www.FestivalSingers.org
Central States Concert Tour 2016
Friday Evening, 29 April 2016, 7:30 PM, First United Methodist Church, Emporia, Kansas
Saturday Evening, 30 April 2016, 7:00 PM, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma
Friday Evening, 6 May 2016, 7:30 PM, Pine Ridge Presbyterian Church, Kansas City, Missouri
Repertoire for Each Concert Will Be Chosen from the Following
Introit
Unceasing love, O unceasing love.
Surpassing all we know.
HAIL, GLADDENING LIGHT
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
And to the Holy Spirit.
Charles WOOD, 1866-1926
The Choral Public Domain Library
Hail, gladdening light of His pure glory poured,
Who is the Immortal Father, heavenly blessed.
Holiest of holies, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Now we are come to the sun’s hour of rest.
The lights of evening ‘round us shine.
We hymn the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, divine!
Worthiest art Thou at all times to be sung,
With undefiled tongue.
Son of our God, Giver of life alone.
Therefore in all the world Thy glories Lord they own.
-Liturgy of the Greek Orthodox Church
Welcome
Even with darkness sealing us in,
We breathe Your Name,
And through all the days that follow so fast,
We trust in You;
Endless Your grace, O endless Your grace,
Beyond all mortal dream.
Both now and forever, and unto ages and ages,
Amen.
-Michael Dennis Browne, Born 1948
CANTATE DOMINO
Jan Pierteszoon SWEELINCK, 1562-1621
Edited by Donald Colton
Concordia Publishing House 98-1937
Sung in Latin
I
O SACRUM CONVIVIUM
Javier BUSTO, Born 1949
Walton Music WJMS 1009
O sing a new song to the Lord and joyfully praise His Name.
Bless the Lord Jehovah and we make His Name holy.
Declare His salvation to all generations.
Declare His love to the heathen that all may know Him.
He is the Lord of all creation.
-Psalm 96
Sung in Latin
O sacred banquet in which Christ is received,
The memory of His passion renewed,
The mind filled with grace.
And a promise of eternal glory is given. Alleluia!
-St. Thomas Aquinas, 1225-1274
Karen Kay Hall, soloist
PILGRIMS HYMN
II
WATER NIGHT
Eric Whitacre, Born 1970
Walton Music HL08500040
Stephen PAULUS, 1949-2014
Paulus Publications SP 101
Night with the eyes of a horse that trembles in the night,
Night with eyes of water in the fields asleep
Is in your eyes, a horse that trembles,
Is in your eyes of secret water.
Even before we call on Your Name
To ask You, O God,
When we seek for the words to glorify You,
You hear our prayer;
Eyes of shadow-water,
Eyes of well-water,
Eyes of dream-water.
PSALM 50
Silence and solitude,
Two little animals moon-led,
Drink in your eyes,
Drink in those waters.
If you open your eyes,
Night opens, doors of musk,
The secret kingdom of the water opens
Flowing from the center of the night.
And if you close your eyes,
A river fills you from within,
Flows forward, darkens you:
Night brings its wetness to beaches in your soul.
-Octavio Paz, 1914-1998
F. Melius CHRISTIANSEN, 1871-1955
Augsburg Publishing 11-0082
Offer unto God the sacrifice of thanksgiving
And pay the vows unto the Lord.
And call upon Me in the day of thy trouble,
I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorify Me.
Whoso offereth praise glorifieth God,
And call the earth from the rising of the sun.
Praise God from Whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below,
Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts,
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
-Psalm 50
IV
TONIGHT ETERNITY ALONE
René CLAUSEN, Born 1953
Mark Foster Music MF 3034
Tonight eternity alone is near,
The sunset and the darkening blue,
There is no space for fear,
Only the wonder of its truth.
- “Dusk at Sea” Thomas S. Jones, Jr., 1882-1932
Melissa Overton & Elyse Biethman, soloists
Donated to the Music Library of the
William Baker Choral Foundation
by Johnny Gravley in memory of Millie Respess Feasel
III
O SALUTARIS HOSTIA
riks EŠENVALDS, Born 1977
Musica Baltica
Sung in Latin
O sacrifice that brings salvation,
You who open wide the gate of heaven.
We are hard pressed by hostile war;
Give strength, bring help.
All praise and thanks to thee ascend
For evermore, blest One in Three;
O grant us life without end
In our fatherland with thee.
-St. Thomas Aquinas, 1225-1274
Melissa Overton & Amanda Kimbrough, soloists
THREE NOCTURNES
Daniel ELDER, Born 1986
GIA Publications G-8071; G-8646; G-8368
Ballade to the Moon
On moonlit night I wander free,
My mind to roam on thoughts of thee.
With midnight darkness beckoning
My heart toward inward fantasy:
Come and dream in me!
How beautiful this night in June!
And here, upon the velvet dune,
I weep with joy beneath the moon!
The path lies dark before my sight.
And yet my feet with pure delight
Trod onward through the blackened vale
Beneath the starry sky so bright,
O share thy light!
These woods their weary wanderer soon
In awe and fearful wonder swoon.
I weep with joy beneath the moon.
And as the darkened hours flee,
My heart beats ever rapidly,
Though heavy hang my eyes with sleep,
My singing soul, it cries to thee:
Come sing with me!
The twinkling sky cast forth its tune,
O must I leave thy charms so soon?
I weep with joy beneath the moon!
Star Sonnet
In stillness high above the slumb’ring shore
Where wistful waves of foam caress the sand,
A silent watchman o’er the darkened land,
Adrift celestial seas of twilight soars.
She passes softly in the heavens deep–
Her silver skin aglow with radiant hue,
Her eyes enchanting globes of glittering dew;
Through rays of moonlight rich with heavenly sleep.
What dreams have I that she should give them flight,
Enlivened in a momentary flame–
What fears of hope unfounded could she tame
To joy, arising toward the hov’ring height!
MY GENTLE HARP
O Beaming Star, illumine heaven’s floor
Until the sun should bear its light once more.
Sung in Irish Regional Dialect
Lullaby
Lullaby, sing lullaby, the day is far behind you.
The moon sits high atop the sky,
Now let sweet slumber find you.
My gentle harp, once more I waken
The sweetness of thy slumbering strain;
In tears our last farewell was taken,
And now in tears we meet again.
Away, the day is done, and gone the sun
That lit the world so brightly.
The earth’s aglow with speckled show
Of twinkling stars so sprightly.
Yet, even then, while Peace was singing
Her halcyon song o’er land and sea,
Though joy and hope to others bringing,
She only brought new tears to thee.
Away, where the sunlight is beaming
Through a deep, cloudless blue,
And the treetops are gleaming with a fresh morning dew;
Where the mountains are shining at the meadows below,
In a brilliant white lining of a new-fallen snow.
Then who can ask for notes of pleasure,
My drooping harp, from chords like thine?
Alas the lark’s gay morning measure
As ill would suit the swan’s decline.
Close your eyes, breath in the night; a softer bed I’ll make you.
The trial is done, all danger gone;
Now let far dreaming take you.
Away, where the ocean is lapping at a soft, pearly shore,
And the swaying palms napping as their swinging fronds soar.
Now the dark nigh approaches, yet so soft and so mild.
Lullaby, sing lullaby; sleep now, my child.
Associate Music Director Christine Freeman, conducting
Karen Kay Hall, piano
V
AVENGING AND BRIGHT
Irish Traditional arranged by Alice Parker
Lawson Gould Music 51443
Sung in Irish Regional Dialect
Avenging and bright fall the swift sword of Erin
On him who the brave sons of Unsna betrayed!
For every fond eye which he wakened a tear in
A drop from his heart wound shall weep o’er her blade.
We swear to revenge them! No joy shall be tasted,
The harp shall remain silent, the maiden unwed.
Our halls shall be mute, and our fields shall lie wasted,
Till vengeance is wreaked on the murderer’s head.
Yes, Monarch! Though sweet are our home recollections,
Though sweet are the tears that from tenderness fall.
Thou sweet are our friendships, our hopes, and affections,
Revenge on a tyrant is sweetest of all!
-Sir Thomas Moore, 1779-1852
Men of the William Baker Festival Singers
Student Intern Jennifer Berroth, conducting
Irish Traditional arranged by Alice Parker
Lawson Gould Music 51409
But come, if yet thy frame can borrow,
One breath of joy, O breathe for me,
And show the world in chains and sorrow
How sweet thy music still can be.
-Sir Thomas Moore, 1779-1852
Jill Davis, harp
JOHNNY I HARDLY KNEW YE
Irish Traditional arranged by Alice Parker
Lawson Gould Music 51452
Sung in Irish Regional Dialect
When goin the road to sweet Athy, Hurroo!
A stick in my hand and a drop in my eye,
A doleful damsel I heard cry: Johnny I hardly knew ye!
With your drums and guns and guns and drums, Hurroo!
The enemy nearly slew ye, Oh, darling dear ye look so queer,
Faith, Johnny I hardly knew ye!
Where are our eyes that looked so mild, Hurroo!
When my heart ye so beguiled,
Why did ye skedaddle from me and the child,
Faith, Johnny I hardly knew ye!
Where are the legs with which ye run, Hurroo!
When ye went forth to carry a gun,
Indeed, your dancing days are done,
Why, Johnny I hardly knew ye!
I’m happy for to see you home, Hurroo!
All from he island of Ceylon,
So low in flesh, so high in bone,
Faith, Johnny I hardly knew ye!
VI
AIN-A THAT GOOD NEWS
American Spiritual arranged by William Dawson
Tuskegee Institute Press #103
I got a crown up in-a that kingdom, Ain-a that good news!
I’m a-gonna lay down this world, Gonna shoulder up my cross,
Gonna take it home a-to my Jesus, Ain-a that good news!
I got a robe up in-a the kingdom, Ain-a that good news!
I got a Savior in-a the kingdom, Ain-a that good news!
Student Intern Jennifer Berroth, conducting
When I need a hiding place,
When I’m facing tribulation,
When I’m seeking consolation,
When I need strength,
When I need wisdom,
When I need courage,
When I need a friend,
When I need the Holy Spirit.
I go to the Rock!
Brad Piroutek, soloist
Recorded by The William Baker Festival Singers on the
Amber Waves Sound Recordings album “Wondrous Love”
SOMETIMES I FEEL
MY SOUL’S BEEN ANCHORED
American Spiritual arranged by Alice Parker
Lawson Gould Music 51112
Spiritual arranged by Moses Hogan
Hal Leonard Music 08703235
Sometimes I feel like a moaning dove,
Wring my hands and cry.
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child,
Wring my hands and cry.
Sometimes I feel like I gotta no home,
Wring my hands and cry.
Sometimes I feel like an eagle in the air,
Spread my wings and fly.
My soul’s been anchored in the Lord.
Before I’d stay in Hell one day,
I’d sing and pray myself away.
Stacey Knoell, soloist
Recorded by The William Baker Festival Singers on the
Amber Waves Sound Recordings album “A Voice of Singing”
I GO TO THE ROCK
Gospel Spiritual Arranged by Ronn Huff
The Benson Company
Where do I go when there’s no one else to turn to?
Who do I talk to when there’s no one who wants to listen?
Who do I lean on when there’s no foundation stable?
I know that He’s able! I go to the Rock!
I go to the Rock of my salvation,
I go to the Stone the builder rejected.
I run to the Mountain, and the Mountain stands by me.
The earth all around me is sinking sand.
On Christ the Solid Rock I stand.
When I need a Shelter, when I need a Friend, I go to the Rock.
Where do I hide ‘til the storms have all passed over?
Where do I run to when the winds of sorrow threaten?
Is there a refuge in the time of tribulation?
When my soul needs consolation?
I know that He’s able, I go to the Rock!
My soul’s been anchored in the Lord.
Gonna shout and pray and never stop
Until I reach the mountaintop.
My soul’s been anchored in the Lord.
Do you love Him? Hallelujah!
God Almighty! Are you anchored?
Will you serve Him? Hallelujah
Yes, my soul’s been anchored in the Lord!
Recorded by The William Baker Festival Singers on the
Amber Waves Sound Recordings album “Bound for Glory”
Special Selections for April 30 in Stillwater
WHILE I KEPT SILENT (Psalm 32)
GRATIAS AGO DEO MEO (Philippians 1)
Bryan J. CASEY
Manuscript
Bryan Casey is a musician at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
in Stillwater, Oklahoma. He is studying vocal performance
at Oklahoma State University. The Festival Singers are
honored to perform these works under his direction with
musicians from St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.
Please enjoy 23 CD recordings by The William Baker Festival
Singers, including 7 currently available on iTunes, Amazon
and CD Baby, and also over 120 video clips of performances
by The William Baker Festival Singers and our sister Choral
Foundation ensembles at WBakerCF on www.YouTube.com
CHRISTINE FREEMAN, Associate Music Director & Senior Vocal Coach
Christine Freeman was appointed Associate Music Director of Kansas City ensembles and Senior Vocal Coach
for the William Baker Choral Foundation in August 2011. She is a native of Topeka, Kansas. She holds a
Bachelor of Music Education, emphasis Voice, and a Master of Music in Choral Pedagogy from the University of
Kansas in Lawrence. She was appointed to membership in The William Baker Festival Singers in 2006, and
served as Student Intern for the Choral Foundation in the 2007-2008 season, where she conducted Foundation
ensembles in Kansas City, Atlanta, and at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston. She has conducted the
Festival Singers and the Summer Singers of Kansas City, along with members of the Kansas City Symphony, in
performances of Vivaldi Beatus Vir, Haydn Te Deum, and Mozart Regina Coeli. She appears as conductor on
two Festival Singers recordings: A Festival for Christmas and Promised Land.
Ms. Freeman has been a clinician for honor choirs in Kansas and Missouri. In addition to her work with the
Choral Foundation, Mrs. Freeman is a Music Educator and is beginning her second year in the Blue Valley
School District instructing middle school choral music. She previously taught elementary and middle school music for eight years in the
Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas. Mrs. Freeman was recently nominated by her colleagues, and named runner-up, for the Kansas Choral
Directors Association “Outstanding Young Choral Director Award.” She is currently the Repertoire and Standards Chair for Children’s Choirs
with KCDA and has organized the Statewide Treble Honor Choir from 2012-2014. With her husband Daniel Freeman, a member of the Festival
Singers, and their newborn daughter, Lilianna, she makes her home in Overland Park, Kansas.
JAMEA SALE, Choral Assistant
Jamea Sale, Choral Assistant, is a native of Colby, Kansas. She graduated
from Kansas State University in Manhattan in 1987 with a Bachelor of Music
in Voice and Instrumental Music Education, and in 2012 she completed the
Master of Music in Vocal/Choral Pedagogy at the University of Kansas in
Lawrence. She met rigorous requirements for membership to the International
Voice Care Network at St. John’s University in 2010. Other memberships
include ACDA, NAfME, NATS, and Olathe Music Teachers Association.
Jamea has been a member and soloist with the William Baker Festival Singers
and the Summer Singers of Kansas City since 2002, and served as Student Intern for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 concert seasons. She was
appointed as Choral Assistant in Kansas City in August 2012.
With a certification in Preschool Musikgarten Education, Jamea led experiential music programs for parents and toddlers for five years. She served
as Assistant Choral Director and Vocal Coach at St. James Academy High School in Lenexa, Kansas, for 3 years and has taught Pre-Kindergarten
through 12th grade music in the Olathe School District. Presently she serves as the Vocal Coach and Choral Assistant for Allegro con Brio &
Allegro con Moto. In her Olathe, KS studio, Ms. Sale’s clients include students of voice & saxophone, and singers recovering from hoarseness,
tension, limited range, or other health problems that affect the singing voice.
JENNIFER BERROTH, Student Intern
Jennifer Berroth,is presently a second year member of the William Baker Festival Singers. She is a candidate for the
Master of Music Education in Choral Pedagogy at the University of Kansas, and has been appointed Student Intern
for the 2015-2016 season. Her work began this summer with the Summer Singers of Lee’s Summit and the Summer
Singers of Kansas City. It will continue through the end of the 18th season of the Festival Singers. Jennifer holds a
Bachelor of Music Education (Voice) from Washburn University in Topeka, and is beginning her fourth year as
Music Teacher for the St. Michael the Archangel Catholic School.
Over thirty students at the Masters & Doctoral level have participated in the Choral Foundation’s Student Intern &
Choral Scholars program. For additional information about upcoming opportunities call 913-403-9223.
Great Music Wants Your Voice This Summer!
NO AUDITION REQUIRED
SUMMER-FRIENDLY REHEARSAL & CONCERT SCHEDULES
PERFORMANCES WITH TOP PROFESSIONAL SOLOISTS & ORCHESTRA
The Summer Singers of Kansas City
Franz Joseph Haydn: MASS IN TIME OF WAR
Ralph Vaughan Williams: DONA NOBIS PACEM
Kansas City’s Original Summer Chorus in their 18th Summer of Singing
Dr. William O. Baker, Music Director & Conductor
Christine Freeman, Associate Director & Vocal Coach
Jamea Sale, Choral Assistant
Eric Newlin, Student Intern
REHEARSALS TUESDAY EVENINGS, 7:00-9:30, beginning June 7
The Summer Singers of Lee’s Summit
Franz Joseph Haydn: THE CREATION (Sung in English)
The Choral Foundation’s Newest Summer Chorus in their 3rd Season
Lynn Swanson and Dr. William O. Baker, Co-Music Directors
Dr. Steven McDonald, Rehearsal Accompanist
REHEARSALS THURSDAY EVENINGS, 7:00-9:30, beginning June 2
Modest Tuition - Tuition Support Available in Cases of Need
Discount for Early Registration, Multiple Enrollment, Students or Music Leaders
Questions? Call 913.488.7524 or email [email protected]
REGISTER TODAY FOR DISCOUNTED TUITION
www.ChoralFoundation.org
Supporters of the William Baker Choral Foundation
SOLI DEO GLORIA CIRCLE Gifts of $25,000 and above
Nancy S. Babcock, Ken Babcock Sales
FOUNDER’S CIRCLE Gifts of $10,000-$25,000
Alice & Jorge Blanco
Tom & Sheri Schrader, CottageCare, Inc.
CONDUCTOR’S CIRCLE Gifts of $5,000-$10,000
Wayne Burdette
Miles & Virginia Hicks Smith, in memory of Andrew Cain
Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation Curtis and Mary Puetz Jim and Sue Schrock
MAESTOSO CIRCLE Gifts of $2,500-$5,000
Dr. Tom Coulter
John & Dorothy Goodson Joseph & Jill Ferst Dr. Marla Jane Franks IBM Corporation
Dr. Pratima Singh
Scott C. Smith Ann Stoskopf
BRILLIANTE CIRCLE
Gifts of $1000-$2500
Kenna Babcock
David & Diane Barker
Bruce & Debbie Casolari
Dr. Jill Davis
Dr. Pamela Hite
Ross & Amanda Kimbrough
Kristina Kriss
Nancy McDowell
in memory of Bill & Edith Wood
Robert & Melissa Overton
John & Jamea Sale
Sarah Shalf
Dr. O. Wayne Smith
Jane Sullivan
Amy Thropp
Greg Wegst
BEL CANTO CIRCLE
Gifts of $500-$1000
Dan Balach
David & Lori Chastain
Philip & Connie Cheek
Allan Cheshire, in memory of Susan Cheshire
Kent & Laura Dickinson
William Dreyfoos
R. Larry & Marsha Freeman
Dr. Harley Granville
Hallmark Corporate Foundation
Patricia Higgins
Fred & Luanne Leif
Martha Lee Cain Tranby
Music Performance Trust
Marcia Mein
Vera Newnan
Paul & Tricia Reichert
John & Fiona Schaefer
Cindy Sheets
George & Carolyn Smith
Joseph Steffen
in memory of Owen Michael Linde
Scott & Silke Talsma
Susan N. & Horace White
SECTION LEADER’S CIRCLE
Gifts of $250-$500
Glenna Abney
Bank of America Charitable Foundation
Martin Boos
Jocelyn Botkin
Carole Bredeson
Ronald Burgess
Terence Chorba
Gene & Kim Claxton
Anthony & Julianna Drees
Jennifer Engelhardt
James & DeeAnn Freeman
Timothy M. Gould
& Judith A. Fitzgerald
Bruce Fuerstenberg
Karen Kay Hall
Victoria Harkins
Elisabeth Henry
Marcia Higginson
David & Faye Holland
Mark Houghton
Bethann Johnston
Kimberly Clark Foundation
Yolanda Phillips
Julie & Brad Piroutek
Herb & Jeri Swanson
The Temple On Peachtree
Anne Willcocks
Laura Youngblood
SINGERS CIRCLE
Gifts of $100-$250
Erika Archibald
Julia Babensee
William Bankhead, Sr.
Michael Barnes
Jeanne Bedell
in memory of Brad Bedell & Ben Koomen
Benevity Community Impact Fund
Connie Bergeron
Robert & Linda Bonstein
Jim & Joyce Braddock
Barbara Brim
Cynthia Clark Campbell
Michael Carter
Laura & Robert Casper
City of Lee’s Summit Management
in honor of Barbara Moberg
The Coca-Cola Company
Diane Currence
Peter & Mary DeVeau
Nancy East
Edgar Ellyson
Gerry Fairly
Kate Foster
Rebecca Fowler
J.T. & Pattie Frierson
John K. Goodwin
Reuel Hamilton
Victoria & Bill Harkins
John Harr
Gordon Henke
Felicia Hernandez
Ellen Hicks,
in memory of Katherine Hicks
Geoffrey Hobbs
David & Faye Holland
Kathryn Huey
Ruth Johnson
Thomas & Helen Jones
Mary Ann Kancel
in honor of David Sachen
Denny Kurogi
Marlene Link
Mary & John Lehoczky
Judy Martin
James & Barbara Meadows
Kathleen Michaud
Bill Moody
Todd Allen Moore
Carter & Hampton Morris
Pamela Pendergast,
in memory of Mildred Popplewell Dunn
Bill & Charlene Price
Carol Reiser
Mark & Jamie Roberts
Frances Robinson
Schleicher Construction & Design
Jennifer Schoenfeld
Kathryn Senkbeil
Edwina Smith
Gerald Tobia
Phyllis Vasquez
in memory of Leroy Schnorf
Michael & Nancy Warrick
Drs. Georgia and Jean West
Ron and Adrienne Wilson
Fred Zimmerman
IN-KIND GIFTS
George Butler
Gene Claxton,
Unisource Document Products
Congregation Beth Shalom
Countryside Christian Church
IBM Corporation
Eddie Ross
St. Benedict’s Episcopal Church
Charles St. Clair
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Lee’s Summit
Lynn Swanson
Please report corrections to your
local Choral Foundation office or
[email protected]