When There Is Peace: An Armistice Oratorio

Chor Leoni men’s choir Erick Lichte Artistic Director

an Armistice Oratorio

by Zachary Wadsworth

27th Annual Remembrance Day Concerts

November 10, 2018 3pm & 8pm | St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church, Vancouver

November 11, 2018 3pm | West Vancouver United Church

chorleoni.org

When There is Peace: an armistice oratorio

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Ave Maria | O Little Town of Bethlehem | The First Noel | Star of Wonder | O Come, All Ye Faithful | What Child Is This? | Star of Wonder | I Wonder As I Wander | Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening | Silent Night | O Come, O Come Emmanuel

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Available in the lobby, at chorleoni.org, and on iTunes

chor leoni men’s choir

Chor Leoni men’s choir Erick Lichte Artistic Director

an Armistice Oratorio

WORLD PREMIERE

by Zachary Wadsworth

text compiled and edited by Peter Rothstein and Erick Lichte

Post-Concert Talk Backs (November 10th only) Please remain in your seats for a Post-Concert Talk Back hosted by CBC’s Katherine Duncan with Composer-in-Residence Zachary Wadsworth and Artistic Director Erick Lichte.

CBC National Broadcast When There Is Peace will be broadcast across Canada on CBC’s Choral Concert Sunday November 11th at 9am Erick Lichte, Artistic Director Borealis String Quartet Arwen Myers, soprano Lawrence Wiliford, tenor Martin Fisk, Robin Reid, percussionists

Chor Leoni Men’s Choir 949 West 49th Avenue Vancouver, BC V5Z 2T1 admin@chorleoni.org | www.chorleoni.org

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When There is Peace: an armistice oratorio

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or 27 years Chor Leoni Men’s Choir has commemorated Remembrance Day through its artistry and singing. Each of these years, the choir has honoured the service and sacrifice of all soldiers who have ever fought. But more than this, Chor Leoni’s Remembrance Day programs have focused on the horrors of war and contemplated the promise of peace. We are proud that our artistic offering has become a part of the fabric of Vancouver’s commemoration of this day.

I think it is fitting then that we have taken extra care this year to mark the 100th anniversary of the World War One Armistice with a newly commissioned oratorio, When There is Peace by our inaugural Composer-In-Residence Zachary Wadsworth.

The Armistice of the First World War was promised to be the beginning of a lasting peace. After nine million men were killed in the first mechanized war in the history of humanity, this promise must have seemed both tantalizing and preposterous. What would peace feel like to men who had seen such senseless carnage? What would peace mean to men who loyally followed orders to kill or be killed? What sort of peace could justify the great sacrifice made by so many men? I can’t imagine that the Armistice of November 11, 1918 offered only simple feelings of relief and elation. In fact, I can’t begin to imagine what they must have felt and thought.

One hundred years later it is clear we have not upheld the promise that this first world war would be our last. But today we mark, through the extraordinary music of Zachary Wadsworth, the idea and the promise of the Armistice. Today we remember all who gave their lives in the First World War and the countless and endless battles we have waged in the past century. Today we contemplate the vision of a world where there is peace.

Erick Lichte, Artistic Director

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PROGRAMME

Quartet No. 3

Imant Raminsh

Movement III Borealis String Quartet

When There Is Peace

+

Zachary Wadsworth

(b. 1983)

Dedicated to Erick Lichte and Chor Leoni In memory of those who gave their lives in search of lasting peace.

Commissioned with funds from the Diane Loomer Commissioning Fund by Chor Leoni to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armistice that ended World War I.

I. PROLOGUE All the hills and vales along Earth is bursting into song, And the singers are the chaps Who are going to die perhaps.

O sing, marching men, Till the valleys ring again.

Give your gladness to earth’s keeping, So be glad, when you are sleeping.

On, marching men, on To the gates of death with song.

Sow your gladness for earth’s reaping, So you may be glad, though sleeping.

Strew your gladness on earth’s bed, So be merry, so be dead.

CHARLES HAMILTON SORLEY

I had a vision and I was standing in a trench and at eye level there were feet marching, marching feet going along, and these were all the men I had known who were killed in the war. And they were marching away into the distance where I would never follow. All the people I knew had gone.

NORMAN COLLINS, Seaforth Highlanders (O sing, marching men, Till the valleys ring again.)

The trench... Decayed sandbags, new sandbags, boards, dropped ammunition, empty tins, corrugated iron, a smell of boots and stagnant water and burnt powder and oil and men, the occasional bang of a rifle, the occasional crack of a bullet coming over, or the wailing diminuendo of a ricochet. And over everything, the larks...

CAPT. THEODORE WILSON, Sherwood Foresters

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When There is Peace: an armistice oratorio

II. WAR Sombre the night is.

And though we have our lives, we know What sinister threat lurks there. ISAAC ROSENBERG Suddenly he sang across the trenches, vivid in the fleeting hush as a star-shell through the smashed black branches, a more than English thrush.

HUMBERT WOLFE

Sombre the night is.

And though we have our lives, we know What sinister threat lurks there. ISAAC ROSENBERG Suddenly he sang, and those who listened nor moved nor wondered, but heard, all bewitched, the sweet unhastened crystal Magnificat.

HUMBERT WOLFE

Death could drop from the dark As easily as song – But song only dropped, Like a blind man’s dreams on the sand By dangerous tides, Like a girl’s dark hair for she dreams no ruin lies there, Or her kisses where a serpent hides.

Sombre the night is.

And though we have our lives, we know What sinister threat lurks there. ISAAC ROSENBERG THE night is still and the air is keen, Tense with menace the time crawls by, The dead leaves float in the sighing air, The darkness moves like a curtain drawn, A veil which the morning sun will tear From the face of death. We charge at dawn.

PATRICK MACGILL

When the war is over I shall take My lute a-down to it and sing again Songs of the whispering things amongst the brake, And those I love shall know them by their strain.

FRANCIS LEDWIDGE

Many a mind was far away that night while we were singing the songs which were comic, patriotic and sentimental and there was many a wet eye; men thinking of the wives, children and the girl they had left behind. Nobody can imagine how a song sung as some soldiers sing, will turn the stoutest heart or wet the driest eye.

ALBERT GEORGE, Royal Field Artillery

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At dawn the ridge emerges massed and dun In the wild purple of the glow’ring sun, Smouldering through spouts of drifting smoke that shroud The menacing scarred slope; and, one by one, Tanks creep and topple forward to the wire.

The barrage roars and lifts. Then, clumsily bowed With bombs and guns and shovels and battle-gear, Men jostle and climb to, meet the bristling fire.

Lines of grey, muttering faces, masked with fear, They leave their trenches, going over the top, While time ticks blank and busy on their wrists, And hope, with furtive eyes and grappling fists, Flounders in mud. O Jesus, make it stop!

SIEGFRIED SASSOON

O God, take the sun from the sky!

It’s burning me, scorching me up.

God, can’t You hear my cry?

Water! A poor, little cup!

It’s searing the flesh on my bones; It’s beating with hammers red My eyeballs into my head; It’s parching my very moans.

See! It’s the size of the sky, And the sky is a torrent of fire, Foaming on me as I lie Here on the wire . . . the wire. . . .

ROBERT SERVICE

When the war is over I shall take My lute a-down to it and sing again Songs of the whispering things amongst the brake, And those I love shall know them by their strain.

FRANCIS LEDWIDGE

All my songs are risen and fled away; (Only the brave birds stay); All my beautiful songs are broken or fled.

My poor songs could not stay Among the filth and the weariness and the dead.

There was bloody grime on their light, white feathery wings, (Hear how the lark still sings), And their eyes were the eyes of dead men that I knew.

Only a madman sings When half of his friends lie asleep for the rain and the dew.

The flowers will grow over the bones of my friends; (The birds’ song never ends); Winter and summer, their fair flesh turns to clay.

Perhaps before all ends My songs will come again that have fled away.

HENRY L SIMPSON

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When There is Peace: an armistice oratorio

THERE will come soft rains and the smell of the ground, And swallows calling with their shimmering sound; Robins will wear their feathery fire Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire; And not one will know of the war, not one Will care at last when it is done.

Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree, If mankind perished utterly; And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn, Would scarcely know that we were gone.

SARA TEASDALE

III. ARMISTICE When there is Peace our land no more Will be the land we knew of yore.

When we have bled at every pore, Shall we still strive for gear and store?

Will it be Heaven? Will it be Hell, When there is peace?

HENRY AUSTIN DOBSON

On the 11th November at about 8 a.m. we received a wire from Corps HQ to say that at 11 a.m. hostilities would cease, but no fraternization would take place. 11 o’clock came, and a sudden silence.

E. J. RUFFELL, Royal Garrison Artillery Everyone suddenly burst out singing; And I was filled with such delight As prisoned birds must find in freedom, winging wildly across the white Orchards and dark-green fields; on- on- and out of sight.

SIEGFRIED SASSOON

We were right opposite a convent and all the nuns came out and decorated us with flowers, and they stuck them in our rifles, and we moved off and were cheered along.

ANDREW BOWIE, 1st Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders Everyone’s voice was suddenly lifted; And beauty came like the setting sun: My heart was shaken with tears; and horror Drifted away... O, but Everyone Was a bird; and the song was wordless; the singing will never be done.

SIEGFRIED SASSOON One of the church bells started ringing, and one of our lot, a man called Slater, promptly disappeared. The local people were coming out shoving drinks on us, you know, happy that the war was over. Anyway we went to look for Slater, and we find him sitting in the church playing the organ, playing the damned organ as happy as a sandman.

GEORGE LITTLEFAIR, Durham Light Infantry 8

chor leoni men’s choir

Watching the dark my spirit rose in flood On that most dearest Prelude of my delight.

The low-lying mist lifted its hood, The [October] stars showed nobly in clear night.

When I return, and to real music-making, And play that Prelude, how will it happen then?

Shall I feel as I felt, a sentry hardly waking, With a dull sense of No Man’s Land again? IVOR GURNEY Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields, Sleep sweet - to rise anew!

We caught the torch you threw And holding high, we keep the Faith With All who died.

And now the Torch and Poppy Red We wear in honor of our dead.

Fear not that ye have died for naught; We’ll teach the lesson that ye wrought In Flanders Fields.

MOINA MICHAEL

IV. EPILOGUE When I go back there I feel I’m on consecrated ground. That ground has been trod by all those lovely friends of mine, who never came back... You imagine them as they were then — not as they would be now — young, and in their prime, and never grown old.

GEORGE MORGAN, West Yorkshire Regiment They went with songs to the battle, they were young, Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted, They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust, Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain; As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness, To the end, to the end, they remain.

We will remember them.

LAURENCE BINYON

(O sing, marching men, Till the valleys ring again.)

+ world premiere Canadian Composer

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When There is Peace: an armistice oratorio

Zachary Wadsworth Chor Leoni Composer-in-Residence Zachary Wadsworth’s “vivid, vital, and prismatic” music has established him as a leading composer of his generation. Praised for its “evocative mixture of old and new,” his music has been heard in venues around the world, from the Kennedy Center in Washington to Takinogawa Hall in Tokyo. After winning an international competition chaired by James MacMillan, Wadsworth’s Out of the South Cometh the Whirlwind was performed by the choir of Westminster Abbey in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, and the Archbishop of Canterbury. For the 2012-13 season, Wadsworth was a Fellow of the Douglas Moore Fellowship for American Opera, which placed him in residence at the Metropolitan Opera and the Santa Fe Opera. In 2014, he had his Carnegie Hall debut.

Wadsworth’s music is widely broadcast and distributed, with recent publications by Novello, G. Schirmer, and E.C. Schirmer, and airings on NPR’s Performance Today, With Heart and Voice, Pipedreams, BBC Radio 3’s The Choir, CBC’s The Story from Here, and PRI’s Christmas Daybreak. Commercial recordings of his music are available on Gothic Records, Albany Records, and Innova Recordings.

Called an “exquisitely beautiful cycle” in the Journal of Singing, Wadsworth’s Pictures of the Floating World was premiered at the Lincoln Center after winning first prize in the 2007 ASCAP Lotte Lehmann Foundation Art Song Competition. Additional honours include a Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and three Morton Gould Young Composer Awards from ASCAP. Wadsworth has also received first-prize recognition in competitions sponsored by the American Composers Forum, the King James Bible Trust, the Long Leaf Opera, the Pacific Chorale, the Boston Choral Ensemble, and the Esoterics.

Since its composition in 2004, Wadsworth’s opera, Venus and Adonis, has already been staged five times and hailed as an “astonishingly confident” and “mesmerizing” work.

His vocal music has been widely programmed by leading performing groups around the world, including the Washington National Opera Chorus, the Yale Schola Cantorum, Boston Metro Opera, Long Leaf Opera, the Tokyo Cantat, and the Richmond Symphony Chorus.

Wadsworth’s “subtly beautiful” orchestral works have been performed by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Atlanta Philharmonic Orchestra, the Yale Philharmonia, and the Wind Ensemble and Festival Chamber Orchestra at Cornell University.

A citizen of Canada and the United States, Wasworth (b. 1983) earned graduate degrees from Cornell University (DMA) and Yale University (MM), and is an honours graduate of the Eastman School of Music (BM). His principal composition teachers have included Steven Stucky, Martin Bresnick, Ingram Marshall, Ezra Laderman, and David Liptak. He has taught at the Interlochen Center for the Arts and the University of Calgary, and he is currently an Assistant Professor of Music at Williams College. He also maintains an active performing life as a tenor and pianist.

When There Is Peace was made possible by all the generous donors to the Diane Loomer Commissioning Fund.

To contribute or learn more visit www.chorleoni.org/donate 10

chor leoni men’s choir

Borealis String Quartet One of the most dynamic and exciting world-class ensembles of its generation, the Borealis String Quartet has received international critical acclaim as an ensemble praised for its fiery performances, passionate style, and refined, musical interpretation. Founded in Vancouver, BC in the fall of 2000 and rapidly establishing a stellar reputation, the Borealis has toured extensively in North America, Europe, and Asia and performed to enthusiastic soldout audiences in major cities, including New York, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Rome, Mainz, Shanghai, Taipei, Beijing, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and, of course, in their home town of Vancouver.

The Borealis has continued to receive awards and rave accolades from presenters, renowned musicians and critics alike for their artistry. The Borealis was the only classical group to be selected for the Great Canadian Dream Competition which was televised across the nation and as a result, were the only classical musicians to perform for the Prime Minister of Canada at the Parliament Hill in Ottawa for an audience of over 75,000. Since then, they have performed on every music series in Canada. Amongst other awards, their most recent CD was also nominated for the prestigious Golden Melody Award in Asia.

Although the Borealis feels strongly committed to the great traditional quartet literature, they actively seek to promote new works and are strong advocates of Canadian music, with quartets by R. Murray Schafer, Omar Daniels, John Stetch and Peter Tiefenbach among others in their repertory. They have also worked closely with and commissioned music from Bramwell Tovey, Imant Raminsh, Kelly-Marie Murphy, and John Oliver to name a few.

In addition to performance, the Borealis has frequently served as jury members for competitions and most recently at the 2012 E-Gre National Competition. The Borealis was the String Quartet-in-Residence at the University of British Columbia for over 10 years and as Visiting Scholars at Green College from 2000-2004 during which time they often performed for dignitaries including the Dalai Lama.

They have also been invited to be the Quartet in Residence at numerous festivals and universities across North America, Mexico, Europe and Asia. From 2012, the Borealis has been the String Quartet-in-Residence at the Casalmaggiore International Music Festival in Italy.

The Borealis is on faculty and acts as the Quartet in Residence at the Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) and at the Langley Community Music School (LCMS).

Arwen Myers Praised for her artistry and warm, clear tone, soprano Arwen Myers is quickly gaining a reputation as a captivating and sensitive interpreter of repertoire spanning from early to new music. A versatile artist equally comfortable in oratorio, chamber music, and on the recital stage, Ms. Myers has performed major works with Portland Baroque Orchestra, Early Music Vancouver, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, and Sacred Music at Notre Dame — including the world premiere performance and recording of Robert Kyr’s (the role of Beatrice having been written for Ms. Myers by the composer) in 2016.

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When There is Peace: an armistice oratorio

Upcoming solo engagements include world premieres by Zachary Wadsworth with Vancouver’s Chor Leoni, Robert Kyr with Trinity Music and the Ensemble of Oregon, and Renée Favand-See, Will White, and Emerson Eads with Northwest Art Song; Handel’s Italian cantatas with Seattle’s Gallery Concerts; Monteverdi’s Christmas Vespers with Early Music Vancouver; Bach’s Christmas Oratorio; a program of English songs and arias with Portland Baroque Orchestra; and appearances with Bach Akademie Charlotte.

Arwen was last heard in Vancouver as part of Early Music Vancouver’s highly acclaimed all-female tour of Vivaldi’s Gloria and Magnificat under the direction of Monica Huggett.

Other highlights from last season include singing the title role of Semele with the American Bach Soloists Academy; solo appearances in Bach’s B Minor Mass with Portland Baroque Orchestra directed by David Hill, Muehleisen’s Pietà with Portland Symphonic Choir, and Respighi’s Laud to the Nativity with Trinity Music.

Ms. Myers holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees and a Performer’s Diploma in vocal performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she studied with Alan Bennett and Patricia Brooks Havranek. In 2014, she placed third nationally in the prestigious NATS Artist Award competition in Boston, MA, and she has twice competed in the Oratorio Society of New York’s solo competition.

Lawrence Wiliford Lauded for his luminous projection, lyrical sensitivity, and brilliant coloratura, American-Canadian tenor Lawrence Wiliford is in high demand in concert, opera, and recital repertoire. Highlights of his current season include a performance of Mozart’s Coronation Mass with Les Violons Du Roy, the premiere of When There Is Peace

by Zachary Wadsworth with Chor Leoni Men’s Choir, Handel’s Messiah with the Phoenix Symphony, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor and Bach’s St. John Passion at the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park (Florida), and Bach’s St. John Passion with Calgary’s Luminous Voices.

His celebrated career as an oratorio soloist has seen Wiliford perform with a host of major ensembles across North America, in Mexico, and at England’s Aldeburgh Festival. Vancouver audiences will know him from his brilliant performances of the Mass in B minor with the Vancouver Chamber Choir, his title role in Britten’s Albert Herring with Vancouver Opera, and his title role in the MusicFest Vancouver and Boston Baroque production of Rameau’s Pygmalion.

Wiliford made his highly praised operatic debut with the Canadian Opera Company in 2006, stepping into the role of Ferrando in Mozart’s Così fan tutte on just five hours’ notice.

Mr. Wiliford has collaborated with conductors Jane Glover, Matthew Halls, Nicholas McGegan, John Nelson, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Peter Oundjian, Trevor Pinnock, Helmuth Rilling, and Pinchas Zukerman. He has recorded St. John Passion with Les Voix Baroques and the Arion Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Alex Weimann, and his debut solo recording Divine Musick: The Late Works for Tenor and Harp by Benjamin Britten, on the ATMA Classique and NAXOS labels. In addition to his performing schedule, Mr. Wiliford is co-artistic director of the Canadian Art Song Project.

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Robin Reid Percussionist Robin Reid began working professionally at age 16, playing for various musical theatre organizations in Vancouver. Since that time, she’s performed with a wide variety of entertainers in an equally wide variety of styles from Latin-jazz to Scottish pipe band to industrial theatrical drumming.

Robin has studied diverse percussion styles such as West African drumming, Cuban and Brazilian percussion, frame drumming, and marimba. She is equally at home playing ‘western’ music, performing regularly with the Vancouver Symphony, Vancouver New Music, Vancouver Opera, and Turning Point Ensemble. She can be heard on soundtracks for Disney, Lionsgate Films and EA Sports.

A committed educator, Robin has been teaching percussion at Saint George’s School since 2001, as well as being a periodic instructor at the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Academy of Music, a workshop leader for the VSO, and a private teacher. She has been Head of Percussion at St. James Music Academy since 2014.

Highlights of Robin’s career include performing off-Broadway at the New Victory Theatre with the action drumming ensemble, SWARM, performing nightly at the 2010 Olympic Medals Ceremonies, and 25 appearances with the RCMP Pipes and Drums at the Royal Edinburgh Tattoo in 2015.

MARTIN FISK Martin performs in a wide variety of musical styles including Orchestral, Jazz, Chamber, Theatre, Klezmer, World Music and Musical Theatre. Martin is a member of the Fringe Percussion Ensemble, Driftwood Percussion, and Negative Zed and has logged countless concerts with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Turning Point Ensemble, Vancouver New Music and Red Shift Music Society and the Vancouver Opera. Martin has also had the privilege to study gamelan music with the renowned orchestra, Cudamani in Bali, Indonesia. Performances include Frank Sinatra Jr. Orchestra, Petula Clarke Orchestra, Vancouver Opera, City Opera, Con Brio Music Festivals, Gateway Theatre, Chor Leoni, and The Artsclub Theater.

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When There is Peace: an armistice oratorio

Erick Lichte Erick Lichte has been hailed by the Washington Post for the “audacity” of his programming and the Chicago Tribune has noted the “meticulous preparation” of his choirs. Fanfare Magazine declared that he created and helmed “the premier men’s vocal ensemble in the United States.”

As a founding member, singer and Artistic Director of the male vocal ensemble Cantus, Lichte created and sustained one of only two fulltime vocal ensembles in the United States. From 2000-2009, Lichte’s programming and artistic direction were heard in over 60 concerts a year and he collaborated with artists such as Bobby McFerrin, the Boston Pops and Robert Bly. His work with Cantus garnered the 2009 Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence, the highest honour from the professional choral organization Chorus America.

In January 2013, he began his tenure as Artistic Director of Vancouver BC’s Chor Leoni Men’s Choir. Since that time, he has grown the choir into one of the most active and popular amateur choirs in North America.

Lichte is an active proponent of new music and has commissioned over 250 new works from composers such as Lee Hoiby, riks Ešenvalds, Gavin Bryars, Jocelyn Morlock, Steven Sametz, Edie Hill, Mary Ellen Childs, and Imant Raminsh among many others.

He is also an active composer and arranger, especially known for co-creating All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 which has toured North America ten times, been performed on three continents, and in 2018 will be presented in an off-Broadway run.

Chor Leoni Men’s Choir Praised for its excellent intonation and wide palette of vocal colour and described as “one of the best male choirs on the continent” by Oregon Artswatch, Chor Leoni is one of the most active amateur ensembles in North America and performs more than 35 concerts a season to over 15,000 patrons. With stylistic grace and an adventurous spirit, Vancouver’s Singing Lions have enriched and transformed people’s lives through singing for over twenty-five years. The choir is fortunate and privileged to sing on the unceded traditional territory of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.

Chor Leoni has been honoured with many awards at the national and international level including five 1st place awards in the CBC National Radio Competition for Amateur Choirs. In July 2018 the ensemble won gold medals in the Equal Voices, Folklore, and Musica Sacra categories of the Singapore International Choral Festival and sang in both the opening concert and Grand Prix performances. A few days later, Chor Leoni won gold medals and Choir Championships in the Sacred Music and Male Choir categories of the 7th Bali International Choral Competition. In addition to singing in the opening concert and Grand Prix performances in Bali, the choir also won a special jury’s prize for outstanding choreography. Chor Leoni’s 2016 recording Wandering Heart has been a featured CD for Minnesota Public Radio and WFMT Chicago, and received a perfect, five-star rating from the UK’s prestigious Choir and Organ magazine.

Chor Leoni prides itself on its musical ambassadorship for Vancouver and Canada and has performed at major festivals and concert venues across Canada and the United States. Internationally, the choir has shared its music in Singapore, Bali, Italy, Croatia, Bosnia, Germany, and the Czech Republic.

Chor Leoni champions new music and has commissioned hundreds of pieces for male choir, ranging from pop and folksong arrangements to modern works. The ensemble has commissioned works by notable composers such as Zachary Wadsworth, Jocelyn Morlock, riks Ešenvalds, Bob Chilcott, Imant Raminsh, R. Murray Schafer, Stephen Chatman, Malcolm Forsyth, Bruce Sled, and Steven Smith, among others.

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The Diane Loomer Founders’ Circle Chor Leoni Men’s Choir is proud to launch the Diane Loomer Founders’ Circle to recognize those friends who have chosen to leave a gift in their will or estate to Chor Leoni. We name the circle after our beloved founder, Diane, because gifts of this magnitude ensure the legacy of Diane and Chor Leoni lives on for many years to come. We are so thankful for the commitment, foresight, and generosity of those who have left an estate gift, and we are honoured to acknowledge you in your lifetime for your unwavering support of Chor Leoni.

MEMBERS Rick* & Lorraine Bennett, Paul & Margaret Birch*, Ann Coombs, James Emery* & Rob McAllister*, Ian Farthing*, Jean Hurst, Jacqueline Joys, Len & Shauna Kirkham, Eric Kristensen* & Geoff Reid, David Love* If you are considering a gift in your will or estate plans to Chor Leoni, please contact us. We would be happy to provide sample will wording or chat with you about the incredible impact of your gift. Please contact Stash Bylicki, Executive Director, at 778.886.4612 or stash@chorleoni.org. * = current choir member

government sponsors

major sponsors

sustaining sponsors

Print & Media sponsors

concert sponsors

Accommodations for this production provided by The Listel Hotel.

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When There is Peace: an armistice oratorio

Chor Leoni names its giving levels after the stars of the constellation Leo, the lion. Thank you to all of our benefactors and friends. Your generosity helps us shine!

This list acknowledges donations received from Oct 31, 2017 to Oct 31, 2018. If you detect any errors or omissions, please call the choir office at 604.263.7061.

For more information or to make a gift, please visit www.chorleoni.org/donate

DONORS REGULUS ($10,000+)

RBC Foundation, Alix Brown, Robert Lesperance, Robert & Helen Watson ADHAFERA ($5,000 - $9,999) Thomas Anfield, James* & Leslie Carter, Bob & Judy Hager Family Fund, Martha Lou Henley Charitable Foundation, Paul & Darlene Howard, Marni Johnson & Gordon Roberts, Patricia Penner, The Joseph Segal Family Foundation NOVA ($2,000 - $4,999) Rick* & Lorraine Bennett, Vincent Carey & Ed Friesen*, Stephanie Carlson, Pete Chamberlain, Richard & Valerie Dunsterville, John Geddes, Ray Glicksohn, Doug Graeb*, Jim Green & Vivian Thom, Hamber Foundation, Joan Henderson, Iredale Group Architecture, Kearns & Company Lawyers, Erick* & Ashley Lichte, Â McGranePearson Endowment Fund, Nader Mirhady & Chris Salton, Ian & Jane Strang, Moe Takhar, Colleen & David Torrison, Eric & Beverly Watt, Peeter & Mary Wesik DENEBOLA ($500 - $1,999) Robert Aguayo & Leanne Denis, Joan Apel, Paul* & Margaret Birch, Jamesie Bower, Richard & Valerie Bradshaw, Shannon Brown, Stash Bylicki*, Joyce Campkin, Lori Charvat, Liz Chaston, Ted & Dorothy Chiasson, The Christopher Foundation, Larry Clausen & Myron Story, David Cousins, Shannon Dolphin, Christopher Doray, Garth Edwards*, James Emery* & Rob McAllister*, John Evans, Fidelity Investments Canada ULC, Charles & Lucile Flavelle Family Fund, Sally Geller, Douglas Gordon, Carol & Richard Henriquez, Ken* & Rosalind Hollett, Don & Patricia Hudson, AllWest Insurance, Jean Hurst, Peter Joosten*, Gary & Louise Kenwood, Bob* & Deborah Keyes, Paul Larocque*, Angela MacDougall, Greg Martin*, Jennifer Meldrum, Jean Michelson, Alan & Mary Lou Miles, Lois Milsom, Cheryl Neighbour, Elizabeth Noble, Bernard Poznanski, Bob* & Margaret Rankin, Diane Ravelli, RBC Phillips Hager & North Investment Counsel Inc, Reid Family Charitable Gift Fund, David Reesor, Don & Heather Risk, Mike & Val Seager, Nicky & Doug Seppala, Larry Smeets*, Ted Steiner*, Nigel Stewart, Mary-Anne Stowe, Michael Watson, Bill Wood, Bruce Wright, Kathy Yoshitomi, Mark Zlotnik 16

chor leoni men’s choir

ZOSMA ($200 - $499) Sue & Bob Adams, Richard Anderson, Joan Anderson, Jean Arthur, Cora Ashburner, Jordan Back, Laura & Paul Baker, Beth Elaine Barkey, Brenda Benham, Maureen Bennington, Dianne Bentz, Ron Bergeron, Melina Buckley, Kevin Chiang*, Eva Christopher, Jude Coffin, Ken Cormier*, Rita Cousins, Kimberley Cudney, Dawn Demery, Bill & Jeannie Denault, Count Enrico & Countess Aline Dobrzensky, Janet Enns, Ian Farthing*, John Forbes, Joy Gibson, Rusty & Lindy Goepel, Norma Goldie, Conor Graham*, Kate Gregory, Karen Hamersley, Amanda Harris, Peter & Sylvia Hart, Martha Hazevoet, Nancy Hermiston, Floyd Hill, Bruce Hoffman* & Dean Brown, Barry Honda*, Patricia Howard, Reid Howard*, Don & Pat Hudson, Kathleen Hurl, Judith Hutson, Julia Hydes, Isabeau & Muhammad Iqbal, Heather & Bill Ireland, AnneMarie & Peter Kains, Nancy Kemble, Margaret Kidd, Jim Knight*, Vlad Krajina, Pei Chih Kuan, Katerina Kwon, Bill & Denny Lang, Tini Lattey, Fred Lee, Lynn & Russel Lichte, Rod Locke* & Quinn Crosina, David Love* & Jim Harcott, Jill Lyall, Greg Lypowy, Gerald Lyseng, Tara May, Rob Mayhew, Mary McDermid, Debbie McLean, Joan McLeod, Cindy McPherson, Peter Mercer & Ginger Shaw, Gregory Mohr*, Christine Nicolas, Jane Nicolson, Diane Norton, Masato Oki, Elaine Peddie, Provincial Employees Community Service Fund, Jill Purdy, Peter & Elfriede Rohloff, John & Marilyn Ross, Bill & Pat Sexsmith, Marion & Andy Shaw, Frances Smith, Peter Spira*, Lesley Stowe & Geoffrey Scott, Fumiko Suzuki, Vancouver Foundation, Sheila Wex, Linda Yorke RASALAS ($75- $199) Robert Allan, Hugh Alley, Janet Allwork, Sue Anderlini, Karen Bartlett, Ruth Brodie, Charles Budd, Diana Budden, Marilyn Bullock, Rachel Caulfield, Sheila & Doug Chisholm, Burke & Hanneke Corbet, Rick DeHart, Stephen Dunbar, Prudence Emery, Lynn Eyton, Diane Fast, Nancy Flexman, Judi & Graham Forst, Ronald Hagler, Dan Halperin, Stephanie Hardman, Holly & Peter Horwood, Shaun Jackman*, Mike Jackman*, Phyllis Kenney, Derek Kief*, Ellen Kief, Eric Kristensen* & Geoff Reid, Lesley McGibbon, Theresa Mulligan, Alexandra Nicolas, Janice Noble, Marti Oppenheimer, Aster & Herb Osen, Barb Pearce, Marlene Poole, Greg Rasmussen, Catherine Rickey & Ross Ramsey, James Rodgers, Jim Rogers, Adrianne Ross, Ursula Schmelcher, Peter Schutz, Andrew & Hilde Seal, Bernice & Ron Slemko, Helen Smith, Joan Stewart, Audrey Suttorp, Yifan Tang, Marion Tennant, Mary Thomas, Cathy Tuckwell, Jaime Vargas*, Lois Voth, Marie Wagstaff, Vic Weckerle, Valerie Weeks, John* & Sue Wyness

* Indicates current members of Chor Leoni.

SUSTAINING DONORS GIVING BY RECURRING MONTHLY DONATION Brenda Benham, Paul* & Margaret Birch, Stash Bylicki*, Kevin Chiang*, Garth Edwards*, Ian Farthing*, Doug Graeb*, Conor Graham*, Kyle Harland*, Joan Henderson, Bruce Hoffman* & Dean Brown, Reid Howard*, Jean Hurst, Mike Jackman*, Shaun Jackman*, Bob* & Deborah Keyes, Derek Kief*, Jim Knight*, Eric Kristensen* & Geoff Reid, Roderick Locke* & Quinn Crosina, Mark MacDonald*, Greg Martin*, Tara May, Patricia Penner, Bob* & Margaret Rankin, Don & Heather Risk, Peter & Elfriede Rohloff, Peter Spira*, Helen Smith, Colleen & David Torrison, Jaime Vargas*

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When There is Peace: an armistice oratorio

Members of Chor Leoni First Tenors Corey Hollett Ken Hollett Noel Hollett Shaun Jackman Derek Kief Bob Keyes Mark MacDonald Cliff Reinhardt Peter Spira William Ting Jaime Vargas

Second Tenors Stephen Baker Kevin Chiang Charles Crossin Byron Hanson Kyle Harland Bruce Hoffman Reid Howard Liam Kearns Jim Knight Rod Lock Bryn Orth-Lashley Marc Petrunia Keith Sinclair John Wyness

Section Leaders Mark MacDonald, Byron Hanson, Greg Martin, Michael Soderling

Baritones Joseph Anthony James Carter Ken Cassidy Jonathan Easey Ian Farthing Mike Fletcher Doug Graeb Conor Graham Phil Jack Mike Jackman Peter Joosten Tom Kidd Paul Larocque Dougas Leung Greg Martin Rob McAllister Greg Mohr Daniel Sheinin Ted Steiner

Basses Douglas Au-Lange Rick Bennett Paul Birch Lucas Brown Stash Bylicki Garth Edwards James Emery Ed Friesen Travis Fuchs Barry Honda Eric Kristensen David Love Chris Moore Shinil Park Bob Rankin Larry Smeets Michael Soderling Nicholas van der Velden

Honorary Lifetime Members Christopher Gaze, o.b.c., m.s.m.

Martha Lou Henley, c.m.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHAIR James Emery Erick Lichte Artistic Director

Vice-CHAIR Rick Bennett Treasurer Marni Johnson Secretary Rod Locke MEMBERS AT LARGE James Carter Leanne Denis John Geddes Conor Graham Fred Lee Peter Joosten Masato Oki Patricia Penner

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STAFF Artistic Director: Erick Lichte Executive Director: Stash Bylicki Production Manager: David Carpenter Manager of Marketing & Patron Relations: Bruce Hoffman Administrative Assistant: Derek Kief Digital Media Producer: Phil Jack Archivist: Eric Kristensen Accompanist: Ken Cormier FOUNDER Diane Loomer, c.m.

HONORARY PATRONS Judith Forst, o.c., o.b.c.

Martha Lou Henley, c.m.

Brett Polegato Wayne Riddell, c.m.

Robert Sund Bramwell Tovey, o.c., o.m.

Patrick Wedd

chor leoni men’s choir

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When There is Peace: an armistice oratorio

Chor Leoni men’s Choir Erick LichtE Artistic Director

Sing with

Collaborate with Chor Leoni and Cantus — and sing at the Chan!

• free choral program for guys 12–22 • work with Chor Leoni & Artistic Director Erick Lichte • no musical experience necessary • make friends, find your voice, have fun • 10 rehearsals starting in January • sing with over 300 men • attend Cantus & Chor Leoni, April 12 at the Chan • sing at VanMan Male Choral Summit April 13 at the Chan

saturday April 13, 2019 | 4pm

Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC DETAILS & REGISTRATION:

chorleoni.org/MYVoice SUPPORTED By

STAY CONNECTED AT STRAIGHT.COM

Proud Media Sponsor

Chor Leoni Men’s Choir

Vancouver's leading arts source.

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chor leoni men’s choir

CONTACT PRINTING

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604.980.6052

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When There is Peace: an armistice oratorio

@CBCVANCOUVER @CBCNEWSBC

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chor leoni men’s choir

Chor Leoni Men’s choir 2018-19

Erick Lichte Artistic Director

Chor Leoni PopCapella

Vancouver Playhouse March 1 & 3, 2019 | 8pm March 2, 2019 | 4pm & 8pm PopCapella explores the swinging intersection of choral, jazz, and pop music!

Vanman Male Choral Summit

Chan Centre for the Performing Arts Cantus & Chor Leoni April 12, 2019 | 7:30pm Cantus, hailed by Fanfare magazine as “the premiere men’s vocal ensemble in the United States,” share the stage with Chor Leoni to open VanMan 2019.

MYVoice at the Chan April 13, 2019 | 4pm The young men of Chor Leoni’s youth outreach program storm the Chan stage for a showcase concert.

Summit Concert April 13, 2019 | 7:30pm Featuring Cantus, Chor Leoni, Chor Leoni’s MYVoice and PROMYS choirs, VanMan Festival Singers

C/4 Canadian Choral Composition Competition The Annex May 10, 2019 | 8pm

Join Chor Leoni on its Canada-wide quest for new works for male choir. Intimate, relaxed, and entertaining, C/4 offers an insider’s look at new music.

LIONS SHARE June 8, 2019 | 7pm Party in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre’s multi-tiered lobby as the lions bring competitive karaoke, extreme a capella, and designer choreography to this fabulous fundraiser.

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Chor Leoni men’s choir Erick Lichte Artistic Director

CHRISTMAS WITH CHOR LEONI Familiar melodies, glorious new works, joyous a capella harmonies, and sparklng selections from Chor Leoni’s new holiday recording welcome you to this festive tradition.

December 14 | 8pm December 16 | 8pm December 17 | 5pm & 8pm St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church

December 15 | 3pm West Vancouver United Church

chorleoni.org 1.877.840.0457