FROM THE PRESIDENT As President, as well as a singing member of the Waukesha choral Union, I am honored and privileged to wish you the happiest of holidays.. We hope that our performance of An Olde English Christmas will add as much seasonal enjoyment for you as it already has for us. I would also like to take this opportunity to personally invite each of you to participate in our annual community concert of Handel’s Messiah coming up on March 27th. It is truly an exceptional musical experience to be on stage with over 100 other choral and instrumental musicians to perform one of the greatest choral/orchestral works in the entire classical repertoire. The only commitment we ask of our community singers is to make each of the rehearsals (Sun. 20th, Tues. 22nd, and Sat. 26th). If you can’t make it as a singer, please come and enjoy the concert at Shattuck auditorium on the campus of Carroll University. Our 2010-2011 season is made possible not only by the hard work and dedication of our singers and musicians, but also by the support of our donors, advertisers, sponsors, volunteers, and all those who attend our concerts. In order to be successful, our organization needs the efforts of all of these participants, just like putting together the pieces of a puzzle. As a member of today’s audience you are one piece of the puzzle. You can make it more than one piece by inviting friends, family members, and neighbors to experience the wonderful performances that will make up the rest of our 2010-2011 season. Tom Custis Waukesha Choral Union President
www.ChoralUnion.org · Waukesha Choral Union 1
A B O U T T H E WAU K E S H A C H O R A L U N I O N As the premiere chorus in the area, the Waukesha Choral Union has been musically active in the community for over 50 years. Originally a combination of the Carroll College student chorus and community singers known as the Waukesha Choral Society in 1949, the group became the Town and Gown in 1961 and the Waukesha Choral Union in 1974, taking its present form as an auditioned choir in 1978. MISSION The Waukesha Choral Union’s mission is to challenge, enrich, and engage its singing members, audiences, and community through the pursuit of excellence and a variety of programming. The WCU mission includes expansion of the effectiveness of its educational efforts throughout Waukesha County through collaboration with schools, area performing artists, and community arts organizations. S TA Y C O N N E C T E D TO T H E WAU K E S H A C H O R A L U N I O N Website www.ChoralUnion.org Sign up for our new eNewsletter
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WA U K E S H A C H O R A L U N I O N
Board of Directors Tom Custis - President Diane McGeen - Vice President Tom Hering - Treasurer Susan Wallenslager - Secretary Ernest Brusubardis, III - Ex-officio Kristina Boerger Tom Constable ReAnn Holmes Sarah Holmquist Barbara Miller Tom Smith Committee Chairs David Bowey - Membership John Clausz - Operations Jim LaBelle - Marketing Staff Ernest Brusubardis, III - Artistic Director Christopher Ruck - Accompanist Jim LaBelle - Marketing Director Paula Custis - Administrative Assistant
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A R T I S T I C D I R E C TO R Ernest Brusubardis, III is enjoying his third season as artistic director of the Waukesha Choral Union. Mr. Brusubardis shares the podium of the Brusubardas-Dzimtene Latvian Choir with his father, and has been selected as a chief conductor in Latvian Song Festivals in the United States, Canada, and Latvia.
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Mr. Brusubardis has also been musical director for community theatre productions throughout Southeastern Wisconsin including Menomonee Falls Patio Players, On the Wall as well as Off the Wall Theatres, Archangel Productions, and shows at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee and West Bend extensions. Mr. Brusubardis is in his twelfth year as a choral director at Hartford Union High School. In addition to his teaching duties, he also conducts the orchestra for the school’s annual musical theatre productions. He is a graduate of UW Milwaukee with a BFA in Music and a Master’s Degree in Music Education with an emphasis in choral conducting.
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Mr. Brusubardis is a member of the American Choral Directors Association, the National Association of Music Educators, and President of the American Latvian Choir Association. He resides in Dousman with his wife Indra and their six children.
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F R O M T H E A R T I S T I C D I R E C TO R Welcome to Waukesha Choral Union’s An Olde English Christmas. We invite you to enjoy the choral art as we express it through the English choral tradition. We will sing not only favorite carols and anthems but also a larger work that contemplates the birth of Christ from a number of perspectives. A Ceremony of Carols is one of Benjamin Britten’s most popular choral works. Composed nearly sixty years ago, it has stood the test of time as a holiday favorite. While journeying back to the UK from Canada, the MS Axel Johnson called into port at Halifax where Britten disembarked and purchased a copy of The English Galaxy of Shorter Poems. Several of these poems were the inspiration for what became A Ceremonyof Carols. Although it was originally written for treble voices, we will be singing Julius Harrison’s adaptation for SATB published in 1955 at the request of the publisher, Boosey & Hawkes, responding to the popularity of the work. In addition to this masterpiece, we will be inviting you to sing along with a few favorite Christmas anthems and to enjoy our presentation of other traditional songs and carols of the season arranged by some of the masters of the English tradition as well as our own Perry Francisco. Our hope is that you will leave this concert uplifted and inspired to go out and live the meaning and purpose of the season. Peace and Joy unto you, Ernest Brusubardis III Waukesha Choral Union Artistic Director
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Give the gift of music this holiday season. Purchase a ticket to our Winter Concert and get a ticket to our Season Finale 1/2 off*! Winter Concert:
Heavenly Light
February 27, 2011 at 3pm at St. John’s Northwestern –OR– March 1, 2011 at 7:30pm at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church
Season Finale:
Ultimate Romantics
April 19, 2011 at 7:30pm at Oconomowoc Arts Center *offer only available at time of Winter Concert ticket purchase.
Call 262-547-1858 or visit wisconsinphilharmonic.org.
Waukesha CiviC TheaTre A NIGHT WITH TONY December 3-19, 2010
December 31, 2010 January 1 & 2, 2011
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MUSICAL FINES
Latecomers (Entering between songs)….. $10.00 Latecomers (Entering during songs).…….$100.00 Coughing.…………………………….…..$25.00 Watch Alarm.……………………….……$15.00 Tapping Foot.……………………….……$10.00 Cell Phone Ring Tone…………………... $500.00 Whispering.………………………………$25.00 Audibly Humming……………………… $50.00 Audibly Humming (Out of tune).………..$500.00 Opening Cough-Drop Wrapper.………….$25.00 Opening Cough-Drop Wrapper Slowly.….$5,000.00 Please make checks payable to Waukesha Choral Union
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WAU K E S H A C H O R A L U N I O N Ernest Brusubardis, III, Director Christopher Ruck, Accompanist SOPRANO Karen Bieszk Indra Brusubardis Christine Budish Caitlin Butte Phyllis Cramer Paula Custis Carrie Garcia Patricia Hummel Bonnie Eales Jensen Barbara Miller Rena Pett Megan Shoppach Carol Slaybaugh Mary Stephani Wendy Stippich Kathi Stoiber Joanna Vanderhoef ALTO Maureen Hair Carrie Hooyman Claire Johnson Wendy Muller JoAnn Portz Susan Rabe Colleen Reske
Michele Rinka Judy Rosynek Mary Ruckh Susan Till Sue Wallenslager Anne Wandler TENOR David Betzold John Clausz Tom Custis Perry Francisco James Gallup Paul McCoy BASS Richard Blauvelt Ed Butte Norm Goeschko Clark Gugler John Gustafson Tom Hering Charlie Hummel Allen (Dean) Larson Paul Rempe Tom Smith Alan Thompson
AU D I T I O N I N F O R M AT I O N Waukesha Choral Union is always seeking new members. To schedule an audition please call (414) 297-9310 or email at membership@choralunion.org The 2010-2011 Waukesha Choral Union season, “Putting Together a Community of Singers,” is sponsored in part by grants from the Arts Alliance of Waukesha County and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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Waukesha Choral Union Ernest Brusubardis, III Conductor Christopher Ruck, Piano A Ceremony of Carols, Opus 28...........................................Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) Procession Wolcum Yole There Is No Rose That Yong毛 Child Soloist: Michele Rinka Balulalow Soloist: Indra Brusubardis As Dew In Aprille This Little Babe In Freezing Winter Night Soloist: Caitlin Butte Spring Carol Duet: Joanna Vanderhoef, Wendy Stippich Deo Gracias Recession INTERMISSION O Come, O Come Immanuel..............................................................................arr. John Rutter O Come, All Ye Faithful (Audience sing-along)....................................arr. David Willcocks It Came Upon The Midnight Clear............................................................arr. Arthur Sullivan A Virgin Most Pure........................................................................................... arr. Charles Wood Away In A Manger..................................................................................... arr. Reginald Jacques God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen..............................................................arr. David Willcocks Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (Audience sing-along)..................... Felix Mendelssohn I Saw Three Ships..............................................................................................Reginald Jacques O Little Town Of Bethlehem............................................................Ralph Vaughan Williams Coventry Carol......................................................................................................arr. Martin Shaw Sussex Carol.....................................................................................................arr. David Willcocks Here We Come A Caroling...........................................................................arr. Perry Francisco The First Nowell (Audience sing-along)................................................arr. David Willcocks Stille Nacht...............................................................................................................arr. John Rutter www.ChoralUnion.org 路 Waukesha Choral Union 15
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C O N T R I B U TO R S The Waukesha Choral Union is deeply grateful to these donors for their meaningful financial support. Their commitment to live, local music will help the WCU remain affordable and accessible to the communities we serve. Maestro ($2,500 and above) Anthony and Andrea Bryant Family Fund Wisconsin Arts Board Conductor ($1,000 to $2,499) Arts Alliance of Waukesha County Fred and JoAnn Portz Soloist ($500 - $999) Tom and Paula Custis Richard and Carol Snook Waukesha State Bank Chorister ($250 - $499) Duane Johnson Practical Club Alan Thompson Betty Lou Tikalsky Tom’s Heating Service
Patron ($100 - $249) Tom Constable Marion A. Eales Tom and Pat Gregory John Gustafson Randle Dable Accompanist ($25 - $99) Mark Aamot Maureen Bestland Hildegard Fischer Harry and Ingrid Goeschko Juanita Gorden Clark Gugler Mary Johnson Sally Schwartz Dick Smith Ruth and Glenn Van Haitsma
Donations to the Messiah / Creation Project in honor of Fred Portz Mark Aamot Janice Davis Allegra Jrolf Ron Abrahamson Jane Dykema Margaret Ktorides Maryilyn Bradley Ralph Fischer Mary Lou Marose Susan Braunschweig Sharon Goodrum Dick Smith Petrea Brenkle Juanita Gorden Tom Smith Andrea Bryant Tom and Pat Gregory Donald Tewes Susanne Carman Clark Gugler Susan Wallenslager Judy Clark Pat Haughney Mary Ann Wolfe Tom and Paula Custis Elaine Hurdle
D O N AT E TO T H E WAU K E S H A C H O R A L U N I O N OnLine www.ChoralUnion.org eMail president@ChoralUnion.org Phone 262-549-4863 Mail Waukesha Choral Union PO Box 495 Waukesha, WI 53187 Advertise in our next concert program Call 262-901-5325 or eMail marketingmanager@ChoralUnion.org Select #918425 Waukesha Choral Union for the Pick’n Save We Care Program Waukesha Choral Union is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization. All donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.
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VENUES St. Luke’s Lutheran Church was founded over 80 years ago. The first church building was the red brick structure that faced Grand Ave. The present building was dedicated in 1966. Baptized membership is over 2000. The church offers a full range of programs under the three main points of their vision statement “Connecting, Growing and Serving.” The Fine Arts Ministry Team shares the vision of making St. Luke’s a center for the Fine arts in downtown Waukesha and is thrilled that the Waukesha Choral Union is here tonight. St. Catherine of Alexandria Church was founded by Irish immigrants in 1847. The current worship space was constructed in 2000 through the vision of the congregation’s current pastor, Rev. David A. Verhasselt. The original worship space is now the church’s Gathering Area. The many beautiful combinations of old and new in this wonderful renovation and addition include the restored Stations of the Cross, the original altar, and parts of the original painted glass windows. In recent years, as the physical structure of the church has grown, so has its membership, expanding from about 120 families in 1994 to nearly 1000 families today. The congregation’s mission is to welcome everyone, to be a “spiritual home away from home.”
present
POST MERIDIAN A concert filled with music selected by Dr. James B. Kinchen, Jr. that focuses on the afternoon or evening. Songs like Abendlied (Evening Song), To Be Sung of a Summer Night on the Water and I Could Have Danced All Night
Friday, April 15 and Saturday, April 16 7:30 P.M. (Post Meridian) ST. SEBASTIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 5400 W. WASHINGTON BLVD. MILWAUKEE
SPECIAL GUESTS: MILWAUKEE YOUTH CHORALE Advance Tickets: Adult $15, Senior $12, Student $5 (at the door $18, $15, $6) To order tickets call (414) 354-1933 or visit
milwaukeechoristers.org www.ChoralUnion.org · Waukesha Choral Union 19
Waukesha Choral Union Ernest Brusubardis, III, Music Director 2010-2011 Season
HANDEL’S MESSIAH: A GIFT TO THE COMMUNITY Sunday, March 27, 2011 3pm Shattuck Auditorium, Carroll University
For more than 30 years the Waukesha Choral Union has presented a free concert for the community. Open to any singer who takes part in the weeklong preparation. * There will also be a silent auction the day of the concert.
ALL- BEETHOVEN CONCERT Saturday, April 30, 2011 8pm Shattuck Auditorium, Carroll University
Includes Beethoven’s Choral Mass in C (excepts) and the Choral Fantasy for piano, organ and chorus.
GIVE US PEACE
Saturday, May 21, 2011 7:30pm Oconomowoc Arts Center With Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Bel Canto Chorus
Purchase tickets from Waukesha Choral Union Members, at all Waukesha State Bank locations online www.ChoralUnion.org or phone 414-297-9310
COMPOSER’S CORNER Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) With the arrival of Benjamin Britten on the international music scene, many felt that English music gained its greatest genius since Purcell. A composer of wide-ranging talents, Britten found in the human voice a special source of inspiration, an affinity that resulted in a remarkable body of work, ranging from operas like Peter Grimes to song cycles like the Serenade for tenor, horn, and strings to the massive choral work War Requiem. Britten’s father was a prosperous oral surgeon in the town of Lowestoft, Suffolk; his mother was a leader in the local choral society. When Benjamin’s musical aptitude became evident, the family engaged composer Frank Bridge to supervise his musical education. Britten’s formal training also included studies at the Royal College of Music. Upon graduation from the RCM, Britten obtained a position scoring documentaries (on prosaic themes like Sorting Office) for the Royal Post Office film unit. Working on a tight budget, he learned how to extract the maximum variety of color and musical effectiveness from the smallest combinations of instruments, producing dozens of such scores from 1935 to 1938. He rapidly emerged as the most promising British composer of his generation and entered into collaborative relationships that exerted a profound influence upon his creative life. None, however, played as central a role in Britten’s life as the tenor Peter Pears, who was Britten’s closest intimate, both personally and professionally, from the late ‘30s to the composer’s death. A steadfast pacifist, Britten left England in 1939 as war loomed over Europe. He spent four years in the United States and Canada, his compositional pace barely slackening. Eventually, the poetry of George Crabbe drew Britten back to England. With a Koussevitzky Commission backing him, the composer wrote the enormously successful opera Peter Grimes, which marked the greatest turning point in his career. His fame secure, Britten over the next several decades wrote a dozen more operas, several of which became instant and permanent fixtures of the repertoire. He also continued to produce much vocal, orchestral, and chamber music. Britten suffered a stroke during heart surgery in 1971, which resulted in something of a slowdown in his creative activities. Nonetheless, he continued to compose until his death in 1976, by which time he was recognized as one of the principal musical figures of the twentieth century. Excerpted from remarks by Michael Rodman, All Music Guide
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A CEREMONY OF CAROLS Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) Due perhaps to his early memory of a German bomb exploding near his childhood home, Britten became a deeply committed pacifist and conscientious objector. Despite his patriotic fervor, Britten’s antiwar beliefs dictated that he leave England thesummer before World War II and go to the United States. Conflicted by his pacifist feelings and his love of England, however, Britten decided to return home in the spring of 1942, while the war was still being fought. It was during the one-month Atlantic crossing on a Swedish freighter that Britten composed A Ceremony of Carols. In this moving work, Britten shows his amazing ability to achieve all sorts of musical effects with minimum means and great economy. The texts come from medieval Christmas carols. The nine carols are preceded and followed by a processional and recessional.
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PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S VOCAL ENSEMBLE SHARON A. HANSEN, FOUNDER AND MUSIC DIRECTOR
The Languages of Love Saturday, February 19, 2011 7:30PM North Shore Congregational Church 7330 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Fox Point
For more info or to order tickets: 262/628-5022 | www.milwaukeechoralartists.org
T H E L A S T WO R D
Benefits of Singing Whether you want to sing for fun and as personal hobby or to sing with a professional aim and for money, the benefits to singing are many. 1) Singing is instrumental in increasing the fun and joy in our lives. 2) Singing can release most of your tensions. Moreover, singing can actually improve your posture and quality of breathing. 3) Singing can enhance your concentration level, thereby helping you become more efficient and a better team player. 4) Singing is the expression of emotions. From church prayers to national anthems, music is capable of making your heart cry and the tears roll down your cheeks. 5) Singing has the power to unite people across differences of color, race, religion, cast, wealth, politics, and sex.
24 Waukesha Choral Union 路 www.ChoralUnion.org
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