FROM THE PRESIDENT As President, as well as a singing member of the Waukesha Choral Union, it is my honor and privilege to welcome you to our 2010-2011 concert season, “Putting Together a Community of Singers.” Collaboration with the youthful choral artists of Carroll University makes this first concert extraordinarily special. The WCU family of current and former singers sadly acknowledges the recent passing of one of our true champions. Fred Portz was not only a long time singer in our group, he was our primary fund-raiser as well as the driving force behind “The Messiah Project,” our free community concert held each spring. We thank Fred for his many years of service to the WCU, and wish to express our condolences to his wife, JoAnn, and his entire family. Our ambitious 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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2 Waukesha Choral Union · www.ChoralUnion.org
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 Tom Constable ReAnn Holmes 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
www.ChoralUnion.org 路 Waukesha Choral Union 3
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 our collaboration concert Rejoice In The Lamb: A Choral Tapestry. We are honored to share the stage with Dr. Kristina Boerger and the Carroll University Concert Choir. You will hear a mixture of choral literature that evokes emotions ranging from rejoicing to lamenting. We will dance, soothe, mourn, weep, love, and rejoice while singing repertoire spanning from the early years of western choral music to our present age. The evening will close with combined choirs singing Britten’s Rejoice In The Lamb set to a text by Christopher Smart, an eighteenth century poet who had a unique and chaotic style of expressing his faith. He illustrates this through such things as a cat, a mouse, flowers, and of all things, the alphabet. Enjoy this evening’s broad spectrum of repertoire, poetry, and styles. Ernest “Ernie” Brusubardis, III Waukesha Choral Union Artistic Director
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The Romantic Spirit Sunday, October 17th at 3:00pm Oconomowoc Arts Center
American Romantics
Sunday, November 7th at 3:00pm Shattuck Auditorium, Carroll University
Tickets from $25-35. Save up to $25 when you subscribe for the whole season!
2010-2011 Season
Order tickets or subscriptions by calling 262-547-1858. Visit wisconsinphilharmonic.org for more details.
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CARROLL UNIVERSIT Y CONCERT CHOIR The Carroll University Concert Choir and Vocal Collective are auditioned ensembles open to students of all majors. Each group rehearses for four hours weekly, drawing from every stylistic era of the Western concert art, as well as from vernacular traditions in this country and abroad, with a consistent a cappella emphasis. Last year’s Vocal Collective season included a concert on a performance series at Richland Center; this spring, Concert Choir will make several appearances with the Wisconsin Wind Orchestra. Both groups will appear with the other Carroll University choirs on a concert next Saturday, October 23, at 7:30 PM here in Shattuck Auditorium. Tickets are available by calling 262-524-7633.
C A R R O L L U N I V E R S I T Y C O N C E R T D I R E C TO R Kristina Boerger received her formative musical training from pianist Annie Sherter and holds the doctorate in Choral Conducting and Literature from the University of Illinois. Having directed independent choirs in Urbana-Champaign and New York City, public-school choirs in Wisconsin and Illinois, and college choirs at Lake Forest College and the Millikin University School of Music, she was recently appointed Director of Choral Activities at Carroll University.
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262-547-0708 • www.waukeshacivictheatre.org 8 Waukesha Choral Union · www.ChoralUnion.org
CARROLL UNIVERSIT Y CONCERT CHOIR SOPRANO *Jenna Babe *Danielle Bittner Taylor Bingaman *Roxi Bluhm Gabbie Campbell Carrie Garcia Jennifer Garcia Alyssa Jenquin Michelle Johnson Morgan Lauf Kelly McNutt Lauren Melberg Allison Nastoff Annie Rasmussen *Emma Sindorf Haley Vick
Reni Raju Katelynne Rosera Anne Marie Vassalotti TENOR Austin Barber Jacques Crusan James Curtiss Timothy Haumschild Chris Meissner JT Peterson Jordan Pollard Matthew Reep Joshua Ross Zachary Staszewski Jacob Stensberg Evihn Vaszily *Jacob Warne
ALTO Ellen Berg Michelle Dwight *Kelly Fingland Samantha Fox Danielle Herber Jacqueline Hulina *Jennifer Jakubowski *Brittney Johnson Courtney Kooistra Abby Mazza Kali Marcino Sadie Mathers *Alison O’Leary
BASS Declan Boran-Ragotzy *Craig Carroll Erik Endres Dan Fons Tim Gustafson Adam Hobbs Ross Hoppe *Matt Seider Alex Shane *Thomas Thering *Logan Walsh *=Vocal Collective
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www.ChoralUnion.org · Waukesha Choral Union 9
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 Christine Budish Caitlin Butte Larilyn Carpenter Phyllis Cramer 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 Mary Ruckh Sue Wallenslager Ann Wandler
TENOR David Betzold John Clausz Tom Custis Perry Francisco James Gallup Paul McCoy BASS Richard Blauvelt Norm Goeschko Clark Gugler John Gustafson Tom Hering Charlie Hummel Paul Rempe Tom Smith Alan Thompson HONORARY MEMBERS Susanne Carman Dorothy Frisch Allegra Jrolf Fred Portz Phylis Sayles James VanEss
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.
www.ChoralUnion.org · Waukesha Choral Union 11
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Waukesha Choral Union Presents
Rejoice in the Lamb: A Choral Tapestry Saturday, October 16, 2010 8:00 pm Shattuck Auditorium Carroll University Waukesha, Wisconsin
Waukesha Choral Union Ernest Brusubardis, III Conductor Christopher Ruck, Piano Let All The World In Every Corner Sing...............Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) From The Bavarian Highlands..................................................... Edward Elgar (1857-1934) 3. Lullaby 1. The Dance Deo gratias....................................................................................... William Byrd (c.1540-1623) Weep O Mine Eyes...................................................................... John Bennet (c.1575-c.1614) If Music Be The Food Of Love............................................................. David C. Dickau (1953) I Love My Love................................................................................... Gustav Holst (1874-1934) A Red, Red, Rose.................................................................................James Mulholland (1935) Lamentaciones de Jeremias..........................................................Z. Randall Stroope (1953) Carroll University Concert Choir and Vocal Collective Dr. Kristina Boerger, Conductor Jayne Latva, Organ Rejoice in the Lord Always...........................................................Henry Purcell (1659-1695) Plorate, filii Israel....................................................................Giacomo Carissimi (1605-1674) de Lamentationes Hieremiae Prophetae........................... Giovanni Nasco (1510-1561) The Storm is Passin’ Over.............................................Charles Albert Tindley (1851-1933) Me Yango....................................................Traditional funeral song from Mali, West Africa Little Innocent Lamb.............................Traditional Spiritual, arr. Marshall Bartholomew INTERMISSION Combined Choirs Ernest Brusubardis, III, Conductor Jayne Latva, Organ Rejoice In The Lamb................................................................ Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) Cat Geoffrey, soprano: Carrie Garcia Valorous mouse, alto: Roxi Bluhm Poetic flowers, tenor: Jim Gallup Alphabet God, bass: Thomas Thering www.ChoralUnion.org · Waukesha Choral Union 13
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IN MEMORIAM Frederick G. “Fred” Portz Jr. of Waukesha died Friday, Sept. 3, 2010, at Virginia Health and Rehabilitation Center at the age of 78. He was born in Milwaukee on Nov. 3, 1931, the son of Frederick and Elizabeth “Betsy” (nee Swickard) Portz Sr. On Sept. 3, 1982, he married JoAnn (nee Love) Portz at First Baptist Church in Waukesha, where he was a former member serving on all church boards and the Wisconsin State Mission Board. He was currently a member of First Presbyterian Church since 2004. Fred owned and operated Scientific Plastics from 1952 until his retirement in 2000. He also owned the Stamp Center and Coin Corner in Waukesha, along with the Jiffy Jell building at 550 Elizabeth St. in Waukesha. For many years, he was a stamp and coin appraiser for channels 10 and 36. Fred was a dedicated member of the Waukesha Kiwanis Club, achieving perfect attendance for more than 40 years. He was very active in many Waukesha clubs and organizations, including the Salvation Army, the Waukesha Area Chamber of Commerce, a founding member of the Waukesha County Art Museum, the Waukesha County Historical Society, the Cooperating Congregations of Greater Waukesha, the Waukesha Civic Theatre, and the Waukesha Symphony. Fred was also a proud member of, and fundraiser for, the Waukesha Choral Union for 28 years, where he was very involved with the Messiah/Creation Project. He will be dearly missed by his wife, JoAnn of Waukesha; their children, Thomas J. Portz of Brookfield, Karelyn (Randal) Beck of North Prairie and Mark (Sheri) Misfeldt of Waukesha; his grandchildren, Timothy (Denise) Portz, Joshua Portz, Dustin Wenzel, Jaclyn Beck, Derek Beck, Monique Misfeldt and Marcus Misfeldt; his greatgrandchildren, Macayla and Madelyn Portz and Tara and Alex Wenzel. He is further survived by his sisters-in-law, the Rev. Jan Davis of Green Bay, Juanita Gorden of Waukesha and Judith (Richard) Quade of Richland Center; his brotherin-law, Jack (Doris) Love of New Berlin; along with nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
16 Waukesha Choral Union · www.ChoralUnion.org
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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 Conductor ($1,000 to $2,499) Arts Alliance of Waukesha County Fred and JoAnn Portz Wisconsin Arts Board 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) Maureen Bestland Hildegard Fischer Juanita Gorden Clark Gugler Tom and Pat Gregory 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 Elaine Hurdle Ron Abrahamson Jane Dykema Mary Lou Marose Maryilyn Bradley Ralph Fischer Dick Smith Susan Braunschweig Sharon Goodrum Tom Smith Andrea Bryant Juanita Gorden Donald Tewes Susanne Carman Tom and Pat Gregory Susan Wallenslager Judy Clark Clark Gugler Mary Ann Wolfe Tom and Paula Custis Pat Haughney
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.
www.ChoralUnion.org · Waukesha Choral Union 19
A B O U T TO DA Y ’ S V E N U E The Shattuck Music Center houses a recital hall that seats 150, an auditorium that seats 1,350, and a Schantz seventy-two-stop pipe organ. The Department of Music has a large band-practice room, teaching studios, a multi-sensing room, a computerized music laboratory, and classrooms. Carroll University, often called Wisconsin’s pioneer college, is the oldest four-year institution of higher education in the state. In 1841, settlers living in the Wisconsin Territory community of Prairieville established the academy that five years later would become Carroll College. Soon after its founding, Carroll affiliated with the Presbyterian Church and adopted the motto, “Christo et Litteris,” which means “for Christ and Learning.” Carroll’s early patrons believed that higher education would serve as an instrument for civilizing the wilderness, spreading the Gospel and planting the roots of democracy deep in the prairie soil. They also sought to provide for the prosperity of their children and future generations. Carroll was chartered by the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature on Jan. 31, 1846, two years before Wisconsin became a state. On May 10, 2008, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to change the institution’s name to Carroll University, effective July 1, 2008. Throughout its history, the hallmarks of the Carroll educational experience have been teaching excellence and individualized attention.
present
THE
BONDSMUSIC of
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The Decorah Chorale–Decorah, Iowa A choral collaboration of the first order, with two of the Midwest’s finest vocal organizations.
Kinchen
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Advance tickets: Regular $15; Senior $12; Student $5 At the door: $18, $15, $6
To order tickets phone (414) 354-1933 or visit
milwaukeechoristers.org
Dr. James B. Kinchen, Jr., Conductor–Milwaukee Choristers John Bay, Conductor–Decorah Chorale
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6 7:30 PM St. John’s Lutheran Church 20275 Davidson Road, Brookfield
www.ChoralUnion.org · Waukesha Choral Union 21
Waukesha Choral Union Ernest Brusubardis, III, Music Director 2010-2011 Season
AN OLDE ENGLISH CHRISTMAS Friday, December 10, 2010 8pm. St. Luke’s Church, Waukesha Sunday, December 12, 2010 3pm St. Catherine’s Church, Oconomowoc
Traditional English carols, holiday favorites, and an audience sing-along, presented in two beautiful area churches, make this a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas. The centerpiece of these performances will be Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols for choir, soloists, and harp.
HANDEL’S MESSIAH: A GIFT TO THE COMMUNITY Sunday, March 27, 2011 3pm Shattuck Auditorium, Carroll University
A 30-year-old tradition of presenting a free concert for the community continues for the Waukesha Choral Union. Handel’s Messiah has become one of the most popular works in Western choral literature. Any singer who wishes to participate is welcome to take part in the weeklong preparation for this annual choral event. * There will also be a silent auction the day of the concert.
ALL- BEETHOVEN CONCERT Saturday, April 30, 2011 8pm Shattuck Auditorium, Carroll University
Ludwig van Beethoven remains one of the most famous composers of all time.Waukesha Choral Union will present excerpts from his Choral Mass in C, then conclude with the Choral Fantasy for piano, orchestra and 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
www.ChoralUnion.org · Waukesha Choral Union 23
REJOICE IN THE L A MB Benjamin Britten’s festival cantata Rejoice in the Lamb (1943), written for chorus and organ, is regarded as one of his most interesting compositions and an important step in his journey to compositional maturity. This piece is highly praised partly because of Britten’s unusual choice of the text from the poem Jubilate Agno, by the mentally disturbed eighteenth century poet Christopher Smart. However, Britten’s brilliant setting of the poetry is the real accomplishment in artistry. Rejoice in the Lamb was commissioned by the vicar of St. Matthew’s Church in Northampton, for the occasion of the church’s 50th anniversary. In Jubilate Agno Smart writes about the glory of God shining through religious icons, such as David, but he also sees this glory through other strange things, such as his cat and a bothersome mouse, the letters of the alphabet, and musical instruments. Smart also discusses his confinement to the mental asylum by comparing his suffering to that of his Savior. Jubilate Agno was thought by some to be the ranting of a mad poet, but Britten recognized in Smart a naive, childlike faith in his own beliefs. Portions of Rejoice in the Lamb were read at Britten’s funeral. The cantata only lasts about 15 minutes and is one continuous movement, but ten separate sections can be discerned. The often-changing musical texture is necessary due to Smart’s constant shifts in subject. The second section sets the passage about biblical figures quite ceremoniously. The fourth section, which involves Smart’s cat, named Jeoffrey, and a mouse, is well conceived with both animals being perfectly conveyed by the organ part.
24 Waukesha Choral Union · www.ChoralUnion.org
T H E L A S T WO R D Belting out your favorite song can feel great, and it’s good for your health! Singing has physical benefits because it is an aerobic activity. It increases oxygenation in the blood stream and exercises major muscle groups in the upper body, even when sitting. But it’s not just the physical benefits of singing that make it great for us. According to Dr Dianna Kenny, professor of psychology and music at the University of Sydney, singing does for the soul what food and water do for our bodies. “We know that singing has very positive effects on people’s moods. It brings people together, it’s used in a whole range of activities, both social and personal. But in all of the major events in our lives there is singing and music,” Dr Kenny says. “If you think about weddings and funerals and the call to battle, and the wailing of some cultures when people have died, it’s how they express their grief.” There’s no doubt that singing can affect our mood, but can it boost our health, too? Test results revealed that there was about a 40 percent immediate reduction in the level of the stress hormone cortisol overall in singers compared to non-singers. Over time, levels of the protein immunoglobulin A, which is a marker of immunity, increase, too. Singing really can do wonders for our health and wellbeing, as well as help relieve stress, so don’t worry too much about what you sound like, start singing today!
26 Waukesha Choral Union · www.ChoralUnion.org
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