2017- 2018 Season
First Presbyterian Church of Tyler • Concert Series September 2017 through July 2018
“Music...can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable.�
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Leonard Bernstein
Welcome
The University Connection In the words of Johann Sebastian Bach, “the aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.” As I look out upon the many musical offerings that this season affords us at First Presbyterian Church, I see a variety of talents and ensembles that each in their own way helps us all to experience the glory of God and to find refreshment, peace, and comfort in a chaotic and busy world. As you flip through these pages, I hope that you will find interest in a number of forthcoming events. From the talents of local artists to visiting professional musicians, we welcome new artists while celebrating a number of annual traditions such as Lessons and Carols and the Jazz Brunch. Now in their 50th season, we are also proud to honor the Tyler Civic Chorale in this celebratory year, culminating in a 50th Anniversary Gala on May 19th. I am greatly indebted to FPC’s Interim Director of Music, Lee Kohlenberg, for his assistance in organizing this Fine Arts season and I look forward to seeing you at these events.
Weston J. Jennings Director of Music and Organist First Presbyterian Church
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“A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence.�
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Leopold Stokowski
From My Travels Sunday, September 10, 2017 | 4 pm Sanctuary
Free Admission Following a summer concert tour of England, Scotland, Germany and Lithuania, FPC’s new Director of Music and Organist, Weston Jennings, will perform works that draw upon the full resources of FPC’s superb pipe organ. With music composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Antonio Vivaldi, American composer Craig Phillips, and others, alongside unique and charming commentary, this afternoon promises to entertain.
Featured Musician WESTON JENNINGS organ
A recent graduate of the Yale School of Music and Institute of Sacred Music, Weston Jennings has performed across the United States and Europe, including venues such as St. Paul’s Cathedral in London and St. Thomas Church on Fifth Avenue in New York. He joins First Presbyterian Church as Director of Music and Organist, as well as Artistic and Executive Director of the Tyler Civic Chorale. Visit fpctyler.com/finearts | 5
“Music is the shorthand of emotion.”
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Sound the Trumpet! BAROQUE TRUMPETS & VOICE Sunday, October 1, 2017 | 4 pm Sanctuary
Free Admission Hailed by The Sunday Times as a ‘singer who delivers without effort, displaying inner feelings and sensitivity,’ mezzo-soprano Sophia Grech joins world-renowned baroque trumpeter Crispian Steele Perkins, and UNT’s Professor of Trumpet, John Holt, for an afternoon of music ranging from Handel and Vivaldi to delightful tunes from the iconic Sound of Music by Rodgers and Hammerstein. Experiencing this rarely heard combination of voice and trumpet in concert is something you won’t regret adding to your calendar.
Featured Musicians CRISPIAN STEELE-PERKINS trumpet
JOHN HOLT trumpet
SOPHIA GRECH mezzo-soprano
LESLIE PEARSON piano
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“Music is powerful. As people listen to it, they can be affected. They respond.”
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Ray Charles
Jazz Brunch
Sunday, October 22, 2017 | 12 pm Fellowship Hall
Free Admission The unique rhythmic language of jazz encapsulates something essentially human, at once championing both the individual and the collective. Celebrate this rich musical history with us at a special jazz brunch featuring the Lynn Seaton Trio from the University of North Texas. The event will be a feast for the senses.
Featured Musicians LYNN SEATON double bass
PETER RIOUX piano
QUINCY DAVIS drums
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“Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music.�
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Ronald Reagan
Baylor Brass Sunday, November 12, 2017 | 4 pm Sanctuary
Free Admission Comprised of the Baylor University brass faculty, Baylor Brass concertizes regularly on the Baylor campus, in the public schools throughout Texas, and on tours of major music schools outside Texas and in foreign countries.
PREVIEW! The Baylor Brass will make a guest appearance at the 11 am worship service on Sunday, November 12 in FPC’s sanctuary.
Featured Musicians WIFF RUDD trumpet
MARK SCHUBERT trumpet
JEFFREY POWERS horn
BRENT PHILLIPS trombone
DR. KENT ESHELMAN tuba/euphonium
WESTON JENNINGS organ
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“Music is the art of the prophets and the gift of God.�
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Martin Luther
Lessons & Carols for Advent Sunday, December 3, 2017 | 4 pm Sanctuary
Free Admission Similar to the better known Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols for Christmas Eve, the Procession with Carols on Advent originated at King’s College in Cambridge, England by Dean Eric Milner-White in 1934. Dean Milner-White wrote: ‘In the old English liturgies, the Advent Offices made a preparation for the coming of our Lord to this earth far more vivid and eager than those of our present [1662] Prayer Book. So an Advent Carol Service, if without precedent, is not without suitability, if it helps to express “the desire of all nations and ages.”’ The purpose of the service is ‘not to celebrate Christmas, but to expect it.’
Featured Musicians TYLER CIVIC CHORALE WESTON JENNINGS conducter/organ
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“In its beginnings, music was merely chamber music, meant to be listened to in a small space by a small audience.�
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Gustav Mahler
An Afternoon of Woodwind Classics Sunday, February 4, 2018 | 4 pm Sanctuary
Free Admission Formed of the woodwind faculty of Stephen F. Austin State University, the Stone Fort Wind Quintet will present a vibrant concert of works for woodwinds, both old favorites and new discoveries, that convey a wealth of emotions. Often the dedicatees of new compositions, the Stone Fort Wind Quintet also plans to share a few of their favorite compositions by living composers. Perhaps they will reveal a new favorite for you!
Featured Musicians CHRISTINA GUENTHER flute
KERRY HUGHES oboe
CHRISTOPHER AYER clarinet
CHARLES GAVIN horn
LEE GOODHEW bassoon
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Season at a Glance Featured Artist
Artist in Residence
Location (if not Sanctuary)
Ticketed Event
In addition to the concerts highlighted throughout this brochure, guests are always welcome to join the FPC congregation in worship on Sunday mornings at 8:30 and 11 am. Special worship services included in this season overview highlight the musical talent of FPC’s own ensembles, as well as special guest musicians. See pages 28–31 for more info.
2017
SEPTEMBER From My Travels
Weston Jennings, Organ
Sunday, September 10 | 4 pm
OCTOBER
Trumpets and Mezzo-Soprano John Holt, Sophia Grech & Crispian Steele-Perkins
Sunday, October 1 | 4 pm UT Tyler Fall Concert Saturday, October 14 | 6 pm Music Dedication Sunday Sunday, October 22 | 11 am Jazz Brunch The Lynn Seaton Trio
Sunday, October 22 | 12 pm Fellowship Hall Ein Feste Burg: 500 Years of Reformation Tyler Civic Chorale
Sunday, October 29 | 4 pm $15 adults | $5 students
NOVEMBER Baylor Brass
Baylor University Resident Faculty Brass Quintet
Sunday, November 12 | 4 pm Voices of Faith Fall Concert Friday, November 17 | 7 pm
DECEMBER
Lessons & Carols for Advent Tyler Civic Chorale
Sunday, December 3 | 4 pm UT Tyler Christmas Concert Saturday, December 9 | 6 pm Family Creche Service Sunday, December 24 | 3 pm FPC Chapel 47th Annual Moravian Lovefeast Sunday, December 24 | 5:30 pm 16 | Call 903.597.6317
2018
FEBRUARY
An Afternoon of Woodwind Classics Stone Fort Wind Quintet
Sunday, February 4 | 4 pm From Hollywood with Love Tyler Civic Chorale
Saturday, February 24 | 7 pm $15 adults | $5 students
MARCH
UT Tyler Spring Finale Concert Saturday, March 3 | 6 pm Voices of Faith Spring Concert Friday, March 23 | 7 pm
APRIL
Easter Day Celebrations Sunday, April 1 | 8:30 & 11 am Easter Eggstravaganza | 9:30 am Front Lawn Trio Colorida
Judy Biondini, Michael Thrasher and Greg Sauer
Sunday, April 15 | 4 pm Kirkin’ of the Tartans
Lyon College Pipe Band
Sunday, April 22 | 11 am Luncheon on the Lawn | 12 pm Front Lawn
MAY
UNT HarpBeats HarpBeats
Sunday, May 6 | 4 pm Tyler Civic Chorale 50th Anniversary Gala Tyler Civic Chorale
Saturday May 19 | 6 pm $30 adults | $15 students
JUNE
Friendship Tour 2018 Turtle Creek Chorale
Sunday, June 24 | 7 pm
JULY
The Annual Independence Day Concert Tyler Civic Chorale
Wednesday, July 4 | 4 pm
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“These seem to me so ambiguous, so vague, so easily misunderstood in comparison to genuine music, which fills the soul with a thousand things better than words.�
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Felix Mendelssohn
Trio Colorida Sunday, April 15, 2018 | 4 pm Sanctuary
Free Admission At the heart of this concert, Trio Colorida will feature the Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano written in 1973 by Academy Award-winning film score composer Giovanni “Nino” Rota. In more than 150 film scores, Rota brought the drama on screen to life through music and you will find that this Trio is no less vivid! In addition, individual members of the trio will present instrumental solos by Claude Debussy, Nikolai Kapustin and George Whitefield Chadwick.
Featured Musicians JUDY BRIDEWELL BIONDINI piano
GREGORY SAUER cello
MICHAEL THRASHER clarinet
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“Music is not man’s invention, but his heritage from the blessed spirits.”
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Tomas Luis de Victoria
Kirkin’ of the Tartans Sunday, April 22, 2018 | 11 am Sanctuary Luncheon on the Lawn | 12 pm
Free Admission A procession of tartan plaid and bagpipes celebrates First Presbyterian Church’s Scottish heritage and has become an annual tradition for the congregation. Join us as special guest musicians, the Lyon College Pipe Band, return to lead the celebration.
Featured Musicians LYON COLLEGE PIPE BAND
With a second-place prize from the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow, Scotland under its belt, Lyon College’s Scottish Heritage Program truly is the most significant in the nation for bag piping, drumming, and Highland dancing. The arts program is designed to teach, preserve, and celebrate the Scottish arts and traditions in America. Founded in 1872 by the Presbyterian Church, whose roots are in Scotland, Lyon College is the oldest private college in Arkansas.
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“Music is the divine way to tell beautiful, poetic things to the heart.�
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Pablo Casals
UNT HarpBeats Sunday, May 6, 2018 | 4 pm Sanctuary
Free Admission Led by Dr. Jaymee Haefner, the UNT HarpBeats ensemble is gaining recognition as one of the most innovative harp ensembles in the country. Their repertoire ranges from J.S. Bach to Radiohead and everything in between, including several original compositions written for the ensemble. They have recently performed for the American Harp Society Summer Institute, have been featured on CBS 11, and are certainly not to be missed!
Featured Musicians HARPBEATS
DR. JAYMEE HAEFNER conductor
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“Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.�
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Victor Hugo
Tyler Civic Chorale th Anniversary Gala
50
Saturday, May 19, 2018 | 6 pm Sanctuary
$30 Adults | $15 Students
Celebrating 50 years of excellent musicmaking and fond memories of seasons past, the Tyler Civic Chorale will be led by all of its conductors, past and present, in this festive evening. Each conductor will lead the group in some of their favorites to culminate in a concert that observes the breadth of repertoire and style performed by this group across five decades.
Featured Musicians TYLER CIVIC CHORALE DONALD DUNCAN conductor
FRODE GUNDERSEN conductor
RICHARD HERR conductor
DAVID McCORMICK conductor
WESTON JENNINGS conductor/organ
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“Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius.�
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
F riendship Tour 2018 TURTLE CREEK CHORALE Sunday, June 24, 2018 | 7 pm Sanctuary
Free Admission The most recorded men’s chorus in the world and longtime Dallas musical establishment, the Turtle Creek Chorale, will return to First Presbyterian Church this summer on their 2018 Friendship Tour. With an exciting program mixing both sacred and secular choral literature, the Chorale’s evening concert promises to be uplifting and inspirational.
Featured Musicians
TURTLE CREEK CHORALE SEAN BAUGH artistic director
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a | Artists in Residence
First Presbyterian Church hosts the rehearsals and performances of several local musical ensembles, providing a beautiful space for the community to practice and experience the musical arts. All concerts are free of charge unless otherwise noted.
TYLER CIVIC CHORALE tylercivicchorale.org
Now in its 50th season as Tyler’s premiere choral ensemble, the Tyler Civic Chorale continues to bring to life an impressive range of music, from great, sacred masterworks to beloved American folk songs and carols. Over the course of its history with most of the last half-century in residence at First Presbyterian Church–the Chorale has sung requiems by Brahms, Mozart, Duruflé and Fauré, as well as Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Creation, and dozens of other masses, motets, cantatas, and oratorios. While the major corpus of choral music is drawn from the Western Christian church, the Chorale also seeks to honor a great breadth of musical traditions extending beyond the sacred, engaging with the 20th-century American songbook, modern composers, folk songs and carols, madrigal compositions, and more. Tickets are available at the door and online.
Ein Feste Burg: 500 Years of Reformation Sunday, October 29, 2017 | 4 pm Sanctuary | $15 adults | $5 students
Lessons and Carols for Advent Sunday, December 3, 2017 | 4 pm Sanctuary | Free Admission
From Hollywood with Love Saturday, February 24, 2018 | 7 pm Sanctuary | $15 adults | $5 students
50th Anniversary Gala Saturday, May 19, 2018 | 6 pm Sanctuary | $30 adults | $15 students
Annual Independence Day Concert Wednesday, July 4, 2018 | 4 pm Sanctuary | Free Admission
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UT TYLER
uttyler.edu/music/ensembles/choral First Presbyterian Church is home to the joint concerts of the UT Tyler Patriot Singers and Concert Chorale, under the direction of Dr. Cameron Rose. The Patriot Singers, UT Tyler’s premiere choral ensemble, perform a wide repertoire, from sacred Renaissance music to contemporary vocal jazz. The Concert Chorale, which joins the Patriot Singers in concert, is UT Tyler’s community choir.
Fall Concert Saturday, October 14, 2017 | 6 pm Sanctuary | Free Admission
Christmas Concert Saturday, December 9, 2017 | 6 pm Sanctuary | Free Admission
Spring Finale Concert Saturday, March 3, 2018 | 6 pm Sanctuary | Free Admission
VOICES OF FAITH vofchoir-30747.firebaseapp.com
Since 2008, Voices of Faith has sought to give young musicians a space to explore their artistic discipline through a God-honoring repertoire. The choir gathers together over seventy-five talented vocalists from the East Texas area–including middle school, high school, and college students–in a Christ-centered, community choral program under the direction of Pam Eikner, with accompanist Dana Bertino. Students believe their talents are a gift from God, and they actively seek ministry opportunities.
Fall Concert Friday, November 17, 2017 | 7 pm Sanctuary | Free Admission
Spring Concert Friday, March 23, 2018 | 7 pm Sanctuary | Free Admission
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Keep the Music Alive
Over the years, your generosity and commitment have sustained Fine Arts at First Presbyterian Church as a vibrant space for fine arts in East Texas. While most concerts are offered free of charge, none of them are without expense. Hosting guest artists, maintaining this beautiful space, coordinating Artists in Residence, getting the word out—all of these efforts require resources. Consider what these offerings have meant to you—from a musical, cultural, or spiritual standpoint—and consider making a gift. Your contributions help this series continue to flourish as a venerable, living tradition of fine music-making.
Help us keep the music alive. Use the envelope in the centerfold to donate today.
SEATING & TICKETS
Seats are offered on a first come, first served basis; all Sanctuary seating is in pews. The majority of concerts are free and open to the public. For ticketed concerts, purchase tickets at the door or in advance. Ticket purchase information is listed with concerts in this brochure, where applicable.
PARKING
Free parking is available in two parking lots at FPC: one on the south side of the Fellowship Hall, and another east of the main building. Designated handicap parking is available in the upper portion of the south lot near Fellowship Hall. Please do not park at the local businesses surrounding the church.
CHILDREN
Older children are welcome at our concerts; however, if they become noisy or unsettled, please quietly exit the Sanctuary in order not to disturb other concert goers. A nursery is not provided during concerts, with the exception of events taking place on Sunday mornings.
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MORE FPC MUSIC The Music Ministries at First Presbyterian Church welcome musicians of all skill levels and backgrounds to join us in glorifying God. Learn about joining the ministry at fpctyler.com/music.
CHILDREN’S CHOIRS The Carol Choir teaches basic music reading skills and singing technique, as well as tenets of Reformed worship and music. Ring-and-Sing combines elements of singing and handbells. Both groups contribute to worship throughout the school year.
ADULT ENSEMBLES The Chancel Choir leads worship with a musical variety ranging from the great anthems of the Reformation and choral masterworks to modern, hymn-based anthems and Gospel music. The Carillon Handbell Choir chimes often during worship, utilizing a fiveoctave set of Malmark bells.
ORGAN FPC Tyler’s sanctuary organ—the largest in all of East Texas—was built in 2000 by Casavant Frères. It features beautiful clear flutes, warm diapasons, and a variety of reed color and tone, as well as a generous number of lush strings and celestes.
STAY IN TOUCH 230 W. Rusk St., Tyler, TX 75701 [p] 903.597.6317 [f] 903.597.6326 [e] finearts@fpctyler.com fpctyler.com/finearts facebook.com/fineartsfpc twitter.com/fpctyler
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230 W. Rusk St., Tyler, TX 75701 Return Service Requested
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