UNIVERSITY SINGERS
KEVIN FENTON, CONDUCTOR
YULIIA BILLA AND STEVEN OLSON, ASSISTANT CONDUCTORS
VICTORIA COEY, BLAKE DWELLE AND DYLAN RHODES
COLLABORATIVE PIANISTS
FSU JAZZ
FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MUSIC
PASSION. PURPOSE. MUSIC.
Alleluia
The Sacred Veil
“Window or Mirror”
Opening
Skip Stradtman
I
Eric Whitacre
The Veil Opens (b. 1970)
I’m Afraid
Child of Wonder
II
Veni, Sancte Spiritus Zanaida Robles
Come, Holy Spirit, send forth the heavenly ray of your light. Come, father of the poor, come giver of gifts, come light of hearts. Greatest comforter, sweet guest of the soul, sweet consolation. In labor, rest; in heat, temperateness; in tears, solace O most blessed light, fill the inmost heart of your faithful. Without the nod of your head there is nothing in man, nothing that is harmless.
Ave Maria Michael Ziolkowski (b. 1991)
Soloist: Madeline Schneider
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you, Blessed art you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the time of our death. Amen
Chantez a Dieu chanson nouvellle (Psalm 96)
Jan Pietersz Sweelinck (1562–1621)
Sing a new song to the Lord! Let the whole earth sing to the Lord!
Sing to the Lord; praise his name. Each day proclaim the good news that he saves.
Micah Blues Kyle Pederson (b. 1971)
Soloist: Jackson Roberts
Aidan May, saxophone; Shiloh Defabia, percussion
Saints go Marching arr. Ken Berg (b. 1955)
Echo Rob Dietz (b. 1987)
Echoes of Peace. Echoes of love. Echoes of hope. We are echoes.
The Rose Ola Gjeilo (b. 1978)
Jumalo Laura Jekabsone (b. 1985)
Horse to horse, wheel to wheel; it all rolled to Riga; they brought to Kurzeme all of Riga’s treasures, jumalo, jumalo
Where did you get it, father’s son?
A colt this big, jumalo, jumalo In Riga I bought and gave money for those golden bridles, jumalo, jumalo at the end of the leash, the morning star rose.
Khotso Mokale Koapeng/Rederick Williams (b. 1963)/(b. 1965)
Lord, grant us peace. Here, here in Africa. Let peace prevail in Africa Lamb of God, who takes away the sings of the world, have mercy on us and grant us peace.
Why am I Like This
Sizongena
arr. Connor Mickey (b. 2004)
arr. Mzilikazi Khomalo (1932–2021) adapt. Andre Van der Merwe (b. 1968)
In this song, the groom’s family is asking the bride’s family for permission to marry their daughter. In traditional Zulu culture, after the wedding, women leave with the group’s family and are not allowed to return home for three weeks.
Whitacre: The Sacred Veil
In 2016, after a visit from his closest friend and longtime collaborator - poet Charles Anthony Silvestri (Tony) - composer Eric Whitacre found a poem that Tony had left for him sitting on his piano. Tony had lost his wife to cancer 12 years previously, losing his soulmate and leaving him to bring up their two young children.
The Sacred Veil is a 12-movement work dedicated to Tony’s late wife Julia Lawrence Silvestri (Julie) which includes text written by Silvestri, Whitacre, and Julie herself, capturing the human experience through a story of love and loss.
Movement I: The Sacred Veil
“Whenever there is birth or death” are the first words of the poem that poet Tony Silvestri brought to composer Eric Whitacre. Whitacre decided to write this entire work centered on Silvestri’s idea of a “veil” that separates the world of the living and those who have passed. Whitacre states:
I knew that I would repeat texts and phrases three times every time I wanted to meditate on an idea, to ‘formalize’ the poetry and to create a sense of stasis in the music. I decided early on that the ‘veil’ would be represented by a middle C (the third letter of the alphabet), and that moments or even entire movements would ‘cross’ the veil, oftentimes up a third or down a third. And I knew that Julie’s theme would be based on three notes starting on middle C, up a third to E flat, then back down again to C.
Movement VI: I’m Afraid
The sixth movement of the piece captures the turning point of Tony and Julie’s time together where Julie, poet Tony Silvestri’s wife, is diagnosed with ovarian cancer. With words directly from her medical record and operative reports, this piece is meant to represent the feeling of overwhelm and anxiety regarding medical terminology and a new diagnosis. This piece details Julie’s specific diagnosis, her treatment plans including chemotherapy, and the specific surgical interventions she had to try to treat her ovarian cancer.
Movement XII: Child of Wonder
As the final movement of the work, this piece with text by Eric Whitacre was written with the hope to give Tony Silvestri “a path to grace” at the end of the work. This piece displays many moments of musical dissonance that do not resolve, which could be alluding to the reality that the pain from Julie’s death never diminishes or resolves, it merely becomes a “scar” that Tony and their loved ones feel they can live with. Tony Silvestri, in a podcast episode with Eric Whitacre, also discusses that from his first date with Julie, his wife “felt like home”. You will notice throughout this piece many references to “home” with the end of the poem repeating “Welcome home my child, Welcome home.”
The Sacred Veil allows the listener space to grieve and acknowledge that it is okay to do so. Silvestri notes, “We all have pain. We all have experienced loss. We all long for catharsis and closure, even as we grieve.”
– Eric Whitacre
WHAT WILL YOUR SUMMER SOUND LIKE?
Choral Ensemble Camp & Treble Choir Camp
June 8-14, 2025
A comprehensive music experience for singers in grades 8-12.
LEAD FACULTY: Mckenna Stenson, AssistantProfessorofChoralMusicEducation, FSU
Personnel
SOPRANO 1
Yuliia Billa ’25
Julia Chaves ’26
Jazzy Ebert ’25
Arden Ruby ’26
Madeline Schneider ’25
Emily Woo ’27
SOPRANO 2
Olivia Bahmer ’26
Taylor Livingston ’27
Daira Suster-Sanchez ’26
*Rebecca Smith ’26
Mogale Stewart ’26
Sara Vanderford ’25
ALTO 1
Kiley Berkery ’27
Victoria Coey ’26
Shiloh DeFabia ’25
Alyssa Jimenez ’26
*Candace Jones ’25
Grace Leali ’27
Maggie Merrell ’26
Veronica Saavedra ’27
*Caroline Wheeler ’25
ALTO 2
Allyson Andaluz ’27
*Gabriella Berrios ’25
Myx Campbell ’27
Erica Dowling ’25
Samantha Rivera ’25
MM Choral Conducting Ukraine
BME Choral Music Education Orlando, Florida
BME Choral Music Education Auburndale, Florida
BME Choral Music Education Tampa, Florida
BM Vocal Performance Lorton, Virginia
BA Media/Communication Studies Tampa, Florida
BM Vocal Performance Tallahassee, Florida
BME Choral Music Education Aldie, Virginia
BA General Music Cutler Bay, Florida
BME Choral Music Education Kissimmee, Florida
BME Choral Music Education Bristow, Virginia
BA General Music Glen Ellyn, Illinois
BME Choral Music Education Venice, Florida
BM Piano Performance/Sacred Music Flemington, New Jersey
BA General Music West Palm Beach, Florida
BA General Music Tallahassee, Florida
BME Choral Music Education Melbourne, Florida
BME Choral Music Education Frisco, Texas
BME Choral Music Education Lake Worth, Florida
BME Choral Music Education Miami, Florida
BA General Music Marietta, Georgia
BME Choral Music Education Stuart, Florida
BM Vocal Performance Kissimmee, Florida
BA General Music West Melbourne, Florida
BME Choral Music Education Kissimmee, Florida
BA Music/Computer Science Celebration, Florida
TENOR 1
*Kevin Borges ’25
Tobias Deggans ’26
Alex Mortier ’26
Steven Olson ’27
Jackson Roberts ’25
TENOR 2
Blake Dwelle ’27
Caden Early ’27
Connor Mickey ’26
Adam Nguyen ’25
Frank Pastore ’25
BARITONE
*Seaira Anderson ’26
Espen Brante ’25
Will Coey ’28
Nathan Cohen ’26
Jack Marshall ’26
Benjamin Reid ’25
Jeremiah Tacey ’27
BASS
*Vincent Amiel ’25
Grayson Dannelly ’27
Ferris Kritzer ’26
Clement Lee-Sursin ’28
Christian Noel ’25
Dylan Rhodes ’27
BME Choral Music Education Miami, Florida
BME Choral Music Education St. Petersburg, Florida
BME Choral Music Education Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
PhD Choral Music Education Lexington, KY
BME Choral Music Education Orlando, Florida
BM Piano Performance/Jazz Marietta, Georgia
BME Choral Music Education Niceville, Florida
BA Commercial Music/ St. Augustine, Florida
BS Retail Entrepreneurship
BS Psychology Pace, Florida
BA Commercial Music Ramona, California
BME Choral Music Education Safety Harbor, Florida
BA Music and English Acworth, Georgia
BME Choral Music Education Nolensville, Tennessee
BA Commercial Music Alpharetta, Georgia
BME Choral Music Education Boca Raton, Florida
BME Choral Music Education Jacksonville, Florida
BME Choral Music Education Orlando, Florida
BS Accounting Orlando, Florida
BME Choral Music Education Niceville, Florida
BME Choral Music Education Tampa, Florida
BM Vocal Performance Tallahassee, Florida
BM Vocal Performance Chesterfield, Virginia
BM Piano Performance Melbourne, Florida
* choir leadership
The University Singers
The University Singers, founded in 1949 by Dr. Wiley Housewright, is the undergraduate touring choir at Florida State University. The auditioned choir consists mostly of students majoring in music. During its rich history, University Singers has performed with remarkable musicians Simon Halsey, Krzysztof Penderecki, Bobby McFerrin, Sir David Willcocks, Aaron Copland, Norman Dello Joio, Billy Taylor and the esteemed Atlanta Symphony conductor, Robert Shaw. University Singers has been invited to perform at national and regional conventions of the National Association for Music Education and the American Choral Directors Association, including performances at the national conventions of ACDA in 2007 and 2013. Recent tours have included performances throughout the Southeastern United States and Central Europe. In 2021, members of University Singers joined university choirs of Puerto Rico to perform Dan Forrest Requiem for the Living in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Several distinguished conductors have led the University Singers in its 75-year history, including Walter James, Joseph Flummerfelt, Clayton Krehbiel, and André Thomas. Kevin Fenton has carried on traditions established by these outstanding conductors since 2000.
The Director
KEVIN FENTON is professor of choral conducting and ensembles at Florida State University, where he conducts the FSU University Singers and Collegians (TB ensemble). He has conducted the Virginia Tech Meistersingers (1998), the University Singers (2002, 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2013), and the Festival Singers of Florida (2012 and 2018) in performances at regional and national conventions of ACDA and NAfME. Fenton has conducted choirs in 39 states, including thirty All-State choirs. Additionally, he has conducted the ACDA Southern Division High School Honor Choir (2008), the Dublin Ireland International Choral Festival (2016), the Xi’an China International Choral Festival (2017), and the Samarang Music Society AVoice4Peace concert in Indonesia (2017 and 2019).
Fenton teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in choral literature and choral conducting. His textbook, Foundations of Choral Conducting, has been adopted throughout the country. He is a recipient of the Florida State University Teaching Award for Excellence, the Wayne Hugoboom Distinguished Florida Service Award, and the Gamma Mu Chapter of Delta Omicron Music Professor of the Year award. He taught at the Kenya Conservatoire of Music as a Fulbright Specialist to Sub-Saharan Africa, and he is in his sixteenth year as Artistic Director of the Festival Singers of Florida – a choir of music educators and performers dedicated to “inspiring and engaging through impassioned singing.”
A champion of new music, Fenton has conducted over forty premiere performances including Skip Stradtman’s Psalm 91 (2022); Andrea Clearfields’s Transformed by Fire: Choral Suite (2022); Kyle Pederson’s A Vision Unfolds (2022); Elaine Hagenberg’s Illuminare (2021), Hans Heruth’s When You are Old (2023), Rob Redei’s …and the stars (2024), and Skip Stradtman’s Meditations on Death (2025).
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
2015-16
2016-17
2017-18
2018-19
2019-20
2020-21
University Singers Teaching Assistants Since 2000
Carlos Vasquez-Ramos, Music and Worship Director, Nativity Catholic Church, Brandon, FL
Shannon Marsh Chase, Director, Vox Nova Chamber Choir, Brunswick, ME
Debi Chandler, Director of Choral Activities, University of Louisiana, Monroe, LA
Christopher Aspaas, Director of Choral Activities, Texas Christian, Fort Worth, TX
Josh Bronfman, Director of Choral Activities, Sam Houston State, Huntsville, TX
Peter Durrow, DCA, Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, MO
Mihoko Tsutumi, Director of Choral Activities, SUNY Oswego, Oswego, NY
Michael Murphy, Director of Choral Activities, Stephen F. Austin University, Nacogdoches, TX
Craig Zamer, Director of Choral Activities, Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, TN
Sandra Babb, Choral Music Education, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
Rollo Fisher, Director of Choral Music, Monroe Community College, Rochester, NY
Roger Hale, Director of Choral Activities, Utah Tech University, St. George, UT
Jo-Anne van der Vat-Chromy, DCA, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA
Angel Vasquez-Ramos, Director of Choral Studies, California State University, Bakersfield, CA
Alan Zabriskie, Director of Choral Activities, Texas Tech, Lubbock, TX
Stefanie Cash, Director of Music Education, Berry College, Rome, GA
Troy Roberston, Director of Choral Activities, Tarleton State University, Stephenville, TX
Michael Hanawalt, Director of Graduate Choral Activities, FSU, Tallahassee, FL
Felicia Barber, Professor of Choral Conducting, Yale University, New Haven. Connecticut
James Brown, Director of Choirs, East Millbrook Middle Magnet Academy of Arts, Raleigh, NC
Amy Kotsonis, Director of Choral Activities, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH
Ryan Luhrs, Director of Choral Programs, Lenoir-Rhyne, Hickory, NC
Erynn Millard, Director of Choral Activities, Florida International University, University Park
Steven Hankle Choral Music Education, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH
Adam Potter, Director of Choral Activities, Roberts Wesleyan College, Rochester, NY
Sandy Hinkley, Coordinator of Music Education, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX
Christopher Harris, Director of Choirs, Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, AR
Adam Zrust, Director of Choral Activities, Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, MO
Marques Garrett, Assistant Professor of Music in Choral Activities, U of North Texas, Denton, TX
Jeremy Wiggins, Director of Choral Activities, Western Connecticut State University, Danbury, CT
Riter St. Luc, Assistant Professor of Music Education, Oakwood University, Huntsville, AL
Christopher Phalen, Director of Choral Activities, Buena Vista University, Storm Lake, IA
Austin Thorpe, Visiting Director of Choral Activities, Shenandoah Conservatory, Winchester, VA
Lauren Ramey, Director of Music Education/Associate Director of Choral Activities, East
Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN
Morgan Luttig, Director of Choral Activities, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
Dante Webb, Director of Choral Music Education, Wingate College, Wingate, NC
2021-22
2022-23
2023-24
Brett Epperson, Director of Choral Activities, Hastings College, Hastings, NE
Nicole Davis, Associate Director of Choral Activities, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Katie Kenkel, Director of Choirs, Monument Academy, Cologrado Springs, CO
Ethan Murphy, PhD Choral Music Education Candidate, Tallahassee, FL
Sarita Gustely-Olson, PhD Choral Music Education Candidate,
Jeremy Moore, PhD Choral Music Education Candidate, Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Our Faculty
CHORAL MUSIC FACULTY
Suzanne Byrnes
Director, Capital Children’s Choir
Kevin Fenton
Professor of Conducting and Ensembles
Director of University Singers and Collegians (TB Choir)
Michael Hanawalt
Director of Graduate Choral Activities, Director of University Chamber Choir and Tallahassee Community Chorus
Bryan Stenson
Adjunct Professor of Choral Music Education and Director of Vocal Jazz Ensemble
McKenna Stenson
Assistant Professor, Conducting and Choral Music Education, Director of Levana (SA Choir) and Choral Union
OPERA FACULTY
Bernard McDonald
Associate Professor, Director of Opera Activities
James Marvel
Assistant Professor, Stage Director of Opera
VOICE FACULTY
Marcía Porter
Professor of Voice, Coordinator of Voice and Opera
Alisa Hauser
Program Director of Music Theatre
Evan T. Jones
Assistant Professor of Voice
Suzanne Lommler
Adjunct Professor of Voice
David Okerlund
Associate Professor of Voice
Eric Reiger
Assistant Professor of Voice
Natalie Sherer
Assistant Professor of Vocal Coaching and Collaborative Artist
Sudarat Songsiridej
Music Specialist, Music Theatre
Jeffrey Springer
Assistant Professor of Voice
Marcy Stonikas
Associate Professor of Voice
Sahoko Sato Timpone
Associate Professor of Voice
Valerie M. Trujillo
Professor of Vocal Coaching and Accompanying
ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF MUSIC
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