UNIVERSITY OF
CENTRAL ARKANSAS
NATURAL STATESMEN TENOR/BASS CHOIR
Hot Springs Convention Center
Friday, February 21, 2025
University of Central Arkansas
College of Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
Department of Music
UCA Natural Statesmen Tenor/Bass Choir
Dr. Paul J. Mayhew, conductor
Dr. Norman Boehm, collaborative pianist
Arkansas All-State Music Conference
Hot Springs Convention Center
Friday, February 21, 2025
PROGRAM
There’s a Meeting Here Tonight Gibson, Hassilev, & Yarbrough arr. Reinwald & Takach
Tommy Ghent, tenor
The Music of Living Dan Forrest
Dr. Linda Hsu, violin; Nathaniel Smith, horn
Sam Neely & Kent Arnold, percussion
Die Minnesänger
Invictus
If I Were a Dog
Carter Moore, trombone
Robert Schumann
Joshua Rist
Paul John Ruddoi
Danny Boy arr. Patrick D. Quigley
Some Glad Morning arr. Paul J. Mayhew
(Will the Circle be Unbroken / Farther Along / I’ll Fly Away)
John McKinnis, bass; Caleb Ellis, tenor
Aaron Farris, fiddle & mandolin; Ben Cardin, banjo
Smokey Emerson & Joshua Harvison, guitar
Lucas Alba, bass
NOTES & TEXTS
There’s a Meeting Here Tonight
Gibson, Hassilev, & Yarbrough
Arr. Reinwald & Takach
The words to this gospel/folk standard can likely be traced to African American slaves and the tradition of using coded messages to alert one another of a planned meeting. As a folk song, it was written and recorded by Alex Hassilev and Glen Yarbrough of the Limeliters (1961) and recorded by the folk duo Joe & Eddie (1963). The American Men’s Choir Cantus created this arrangement based on Joe & Eddie’s 1963 recording.
Well, there’s a meeting here tonight,
There’s a meeting here tonight, I can tell by your friendly face
There’s a meeting here tonight.
Satan got mad and I am glad,
Lost a soul he thought he had.
Satan is a liar and a conjuror too,
You better watch out brother he’ll conjure you.
Well, I went down in the valley one day, Met old Satan on my way.
What do you reckon old Satan did say? He said, “Turn back, young man You’re too young to pray.”
The Music of Living
Dan Forest (b. 1978)
Dan Forrest is an in-demand composer of primarily choral music, including some marvelous large-scale, choral-orchestral works such as Jubilate Deo (2016) and Requiem for the Living (2013). In addition to composing, Dr. Forrest serves as Editor at Beckenhorst Press, Chair of the American Choral Director’s Association Composition Initiatives Committee, and Artist-in-Residence at Mitchell Road
Presbyterian Church in Greenville, South Carolina. With a brilliant and lively accompaniment, The Music of Living exudes the joy and optimism of life.
Giver of life, Creator of all that is lovely, teach me to sing the words to your song. I want to feel the music of living; And not fear the sad songs. But from them make new songs, Composed of both laughter and tears.
Giver of life, Creator of all that is lovely, teach me to dance to the sounds of your world. I want to move in rhythm with your plan. Help me to follow your leading. To risk even falling; To rise and keep trying, for you are leading the dance,
Giver of life, Creator of all that is lovely, teach me to sing the words to your song.
Die Minnesänger
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Text: Heinrich Heine (1797-1856)
Schumann is regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic Era. In addition to symphonies, chamber music, and piano works, he composed choral pieces including 27 part-songs for male voices. Heinrich Heine was a German poet, writer, and literary critic whose lyric poetry was frequently set to lieder by Schumann and Franz Schubert.
Minstrels now come to the singing competition; Oh, that’s a strange argument, and a very strange tournament! Imagination, the foaming wild one, is the Minstrel’s horse, And art serves as his shield, and the word is his sword. Pretty ladies look on from the carpeted balcony, But the special one is not there with the victory crown of myrtle. Other people, when they jump into the arena, are healthy, But we minstrels come there already with the death wounds.
Invictus
Joshua Rist (b. 1988)
Text: William Ernest Henley (1849-1903)
William Ernest Henley fought a lifelong battle for his health, contracting tuberculosis of the bones as a child that necessitated the amputation of his left leg below the knee. When the disease later spread to his other leg and his doctors insisted on removing it as well, Henley challenged their diagnosis and sought a second opinion. His pursuit led him to meet Dr. Joseph Lester, a pioneer in the development of antiseptic surgery. During an arduous twenty-month hospital stay, he wrote In Hospital, a collection of poems describing his spiritual journey through this gauntlet. It was there he penned his most famous work, Invictus (Latin for “invincible” or “unconquerable”).
Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed.
If I Were a Dog
Paul John Rudoi (b. 1985)
Text: Richard Shelton (1933-2022)
Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds and shall find me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.
Richard Shelton was an American writer, poet, and Professor of English at the University of Arizona. He published nine books of poetry and spent many years leading a writer’s workshop at the Arizona State Prison. He recently passed away in November 2022 at the age of 89. If I Were a Dog was featured on NPR’s Writer’s Almanac and comes from a collection published in 2007 entitled “The Last Person to Hear Your Voice.”
I would trot down this road sniffing on one side and then the other peeing a little here and there wherever I felt the urge having a good time what the hell saving some because it’s a long road but since I’m not a dog I walk straight down the road trying to get home before dark if I were a dog and I had a master who beat me I would run away and go hungry and sniff around until I found a master who loved me I could tell by his smell and I would lick his face so he knew
or maybe it would be a woman I would protect her we could go everywhere together even down this dark road and I wouldn’t run from side to side sniffing I would always be protecting her and I would stop to pee only once in awhile sometimes in the afternoon we could go to the park and she would throw a stick I would bring it back to her each time I put the stick at her feet I would say this is my heart and she would say I will make it fly but you must bring it back to me I would always bring it back to her and to no other if I were a dog
Danny Boy
Traditional Irish
Arranged by Patrick D. Quigley (b. 1977)
The lyrics to this famous song were written by English lawyer Frederic Weatherly and set to the traditional Irish melody of “Londonderry Air” in 1913. The song is popular for Irish wakes and funerals and the melody is familiar in the band world as Percy Grainger “Irish Tune from County Derry.”
Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling, From glen to glen and down the mountainside.
The summer’s gone and all the roses falling, It’s you it’s you must go and I must bide.
But come ye back when summer’s in the meadow
Or when the valley’s hushed and white with snow, It’s I’ll be here in sunshine or in shadow, Oh, Danny boy, Oh, Danny boy, I love you so.
Some Glad Morning (Medley)
But when ye come, and all the flowers are dying, If I am dead, as dead I well may be, You’ll come and find the place where I am lying, And kneel and say an “Ave” there for me.
And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me , And o’er my grave will warmer, sweeter be, And you will bend and tell me that you love me, And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me.
Will the Circle Be Unbroken written by A. P. Carter (1935)
Farther Along written by Rev. W. B. Stevens (1911)
I’ll Fly Away written by Albert E. Brumley (1929)
Arranged by Paul J. Mayhew
These three songs collectively cross the boundaries of Bluegrass, Southern Gospel Harmony, Traditional Country, and Appalachian Folk Music. The Carter Family reworked the 1907 hymn Will the Circle Be Unbroken into a funeral hymn with new lyrics in 1935 and the song has been recorded by dozens of artists since then. Mother Maybelle Carter sang it with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band for an iconic 1972 album of the same name. The Southern Gospel song Farther Along has been recorded by Hank Williams, Pete Seeger, Johnny Cash, and the Trio Album recorded by Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, and Linda Ronstadt. I’ll Fly Away has simply been called “the most recorded gospel song” and was featured in the movie O Brother Where Art Thou? as sung by Allison Krauss and Gillian Welch.
UCA NATURAL STATESMEN TENOR/BASS CHOIR
Tenor I
John Crim
Tommy Ghent
Bryan Norwood
Asher Owen
Jesse Rodden
Cayden Sabella
Nathaniel Smith
Breyden White
Tenor 2
Caleb Ellis
Joshua Fredenburgh
Riley Glasspoole
Jagger Halk
Matthew Holbrook
Eric Huang
Jacob Karp
Anthony Luevano
Logan Parnell
Daniel Rutherford
Evan Shumate
Ian Slisher
Braydon Waters
Bass 1
Aiden Carter
Jackson Clupny
Manuel De La Rosa
Max Farris
Noah Flack
Dominic Gonzales
Damion Grant
Benjamin Land
Giovani Lang-pale
Isreal Marquez
Carter Moore
Music Performance
Choral Conducting
Music Composition
Choral Music Ed.
Theater/French
Theater/Choral Music Ed.
Music Performance
Studio Art
Arlington, TX
Bald Knob, AR
Hot Springs, AR
Conway, AR Cairo, GA
Mountain Home, AR Collierville, TN
Osceola, AR
Martin HS
Riverview HS
Hot Springs HS
Conway HS
Cairo HS
Mountain Home HS
Collierville HS
Rivercrest HS
Choral Music Ed.
Instrumental Music Ed.
Exercise Science
Choral Music Ed.
Instrumental Music Ed.
Music Performance
Instrumental Music Ed.
Instrumental Music Ed.
Instrumental Music Ed.
Instrumental Music Ed.
Instrumental Music Ed.
Computer Info Systems
Instrumental Music Ed.
Hot Springs, AR
Maumelle, AR
Russellville, AR
Jonesboro, AR
Orlando, FL
Fujian, China
Bryant, AR
Fort Smith, AR
Van Buren, AR
Jonesboro, AR
Russellville, AR
Cabot, AR
Cabot, AR
Lakeside HS
Maumelle HS
Dardanelle HS
Valley View HS
Edgewater HS
Bryant HS
Bryant HS
Northside HS
Van Buren HS
Jonesboro HS
Russellville HS
Cabot HS
Cabot HS
Instrumental Music Ed.
Instrumental Music Ed.
Music/Computer Sci.
Choral Music Ed.
Instrumental Music Ed.
Choral Music Ed.
Choral Music Ed.
Instrumental Music Ed.
Instrumental Music Ed.
Instrumental Music Ed.
Instrumental Music Ed.
Valley Springs, AR
Bentonville, AR
Puerto Plata, DR
Cave Springs, AR
Bryant, AR
Maumelle, AR
Batesville, AR
Vilonia, AR
Leander, TX
Hot Springs, AR
Conway, AR
Valley Springs HS
Bentonville HS
Oasis Christian
Har-Ber HS
Bryant HS
Maumelle Charter HS
Batesville HS
Vilonia HS
Cedar Park HS
Lake Hamilton HS
Conway HS
Jackson Moore
Ethan Nash
Jaylen O’Neal
Landon Shurley
Larry Smith
Luis Villanueva
Deytron Wilson
Bass 2
Osmar Alvarado
Evan Bray
Daniel Carrera
Logan Cottrell
Nick Dickinson
Ezekiel Fletcher
John McKinnis
Erick Montoya
Rowan Rich
Nash Roach
Cameron Teague
Choral Music Ed.
Music Composition
Film
Instrumental Music Ed.
Choral Music Ed.
Instrumental Music Ed.
Music
Batesville, AR
Vilonia, AR
Hot Springs, AR
Mountain Home, AR
Bryant, AR
Springdale, AR
Benton, AR
Batesville HS
Home Schooled
Hot Springs HS
Mountain Home HS
Bryant HS
Springdale HS
Benton HS
Studio Art Linguistics/Film
Music Composition
Music Performance
Music/Psychology
Computer Science
Choral Music Ed.
Technical/Prof. Writing
Music Performance
Choral Music Ed.
Instrumental Music Ed.
Springdale, AR
Mt. Pleasant AR
Gentry, AR
Wooster, AR
Bryant, AR
Benton, AR
Centerton, AR
Springdale, AR
Tulsa, OK
Conway, AR
Monticello, AR
Don Tyson School
Southside Charter HS
Gentry HS
Greenbrier HS
Bryant HS
Benton HS
Bentonville West HS
Har-Ber HS
Jenks HS
Conway HS
Monticello HS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Dr. Thomas Williams
Dean, College of Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
Dr. Stephen Plate Chair, Department of Music
Mrs. Melody Henrie Financial Analyst, Department of Music
Mr. Cole Cavanah Administrator and Adjunct Faculty, Department of Music
Dr. Frank Eychaner Director of Choral Activities
Dr. Gregory Church Voice Area Coordinator
Dr. Celeste Church Voice Faculty
Dr. Robert Holden Voice Faculty
Dr. JoAna Rusche Voice Faculty
Mr. Smokey Emerson
Professor of Guitar
Dr. Linda Hsu
Professor of Violin
Dr. Brent Shires
Professor of Horn
Dr. Blake Tyson
Professor of Percussion
The UCA Department of Music is an artistic community with more than 220 music majors, graduate and undergraduate, who participate in more than 25 student ensembles, including the Bear Marching Band, the Semi-professional Conway Symphony Orchestra, the award-winning Concert Choir and Chamber Singers, and numerous other large and small ensembles including Opera Theatre. Our ensembles have traveled the world to bring UCA Music to the masses.
UCA Music is a regional leader in music performance, education, theory, and composition. The program and faculty attract the brightest young musicians from Arkansas, the United States, and the world.
The Department of Music holds approximately 200+ performances and events annually. The Friends of Music continues to support the department with attendance and donors, and UCA is making great strides in becoming an All-Steinway School.
The brand new Windgate Center for the Fine and Performing Arts, opened in January of 2023, boasts 100,000 Sq. Ft. of Artistic Space including Galleries, Recital/Choral Rehearsal Hall, Percussion Suite, a 250-seat Black Box Theatre, practice rooms, a music library, and a 450-seat Performance Hall featuring the latest in performative technology.
The Department is involved in partnerships with schools across the globe including East China Normal University, the International Music and Performing Arts Academy, in Saigon, Vietnam among others as well as the Orquesta Filarmónica de Santa Cruz de La Sierra which includes an orchestral festival, concert series, and scholarship competition held in Bolivia.
