HANDEL’S MESSIAH Friday, December 8, 2023 at 7:30 pm Saturday, December 9, 2023 at 7:30 pm Sunday, December 10, 2023 at 2:30 pm ALLEN-BRADLEY HALL Ken-David Masur, conductor Hannah Sheppard, soprano Ashley Suresh, soprano Mary Rafel, alto Scott Bass, countertenor Nicholas Lin, tenor David Govertsen, bass Milwaukee Symphony Chorus Cheryl Frazes Hill, director
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL Messiah, HWV 56 PART I 1. Sinfonia (Overture) 2. Arioso (Tenor): Comfort ye, my people 3. Aria (Tenor): Ev’ry valley shall be exalted 4. Chorus: And the Glory of the Lord 5. Recitative (Bass): Thus saith the Lord 6. Aria (Alto): But who may abide the day of his coming? 7. Chorus: And he shall purify Recitative (Alto): Behold, a virgin shall conceive 8. Air and Chorus (Alto): O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion 9. Arioso (Bass): For behold, darkness shall cover the earth 10. Air (Bass): The people that walked in darkness 11. Chorus: For unto us a child is born 12. Pifa (Pastoral Symphony) Recitative (Soprano): There were shepherds abiding in the field 13. Arioso (Soprano): And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them Recitative (Soprano): And the angel said unto them 14. Arioso (Soprano): And suddenly, there was with the angel 15. Chorus: Glory to God in the Highest 16. Air (Soprano): Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion
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INTERMISSION PART II 19. Chorus: Behold the Lamb of God 20. Air (Alto): He was despised 21. Chorus: Surely he hath borne our griefs 22. Chorus: And with his stripes we are healed 23. Chorus: All we like sheep have gone astray 24. Arioso (Tenor): All they that see him laugh him to scorn 25. Chorus: He trusted in God 33. Chorus: The Lord gave the word 34a. Duet/Chorus/Air (Soprano): How beautiful are the feet of him 35a. Arioso and Chorus (Tenor): Their sound is gone out 36. Air (Bass): Why do the nations so furiously rage together? 37. Chorus: Let us break their bonds asunder Recitative (Tenor): He that dwelleth in Heaven 38. Air (Tenor): Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron 39. Chorus: Hallelujah PART III 41. Chorus: Since by man came death 42. Recitative (Bass): Behold, I tell you a mystery 43. Air (Bass): The trumpet shall sound 47. Chorus: Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
The 2023.24 Handel’s Messiah is presented by the UNITED PERFORMING ARTS FUND and ROCKWELL AUTOMATION. The length of this concert is approximately 2 hours and 5 minutes. 16
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Guest Artist Biographies HANNAH SHEPPARD Soprano Hannah Sheppard has sung with the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus since 2013, serving as a core member and section leader. Her long musical career began in Pittsburgh and includes performances as a cellist and as a vocalist in various productions as a child and young adult. Sheppard has most recently appeared as a soloist in Mendelssohn’s Elijah as the Knabe with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and as Serena in the short film Peace Offering. Prior to gracing Milwaukee’s musical stages, Sheppard enriched her craft as a college student in Washington, Pennsylvania, lending her voice to the Washington & Jefferson Choir and the W&J Camerata Singers. Currently residing in Milwaukee, she shares her life with her husband and their cherished canine companion, Wally, continuing to captivate audiences around the city and working as a clinical researcher.
ASHLEY SURESH Ashley Suresh, soprano, has performed in numerous operas and musicals from a young age. She recently performed in the Milwaukee Ballet’s production of Dracula with The Florentine Opera Company. As a soloist, she has performed works such as Strauss’s Four Last Songs with the Beloit Symphony Orchestra and Kenneth Frazelle’s The Motion of Stone. While obtaining her Master of Music degree in vocal performance from Northwestern University, she sang the role of Fiordiligi in Cosí fan tutte with Northwestern Opera Theater and performed in a master class with the renowned Renée Fleming. She has performed with the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute in productions of La rondine, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Maria Stuarda. She debuted with Piedmont Opera in 2012 as Bridget Booth in Robert Ward’s The Crucible and is a recipient of the William R. Kenan Jr. Excellence Scholarship Award from University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She currently resides in Wisconsin with her husband and son.
SCOTT BASS Scott Bass (he/they) is a countertenor, songwriter, and multiinstrumentalist based out of Chicago, Illinois. Since receiving a Bachelor of Music in vocal performance from the Chicago College of Performing Arts in 2019, Bass has built up a vast portfolio of vocal, instrumental, composition, and production work. With multiple albums of original music recorded and released under their name and their solo project, base., Bass takes pride in the diversity of musical language, taking influence from a vast pool of musical history from sacred, pop, Baroque, and beyond. This is Bass’s first year singing with the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus, and Bass was previously featured in the semichorus of Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy in November 2023. Outside of the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus, Bass is a featured soloist with Kol Zimrah Jewish Community Singers, performing works by Jewish composers including Bernstein, Janowski, and more. Bass is also the Cantorial Soloist for Beth Chaverim Humanistic Jewish Community and has been featured singing with the Evanston Chamber Opera in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel as the Sandman, as well as leading the tenor section on the album Max Janowski - Great Works for the Max Janowski Society. This is Bass’s mainstage debut singing Messiah, and Bass is excited to share the brilliance of Handel’s works with you.
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Guest Artist Biographies MARY RAFEL Mary Rafel is an experienced and educated vocalist with over 17 years of choral experience and professional musicianship. Rafel has always been passionate about music and pursued it academically in her undergraduate studies at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin, where she earned her Bachelor of Music degree in voice. She continued her education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she earned her Master of Music degree, studying musicology and voice. It was then that her journey began as an alto in the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus. Rafel has enjoyed being part of the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus for over 12 years. In that time, she has sung a wide variety of repertoire, ranging from the Baroque to the 20th century. Rafel currently studies under the tutelage of Dr. Tanya Kruse-Ruck.
NICHOLAS LIN Nicholas Lin is a tenor based out of Milwaukee and Chicago. He has performed with The Florentine Opera Company (chorus member in Rigoletto, L’enfant et les sortilèges, Il barbieri di Siviglia, and L’elisir d’amore), Music of the Baroque, Opera for the Young (Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville), and the Chicago Symphony Chorus. In 2023, he joined the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus as a paid core member. As a soloist, Lin has sung the tenor solo in Mozart’s Requiem for the Northwestern Summer Chorus and the role of Colas in South Loop Symphony’s semi-staged production of Bastien und Bastienne. He is a graduate of Northwestern University’s voice and opera program, where he studied under Karen Brunssen. At Northwestern, Lin performed the roles of Orfeo (L’Orfeo), Frank (Die Fledermaus), The Keeper of the Madhouse (The Rake’s Progress), The Lord Chancellor (Iolanthe), the Learned Judge (Trial and Error), and chorus work in Don Giovanni, Theodora, and Béatrice et Bénédict. In the fall of 2019, he directed OPUS’s production of Arthur Honegger’s operetta Les aventures du roi Pausole at Northwestern. Music festivals he has performed in include Atlantic Music Festival in Waterville, Maine; Classical Lyrical Arts in Novafeltria, Italy; and International Lyric Academy in Vicenza, Italy.
DAVID GOVERTSEN Chicago native David Govertsen has been active as a professional singer for nearly 20 years, portraying a wide variety of opera’s low-voiced heroes, villains, and buffoons. Govertsen has appeared as a soloist with numerous local and regional opera companies, including Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera, Tulsa Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, and the Haymarket Opera Company. He is a member of the vocal chamber quartet Fourth Coast Ensemble, performing art song in Chicago and throughout the Midwest. As a concert soloist, Govertsen has performed with the Chicago, Detroit, and Madison symphony orchestras, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Grant Park Orchestra, Santa Fe Symphony, and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, among many others. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2011 as the Herald in Otello with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Muti. He is an alumnus of the Ryan Opera Center and the Santa Fe Opera and Central City Opera apprentice programs and holds degrees from Northwestern University, Northern Illinois University, and the College of DuPage. Govertsen is currently on faculty at North Park University, Lewis University, and the College of DuPage. 18
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Program notes by Elaine Schmidt GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL
Born 23 February 1685; Halle, Germany Died 14 April 1759; London, England
Messiah, HWV 56
Composed: 22 August – 14 September 1741 First performance: 13 April 1742; Dublin, Ireland Last MSO performance: 18 December 2022; Ken-David Masur, conductor Instrumentation: 2 oboes; bassoon; 2 trumpets; timpani; harpsichord; organ; strings Approximate duration: 2 hours and 5 minutes It’s a great story: a young German boy is forbidden by his father from having anything to do with “musical nonsense.” The boy sneaks a little keyboard instrument into the house and up to the attic, where he plays it when no one can hear him. He eventually becomes one of the most revered composers of the Baroque era. That is a true story of Handel’s childhood. He did eventually receive musical training, in Germany and in Italy, and began his career in Germany before moving permanently to England. There, he won the favor of audiences and royalty alike, building a reputation as one of the finest composers of the Baroque era and a successful, lucrative career. Handel began his career in England by writing Italian operas, which were a favorite of audiences at the time. But public tastes changed, and he began writing English-language oratorios, which are loosely defined as operas presented without costumes or scenery, to keep his audiences happy. Messiah, Handel’s oratorio based on the biblical Christmas story and the story of Christ’s suffering and death, is a departure from typical dramatic oratorio storytelling. Handel and his librettist, Charles Jennens, created a musical contemplation, or meditation, on the biblical stories rather than a literal retelling. Handel wrote Messiah in just three weeks during the summer of 1741, using a libretto Jennens had based on verses from the King James Bible and, to a lesser degree, the Church of England Book of Common Prayer. Although Messiah was premiered in Dublin on 13 April 1742 (proceeds from the ticket sales went to charity) and was a resounding success, Londoners began complaining ahead of the 1743 London premiere that Bible verses had no place in a secular theater. The kerfuffle died down and Messiah clearly endured it unscathed. As to why audiences stand up for the “Hallelujah” chorus? No one really knows. The accepted story is that King George II was so moved he stood when he first heard the “Hallelujah” chorus at the London premiere. The entire audience joined him because one never sat in front of a standing monarch. It’s a great story, but it didn’t appear until about 20 years after the London premiere, and there is no proof that it’s true. Nevertheless, here we are, 290 years after the London premiere, and I promise you that people will stand for the “Hallelujah” chorus.
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CHORUS MEMBERS & STAFF Anna Aiuppa Marty Foral Noah Liermann Randy Schmidt Mia Akers Robert Friebus Nicholas Lin u Allison Schnier Laura Albright-Wengler Karen Frink Robert Lochhead Trinny Schumann Maria Fuller Kristine Lorbeske Bob Schuppel * James B. Anello u Thomas R. Bagwell William Gesch Grace Majewski Matthew Seider Barbara Barth Samantha Gibson Douglas R. Marx Bennett Shebesta Czarkowski Jessica Golinski Joy Mast u Hannah Sheppard Scott Bass Justin J. Maurer David Siegworth * Mark R. Hagner Marshall Beckman Eric W. Hanrehan Kathryn McGinn Bruce Soto Zachary Beeksma Beth Harenda Shannon McMullen Joel P. Spiess Yacob Bennett u Karen Heins Kathleen Ortman Miller * Todd Stacey Mary Catherine Megan Miller u Donald E. Stettler * JoAnn Berk Edward Blumenthal Helgren Victor Montañez Cruz Scott Stieg u Scott Bolens Kurt Hellermann Bailey Moorhead * Donna Stresing Robert Bortman Martha Hellermann Jennifer Mueller Ashley Ellen Suresh Neil R. Brooks Sara E. Herrick Joseph Thiel * Matthew Neu Heather Brown Eric Hickson Kristin Nikkel Dean-Yar Tigrani Michelle Budny Michelle Hiebert Jason Niles Clare Urbanski Ellen N. Burmeister Laura Hochmuth Alice Nuteson Tess Weinkauf Gabrielle Campbell Matthew Hunt Robert Paddock Emma Mingesz Weiss Gerardo Carcar Stan Husi R. Scott Pierce Michael Werni Elise Cismesia u Tina Itson u Jessica E. Pihart Erin Weyers Ian Clark Olivia Pogodzinski Cameron Wilkins • Christine Jameson Sarah M. Cook Paula J. Jeske Gabriel Poulson Christina Williams Amanda Coplan Andrew Johnson Kaitlin Quigley Emilie Williams u Sarah Culhane John Jorgensen Mary E. Rafel Sally Witte Phoebe Dawsey Kevin R. Woller • Heidi Kastern * Jason Reuschlein Colin Destache Michelle Beschta Klotz Rehanna Rexroat Rachel Yap Emma DeVries Robert Anton Knier James Reynolds * Jamie Mae Yu Becky Diesler Jill Kortebein Marc Charles Ricard Michele Zampino Rebeca Dishaw Kaleigh KozakAmanda Robison Katarzyna Zawislak Megan Kathleen Lichtman Stephanie Zimmer * Bridget Sampson Dixson u Joseph M. Krechel James Sampson Rachel Dutler Julia M. Kreitzer Darwin J. Sanders u James Edgar Savannah Grace Jenny E. Sanders Joe Ehlinger Kroeger Alana Sawall Jay Endres Autumn Schacherl • Harold Krueger Katelyn Farebrother Benjamin Kulhmann John T. Schilling Michael Faust Pamela Lembke Sarah Schmeiser Catherine Fettig Alexandra Lerch-Gaggl Rand C. Schmidt
STAFF
u Section Leader
Cheryl Frazes Hill, chorus director Timothy J. Benson, assistant director Kayoko Miyazawa, primary pianist Terree Shofner-Emrich, Diane Kachelmeier, rehearsal pianists Darwin J. Sanders, language/diction coach Christina Williams, chorus manager
* Mentor
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• Librarian
DR. CHERYL FRAZES HILL, CHORUS DIRECTOR Dr. Cheryl Frazes Hill is now in her seventh season as director of the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus. In addition to her role in Milwaukee, she is the associate conductor of the Chicago Symphony Chorus. Frazes Hill is Professor Emeritus at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts, where she served for 20 years as director of choral activities. During the 2023.24 season, Frazes Hill will prepare the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus for classical performances of Beethoven’s Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt and Choral Fantasy, Bach’s Magnificat, Debussy’s Nocturnes, and Orff’s Carmina Burana, as well as for holiday performances of Handel’s Messiah. In her role as the Chicago Symphony Chorus associate conductor, she has prepared the chorus for Maestros Alsop, Boulez, Barenboim, Conlon, Levine, Mehta, Salonen, Tilson Thomas, and many others. Recordings of Frazes Hill’s chorus preparations on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra label include Beethoven, A Tribute to Daniel Barenboim, and Chicago Symphony Chorus: A 50th Anniversary Celebration. Under her direction, the Roosevelt University choruses have been featured in prestigious and diverse events, including appearances at national and regional music conferences and performances with professional orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and the Illinois Philharmonic. The Roosevelt Conservatory Chorus received enthusiastic reviews for their American premiere of Jacob ter Veldhuis’s Mountain Top. Other recent performances have included the internationally acclaimed production of Defiant Requiem and three appearances with The Rolling Stones during a recent United States concert tour. Frazes Hill received her Master of Music and Doctorate degrees in conducting from Northwestern University and undergraduate degrees in voice and music education from the University of Illinois. An accomplished vocalist, she is a featured soloist in the Grammynominated recording CBS Masterworks release Mozart: Music for Basset Horns. An award-winning conductor/educator, Frazes Hill recently received the ACDA Harold Decker Conducting Award, the Mary Hoffman Music Educators Award, and in recent years the Commendation of Excellence in Teaching from the Golden Apple Foundation, the Illinois Governor’s Award, Roosevelt University’s Presidential Award for Social Justice, the Northwestern University Alumni Merit Award, and the Outstanding Teaching Award from the University of Chicago, among many others. Frazes Hill’s recently released book, Margaret Hillis: Unsung Pioneer, a biography of the famed female conductor, received a commendation from the 2023 Midwest Book Awards. The book is available on Amazon and in bookstores. Frazes Hill is nationally published on topics of her research in music education and choral conducting. A frequent guest conductor and guest speaker, Frazes Hill has recently collaborated with Maestro Marin Alsop at Ravinia Festival’s Breaking Barriers: Women on the Podium.
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CELLOS Susan Babini, Principal, Dorothea C. Mayer Cello Chair Nicholas Mariscal, Assistant Principal* Shinae Ra, Acting Assistant Principal (2nd chair) Scott Tisdel, Associate Principal Emeritus Madeleine Kabat Peter Szczepanek Peter J. Thomas Adrien Zitoun
CONTRABASSOON Beth W. Giacobassi
BASSES Jon McCullough-Benner, Principal, Donald B. Abert Bass Chair* Andrew Raciti, Associate Principal Nash Tomey, Assistant Principal (3rd chair) Brittany Conrad Teddy Gabrieledes** Peter Hatch* Paris Myers
TRUMPETS Matthew Ernst, Principal, Walter L. Robb Family Trumpet Chair David Cohen, Associate Principal, Martin J. Krebs Associate Principal Trumpet Chair Alan Campbell, Fred Fuller Trumpet Chair
TIMOTHY J. BENSON Assistant Chorus Director
HARP Julia Coronelli, Principal, Walter Schroeder Harp Chair
FIRST VIOLINS Jinwoo Lee, Concertmaster, Charles and Marie Caestecker Concertmaster Chair Ilana Setapen, First Associate Concertmaster Jeanyi Kim, Associate Concertmaster Alexander Ayers Yuka Kadota Elliot Lee** Ji-Yeon Lee Dylana Leung Allison Lovera Lijia Phang Yuanhui Fiona Zheng
FLUTES Sonora Slocum, Principal, Margaret and Roy Butter Flute Chair Heather Zinninger, Assistant Principal Jennifer Bouton Schaub
TROMBONES Megumi Kanda, Principal, Marjorie Tiefenthaler Trombone Chair Kirk Ferguson, Assistant Principal
2023.24 SEASON KEN-DAVID MASUR Music Director Polly and Bill Van Dyke Music Director Chair EDO DE WAART Music Director Laureate RYAN TANI Assistant Conductor CHERYL FRAZES HILL Chorus Director Margaret Hawkins Chorus Director Chair
SECOND VIOLINS Jennifer Startt, Principal, Andrea and Woodrow Leung Second Violin Chair Timothy Klabunde, Assistant Principal John Bian, Assistant Principal (3rd chair) Glenn Asch Lisa Johnson Fuller Paul Hauer Hyewon Kim Alejandra Switala** Mary Terranova VIOLAS Robert Levine, Principal, Richard O. and Judith A. Wagner Family Principal Viola Chair Georgi Dimitrov, Assistant Principal (2nd chair), Friends of Janet F. Ruggeri Viola Chair Samantha Rodriguez, Assistant Principal (3rd chair)* Alejandro Duque, Acting Assistant Principal (3rd chair) Elizabeth Breslin Nathan Hackett Erin H. Pipal Helen Reich
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PICCOLO Jennifer Bouton Schaub OBOES Katherine Young Steele, Principal, Milwaukee Symphony League Oboe Chair Kevin Pearl, Assistant Principal Margaret Butler
HORNS Matthew Annin, Principal, Krause Family French Horn Chair Krystof Pipal, Associate Principal Dietrich Hemann, Andy Nunemaker French Horn Chair Darcy Hamlin Kelsey Williams**
BASS TROMBONE John Thevenet, Richard M. Kimball Bass Trombone Chair TUBA Robyn Black, Principal, John and Judith Simonitsch Tuba Chair TIMPANI Dean Borghesani, Principal Chris Riggs, Assistant Principal PERCUSSION Robert Klieger, Principal Chris Riggs
ENGLISH HORN Margaret Butler, Philip and Beatrice Blank English Horn Chair in memoriam to John Martin CLARINETS Todd Levy, Principal, Franklyn Esenberg Clarinet Chair Benjamin Adler, Assistant Principal, Donald and Ruth P. Taylor Assistant Principal Clarinet Chair* Taylor Eiffert* Madison Freed**
PIANO Melitta S. Pick Endowed Piano Chair
E-FLAT CLARINET Benjamin Adler*
PRODUCTION Tristan Wallace, Technical Manager & Live Audio Supervisor Paolo Scarabel, Stage Technician & Deck Supervisor
BASS CLARINET Taylor Eiffert* Madison Freed** BASSOONS Catherine Van Handel, Principal, Muriel C. and John D. Silbar Family Bassoon Chair Rudi Heinrich, Assistant Principal Beth W. Giacobassi
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PERSONNEL MANAGER Françoise Moquin, Director of Orchestra Personnel LIBRARIANS Paul Beck, Principal Librarian, Anonymous Donor, Principal Librarian Chair Matthew Geise, Assistant Librarian & Media Archivist
* Leave of Absence 2023.24 Season ** Acting member of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra 2023.24 Season
