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Sonoran Desert Chorale celebrates companionship
BY SRIANTHI PERERA
GetOut Contributor
While weathering a seemingly endless pandemic, many people became more appreciative of the value of companionship.
The Sonoran Desert Chorale takes it a step further with a concert on the themes of companionship and journeys.
“You Come, Too,” is the title of the Mesa-based chorale’s next performances on Saturday, April 30, at First United Methodist Church in Mesa and on Sunday, May 1 at La Casa De Cristo Lutheran Church in Scottsdale.
“I just feel like I wanted to celebrate this notion of valuing companionship, of valuing that journey, of valuing important people and ideas that sojourn with us,” said Dr. Carric Smolnik, artistic director.
The chorus will sing three pieces by Andrew Maxfield, a Utah-based contemporary composer; Whatever Is Foreseen in Joy, The Door, and A Gracious Sabbath Sonoran Desert Chorale of Mesa is back in full swing post-pandemic and have concerts
planned. (Courtesy of Sonoran Desert Chorale)
Stood Here.The composer, who will be in attendance, will comment on the songs and share his musical vision on them.
Other songs include O Whistle and I’ll Come To Ye, I’ll Ay Call In By Yon Town, andMy Love’s in Germany– a trio of Scottish folk songs; Shaun Kirchner’s I’ll Be On My Way; Felix Mendelssohn’sFor God Commanded Angels to Watch Over You; a traditional American folk hymn – The Promised Land; Aaron Copeland’s Zion’s Walls, and songs of finding the way home in Stephen Paulus’ The Road Home and Marta Keen’sHomeward Bound.
The concert’s title, You Come, Too, is from a poem called The Pasture by Robert Frost, and the choral will sing its arrangement by American composer Z. Randall Stroope.
Smolnik said he also loves the poem’s 1959 version by Randall Thompson, which he studied earlier.
“It illustrates how I feel about the people that are closest to me, that even if it’s a short activity, if it’s something trivial, I still both want and value their company,” he said. “I feel that often we talk about these greater causes, about doing things outside ourselves, but the reality of the matter is we, as individuals, have the power to af-
seeCHORALE page 19
Mesa team achieves dream amid tragedy
BY JOSH ORTEGA Tribune Staff Writer
Matt Shott died of cancer in December, but his dream lived on for the Arizona Kachinas, a Mesa-based girls hockey team.
The team recently walked away with silver medals from the USA Hockey Youth Girls Tier II National Championships in Pennsylvania for their 14-and-under, 16-and-under, and 19-and-under programs.
Program President Lyndsey Fry said the past season has been a “roller coaster” but one that’s sending their girls in the right direction: up the competitive ranks of youth hockey. “Everybody’s in the mindset of honoring Matt,” she said. “We have to keep All the Arizona Kachinas programs carried on despite the death of their coach, Matt Shott. (Special to the Tribune) growing it and building it in the direction he dreamed it could be.” The 19-and-under team finished the tournament losing to Steele City Selects (Pennsylvania) in the championship 1-0 and had the team lead the tournament with a total of 13 points.
The 16-and-under team lost to Premier Prep Purple (Minnesota) 3-2 in the championship and lead the tournament with 12 points.
The 14-and-under team lost to North Shore Vipers (Massachusetts) 2-1 in the championship and tied for points scored with 12 points.
Fry said when she received her silver medal during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, she flashed back to all the people that helped her make it to that point. “That’s what I want to do for someone else,” she said.
Now that’s looking to come to fruition
THE MESA TRIBUNE | APRIL 24, 2022
2 churches combine efforts to help the needy
BY ROBIN FINLINSON Tribune Guest Writer
An event titled “Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself” recently brought together members of two churches – Sun Valley Community Church and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – as well as several members of a high school football team to serve people with various needs.
The gymnasium of Legacy Traditional School in southeast Chandler provided ample room for projects benefitting numerous local nonprofits and senior centers. For five hours, the volunteers were welcome to spend as much time as they wanted on projects they chose. Donations for each project were previously collected.
Many volunteers prepared long strands of grocery bags. They were then used by other volunteers to create “plarn” mats for people experiencing homelessness. Instead of yarn, plastic bags were woven together. Approximately 450 bags are required to create a single mat. The nonprofit 2Fish & 5Loaves received the finished products.
Inspirational cards were created for AZCEND and are now being given to seniors living alone to brighten their day. Some volunteers flattened another assortment of grocery bags to be used in AZCEND’s food bank.
Three separate projects supported Cultivate Goodness. Port pillows were sewn for the comfort of chemotherapy patients. An array of pre-packaged edibles were assembled into snack bags to be given to homeless individuals. Greeting cards were made and became part of goodie bags later delivered to the Mesa Police Department, Meals on Wheels, and cancer patients at Mayo Clinic and MD Anderson.
Scraps of soap, donated by a local soap company, were cut and placed into plastic bags. Many were immediately included in hygiene kits for Dsquared Homes for the Homeless; well over 1,500 additional cut scraps are now ready to be inserted into future kits as needed.
Donated clothing was sorted to help with its distribution to foster children through Helen’s Hope Chest.
seeSTAKE page 20
Volunteers prepare plastic bags to be woven into sleeping mats for homeless individuals. Dr. Lessina Cline is in the front on the right.
(Robin Finlinson/Guest Writer)
CHORALE from page 18
fect those around us.”
Chorale member and Phoenix resident Brooke Stephens, assistant headmaster and music teacher at Chandler Preparatory Academy, finds the concert’s theme particularly poignant, when reflecting on the paucity of social interaction during the past two years.
“Choir is a community and we are doing it just as much for each other as to the audience. We love singing together and inviting each other to sing,” she said. “It’s partly that reminder that we get to journey together not only with other choir members, but we are inviting our audience, too.”
The Sonoran Desert Chorale was founded in 1994 by Jeff Harris, who directed the group for 25 years.
It is a sophisticated choral organization that presents musical compositions from cultures around the globe as well as pieces from the European and American music traditions. Concerts frequently include guest performances and collaborations with artists and organizations in the community.
Stephens, a music teacher and the assistant principle at a Chandler school, beBrooke Stephens, the assistant headmaster and music teacher at Chandler Preparatory Academy, has been singing with the Sonoran Desert Chorale for 16 years and revels in the camaraderie. (Alan Pfohl)
lieves that anyone can sing in a choir. To become part of the Sonoran Desert Chorale, the ability to read sheet music is a necessity, but having a solo voice is not.
“Making music with others is such a fulfilling community activity,” she noted.
A chorale member for 16 years, Stephens finds it difficult sometimes to attend Thursday’s practice nights because of a busy schedule. But it’s always invigorating.
“Every time we get to Thursday, I am always wondering if I have enough energy to make it to choir,” she said. “But every time, I would find myself leaving choir with more energy than when I came in.”
Smolnik, who came on board toward the end of 2019, just when COVID-19 was about to spread, had to keep the members engaged without the possibility of meeting and singing together. It was a difficult and unusual challenge.
The regular rehearsal hours were maintained, but conducted online. The musical selections and instructions were uploaded in advance and breakout groups worked with leaders to sing them. Later, the singers had to practice and record audio and video on their own. During rehearsals, just one person could sing because of the lag in time.
Sometimes, experts presented online workshops.
“So, there was still that community because we could see each other on Zoom,” Stephens said.
“Even though we couldn’t sing together in the same way, through those workshops and through the teaching of the pieces that we were to record and submit to the virtual choir, I really did feel that that was my only social outlet during the entire year.”
“It’s been great to see the emotional journey of coming back to singing. I had tears streaming down my face for the entire first rehearsal. I could not believe how beautiful the music sounded together in the same room again,” Stephens said.
Smolnik said he felt “ecstatic and excited” at the first in-person rehearsal, but the mask concealed the emotions.
“The next rehearsal I basically started crying under my mask because it was such an emotional experience to be back with people that you view as your musical family and sharing your connection to the words and to the musical settings,” he said.
The chorale was able to present concerts last October (about nature’s beauty), December (celebratory classical Christmas songs) and February (the many facets of love).
“The director has tried to program the things that we can never take for granted again,” Stephens said. “Singing is one of those things We’ll always remember how lucky we are to get to sing side-by-side, shoulder-to-shoulder.”
as the Kachinas continue to grow.
In the program’s inaugural 2019-20 season, the Kachinas had about 80 girls. This season they finished with more than 230 across all their programs.
Fry said growing the organization and allowing girls hockey to expand at such a rapid rate in the state continues to remain the cornerstone of the program.
“Not only to get it off the ground, but to get it to excel very quickly,” she said.
Part of that comes from having so many levels for opportunity for every girl to compete at their own level.
“It’s the fact that there’s an ability to find a fit for every girl in the organization,” she said. “That’s the coolest part.
This year’s tournament had the Kachinas playing teams from across the country including Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, and Minnesota.
All this comes after the program also received Tier I status—the highest level of youth competition—from USA Hockey in January to begin next season.
While Fry said she doesn’t expect the girls to win a lot of games next year, that’s expected due to the increased level of competition.
She said the next two to three years will be “build years” with the hopes of sending a player to a NCAA Division I program.
“We’re constantly thinking about the future and feeding that pipeline of girls,” she said. ■
STAKE from page 19
Fidget quilts were sewn for people suffering from Alzheimer’s, then distributed to senior centers.
The event was organized by Lori Neff, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She also represents justserve.org, a website created and maintained by the Church to connect people who would like to volunteer in some way with multiple opportunities.
Ecclesiastical leaders of the two churches, Pastor Brett Humphrey of Sun Valley and Stake President Troy Hansen of the Church of Jesus Christ, were among approximately 200 volunteers. The results included: 801 complete snack bags, 470 hygiene kits, 226 inspirational cards, 154 port pillows, 20 fidget quilts, eight plarn mats and a truckload of sorted children’s clothing.
Volunteers enjoyed the opportunity to serve. A father had told his two teenagers that he expected them to help for a little while.
But once they got started, they didn’t want to leave, and they stayed the whole time. Several participants expressed the hope that this will become an annual event, including Dr. Lessina Cline of Sun Valley.
Originally from The Republic of The Gambia in northwest Africa, she said, “If we all forget about our backgrounds and come together, the church of God would be stronger, and we would be able to do much more.”
Most of the above-mentioned nonprofits (and myriad more) have projects posted at justserve.org. Everyone interested in finding volunteer opportunities—either local or remote—is welcome to visit that website.
Robin Finlinson is a Chandler Area
JustServe specialist. ■
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Ob uaries
Margaret Mary Arbuthnot
Margaret Mary (Peggy) Arbuthnot (nee Devaney) peacefully left this earth to be with God in her sleep in the early morning of March 23, 2022. She was 90 years old. Peggy was a first generation American, born September 27, 1931 in New York City to immigrant parents, Martin John Devaney and Kathleen Josephine Devaney (nee Monahan) of Galway, Ireland. Peggy was a proud graduate of St. Rose of Lima Parish School in Washington Heights and Cathedral High School, an all-girls high school affiliated with St Patrick’s Cathedral. Peggy was humbled by the generosity of an anonymous donor who paid her tuition at St Rose of Lima. She went on to graduate from Cathedral High School, on a scholarship, graduating at the age of 16. Peggy went on to nursing school earning a scholarship from the church to St. John’s Hospital in Long Island City, Queens, N.Y. There she worked and studied while living in the Nurse Student Housing at the time located around the block from the hospital. She went on to have a rewarding and varied career in nursing including Community Health, Home Health, Surgical Nurse, Cardiac Intensive Care, Inservice Director at Scottsdale Memorial Hospital, among others. Peggy continued to work full time while earning her bachelor’s degree and then her master’s degree in Public Health Administration – Health Services Management from Golden Gate University in 1984, where she graduated with distinction. Peggy retired from the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Medical Center Phoenix, AZ as the Director of Quality Assurance. She served on the medical ethics committee at the VA Medical center and was elected to the office of recording secretary for the Arizona State Nurses Association, District 18. She loved her many friends at Post 44 over the years and really enjoyed the Auxiliary programs helping Vets and their families. She also loved their bridge games, bingo nights and many celebrations. Peggy is survived by son Robert Joseph and daughter in law Victoria Arbuthnot of Strawberry AZ, and daughters Kathleen Marie Arbuthnot of Phoenix AZ and Peggy Lynn Arbuthnot of Aurora CO. Grandchildren, Rachel Lynn and Eric Alexander, Katrina Louise Arbuthnot, Jennifer Lee Moder, and 11 great grandchildren. Her brother Thomas and sister in law Mary Lou Devaney, Martin Joseph and sister in law Deidra Devaney, and her many nieces and nephews whom she loved. She was preceded in death by sons Thomas Brian, Douglas Scott and Dennis Wayne and husband Robert J Arbuthnot, sister Catherine Boble and brother in law John Boble. Her funeral mass will be Saturday, May 7 at 11am at St. Patrick’s Church, 10815 N 84th St., Scottsdale. In lieu of flowers, it was her desire that money be sent to the scholarship fund at Cathedral High School, 350 E 56th St, New York, NY 10022 (https:// www.cathedralhs.org/)
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Norman Lyle Knox
Norman Lyle Knox quietly passed away Monday, April 27th , 2020, after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. Norman was born to Orval A. and Leota Neely Knox in Chandler AZ in 1933, and was grandson of Arizona Pioneers, T.A.”Alex” and Martha Knox. He had two younger sisters, Muriel and Barbara. Norman attended Chandler schools, graduating from Chandler High in 1951. While there, he played in various bands, played baseball, was involved in student government, and sang in the choir. He was an avid Chandler High booster and received recognition for his work and support over the decades. Norman went to ASU for one year (rooming with Jamie Sossaman) then transferred to UC Davis, to major in Agriculture. While there, he joined Theta Xi fraternity as well as Alpha Zeta and was involved in many campus activities as well as the marching band. He graduated in 1955, came home and 4 days after arriving home, married Barbara Jean Gaddis. After honeymooning, Norman and Barbara settled into married life and farming. He farmed with Orval and on his own from 1955 to 2005. At the time of his death, he was still involved in the family citrus operation in Tulare Co., CA. Norman farmed cotton, alfalfa, small grains, corn, sugar beets, and several varieties of native plants for seed. Norman and Barbara had two sons, Lyle and Alex. Norman was very active both in and out of the agriculture community. He served on the Production Credit Association and Federal Land Bank boards, Chandler Ginning Co. board, CALCOT board, Western Farm Credit Bank and US AGbank boards, Roosevelt Water Conservation District board, Maricopa County Pollution Control Board, Chandler Hospital board, Arizona Grain board, and Arizona Cotton Growers, to name a few. He was particularly proud to be a member of the Otto and Edna Neely Foundation board. As a lifelong member of the Chandler United Methodist Church, he served on many boards, committees and was a youth advisor for many years. He also supported the Future Farmers of America, YMCA and Scouting. Norman also loved flying and received his private pilot pilot’s license in 1959. In 1958, he and Barbara joined the Arizona Flying Farmers and both remained members until their deaths. Here, too, Norman served as a Chapter officer on many occasions. He served as a Regional Director on the Flying Farmer international level and he and Barbara were Teen Advisors for the yearly convention. Norman was also selected as a Man of the Year for the Arizona Chapter. During his flying days, Norman achieved both Instrument and Multi-Engine Ratings. Norman was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara and his younger sister Muriel (Roger) Fry. He is survived by his youngest sister, Barbara (Max) Butcher, two sons, Lyle (Sue) and Alex (Ellen), four grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held May 7th at 10 AM at the Chandler Center for the Arts, in the Bogle Theatre.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to any of the following groups: Salvation Army, YMCA of Chandler, Chandler Education Foundation, Chandler Service Club, Theta Xi Fraternity – Beta Epsilon Chapter at UC Davis, Chandler United Methodist Church or the FFA.
William Lee (“Bill”) Flowers
W i l l i a m L e e ( “ B i l l ” ) F l o w e r s , longtime Gilbert resident leaves behind his wife of 31 years, C i n d y , t w o s o n s , Buddy and Denny, brother, Lynn, the daughter and two sons of Cindy, 19 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren plus hundreds of friends. Bill was preceded in death by his daughter, Laurie and his brother, Jerry.
After joining Cindy in the real estate business in 1994 Bill quickly became a trusted Realtor and friend to many of their clients. Prior to his real estate career, Bill had his own paint and decorating business in Dallas, Texas, where he spent the first 36 years of his life. When Bill arrived in Arizona in 1976, he resumed his earlier career and had his own warehouse and cotton gin machinery supply business in Chandler.
Bill was a founding member, Deacon and Elder in Gilbert Presbyterian Church. He also was the Jr. & Sr. High Youth Group Leader for several years where Cindy’s three children were members of his youth group. He and Cindy served together on church committees and sang in the choir together prior to their marriage in 1990. Cindy says her "Billy" is the love of her life!
A Celebration of Life will be held on April 28, 2022 at the Val Vista Lakes Clubhouse, 1600 E. Lakeshore Dr. in Gilbert at 5:30 pm.
Adrienne Anne Jones
Adrienne Anne Jones passed away peacefully in the early morning on March 23rd, 2022 at the age of 74 after a long battle with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. She was preceded in death by her husband Roger, her brother Nick and her cat Zoey. She is survived by two siblings - Rusty and Tammy, her three daughters - Monica, Angie and Maddie, and her seven grandchildren - Trevor, Collin, Justin, Anabella, Maxton, Tegan, and Benji. She was born on February 10th, 1948 in Madison, Wisconsin to parents Adrian and Dora Gammill. After graduating with an associates degree from East Tennessee State University, she lived and worked in Virginia, Maryland, Alabama and then finally settled in Arizona to retire. A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, April 30th, 2022 for family and friends at Fellowship Square Historic Mesa's Grand Dining Hall/Community Center, 35 W. Brown Rd, Mesa AZ 85201, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in her honor to www.thebarnhouseaz.com who spay and neuter feral cats in the greater Phoenix area.
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Contact Paul Maryniak at 480-898-5647 or pmaryniak@ timespublications.com
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