Certain of the Dawn To be
Saturday, November 9, 2019 | 7:30 pm Ted Mann Concert Hall
University of Minnesota Choirs present
Felix Mendelssohn’s Psalm 114, Opus 51
Stephen Paulus’s
&
To Be Certain of the Dawn
University Singers University Men’s and Women’s Choruses Project Opera University Symphony Orchestra Matthew Mehaffey, conductor Kathy Saltzman Romey, conductor
Cantor Barry Abelson Madison Holtze, soprano Alyssa Becker, mezzo soprano Laurent Kuehnl, tenor Cenyiyang Chen, baritone With Guest Speakers: Michael O’Connell and Michael Dennis Browne
PROGRAM FELIX MENDELSSOHN | 1809-1847
Psalm 114, Opus 51 Da Israel aus Ägypten zog (When Israel out of Egypt came) University Singers University Symphony Orchestra Matthew Mehaffey, conductor
Introduction to Stephen Paulus’s To Be Certain of the Dawn Michael Dennis Browne, librettist Michael O’Connell, commissioner of To Be Certain of the Dawn • INTERMISSION •
STEPHEN PAULUS | 1949-2014
To Be Certain of the Dawn University Men’s Chorus, Women’s Chorus, and University Singers Project Opera from Minnesota Opera University Symphony Orchestra Cantor Barry Abelson Madison Holtze, soprano Alyssa Becker, mezzo soprano Laurent Kuehnl, tenor Cenyiyang Chen, baritone Kathy Saltzman Romey, conductor I. RENEWAL Sh’ma Yisrael! (Traditional Prayer) (Cantor) Teshuvah (Returning) (Chorus) First Blessing (Children’s Chorus) Kingdom of Night (Chorus) V’a Havta Le Reacha Kamocha (You should love your neighbor as yourself) (Cantor) 2
PROGRAM, cont. II. REMEMBRANCE Two Little Girls in the Street (Soprano and Mezzo Soprano) Second Blessing (Children’s Chorus) Where Was the Light? (Chorus) Old Man, Young Man (Baritone, Tenor) Third Blessing (Children’s Chorus, Soprano) This We Ask of You (Chorus) Du sollst deinen Nächsten lieben wie dich selbst (You should love your neighbor as yourself) (Chorus, Cantor) Three Coats (Mezzo Soprano, Tenor) Fourth Blessing (Children’s Chorus) Breathe in Us, Spirit of God (Chorus, Tenor, Baritone) Boy Reading (Baritone, Chorus) Interlude: Veil of Tears (Orchestra) Hymn to the Eternal Flame (Chorus, Children’s Chorus, Soprano Kira Winter)
Please TURN OFF all electronic devices. Even on vibrate, these can interfere with our recording process. 3
PROGRAM, cont. III. VISIONS B’Tselem Elohim (Image of God) (Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Tenor, Baritone, Chorus, Children’s Chorus) Voices of Survivors (Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Tenor, Baritone, Chorus) V’a Havta Le Reacha Kamocha (Chorus, Children’s Chorus, Soloists, Cantor)
IMAGE CREDITS 1. Roman Vishniac In cheder (Jewish elementary school), Mukacevo, ca. 1935–38 ©The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, U.C. Berkeley Gift of Mara Vishniac Kohn, The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, University of California, Berkeley. 2. Roman Vishniac Two friends shyly approach the photographer, Lodz, ca. 1935–38 ©The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, U.C. Berkeley Gift of Mara Vishniac Kohn, The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, University of California, Berkeley. 3. Roman Vishniac An Orthodox father visits his son, [TOZ (Society for Safeguarding the Health of the Jewish Population) summer camp, probably Otwock], ca. 1935–37 ©The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, U.C. Berkeley Gift of Mara Vishniac Kohn, The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, University of California, Berkeley. 4. Roman Vishniac [Boy suffering from a toothache clutches a tattered school notebook, Slonim], ca. 1935–38 ©The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, U.C. Berkeley Gift of Mara Vishniac Kohn, The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, University of California, Berkeley. 4
PROGRAM NOTES Psalm 114 As a composer of sacred texts, Mendelssohn is chiefly remembered today for the oratorios Paulus (1836) and Elijah (1846). In addition to these huge pieces, he composed a now largely forgotten series of psalm settings for varying scorings of chorus, soloists, and orchestra. This series began with Mendelssohn’s version of Psalm 115 (Op. 31 of 1830, originally set to the Latin text of the Vulgate) and continued with renditions of Psalms 42 (Op. 42 of 1837), 95 (Op. 46 of 1841), 114 ( Op. 51 of 1839, the one performed this evening), 98 (Op. 91 of 1843) and finally, 2, 43, and 22 (composed for a cappella chorus and soloists in 1843 and 1844). Psalm 114 was premiered in Leipzig on New Year’s Day, 1840, but then withdrawn by the composer for revision before he released it to the press the following year. The Psalm is a compact, powerfully moving expression of communal faith. No soloists are heard here; rather, Mendelssohn relies on an expanded eight-part chorus, which declaims the entire text of the psalm. The conspicuous use of the chorus brings to mind the oratorios of Handel, especially Israel in Egypt (1739), a perennial favorite of Mendelssohn with obvious ties in subject matter to Psalm 114. Handelian, too, is Mendelssohn’s occasional indulgence in word painting. To some extent, Mendelssohn’s psalm settings impress as preliminary studies for his more ambitious oratorios. This may explain the relative obscurity of a work such as Psalm 114, which did not survive will the late nineteenth-century reaction against Mendelssohn, whom George Bernard accused of “despicable oratorio mongering” and “kid-glove gentility.” But perhaps Sir George Grove, editor of the celebrated music encyclopedia and an early biographer of Mendelssohn, came closer to the mark: “The Jewish blood of Mendelssohn,” he observed about Psalm 114, “must surely for once have beat fiercely over this picture of the great triumph of his forefathers, and it is only the plain truth to say that in directness and force his music is a splendid match for the splendid words of the unknown psalmists.” Copyright - American Symphony Orchestra
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PROGRAM NOTES, cont. To Be Certain of the Dawn To Be Certain of the Dawn was commissioned by Fr. Michael O’Connell, rector of the Basilica of Saint Mary, and intended as a gift from the Christian community to the Jewish community. The first performance was at the Basilica in November 2005, a year which marked the sixtieth anniversary of the liberation of the death camps and the fortieth anniversary of the Vatican document Nostra Aetate (In Our Time), which brought about the renewal of dialogue between Jews and Christians. In Part One (Renewal), we hear from the chorus Christian grief at their failure to support Jews in the terrible ordeal of the Shoah and for many centuries of “the teaching of contempt.” We hear their desire for teshuvah—repentance, atonement, a return to the spiritual roots of their faith in Judaism. We also hear four blessings sung by the children: this is an example of the impulse to praise God, daily, frequently, even while storm clouds are gathering. We also hear from the cantor the Sh’ma, the central prayer of Judaism, and phrases from the Kaddish, as well as the introduction of the recurring theme “You should love your neighbor as yourself.” In Part Two (Remembrance), the soloists sing as characters in four photographs taken from Roman Vishniac’s book Children of a Vanished World—glimpses of what Geoffrey Hartman calls “a vanished life in its vigor.” The chorus continues with more expressions of Christian remorse together with a wish to “grow and be known by our love.” We also hear quotations from the Nuremberg Laws of the 1930s with their inhuman constrictions upon Jewish life. The section concludes with Hymn to the Eternal Flame, which is based on the children’s memorial at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. In Part Three (Visions), several themes are woven together: the desire for Jews and Christians to walk together in solidarity of interfaith in “the country of justice,” however scarred the world; divine promises as revealed in the Hebrew Scriptures; quotations taken from interviews with three Minnesota-based survivors and the daughter of one survivor. At the conclusion, both choruses, together with the cantor, sing “You should love your neighbor as yourself ” in Hebrew, and we hear the sound of the shofar, with which the work began. I want to thank Fr. Michael O’Connell for the original commission, this large dream of his, and especially to remember Stephen Paulus for nearly four decades of loving friendship and artistic collaboration which transformed my life. –Michael Dennis Browne
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PSALM 114 TEXT & TRANSLATION Da Israel aus Ägypten zog, das Haus Jakob aus dem fremden Volk,
When Israel came out of Egypt: and the house of Jacob from among the strange people,
da ward Juda sein Heiligtum, Israel seine Herrschaft.
Judah was his sanctuary: and Israel his dominion.
Das Meer sah es und floh; der Jordan wandte sich zurück;
The sea saw that, and fled: Jordan was driven back.
die Berge hüpften wie die Lämmer, die Hügel wie die jungen Schafe.
The mountains skipped like rams: and the little hills like young sheep.
Was war dir, du Meer, daß du flohest, und du, Jordan, daß du dich zurückwandtest,
What aileth thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest: and thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back?
ihr Berge, daß ihr hüpftet wie die Lämmer, ihr Hügel wie die jungen Schafe?
Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams: and ye little hills, like young sheep?
Vor dem HERRN bebte die Erde, vor dem Gott Jakobs,
Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord: at the presence of the God of Jacob;
der den Fels wandelte in einen Wassersee und die Steine in Wasserbrunnen.
Who turned the hard rock into a standing water: and the stone into a springing well.
Hallelujah! Singet dem Herrn in Ewigkeit.
Hallelujah! Sing to the Lord forever.
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TO BE CERTAIN OF THE DAWN LIBRETTO I. RENEWAL Sh’ma Yisrael! (Cantor) Sh’ma Yisrael! Adonai Eloheinu Adonia Echad! Barukh sheim K’vod malchuto l’olam va’ed.
Hope. We thank You for our hope. Adonai, Adonai,
(Hear, O Israel: Adonai our God, Adonai is One. Blessed is the name of God’s glorious reign for ever and ever.)
Who gives us our dreams,
Teshuvah (Chorus)
Dreams. We thank You for our dreams.
Create a great emptiness in me. Send a wind. Lay bare the branches. Strip me of usual song. Drop me like a stone, send me down unknown paths, send me into pathlessness; drop me like a stone so that I go where a stone goes. Send me down unknown paths, send me into pathlessness, into the lost places, down into echoes to where I hear voices, but no words: a place of weeping below any of earth’s waters. Teshuvah, Teshuvah, Teshuvah. Soprano, Tenor Give me difficult dreams where my skills will not serve me; make bitter the wines I have stored. Chorus Begin the returning. Teshuvah, Teshuvah, Teshuvah. First Blessing (Children’s Chorus) Adonai! Adonai, Adonai, Adonai, Adonai! 8
Who gives us our hearts, and as they open, so You fill them.
and as they blossom, so we praise You.
Kingdom of Night (Chorus) Holy God, Who found no strength in us to be Your power. How should we think ourselves Your hands, Your feet? How should we be Your heart? On the day You called to us, in the kingdom of night where You kept calling, how did we heal one another in Your name? How did we think we might be recognized as You in all we failed to do? In the kingdom of night where, again and again, out of the mouths of children, You kept calling, calling. Cantor (Mourner’s Kaddish) Children’s Chorus Adonai, Adonai, Adonai. Chorus Calling and calling and calling and calling in the kingdom of night. Chorus, Children’s Chorus Adonai! V’a Havta Le Reacha Kamocha (Cantor) V’a havta le reacha kamocha. (You should love your neighbor as yourself.)
TO BE CERTAIN OF THE DAWN LIBRETTO, cont. II. REMEMBRANCE Two Little Girls in the Street (Soprano, Mezzo Soprano) two little girls we are just two little girls in the street sisters? what do you think? maybe so maybe not maybe so we’re a little bit curious about the camera we’re not so unhappy about the camera (who is it we wonder who is looking at us just the two of us?) here we are! do you like the skirt? what do you think of the coat? pretty red coat! it’s Tuesday so I get the coat for the day Leah is wearing the skirt Chorus Jews may not be citizens. Jews may not meet in public places. Soprano, Mezzo Soprano why bread in both my hands? why does Leah have nothing at all? she has one hand on the back of my neck she’s holding onto me the other hand’s empty just in case just in case hands are for holding onto for filling up
and never for hurting us hands are for giving us things. what do you think of our shoes??? Second Blessing (Children’s Chorus) Barukh attah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha-olam. (Praised are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe) Adonai, Adonai, Who gives us apples, Who gives us bread we give to one another. Sunlight. We thank You for sunlight. Where Was the Light? (Chorus) Where was the light we should have been? Moons we are, ghosts we were; no way for anyone to know that great sun shone. And everywhere such wounds. Old Man, Young Man (Baritone, Tenor) you can keep standing there if you want I’m going to stay sitting here with my back against this tree and smiling to see you just being so young maybe it’s something you’re saying to me (I don’t remember) maybe it’s because I am father to your mother Zayde, tell me that story again (grandpa) maybe that’s not really a smile on my face maybe I’m half-asleep and I’m having a dream where I’m leaning against a tree 9
TO BE CERTAIN OF THE DAWN LIBRETTO, cont. and Rachel’s boy is standing slender in sunlight talking with me
Du sollst deinen Nächsten lieben wie dich selbst (Chorus, Cantor)
When you were a boy and you fell in the river and nobody heard you—tell me again!
Du sollst deinen Nächsten lieben wie dich selbst. (You should love your neighbor as yourself.)
Chorus Jews may not attend school. Jews may not marry outside their race. Baritone, Tenor I want this dream to go on and on
Three Coats (Mezzo Soprano, Tenor) I’m wearing two jackets and a coat
and things are still good or good enough in this world of summer
I have curls hidden under my knitted cap am I a girl or a boy?
nothing so bad has happened to us
it doesn’t matter!
not under these trees where you stand your back to the camera young child of a man young child of my child talking with me
under the coats there’s a shirt, it’s buttoned up, too
as if you were made of sunlight as if you were made of leaves
(a girl)
(I’m a boy) and I’m wearing a scarf between my shirt and my vest
Third Blessing (Children’s Chorus)
I just wish it didn’t hurt where my tooth came out didn’t look so bad
Barukh attah Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha-ola (Praised are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe.)
and if only I wasn’t so sleepy today (bad dreams)
Who gives us our mouths, Who gives us air and every breath we breathe.
and if only father didn’t look so scared last night when we heard the knocking on the door
And suddenly, Zayde, you knew how to swim!
Our songs. We thank You for our songs. Chorus This we ask of You— You who brought us into being— which tasks are ours? which labors? which joys? which dances? which instruments of Yours do we become? should we have been?
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V’a havta le reacha kamocha. (You should love your neighbor as yourself.)
Chorus Jews may not keep animals. Jews may not ride bicycles. Mezzo Soprano, Tenor (it was just the wind) so—
TO BE CERTAIN OF THE DAWN LIBRETTO, cont. a shirt a scarf a jacket a vest a coat I’m a boy! I’m a bundled-up boy! Fourth Blessing (Children’s Chorus) Barukh attah Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha-olam. (Praised are you, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe.) We praise You for the lives before us, we praise You for the lives to come, whether we will see them or not. Every life. We thank You for every life. We praise You! We praise You! Breathe in Us, Spirit of God (Chorus, Tenor, Baritone) In the time of the breaking of glass, the tearing of roots, the splitting of every little temple of hope, the heart, breathe in us, Spirit of God, so that we strengthen, so we may grow and be known by our love. Boy Reading (Baritone, Chorus) I’m looking down from far away I’m high up on a branch looking down on the book so many little characters all of them keys says Mama keys to all the doors I want to open I want to open them all I like the way the characters are sometimes I think I see looks on their faces (they’re looking at me)
Chorus Jews may not imagine. Jews may not dream. Baritone they’ll take me into the stories where I want to go I had a dream where I grew so heavy I fell out of the tree down down into the characters and they covered me over and no one could find me they never found me Chorus And everywhere such wounds. Wear this star. Wear this star. Wear this star. Interlude: Veil of Tears (Orchestra) Hymn to the Eternal Flame (Chorus, Children’s Chorus, Soprano) Every face is in you, Every voice, Every sorrow in you, Every pity, Every love, every memory, Woven into fire. Every breath is in you, Every cry, Every longing in you, Every singing, Every hope, every healing, Woven into fire. how should we do all that must be done unless we see through your eyes Every heart is in you, Every tongue, Every trembling in you, Every blessing, Every soul, every shining, Woven into fire.
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TO BE CERTAIN OF THE DAWN LIBRETTO, cont. III. VISIONS B’Tselem Elohim (Image of God) (Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Tenor, Baritone, Cantor, Chorus, Children’s Chorus) Mezzo Soprano I would like to be walking with you in the cool of the evening. Children’s Chorus I will pour out My spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Mezzo Soprano Walking with you in the streets of that city we have imagined and dreamed. Chorus Source of all life, beyond all names we have for You, how should we do all that must be done unless we see through Your eyes? Soprano, Baritone Not evening. Maybe the heat of noon. Or midnight with its winds. Not a time of our choosing. Children’s Chorus Do not fear, I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you; I will say to the north, “Give them up,” and to the south, “Do not withhold; bring My sons from far away and My daughters from the ends of the earth.” Soprano, Baritone Maybe a rain. running down the leaves, running over the stones, down the roots of the trees We are walking there. Chorus Source of all life, these eyes and faces are you among us as we labor to repair this world.
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Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Tenor, Baritone Maybe stars, those faithful ones that do not step down. We walk by their light, and ask for forgiveness for smallness of dreams. I would like to be walking with you in the cool of the evening, I would like to be walking in the streets of that city we have imagined and dreamed; there we are walking. Voices of Survivors (Soprano, Tenor, Baritone, Mezzo Soprano) Soprano “I see the people, the places—they live in my memory—the faces of the people who meant so much to me. (Felicia Weingarten, survivor) Tenor “Why did I survive? The Rabbi said: ‘God kept you on earth to write the story.”’ (Henry Oertelt, survivor) Baritone “I dream of a sculpture of a bird—I try to touch it. I wake up touching the bird. I think it is a miracle.” (Robert Fisch, survivor) Mezzo Soprano “I have lived in a world with no children... I would never live in a world of no children again.” (Hinda Kibort, survivor) (zl; of blessed memory) V’a Havta Le Reacha Kamocha (Chorus, Children’s Chorus, Cantor) V’a havta le reacha kamocha. (You should love your neighbor as yourself.)
BIOGRAPHIES
Stephen Paulus (1949-2014) was a prolific American composer of classical music. He wrote over 600 works for chorus, opera, orchestra, chamber ensemble, solo voice, concert band, piano, and organ, receiving premieres and performances throughout the world as well as a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Classical Composition in 2015. His musical style has been described by The New York Times as “lush and extravagant,”and critics from the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Opera News, and many others have praised his work. The New Yorker described him as a “bright, lyrical inventor whose music pulsates with a driving, kinetic energy.” He was a recipient of both NEA and Guggenheim Fellowships. Born August 24, 1949 in Summit New Jersey, Paulus lived most of his life in Saint Paul, Minnesota where he earned his doctorate in music composition from the University of Minnesota in 1978. Paulus was a passionate advocate for the works and careers of his colleagues, co-founding the Minnesota Composers Forum in 1973, now known as the American Composers Forum, the largest composer service organization in the U.S. He also served as the Symphony and Concert Representative on the board of ASCAP from 1990 until 2014. His music has been
commissioned, recorded and performed by various performers such as The New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Opera Theater of Saint Louis, Washington Opera, Los Angeles Master Chorale, The Dale Warland Singers, VocalEssence, Doc Severinsen, Thomas Hampson, Leo Kottke, Robert McDuffie, William Preucil, and Deborah Voight. Stephen Paulus passed away in October, 2014 from complications of a stroke, but his music continues to be frequently performed and described by critics as rugged, angular,lyrical, lean, rhythmically aggressive, original, often gorgeous, moving, and uniquely American. The New Yorker characterizes his music as having “impeccable technique and wellhoned audience appeal.” while The New York Times says “Mr. Paulus often finds melodic patterns that are fresh and familiar at the same time....His scoring is invariably expert and exceptionally imaginative in textures and use of instruments.” Michael Dennis Browne was born in England, of mostly Irish ancestry, and has lived in the United States since 1965. Two of his collections of poetry have won the Minnesota Book Award for poetry. As a librettist and lyricist he has written many texts for music, working for almost four decades with composer Stephen Paulus; To Be Certain of the Dawn was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in music by the Minnesota Orchestra. He recently collaborated with Craig Hella Johnson on the fusion oratorio Considering Matthew Shepard and has also worked with Minnesota composers Abbie Betinis, Carol Barnett, Carolyn Jennings, Dale Warland, David Evan Thomas, Donald Krubsack, Jocelyn Hagen and Timothy C. Takach. Browne taught at Iowa, Bennington, Columbia, and, for thirty-nine years, the University of Minnesota, where he is now a professor emeritus. 13
BIOGRAPHIES, cont. Michael O’Connell was ordained in 1967. His leadership in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis included founding and directing its permanent diaconate program, co-directing the vocations office, and serving as vicar general and moderator of the curia. He was pastor of St. Cecilia in St. Paul from 1984-1991 before being appointed rector at the Basilica of St. Mary from 19912008, a parish noted for its pastoral care and work with the poor. He also served as pastor of Church of the Ascension in North Minneapolis from 1999 until his retirement in 2015. O’Connell spearheaded a number of local initiatives such as the Jeremiah Program, which helps single mothers attain self-sufficiency; worked closely with local Jewish, Christian and Islamic congregations to promote interfaith dialogue and understanding; led trips with Catholic and Jewish congregants to holy sites around the world; and commissioned the sacred Holocaust memorial oratorio, “To Be Certain of the Dawn,” as a gift to the Jewish people in 2001. Cantor Barry Abelson grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, where he began singing professionally at a young age. As a third grader, he sang with the American Boys Choir at Radio City Music Hall, performing with New York City’s Rockettes for their seasonal Christmas shows. While pursuing his bachelor’s in music at the Hart School of Music in Connecticut, he took a leave to do a national tour with an opera company out of New York. This company, headed by conductor Boris Goldovsky of the New York Metropolitan Opera, traveled the United States, bringing opera translated into English across the country. After completing his bachelor’s degree, Abelson enrolled as a cantorial student at the Hebrew Union College School of Sacred Music in Manhattan, where he was ordained. After ordination, Cantor Abelson served a Reform 14
congregation in Montreal, Quebec, for seven years. He was installed as the Cantor of Temple Israel – Minneapolis in 1985. Cantor Abelson premiered To Be Certain of the Dawn, with music by Stephen Paulus and words by Michael Dennis Browne, with the Minnesota Orchestra under the direction of Osmo Vänskä in 2005. Mezzo-soprano Alyssa Becker is a Doctoral of Musical Arts candidate at The University of Minnesota under the tutelage of Adriana Zabala. Some of her recent performances include Elektra with Minnesota Opera and the Brahms Alto Rhapsody with Campus Orchestra. She is the recent winner of the Schubert Club Competition and a two-time state winner of the Music Teachers National Association competition. Also an active teacher and vocal pedagogue she serves as a teaching assistant for the university and has previously served as adjunct voice faculty at the Boston Arts Academy, The Boston Conservatory Vocal Academy, the Boston Conservatory Vocal-Choral Intensive, and Amy Dancz Vocal Studio. Ms. Becker holds a bachelor of music in vocal performance from Drake University and a master of music in vocal pedagogy from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Cenyiyang Chen, a baritone from Beijing, China, received his bachelor of music education degree from Minzu University of China in the School of Music and his master of music in voice performance from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. He has participated in a number of choral activities and has performed as a choir member at China National Center for the Performing Arts, Peking Concert Hall, Suntory Hall in Japan, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Des Moines Civic Center. He finished his last year of undergraduate as an international exchange student at Drake University, Des Moines. While in Des Moines he played
BIOGRAPHIES, cont. Don Alfonso in the opera Così fan tutte and was in the chorus for the opera Alice Reyly. Before he started his singing career, Cenyiyang majored in piano performance. In 2015, he won the Excellence Award for the teenager group at Memorization Liszt China Youth Competition in Hong Kong and the Gold Award in Beijing. He also serviced as a piano accompanist in the Faculty Chorus of Minzu University of China in 2016. Currently, Cenyiyang is a first-year DMA student majoring in voice performance under Professor Philip Zawisza at the School of Music. Madison Rose Holtze is a student of Dr. Wendy Zaro-Mullins and Julian Ward. Holtze graduated Summa Cum Laude with High Distinction with a BM in vocal performance from the University of Minnesota in 2018. She will graduate with her MM in vocal performance in 2020 from the University of Minnesota. Her favorite past roles include Eurydice (Orpheus in the Underworld), Serpina (La Serva Padrona), Mrs. Wordsworth (Albert Herring), and Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier). Holtze has won the Schubert Club scholarship competition, Thursday Musical scholarship competition, the Voices of Vienna scholarship competition and is a four time winner of the MN NATS scholarship competition. She has been a member of the University Singers and Chamber Singers choirs for six years. A native of the Twin Cities, tenor Laurent Kuehnl is in the final stages of completing his DMA degree for vocal performance at the University of Minnesota under Professor John De Haan. A graduate of the University, Kuehnl received his bachelor’s degree in vocal performance in 2011. Kuehnl followed his undergraduate studies with the completion of his master’s degree in vocal performance at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in 2013. Since
his return to Minnesota, Kuehnl has been highly active in the U of M Opera Theatre program, performing principle roles such as Male Chorus (The Rape of Lucretia), and Rinuccio (Gianni Schicci). As an educator, Kuehnl served as a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Minnesota where he taught private voice lessons and voice class. Additionally, Kuehnl is an active local performer and most recently appeared as Alfred in Opera on the Lake’s summer production of Die Fledermaus. Matthew Mehaffey is Professor of Music and the Director of Undergraduate Studies at the University of Minnesota. He also serves as Artistic Director of the Oratorio Society of Minnesota and as Music Director of the Mendelssohn Choir or Pittsburgh. He has published extensively on the topic of choral pedagogy, and currently works on creating projects that reimagine the genre of oratorio for 21st century audiences. His current project, a partnership with drummer/composer Stewart Copeland, will premiere in February of 2020. He and his wife Libby have four children. Project Opera, under the direction of Mitra Sadeghpour, is Minnesota Opera’s youth training program for talented young singers in grades 4-12. Each year Project Opera performs one opera specifically composed for kids for audiences of kids. Project Opera singers also serve as the children’s chorus in Minnesota Opera main stage productions. Graduates have gone on to study music at the Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Eastman School of Music, Indiana University, Oberlin College Conservatory, Lawrence Conservatory, Luther College, and St. Olaf College, among others, and have performed with opera companies throughout the US, Canada, and Europe including: Glyndebourne, the Metropolitan Opera, LA Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Canadian 15
BIOGRAPHIES, cont.
Opera Company, Opera Theater of St Louis, Portland Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Opera Omaha, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Sarasota Opera, Theater Koblenz, Madison Opera, Opera Saratoga, Mill City Opera, Skylark Opera, and Minnesota Opera. Tonight, our Ragazzi ensemble (grades 4-8) is honored to join the musicians from the University of Minnesota School of Music to present this very special work. Kathy Saltzman Romey is Director of Choral Activities at the University of Minnesota, where she oversees the graduate program in choral conducting and conducts choirs. She is also Artistic Director of the 200-voice symphonic chorus, The Minnesota Chorale, which serves as principal chorus for the Minnesota Orchestra. Romey has conducted the Chorale in regional, national and international forums and annually coordinates BRIDGES, the nationally acclaimed education-outreach program of the Minnesota Chorale. Romey has served as a staff member to the Oregon Bach Festival since 1984 and is chorus master of the Berwick Chorus, which she prepares for annual Festival concerts, commissions, and recording projects. Active also as a guest conductor, chorus master, and clinician throughout the United States and Europe, Romey serves on the staff of the Junges Stuttgarter Bach Ensemble and was a faculty member of the Weimar Bach Cantata Academy. Additionally, Romey has prepared programs with the Carnegie Hall Festival Chorus, Grant Park Music Festival, Netherlands Radio Choir, Teatro del Lago Festival, and Westminster Symphonic Choir. 2016 marked her third appearance with the Berkshire Choral Festival. Romey has received various teaching awards and grants, co-authored two book chapters, and in 2014, assisted conductor Helmuth Rilling in writing his book – MESSIAH: Understanding and Performing Handel’s Masterpiece. 16
UNIVERSITY SINGERS Kathy Saltzman Romey, conductor Kira Winter, assistant conductor Alex Woods, accompanist Soprano Anna Boeser Nicole Clare Callie Cooper Megan Flood Madison Holtze Cassie Howard Rosemary Joyce Sydney Kakuk Katira Lutterman Jordan Meierhofer Ananya Muralidharan Meghan Payne Sydney Swenhagen Kira Winter Alto Brooke Aschenbrener Lauren Bird Katya Cuthbert Yilun Dong Rebecca Fuller Grace Gonzalez
Alto cont. Caroline Grubele Madyson Hoxie Sage Iverson Madeline Kertson Lisa Lilyerd Lydia Weisenburger Keenan Young Tenor Matt Abernathy Treyson DeJager Ethan Donaldson Lucas Greenwaldt Nolan Lund Sean Lundquist Cole McIlquham Samuel Meier John Paul Proper Jack Russell Jack Soden Carter Starkey
Bass Damon Allen Amine Berriche Benjamin Caswell Roy Coffin Adam Drabek Dan Ferrusquia Martin Hendrickson Christian Hietala Christopher McGinley Alex Rack Max Reichart Vinay Thomas Tanner Vanderkrabben
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UNIVERSITY MEN’S AND WOMEN’S CHORUSES Matthew Mehaffey, conductor Matthew Abernathy and Vinay Thomas, assistant conductors Mary Trotter, accompanist Soprano Emily Adamson Kelsey Bailey Alana Christen Nadia Franzen Kate Gallagher Emma Gunderson Allison Lochen Elizabeth Mejicano Kelly Pocian June Roettger Abigail Skapyak Madeleine Ware Alexis Winters Mia Akers Louisa Botten Kate Brinkert Wen Bu Bori Csillag Madeline Fidler Emma Goecks Zoe Koth Aimee Kujak Brita Larsen Kathryn Marusich Maja Peterson Sarah Weibel
Alto Madison Bailey Katelyn Belden Mara Bowman Anna Brendemuehl Emily Guo Madison Ham Becca Martin Caroline McLaughlin Mairead Vanni Si Xin Yeap Keara Hallberg Mackenna Page Sophia Prasinos Keira Scanlan Natasha Stark Cat Stockley Kristen Wickman
PROJECT OPERA Mitra Sadeghpour, education director Kathleen Kraulick, accompanist Soprano 1 Katie Garner MC Hulse Luca La Hoz Calassara Ilana Melnick India Pelster-Wiebe Olivia Shelton Valerie Wick Alysa Wu Nora Shea 18
Soprano 2 Annie Hamilton JJ Klein Alice O’Brien Olivia Orton Sydney Sistad Isaac Stokes Anya Sullivan Lucija Vaicius
Tenor Sam Bruhjell Sean Ling Mitchel Medvec Travis Steinke Kyle Stumpf Marco Tabacman Alex Tao Kyle Tappe Bass Mason Brown Colin Clark-Bracewell Jake Dushek Isaiah Milbank Kyle Norko Matthew St. Martin Preston Wagner Caleb Walker Isaac Wojcicki
UNIVERSITY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Mark Russell Smith, conductor Hisham Groover, teaching assistant Flute Sarah Weisbrod Savannah Ridley Oboe Claire Arnold Caroline Schmitter Clarinet Sheng Chen Maya Yokoanovich Bassoon Marta Triocki Evan Judson Shofar Ginny Levi Horn Jean Smith Ryan Penshorn Alyssa Inglett Molly Lampone Trumpet Zachary Ploeger Alan Jermiason Nathan Loesch
Trombone Jacques Tousignant Justin Schoenherr Neftaly Gonzalez Tuba Isaac Portoghese Harp Heather Cornelius Timpani Mackenna Tolfa Percussion Nathan Brown Calvin Stromwall Violin I Louisa Woodful-Harris Risa Vandergrift Abigail Spichke Ana Sofia Schutte Max Vitullo Patrick Hyatte Rachel Liou Katherine Seeger Loren Eklund
Violin II Steven DeNiro Hisham Groover David Carrillo Siliezar Julianne Escanan Angel Andres Clairice Pearce Deven Diaz Calvin Moehlman Viola Niloofar Sohi Kimberly Fahy Yang Yang Lucas Moen Sam Anderson Maggie Oberg Eleni Ciuta Helena All Cello Rosa Thompson-Vieira Wei-Ting Chang Daniel Keeler Tiffany Peterson Omar Macias Zachary Molitor Bass Samuel Corey Solomon Shih
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to extend a special thank you to the following people for their generous support of this program: Cantor Barry Abelson, Temple Israel Matthew Abernathy, Women’s and Men’s Chorus and Project Opera, Teaching Assistant Sari Baker, Ted Mann Concert Hall Technical/Production Coordinator Michael Dennis Browne, Librettist Maxwell Frank, Ensemble Coordinator Hisham Groover, University Symphony Orchestra Teaching Assistant Mike Itterman, CEO/Chair of Liberty Diversified Industries Michael Kim, Director of the School of Music Kathleen Kraulich, Project Opera Accompanist Ginny Levi, Shofar Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, University California Berkeley John Marks, Audio Engineer Diana Monaghan, Temple Israel Anabel Njoes, Marketing & Enrollment Manager Michael O’Connell, Commissioner Patty, Greg, and Andrew Paulus, Family of Stephen Paulus Zach Pentacost, Paulus Publishing Mitra Sadeghpour, Project Opera Education Director Jennifer Scholte, Senior Graphic/Multimedia Designer Mark Russell Smith, University Symphony Orchestra, Artistic Director Vinay Thomas, Women’s and Men’s Chorus Teaching Assistant Mary Trotter, Women’s and Men’s Chorus Accompanist Kira Winter, University Singers Teaching Assistant Alex Woods, University Singers Accompanist School of Music Voice Division: John DeHaan, Jean del Santo, David Walsh, Adriana Zabala, Wendy Zaro, Philip Zawisza
The School of Music, a unit of the College of Liberal Arts, is a leading institution for the education of successful performers, composers, teachers, administrators, and scholars. The School interacts with the larger university and Twin Cities communities through classes, participatory performing opportunities, community engagement activities, and more than 400 public performances each year. The students and faculty of the School are grateful for the continuing interest and support of parents and friends. For further information or to apply to the School of Music, visit music.umn.edu, call 612-624-5740, or email mnmusic@umn.edu. A complete calendar of events is available at music.umn.edu.
The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer. This publication/material is available in alternative formats upon request. Direct questions to Jennifer Scholte, School of Music, 612-301-1585. John Coleman, Dean, College of Liberal Arts Michael Kim, Director, School of Music 30% Post-Consumer Fiber © 2019 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved.