13 minute read
CONCERT: WITNESS: REJOICE! PART II
2021-2022 SEASON
SPECIAL THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT OF THIS CONCERT
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Madeline Betsch James and Mary Gilbert Lawrence Sue Shepard and Don Helgeson John and Mary Anne Mauriel Doug and Mary Platt
WITNESS: REJOICE!
FEATURING: The Aeolians of Oakwood University VocalEssence Chorus VocalEssence Singers Of This Age Chamber Orchestra Roderick George, tenor Frankie McGinnis, Jr ., piano Mary Jo Gothmann, piano Jason Max Ferdinand, conductor G . Phillip Shoultz, III, conductor
SPECIAL THANKS
Cheryl Saunders Joseph Osowski St. Michael Albertville High School Newtrax Southview Seventh Day Adventist Church Westwood Lutheran Church
2021-2022 SEASON SPONSORS
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
WELCOME
Friends, we have “so many reasons to rejoice” as we celebrate thirty-two years of WITNESS. Welcome to you all! In 1991, when Artistic Director and Founder Philip Brunelle decided to honor Black History month with a concert dedicated to bringing greater visibility and awareness to the music of composers from the African diaspora, not even he could have predicted the profound and lasting impact that decision would have.
VocalEssence WITNESS celebrates the outstanding contributions the Black community makes to our shared cultural heritage through concerts, conversations, recitals, workshops, and programming in churches, community centers, and schools throughout the metropolitan region. Each year, with the help of our phenomenal roster of Teaching Artists, thousands of students participate in interactive workshops based on a curated theme which highlights Black brilliance, past and present, and illuminates our role in making today’s society more equitable for all. This is truly a reason to rejoice!
I’m thrilled that we have the privilege of sharing the stage with an ensemble that I’ve watched blossom into a transformational force over the past fourteen years. Under the direction of Jason Max Ferdinand, the Aeolians were named the “2017 Choir of the World” at the World Choir Games and we are delighted to host them for their first appearance in Minnesota! I’ve admired Jason’s work for many years and am so grateful for our friendship and this opportunity to make music together.
Now, I invite you to sit back and soak in the joy-filled sounds of our community coming together in song. As you listen, I encourage you to follow the artist statement that is included with the texts and translations for a richer experience with our journey together. I trust that you will leave Orchestra Hall with the inspiration to bring more love, more equity, more cooperation, and more joy into our world!
—G. Phillip Shoultz, III, Associate Artistic Director
PROGRAM
I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes
I. I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes (Psalm 121)
II. How long, O Lord? (Psalm 13)
III The Lord is My Shepherd, Alleluia (Psalm 23) Roderick George, tenor Adolphus Hailstork
The Aeolians of Oakwood University
O Praise the Lord
Sing Unto God from Judas Maccabaeus Daniel Knaggs
George Frideric Handel, arr. James L. Chepponis
Locus Iste (This Place)
Psalm 150 Karl Jenkins
Nathan Carter
The Chariot Jubilee R. Nathaniel Dett, orchestration, Jason Max Ferdinand Roderick George, tenor
Artistic Notes written by G. Phillip Shoultz, III, with thanks to Kyle Pederson, Jason Max Ferdinand, Boosey and Hawkes, Hal Leonard, and MorningStar Music Publishing for information shared in these notes.
After enduring the last two years of pandemic life, bringing so much anxiety, grief, loss, and trauma into our lives, I felt it was especially important that this year’s VocalEssence WITNESS concert be life-giving. Each of us needs opportunities to soak up beauty and goodness, ways to refill our reservoir so that healing can begin from within, thus affording us renewed capacity to share compassion, kindness, and understanding with our fellow human siblings. It is my sincere hope that in this concert, you will find both refuge and joy as we affirm the Black experience with powerful spirituals, toe-tapping gospel, and choral symphonic masterworks.
Dr. Adolphus Hailstork is no stranger to VocalEssence concerts. His works fuse together the traditions of the Black experience with principles of western classical music. I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes opens with an exuberant introduction preparing the way for the tenor soloist to affirm “from whence comes my help” as expressed in Psalm 121. When the choir enters, they echo the sentiment that their “help comes from the hills”. The remainder of this movement is dialogue between the tenor, orchestra, and choir as they proclaim the restorative presence of the Lord. The second movement of the cantata is a lament that begins with a pulsating ostinato by the French horn that undergirds nearly the entire movement. Soon after, the oboe and clarinet introduce the theme that takes its shape from the words of Psalm 13, “How long, O Lord?” first sung by the tenor and later expressed by the choir. Through repetition, Hailstork fashions a gradual build towards the climax of the movement with an intense, almost improvisational outpouring of grief, as all the performers join together in a musical cry for light and help. Catharsis finally comes when the tenor soloist reminds us of the words of the first movement, “I will lift up mine eyes to the hills” and suddenly, we are transported to a moment of stillness and clarity which segues directly into the opening lines of the third movement, “Alleluia”. Hailstork uses the Alleluia motive in the voices and orchestra as the foundation that supports an impassioned recitation of the very familiar 23rd Psalm. Virtuosic singing and rhythmic intensity characterize this communal exhalation—an exhortation of comfort which takes the music off the page and into the listener’s soul. We present I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes to honor the lives of those who were taken away from us far too soon, whether due to illness, violence, accident, or racism. May their light continue to shine in and through our lives.
I WILL LIFT UP MINE EYES
Adolphus Hailstork
I. I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes
I will lift up mine eyes to the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: He that keepeth thee will not slumber nor sleep. The sun will not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from evil. The Lord shall preserve the soul! —Psalm 121
II. How Long?
How long, O Lord? How long? How long will Thou forget me? How long will Thou hide Thy face from me? How long must I suffer anguish in my soul and grief in my heart?
Look now and answer me, O Lord. Give light, O Lord, to my eyes lest I sleep the sleep of death.
I will lift up mine eyes to the hills, from whence cometh my help. —Psalm 13
III. The Lord is My Shepherd, Alleluia
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside still waters. He restoreth my soul.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Alleluia. —Psalm 23
The Aeolians of Oakwood University are known for their presentations of soul-stirring music ranging from the Baroque era to the 21st century, including unique interpretations of spirituals and work songs. Their first solo set opens with an imaginative testament of praise, O Praise the Lord by Daniel Knaggs, an emerging composer whose music is being performed by choirs and orchestras around the globe. From there we experience the grandeur of Handel’s triumphant chorus from Judas Maccabeus. A new, ethereal setting of Locus Iste (This House) by one of the “most performed composers in the world” (Boosey and Hawkes), the Welsh born Karl Jenkins, gives us an opportunity to revel in the beauty of Orchestra Hall.
O PRAISE THE LORD
Daniel Knaggs Praise the Lord, all you nations; praise the Lord, all you peoples. For the Lord’s merciful kindness is great toward us, And the truth of the Lord endures forever. —Psalm 117
SING UNTO GOD
George Frideric Handel, arr. James L. Chepponis Sing unto God. Let joyful voices raise a song of gladness with unending praise. —Rev. Thomas Morell
LOCUS ISTE (THIS PLACE)
Karl Jenkins
Sung in Latin
This place was made by God, an invaluable sacrament, it is blameless. O God, for whom the chorus of angels is present, hear the prayers of your servants. —Gradual of the Mass for the Dedication of a Church
This concert would not be complete without a selection from Dr. Nathan Carter, who was known for his work at Morgan State University (where Dr. Ferdinand pursued his undergraduate studies). Psalm 150 is a choral tour de force that is as well known in the HBCU (Historically Black College and University) choral world as F. Melius Christiansen’s settings are known in the Lutheran choral community. Psalm 150 is constructed in a classical style, that opens with a chorale, and features a glorious soprano solo, before springing into a fierce fugato section that mounts in energy and intensity until it reaches a resounding conclusion—Praise the Lord!
PSALM 150
Nathan Carter
Refrain: Praise the Lord Praise him in his sanctuary, Praise him in the firmament of his power.
Praise him for his mighty acts, Praise him according to his excellent greatness, Praise him for his power and glory And for the many years of hearing the story, From this gospel preacher and leader of the people Come now let us praise him. Refrain: Praise him with the psaltry and harp. O praise him with the timbrel and dance, Praise him with stringed instruments and organ. Praise him upon loud cymbals. Praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let everything that hath breath, praise the Lord! —Psalm 150, adapt. Nathan Carter We close with R. Nathaniel Dett’s The Chariot Jubilee, which caused much excitement and received great reviews immediately following its premiere in 1921. This choral fantasy, based on folklore and the Negro spiritual, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, makes for an uplifting message of hope. Thanks to the eloquent interweaving of lovely melodies with rich harmonic sonorities, intricate rhythmic counterpoint, exchanges between the tenor soloist, choir, and orchestra, The Chariot Jubilee invites us to envision a better tomorrow. We are grateful to Dr. Jason Max Ferdinand, for this new chamber instrumentation of Dett’s iconic work.
THE CHARIOT JUBILEE
R. Nathaniel Dett
Down from the heavens, a golden chariot is swinging Comes God’s promise of salvation Hallelujah, hallelujah!
Swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home.
God made a covenant, for the glory of His grace, Thru our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home.
His gospel flowing free, like a chariot swung from heaven, Shall bear the true believer home, safely home.
Swing low, sweet chariot,
Sweet covenant of salvation,
Swing low, O swing low!
Salvation, sweet covenant of our Lord, I shall ride up in the chariot in that morning!
He who doth on Christ believe tho’ he were dead, yet shall he live. King Jesus triumphed o’er the grave, His grace alone can sinners save!
Swing low, sweet chariot, sweet covenant of God’s grace! Coming for to carry me home. O hallelujah! —based on a traditional Negro spiritual
ORCHESTRA
VIOLIN 1 Natalia Moiseeva Elise Meichels Parker Jill Olson Moser
VIOLIN 2 Emilia Mettenbrink Angela Hanson Kseniya Khvashchynskala
VIOLA Alastair Brown Charles Krenner
CELLO Darin Anderson Rebecca Arons
BASS Charles Block
OBOE Sarah Carmack
FLUTE Bethany Gonella
CLARINET Karrin Meffert- Nelson
BASSOON Laurie Merz
TRUMPET Jonathan Brandt
HORN Charles Hodgson
TROMBONE John Tranter
PERCUSSION Kory Andry David Hagedorn
CONTRACTOR Christopher Volpe
RHYTHM SECTION COMBO
KEYBOARD Sam Reeves
BASS GUITAR Erik Yates
DRUMS Brian Kendrick
WITNESS ADVISORY COUNCIL
Martha Arradondo Torrie Allen Stanley Brown Tazha Buckner James Burroughs Eric Clark Ashley Dubose Jacob Gayle Valton Henderson, co-chair Tricia Kaufman Reatha Clark King Kevin Lindsey Laverne McCartney Knighton Rhoda Miriphiri-Reed Maria Mitchell Philomena Morrissey Satre Amanda Norman Jonathan Palmer Chadwick Phillips Joanne Reeck Sharon Smith-Akinsanya Lezlie Taylor George Thompson
THE AEOLIANS
The Aeolians of Oakwood University was originally organized in 1946 by the late Dr. Eva B. Dykes. Since its inception, the choir has traveled widely, touching the hearts of both young and old with their inspirational singing. Aeolian concerts present a repertoire of choral music which ranges from the Baroque era to the twentieth century. Moreover, the Aeolians is an authoritative exponent of Negro spirituals and work songs which express the yearnings of our forefathers to be free. They have won a host of awards including World Choir Games Spirituals Champions, Four-Peat Historically Black College and University (HBCU) Choir of the Year and Choir of the World Champions 2017.
JASON MAX FERDINAND
Jason Max Ferdinand, Professor – Conductor – Composer – Speaker, is the founding artistic director of The Jason Max Ferdinand Singers: An Ensemble of Exceptional Talents, and is director of choral activities, chair of the music department, and a full professor at Oakwood University, where he conducts the Aeolians of Oakwood University. He is a published author and composer with GIA Publications, featuring the book Teaching with Heart: Tools for Addressing Societal Challenges Through Music, and The Jason Max Ferdinand Choral Series (Walton Music). He maintains an active schedule as a guest conductor and lecturer at schools, universities, churches, and choral festivals and conferences, domestic and international.
RODERICK GEORGE
Tenor Roderick George made his New York Lincoln Center debut in Handel’s Messiah with the National Chorale. Other recent concert appearances have included Mozart’s Requiem with Northwest Florida Symphony, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Alabama Symphony, and Carmina Burana with the Huntsville Symphony. Internationally, he has performed throughout Europe, the United Kingdom, South America, and Russia. An accomplished recitalist, he is a champion of American art song specializing in repertoire on texts of Paul Laurence Dunbar and Langston Hughes, and premiered Hailstork’s “Four Romantic Love Songs” on poems of Dunbar. Professional choral endeavors include tours and recordings with the American Spiritual Ensemble and with the Jason Max Ferdinand Singers. Based in Birmingham, Alabama, he is Coordinator of Voice Studies at the University of Montevallo. He holds degrees, including a doctorate, from Florida State University and Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, with advanced studies in Austria at the American Institute of Musical Studies.
The Reatha Clark King Award for Excellence and Youth
Motivation through the Cultural Arts was established by VocalEssence in 2007 to celebrate and recognize leaders and organizations that provide the resources to empower youth through direct contact, making a way for them to be as successful as they can be. For fifteen years, VocalEssence has given out an award named after pioneering African American scientist, educator, and philanthropist Reatha Clark King. We’re pleased to recognize the vital work of Traci V. Bransford as the 2022 Reatha Clark King Award recipient.
Traci V. Bransford is a General Counsel, Business, and Entertainment Attorney and Partner at Stinson LLP where she counsels entertainment law clients, provides diverse perspectives, and efficiently connects the firm’s clients to the legal services they need. Traci has been an active supporter of WITNESS and VocalEssence. She has served as a member of the VocalEssence Board of Directors, most recently as Vice President for 2020-2021, and was the co-chair for the WITNESS Advisory Council for 6 years.
PAST REATHA CLARK KING AWARD WINNERS
2020: VocalEssence Teaching Artists and Joanna Cortright 2019: Hallie Q. Brown Community Center 2018: Dr. Jacob A. Gayle, Jr. and the Medtronic Foundation 2017: T. Mychael Rambo 2016: Dr. Josie Robinson Johnson 2015: Sanford Moore 2014: General Mills 2013: Phyllis Wheatley Community Center 2012: Theresa Neal 2011: Sharon Sayles Belton 2010: Laysha Ward 2009: Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan C. Page and Diane Sims Page 2008: Patricia A. Harvey 2007: Ms. Ossie Brooks James
