QUINTESSENCE: CHORAL ARTISTS OF THE SOUTHWEST

A Sense of Place

SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 20145 p m a t I mma n u e l P r e sb y t e r i a n C h u r c h • 1 14 Ca r l i s l e B l v d SE

SUNDAY, MARCH 9, 20143p m a t S t . J o h n ’ s Un i t e d Me t h o d i s t C h u r c h • 262 6 A r i z o n a S t N E

Music about places that matter to us, journeys we want to go on, and the home we long to return to, including John Corigliano's masterful Fern Hill, and works by

Alice Parker, Judith Cloud, Stephen Paulus, William Billings, and others.

Tickets $15 General $10 Senior $5 Student • Available at the door or at: www.quintessence-abq.com

Like us on Facebook! Connect on Twitter or LinkedIn!Phone: 1-505-672-TUNE (8863) • E-mail: info@quintessence-abq.com • Childcare is available

MATTHEW GREER, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Quintessence is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization

About the Program

When I turned 40, I planned a mid-life crisis for myself.

More accurately, I had a special gift in mind for myself, something to mark the onset of middle age. The gift I wanted was a solo road trip.

This was not because I don’t like traveling with my wife. Amy and I travel really well together, I’m happy to say; we mostly like to do the same things, we’re patient about each other’s quirks, we’re both fairly laid back and flexible in the face of glitches. When we travel, we have a kind of mischievous, what-kind-of-trouble-can-we-get-into vibe that I dearly hope we never lose.

Even so, I longed for a journey that was both unaccompanied and unplanned. I would wake up every morning and decide where to go that day -- with no more foresight than that -- and no one else there with whom I had to negotiate my plans. This required a bit of a sales pitch to Amy. Playing up the midlife crisis angle, I think I put it this way: “I don’t want a mistress; I don’t want a sports car. I want a solo road trip, and I want you at the end of it.”

I was given gracious leave, and some months later, I found myself in Baltimore (long story), settling into a one-way rental car, turning the key, firing up the GPS, and asking myself, “Well, what shall it be? North or south?” It was delicious.

There’s something about a journey like that that invites introspection, but one of the joys of my trip was to be mostly in places that I felt no particular attachment to, Over the course of our lives, we invest a lot of emotion and energy into places, whether they be towns or countries or buildings. There’s a lot of literature on this theme, of course, and a lot of music. This, I decided somewhere around Passasic, New Jersey, would be a great theme for a concert. So, here we are.

We open with Alice Parker’s Kentucky Psalms, a group of four settings of 19th century American hymn tunes, for chorus, strings and flute. These are settings of psalms tied to a particular place: the American south, at the time of the Great Awakening, when churches rang out with vibrant hymn-singing. There is something about these pieces that make you hearken back, and inspires confidence and groundedness.

But several other works pieces on our program are about longing to be elsewhere, or mourning that a place is no longer what it was. Palestrina’s great motet “Super flumina babylonis” is a poignant setting of the first two verses of the Psalm 137, the great poem of the Babylonian exile (“how can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange and bitter land”), and we link it to a William Billings piece that parodies the same text, “Lamentation Over Boston.” Billings, generally regarded as the first native American composer, wrote his lamentation to protest the occupation of his beloved Boston by the British in 1775. On the second half of our program, we pair James Erb’s marvelous setting of the American folk song “Shenandoah” with one of the most famous motets of the early Renaissance, Heinrich Isaac’s wistful “Innsbruck, I Now Must Leave You.”

Judith Cloud’s “Mesa Songs” evoke the southwestern landscape, both through their wide-open harmonies and through the atmospheric accompaniment of native flute and drums. The wonderful texts (found in your program) are by Betty Andrews, who wrote a good deal of poetry on southwestern themes when she was not writing scripts for TV shows like Gunsmoke and Dr. Kildare.

I have wanted to do John Corigliano’s gorgeous Fern Hill for years, and it was the first piece I programmed for this concert. Corigliano, now 76 and the dean of American composers, wrote this extended setting of Dylan Thomas’ poem when he was just 21 years old (the poem itself been published only 15 years earlier), as a gift for his high school choral director. At 21, Corigliano was at a bit of a crossroads, trying to decide if he should be a composer. Writing this piece helped him to figure out that he should Enamored of Thomas’ poem, and steeped in the harmonic language of Barber and Copland, Corigliano set the piece for chorus and mezzo-soprano solo, with strings, piano and harp. Thomas’ poem is an elegiac tribute to the family farm in Wales that he used to visit as a child, and we include the entire text in your program. What a joy it has been to work on this piece.

My mid-life crisis trip was scheduled to be 14 days long. It really was wonderful, but after ten days and seven states, I was done. I was lonesome for Amy, for our cozy house and annoying cats. I dropped my rental car in Louisville and flew home. As Stephen Paulus reminds us in the last piece on our program, “there is no such beauty as where you belong.” Home.

MATTHEW GREER

PROGRAM

Kentucky Psalms (1987) Alice Parker (b. 1925)

I. Zion (How did my heart rejoice to hear) II. Vergennes (My heart and flesh cry out for thee) III. Amanda (Death, like an overflowing stream) IV. Washington (Our souls, by love together knit)

Danielle Frabutt, flute Roberta Arruda , Kathie Jarrett, violin

Cherokee Randolph, viola; Lisa Donald, cello; Frank Murray, bass

Super flumina babylonis Giovanni Pierluigi di Palestrina (ca. 1525-1594) Lamentation Over Boston (1778) William Billings (1746-1800)

Mesa Songs (1995) Judith Cloud (b. 1954) I. High Mesa Land II. There Is a Color III. Power

Danielle Frabutt, native flute David Irving, percussion

INTERMISSION

Fern Hill (1961) John Corigliano (b. 1938)

Darci Lobdell, mezzo-soprano Roberta Arruda, Asmara Bhattacharya, Kathie Jarrett, Alan Mar, violin

Cherokee Randolph, Grazzia Sagastume, Barbara Clark, viola Lisa Donald, Ian Brody, cello; Frank Murray, bass Lynn Gorman DeVelder, harp; Amy Greer, piano

Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen Heinrich Isaac (ca. 1450-1517) Shenandoah American Folksong, arr. James Erb (b. 1926) The Road Home 19th Century American Hymn, arr. Stephen Paulus (b. 1949)

Ashley Morgan, soprano

Cell phones that ring during the performance will be sent to a place far, far away.

The Singers of Quintessence

Soprano: Anita Amstutz, Barbi Cappel, Rebecca Craig, Liz Hartwell, *Pauleta Hendrickson, Loren Kelly, Ashley Morgan, Checky Okun

Alto: Jane Belcher, Laurel Deming, Suzi Dressler, Amy Greer, *Trish Henning, Darci Lobdell, Julia Manganaro, Kelsey O’Herron, Stacey Snowden

Tenor: *Bryan Butler, Lucien Daigle, Chris DeGraw, Bryan Garcia, Theodor Spannagel, Tyler Wilson Bass: Alfredo Beltran, David Cappel, Martin Doviak, Lars Fabricius-Olsen, James Graham, Jonathan Ice,

*Daryl Lee, Joseph Mitchell, Dwayne Moseley, Arnel Oczon, John Sitler, Jerry Spurlin Anita Amstutz's favorite places usually include creeks, streams and bodies of water and she's been known to swim in a freezing mountain lake in Glacier National Park with grizzlies in the vicinity. Among Barbi Cappel’s favorite places to journey are our national parks, which she visits regularly with Dave and a group of close friends, and where she can be found happily humming and singing (to herself, so as not to disturb the wildlife.) Rebecca Craig, originally from Springfield, IL, becomes more and more enamored with New Mexico the longer she is here in the land of enchantment. Albuquerque native Liz Drotning Hartwell loves being back in her hometown after many years away, but still yearns for the frozen utopia of St. Olaf College atop a very windy and occasionally chilly hill in Northfield, Minnesota. Growing up coast to coast, north to south, has made Pauleta Hendrickson realize that a sense of place comes not from a "place" but from a feeling of family, friends and faith - and she is grateful to have those in abundance. Loren Kelly is in her second season with Q, and is especially grateful to Matt Greer and the company of Q singers to sing this soulful treasure of choral music, and wondering about all that I left, that I lost, where I have wandered, the wondrous realms of place on earth and beyond I have seen, dreamed of and long for, with love in my heart to follow the road home. Ashley Morgan is a young soprano from the land of Pennsylvania, where she learned to be bold, speak her mind, and develop mad ninja skills. Native Washingtonian (now Albuquerquean of nearly 23 years) Checky Okun feels most at home in any big city with an extensive mass transit system but has a special attachment to New York City where her two wonderful daughters and new granddaughter reside.

Having moved to New Mexico in July, Jane Belcher thinks fondly of her Maryland hometown known for rolling green hills, horse farms, brick downtown streets, Civil War history and historic church spires that can be seen over the city. For Laurel Deming there is no place like home (it's where the heart is), but my heart is in two places always, wherever I am physically at any moment and where those I love are. Suzi Dressler has enjoyed a choral home in the midst of the altos of Q since the days of cassette tapes and phones with cords, and otherwise delights in the sense of place created by family and friends, human and canine, wherever they may gather. Trish Henning had a very happy childhood in Virginia, and is filled with warmth every time she hears, or sings, Shenandoah. Darci Lobdell is constantly wishing she could make traveling a career, but out of the places that she has visited she draws the most inspiration from the beautiful green hills of Ireland, the spunk and depth of Gaelic culture, and the enchanting Irish melodies. Julia Manganaro has travelled abroad many times, but her favorite place will always be Lincoln, New Mexico because of her life-long fascination with Billy the Kid (Julia realizes it's weird to love Billy the Kid as a 26 year old, please don't judge her). Kelsey O'Herron studies at UNM and is singing in her first season with Q; she fell in love with the scenery of New Mexico while visiting from the Midwest and loves every sunrise and sunset here. Stacey Snowden has a Bachelors degree in music from UNM, has been a member of Q for over 10 years, has a wonder husband and 2 hilarious daughters, and longs for the care free summer days spent at her family cabin in the mountains of Colorado.

Bryan Butler is from Utah originally (though his wife claims he is an alien and probably from Mars or somewhere like that), but has been in ABQ for long enough that he calls it home. Lucien Daigle is a professional video gamer and a graduate student at UNM, studying Vocal Performance and Choral Conducting...in his free time. Chris DeGraw was formerly a middle school band director in Las Vegas, NV. Originally from Connecticut, he is now pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering at UNM. Bryan Garcia’s favorite place is, by default, the practice room area of UNM, where he spends far too many hours isolated from the general populace, working on everything except for proper social skills. Somewhere in western Europe there is a little country lane in the midst of farming land, grass patches and more....someone can see Theodor Spannagel there stomping about in the early early mornings and playing some acoustic music in the morning sun by himself. Tyler Wilson dreams of the crest of Witham Hill where oak branches spread in a waiting embrace.

Alfredo Beltrán is a baritone who's had several places that he's called home over the past years, but ultimately considers being in the company of good people as his true home. One of David Cappel’s favorite places on earth was standing at Glacier Point overlooking the Yosemite Valley, somewhere near where John Muir stood when he first discovered the area. Martin Doviak loves to be Rocky Mountain high & Cape Cod wet, & he longs to get back to the Rock in the Glen & the tiny village of El Carmelo, near Chuquiribamba, Ecuador. Lars Fabricius-Olsen is a physics student at UNM. Though raised by Colorado’s majestic peaks, for James Graham, it is his birthplace of Quinter -- the wind-blown, flat, desolate prairie land of Western Kansas – that stirs in him a

* Denotes section leader

sense of being from some place... that ancestral place he can return to at any given moment. One of Jonathan Ice’s favorite places on earth is Duluth, MN, the San Francisco of the Arctic, where there are gorgeous views from the top of steep hills down to the blue waters of St. Louis Bay and Lake Superior, where ornate Central High School is one of the finest of many architectural gems, and where Midwestern friendliness and common sense still are very much alive. Dr. Daryl Lee finds one of his favorite places in the bass section of Q, when he's not in one of his other favorite places: teaching computer engineering at UNM or at the side of his bride of 45 years, Anita; but he's still not the kind of doctor who can do you any good. Joseph Mitchell was born 20 years ago but did not attain humanity until joining choir, which is why his favorite place is on the stage singing music that is too complicated to be dissected (but beautiful enough to be embraced) by the audience. Dwayne Moseley, having returned to New Mexico recently in retirement, is privileged to have joined Q last season to establish a new sense of place as he continues his lifelong favorite musical activity; having sung in choruses at UNM and Ohio State University while a student and in choruses in Dallas, Denver and Los Angeles. Arnel Oczon started life in Sasebo, grew up along bay areas in Alameda and Newport, schooled near Cow Hill on the Farm in CA and then settled here in the Burque, has had great times vacationing all along the Rockies - on a road bike on Trail Ridge road, in a tent in the San Juans or in a canoe doing lake circuits in BC, now sings with Q and carts the family around town to soccer scrimmages & puppy classes. John Sitler fondly remembers warm Sunday afternoons in Philadelphia's leafy Rittenhouse Square & yearns for any desolate place with the sound of surging surf & the sting of salty spray on the face to put everything in perspective. Jerry Spurlin, former president of Gallup Federal Savings Bank, loves “Valhalla,” his retirement home in the East Mountains, which he & Marjorie built to be a gathering place for their children’s families, especially the 6 grandchildren and they all try to get together often there for fun, games and music, but he is never more at home than when above 12,000 feet in fields of wildflowers in Colorado.

Matthew Greer was appointed Artistic Director of Quintessence in 2009. He also serves as Director of Music and Worship Arts at St. John’s United Methodist Church, where he directs several choirs and oversees a comprehensive music program. At St. John’s, he founded the “Music at St. John’s” concert series, and “Thursday Evening Musicales,” an annual series of benefit concerts for Albuquerque Healthcare for the Homeless. In recent years, he has conducted performances of Beethoven's Choral Fantasy, Bach's Magnificat, Beethoven's Mass in C Major, Mozart’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, and Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace. In 2012, he was among the recipients of Creative Albuquerque’s Bravos! Awards, honoring artistic innovation, entrepreneurship, and community impact. He has recently served as a guest conductor for the New Mexico Philharmonic and for the UNM Concert Choir. A native of Kansas City, he has degrees in music education and theology from Trinity University and Boston University. His favorite place is in front of a computer screen, writing about himself in the third person while his wife practices Chopin in the next room.

Amy Greer, pianist and Quintessence accompanist, is an active performer, both as a soloist and in collaboration with singers and instrumentalists. Recognized for her creative approach to traditional piano lesions, she has maintained successful piano studios in New Mexico, Massachusetts, Texas, and Missouri and regularly gives workshops that focus on the psychology of learning through a musician’s lens. A writer and frequent contributor to music journals, she has been a columnist for American Music Teacher magazine. She has performed with the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, the Santa Fe Symphony, and the New Mexico Philharmonic. She holds a Master of Music in piano performance from the University of Missouri- Kansas City, a Master of Arts in educational psychology from the University of New Mexico, and an MRS degree from Trinity University. Home is wherever Matt is.

Quintessence: Choral Artists of the Southwest Staff (and their favorite places)

Matthew Greer, Artistic Director

April Ueland, Executive Director: anywhere with a view of the Sandias and a friend or loved one.

Quintessence Board of Directors

President Dominic Kollasch: anywhere his wife is, with Venice, Italy in winter as a reasonably close second.

Vice President Dwayne L. Knirk: sitting at the piano in a tiny German Lutheran church in southern Ukraine.

Treasurer Jerry Spurlin: Valhalla (his home in the East Mountains) and any field of wildflowers in Colorado.

Choir President Martin Doviak: a Jersey boy who is happy anywhere he can get his feet wet.

Members - Tom Crow: anywhere friends and family are gathered…especially if music or food is involved. Allison Davis: places that have the sound of an ocean in the background and a pile of books next to her, waiting to be read. Elizabeth Drotning Hartwell: the frozen utopia of St. Olaf College atop a windy and occasionally chilly hill in Northfield, MN.

Kristine Purrington: her parents' ranch in the San Juan Mountains near her hometown, Pagosa Springs, Colorado.

The Board of Directors would like to recognize the Singers of Quintessence for their financial & personal contributions to

the organization. In the past year, the Singers have made a financial pledges or donations totaling more than $5,000. Bravo!

Director’s Circle: $1000 and up Anonymous 2013 Choral Festival Attendees 2013 Messiah Sing Attendees Crow Financial Advisors- Tom & Vicki

Crow** Sean & Pauleta Hendrickson** Dr. Dale Lange & Dr. Estella M.

Gahala-Lange John and Kristine Stichman** Benefactors: $500-$999 Elixir Boutique Chocolates Pamela Hodge-Miller James and Suzanne Dressler - In

loving memory of Kennard W. & Elizabeth S. Gephart

Dwayne and Beverly Knirk Rita Leard Linda Lewis Sponsors: $250-$499 Robert Beardsell Jan Bowers Carlton and Mary-Ellin Brooks** Susan Corley Dr. Nancy Croker & Dr. Joseph

Gorvetzian Allison Davis Bob and Frances Fosnaugh Matthew & Amy Greer – In Honor of

the Singers of Quintessence Dominic & Karla Kollasch Dwayne Moseley & Barry Simon Arnel Oczon & Amy Tarnower - In

Memory of Gerald Tarnower Richard & Susan Perry Beverly Rogoff – In Honor of Mary-

Ellin Brooks Jerry & Marjorie Spurlin Justin & April Ueland Scott Wilkinson Trust Linda Wolcott Daniel & Jane Wright

Patrons: $100-$249 Pam & Jerry Algood Richard Andes Anonymous Susan Boswell Susan Brannan Steve & Renee Brodeur Sandra and John Brown David and Barbara Cappel William D. Cox Rebecca R. Craig Beatrice & John Daniel Dr. Jerone & Wona Deverman Carol & Dan Dolan Martin Doviak William & Christine Drotning Peter Eller Patricia Henning & Anthony Lazzaro Alf Houkom Steve & Julie Kongs Dr. Daryl Lee Kay McMann Emily Moore George & Mary Novotny, Jr. Tina Petersen Robert Rosenak Leslie Nelson Shultis John Sitler** Karin Urban Betty Vortman Donors: $50-$99 Carla Beauchamp Douglas Brown Ralph Cover Boris DeDenko Josephine Drummond Mary Glazier James Graham Stan & Karen Hewitson Loren Kelly Larry & Julianne Littlefield Ray Orley Corey & Mika Proctor

Joe Stroud D.E. & B.G. Tooley Carol Trelease John Vittal & Deborah Ham Robert & Michaeline Vonblomberg Arthur & Carole Wintheiser Friends $1-$49 Anonymous Dale & Nancy Amend Kathleen Austin Jane Belcher Randall & Esther Mae Moses Bergh Camille Carstens James Creason Dorothy Pierson Don and Edith Farmer Michael & Edwina Francis Edward Francovic Tom & Gail Hartman James Higgins Elizabeth Hurtz-Waitz Alex Klebenow William & Marlene Kline Matthew & Kelly Jo Kuchar Judith McDowell Megan Rader Lucy Robertson Karen Schmeige & Patricia Catlett Stephen & Stacey Snowden, Jr. Theodor Spannagel Sherril Walters Francis Wright & Janet Robertson Mary Jane Zimmerman ** Contributions made via United Way – Designate “Quintessence Choral Artists of the SW” You may give to Quintessence through the Smith’s Community Rewards Program via your Rewards Card. Visit smithsfoodanddrug.com for more information.

Acknowledgements

The Board of Directors and Singers of Quintessence would like to offer their sincerest appreciation for financial support from all the people listed below. We could not exist without your help. If you don’t see your name listed below, please

visit our website to make your tax-deductible contribution, or drop in a basket on your way out. Please join the Quintessence family and help us share the joy of great music for years to come.

Quintessence Annual Fund From January 2013 to February 24, 2014

Quintessence is an Ensemble-in-Residence of St. John’s United Methodist Church, one of our favorite places

Thank you to the New Mexichords for the use of the risers for our St. John’s concert, and to Claudia Giese

Música Antigua de Albuquerque performs

Music from the Middle Ages &

Renaissance

Concert IV: “Composers A to Z”

(come and root for your favorite letter!)

May 11, 4:30pm Christ Lutheran Church, Santa Fe May 17, 7:30pm St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal,

Albuquerque

Information: (505) 842-9613 or sheinbergs@comcast.net

Quintessence Endowment Fund

Director’s Circle - $1000 & Above: Dr. & Mrs. Michael Hopkins, Roy & Elizabeth Morgan Benefactors - $500 to $999: Dr. and Mrs. Jerone N. Deverman*

Patrons - $100 to $250: In Loving Memory of Jean J. Sherlin*, Tessa Mae Chavez, Mr. & Mrs. K.W. Gephart

The Quintessence Endowment Fund (established 2000) was created to help ensure a future for Quintessence, and for fine choral arts everywhere. *Foundational Contributors

Quintessence Choral Artists of the Southwest, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization and gratefully accept gifts of

cash, stocks, bonds, mutual fund shares, real estate or other tangible personal property. Quintessence may also be named the beneficiary of a life insurance policy or charitable trust. All or part of your donation may be tax-

deductible. Please contact Tom Crow at 505.243.2281 or tom@crowfa.com for further information.

Available at Keller’s Farm Store

Quintessence is grateful for these partners:

Ads and design by Studio 9 Graphic Design: marylambert.com

Programs printed by One Stop Business Shop/Printmart: printmartnm.com

Website by The Web Angel: thewebangel.com

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