Emerald Singers and Deep Green

 

UVU Music Presents

 

SPRING CHORAL SHOWCASE

UVU Chamber Choir, Deep Green, AND Emerald Singers

feATURING  
copper hills high school madrigals

St. Francis of Assisi Church

February 7, 2023 | 7:00 p.m.

 
 

Program

UVU Emerald Singers

Cherilyn Worthen, conductor

Alleluia

Henry Purcell (1659-1695)

arr. Nancy Grundhal

 

Kyrie (from Missa Brevis in C Minor)

Imant Raminsh (b. 1943)

John Sargeant, piano

 

Hope Lingers On

Lissa Schneckenburger

arr. Andrea Ramsey

 

 

 

UVU deep green

Reed Criddle, conductor

Barechu (world premiere)

Salamone Rossi (1570-1630)

arr. Reed Criddle

 

 

TRANSLATION

 

(Hebrew:) Praise the Lord, Source of blessing, 

Throughout all time.

 

Stabat Mater
Giovanni Pergolesi (1710-36)

        Rebecca Dalgleish, violin 1
       Rosemary Palmer, violin 2
       Mat Stokes, viola
       Noah Guzman, cello
       Seth Dalgleish, bass
Molly Flake, assistant conductor

TRANSLATION

 

The sorrowing mother stood

Next to the cross tearfully

While her son hung there.

 

 

‘Aua E Te Maliu Ese/Pass me not (world premiere) 

William H. Doane (1832-1915)

arr. Esera Mose
Ian Redd, baritone
Oliver Wasden, tenor

TRANSLATION

 

(Samoan:) Pass me not, O gentle Savior.

When you hear my humble pleading, 

Please come rescue me.

 

Rest in peace and love, now you are with Jesus.

Carry on in faith and courage, 

You’ll stay in my heart.

 

Jesus! Jesus! Hear my humble cry.

When you hear my humble pleading, 

Please come rescue me.

 


 

copper hills high school madrigals

Marc Taylor, conductor

 

Laudibus in Sanctis

William Byrd (1543-1623)

TRANSLATION

 

(Latin:) Celebrate the Lord most high in holy praises:

Let the firmament echo the glorious deeds of God.

Sing ye the glorious deeds of God, and with holy voice

Sound forth oft the power of his mighty hand.

 

Let the warlike trumpet sing the great name of the Lord:

Celebrate the Lord with Pierian lyre.

Let resounding timbrels ring to the praise of the most-high God,

Lofty organs peal to the praise of the holy God.

 

Him let melodious psalteries sing with fine string,

Him let joyful dance praise with nimble foot.

Let hollow cymbals pour forth divine praises,

Sweet-sounding cymbals filled with the praise of God.

Let everything in the world that feeds upon the air of heaven,

Sing Alleluia to God for evermore.

 

 

 

Now May We Singen

Cecilia McDowall (b. 1951)

 

My Spirit Sang All Day

Gerald Finzi (1901-1956)

 


UVU CHAMBER CHOIR

Reed Criddle, conductor



Mighty Flame Dharani
Reed Criddle (b. 1981)
Braden Johnson, recitation
Reed Criddle, woodenfish

PROGRAM NOTES

 

  • The Fo Guang Shan Institute for Humanistic Buddhism (Kaohsiung, Taiwan) invited the composer to write this choral recitation while he was living in Taiwanese Buddhist monasteries, researching chant for five months as a U.S. Fulbright Senior Scholar. This dramatization is inspired by the sound of waves (海潮音) inherent in Chinese Buddhist chant liturgy. The final accelerando and subsequent stillness is a core feature of evening chanting at austere Dharma Drum Mountain monastery, located in the hills above the northernmost town on the island of Taiwan. It is as if the silence yells to the heart: “Be mindful!”
  • Dhāraṇī (धारणी) is the Sanskrit word for a spoken recitation whose syllables “hold”psychological and spiritual power in their utterance. In this sense, a dhāraṇī is synonymous with the word “mantra.” Its purpose is to elevate or free the mind; its oration is also intended to help others.
  • Mighty Flame Dharani(Sanskrit: Jvala Mahaugra Dharani; Chinese: 消災 吉祥神咒), can be recited to resolve conflicts due to negative karmic relationships from the past (e.g. lawsuits, financial loss, serious fights, and sudden illness). This mantra is also intended to dispel impending disasters and comfort those with nightmares. For this reason, the Chinese title translates into English as “Eliminating Misfortune Mantra.”
  • In Chinese Mahayana Buddhism, Mighty Flame Dharani is the second of the Ten Short Mantras (十小咒), typically recited in morning chanting services at Buddhist temples. One of the more esoteric traditions in Chinese Buddhism, these short mantras are believed to have been codified by a monk named Master Yulin (玉琳國師). Yulin was the spiritual teacher of Emperor Shunzhi (1638 – 1661), the third emperor of the Qing dynasty. Under Yulin’s tutelage, the Emperor converted to Buddhism, having previously relied on a Jesuit missionary—Johann Adam Schall von Bell of Cologne—for religious, political, astronomical, and technological counsel.
  • The UVU Chamber Choir is indebted to Venerable Yifa of the Taiwanese Fo Guang Shan monastic tradition for expounding on the Ten Short Mantras and guiding the choir’s meditation practice. The composer is also indebted to Venerable Miao Fan and Venerable Miao Guang for warmly inviting him to return to the monastery in 2019 to present this composition to worldwide Buddhist scholars and practitioners at the 7th Symposium on Humanistic Buddhism.

 

 


They Are Mother
 Jennifer Lucy Cook (b. 1988)

Matt Watson
Taci Miner
Madison Obrien
Dixie Choque
Hannah Boyack
soloists
John Sargeant, piano

PROGRAM NOTES

 

  • Commissioned by the UVU Chamber Choir in 2021 as part of a program pairing reflections on the Feminine Divine in visual and choral arts.
  • The composer explains:


“When I was working on the words for this piece, I consulted with my friend Reverend Alex Reegan, who is a trans man and interfaith minister, to create a text that embodies the energy of the feminine divine that is present in any gender. I chose to use they/them pronouns, which capture both the nonbinary and the nonsingular mystery and grandeur of the divine creating force, and by doing so, welcomes everyone into the work.

I wanted to explore the many aspects of the divine; pairing a grounded Mother Nature with a joyous playful being who is capable of laughter, a force that is present in the large and small moments, the noise and the silence, and most importantly, the divine creative spark in each of us. That all-inclusive, loving creative spirit shows up for me in the potential for movement (“the ready muscle in the sprinter”), the pleasures of modern life, (“the steady heat lamp in the winter”), and serves as a reminder not to take myself too seriously (“laugh lines around the all-seeing eye”). In identifying a creator this way, I channel these same qualities into my own life and my own identity, and it’s my hope that the audience for They Are Mother finds themselves within it too."

 

Anima Christi 
Mary Lou Williams (1920-1981)

Esera Mose, vocal soloist
Jeffrey O’Flynn, bass clarinet
Seth Dalgleish, bass
Ashton Van Der Veur, drums
John Sargeant, piano

PROGRAM NOTES

 

  • Mary Lou Williams’ compositional voice spanned boogie-woogie to swinging big band to bebop. She wrote many tunes for Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington and mentored Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Thelonious Monk.
  • A midlife conversion to Catholicism led Williams to boldly create a new genre: sacred jazz. In 1964, the same year Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, Williams released Anima Christi on her album “Black Christ of the Andes.” The album was themed on Peruvian St. Martín de Porres, who was canonized by Pope John XXIII in 1962 and is known as the patron saint of mixed-race people and all those seeking racial harmony. Inspired by Williams’ album, Duke Ellington subsequently composed his three “Sacred Concerts” in 1965, 1968, and 1973.
  • Williams describes Anima Christi as a “funky gospel solo” over a “swung jazz waltz.” The lyrics are adapted by the composer from a 14th century prayer.

 

 


COMBINED CHOIRS

 

Life of Song
Ryan Brechmacher 

John Sargeant, piano
Cherilyn Worthen, conductor



UVU EMERALD SINGERS
Dr. Cherilyn Worthen

conductor

Soprano 1

Anneka Andersen
Talia Brown
Bryanna Camacho
Chaylee Coston
Kate Gabbitas
Sara Johnson
Lily Peterson*
Bethany Rasmussen
Sarah Warner


SOPRANO 2

Emma Christensen
Hope Fager
Megan Hahn
Delaney Johns*
Abigail Johnson
Isabella Johnson
Hailey Maxfield
Aimee Mills
Charlee Sorensen
Leah Stucki
Maridenne Williams
Riley Peterson
Kathrine Lingwall Underwood
Emma Schumacher
Savannah Webb+




+ Assistant conductor
* Section leaders

ALTO 1

Tori Anderson
Kayli Bennett
Sylvie Butterfield
Alexandria Cartmill
Miriam Ellis
Samantha Hyland
Mallory Keele
Aubrielle Martin
Karli Moss
Alia Rampton*
Rayanne Taylor
Micah Thompson
Megan VanNoy

 

ALTO 2

Bridget Beal
Laura Beattie
Kylie Campbell
Makayla Fowles
Caysi Keller
Olivian Klassen
April Lewis
Isabelle Lewis
Gwennyth Martin
Katrina McNiven
Vanessa Melena*
Marlie Root
Kate Walker
 

UVU deep green

Dr. Reed Criddle

conductor

TENOR 1+2

Molly Flake* +
Ian Larsen
Logan Bishop
Jonathen Green
Brian Southwick

Isaiah Stotesbery
Oliver Wasden
Kristian Winn

 

BARITONE

Kade Bennett
Drew Cannon
Ian Redd
Bryan Weatherston *
Jamen Zohner

 

BASS 2

Camden Johnson
Travis Lunt *
Josh Walton
Aaron Warner

 

+ Assistant conductor
* Section leaders

 

UVU CHAMBER CHOIR

Dr. Reed Criddle

conductor

Soprano 1

Emily Cheney
Sarah Fisher
Taci Miner
Sydney Pexton 

Soprano 2

Megan Benson
Madison Obrien
Amy Shafer-Larsen *
Cristina Villalobos 

Alto 1

Maddy Barazoto
Dixie Choque
Katherine Cox           
Cambrielle Wright

 

Alto 2

Hannah Boyack
Molly Flake
Katrina McNiven *
Brittney Stradling + 

 

+ Assistant conductor

* Section leaders

Tenor 1

Jordan Conover
Jared Constantine
Anthony Ruiz
Taesha Sau

 

Tenor 2

Travis Lunt *
Spencer Macdonald
Jonathan Peterson
Jonah Walker

 

Bass 1

Mark Forsyth
Ethan Garff
Andra Johnson
Brisen Turner

Bass 2

Casey Copier
Braden Johnson
Talmage Ricks
Esera Mose *

 

 

copper hills high school madrigals
Marc Taylor

conductor

Soprano

Arntsen, Annise
Bullock, Amy
Ferguson, Esther
Hatch, Miriam
McGee, Megan
Moore, Lex
Nebeker, Natalie


Alto

Crawford, Emily
DeWitt, Lily
Gilbert, Ariah
Hill, Charlotte
McBride, Ari
Page, Micaela
Pfister, Meagan

Tenor

Buhler, Brennan
Cahoon, Liam
Hakanson, Joseph
Jacob, Luke
Mautz, Ryan
Nielsen, Phoenix
Poli, Braxton

 

Bass

Anderson, Ryker
Eldredge, Trevor
Hakanson, James
Hammond, Eric
Johnson, Simon
Shelton, Isaac
Shiflett, Kyle




 

Coming Soon
The Noorda

School of the Arts
Events

 

land acknowledgment

Land Acknowledgment

Utah Valley University acknowledges that we gather on land sacred to all Indigenous people who came before us in this vast crossroads region. The University is committed to working in partnership—as enacted through education and community activities—with Utah’s Native Nations comprising: the San Juan Southern Paiute, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Uintah & Ouray Reservation of the Northern Ute, Skull Valley Goshute, Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, Northwestern Band of Shoshone Nation, Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute-White Mesa Community, and urban Indian communities. We recognize these Native Nations and their continued connections with traditional homelands, mountains, rivers, and lakes as well as their sovereign relationships with state and federal governments. We honor their collective memory and continued physical and spiritual presence. We revere their resilience and example in preserving their connections to the Creator and to all their relations, now and in the future.

With this statement comes responsibility and accountability. We resolve to follow up with actionable items to make the School of the Arts at UVU and The Noorda Center for the Performing Arts an inclusive, equitable, and just space for all. There is much work to be done, and we are committed to putting these words into practice.

Artwork by Shane Walking Eagle (Sisseton Dakota).

DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC

Department Chair
JEFFREY O'FLYNN

Administrative Assistant
CHRIS GINES

 

Chamber Choir/Deep Green
REED CRIDDLE

Emerald Singers
CHERILYN WORTHEN

Concert Choir
DEMAREE BROWN

Opera Coordinator
ISAAC HURTADO

Voice Coordinator
MELISSA HEATH

 

Private Voice Instructors
AUBREY ADAMS-MACMILLAN
CECILY BILLS
ADRIENNE BRAUN
DEMAREE BROWN
ANTHONY BUCK
REED CRIDDLE
MELISSA HEATH
CHRISTOPHER HOLMES
ISAAC HURTADO
CONSTANCE JENSEN
SERENA KANIG BENISH
EMILY MERRELL
JOSEPH MOORE