UVU Deep Green
Reed Criddle, conductor
Friday, October 20, 2023
Carolyn Lund Munford, harp
Translation
Let’s go to the baths of Niš where we shall kiss, kiss, kiss.
Michael Duffin, Ian Larsen, Cael Crosby, Aaron Walker,
Matthew Noall, Grant Croshaw, Thayne Larson, soloists
Ethan Stemmons, Garrett Bills, Sean Crist-Edelen,
Travis Lunt, Aaron Walker & Reed Criddle, continuo section
Translation
Part I (chorus):
The god Phoebus had still to light the great fires of the dawn
When the nymph left her dwelling.
Her face a pale temple in its ruins of grief;
Her cries - a heart, rending.
Hither and thither she went, stumbling through flowers.
Grieving the love she had lost.
Part II (aria):
“O Love, hear me!” she begged the heavens.
What happened to that traitor’s vow: ‘Togetherness and trust?’
I just want him back, but as he was before.
If you cannot - then kill me; I cannot bear the agony.
No more will I listen to his sighs, unless we are separated by a thousand seas.
No! No longer will I martyr myself for this.
I am destroying myself because of him, and the worse it is,
The more gorged, the more satisfied he seems.
If I were to flee from him, perhaps then he might come begging?
That woman’s eyebrows may be arched more perfectly than mine,
But sealed within my breast, O Love, lives a faithfulness still fairer.
And that woman’s mouth will never open to give such kisses as I can give
(Hush! Say nothing - you know only too well…)
Part II (chorus):
With these cries she cast her anguish to the heavens.
And so it is that in the heart of every lover burns love’s flame and ice.
Braxton Biggers, saxophone
Landon Graff, piano
Garrett Bills, bass
This year UVU Deep Green is celebrating its ten-year anniversary as one of only two collegiate tenor-bass choirs in Utah. Founded in 2013 as the UVU Men’s Choir and renamed in 2022, UVU Deep Green pursues musical excellence through the exploration, analysis, and performance of engaging choral literature for tenor and bass voices. Since its inception, UVU Deep Green has expanded the canon of tenor-bass repertoire, providing undergraduates with pre-professional training in choral singing. Students rehearse for three hours each week, with the direction of Dr. Criddle, and major in a wide variety of disciplines, including Music Performance, Choral Music Education, and Commercial Music. Undergraduate choral music education majors serve as assistant conductors of this ensemble to prepare for a career in secondary-level choral music. The choir regularly shares the Noorda Center for the Performing Arts stage with UVU Emerald Singers (SA), UVU Chamber Choir (SATB), and UVU Symphony Orchestra. In Spring 2024, they will participate in presenting Gustav Mahler’s “Resurrection” Symphony No. 2. To schedule an audition, please email Professor Criddle: [email protected].
Dr. Reed Criddle is Director of Choral Activities at Utah Valley University, where he conducts the Chamber Choir and Deep Green (tenor-bass choir) and teaches conducting and voice. In recognition of his innovative pedagogy and professional work as a composer and conductor, Utah Valley University has presented him with the School of the Arts Dean’s Award, two Faculty Senate Excellence Awards, and the Presidential Fellowship Award.
As a conductor and U.S. Fulbright Senior Scholar, he has directed ensembles, conducted research, and led workshops throughout Europe, Asia, Cuba, and the United States. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Dr. Criddle is editor of Chanting the Medicine Buddha Sutra: A Musical Transcription and English Translation of the Liberation Rite of Water and Land at Fo Guang Shan Monastery (AR Editions: Middleton, Wisconsin). This unprecedented ethnography and translation of Chinese Buddhist chant was named a finalist for the American Musicological Society’s 2021 Claude V. Palisca Award.
Dr. Criddle has served as president of the Utah chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. In the past twelve years, UVU choirs under his direction have performed fifteen times at state, regional, and national conferences of ACDA, NAfME, and NCCO, including two solo concerts at the 2023 National Conference of ACDA in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Dr. Criddle is a graduate of Stanford University, the Eastman School of Music, and the University of Michigan. He is indebted to extraordinary conducting mentors: Jerry Blackstone, Paul Rardin, William Weinert, Stephen Sano, Helmuth Rilling, Craig Jessop, Joseph Piazza, and Robert Geary.
Dr. Reed Criddle
conductor
|
Tenor 1 Ryan Black Tenor 2 Jacob Chrisman + Assistant Conductor |
Baritone Grant Croshaw Bass 2 Joseph Blomberg |
Kelly DeHaan
conductor
|
Soprano Aubrey Andersen ALTOS
|
TENORS bass Brigham Bennion |
Dr. Reed Criddle
conductor
|
Soprano 1 Megan Benson Soprano 2 Katherine Cox alto 1 Marlie Krogh alto 2 Hannah Boyack + Assistant conductor |
Tenor 1 Jordan Conover + Tenor 2 Logan Bishop bass 1 Ryan Call bass 2 Braden Johnson * |
Dr. Cherilyn Worthen
conductor
|
Soprano 1 Ellie Barry Soprano 2 Emma Carbine |
alto Caryn Allen
+ Assistant conductor |
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).
Our mission is to produce and present artistic excellence, which would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors. We thank them and express our deep gratitude to all patrons, supporters, and friends of The Noorda.
The arts possess the unparalleled power to inspire, educate, liberate, and transform. They elevate moments, mark milestones, soften edges, and generate profound meaning. Experience the beauty and wonder of the arts with us this season at The Noorda and begin at once to live!
Courtney R. Davis, J.D., M.A.
Dean, School of the Arts
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
