CRESCENDO Volume 4: 2010 - 2011, 36th Season

Up there you go around the earth every hour and a half, time after time after time. You look down; you can’t imagine how many borders and boundaries you cross, and you don’t even see them. The earth is a whole-so beautiful, so small, and so fragile. You realize that on that small spot is everything that means anything to you: all history, all poetry, all music, all art, death, birth, love, tears, all games, all joy-all on that small spot. And there’s not a sound-only a silence the depth of which you’ve never known.-Russell Schweickart

Our Island EarthGREAT CHORAL REPERTOIRE

Community Chorus at South Berwick performs “Christmas with Friends of J.S. Bach”, Kennedy Performing Arts Center, South Berwick, ME. Winter 2010.

Dona Nobis Pacem Grant us peace. The words are powerful. We all know them. They represent the eternal hope and desire of people across cultures and continents. The words are included in scriptures and sermons, and in musings and prayers. They are also found in music – lots of music. This year the Community Chorus at South Berwick (CCSB) explored and expressed those words. Music, and choral music in particular, taps into our feelings. It can reflect what’s important to each of us individually, and to whole communities. Choral music often brings forth feelings that resonate among singers and audiences. Many times these are feelings of peace. It doesn’t seem to matter whether the music is performed at the highest professional level, or at the level of earnest, hardwork-ing enthusiastic singers such as in CCSB. The feelings of peace that accompany those moments are unmistakable and they are real. Maybe that’s one reason choral singing is so popular and so engag-ing. The Community Chorus at South Berwick includes 60 or more singers from throughout our Sea-coast NH and ME region, from high school age to seniors. They come together from all manner of back-grounds to work with Harry Moon and accompanist Audrey Adams and accomplish such significant concerts as these, and to expand their musical worlds. Perhaps they also come together to achieve, and to share with our audiences, these musical moments of peace. Dona nobis pacem, indeed. n

To see the Earthas it truly issmall and blue and beautifulin that eternal silencewhere it floatsis to see ourselvesas riders on the Earth togetherbrotherson that bright lovelinessbrothers who know nowthey are truly brothers and sisters-Archibald MacLeish

Our Island Earth

In our spring concert opening piece Island in Space, American composer Kirke Mechem combines a poem by astronaut Russell Schweickart (b. 1935) describ-ing his experience aboard Apollo 9 with one from American poet Archibald MacLeish (1892-1982) and creates an image of our earth that is one of beauty, vulnerability and awe.

CCSB / CRESCENDO2

CRESCENDO

Dr. Harry MoonMusic Director & Conductor

Board of Directors

William Straub, PresidentRenae Broderick, SecretaryGretchen Straub, Treasurer

Michael Herlihy, WebmasterLiz Plante, Mailing Manager

Sue Beattie, At LargeStacey Camire, At LargeSue Downey, At Large

Barbara Knight, At LargeJoAnn Rohde, At Large

Staff

Audrey Adams, AccompanistMarlene Hudson-Moon, Librarian

Ken Geremia, Concert ManagerWilliam Wieting, Recording

CRESCENDO is an annual publication of the Community

Chorus at South Berwick.

2010/2011 Contributors

Sue Downey, EditorDiane Burbank

Gail KelleyJoan LeBlanc, Layout

Harry MoonPatty Schremmer

David SnowWilliam Straub

Kris Wyatt

CCSBP. O. Box 554

South Berwick, ME 03908www.CCSB-SING.org

207-384-7059bstraub@CCSB-SING.org

Notes from the Conductor...

This Fragile Blue Orb

The spring concert featured a new work by CCSB conductor Dr. Harry Moon, This Fragile Blue Orb, Opus 22. This extended cantata in three

parts called for a speaker, English horn, gong and piano. In the above photo, the Moon family joins together for the premiere performance.

Excerpts from the Composer’s Notes…Our fragile blue orb may be more delicate than we imagine

…If our earth knew real, lasting peace, perhaps our energies and resources could be turned to preserving our unique orb. Dona nobis

pacem (grant us peace) is thus the central theme of this work…

…My hope is that as you listen you will imagine the vastness of space, experience the warmth of peace, and feel both empathy

and compassion for our beautiful blue orb…

Chorus members present Harry with his very own fragile blue orb.

“There are times in our lives when a very special experience, a momentous event, takes place. This past weekend was one such event for Molly and me. Only afterward, however, did we realize the impact you all made on the surrounding communities...”

-- From comments by Harry to chorus members following the spring concert series.

www.CCSB-SING.org 3

The 2010-2011 Season...

Chamber singers perform Renaissance madrigals at spring 2010 concert.

In assembling the 2010-2011 pro-gram, Harry Moon took a monumen-tal risk. The season’s opening concert, Christmas with Friends and Family of J.S. Bach, went well. Combined attendance for the two performances was as expected. Given the title of the program, attendees knew what to ex-pect: composers with which they had at least some passing familiarity. The carol arrangements, though written by 20th century composers, did not stray from principles laid down by J.S. Bach, and thus posed no possibility of upsetting any listener’s comfort zone. Likewise, the singers were attuned to anticipating the harmonies and me-lodic lines of this kind of music. The spring concert was a whole other story. The premiere of Moon’s new work, This Fragile Blue Orb, established the program’s theme of stewardship for the Earth and the yearning for peace. It was the centerpiece of an entire 20th and 21st century program. Historically, audiences have tended to stay away from such contemporary concerts. Moon’s work turned out to be quite a challenge for singers. In most classical works, an instrumen-tal accompaniment provides singers with their entrance notes, often in a

chord for all voice parts at the end of a measure just before they have to sing. However, in This Fragile Blue Orb, the entrance pitch could occur with a single note in the middle of an instrumental accompaniment three measures before the voice entrance. Singers had to retain that pitch in their ear while hearing several more notes before they could start. Often male voices would have to pick up their entrance note from a female voice part or vice versa. Sometimes a voice sec-tion would have to hold an entrance pitch in their ears, raise it an octave, and then sing it against a note in dis-sonance with another voice section. “This was a very risky program on many levels,” says CCSB president, Bill Straub. With Moon’s reputation as a composer and conductor, the cho-rus’s as a group capable of quality per-formance, and the board’s credibility all riding on this concert, Straub adds, “It was too big to fail.” The board had put considerable effort into audience expansion for this concert by reaching out to environmental organizations, promising a concert the likes of which had not been done here. Moon’s com-position was central to that promotion. Yet, for all its difficulty, This Fragile Blue Orb, with its shimmering sonori-ties and dissonances and demanding

finger acrobatics in the piano accom-paniment (expertly played by Audrey Adams), became an exhilarating expe-rience. The chorus embraced it, and after the dress rehearsal that provided the chorus its first chance to hear the piece complete with gong and English horn, they couldn’t wait to share the piece with an audience. At the first performance, when the chorus finished singing This Fragile Blue Orb, the audience rose for a standing ovation, even though this was not the end of the program. The audience repeated the gesture at the end of the concert. The hard work had paid off. Atten-dance for this spring’s performances was the second highest of any CCSB spring concert, exceeded only in 2009 by the performance of Handel’s Easter Messiah. Without this kind of affir-mation, of Harry’s leadership and the chorus’ ability, we would not have known whether all the risks had been worth taking. We heartily thank all those who trusted this organization to come along for the ride. n

Photo: Sandy Agrafiotis

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Member Spotlight...

Jimmy and Dianne Dean, Music Makers

CCSB / CRESCENDO

CCSB and the Deans are synony-mous in many ways, but the story of Dianne and Jimmy began long before the chorus was ever imagined. Jimmy Dean grew up in Cohasset, MA on a 15 acre “I guess you could call it a farm” farm. Jimmy was the oldest of five children: a boy at either end, and three girls in the middle. Jimmy’s grandfather was the presi-dent of Boston Safe Deposit Company, a position which afforded Jimmy the privilege of going to private schools. Beginning as a child at Derby Acad-emy in Hingham, MA and complet-ing high school at Governor Dummer Academy in Byfield, MA, he then went to Sewanee, the University of the South in Tennessee. Jimmy’s favorite moments growing up were at his grandparents’ place in Lancaster, NH, where he spent all of his summers and Christmas vacations. It was there that he learned to ski. Dianne Colby was from a promi-nent family in Berlin, NH, where her maternal grandfather was a major officer in the Brown Company, a huge paper mill. Her grandparents had a family of eight, all of whom went to and completed college at their parents’ insistence, which in the early 1900s was practically unheard of. Although Dianne’s first inclina-tion was to become a social worker, she eventually realized that the wiser choice would be to follow her first love, and become a music major. At Skidmore College, she chose to spe-cialize in organ performance. Her father was an avid skier. When

WWII began, he was recruited to go to Camp Hale in Colorado to teach skiing to the men in the 10th Moun-tain Infantry, as skiing was going to be a necessary skill in the European theatre. It was from her father that Dianne learned to ski. Little did Jimmy and Dianne know, but they were growing up about 20 miles from each other, and skiing would be key to their future. During Dianne’s junior year at Skidmore, her college friend Mamie fixed her up for a weekend blind date with her brother — Jimmy Dean. Jimmy visited that weekend, and as they both recall, “Things clicked.” After that wonderful weekend, Jimmy left and did not write or call. That summer, he and a friend decided to go to Guatemala, leaving Dianne to “pine away,” not knowing if they would ever meet again. That next Christmas, Jimmy, while visiting his grandparents, decided to ski Cannon Mountain. There in the lodge he bumped into Dianne. “Such electricity, it was unbelievable,” says Jimmy. They skied the whole week together. They were married upon her graduation, and honeymooned driv-ing their Chevy Nova and camping across the country in a “shepherd’s tent” at the National Parks. Jimmy was teaching in Connecticut and Dianne took a position teaching English and music at the same school. They moved to the Boston area while Jimmy expanded his language skills by getting his Masters in Spanish and Dianne taught at Milton Academy. In 1968, they moved to South Berwick when Jimmy was hired to teach Span-ish at Berwick Academy. They celebrated the birth of their first child, Penny, and 16 months later, their son, Bart. Dianne was a stay-at-home mom, and began teaching piano to private students, some of whom at-tended Berwick Academy. There was no formal music program at the Acad-emy. Dianne was asked to start the music program in the Upper School,

and as the school expanded, her program did as well, into the Middle School and then the Lower School. Jimmy added coaching football, ski-ing, soccer and baseball to his work. During the summer, he was the BA liaison for the rental and occupancy of the school facilities. He also counseled at Camp Dewitt, and ran a fishing camp in Ogunquit, Maine. In 1975 Dianne was asked to co-ordinate an All-Churches Choir for the South Berwick Christmas celebra-tion. It was such a hit that they were asked to perform at the opening of the Bi-Centennial Strawberry Festival. That original group became the South Berwick Community Chorus. Dianne continued her education during the summers at Princeton, UMaine, and UNH, where she re-ceived her Master’s in Conducting. After retiring from Berwick Acad-emy, Dianne started the auditioned Seacoast Children’s Chorus, Sandpi-pers, for children ages six to sixteen. Dianne’s love of music came from her dad. He started her on the piano at the tender age of five. Those piano keys would become an expression of Dianne’s love of music that she has selflessly shared for many decades, including 25 years conducting the Community Chorus. Now Jimmy and Dianne are tran-sitioning from their home of 41 years in South Berwick, to their new neigh-borhood in Kittery. Not too far from South Berwick, and certainly not far from CCSB, where both Dianne and Jimmy will continue to share their voices in song for many more years. n

From the Archives…

Sofa for Sale In 2002 CCSB held a yard sale to supplement the budget. Many nice things were donated to the cause. Most of the things were typical household or ga-rage items you could purchase, put in a bag or a box, and carry away. Well, someone donated a sofa to this yard sale. People came and went. Tables were cleared of many of the smaller items throughout the busy morning. Through it all, there sat that huge, over-stuffed sofa with a price tag on it. Shoppers passed it by. There was no interest in the sofa. As the day wore on, CCSB yard sale workers used the sofa to take breaks. One CCSB-er decided to buy the sofa, put some money in the till for it, then later decided against taking it home. Another cho-rus member did the same. It became the joke of the day. People kept putting money in the till for the sofa. Eventu-ally, most of the yard sale crew had “bought” the sofa. CCSB had good receipts from all the smaller sales, and a lot of laughs over the sofa. Word is that there is still a photo float-ing around, of CCSB-ers lined up on that sofa... Oh, yeah – what happened to the sofa? The person who brought it took it back home. n

Did You Know?...

Who Says You Can’t Sing?

www.CCSB-SING.org

Almost everyone can sing, but few people believe they can. In days gone by, when people created their own entertainment, they got together in groups and gathered to sing around whatever instrument was available. People sang their way through their chores, through their joys and their sorrows. They sang songs to teach their children and to put them to sleep. Singing was part of everyday life. Then came records, radio, movies, and television. Suddenly the world’s greatest singers were available almost on demand. Great singers are actu-ally quite rare, but good singers are everywhere. What is singing, anyway? Well, it’s not speaking. Singing uses a different part of the brain than speech. People who stutter uncontrollably can sing just fine. People who cannot speak due to strokes can sometimes sing. People with Alzheimer’s disease who can barely remember their own names can sometimes be capable of song.Speaking is a series of consonants separated by vowels. Consonants are emphasized, and vowels sim-ply smooth the transition between consonants. Singing is the opposite. Singing is a series of vowel sounds separated by consonants. The vowels are elongated while the consonants are de-emphasized.

Imagine you have a dog named Bar-ney. Say his name. “Barney.” Now imagine Barney is outside and you are calling him. “Baaaaaarneeeeeeeey.” The first is speech, the second is sing-ing. That’s all there is to it. Really.Well, actually there is quite a lot more to it, but most of what people lack can be learned and developed over time. For most people the major hurdle is the mental one. They think they can’t sing, and their lack of faith in them-selves makes them shy. They develop weak, breathy, tremulous singing voices. Yet when they call the dog, they do it with power and melody. If you can answer yes to the questions below, you certainly are able to learn to sing. People with amusia (tone deafness/inability to process pitch), might not be able to answer in the af-firmative. 1. Can you clearly identify a tune when you hear one? 2. Can you whistle a tune or hum one? 3. Can recognize the direction of pitch – is it going up or down? 4. Can you distinguish between sev-eral tunes played in random order? Have you have been told you can’t carry a tune in a bucket? “Whenever someone tells me that they can’t sing in the choir because they can’t carry a tune in a bucket, well you can bet that I am thinking, yes, you can, you can carry your music in a bucket because music, to God, is carried in your Kardia, in your heart, in your gut. ...You can’t carry a tune in a bucket? Perhaps that is exactly where you should carry it.”

Reverend Beth Hoffman First Congregational Church of Eliot

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While you might never possess a voice like Pavarotti, you certainly can learn to use the voice you’ve been given. Believe in yourself, remember your Kardia, and sing your heart out! Sing to your heart’s content! n

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Behind the Scenes...

CCSB / CRESCENDO

CCSB is most fortunate to receive donated services from members of the community.

Recent contributions have included:

• Donations of space and time to sell concert tickets by South Berwick Pharmacy, York Flower Shop, and Gary’s Guitars in Portsmouth

• Professional photography donated by Sandy Agrafiotis

• Printing graphics and newsletter by CMA Engineers

The following environmental organizations provided educational exhibits to enhance our spring concert series:

• Blue Ocean Society• Great Bay Discovery Center• Great Works Regional Land

Trust• Seacoast Science Center• Sierra Club / Green Alliance• UNH Marine Docents• York Center for Wildlife

CCSB Spring Raffle items were generously donated by:

• Beach Pea• Nature’s Way Market• Fantastic Fortunes• Sea Chambers• Naviina Salon and Spa• Dave and Heather Webster• Sterling Brightman • CCSB chorus members

Community Support

It takes money to meet the budget requirements of the Community Chorus at South Berwick’s program. In addition to the financial support of our donors, a multitude of contributions of time and talent are made

by many, many individuals. CCSB is run by dedicated volunteers, and it is the fortunate beneficiary of the creative and generous efforts of board members, chorus members, and the good folks of our communities.

Concert Raffle Items a Great Success

CCSB Volunteers Help Promote Concerts

Environmental Groups Set Up Displays at the Spring Concerts

Volunteers mail postcards and hang concert posters throughout the region for each concert.

This spring, we offered some wonderful raffle prizes that were donated by local businesses and chorus members.

The Community Chorus at South Berwick is supported by the generosity of many people. This support provides the financial basis for CCSB’s great programs. Below is a list of the donors for our recent 2010-2011 season. CCSB recognizes these individuals and businesses as essential to our success. CCSB is a non-profit

organization per 501 (c) 3, and all donations are tax deductible.

Friends of Community Chorus at South Berwick

7www.CCSB-SING.org

INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS

Ensemble - $250 or MoreCharlotte “Toni” BrendelRenae Broderick and Douglas Bordewieck Stacey and David CamireMichael and Paula Herlihy William and Julie KathHarry and Molly MoonLester and Ann SenechalWilliam and Gretchen Straub

Quartet - $150 to $249Mr. and Mrs. David BeattiePam Bertram and Joe StieglitzRichard and Suzanne BicknellWes and Pat KennedyTom and Paula Long

Trio - $100 to $149Kathy AnsonDavid and Elria EwingViki and John GuyNathan and Helen HazenGail Kelley and Andrew MertonAdm. and Mrs. G.E.R Kinnear II Bonnie MarshallVirginia MenihaneGordon and Sharon QuimbyDavid and JoAnn RohdePatty Lyman SchremmerJacquelyn and Mark VillinskiBill and Nancy Welch

Duo - $50 to $99Audrey AdamsThomas BeattieJeffrey Bonney and Myra ThiviergeMr. and Mrs. E. M. BrockHelen Brock and Doug KnightVicki and John BurnsSusan Straub ClarkDianne and Jim DeanKenneth and Donna DownesJohn and Susan DowneyNancy DowneyWilliam Eley

Duo - $50 to $99 (cont.)Marilyn and Herbert Follansbee, Jr.Diane Juray and Russ SwatekCynthia KellyKaren LepageMorgan McCurdyWendy PirsigBonnie and Terry PoppletonDavid and Dede RamseyPat and Wen RedmondLinda SandbergPatricia and Russell SimonDavid and Betty SnowPuff UhlmanGary and Nancy WetzelDavid and Fia Yarian

Solo - to $49 Peter AllenJay BarryTim and Kris BissonThomas and Diane BurbankJudith and Peyton CarrMimi DemersElizabeth DudleyKen and Janet GeremiaPaul and Helen GoranssonJennifer and John HenriquezNora IrvineStephen and MaryAnn JennessAlban and Nancy LobdellJack and Kate ReynoldsElisabeth and Jeffrey RobinsonPat Robinson and Mike CannonMargaret RotondoMichael and Claire SillsShallon SullivanRita Thompson

BUSINESS MEMBERS

Ensemble - $250 or MoreP. Gagnon & Son, Inc. - South BerwickLassel Architects, P.A. - South BerwickPeople’s United Bank - South BerwickStarkey Ford - York

Quartet - $150 to $249 Give with Liberty Mutual (Matching) - Dover Illinois Tool Works Foundation (Matching) - Princeton, NJ

Trio - $100 to $149D. F. Richard Inc., - DoverLabel Tech, Inc. - DoverLiberty Mutual - DoverN.E.A.T. Photos - New HamptonRelyco Sales, Inc. - DoverTri-City Subaru, Inc. - SomersworthUrban Tree Service - RochesterVillage Motors Service - South BerwickVMHQ Research and Consulting - South Berwick

Duo - $50 to $99Allan Breed, Inc. - South BerwickBlack Bean Cafe - RollingsfordRobert Bogard, DDS - KitteryDupont’s Service Center, Inc. - DoverDurell Paving, Inc. - DoverEliot Small Engine Repair, Inc. - EliotRobert P. Herold, DMD - PortsmouthJanco Electronics, Inc. - DoverMcHenry Architecture PLLC - PortsmouthMcIntire-McCooey Funeral Home - South BerwickNortheast ENT and Allergy - DoverNomith Ramdev, DMD., MS - DoverRice’s Automotive - BerwickRochester Pediatric Associates, Inc. - RochesterSeacoast Hope - South BerwickSouth Berwick House of PizzaTwo Sons, LLC - KitteryWarren Pond Boatworks, LLC - South Berwick

Solo - to $49Ceres BakeryLeroy Styles, LLC - SomersworthSouth Berwick Pharmacy

P.O. Box 564South Berwick, ME 03908

Non-ProfitOrganization

U.S. Postage PaidPermit No. 20

South Berwick, ME

Winter Concert 2011

A Christmas Garland:Laud to the NativitySaturday, December 3, and Sunday, December 4, 2011

Spring Concert 2012

On the Book ShelfSaturday, March 31, and

Sunday, April 1, 2012

2011-2012 Concert Series

Call for Singers...Community Chorus at South Berwick is

a non-audition chorus. We welcome new singers to join us for the upcoming 2011-2012 season.

Monday rehearsals begin September 12th.

For more information, contact Dr. Harry Moon at 207-384-7059, or visit our website:

www.CCSB-SING.orgLook for us on facebook