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1 Milwaukee Choral Artists PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S VOCAL ENSEMBLE 2010-2011 The Thirteenth Season SHARON A. HANSEN, FOUNDER AND MUSIC DIRECTOR War and Peace THE MILWAUKEE CHORAL ARTISTS, Sharon A. Hansen, conductor THE CHICAGO CHAMBER CHOIR, Timm Adams, conductor with Ernest Brusubardis III, piano Kristian Brusubardis, violin SONGS OF WAR Combined Choirs (Timm Adams, conductor) Kyrie Knut Nystedt Kyrie/Allah husm’hus salaam Lee Kesselman Chicago Chamber Choir Go Down, Moses arr. Michael Tippett Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye arr. Alice Parker Workin’ for the Dawn of Peace (CCC Men) arr. Ron Jeffers Find the Cost of Freedom Stephen Stills, arr. Nick Page Milwaukee Choral Artists Hard Times Come Again No More Stephen Foster (1826-1864) *August 1914 (*World Premiere: 2010 Young Composers Contest Winner) Joel Boyd Horobi No Naka Kara Kevin James Invaluit malitia Piae Cantiones 1582, arr. Jaakko Mäntyjärvi Combined Choirs (Sharon Hansen, conductor) Teiksma Peteris Plakidis INTERMISSION SONGS OF PEACE Combined Choirs (Sharon Hansen, conductor) Dance of Zálongo Carol Barnett Milwaukee Choral Artists Ma Navu Original Melody Yossi Spivak, arr. Shira Cion Only Light, Only Love (MCA and the CCC Women) Joan Szymko The Peace of Wild Things Joan Szymko A Prayer for Peace Paula Foley Tillen Chicago Chamber Choir Alleluia Randall Thompson (1899-1984) Verleih’ uns Frieden Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809-1847) Sure, On This Shining Night Morten Lauridsen Combined Choirs (Timm Adams and Sharon Hansen, conductors) Shalom, v’shalom, v’shalom Bob Applebaum Dona Nobis Pacem Giulio Caccini, arr. James A. Moore Hope for Resolution Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory October 23, 2010 • 7:30PM • St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church • 1615 Wauwatosa Avenue • Wauwatosa WI October 24, 2010 • 4:00PM • Nichols Concert Hall at the Music Institute of Chicago • 1409 Chicago Avenue • Evanston IL

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Milwaukee Choral Artists Ma Navu Original Melody Yossi Spivak, arr. Shira Cion Only Light, Only Love (MCA and the CCC Women) Joan Szymko The Peace of Wild Things Joan Szymko A Prayer for Peace Paula Foley Tillen Chicago Chamber Choir Go Down, Moses arr. Michael Tippett Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye arr. Alice Parker Workin’ for the Dawn of Peace (CCC Men) arr. Ron Jeffers Find the Cost of Freedom Stephen Stills, arr. Nick Page INTERMISSION with 1MilwaukeeChoralArtists

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Page 1: MKE Choral Artists - War & PeaceFINALrev

1Milwaukee Choral Artists

S H A R O N A . H A N S E N , F O U N D E R A N D M U S I C D I R E C T O R

P R O F E S S I O N A L W O M E N ’ S V O C A L E N S E M B L E

2010-2011 The Thirteenth

Season

SHARON A. HANSEN, FOUNDER AND MUSIC DIRECTOR

War and PeaceTHE MILWAUKEE CHORAL ARTISTS, Sharon A. Hansen, conductor

THE CHICAGO CHAMBER CHOIR, Timm Adams, conductor

with

Ernest Brusubardis III, pianoKristian Brusubardis, violin

SONGS OF WARCombined Choirs (Timm Adams, conductor) Kyrie Knut NystedtKyrie/Allah husm’hus salaam Lee Kesselman

Chicago Chamber Choir Go Down, Moses arr. Michael TippettJohnny, I Hardly Knew Ye arr. Alice ParkerWorkin’ for the Dawn of Peace (CCC Men) arr. Ron JeffersFind the Cost of Freedom Stephen Stills, arr. Nick Page

Milwaukee Choral Artists Hard Times Come Again No More Stephen Foster (1826-1864)*August 1914 (*World Premiere: 2010 Young Composers Contest Winner) Joel BoydHorobi No Naka Kara Kevin JamesInvaluit malitia Piae Cantiones 1582, arr. Jaakko Mäntyjärvi

Combined Choirs (Sharon Hansen, conductor) Teiksma Peteris Plakidis

INTERMISSION

SONGS OF PEACECombined Choirs (Sharon Hansen, conductor) Dance of Zálongo Carol Barnett

Milwaukee Choral Artists Ma Navu Original Melody Yossi Spivak, arr. Shira CionOnly Light, Only Love (MCA and the CCC Women) Joan SzymkoThe Peace of Wild Things Joan SzymkoA Prayer for Peace Paula Foley Tillen

Chicago Chamber Choir Alleluia Randall Thompson (1899-1984)Verleih’ uns Frieden Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809-1847)Sure, On This Shining Night Morten Lauridsen

Combined Choirs (Timm Adams and Sharon Hansen, conductors) Shalom, v’shalom, v’shalom Bob ApplebaumDona Nobis Pacem Giulio Caccini, arr. James A. MooreHope for Resolution Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory

October 23, 2010 • 7:30PM • St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church • 1615 Wauwatosa Avenue • Wauwatosa WIOctober 24, 2010 • 4:00PM • Nichols Concert Hall at the Music Institute of Chicago • 1409 Chicago Avenue • Evanston IL

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2 Milwaukee Choral Artists

A NOTE FROM THE MUSIC D IRECTOR :WAR A N D PEACE

“The outcome of war is in our hands: the outcome of words is in our council.” ~ Homer, in the Iliad

“War begins in the minds of men, and in those minds, love and compassion would have built the defenses of peace.”

~ U. Thant (Third Secretary-General of the United Nations, 1961-1971)

“Imagine there’s no countries, it isn’t hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for . . .a brotherhood of man.

Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.

I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will be as one.” ~ John Lennon (The Beatles)

Mother’s Day Proclamation (1870)“Arise, then, women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be that of water or tears! Say firmly: ‘We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have taught them of charity, mercy and patience. We women of one country will be too tender of those of another to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs . . .’”

(Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910), author of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, in an 1870 declaration calling for an official “Mothers’ Day of Peace.” Mother’s Day was finally declared a national holiday in 1914, after Howe’s death.)

* * *

Good evening and welcome to the Thirteenth Season of the Milwaukee Choral Artists. Tonight’s concert marks the first time that MCA has collaborated with another choral ensemble, and we could not be more delighted to introduce you to the Chicago Chamber Choir and its conductor, Timm Adams. Our collaboration has been at once generous, mean-ingful, joyful — and yes, despite our thirteenth year, lucky!

A year ago, when Timm and I began discussing the possibility of collaboration, deciding on a theme — in this case, a significant theme of “War and Peace” — was the first order of business. Our greatest challenge was winnowing down the wide repertoire that exists for women’s ensemble, men’s ensemble, mixed ensemble, and combined SSA-SATB ensemble, for throughout human history, musicians, poets, and artists have tried to give voice to the cost of war and the hope for peace. We met in person, and had many, many late evening phone calls, texts, and emails. And so our program took shape:

War• Nystedt’s “Lord Have Mercy on Us” begs the question — Kesselman’s “Lord Have Mercy/

Allah whose Name is Peace” expands on it. • “Go Down, Moses,” with its text from Exodus 8:1, speaks of oppression — “Johnny, I

Hardly Knew Ye,” an early 19th-century Irish traditional anti-war song, reminds us of the futility of war.

• “Workin’ for the Dawn of Peace” combines two famous Civil War songs: Two Brothers, and Tenting Tonight — “Find the Cost of Freedom” resonates from 1971 at the height of the Vietnam War.

• “Hard Times Come Again No More” was a favorite song of both sides in the American Civil War —“August 1914” (*World Premiere: MCA 2010 Young Composers Contest Winner) describes the horrors of World War I.

• “Horobi No Naka Kara” speaks of the unspeakable devastation of Hiroshima during World War II — “Invaluit malitia,” with its ancient melody and text describing evil in the world, seems eerily relevant to our 21st century.

• “Teiksma” shares Latvian symbolism: Good conquers evil; Light conquers darkness; Self-sacrifice is valor — themes that transition us from War to Peace.

Peace• “Dance of Zálongo” refers to an event in Greek history in which women and children

leapt to their deaths rather than be taken prisoners in the 1803 Souliote war — “Ma Navu” consoles us with its text from Isaiah 52:7, “How beautiful on the mountain are the steps of the messenger who brings tidings of salvation and peace.”

• “Only Light, Only Love” takes its inspiration from a sermon by Dr. Martin Luther King,

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3Milwaukee Choral Artists

A NOTE FROM THE MUSIC D IRECTOR :WAR A N D PEACE (C O N T.)

Jr. — “The Peace of Wild Things” moves us from a place of despair and fear to one of peace in the beauty and solitude of nature.

• “A Prayer for Peace” sets the poetry of Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, inspired at the height of the Vietnam conflict — “Alleluia” was inspired by Hitler’s conquest of France during WWII.

• “Verleih’ uns Frieden” sets a 1528 Martin Luther text: “Grant us peace, in your mercy, Lord God, in our time” — “Sure, On This Shining Night” gives us hope for healing in a world ravaged by war.

• “Shalom, v’shalom, v’shalom” sets three well-known Hebrew texts about peace — “Dona Nobis Pacem” states it directly: “Grant us Peace.”

• And we conclude with “Hope for Resolution,” a work written for Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk, which juxtaposes European chant with a South African anti-apartheid song in a celebration of mankind’s potential for peaceful coexistence.

Northeastern University Stotsky Professor of Jewish Studies Dr. Joshua Jacobson writes, “If music is a vehicle of expression, then we learn something about a composer by listening to his or her music. At the same time, we can also sense something about the society in which they lived, about the turmoil of a [country] engulfed in war, about a striving for emancipation. . . We use music as a way of broadening our horizons, of experiencing new emotions, as a way of understanding what it was like to live at a certain time . . .The wider we cast our net, the broader we become as human beings—the more capable we are of far-reaching empathy.”

Together let us affirm the words of Saul Tchernichowsky in his “Sachaki:”For I still do believe in man, and in his spirit, strong and bold. And in the future I still believe — though it be distant, come it will — When nations shall each other bless, and peace at last the earth shall fill.

S H A R O N A . H A N S E N , F O U N D E R A N D M U S I C D I R E C T O R

P R O F E S S I O N A L W O M E N ’ S V O C A L E N S E M B L E

Saturday, February 19, 20117:30PMNorth Shore Congregational Church7330 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Fox Point

The Languages of Love

For more info or to order tickets: 262/628-5022 | www.milwaukeechoralartists.org

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4 Milwaukee Choral Artists

ABOUT THE MILWAUKEE CHOR AL ARTISTS

Indra Brusubardis holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Music degree in music therapy from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. For fifteen years, Indra has performed with

the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus as soloist, professional core member, and ACE program presenter (an educational endeavor bringing musical programs to area schools.) She is a long time member of the Milwaukee Latvian Choir, where she has been a soloist and featured in smaller ensembles. She has participated in Latvian Song Festivals in the United States, Canada, and Germany. She enjoys performing in area musical theatre productions, in the Waukesha Choral Union, and in concerts with her husband, Ernie, and their six children.

Faith Danneil is a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy, and holds a Bachelor of Science in Information Resources from University of Wisconsin –

Milwaukee. Her first professional choral engagement was with Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, where she was a member of the professional choir as well as a cantor. Faith was a member and soloist of the Cantus Angelicus Choral Society in Fairfield, Iowa, and later was part of the professional core of the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus. Presently, Faith is soloist at The First Church of Christ, Scientist (Wauwatosa), and is a frequent soloist at the First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee.

Rebecca Davies is a recent graduate in Vocal Performance from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. Rebecca has been a member of the UWM University

Choir, Women’s Chorus, and Concert Chorale and has also been a featured soloist in performances with chamber ensembles and the UWM Orchestra. She has performed several lead roles with

UWM’s Opera Theatre including Baba in Menotti’s “The Medium,” Elizabeth Proctor in Ward’s “The Crucible,” Ormindo in Cavalli’s “L’Ormindo,” and most recently, Mrs. Peachum in Weill’s “Three Penny Opera.”

Alexa Doebele is the Director of Choirs at Concordia University Wisconsin. She has taught previously at the University of Wyoming, the University of Colorado,

and Front Range Community College, and she is a ten-year veteran of K-12 music education. She is also active as both a solo and choral singer, having appeared with the Colorado Conductors’ Chorus, the Ars Nova Singers, St. Martin’s Chamber Choir, the Boulder Chorale, the Littleton Chorale, and the CSO Chorus. She completed a bachelor’s degree (double major in vocal performance and German language and literature) at Washington University in St. Louis and both her Master of Music Education and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees at the University of Colorado.

Elizabeth Egger earned a Bachelor of Music summa cum laude in Vocal Performance and Music Education from the University of Minnesota. In 2005,

Elizabeth joined the music faculty at Franklin Public Schools as the middle school and high school choral director. In recent seasons, Elizabeth also has been seen performing with Skylight Opera,

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6 Milwaukee Choral Artists

ABOUT THE MILWAUKEE CHOR AL ARTISTS (C O N T.)

Florentine Opera, and Milwaukee Symphony Chorus. Currently, Elizabeth serves as the Senior Choir Assistant Conductor and Vocal Coach for the Milwaukee Children’s Chorus. She is also an adjudicator for the Wisconsin School Music Association solo and ensemble festivals.

Leslie Fitzwater has been performing in the Milwaukee area for more than twenty years, and has had a varied career encompassing opera, music theater, straight

theater, mime, and cabaret. She has performed with most of the major groups in the area, including the Skylight Opera Theater, the Milwaukee Symphony, the Racine Symphony, Present Music, and the Florentine Opera Company. Leslie holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music from University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, and teaches private voice lessons at Pius XI High School.

*Marjorie Fowler is a founding member of MCA and has been a soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Florentine Opera Company. She toured

Europe twice, singing in Salzburg, Milan, Prague, and Westminster Cathedral. She was on the faculty at Mount Mary College for eighteen years, where she directed two of the collegiate choral ensembles and was Professor of Voice. At present, she maintains a private voice studio in Brookfield. Marj is a soloist on the Pro Arte recording of Lukas Foss’ Psalms, with Foss conducting the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. A former member of the American Choral Directors’ Association, Marj received her Bachelor of Science in Music Education from SUNY - Potsdam, and her Master of Arts in Education from California Polytechnic Institute-Pomona. In 2008, the Wisconsin Music Educators Association presented Marj with the Michael C. George Award for meritorious service, excellence, and dedication to music education.

Jill Freese began her musical career as a child singing in Milwaukee’s Schola Cantorum. Since that time, she has performed with a variety of local musical

and theatre groups both in Milwaukee and in Indiana. Jill received the Bachelor of Arts degree from Valparaiso University, where she sang under the direction of Eldon Balko, and the Master of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. Jill is a professional speech pathologist at Easter Seals.

*Paula Garcia is a founding member* of MCA and has been singing with Milwaukee area choral groups for nearly forty years. She sang with the Milwaukee

Symphony Chorus and Chamber Singers for ten years and was a member of the professional core. She was also a performer and soloist with the Master Singers of Milwaukee. She has performed with the Skylight and has enjoyed many feature roles with area community theater companies. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Special Education from the University of Wisconsin – Stout, but has worked in the financial services industry for the past twenty-eight years, the last seven with Northwestern Mutual.

*Charmaine LaBelle is a founding member* of MCA. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin - Madison and her Master of Music

degree from the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. Charmaine is an elementary general music specialist for the Mukwonago Public Schools. She has been a member of the professional core of the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus, a soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and can be heard as soprano soloist on the Pro Arte recording of Lukas Foss’ Psalms.

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7Milwaukee Choral Artists

ABOUT THE MILWAUKEE CHOR AL ARTISTS (C O N T.)

Mary MacDonald earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater. She is a music specialist with the West Allis-West Milwaukee Public

Schools. She sang for ten years with the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus, the Vocal Arts Consort, and the Wisconsin Conservatory Chamber Singers, including solo performances in their concerts with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra. Mary has performed as soloist and recitalist in the Milwaukee and Racine area, and was presented as a young artist by the Civic Music Association of Milwaukee. She studied and performed lieder for two summers at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.

*Cynthia Matchette is a founding member* of MCA. Cynthia graduated from Westminster Choir College, where she was a member of the world-famous

Westminster and Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi choruses. She has also sung under such renowned conductors as Bernstein, Levine, Boulez, Penderecki, Keene, Muti, Chailly, and Conlin. In addition, Cynthia has sung with the Dayton, Cincinnati and Florentine Opera Companies, and is currently a section leader and soprano soloist at North Shore Congregational Church. Cynthia is the president of her own business, SmArt Sales, a sales representation firm that specializes in servicing the giftware market.

Karen Ann Peters holds the Master of Music degree in organ from Concordia University and the Master of Education: (Mathematics Emphasis) degree from

Whitewater, WI. She is currently celebrating her fiftieth year as church organist, currently serving at Living Christ Lutheran Church in Germantown, WI. She is also a music minister at Good Shepherd

Catholic Church in Menomonee Falls, WI. Her singing experience includes memberships in the Community Chorus in Hales Corners, WI and the Milwaukee Choristers under the direction of Dr. James Kinchen. She recently performed Verdi’s “Requiem” in Brookfield, WI under the direction of Rick Hynson and “The Nguza Saba Suite” by Glenn Edwards Burleigh at Lincoln Center, New York, under the direction of Dr. James Kinchen. She serves on the Board of Directors of Early Music Now. She is the president and owner of an independent property assessment company.

Meaghan Reider graduated with a Master of Music in vocal performance from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee and a Bachelor of Music from the University of

Iowa. During her studies as an undergraduate, Meaghan performed in the top university choral ensemble Kantorei, as well as the University of Iowa Opera Theatre and the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre. While receiving her Masters, she sang with the UWM Concert Chorale, UWM Opera Theatre, and was a soloist with the 2007 UWM Orchestra. Meaghan has previously served as the soprano section leader at North Shore Presbyterian Church and was a scholarship recipient and soloist with the Master Singers of Milwaukee. This season, Meaghan will be performing with Chicago’s Bella Voce and with the Milwaukee Choral Artists.

Jacqueline Rivera is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with degrees in choral and general music education. She has been a member of the

UWM University Choir, Women’s Chorus, Gospel Choir, and Concert Chorale, and previously sang with the Bel Canto Chorus. Jacqueline has taught in the school districts of Brown Deer and University Lake School, and recently sang under the direction of conductor/composer Eric Whitacre at the Lincoln Center in New York City.

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11Milwaukee Choral Artists

ABOUT THE MILWAUKEE CHOR AL ARTISTS (C O N T.)

Sarah Shestak completed her Master of Music degree in vocal performance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. At UWM she studied with Teresa Seidl,

performed with the Opera Theater, sang in the Concert Chorale, and served as Teaching Assistant in the Voice Department. Sarah completed her Bachelor of Music degree magna cum laude at Viterbo University, where she studied with Jean Saladino. Her opera credits include Eurydice (ORPHEUS IN THE UNDERWORLD), Laetitia (THE OLD MAID AND THE THIEF), Madame Goldentrill (THE IMPRESARIO), and Queen of the Night (THE MAGIC FLUTE). In recent years, Sarah has received 1st place at the Wisconsin NATS Auditions and an Encouragement Award from the Wisconsin District MET Auditions. Currently, Sarah is the soprano section leader at North Shore Presbyterian Church in Shorewood and teaches voice lessons at JS Cable Music Studio in Riverwest.

Jennifer Sweetland is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a BFA in Music Education and Vocal Performance. In addition to singing

with the UWM Opera and Choirs, she has performed with groups such as the Milwaukee Children’s Choir and the Florentine Opera. She is the Preschool/K4 Teacher, Music Specialist, and Theater Director at St. Sava Orthodox School, as well as the director of children’s music at North Shore Presbyterian Church.

*Paula Foley Tillen is a founding member* of MCA. Paula is director of music at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Waukesha, serves as musical director for

the Musical Mainstage Series at Sunset Playhouse (Elm Grove), and is an adjunct music faculty member at Pius XI High School. Her compositions and

arrangements have been performed by choral groups throughout the United States and Canada, and are found in the catalogues of Hal Leonard Publishing, Santa Barbara Music Press, and Treble Clef Music Press.

Ernie Brusubardis III is the Artistic Director of the Waukesha Choral Union. Brusubardis has been musical director for community theatres throughout

Southeastern Wisconsin including the Menomonee Falls Patio Players, On the Wall and Off the Wall Theatres, Archangel Productions, as well as for shows at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and UW-West Bend. Brusubardis has been a choral director at Hartford Union High School since 1999, where he also conducts the orchestra for the school’s annual musical theatre productions. He is a graduate of UW-Milwaukee with a BFA in Music and a Master’s Degree in Music Education with an emphasis in choral conducting. Brusubardis is an active member of the American Choral Directors’ Association and the Music Educators’ National Conference. He is also President of the American Latvian Choir Association, is a featured conductor for Latvian choral music festivals around the world, and shares the podium of the Brusubardis-Dzimtene Latvian Choir with his father. He resides in Dousman with his wife Indra and their six children.

Sharon Hansen is founder and music director of the Milwaukee Choral Artists. Widely known as a conductor and master teacher throughout the United

States and in Europe, Hansen has conducted the Romanian National Radio Choir (Bucharest), the Gächinger Kantorei and Bach Collegium-Stuttgart, the Stockholm Conservatory Chamber Choir, the Moldavian and Oltenian Philharmonic Choirs (Iasì and Craiova, Romania), and the University of Regensburg (Germany) Symphony Orchestra. Hansen holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Conducting

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12 Milwaukee Choral Artists

ABOUT THE MILWAUKEE CHOR AL ARTISTS (C O N T.)

from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music. She is Professor and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee and Chair of the Graduate Choral program. Author of the book Helmuth Rilling: Conductor— Teacher, Hansen is a member of the Editorial Board of The Choral Journal, where she is editor of “On the Voice,” dedicated to issues of vocal pedagogy and health. Her chapter “Women, Conductors, and the Tenure Process: What’s Up in the Academy” is part of the new book Wisdom, Wit, and Will: Women Choral Conductors on their Art, published in 2009 by GIA Press. Her latest monograph, On the Voice: ACDA, Teacher Preparation, and Voice Training in the Choral Classroom (1959-2009), will be published this year by the American

Choral Directors’ Association. Her professional memberships include NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing), ACDA (American Choral Directors Association,) Chorus America, IFCM (International Federation of Choral Music), MENC (Music Educators National Conference), and The VoiceCare Network. Locally, Hansen serves on the Board of Directors for the Southeast Wisconsin Chapter of the National Voice Foundation, having previously served Early Music Now and the Milwaukee Children’s Chorus. In 2003, she was honored by the Milwaukee Civic Music Association for Excellence in Choral Music. She was the recent recipient of the 2010 Alumni Achievement Award from the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

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13Milwaukee Choral Artists

HISTORY

Now in its thirteenth season, the Milwaukee Choral Artists (MCA) is Wisconsin’s premier professional choral ensemble, and one of only five professional women’s choral ensembles in the country. With its signature lush sound, MCA brings a distinctive repertory of choral and vocal masterworks—including well-known pieces, new music, seldom-performed works, and music of diverse cultures and historical periods—to concert audiences throughout the region.

Founded in 1998 as a chamber ensemble comprised of professional solo singers, MCA occupies a singular position of excellence in the city, state, and region. In December 2007, Tom Strini, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Music Critic, named the Milwaukee Choral Artists—Present Music collaborative performance of Olivier Messiaen’s “Trois Petites Liturgies” (with MCA’s Sharon Hansen conducting) the #1 Performing Arts Event of the Year. Two years previously, MCA’s “Liederabend” was named the Journal Sentinel’s #1 performing arts event of 2005; of the top ten events named that year, MCA held two positions.

Regularly hailed for its imaginative programming, the group has quickly established itself in the mainstream of professional music making both within and beyond Milwaukee. Milwaukee Choral Artists enjoys regular appearances with Present Music, Milwaukee’s internationally acclaimed contemporary music ensemble. In 2006, the Milwaukee Choral Artists joined Present Music in the world premiere of Kamran Ince’s “Hammers and Whistlers,” which Journal-Sentinel music critic Tom Strini selected as one of his “Top Ten Performing Arts Events” for the year. Under Hansen’s baton, the two ensembles also presented the 2005 world premiere of Milwaukee-born composer Daron Hagen’s “Flight Music,” a six-movement work with texts by Amelia Earhart, named by Strini as “Best Musical Premiere of 2005.” In November 2004, MCA and Present Music performed the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Henry Brant’s “Wind, Water, Clouds and Fire,” which Tom Strini also selected as one of his “Top Ten Classical Music Events for 2004.”

Equally well versed in early music, the Milwaukee Choral Artists has performed twice with the internationally acclaimed The Boston Camerata, presented by Early Music Now (the Midwest’s renowned early music presenting organization.) In May 2009, MCA was heard once again on the Early Music Now stage when they joined San Francisco’s professional female vocal ensemble KITKA in a collaborative concert. MCA has also performed as part of the Fine Arts Concert Series at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist (Milwaukee) and St. James Cathedral (Chicago), at the national convention of Catholic Cathedral Musicians, and in state and regional conventions of the American Choral Directors’ Association. Its first professional CD, SKY-BORN MUSIC, was released in February 2010.

The Milwaukee Choral Artists performs three regular season concerts each year at historic venues throughout the Milwaukee area. Committed to presenting music from diverse cultures, the ensemble has performed music in twenty-eight languages from more than forty world cultures since its inception.

http://www.milwaukeechoralartists.org

[email protected]

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15Milwaukee Choral Artists

DONORS

The Milwaukee Choral Artists deeply appreciates the contributions received from its generous donors. As ticket sales do not fully cover concert production costs, your continued support is vital to our success. The following list includes contributors whose support was received as of January 2010. We regret any omissions or inaccuracies.

Conductor’s Circle($5,000 and above)Anonymous DonorGreater Milwaukee FoundationUnited Performing Arts Fund

Aficionado ($2,500-4,999)Harry C. and Jean I. Snyder Family TrustWisconsin Arts Board

Benefactor ($1,000-2,499)CAMPAC

Guarantor ($500-999)Berkovits Donor Advised FundMartha Brown and Tony Lam Dean and Emily CrockerLouise Hunter Living Trust Patron ($250-499)Dr. James and Jill FreeseSusan and Chris GriswoldDr. Robert HarrisRaquel and Andy LauritzenCharles Christian RichDr. José Rivera

Sponsor ($100-249)Phyllis and Alan BrostoffGloria EckmanDr. Henry and Barbara GaleMike Fischer and Elaine GriffinDr. Sharon A. HansenDavid and Mary Higley RosserJuleen and Richard JaegerRichard Kirwin

Charmaine and James LaBelleMargaret Murphy and Jeff Sweetland John ParadowskiDeborah and Jamshed PatelDr. Jeffrey ReiderDr. Ronald and Sue ReiderValerie and Dan StefanichSister Marion VerhaalenJames and Margaret Ward

Contributor (Up to $99)David and Laura Petrie AndersonCheryl AxfordDr. Trent and Lindsay BrownTeresa BurkartPatricia and Anthony BusalacchiRuth and Enoch CarverMary CentenarioPatricia ClemensDonna K. ConantMarlene and Wayne CookPat and Phil CrumpBetty Jane FrankenPaula and Ralph GarciaGloria and Jim HansenDr. Charlotte and Wayne HeidenreichDeborah Hufford and Evan JonesEllen KellenCharlie and Ann Siverling KirchhoffPatricia and Robert MaileJanet and Marlowe NortromJudy and Gilbert ParadowskiDeborah PauknerBarbara and Ronald RitcheyHeidi and Kevin SjostromNancy StandaferRosemary and John TrittinMarian Weinberg

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Milwaukee Choral Artists also gratefully acknowledges:Mark Ehlers

Jeanne Mueller, founding contributorAndy Risser, Backbone Designs, web management

Ann Siverling, founding contributorUniversity of Wisconsin – Milwaukee

Page 16: MKE Choral Artists - War & PeaceFINALrev

16 Milwaukee Choral Artists

MILWAUKEE CHOR AL ARTISTS BOARD OF D IRECTORS 2010 -2011

Jill Freese, PresidentRaquel G. Lauritzen, President Elect; Chair, Development Committee

John Paradowski, SecretaryDeborah Paukner, Treasurer

Jennifer Sweetland, Ensemble RepresentativeCharmaine LaBelle, Ensemble Representative

Charles Christian Rich, Chair, Marketing CommitteeMartha Brown, at large

Neil Bubke, at largeEmily Crocker, at large

Susan Griswold, at largeSr. Marion Verhaalen, at large

Dr. Sharon A. Hansen, ex officio

Advisory CouncilMichael Fischer

Dr. Dean R. Fowler Scott GradyDr. Robert A. Harris Richard KirwinJames LaBelle Michael MacDonald

Administration and StaffArtistic

Dr. Sharon A. Hansen, Founder and Music Director

ExecutiveNancy Herro, Managing Director

Once the show is over…

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