C O L L E G E O F F I N E A R T S

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The Arizona Choir is the premier graduate choral ensemble at the University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music. Internationally, the Arizona Choir has performed with the Budapest Chamber Orchestra at the famed Liszt Academy, and the City of Prague Philharmonic in Vienna’s Musikverein and Prague’s Dvořák Hall. Convention appearances include ACDA, AGO, and AMEA. The Arizona Choir has partnered with professional touring groups including the Kronos Quartet and Ethel for performances on UA Presents concerts, and with Tucson’s own Artifact Dance Project for a Tucson premiere of Menotti’s The Unicorn, the Gorgon and the Manticore. Last year the Arizona Choir collaborated with True Concord Voices and Orchestra for performances of Elijah,and with the University of Arizona School of Dance for centennial celebratory performances of Stravinsky’s Les noces.

The Arizona Choir

T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F A R I Z O N A

Fred Fox School of Musicpresents

Bruce Chamberlain, conductor

“And when love speaks, the voice of all the gods makes heaven drowsy with the harmony.”

William Shakespeare, Love’s Labour’s Lost

Sunday, April 29, 2018Crowder Hall

4:30 p.m.

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P R O G R A M

Serenade to Music ................................................. Ralph Vaughan WilliamsText by Georg Friedrich Daumer, from “Polydora” (1872-1958)

Emma Petersen, Chunghee Lee, Kristen Lucas, Sunny Park, Jamey Wright, Emily Garcia, sopranos

Kaitlin Bertenshaw, mezzo-sopranoDan Marino, John McMeen, Kyle DeGraff, Gavin Ely, tenors

Octavio Moreno, Mark Hockenberry, Christopher Newsom, baritonesEllen Chamberlain, violin

Shiqi Gu, piano

Liebeslieder Walzer, Op. 52 ...............................................Johannes BrahmsText by William Shakespeare, from “Merchant of Venice” (1833-1897)

Chamber orchestration by Jay Kawarsky

Rede, Mädchen, allzu liebes Am Gesteine rauscht die Flut O die Frauen, wie sie Wonne tauen Wie des Abends schöne Röte Die grüne Hopfenranke Ein kleiner, hübscher Vogel nahm den Flug Wohl schön bewandt war es vorehe

Emily Garcia, soprano Wenn so lind dein Auge mir Am Donaustrande, da steht ein Haus O wie sanft die Quelle sich Nein, es ist nicht auszukommen mit den Leuten Schlosser auf, und mache Schlösser Vögelein durchrauscht die Luft Sieh, wie ist die Welle klar Nachtigall, sie singt so schön Ein dunkeler Schacht ist Liebe Nacht wandle, mein Licht

Dan Marino, tenor Es bebet das Gestraüche

Special thanks to Dr. Thomas Kovach for German diction coaching

The Arizona ChoirBruce Chamberlain, conductor

Sunday, April 29, 2018Crowder Hall

4:30 p.m.

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wind ensemble and alto saxophone solo, Fastidious Notes. In 2009, 17 universities throughout the United States commissioned him to compose a new symphonic band work. The resulting composition, Red Training Reels, was premiered in September 2010.

From 2010 to 2014, Dr. Kawarsky collaborated with lyricist/librettist Francine M. Gordon on the cantata Sacred Rights, Sacred Song, for choir, narrator and chorus which has been performed throughout the United States and Israel. Three movements from Sacred Rights, Sacred Song have been translated and will be performed and recorded this coming November in Havana, Cuba. The Five Step Program for the Encore Vocal Arts of Indianapolis was commissioned and premiered in 2016. His choral work Unending Love was commissioned by the New Jersey Choral Group Sharim v’Sharot and was premiered in May 2016, and was subsequently recorded by Clarum Sonum as part of the Westminster Composer’s Project.

Recently, the Moravian Philharmonic recorded his symphonic work And We All Waited... having been premiered by Wichita State University. His composition for piano and orchestra, Episodes, was recorded with Peter Laul, piano and the St. Petersburg State Philharmonic conducted by Vladimir Lande and released this past spring on Navona Recordings (Naxos). Most recently, Parma recorded his work Grace Dances for string quartet and oboe in Havana, Cuba, which was released this past autumn by Navona, and his Fastidious Notes for saxophone and orchestra was recorded in Chicago in May 2017 by the Chicago Arts Ensemble with Jonathan Helton, saxophone. Recently he completed a new accompaniment to the Brahms Liebeslieder Waltzes, being premiered and recorded tonight at the University of Arizona’s Crowder Hall by the Arizona Choir and members of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. Kawarsky’s music is published by Yelton Rhodes Music, Transcontinental Music, Southern Music, and Firebird Music.

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The Arizona Choir

Rehearsal PianistShiqi Gu

SopranoEmily GarciaChunghee LeeAnna Li Kristen LucasYujia LuoRula MarjiSunny Park Emma PetersenErin PliscoJamey Wright

Alto Jessica BergKaitlin Bertenshaw Peggy Chamberlain Angelica Dunsavage Samantha Feldman Kelsie Grimsley Eunji LeeShainy Manuel Gwyndolyn Morneault

Tenor Olman AlfaroMatt Crosby Kyle DeGraffGavin ElyChristian GiddingsTim Klingler Gabriel MachadoDan Marino John McMeenThomas Wininger

Bass Peter Fischer Mark HockenberryOctavio MorenoJordan MurilloChris NewsomSehong OhKevin SealJeff VanderleeTodd WachsmanJohn Willis

Chamber OrchestraEllen Chamberlain, violinRobert Chamberlain, cello

Paul Ensey, bassDeena Reedy, flute/piccolo

David Barford, oboe/English hornCharles du Preez, clarinet/bass clarinet

Jessica Campbell, bassoonKevin Cross, percussionChristine Vivona, harp

Shiqi Gu, piano

J.A. Kawarsky Dr. J.A. Kawarsky (b. 1959) is professor of music theory and composition at Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton, New Jersey. Dr. Kawarsky received his Bachelor of Music degree in composition from Iowa State University and his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from Northwestern University. At Northwestern he studied with John Paynter, Alan Stout and Frederick Ockwell. In 1982, Dr. Kawarsky conducted the Opera Company of the Negev Region in Be’er Sheva, Israel. Before coming to Westminster in 1989, he taught at Fort Hays State University, the University of Wisconsin, and Moraine Valley Community College.

A well-known coach and director/conductor in the theater world, Dr. Kawarsky conducted the 2007 national tour of Peter Pan and prepared the music for the second national tour of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. He has been a music director at Stagedoor Manor, French Woods, Harand Camp for the Arts, Long Lake Camp of the Arts in New York, as well as for the Franklin Theatre Works of Clinton, New Jersey.

Dr. Kawarsky was the founding conductor of the New Jersey Gay Men’s Chorus (Delaware Valley Men’s Chorus), and has also served as conductor of the Lehigh Valley Gay Men’s Chorus, Voices Chorale, and was chosen to conduct Sing for the Cure for the Komen Foundation National Conference in 2002, and to transcribe a new reduced orchestration of the work.

As a composer, he has written for all genres including solo instrument, orchestra, band, choral, vocal and theater. Recently, he received his 13th Composer Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). His 40-minute composition Prayers for Bobby for choir, orchestra, narrator and soloists, has received numerous performances throughout the United States and Canada and was recorded by the New Jersey Gay Men’s Chorus and members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC. Dr. Kawarsky has been commissioned by numerous ensembles for original works and arrangements. In October of 2006, he was awarded the Outstanding Alumnus award from Iowa State University and was presented with a premiere of a new work for

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Bruce Chamberlain

With today’s concert, Bruce Chamberlain concludes his 41-year career as a collegiate director of choral activities. Positions in this odyssey include the University of Missouri-Rolla, Trinity University (San Antonio), Murray State University (Kentucky), the University of Northern Iowa and for the last 18 years, the University of Arizona. His career has included invited performances by his choirs at regional and national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, American Guild of Organists, College Music Society and state music education in-service conferences in all five states in which he has taught. His choirs have made eight international tours to perform with major orchestras in some of the world’s most prestigious venues, including the Franz Liszt Academy, the Musikverein, the Rudophinum, the Besdni Dum, King’s College, Cambridge, Ely Cathedral, St. Mathias Cathedral, the Art Hall in Seoul, Symphony Hall In Jerusalem and Nativity Square in Bethlehem, Israel.

Also known as a conducting pedagogue, Dr. Chamberlain’s graduate conducting students have been finalists and winners in numerous national and international conducting competitions, most notably the ACDA National Conducting Competition seven times in a row. The University of Arizona graduate choral conducting program that he has nurtured into national and international prominence is the largest program of its kind in the nation and boasts over 70 graduates who are active as conductors for colleges/universities, community and professional choirs, churches and secondary schools. Additionally, five of his students are now conducting professional civic choirs in South Korea. His teaching has been featured at the Varna International Music Academy, and for the last 15 years, at Westminster Choir College’s International Conducting Institute. Most recently, the UA Humanities Seminars Program awarded Dr. Chamberlain the Ted and Shirley

Taubeneck Superior Teaching Award for his Spring 2017 Humanities Seminars course, “Igor Stravinsky’s Four Russian Ballets: Up Close and Personal.”

As a guest conductor, Dr. Chamberlain has been active for honor and festival choirs in over 20 states, performed major choral-orchestral works in Carnegie Hall, David Geffen Hall in Lincoln Center and appeared with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Tucson Chamber Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony, NYC Chamber Orchestra, Brno Chamber Orchestra, Plovdiv Philharmonic, City of Prague Philharmonic, Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic, Concerto Soloists Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Soliall Philharmonic and Ryul Chamber Symphony in South Korea. Additionally, Chamberlain has been featured with the professional civic choirs of Goyang, Daegu and Kunsan in South Korea and Tucson’s True Concord Voices & Orchestra. In June of this year he will make his sixth appearance in Carnegie Hall conducting Haydn’s The Creation with the NYC Chamber Orchestra.

Dr. Chamberlain is also the founding director of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra Chorus. In this capacity he has conducted and/or prepared over 30 major works from Handel’s Messiah to Bernstein’s Symphony No. 3 “Kaddish” and John Adams’ On the Transmigration of Souls.

A summa cum laude graduate of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music with bachelor’s, master’s and DMus degrees, Chamberlain studied conducting with Julius Herford, Margaret Hillis and John Nelson, piano with Menachem Pressler, Wallace Hornibrook and Nicholas Zumbro, and continued choral/orchestral conducting studies with Helmut Rilling and Sir Andrew Davis. Bruce and his wife, Peggy, enjoy traveling but always look forward to returning to their home in Tucson, where they love spending time with their four adult children and one granddaughter.