Welcome to our concert, which makes a vain attempt at answering its title question, “What is this thing called love?” Pretty pleasures? A honey tongue? Cares to come? No matter – we will cover all the bases. You will hear “Swingle-y” madrigals on texts by Elizabethan-era poets; lush and lovely songs about roses, those ultimate symbols of love; and a diverse batch of popular songs from 1913 to 2016.
In all of this we’re supported by a jazz trio assembled and directed by our wonderful collaborative pianist, Shawn McCann. We welcome Justin Meyer and Abe Finch to our performances this weekend – it’s been a blast to sing with the trio.
We are continuing our tradition of featuring an Emerging Artist during our season and are thrilled to work with Sofia Santoro. Sofia is studying voice with a focus on jazz studies at Ithaca College, and studies with Kim Nazarian of New York Voices.
NVC’s 2024-2025 season has been busy. In November we collaborated with the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra, Cynthia Woods, Music Director, and the Choral Ensembles of UMass Lowell, Jonathan Richter, Conductor. Our sopranos and altos ensconced themselves into small spaces to belt out beautiful ‘Ahhs’ in The Planets by Gustav Holst, while the entire Chorale was fortunate to sing again the Dona Nobis Pacem by Ralph Vaughan Williams under Jonathan’s wonderful direction. The Chorale also sang in the holiday concert presented by the Gateway City Orchestra, Jared Bloch, Music Director, and of course in the always-magical Worcester Youth Orchestras Holiday Concert, under the baton of Jonathan Colby. The Chorale appreciates very much your support throughout this full season.
After this weekend, we will turn our attention to the glorious Ein Deutsches Requiem by Johannes Brahms. We will perform it on April 27, accompanied by the four-hand piano version that Brahms created. Our pianists will be Shawn McCann and Abigail Charbeneau; our vocal soloists will be Deborah Selig and David McFerrin.
Rehearsals for our final concert will begin on Monday, February 3, 2025 at Acton Congregational Church. We welcome all vaccinated singers. Please go to www.nvcsings.org for more information.
We also are always looking for those persons who love choral music and love the Chorale and who may want to help out by serving – on the Board, on a committee, or by helping with a special project. Please contact us via our website, www.nvcsings.org or by phone (978-540-0088) if you’d like to volunteer.
Thank you for supporting the Chorale and attending our concerts. We feel doubly fortunate to be able to learn such glorious music in rehearsal and to present it to you in performance.
Anne Watson Born
February 2025
This program is supported in part by grants from the local cultural councils of Acton-Boxborough, Ayer, Concord, Groton, Littleton, and Shirley, local agencies which are supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
Saturday, February 1, 2025
7:30pm
Acton Congregational Church
12 Concord Road
Acton, MA 01720
Sunday, February 2, 2025
3:00pm
Groton-Dunstable Performing Arts
344 Main Street
Groton, MA 01450
Anne Watson Born, Conductor
Shawn McCann, Collaborative Pianist
Sofia Santoro, Emerging Artist
Jazz Trio:
Shawn McCann, piano Justin Meyer, bass Abe Finch, drums
Birthday Madrigals
John Rutter
It was a lover and his lass
Come live with me
My true love hath my heart
When daisies pied
Les chansons des Roses
Morten Lauridsen
En une seule fleur
Contre qui, rose
De ton rêve trop plein
La rose complète
Dirait-on
La Vie en rose
Edith Piaf & Louiguy
Ms. Santoro & Mr. McCann
What Is This Thing Called Love?
Cole Porter
Take the “A” Train
Billy Strayhorn
Jazz Trio
Prelude to a Kiss
Duke Ellington
Ms. Santoro & Jazz Trio
Wish You With Me
Peter Eldridge
It Had to Be You/You Made Me Love You
Isham Jones, Gus Kahn/James Monaco, Joseph McCarthy
In a Mellow Tone
Duke Ellington, Milt Gabler
Ms. Santoro & Jazz Trio
The Way You Look Tonight
Jerome Kern, Dorothy Fields
It Don’t Mean a Thing
Duke Ellington, Irving Mills
Ms. Santoro & Jazz Trio
Don’t Get Around Much Anymore
Duke Ellington, Bob Russell
Sophisticated Lady
Duke Ellington, Irving Mills
Ms. Santoro & Jazz Trio
Lovely Day
Bill Withers, Skip Scarborough
“What Is This Thing Called Love?” We will not presume to answer that question in our concert, but we will explore some facets of the universal emotion. The title comes from a tune penned by Cole Porter (1891-1964) in 1929 for the musical Wake Up and Dream. “While Porter may be best known for witty lyrics as frothy as champagne, in his most thoughtful songs he seems to stand in awe, both confounded and captivated, by an emotion that defies understanding: What is this thing called love? This funny thing called love? Just who can solve its mystery? Why should it make a fool of me?” (Smithsonian Magazine)
We begin with songs about love, both serious and bawdy, in Birthday Madrigals, a set of jazz-inspired settings of texts by Shakespeare and other Elizabethan-era poets.
John Rutter (b. 1945) was born in London and studied music at Clare College, Cambridge. He first came to notice as a composer during his student years; much of his early work consisted of church music and other choral pieces including Christmas carols. From 1975–79 he was Director of Music at his alma mater, Clare College, and directed the college chapel choir in various recordings and broadcasts. Since 1979 he has divided his time between composition and conducting. Today his compositions, including such concert-length works as Requiem, Magnificat, Mass of the Children, The Gift of Life, and Visions are performed around the world. His music has featured in a number of British royal occasions, including the two most recent royal weddings. He edits the Oxford Choral Classics series, and, with Sir David Willcocks, co-edited four volumes of Carols for Choirs. In 1983 he formed his own choir the Cambridge Singers, with whom he has made numerous recordings, and he appears regularly in several countries as guest conductor and choral ambassador. He holds a Lambeth Doctorate in Music, and in 2007 was awarded a CBE for services to music. In September 2023, he received the Ivors Academy Fellowship, and was knighted in the 2024 King’s Birthday Honours. (johnrutter.com)
Rutter composed the Birthday Madrigals (very much in the style of the Swingle Singers) to celebrate the 75th birthday of the jazz pianist George Shearing; he was commissioned by the former King’s Singer Brian Kay, at that time conductor of the Cheltenham Bach Choir. The first piece composed was “It was a lover and his lass” (1975); the other four madrigals were composed in 1995.
When asked the reasoning behind using the texts he used, Rutter responds “I chose the texts myself - ones that I just liked, as simple as that. They needed to be secular, it wasn't a sacred concert, and I have always been attracted by Elizabethan poetry.” Rutter estimates it took two or three weeks to compose this set, emphasizing “I can't afford writer's block when there's a deadline to meet.” (Elaina Crenshaw, personal interview with the composer)
A different kind of “commission” happened with Les Chansons des Roses. It begins with Morten Lauridsen’s mother calling to congratulate him on an upcoming world premiere in his hometown of Portland, Oregon (the City of Roses) in 1992– a premiere he knew nothing about. His mother told him what else was being advertised as being on the program: chansons by Hindemith and Saint-Saëns in the first half and “jazz and lighter stuff” in the second. So Lauridsen wrote “Dirait-on” as an encore and sent it off to the conductor Bruce Browne (whom he knew well). Then he wrote “Contre qui, rose” as a second encore, then “De ton rêve,” then two more songs, and by then he had a set and here we are tonight.
Morten Johannes Lauridsen (born February 27, 1943) is an American composer. A National Medal of Arts recipient (2007), he was composer-in-residence of the Los Angeles Master Chorale (1994–2001) and was a professor of composition at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music for 52 years.
A native of the Pacific Northwest, Lauridsen worked as a Forest Service firefighter and lookout (on an isolated tower near Mt. St. Helens) and attended Whitman College before traveling south to study composition at the University of Southern California with Ingolf Dahl, Halsey Stevens, Robert Linn, and Harold Owen. He began teaching at USC in 1967 and has been on their faculty ever since.
In 2006, Lauridsen was named an 'American Choral Master' by the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2007 he received the National Medal of Arts from the President in a White House ceremony, "for his composition of radiant choral works combining musical beauty, power and spiritual depth that have thrilled audiences worldwide." (mortenlauridsen.net)
In preparation for this concert, I read a dissertation on Les Chansons des Roses by Carol J. Krueger. It’s an interesting and detailed look at the way Lauridsen composes, and it sets forth clearly his trademark techniques; for instance, the added smushy interval of a 2nd to a chord (“Contre qui rose”), the canons (heard most clearly in “Dirait-on”), and the theme melodies inverted and sung at the same time (“De ton rêve trop plein”).
Krueger also spends a great deal of time analyzing Rilke’s poetry, also very interesting. But to me the most pertinent statement she makes is this: “Only occasionally does Lauridsen’s music reflect the poetry.” This is exactly what I have always felt as well – the flirtatious, sexually-charged language in the poems is not reflected in the gorgeous music. Take “Contre qui, rose,” for example: the poem is light, mocking, madrigalesque, yet the music is slow and deeply beautiful, and it gives the poem a completely different feeling.
The cycle of songs is in an arch: movement 1 and movement 5 are thematically related; movements 2 and 4 are harmonically and thematically related; and movement 3, with its odd tempo changes and dissonance, stands alone.
“En une seule fleur” is lively, with Lauridsen’s characteristic repetition of one dominant phrase (“mais tu n’a pas pensé ailleurs”) and ecstatic, soaring phrases (“c’est l’etat de celui qui aime”).
“Contre qui, rose” is rooted around an open 5th as well as the gesture of a descending 7th (first heard in the sopranos’ opening phrase). It has moments of ecstasy as well – listen for the three repetitions of “au contraire, d’été en automne” – before returning to the opening material at the end.
“De ton rêve trop plein” begins with an excited, breathless statement by the sopranos and tenors, and then abruptly switches to a lugubrious “fleur en dedans nombreuse, mouillée comme une pleureuse.” The piece builds to a marvelous moment when the tenors and sopranos are in canon at the octave and the altos, one beat off, have the melody at the fifth, while the low basses have the melody in augmentation (i.e., longer note values, so slower). The piece is anchored throughout by Lauridsen’s repetitions of the phrase “tu te penches sure le matin.”
In “La rose complète” we hear the beautiful melody passed from the sopranos to the altos, while the tenors have a sort of quietly ecstatic theme, and the basses murmur along. The descending 7th gesture from the 2nd movement is there as well (“avec mon coeur en fête”). The whole choir swells unexpectedly at “Toute la vie” and the song closes with a reprise of the opening, which leads seamlessly into the accompanied final movement.
“Dirait-on” (“one says”) was the first of the cycle to be composed, and its melodies were inspiration for the earlier movements of the cycle. “Dirait-on” is the most-frequently performed song, in part because of its songlike melody and because it has the lovely piano accompaniment.
Lauridsen, in an interview with Krueger, says, “I think there is a different sound [to my music] beginning to happen with the rose cycle. All of the compositions after the rose cycle are lyrical. Lyric line is one of the things I’ve always loved…[the composers I admired most growing up were] Richard Rogers, Cole Porter, and Jerome Kern….Those people knew what to do with a line.”
The second part of our concert is a rollicking look at some jazz standards from 1913 to 1945, with a contemporary song from 2016 and a great arrangement of a Bill Withers tune from 1977. Our Emerging Artist, Sofia Santoro, and three jazz artists: Shawn McCann, Justin Meyer, and Abe Finch, will play some standards and accompany the Chorale. We begin with the beautiful “La Vie en rose,” (“Life in pink”), the signature tune of Edith Piaf. Piaf wrote the words and Louis Guglielmi, aka Louiguy, wrote the tune. “Piaf sings of the discovery of and reflection upon ordinary-yet-extraordinary love in the words uttered by her lover, and how happiness has entered her heart. The song made a world-wide impact and artists as different as Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Grace Jones, Michael Bublé, Iggy Pop, and Madonna have performed their own memorable versions of the song.” (John Koegel)
The music of composer and bandleader Duke Ellington (1899-1974) is well-represented in our concert. “Edward Kennedy Ellington was born at the turn of the 20th century in Washington DC in 1899. A seeming natural-born talent, Ellington composed his first ragtime number at age 14. In 1923, he would move from his home in DC to Harlem, New York, at the center of the blossoming Harlem Renaissance. In a city filled to the brim with talented musicians, Ellington stood apart. Growing up in a middle-class family that emphasized good manners and spotless dress, the habits instilled in him would later earn him the stand-alone nickname ‘The Duke.’” (pbs.org/American masters)
"Take the 'A' Train" was composed in 1939, after Ellington offered Billy Strayhorn a job in his organization and gave him money to travel from Pittsburgh to New York City. Ellington wrote directions for Strayhorn to get to his house by subway. The directions began with the words "Take the A Train," referring to the then-new A subway service that runs through New York City. (Wikipedia)
Two less-famous composers are represented with “You Made Me Love You,” composed by James Monaco in 1913, and “It Had to Be You,” composed by Isham Jones in 1924. “You Made Me Love You” was a huge hit for Al Jolson, and later (with different words) for Judy Garland. Mr. Jones’ tune never made quite that big a splash, but has been kept alive for 100 years. My favorite tidbit about it is that Tina Louise, as Ginger Grant, sang “It Had to Be You” to Gilligan in the second season Gilligan's Island episode, "Forward March" in 1966. (Wikipedia)
“Wish You With Me” is a ballad composed by Peter Eldridge in 2016; we will sing his choral arrangement. New York Voices is a jazz vocal group that was founded in 1987 by Peter Eldridge, Caprice Fox, Sara Krieger, Darmon Meader, and Kim Nazarian. All except Krieger were members of an alumni group from Ithaca College that toured Europe in 1986. They began performing as the New York Voices in 1988 and issued their debut album the following year. Sara Krieger left in 1992 and was replaced by Lauren Kinhan. After Caprice Fox left, the group became a quartet.
"The Way You Look Tonight" is a song from the film Swing Time that was performed by Fred Astaire and composed by Jerome Kern (1885-1945) with lyrics written by Dorothy Fields (1904-1974). It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1936. Fields remarked, "The first time Jerry played that melody for me I went out and started to cry. The release absolutely killed me. I couldn't stop, it was so beautiful." (Wikipedia)
Robert T. Gibson, the arranger of “Lovely Day,” has talked about infusing Bill Withers’ song with gospel elements; you will hear those, and you will see why it is our closer today. Enjoy!
It was a lover and his lass,
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonny no,
That o’er the green cornfield did pass,
In spring time, the only pretty ring time,
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding;
Sweet lovers love the spring.
Between the acres of the rye,
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonny no,
These pretty country folks would lie,
In spring time, &c.
And therefore take the present time,
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonny no;
For love is crowned with the prime
In spring time, &c.
Come live with me, and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That hills and valleys, dales and fields,
And all the craggy mountains yields.
If all the world and love were young,
And truth in ev’ry shepherd’s tongue,
These pretty pleasures might me move
To live with thee and be thy love.
And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers, to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.
Time drives the flocks from field to fold,
When rivers rage and rocks grow cold;
And Philomel becometh dumb;
The rest complains of cares to come.
And I will make thee beds of roses,
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroider’d all with leaves of myrtle.
The flowers do fade, and wanton fields
To wayward winter reckoning yields:
A honey tongue, a heart of gall,
Is fancy’s spring, but sorrow’s fall.
A gown made of the finest wool,
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
Fair linèd slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold;
Thy gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of roses,
Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies,
Soon break, soon wither, soon forgotten,
In folly ripe, in reason rotten.
The shepherd swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May morning:
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my love
If youth could last, and love still breed,
Had joys no date, nor age no need,
Then these delights my mind might move
To live with thee and be thy love.
(Verses 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 Christopher Marlowe;
2, 4, 6, 8,10 attributed to Walter Raleigh)
My true love hath my heart, and I have his,
By just exchange one for the other given:
I hold his dear, and mine he cannot miss;
There never was a better bargain driven.
His heart in me keeps me and him in one,
My heart in him his thoughts and senses guides:
He loves my heart, for once it was his own;
I cherish his, because in me it bides.
His heart his wound receivèd from my sight,
My heart was wounded with his wounded heart;
For as from me, on him his hurt did light,
So still methought in me his hurt did smart.
Both equal hurt, in this change sought our bliss:
My true love hath my heart, and I have his.
(Sir Philip Sidney)
When daisies pied and violets blue,
And lady-smocks all silver-white,
And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue
Do paint the meadows with delight,
The cuckoo then, on every tree,
Mocks married men, for thus sings he:
Cuckoo;
Cuckoo, cuckoo: O, word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear!
When shepherds pipe on oaten straws,
And merry larks are ploughman’s clocks,
When turtles tread, and rooks, and daws,
And maidens bleach their summer smocks,
The cuckoo then, on every tree, &c.
Whenas the rye reach to the chin,
And chop-cherry, chop-cherry ripe within,
And strawberries swimming in the cream,
And schoolboys playing in the stream;
Then oh, then oh, my true love said,
Until that time should come again
She could not, could not live a maid.
(Verses 1, 2: Shakespeare; verse 3, George Peele)
C’est pourtant nous qui t’avons proposé de remplir ton calice.
Enchantée de cet artifice,
ton abondance l’avait osé.
Tu étais assez riche, pour devenir cent fois toi-même en une seule fleur;
c’est l’état de celui qui aime …
Mais tu n’a pas pensée ailleurs.
It is we, perhaps, who proposed that you replenish your bloom.
Enchanted by this charade,
your abundance dared.
You were rich enough to fulfil yourself a hundred times over in a single flower;
such is the state of one who loves …
But you never did think otherwise.
Contre qui, rose,
avez-vous adopté
ces épines?
Votre joie trop fine vous a-t-elle forcée de devenir cette chose armée?
Mais de qui vous protège
cette arme exagérée?
Combien d’ennemis vous ai-je enlevés
qui ne la craignaient point?
Au contraire, d’été en automne,
vous blessez les soins
qu’on vous donne.
Against whom, rose,
have you assumed
these thorns?
Is it your too fragile joy that forced you to become this armed thing?
But from whom does it protect you,
this exaggerated defence?
How many enemies have I lifted from you
who did not fear it at all?
On the contrary, from summer to autumn
you wound the affection
that is given you.
De ton rêve trop plein,
fleur en dedans nombreuse,
mouillée comme une pleureuse,
tu te penches sur le matin.
Tes douces forces qui dorment,
dans un désir incertain,
développent ces tendres formes
entre joues et seins.
Overflowing with your dream,
flower filled with flowers,
wet as one who weeps,
you bow to the morning.
Your sweet powers which still are sleeping
in misty desire,
unfold these tender forms
joining cheeks and breasts.
J'ai une telle conscience de ton être,
rose complète,
que mon consentement te confond
avec mon coeur en fête.
Je te respire comme si tu étais, rose,
toute la vie,
et je me sens l'ami parfait
d'une telle amie.
I have such awareness of your
being, perfect rose,
that my will unites you
with my heart in celebration.
I breathe you in, rose, as if you were
all of life,
and I feel the perfect friend
of a perfect friend.
Abandon entouré d'abandon,
tendresse touchant aux tendresses …
C'est ton intérieur qui sans cesse
se caresse, dirait-on;
se caresse en soi-même,
par son propre reflet éclairé.
Ainsi tu inventes le thème
du Narcisse exaucé.
Abandon surrounding abandon,
tenderness touching tenderness …
Your oneness endlessly
caresses itself, so they say;
self-caressing
through its own clear reflection.
Thus you invent the theme
of Narcissus fulfilled.
Des yeux qui font baisser les miens
Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche
Voilà le portrait sans retouches
De l’homme auquel j’appartiens
Quand il me prend dans ses bras
Il me parle tout bas
Je vois la vie en rose
Il me dit des mots d’amour
Des mots de tous les jours
Et ça me fait quelque chose
Il est entré dans mon cœur
Une part de bonheur
Dont je connais la cause
C’est lui pour moi, moi pour lui dans la vie
Il me l’a dit, l’a juré pour la vie
Et dès que je l’aperçois
Alors je sens en moi
Mon cœur qui bat
Des nuits d’amour à plus finir
Un grand bonheur qui prend sa place
Des ennuis, des chagrins s’effacent
Heureux, heureux à en mourir
Quand il me prend dans ses bras
Il me parle tout bas
Je vois la vie en rose
Il me dit des mots d’amour
Des mots de tous les jours
Et ça me fait quelque chose
Il est entré dans mon cœur
Une part de bonheur
Dont je connais la cause
C’est toi pour moi, moi pour toi dans la vie
Il me l’a dit, l’a juré pour la vie
Et dès que je t’aperçois
Alors je sens dans moi
Mon cœur qui bat
La la, la la, la la
La la, la la, ah la
La la la la
Eyes that make mine droop
A laugh that gets lost on his mouth
Here is the portrait without retouching
Of the man to whom I belong
When he takes me in his arms
He speaks to me softly
I see life in pink
He tells me words of love
Words of everyday life
And it does something to me
He’s entered my heart
A piece of happiness
I know the cause
It’s him for me, me for him in life
He told me, he swore it for life
And as soon as I see him
Then I feel inside me
My heart beating
Nights of endless love
A great happiness that takes its place
Troubles and sorrows fade away
Happy, dying of happiness
When he takes me in his arms
He speaks to me softly
I see life in pink
He tells me words of love
Words of everyday love
And it does something to me
He’s entered my heart
A piece of happiness
I know the cause
It’s you for me, me for you in life
He told me, he swore it for life
And as soon as I see you
Then I feel inside me
My heart beating
La la, la la, la la
La la, la la, ah la
La la la la la
Anne Watson Born, music director, is in her 19th season as Music Director of the Nashoba Valley Chorale, a non-auditioned choir with 90 members. Past performances of choral-orchestral works by the Chorale include: Bach Motets Nos. 1, 3, 6 and B Minor Mass, Beethoven Missa Solemnis, Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem, Cooman The Revelations of Divine Love, Fauré Requiem, Haydn Missa in Angustiis, Lauridsen Lux Aeterna, Orff Carmina Burana, Vaughan Williams Dona nobis pacem, and the Verdi Requiem.
Ms. Watson Born has been a choral conductor and teacher in the Boston area for many years. She is the Director of Music Ministry at the First Unitarian Universalist Society in Newton and is a credentialed UU music leader. Ms. Watson Born was an Assistant Professor at Bristol Community College for five years; while there she was the voice coach, composer, and sound designer for the Bristol Community College Theatre Repertory Company. In that capacity she has been the music director for productions of Threepenny Opera, Marat/Sade, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (quite the combination). She has composed original music and/or improvised live music for several theatre productions, including King Stag, Treasure Island, , Black Elk Speaks, Fireflies, and The Bacchae. She was the Music Director of the Brookline Chorus for nine years and taught at the Brookline Music School for many years. She was the founding Artistic Director of the Women’s Chorus of Boston and the Avenue of the Arts Chorale, and in 2002 she conducted the Boston-area performance of the Rolling Requiem to commemorate the tragedy of September 11.
Ms. Watson Born holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, where she studied conducting with William Dehning. She moved to Boston and obtained a Master’s degree in Choral Conducting from New England Conservatory, where her principal teacher was Lorna Cooke DeVaron. She has also studied conducting with Helmuth Rilling and Murry Sidlin, composition with John Heiss and Andrew Imbrie, and voice with Jeanne Segal and Michael Strauss. She lives in Jamaica Plain with her husband and visits their daughter in Brooklyn, NY as often as possible.
Shawn McCann, collaborative pianist, has been active in the area as an accompanist and solo performer on piano and organ for over 35 years. He is currently in his 13th consecutive year with the Nashoba Valley Chorale, having previously worked with the group for several years in the late 1990s. Shawn is also a staff accompanist/ collaborative pianist at Groton Hill Music Center. In addition to his work as an accompanist, Shawn is the Director of Music Ministries at First Parish Church of Groton, is a credentialed UU music leader and is a past president of the Association for UU Music Ministries.
Shawn received his Bachelor of Music degrees in Piano Performance and in Music Theory / Composition from the University of Lowell where he studied under Inge Lindblad and Juanita Tsu. He lives in Pepperell, MA with his wife, Monica.
Abe Finch is a Boston-area freelance percussionist and music educator. He has performed with the Boston Lyric Opera, Royal Ballet, Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Portland Symphony, Dinosaur Annex, Pro Arte Chamber Ensemble, Chorus Pro Musica, New England Percussion Ensemble, Boston Brass Ensemble, Revels, Inc. and many more classical, jazz, and theater organizations.
Abe was the featured percussionist in the world premier of James Kallembach’s “Audubon” at Jordan Hall, performing with Chorus Pro Musica under the direction of Jamie Kirsch, making “salient work of Kallembach’s involved percussion writing.” (Jonathan Blumhofer, Boston Classical Review).
Abe provided percussion for Chorus Pro Musica’s performance of “The Little Match Girl Passion” by David Lang, creating a tapestry of sound using iOS integration and Ableton Live software to capture, process, and transform acoustic sound with ethereal effects. Abe also
played the solo percussion role in the world premiere of “Songs for the Earth” by Rebecca Sacks at Tufts University.
Abe has performed with Revels, Inc. since 2003, appearing in numerous Christmas Revels and on seven Revels CD releases, while also having coached a group of his own students in the Revels production of Benjamin Britten’s “Noye’s Flood.”
Abe composes original works for percussion, including thematic pieces for children, advanced percussion ensemble repertoire, and arrangements for steel drum ensemble. Abe currently teaches percussion at Salem State University where he is director of the small ensemble program. His other teaching positions include Phillips Academy, Groton School and Northern Essex Community College.
Justin Meyer is a versatile musician and educator with a rich academic background and extensive performance and teaching experience. He holds a Masters Degree from the Longy School of Music, studying jazz improvisation with Charlie Binacos and classical double bass with Thomas Van Dyck and Pascale Feldman. He also attended the Berklee College of Music. Justin's academic pursuits also led him to earn a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, adding depth to his musical perspective.
As a performer, Justin's musical versatility shines through his involvement in a wide array of musical settings across New England. He leads his own bands and lends his talents to genres spanning rock, blues, jazz, and classical music. His impressive list of collaborations includes performances with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Bucky Pizzarelli, The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra,The Four Freshmen, Arlen Roth, Duke Robillard, Harry Allen, Ken Peplowski, David Amram, Gordon Webster, The Indian Hill Symphony, and the New Black Eagle Jazz Band, as well as many other Boston area jazz, blues and Celtic music notables. Justin is also on the staff at Whole Music Studios providing bass and cello tracks on a wide variety of recordings.
Sofia Santoro (she/her) is very excited to be performing with the Nashoba Valley Chorale. Sofia is a singer and student from Groton, Massachusetts, who now studies vocal jazz at Ithaca College. She works with The New York Voice's Kim Nazarian, a vocal jazz faculty member at IC. Sofia is a part of the Ithaca College Jazz Vocal Ensemble, Choir, and IC Voicestream, an a capella group. Additionally, Sofia is a singer/songwriter who plays guitar and piano. She has hopes to release some of her jazz, folk, and pop inspired music on streaming platforms.
In her high school years, Sofia performed in musical theater productions at community theaters. These productions include Christine in Phantom at The Cannon Theater, Judy Bernly in 9 to 5 at Peacock Players, and Alison Bechdel in Fun Home at Summer School for The Performing Arts, where she now spends her summers Music Directing. Sofia is very grateful for her time at the First Parish Church of Groton, where she regularly works with Shawn McCann, the church’s Director of Music.
Sofia would like to thank her family and friends for supporting her through her musical journey.
Soprano
Elizabeth Auld
Elizabeth Baldwin
Savannah Brinkman-Cruz
Mimi Broderick
Sarah Browne
Julie Corenzwit
Mary Havlicek Cornacchia
Barbara Dailey
Rachele Emanouil
Tamasin Foote
Susan Hill
Kendra Kratkiewicz
Theresa Machnik
Joy Curtis Madden
Lora Madonia
Maryclare McDonough
Keiko Nakagawa
Rosemary Ouellet
Rachel Rader
Adrienne Rau
Dianali Rivera-Morales
Sherry Ryder
Pamela Schweppe
Rebecca Smith
Melinda Stewart
Aliyah Teeter
Candyce Wainwright
Charlotte Whatley
Chen Yan
Alto
Pamela Aldred
Pamela B. Colt
Wendy Cowen
Karen Emerson
Ashley Farmer
Hannah Greene
Marge Hamel
Katie Logwood
Ruth Lyddy
Anna Mayor
Carol Miller
Jennifer Normand
Patricia Oliver-Shaffer
Kimberly Parker
Karen Pokross
Luana Read
Kathie Renzhofer
Kathy Romberg
Nancy B. Stephens
Erica Tamlyn
Sharla Tracy
Natasha Westland
Priscilla Williams
Tenor
Paul C. Garver
Jim Kay
Sam Pilato
Ernie Preisig
Tom Ryder
Arthur Schintzel
Tony Simollardes
Robert Tuttle
Bass
Michael Arquilla
Charles M. Bliss, Jr.
Paul Brinkman
Timothy Butler
Douglas Dalrymple
David G. Grubbs
Paul Harter
Dave Hazen
John Hennessey
Yigal Hochberg
William Hoermann
Richard Hussong
Dane Krampitz
Michael Manugian
David Schlier
David Wolf
Officers and Volunteers (link)
Donors and Supporters
The Nashoba Valley Chorale wishes to thank the following individuals, organizations, and companies for their generous support.
$1,000 and Over
John Hennessy
The Krampitz and Odmark Charitable Gift Fund
Kathy Romberg
Melinda Stewart & Richard Hussong
$500 to $999
Tamasin Foote
Paul & Geraldine Harter
Susan Hill
Ruth Lyddy
Luana Read
Kathie & Martin Renzhofer
Town of Pepperell
Worcester Youth Orchestras, Inc
$100 to $499
Nicola Barlow
Berkshire Choral International
Camilla C. Blackman
Sarah Browne
Julie Corenzwit
Douglas Dalrymple
David G. Grubbs
Marge Hamel
David Hardt
William Hoermann
Cam Huff
Bernie Kirstein
Kendra & Gary Kratkiewicz
Peter Macy
Michael & Aleta Manugian
Midnight Tango Fund
Debra Minard
Patricia Oliver-Shaffer
Kim Parker
Fredrica Phillips
Samuel Pilato & Keiko Nakagawa
Karen Pokross & Ken Caldwell
Ernie Preisig
Pam & Griff Resor
Sherry & Tom Ryder
Arthur Schintzel
Pamela Schweppe
Jonathan Stevens
Erica Tamlyn
Robert Tuttle
Sarah Watson
Priscilla Williams
Chen Yan
Up to $100
Diana Chabot
Lynda Cohen & Robert Grappel
Mary Havlicek Cornacchia
Ashley Farmer
Paul C. Garver
Dave Hazen
Barbara Leary
Michael Luby
Victor Matheson
Dianali Rivera Morales
Todd Shilhanek
Nancy B. Stephens
Candyce Wainwright
This group is a member of the Central Massachusetts Choral Consortium, whose purpose is to promote choral activities throughout the Central Massachusetts region through public awareness and performance. Please see the website listed above to learn more and to find out about choral events scheduled for this season.
Member groups currently include:
Acton Community Chorus, Lisa Cooper, Director
Assabet Valley Mastersingers, Dr. Robert P. Eaton, Artistic Director
Greater Gardner Community Choir, Diane Cushing, Music Director
Master Singers of Worcester, Ed Tyler, Artistic Director
Nashoba Valley Chorale, Anne Watson Born, Music Director
Salisbury Singers, Bradford T. Dumont, Music Director
Shir Joy, Nan AK Gibbons, Director
Sounds of Stow Chorus & Orchestra, Barbara Jones, Artistic Director
Westford Chorus, Jim Barkovic, Music Director
Worcester Chorus, Christopher Shepard, Artistic Director
GREATER
BOSTON
CHORAL
CONSORTIUM
Find more choral concerts near you!
We are a proud member of the Greater Boston Choral Consortium, a cooperative association of diverse choral groups in Boston and the surrounding areas.
View the digital concert calendar:
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