Featuring the gentlemen

The Vagabond
Ralph Vaughan Williams; arr. Gary Lewis

The Vagabond is the first movement of the Songs of Travel, a song cycle of nine songs originally written for baritone voice composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958), with poems drawn from the Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) collection Songs of Travel and Other Verses. Written between 1901 and 1904, the Songs of Travel represent the English composer's first major foray into songwriting. Drawn from a volume of Robert Louis Stevenson poems of the same name, the cycle offers a quintessentially British take on the "wayfarer cycle". The audience is introduced to the traveler — that world-weary yet resolute individual — with heavy "marching" chords in the piano that depict a rough journey through the English countryside. Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet and travel writer, most noted for writing Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and A Child's Garden of Verses.

Journeyman's Song
Braeden Ayres

The composer says of his song, "This song, which has my own text, was designed specifically for middle school men’s voices (a niche which I have dedicated myself to writing for quite seriously in the past year). It opens and closes with a mournful lilt, but has a more driving and hopeful midsection. This is a song of encouragement and empowerment. It speaks to the universal story of hardship, but also talks about overcoming those challenges to become the best version of one's self. Keep striving, young men." Braeden Ayres holds a Ph.D. in Choral Music Education (Florida State University), where his doctoral dissertation focused on choral composition for changing male voices.

Chamber Choir

Hine Ma Tov ("Behold how good")
Hebrew folk song; arr. Neil Ginsberg

Hine Ma Tov is a Jewish hymn traditionally sung at Shabbat feasts. Its lyrics are the first verse of Psalm 133, which reads, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” Arranger Neil Ginsberg (b. 1969) is a graduate of the Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford. He presently teaches music at Essex Street Academy High School on the Lower East Side of New York.

Jodi Friest, flute

Eighth Grade Selection

This is Me (from "The Greatest Showman")
Benj Pasek & Justin Paul; arr. Mac Huff

One of the most memorable songs from the 2017 blockbuster movie The Greatest Showman, This is Me has an inspirational text and captivating melody that combine to create a song that is beloved by young and old. Though the movie had mixed critical reviews, the soundtrack has been almost universally praised. In the United Kingdom it became only the second album in 30 years to be ranked eleven consecutive weeks as number one.

Benj Pasek (b. 1985) and Justin Paul (b. 1985), known together as Pasek and Paul, are an American songwriting duo and composing team for musical theater, films, and television whose works include A Christmas Story, Dear Evan Hansen, and James and the Giant Peach.

Isaac Hall & Drake Schaben, duet 1
Aubrey Britten & Rylee Wolff, duet 2

Combined Choirs

How Can I Keep from Singing?
Taylor Davis

How Can I Keep from Singing? (also known by its incipit “My Life Flows On in Endless Song”) is a Christian hymn with music written by American Baptist minister Robert Wadsworth Lowry. The song is frequently, though erroneously, cited as a traditional Quaker or Shaker hymn. The original composition has now entered into the public domain and appears in several hymnals and song collections, both in its original form and with a revised text. Though it is not, in fact, a Quaker hymn, twentieth-century Quakers adopted it as their own and use it widely today. Arranger Taylor Davis (b. 1980) serves as the Director of Music and Worship at St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas.

Ally Ringsby, clarinet; Jodi Friest, flute