2021 Spring Concert Program
Chris Johnson, director 7–8 choirs
Tanner Stutzman, director 9–12 choirs
Amanda Jennings, accompanist
May 18, 2021 • 7:00 pm
Roland-Story High School Gymnasium
Middle School Choirs
Featuring the ladies
Voice on the Wind
Sarah Quartel
Sarah Quartel
Voice on the Wind sets an inspiring text, written by the composer, about the empowerment of singing. Sarah Quartel (b. 1982) is a Canadian composer and educator known for her fresh and exciting approach to choral music. She celebrates the musical potential of all learners by providing singers access to engaging repertoire and transformative musical experiences. Deeply inspired by the life-changing relationships that can occur while making choral music, Sarah writes in a way that connects singer to singer, ensemble to conductor, and performer to audience. Although she has been a full-time composer since 2017, Sarah chooses to remain connected to her past as a music educator and is a guest teacher in her hometown of London, Canada. Sarah continues to work as a clinician and conductor at music education and choral events at home and abroad.
Small group: Mikayla Carpenter, Marissa Oetker, Allison Tjaden
Gnothi Safton ("Know Thyself")
Jim Papoulis
Jim Papoulis
The Greeks believed that to know thyself was one of the axioms of philosophical thought. The phrase was later expounded upon by the philosopher Socrates who taught that “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Gnothi Safton (γνώθι σαυτόν) explores and celebrates that idea through voices, piano, and boomwhackers. Composer Jim Papoulis has a distinctive musical style that combines contemporary sounds with musical traditions from around the globe. Traveling worldwide, Papoulis works with international artists and ensembles in order to explore and create a sound for a global community. This multi-cultural sound has become the cornerstone of his works for choirs, orchestras, and ensembles.
Boomwhackers: Brynn Almond, Madison Berggren, Alexis Butler, Eva Corcoran, Isabella Mazyck & Jori Witthuhn
γνώθι σαυτόν
ζωή
ευδαιμονία
γεια γνώση, γεια σοφία
ομορφιά
αγιότητα, σύνεση, θάρρος
ηθική αρετή
δικαιοσύνη
ξέρω Είμαι ζωντανός
δώσε μου δικαιοσύνη,
δώσε μου ζωή
Know thyself
life
bliss
Hello knowledge, hello wisdom
beauty
holiness, prudence, courage
moral virtue
justice
I know I am alive
give me justice,
give me life
Featuring the gentlemen
The Vagabond
Ralph Vaughan Williams; arr. Gary Lewis
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
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
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
ִה ֵנה ַמה טוֹב.
וּ ַמה ָנ ִעים
ֶש ֶבת ָא ִחים ַגם ַי ַחד
Behold how good
and how pleasing
if brothers could sit together in unity
Eighth Grade Selection
This is Me (from "The Greatest Showman")
Benj Pasek & Justin Paul; arr. Mac Huff
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
RSMS Personnel
Seventh Grade Choir
Brynn Almond
Madison Berggren
Alyzah Boggs
Lily Brunscheon
Morgan Bryan
Alexis Butler
Evan Byersdorfer
Elizabeth Campbell
Brinley Carlson
Mikayla Carpenter
Nicholas Colwell
Adamaris Cruz
Payton Curtis
Ryan Donaldson
Kaitlyn Downs
Cael Faber
Caitlyn Flattebo
Hayden Gossel
Story Grebasch
Eike Hanson
Kara Harding
Selah Helgeson
Allison Janes
Hayden Janssen
Kelsey Johnston
Gabriel Jonas
Blake Larson
April Little
Benjamin Martindale
Aidan Mayfield
Raelyn Miller
Jackson Mohr
Taylor Netcott-Harris
Emma Nordin
Keely Oberender
Jayden Ojoh
Delaney Paulson
Olivia Reitano
Mason Schnurstein
Justin Shanks
Saskia Shold
Jakoby Tarnow
Camryn Thoreson
Max Town
Cael Vermeer
Leila Walton
Eighth Grade Choir
Kathryne Arthur
Kate Berggren
Jack Birkland *
Isabella Bohl
Savannah Brittain
Aubrey Britten *
Logan Bunn
Eva Corcoran
John Craig *
Aurora Cruz
April Dominguez
Caty Erichsen
Ryan Fosse *
Patrick Gomez *
Isaac Hall
Hannah Hanlin
Aidan Hansen
Luccas Hart *
Madison Henrichs
Danica Hobbs
Alyssa Jones
Emily Kalkwarf
Jamie Lozano
Isabella Mazyck
Garrett Nerem
Dylan Nims
Marissa Oetker *
Kennedy Petersen
Brooklyn Richardson
Madelyn Richardson
Krystal Rickman
Addisyn Sabatino *
Drake Schaben
Casey Spainhower
Adalyn Sporleder
Brooke Thompson
Allison Tjaden *
Ava Trout
Kaylee Underwood
Zoe Van Hove
Alexis Vaughn
Evan Voga *
Pearl Wagner *
Charles Watts
Jori Witthuhn *
Rylee Wolff *
Alexey Wright
Roland Yates
Chamber choir members are marked with an asterisk (*)
High School Choirs
Treble Clef Choir
Pueri Hebræorum ("Children of the Hebrews")
Randall Thompson
Randall Thompson
Pueri Hebræorum is a double-choir piece written for treble voices in 1928. It was composed for the Wellesley College Choir, when the enrollment grew to twice the size the chancel could accommodate. The choirs sang back and forth from opposite ends of the chapel.
Pueri Hebræorum,
portantes ramos olivarum,
obviaverunt Domino,
clamantes et dicentes:
Hosanna in excelsis.
The Hebrew children
bearing olive branches,
went forth to meet the Lord,
crying out, and saying,
Hosanna in the highest.
Ain’t No Grave Can Hold My Body Down
Claude Ely; arr. Paul Caldwell & Sean Ivory
Claude Ely; arr. Paul Caldwell & Sean Ivory
Valkyries
I Denna Ljuva Sommartid ("In this sweet summertime")
Traditional Swedish; arr. Kim André Arnesen
Traditional Swedish; arr. Kim André Arnesen
Bass Clef Choir
Pilgerchor ("Pilgrim's Chorus", from Tannhäuser, WWV 70)
Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
The inspiration for Wagner’s opera Tannhäuser is that of an actual medieval singing contest held at Wartburg Castle in thirteenth-century Germany. The opera’s overture contains many of the most important themes from the opera, including the Pilgrims’ Chorus, written in the chorale style of J.S. Bach, highly chromatic music associated with the sensuous world of Venusberg, and Tannhäuser’s ode to Venus.
Beglückt darf nun dich, o Heimat, ich schauen,
Und grüßen froh deine lieblichen Auen;
Nun lass' ich ruhn den Wanderstab,
Weil Gott getreu ich gepilgert hab'.
Durch Sühn' und Buß' hab' ich versöhnt
Den Herren, dem mein Herze frönt,
Der meine Reu' mit Segen krönt,
Den Herren, dem mein Lied ertönt.
Den Herren, dem mein Lied ertönt.
Der Gnade Heil ist dem Büßer beschieden,
Er geht einst ein in der Seligen Frieden.
Vor Höll' und Tod ist ihm nicht bang,
Drum preis' ich Gott mein Lebelang.
Halleluja,
Halleluja,
In Ewigkeit, in Ewigkeit.
Blest, I may now look on thee, oh, my native land,
And gladly greet thy pleasant pastures;
Now, I lay my pilgrim's staff aside to rest,
For, faithful to God, I have completed my pilgrimage.
Through penance and repentance I have propitiated
The Lord, whom my heart serves,
Who crowns my repentance with blessing,
The Lord to whom my song goes up.
The Lord to whom my song goes up.
The salvation of pardon is granted the penitent,
He will one day walk in the peace of the blessed.
Hell and death do not appal him,
Therefore will I praise God my life long.
Hallelujah,
Hallelujah,
Eternally, eternally.
Nearer, My God, to Thee
Sarah Flower Adams; arr. James Stevens
Sarah Flower Adams; arr. James Stevens
Nearer, My God, to Thee is a 19th-century Christian hymn which retells the story of Jacob's dream. Genesis 28:11–12 can be translated as follows: "So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it…"
The hymn is well known, among other uses, as the alleged last song the band on RMS Titanic played before the ship sank and was sung by the crew and passengers of the SS Valencia as it sank off the Canadian coast in 1906.
Thor's Men
Bohemian Rhapsody
Freddie Mercury; arr. Deke Sharon & Adam Scott
Freddie Mercury; arr. Deke Sharon & Adam Scott
Chamber Choir
Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine
Eric Whitacre
Eric Whitacre
Soloists: Kayley Birkland, Emma Schnurstein, Madison Martindale, Dylan Hughes
Mixed Chorus
Seinn O
Traditional Scottish; arr. J. David Moore
Traditional Scottish; arr. J. David Moore
Seinn O comes from the Gaelic tradition of “mouth music,” a style of vocal music intended to accompany dancing. The most popular legend of the origins of Scottish mouth music (port a beul) suggests that it was born when the British banned the bagpipes after the Jacobite uprising in 1745. Nonsense lyrics were applied to the old pipe tunes so that the precious melodies wouldn’t be lost. Whatever the truth of the matter, mouth music appears in many varied forms and under many names in every Gaelic culture in the world, from Ireland to Cape Breton to Appalachia.
When We Love
Elaine Hagenberg
Elaine Hagenberg
Senior Song
You Will Be Found (from "Dear Evan Hansen")
Benj Pasek & Justin Paul; arr. Mac Huff
Benj Pasek & Justin Paul; arr. Mac Huff
Combined Choirs
How Can I Keep from Singing?
Taylor Davis
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
RSHS Personnel
Treble Clef Choir
Reagan Barkema
Madi Bauer
Kayley Birkland #
Skylar Boggs
Mary Britten #
Jaina Brunscheon
Makenna Carlson
Grace Corcoran
Capri Cory
Hannah Cree §
Lizzy Danielson
Kennedy Downs
Mikayla Endreland
Ellie Erickson
Kenzie Fick
Mersadie Franklin #
Macy Friest *#
Elizabeth Froehlich
Grace Froehlich §
Tori Gomez
Megan Greenfield §
Carly Halstead
Jessica Haskin
Samanthan Hendrian
Addison Heubner
Jenna Hoskins *#§
Josie Hove *#§
Layla Jensen
Libbie Johnson
Meghan Kepler §
Rhianna Koppes
Grace Krebs
Lani Krull §
Meckenzie Lane
Kathryn Limas
Armani Lowe
Bayley Lyman §
Madison Martindale *#§
Emma McGuigan
Maddie Morton §
Juli Oakland
Lori Oakland *#§
Lydia Oetker
Victoria Olson
Laurel Osborn
Rima Patel
Morgan Paulson
Ally Ringsby *#
Samantha Sanderson
Neenah Sandry
Emma Schnurstein *#
Courtney Schreier #
Aaliyah Selby
Annie Selby
Ella Sirna #
Alynn Solberg
Mara Spence
Faith Springer
Amber Taylor #
Jorja Thompson
Ellie Thompson #
Michell Torres
Dana Vinson *#§
Reagan Vogelaar #§
Briel Wakefield
Claire Wiseman §
* member of Valkyries
# member of Mixed Chorus
§ Senior
Bass Clef Choir
Jackson Anthony
Jesse Archeske
Nathan Balman §
Nathan Barkema
Chase Blagg #
Noah Britten *#§
Gavin Carpenter
Boaz Clark
Cooper Clark
Seth Cook §
Parker Curtis
David Downs §
Drew Goeders
Dylan Gray
Ben Greenfield #
Cale Gregori §
Nels Hanson
Jarod Hart #§
Jacob Hennager *#
Caden Henrichs
Alex Heubner
Degun Hobbs §
TJ Hocraffer *#§
Michael Hogue §
Dylan Hughes *#§
James Jackson
Kale Lande
Dillon Lettow
William Licht
Nathan Limas #
Dominic Loveridge
Morgan Lueck *#§
Mark Lytle
John Martin
Reece Martin
Jaxon McCoy
Ayden McLain
Logan McLain
Justin Moore §
Dylan Nordin
Luke Patton
Max Petzenhauser
Cedric Ray
Jay Sanderson
Jake Sandry
Ben Sarver §
Cael Schreier #§
Trey Sievers §
Sam Skaar *#§
Dravyn Spencer
Caden Sporleder #§
Drew Stalzer #
Dylan Sweeney
Derek Taylor
Luke Thomas
Thomas Tjaden #
Luke Tjernagel
Braden Vinson
Kristian Warnick
Parker Watts *#
Levi Webb
Xander Webb *#§
Braedon Weston
Lucas Wuebker #
* member of Thor's Men
# member of Mixed Chorus
§ Senior