Jefferson Choral Society

Recent Press Releases

JEFFERSON CHORAL SOCIETY TO PRESENT “MARY THE MOTHER OF JESUS”

APRIL 7, 2008 

In April, 2008, the Jefferson Choral Society (JCS) will present a full length Oratorio, Mary, the Mother of Jesus, composed by its music director Aaron Garber to a text by retired Bishop of the Virginia Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Richard Bansemer. Performances will take place at Trinity Ecumenical Parish in Moneta on Saturday, April 19 at 7:30 PM, and at Heritage United Methodist Church in Lynchburg on April 20 at 4:00 PM.

Bishop Bansemer explained in an interview that he gathered the texts of the Bible concerning Mary, the Mother of Jesus.  “I feel she is too often basically ignored, especially in the Protestant churches, rather than being revered as a wonderful example of a faithful follower,” he said.

Bishop Bansemer built the Mary texts into the libretto for a 90-minute Oratorio that he feels expresses the meaning of her life to modern audiences.  Beginning with the Bible passage Luke 1:26, the Visitation to Mary by Gabriel, the libretto contains many Bible passages, as well as a lullaby for Mary created by Bansemer and Garber, and songs that summarize Mary’s experiences as the Mother of Jesus. While a section called Golgotha, Brutal Golgotha, is the longest in the piece, Bishop Bansemer points out that it is the lullaby, Baby Dimples, that is the main theme of the work. It is repeated three times, once when Mary greets Jesus as her baby in Bethlehem, a second time when she holds Jesus’ body after the Crucifixion and gives him to God as His child,  and a third time, after the Resurrection, when Mary acknowledges that Jesus is “Our Child,” belonging to God and all humankind.

Bishop Bansemer took the libretto to composer Aaron Garber, who had previously set his oratorio Job, which premiered in 2004.  Garber enthusiastically agreed to set Mary the Mother of Jesus for full orchestra, and Salem Choral Society premiered the finished work in May 2006.

Mr. Garber wrote the title role of Mary for a Mezzo Soprano, he says, “because I wanted to stress her humility.”  Tara Bouknight sang the role of Mary in 2006, and will sing it  again for Jefferson Choral Society in Lynchburg and Moneta.  Additional soloists will be soprano Amanda Pauley and tenor Christopher Swanson.

“I think this is a work that more people should have the opportunity to experience.  It’s a beautiful piece!” said Mrs. Bouknight, “Many audience members told me after the premiere that it affected their lives.  People said it gave them a new perspective on Mary, and said how poignant it was.  I hope this piece will find its way into the mainstream of musical literature. ”   

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January 28, 2008

JCS TO CELEBRATE VALENTINE’S HOLIDAY WITH MUSIC AND DANCING

The Jefferson Choral Society (JCS) gets Lynchburg’s Valentine’s Day celebrations underway with an evening of music and dancing on Friday night February 8 and Sunday afternoon February 10 at the Fine Arts Warehouse Theater, at 6th and Commerce Street. The JCS chorus, conducted by Music Director Aaron Garber and accompanied by Rose Marie Peak, will sing a variety of romantic music by composers from Brahms to Cole Porter.  Guest piano soloist Melia Garber will perform excerpts the Franz Liszt Piano Sonata in B Minor, widely considered to be his greatest work for the instrument, and an important and popular work of the Romantic piano literature. 

On Friday night, there will also be heavy hors d’oeuvres, dancing to the Hill City Swing and Sway band, and a cash bar, beginning at 6:00 PM, with the choral and piano concert beginning at 7 PM. There will be more dancing and desert during the concert intermission. Price for the evening of food, dancing and music is $25 per person, and reservations are required through Jefferson Choral Society (434) 528-5700.

The musical program by the JCS Chorus and soloist Melia Garber will be repeated on Sunday February 10 at 4:00 PM for $15 for adult tickets, and $8.00 for students 12 and older.  Children under the age of 12 are admitted free of charge on Sunday when accompanied by an adult ticket holder.  JCS season ticket holders will be admitted to both the Friday party and concert and the Sunday concert at no extra charge.

Hill City Swing and Sway is comprised of five well-known local musicians: Marsha Allar (vocals), Vivian Hudson (piano), Glenn Buck (sax), Robin Tolley (bass), and Larry Scott (drums). While all of the members play frequently with multiple bands, they come together periodically to find common ground in terms of playing music they love.  As saxophonist Glenn Buck explains, “It’s rare to find an opportunity, in Lynchburg, to play and/or listen to music from the swing era.  Most people seem to be enthralled when they find a local band that can play the type of music with which they grew up.  Hill City Swing and Sway performs a comprehensive repertoire of swing, jazz, and New Orleans style music.”   

Piano soloist Melia Garber made her JCS debut in 2006, when she received great applause for her rendition of piano compositions by jazz great Duke Ellington. This season, Mrs. Garber’s choice of the Liszt Piano Sonata in B Minor, is in a more classic romantic mode.

Mrs. Garber was born in Romania, where she earned a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance before coming to the United States, where she earned a Master of Music in Piano Performance at the University of Tennessee. She also met and married Virginia composer and conductor Aaron Garber. Mrs. Garber has won numerous piano competitions including a concerto competition at University of Tennessee and the International Piano Competition in San Bartholomeo, Italy. She currently is a lecturer in piano at Hollins College, and serves as accompanist for College Lutheran Church in Salem and the Salem Choral Society.

Tickets for the Sunday concert can be purchased from Arthur’s Jewelry, Bedford and Wyndhurst; Aylor’s Feed and Seed, Forest; Givens Books, Lynchburg; Hill House Interiors, Amherst; Shop of John Simmons, Boonsboro; Miller’s Jewelry, Altavista; VA-BAY.com, 21430 Timberlake Road, Lynchburg; and Jefferson Choral Society singers and JCS business office (434) 528-5700.

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November, 16, 2007

Jefferson Choral Society’s annual holiday concert, this year titled Christmas Around the World, will take place at Heritage United Methodist Church, Leesville Road, Lynchburg, on Saturday, December 1 at 7:30 PM and on Sunday, December 2 at 4:00 PM. Christmas Around the World is a concert of joyous music from the United States as well as from Africa, Austria, Brazil, the Caribbean, England, France, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, and Venezuela. JCS conductor and music director is Aaron Garber. There will be piano, organ and percussion accompaniment.  

 

The concert will feature the Jefferson Youth Chorale, whose director is Peggy Haas Howell. The Youth Chorale is made up of volunteer singers from the Lynchburg area, aged 9 to 18.  The Youth Chorale has sung with Jefferson Choral Society since April, 2005, when they sang the children’s roles in John Rutter’s Mass of the Children. Since that time, several of the original members have graduated from high school, and now sing in college performing groups. New young singers have joined, and appreciate the opportunity to sing with JCS in concerts and under the direction of Mrs. Howell.

 

Peggy Haas Howell says the members of the Chorale are extremely focused in rehearsal, learn music quickly, and are very responsive. She points out that many have a strong background in music: “The young people in the Jefferson Youth Chorale are extremely active in performing arts in many ways. We have students who perform in middle and high school theatre, a number of string players active in the Lynchburg Youth Symphony and school orchestras, and many who study piano and sing in church choirs.  Five of our members are dancers who will participate in VSA and Glass Theatre’s Nutcracker in December. We even have a member who has been called back as a finalist for the American Girl Theatre in New York!”

 

Tickets for Christmas Around the World are $15 for adults, $8.00 for students.  Tickets are on sale at Arthur’s Jewelry, Bedford and Wyndhurst; Aylor’s Feed and Seed, Forest; Hill House Interiors, Amherst; Miller’s Jewelry, Altavista; Shop of John Simmons, Boonsboro; Given’s Books, Lynchburg; VA-bay.Com, 21430 Timberlake Road, Lynchburg; and from Jefferson Choral Society (JCS) singers and JCS business office (434-528-5700).

 

JCS season tickets for 2007-2008 are still available from JCS singers and the JCS office  (434-528 5700) at $50 for one adult ticket and $100 for a family ticket for two adults with all children admitted free to concerts.

 

BIOGRAPHY:  Peggy Haas Howell

Peggy Haas Howell is both a choral conductor and organist. She served as the director of Chorale, the concert choir of Randolph-Macon Woman's College, from 1996-2001.  Ms. Howell is currently the Organist and Choirmaster at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Lynchburg. In early 2005, she founded the Jefferson Youth Chorale, a group of children and teenagers who sing in concert with the Lynchburg area community choir, Jefferson Choral Society.  She is also the music director for Glass Theatre, and she played piano and conducted the pit orchestra during their performances at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. 

 

Peggy Haas Howell is well-known as an organ recitalist in the United States and Europe.  She has won top prizes in many organ playing competitions, including the National Young Artists Organ Playing Competition of the American Guild of Organists (1974), and the St. Alban’s International Organ Interpretation Competition in England (1976). She has played recitals in Finland, England, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Holland, and the United States.  She has recorded for the BBC, for Sender Freies Berlin, for the Finnish Broadcasting Service, and for Raven Recordings.  Before moving to Lynchburg, Virginia, Peggy Howell taught organ for ten years at Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. 

 

 Peggy Haas Howell graduated from Susquehanna University (magna cum laude) with a Bachelor of Arts in Church Music, and from Union Theological Seminary, New York City,  with a Master of Sacred Music degree.  She also attended the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Hamburg, Germany.  Her organ teachers have included Harald Vogel, Cherry Rhodes, Heinz Wunderlich, Charles Dodsley Walker, and James Boeringer.  She has a special interest in the performance practices of early Dutch and German organ music. She is married to organ builder Richard Howell.

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PRESS RELEASE FOR JEFFERSON CHORAL SOCIETY (ADULT CHORUS)

 
Jefferson Choral Society (JCS), a regional chorus, seeks singers
interested in joining the group.  JCS will hold a "Meet JCS" open first
rehearsal for the season on September 10, 2007, at 7:00 PM in Forest
Baptist Church, located at Route 221 West and Two Churches Road in
Forest. Music for the JCS Christmas concert will be handed out, and
both members and potential members will have the opportunity to sing
through some of the works. Interested singers may sign up to audition
to join JCS at the first meeting. Singers who are interested in joining
but who are not able to attend the first meeting, or those with
questions, may call the JCS office in Lynchburg at 434-528-5700. JCS
will rehearse on Monday nights throughout the season.

Jefferson Choral Society is beginning its 18th season of 2007-2008.
Aaron Garber is the JCS Music Director, and Rose Marie Peak serves as
accompanist. JCS recently returned from the UK, where the group
represented the Commonwealth of Virginia in the British celebrations of
the 400th Anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, singing at Leeds
Castle in Kent and receiving coverage on BBC television.

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VERDI’S REQUIEM, April 1, 2007

 

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Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem will be performed by the Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra and Jefferson Choral Society on April first at 4 PM at E.C. Glass High School. The performance will provide the Lynchburg audience with music that is “Simultaneously overwhelming, deeply moving and passionately expressive” according to Randall Speer, DMA, who is rehearsing the vocal soloists and choral singers.

 

CONDUCTOR AND TENOR FIND THEY HAVE PARALLEL LIVES AND SINGULAR MUSICAL VISION

 

Conductor and singer Randall Speer and tenor Robert Beane both received higher education degrees in Iowa (Robert at Wartburg College and Randy a Masters from the University of Iowa before receiving his DMA from University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music).  Both spent several years singing in Minneapolis, where they worked with many of the same people a few years apart. During their time in the Midwest, they never met.  Randall and Robert both moved to the South, Randall to Lynchburg, Virginia, and Robert to Fort Myers, Florida, where they both have careers in music as soloists, and where Randall also became a conductor and Associate Professor of Music at Randolph Macon Woman’s College. Again they did not meet.

 

They finally did meet and became musical collaborators when they both attended the Varna, Bulgaria, International Conductors Workshop in 2006,with Randy as a Conductor and Robert as the Tenor Soloist. The piece being performed last summer was Verdi's "Requiem." The two musicians discussed Verdi and his "Requiem" at length, finding that they had many of the same feelings about how the work should be approached and performed. They worked together most successfully in the Bulgarian performances.

 

Robert Beane says of working under Randall Speer’s baton in Bulgaria, "There is a special sensitivity to the needs of the singer, when the conductor is a singer, as Randy is."

 

Says Randall Speer: “I gained an appreciation for all the solo parts when I sang the tenor role as a student. There is an athleticism required to sing any of the solo parts in the Requiem. You need stamina! Robert and I worked together intensively in Bulgaria.  We were kindred spirits in our approach.  When working with him as soloist, and with the orchestra, we could do much more expressively, because we had a singular appreciation of the work.”

 

When Jefferson Chorale Society asked Randall Speer to prepare the chorus and suggest soloists for the Verdi "Requiem" performance with the Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra, Speer immediately thought of Robert Beane, whose work he had found of high quality and so compatible with his own in Bulgaria. Mr. Beane was available to sing, and will make his Lynchburg debut in Verdi’s Requiem on April first.  Mr. Speer is preparing the vocal soloists, the Jefferson Choral Society, and additional choral singers from Liberty University. The Lynchburg Symphony orchestra performance on April 1 will be conducted by Bruce Habitzruther.

 

Robert Beane finds his role exciting to sing: "There are two really incredible parts for the tenor. The tenor is the first of the soloists to sing in the First movement. The words mean,  'Christ Have Mercy. God Have Mercy!' It is a section that is special to me: the tenor speaks to God for the people.  In the 'Ingemisco' section, the tenor is really pleading: 'Lord, oh! Spare me, lowly kneeling.' it is heart-wrenching and wonderful at the same time!"   Then, in the 'Hostias' section, the tenor is less pleading and more sensitive - and I love that part, too”

 

Mr. Speer adds that in the ‘Hostias’ section Verdi turns the tenor theme already heard in the “Ingemisco” section in minor mode, into a major theme, having a sweeter quality.  “Most members of the audience don’t realize it’s the same theme, inverted and in a major key.  They realize the theme sounds familiar, but it’s not exactly what they’ve heard before. The effect is nothing short of stunning!”

 

Mr. Beane says that his other favorite part of the the Verdi 'Requiem' has nothing to do with the tenor soloist, but rather is orchestral. He says "The Requiem has one of the most beautiful brass fanfares every written.  There are very few pieces of music that stir me as much as that one does! It represents the presentation of God.  It's both inspiring and also humbling.  It's one of the very first things I think of when I think of Verdi's 'Requiem.' "

 

SPEER PONDERS VERDI’S USE OF SOLO VOICES

 

Randall Speer says that “In Verdi’s mind, I think each of the solo voices represents different aspects of the Requiem text. For example, the bass represents the majesty and power of God, and sometimes our response in fear and trembling to that power.  That’s why it’s important to have a huge voice and a large presence like Wayne Kompelien, who will sing on April first, in the role!

 

“The Mezzo Soprano role, to be sung by Marcia Jones Thom, acts as the narrator for the “Day of Judgment” section, and for that strength. The role is extremely demanding, requiring both an extremely large range and great vocal stamina.

 

“The tenor’s role, that Robert Beane will sing, represents the individual soul’s response to God, not in fear and trembling but a voice responding to God’s mercy.

 

“Finally, Verdi holds the soprano, Judith Cline’s role in our performance, for the end of the piece. In the last movement, where Verdi expresses a colossal catharsis, the soprano’s lone voice is heard singing, “Libera me,” or “Deliver me.” She represents the soul’s request for peace, Having gone through fear and suffering, she is no longer the same person. I feel that Verdi wants to use a different voice here, the soprano, to show that change.”

 

LSO CONDUCTOR PRAISES COLLABORATION AND VERDI’S COMPOSITION

 

Conductor Bruce Habitzruther says “To be able to conduct a masterwork like this, here in our own community is a great, great privilege. It could not be done at all without the wonderfully talented people we have here – the singers and instrumentalists who are willing to devote the great deal of time it takes to prepare and present Verdi’s Requiem.

 

Verdi’s Requiem is such an absorbing piece of music. It has such a wide orchestral palette. It is bombastic at times, very gentle at times with light touches in the strings.  It’s theatrical, it’s operatic, it’s spiritual.  It is truly wondrous!”

 

Adult tickets for this performance will be $25, with a reduced admission of $22.50 for people over age 60. Tickets will be available from any member of the Jefferson Choral Society, from the Symphony office, and from a number of retail establishments in the Lynchburg area.

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Vocal Soloists Announced for

Lynchburg Symphony, Jefferson Choral Society

Performance of Verdi Requiem April 1;

Randall Speer Preparing Chorus

 

 

Four respected vocal soloists will be joining the Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra and the Jefferson Choral Society for a much-anticipated April 1 performance of the monumental Verdi Requiem.

 

The soloists — soprano Judith Cline, mezzo-soprano Marcia Jones Thom, tenor Robert Beane and bass Wayne Kompelien — will join a 135-voice chorus and 63 instrumentalists on the stage of the E.C. Glass Auditorium on April 1 for a 4:00 PM performance of a masterwork rarely performed in a community the size of Lynchburg.

 

Three of the guest artists are making return visits to Lynchburg stages, while tenor Robert Beane will be making his Lynchburg debut.

 

Soprano Judith Cline’s singing has been described as “secure and sumptuous”, and her performance as “stylish and sexy”. Chairperson of the department of music at Hollins University, Cline has performed with ensembles such as the Richmond Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony Chamber Players, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, the Emrys Ensemble, Opera Roanoke and the Roanoke Symphony, and she appeared with the Lynchburg Symphony and Jefferson Choral Society in the March 2004 performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. She has recently released a critically acclaimed CD devoted to the art songs of women composers, A Sampler in Song, available at amazon.com.   

 

Marcia Jones Thom has performed leading and supporting roles with Des Moines Metro Opera, Tennessee Opera Theatre, Kansas City Civic Opera, The Ashlawn-Highland Opera Festival in Virginia, Chattanooga Opera, Nashville Opera Association, Kentucky Opera and Opera Memphis.  She has appeared with the Middle Tennessee Symphony, the  Nashville Symphony and the Memphis Symphony and sang with Amy Grant in 1996 for the opening of the Nashville Arena.  In the spring of 2006, she sang the role of “Nedda” in Opera on the James’ inaugural production of Pagliacci.

 

Locally, Ms. Jones Thom directs Home for the Holidays at the Academy of Fine Arts in Lynchburg – a collaboration with local arts organizations.  She has also performed as a featured soloist with the Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra.

 

She is an adjunct instructor of vocal performance at Sweet Briar College and Randolph-Macon Woman’s College. A member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, she conducts a private voice studio of over 50 students. In May of 2002, Ms. Jones Thom released her first recording entitled I Will Rise – Hymns of Hope under the auspices of Shiny Penny Productions.

 

A resident of Ft. Meyers. Florida, tenor Robert Beane is making his debut appearance in Lynchburg. Beane’s recent concert calendar has included performances of Handel's Messiah, Haydn's Creation, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem, Schubert's Mass in G, Beethoven's Choral Fantasy, Saint-Saens' Christmas Oratorio, K. Lee Scott's Christmas Cantata: The Incarnation, Leavitt's Requiem and the Dubois' Seven Last Words of Christ. In concert tours through Europe and Israel, he has been featured in Mozart's Requiem, Bach's Cantata No. 150, and Verdi's Requiem. He regularly appears in concert and recital, singing a wide variety of repertoire from sacred and spiritual to Broadway and opera

 

Bass-baritone Wayne Kompelien is professor of music at Liberty University in Lynchburg. He founded an active opera program at the university in 1989, and has just completed a successful production of Pagliacci which ran this January at the university.. He also directs the Chamber Singers of Liberty University, recognized as one of the finest collegiate choral ensembles in the state. The group, along with the Liberty Concert Choir, will join the Jefferson Choral Society for this performance.

 

Kompelien remains an active performer, appearing on numerous occasions with Opera Roanoke. His performances in Haydn's Creation, Handel's Messiah, Verdi's Requiem, and Fauré’s Requiem received high acclaim

 

For this performance of the Verdi Requiem, the chorus is being prepared by Randall Speer, who has been involved in presenting this work on three previous occasions. He has previously served the masterwork as a rehearsal tenor and chorus member while a student at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. More recently, he conducted the work with orchestra, chorus and soloists during the Varna, Bulgaria, International Conductors Workshop.

 

He has performed as tenor soloist in oratorio, opera and musical theater productions across the United States, including the Fresno Lyric Opera (Fiddler on the Roof), Magnum Chorum (Bach Christmas Oratorio), the Mississippi Valley Chamber Orchestra (Carmina Burana), the Lynchburg Community Concert Series (Amahl and the Night Visitors and Missa Luba), and the Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra (Beethoven Symphony No. 9).

 

Speer serves as Associate Professor of Music at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, where he directs two choral ensembles, teaches class and individual voice lessons, diction for singers, vocal pedagogy, and conducting. He is also Music Director at Court Street United Methodist Church in Lynchburg.

 

The uncomplicated directness of music of the Requiem, Verdi’s supreme ability to write wonderful melodies which lie perfectly for the human voice, his brilliant orchestration and above all the life-affirming, dramatic intensity of the Requiem are lasting qualities that have guaranteed its enduring popularity through the ages. And for most performers

and music lovers alike, experiencing the Verdi Requiem live is a once-in-a-lifetime event.

 

Adult tickets for this performance will be $25, with a reduced admission of $22.50 for people over age 60. Tickets will be available from any member of the Jefferson Choral Society.

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