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ATLANTA CHAPTER: NEWS: ARCHIVES
2003 January
2002 February | May | October
2001 January | February | March | April | May | July | August | September | October | December
2000
September
| November
| December
NEW COMPOSER RESIDENCY AT VIVA VOCE CHORAL MUSIC CAMP IN JUNE
(MARCH 2003) The chapter has teamed up with the Spivey Hall Children’s Choir Program; the Horizons Student Enrichment Program, an Atlanta outreach program; and the Athens YWCO (Young Women’s Christian Organization) Camp to offer VivaVoce, a choral music camp for girls scheduled to launch in June. It will be the first camp in the Southeast to include a composer-in-residence as an essential part of its activities. Representatives of all four organizations first met at the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation’s Grantee Conference in June 2002, and their discussions quickly evolved into the two-week program, which will take place at the Athens (Ga.) YWCO Camp. The campers will include members of Spivey Hall’s choirs, youth from the Horizons Program, members of the Athens YWCO Girls’ Club, and campers at the YWCO’s camp. A composer-in-residence will live at the camp for two weeks, teaching classes in composition, assisting campers in the creation of at least two new pieces of music, and writing one commissioned work for the camp choir. The music will be performed at the camp’s two season-closing concerts.
Funding for VivaVoce
is provided by Arthur
M. Blank Family Foundation.
SHAKESPEARE X 3 LAUNCHES AT TRI-CITIES HIGH SCHOOL
(MARCH 2003) During the 2003-04 school year, Tri-Cities High School in Atlanta will be the site of Shakespeare X 3, a new collaboration between the school, the Georgia Shakespeare Festival, the Atlanta Ballet’s Centre for Dance Education, and the chapter. Tri-Cities – which has one of the two arts magnet programs in the Fulton County School System – has already hosted two composer residencies, including its participation in the first year of the chapter’s Composer in the Schools program. The project will place a composer, a choreographer, and a drama coach in residence to work with students on the creation of a new musical production based on a Shakespearean play. The cast will include students from area elementary and middle schools who will be mentored by Tri-Cities students and the resident artists. The performances will take place at Tri-Cities High School in May 2004.
Funding for Shakespeare
X 3 is provided by Arthur
M. Blank Family Foundation.
JENNIFER HIGDON DISCUSSES "CITY SCAPE" AT ASO ROUNDTABLE
(JANUARY 2003) To celebrate the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s "City Scape," the chapter hosted a November 16 discussion with the composer. Fourteen composers filled one of the orchestra’s conference rooms to hear Higdon speak about her career, influences on her style, and the new work. Having spent 10 of her childhood years living in Atlanta, she cited her memories of the city as the inspiration for the three-movement composition — the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s first commission since 1996.
Higdon also discussed
The Philadelphia Orchestra’s recent premiere of her Concerto
for Orchestra, which has led to a spate of commissions that will keep
her busy well into 2005. To enhance the discussion, Higdon shared
recorded excerpts from the concerto along with copies of the score.
SECOND YEAR OF COMPOSER IN THE SCHOOLS COMES TO A CLOSE
(OCTOBER 2002) A pair of concerts in mid-May brought to a close the second year of Atlanta’s Composer in the Schools residencies. Through the program, the chapter placed composers in two Atlanta high schools, where they taught composition classes over the course of the spring semester.
On May 13, Gary Motley joined his students at Centennial High School to perform a program that included premieres of six student works and Motley’s "The Resolution of a Dream." The works — which ranged from a solo for mezzo soprano ("Lacrimans" by Laura Byrum) to a piano quintet (Sarah Gibson’s "The Ride") — were all performed by student musicians.
The residency also afforded Motley the opportunity to write his first multi-movement work. Scored for jazz trio and string orchestra, "The Resolution of a Dream" was performed by Motley on piano, Neal Starkey on string bass, and Bernard Linnette on drum set with the school’s orchestra director, Young Kim, leading the Centennial High School Chamber Orchestra.
A week later, on May 20, North Springs High School honored its young composers with a concert that included premieres of works by composer-in-residence Bill Anschell and seven of his students. Anschell, percussionist Woody Williams, and Tim Aucoin, chair of the school’s performing arts program, joined North Springs student performers on stage.
Earlier in the semester, Williams led a drum clinic for the young composers. Anschell subsequently challenged his students to write parts for Williams in their compositions. Elizabeth Engelmann and Jason Cook accepted the challenge, and Williams returned to play for their premieres.
Like Motley, Anschell used the residency to meet a longstanding goal — his first extended work for jazz trio and chamber orchestra. For the premiere of "What’s Around Comes and Goes," the composer played piano with Aucoin on bass and Williams on drums. Kelly Ballantine, the school’s assistant band director, conducted the North Springs Chamber Orchestra.
"Although, in the past, I’ve felt frustrated by the short forms that characterize most of jazz, at the same time I’ve felt daunted by the task of coming up with a new form that feels logical, complete, and personal," Anschell said. "This residency motivated me to tackle that issue headlong."
Atlanta’s
Composers in the Schools residencies are funded by the Arthur
M. Blank Family Foundation
and the Fulton County School System.
(OCTOBER 2002) Composer Jonathan McNair’s Faith Partners residency in Jackson, Miss., concluded on August 9 with the premiere of two works during a Shabbat service at Temple Beth Israel. "A Prayer for Peace" and a setting of Psalm 19:7-9 were created with the guidance of Beth Israel’s rabbi, Jim Egolf.
McNair, his wife Jan, and his son Ben performed "A Prayer for Peace," which includes a refrain in Hebrew, "Hashkiveinu Adonai Eloheinu l’shalom, l’shalom, v’ha’amideinu Malkeinu l’chayim" (O Lord, our God, in compassion for your people, grant us peace, grant us peace, and in your mercy, renew in us your life). The work was introduced with handbells rung randomly in the E minor scale; accompanied by Josh Wiener, director of the synagogue’s choir, on piano; and concluded with a violin descant played by Jan McNair. Following the reading from the Torah, the choir premiered the setting of Psalm 19:7-9.
Participants in the Jackson residency included Temple Beth Israel, Northminster Baptist Church, and St. Mark’s Parish/St. Christopher’s Chapel (Episcopalian). The close of this residency also marked the completion of the first round of Faith Partners residencies in the Southeast. Launched in early 2000, the residencies provided six Southeastern composers the unprecedented opportunity to create 36 new sacred works for a total of 18 congregations in three states.
The
Faith Partners Program in the Southeastern states is funded by the
Rockefeller Brothers
Fund
REMIX STUDENTS AT ANDERSON CLUB VISIT WITH GUEST ARTISTS
(MAY 2002) On April 17, students participating in composer Miguel Romero’s REMIX residency with the James T. Anderson Boys & Girls Club received a visit from guest artists Luis Gonzales and Luis Deywis Oduardo, both experts in the art of playing conga drums. Oduardo’s presence was particularly special for the youth as he is 13, the same age as many of the club members.
Gonzales
and Oduardo demonstrated the "conversation" that takes place
between two drummers so that the REMIX group could get a sense of
how music can be created through a dynamic partnership. The club members
got a chance to try the drums themselves as well as experiment with
playing a complementary rhythm on the claves, two round sticks of
wood used as a percussion instrument in Cuban music.
REMIX CONCERT AT LAWRENCEVILLE CLUB
(MAY 2002) On April 18, participants in composer Susan Ottzen’s REMIX residency with the Lawrenceville Boys & Girls Club presented three original works at a concert for their parents. All of the compositions were written and performed by the group in collaboration with Ottzen.
"The Key" featured a poem written by 12-year-old Cameron Hayes. As Hayes and REMIX member Bernard Gilbert recited the text, the group performed dance movements choreographed by 17-year-old guest artist Camerin Allgood. Club member Jonathan Jernigan contributed his poem "The Robot" for the second piece. REMIX performers used drum sticks and bright orange plastic buckets to accompany Jernigan’s poem with a powerful rhythm that matched the poem’s meter.
The concert closed with "Shake and Bake Your Chicken Steak!," an extended call and response. Ottzen, Gilbert, and REMIX member Andrea Howell laid down the rhythm with Boomwhackers of different pitches (tuned pieces of plastic pipe, which are played by striking the side of the pipe lightly against a hard surface like a table, the floor, or one’s head. For more information, check out www.boomwhackers.com), while the performers chanted each verse and performed movements synchronized to the beat.
Professional musicians Matt Turnure (percussion) and L.A. Tuten (electric guitar) joined the group to round out the instrumentation for each piece. They will return to perform with the group for the final concert and recording session at the end of the residency.
REMIX
is funded by the Arthur
M. Blank Family Foundation.
COMPOSER IN THE SCHOOLS HOSTS GUEST PERFORMER
REMIX STUDENTS HEAR FROM GUEST PERCUSSIONIST
SPANO, DANS AND MICKLETHWAITE MEET WITH ATLANTA COMPOSERS
(APRIL 2002) The Feb. 13 chapter meeting featured special guest speaker Robert Spano, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's recently appointed music director. Twenty composers gathered in the orchestra’s rehearsal hall to speak with Spano, as well Artistic Administrator Frank Dans and Assistant Conductor Alexander Micklethwaite. Spano's inaugural season already bears the mark of his long-standing advocacy of new music and living composers; programming includes works by Alvin Singleton, Joseph Schwantner, Jennifer Higdon, Richard Danielpour, and John Adams.
The meeting began with a discussion of the orchestra's 2002-03 season, with everyone receiving advance copies of the new season brochure. Members were particularly excited to learn that one of the season’s highlights was a newly commissioned work by Higdon, a chapter member. The conversation then evolved into a lively exchange, covering a wide range of topics – from the challenges of teaching music students raised on pop music to the process behind the selection of contemporary works for the orchestra's season. Spano responded to questions with candor and good humor, providing valuable insights to the composers, while winning their respect for his leadership of the Southeast's largest cultural institution
.
CHAPTER ANNOUNCES REMIX PROJECT WTH BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS
(FEBRUARY 2002) In January, the chapter and the Youth Art Connection of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta launched REMIX, a new after-school composer residency program. The program – the first of its kind for the area Boys & Girls Clubs – will place a composer-in-residence at two Atlanta-area clubs. The composers will work with selected club members from January through May 2002.
The program has been designed to give students the opportunity to compose, record their works, and produce and market a CD. "Like many of our residency programs, we want them to get their feet wet as composers," says Chapter Director Lane Wilson, "but this program is a little different. In keeping with the Boys & Girls Clubs' focus on education and employability, we designed this residency to give youth a taste of different music-industry careers." The participants will also get a taste of live performance when their works are performed at the Boys & Girls Clubs' annual fundraising dinner in late April.
REMIX has been
funded by a generous grant from the Arthur
M. Blank Family Foundation.
CHAPTER HOSTS SCREENING OF CONTINENTAL HARMONY DOCUMENTARY
(DECEMBER 2001) The Atlanta Chapter hosted a private showing of the PBS documentary: "Continental Harmony: Celebrating America Through Music" on December 13, 2001 on the campus of Georgia State University, which coincided with an announcement of the four newest Continental Harmony sites.
The Continental Harmony documentary is a stunning, first-rate production that tells the stories of 10 composers who worked with communities during the year 2000 as part of the American Composers Forum's Continental Harmony program, the largest commissioning program in U.S. history. The film is fast-paced as it moves from place to place across the country, following the composers as they interact with the communities for whom they wrote music to celebrate the millenium.
Continental Harmony is continuing into 2004. New projects are being offered in each state over the next three years. If you have already applied for the most recent series of projects, or are interested in applying in the future, this is a great opportunity to learn about the program from the experiences of these 10 composers.
The film is a production of Twin Cities Public Television, and is narrated by Robert Kulwich of ABC News. TPT's award-winning productions include "Hoop Dreams" and "Liberty! The American Revolution." The film lasts approximately one hour.
Continental Harmony is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation. National recognition of the inuagural round of Continental Harmony includes the PBS television documentary and associated Web site produced by Twin Cities Public Television, associate partner status with the White House Millennium Council, and archiving by the Library of Congress.
The Atlanta Chapter would like to thank GSU and Nick Demos for their generous assistance in hosting this event.
THE
NEXT CHAPTER IN EDUCATION
Atlanta and Boston Educational Programs Step Into the Future
In October, the Forum received a significant grant from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. The second Blank Family Foundation grant awarded to the Forum, it represents a substantial increase in support. The funds will be applied to three educational Community Partners projects in the Atlanta and Boston areas, providing a total of five composer residencies.
The Boston Chapter's after-school residency program with the Supplemental Program of Educational Skills (SPES) will move into its fourth year. The Atlanta ChapterÕs Composer in the Schools residency program also will continue, placing composers in two Fulton County public schools. In addition, the Atlanta Chapter will launch a new after-school program with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta (see Call for Composers above). That program will provide composer residencies at two area Boys & Girls Clubs during 2002.
FAITH PARTNERS PREMIERES CONTINUE ACROSS SOUTHEAST
On Sun., Oct. 21, Faith Partners continued its Southeastern odyssey as two congregations in Jackson, Miss., premiered works created for them by composer-in-residence Stephen Dankner.
The stunning contemporary sanctuary of St. Richard Catholic Church hosted premieres of two compositions, both settings of Psalms. Psalm 104 was set for SATB choir with organ accompaniment. For Psalm 139, Dankner used the same scoring with the addition of solo cello. Music director Helen Walsh conducted the St. Richard Choir with Marc Cerisier as organist, and Nancy Bateman on the cello.
In contrast to St. Richard, the sanctuary of Galloway United Methodist Church is more than 160 years old. Recent renovations to the sanctuary's chancel allowed it to accommodate a 40-voice choir, 12-piece brass ensemble, and timpani for the premiere of Dankner's setting of Psalm 148. The massed resources shook the historic rafters, and moved many of the congregation's members to seek out the composer after the service and offer their praise. Music director Robert McBain conducted the choir and instrumentalists for the premiere. Later that afternoon, the choirs from the two congregations got together at Galloway to perform all three anthems for members of both congregations.
St. Richard Catholic
Church and Galloway United Methodist Church are part of the Jackson
I Consortium, which also includes New Horizon Church.
NEW HORIZONS BAND PREMIERES MOTLEY'S "JUST LIKE OLD TIMES"
An Oct. 4 concert capped off the Community Partners project with composer Gary Motley and the New Horizons Band of Atlanta, one of a network of New Horizons seniors' bands that spans the country. More than 80 audience members, drawn from three area senior centers, gathered at the Dorothy Benson Seniors Center for the performance. The concert featured the world premiere of Motley's "Just Like Old Times." Written for the band, Motley's work was composed in swing style for woodwind, brass, and percussion. The band's director, Ginny Oliver, conducted the premiere with the composer on piano. Oliver stated that, to the best of her knowledge, this is the first time a composer had collaborated with any of the New Horizons bands.
Earlier in the year, Motley taught a series of theory classes for the band as part of the project. Most of the band's members have played an instrument all their lives, but have not pursued careers in music and have never studied music theory. As part of the classes, Motley and the band members discussed ideas for the piece that he would compose for them. The classes also gave the band a new set of skills. "Now I can give direction to the band in music theory terms which can be a big help," Oliver says of the experience. "And one of our flutists had enough confidence after the classes to compose a flute trio for the wedding of a friend's daughter." Motley, who teaches jazz improvisation at Emory University, commented that working with the group was quite different from his residencies with teenagers. "They asked lots of questions and had definite opinions," he says. "Their life experience, as well as their musicianship, made it a very dynamic group."
COMBINED CHOIRS PERFORM GRESHAM'S ANTHEM "BLESSINGS"
During the early morning hours of Tues., Sept. 11, the combined choirs of the Candler School of Theology performed Mark Gresham's anthem "Blessings" at the kick-off breakfast for the Metropolitan Atlanta Interfaith Children's Movement. Gresham wrote the anthem for the Atlanta I Faith Partners Consortium, of which Candler is a member. More than 200 area civic and religious leaders were in attendance. The anthem alternates lines spoken by a lector – read at this event by Imam Plemon El-Amin, Rabbi Craig Moranz, and Monsignor Henry Gracz – with parts sung by the choirs, under the direction of Dr. Marian Dolan.
Obviously, none of the attendees could have anticipated the events that would follow that morning, but the anthemÕs message would quickly become even more poignant.In the words of the refrain written by Professor Mary Elizabeth Moore:
"Blessings, blessings,
blessings and more
Children are the blessings God has in store
for a waiting creation, crying and torn."
NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI FAITH PARTNERS RESIDENCY WRAPS UP
The Northern Mississippi
Consortium's Faith Partners
residency officially concluded on August 12 at First United Methodist
Church, Tupelo, Miss., with the premiere of "We Praise Thee,
O God" (Te Deum Laudamus). Based on a text from the Book of Common
Prayer, the anthem was the sixth work composed for the consortium
by composer-in-residence Mike Braz. It was an appropriate
finale to the residency which has involved historic congregations
in a trio of communities located across the northern half of the state.
The 100-year-old sanctuary rang with the singing of the 44-member
choir and the flourish of a brass ensemble that included horn in F
and trombone. The church's music director Beverly Clement provided
the organ accompaniment for the anthem which Braz conducted. This
premiere brings to a total of 28 the number of new works composed
and performed for the first series of residencies in the Faith Partners
Program for Southeastern States.
GATHER THE TROOPS
The Forum Holds Annual Meeting and Chapter Conference
From July 13-16, the Humanities Education Center in St. Paul played host to the Forum's yearly Chapter Conference. Chapter Directors and National Staff used the occasion to exchange programming ideas, address the challenges of the chapter system's rapid growth, and facilitate better communication between the 10 regional chapters and the national office.
On July 14, Forum
members and members of the board of directors joined conference participants
for the organization's Annual Meeting. Marking the new fiscal year,
the gathering began with the final meeting of the Forum's 2001 board
and concluded with the 2002 board's inaugural meeting. Plenty of time
was also allowed for a celebration of the past year's successes, including
presentations honoring those who made them possible.
SONIC CIRCUITS VII FEATURES PREMIERES
In a "well-orchestrated" concatenation of events, the April 10 Sonic Circuits concert at Georgia State University was also the occasion of the Atlanta Chapter's most recent meeting and the premiere of not one, but two electronic compositions created as the result of CLiCC, the Chapter's Community Partners program.
Composer Ben Champion and students from Counterpane Montessori School in Fayetteville, Georgia, performed the results of their work in collecting, cataloguing and editing sounds from a typical school day. Counterpane is one of the very few Montessori Schools in the country that goes from kindergarten through the 12th grade. The multimedia work "A Day at Counterpane" combined "taped" music, a video montage, and acoustic performances on percussion and woodwinds by the students themselves.
Also on the program, "The Sounds of Scouting" presented the venerable Boy Scout oath as you never heard it before! Composer Jim Stallings and the members of Boy Scout Troop 100 had collected sounds from nature, as well as sound bites from each troop member reading the oath, and edited them into an electronic composition. At the concert the scouts' composition was allied with live performances on drum set and bird call by percussionist Emmett Stallings, the composer's son. The troop also is making a documentary of their project for broadcast on cable television later this year.
WILLIS COMPLETES HERNDON OPERA
(APRIL 2001) Composer Sharon Willis recently completed her Community Partners project "The Herndons: The Opera" based on the work she is creating on the life of Alonzo F. Herndon. Born in slavery in Social Circle, Georgia in the late 1850's, Herndon entered the barbering trade a few years after the Civil War, and made his personal fortune with a profitable barber shop in downtown Atlanta. As Atlanta's first black millionaire, he founded the Atlanta Life Insurance Co., which continues today as one of the largest black-owned insurance companies in the country.
Willis' opera is based on significant events in Herndon's life, including his marriage to Adrienne McNeil, a professor of drama at Atlanta University. Willis' project included presentations of excerpts from the opera at four elementary schools in Atlanta: Mary McCloud Bethune Elementary, Blalock Elementary, Oglethorpe Elementary, and Alonzo F. Herndon Elementary, the latter named for the man whose life the opera celebrates. Dr. Willis' educational program introduced the students to the art form of opera and to the facts of Herndon's life, then tied the two together in performances of two arias from her work-in-progress. In the scenes from Herndon's wedding, Willis recruited students from the schools to perform as the minister, wedding attendants and guests. The presentations included a question and answer session for the students who asked about subjects ranging from slavery to the training of singers.
As part of the project, Atlanta Life Insurance Co. presented a gala concert at their corporate headquarters on February 24. Over 250 invited guests, including students from the schools, filled the auditorium to capacity to hear Willis' Americolor Opera Alliance perform several scenes from the opera. When approached about a concert, Atlanta Life had waived the fee for the auditorium, sent out special invitations, and honored the composer and performers with a buffet reception after the performance. Willis commented that their generous support was given in recognition of their founder and his legacy, and was a great opportunity to inspire enthusiasm for the art form "even among people who may think they don't particularly like opera!"
The full-length opera "The Herndons" is scheduled to have its premiere in Atlanta in late October, 2001.
APRIL SEES THREE
FAITH PARTNERS RESIDENCIES
COMPLETED
(APRIL 2001) In April, three Faith Partners residencies
completed their work with their composers-in-residence with performances
in very different settings and in celebration of very distinct events.
Noteworthy among the collaborations that the music represented, The Temple in Atlanta presented the premiere of Will Still Live On by the Atlanta II Consortium's composer-in-residence Brent Weaver. The piece was performed on April 19 at The Temple in a concert presented by the DeKalb Choral Guild of works commemorating Yom HaShoah, the Day of Holocaust Remembrance. Written specifically for The Temple, ÒWill Still Live OnÓ uses a text by Luba Gurdus discovered by Cantor Deborah Benardot during a trip to Israel. After a meditation scored for clarinet, cello and piano, the Young Adult Choir of The Temple sang the poem by Ms. Gurdus, herself a Holocaust survivor, who lost her four-year-old son in the camps.
"Will Still Live On" and the five other pieces written for the Atlanta II Consortium were performed in a grand collaboration on April 25 at Spivey Hall in Morrow, Georgia. All three congregations combined their choirs and instrumentalists in a joint concert before an audience of members of Central Congregational Church, First Presbyterian Church, and The Temple. The final work ÒHere Am I, Send MeÓ received its premiere that evening and was conducted by the composer. (The piece was performed again on May 4 in a Shabbat service at The Temple.)
In two services at Cannon Chapel on the Emory University campus, Candler School of Theology presented works written by the Atlanta I consortium's composer-in-residence Mark Gresham. The Methodist-affiliated seminary has two choirs, a chapel choir and the Choraliers, who are selected by audition; both are comprised of seminary students and perform under the direction of Dr. Marian Dolan, Assistant Professor of Church Music and Choral Conducting. On April 19 the combined choirs sang the premiere of "Lord Make Haste to Hear My Cry" at a service held during Candler's Homecoming. The following week on April 24, the choirs presented the premiere of "Blessings" at a communion service. The work combines texts from Psalm 100 and poetry by Candler professor Mary Elizabeth Moore. Its format alternates between text read by a lector, and parts sung by the choirs and congregation. The piece was written as a musical response to the United Methodist Bishops' initiative on Children and Poverty. The two premieres represented the final works composed for the Atlanta II consortium which included Central Presbyterian Church and First Congregational Church.
Easter Sunday,
April 15, was the occasion of the premieres of two works composed
by Bob Moore for his consortium in Birmingham, Alabama. Sixth
Avenue Baptist Church presented "Easter Introit," a
work scored for trumpet, chimes, organ, and soprano and bass voices.
The text is based on the New Testament story of the Resurrection.
On the same day, All Saints Episcopal performed "Earth,
Earth, Awake!," a stirring anthem scored for SATB choir, trumpet
and organ with a text by Herman Stuempfle. The pair of pieces were
the final two works written for the Birmingham Consortium which also
included Huffman United Methodist Church.
Faith Partners Premeires Continue
(APRIL 2001) In Jackson, Mississippi, Northminster Baptist Church has presented premieres of two new works by Jonathan McNair, composer-in-residence for the Jackson II Consortium. The choral introit, "Lord, Who Throughout These Forty Days," was introduced on March 18; a work written for the Lenten season, it uses a text by Claudia F. Hernaman (1873). On April 8, the church's chancel choir presented ÒMy Song Is Love UnknownÓ with text by Samuel Crossman (1664). The work is scored for SATB choir, solo cello, and organ. Music director Bill Pharr conducted the choir with organist Billy Trotter and cellist Ben Randman performing the accompaniment.
Faith Partners Premeires STILL Going Strong!!
Six anthems received premieres over the course of the last month for the Faith Partners Program for Southeastern States. The occasions for the premieres in the liturgical calendar were the last Sunday of Epiphany on February 25, and the second Sunday of Lent on March 11. Demonstrating the regional breadth of the program, the premieres took place in four of the residencies participating in the program, and involved five different congregations in three states.
On February 25, First Presbyterian Church in Atlanta performed "Jesus on the Mountain Peak" by composer-in-residence Brent Weaver. The text from the Presbyterian hymnal was written by Brian Wren, who currently serves as Conant Professor of Worship at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. Weaver's new setting made use of the church's adult choir and the St. Cecilia Consort, a chamber orchestra directed by Charles Whittaker, the church's music director. At the same time across town, the combined children's choirs of Central Presbyterian Church performed "Go Forth into the World" with flute and piano accompaniment. The text by composer-in- residence Mark Gresham centered on the theme of reconciliation being used by the consortium. And 160 miles away in Birmingham, Alabama, Huffman United Methodist Church presented the premiere of "Make Music for Your Lord to Hear" by their composer Bob Moore. The anthem uses a text by contemporary writer John A. Dalles, and is written for SATB choir with piano accompaniment.
Two new pieces by Bob Moore were performed by All Saints
Episcopal Church in Birmingham during their worship service on
March 11. Using the musical style of the Taizé community, "Taste
and See the Goodness of the Lord" was written for SATB choir
and organ. The second anthem, "As Water to the Thirsty,"
uses a contemporary text by Timothy Dudley-Smith in a work for SATB
choir sung a capella. At the same time, one state away in Greenwood,
Mississippi, First Presbyterian Church performed the premiere
of "The Glory of These Forty Days" by composer-in-residence
Michael Braz. With a text by Gregory the Great, who lived from
540 to 604AD, the anthem employs SAB voices with solo cello and organ
accompaniment. Karl Zinsmeister, music director and organist, was
joined by guest cellist Lane Summers to perform the accompaniment
for the premiere.
FAITH PARTNERS PREMIERE IN ATLANTA
On March 11, Central Congregational Church premiered "Shekinah," a shared work written for the Atlanta II Faith Partners consortium by composer-in-residence Brent Weaver. In his composer's notes, Weaver wrote, "From my limited understanding of it, the many-faceted Hebrew term 'Shekinah' has to do with the perceptible signs of the presence of God – often a fire or smoke in the Holy Scriptures. ... In this piece, I have tried to portray some of the feelings that the concept that Shekinah brought forth in me."
The piece is for SATB choir, accompanied by solo violin and organ, and the choir sings a wordless "vocalise." "Rather than presenting text, the chorus is part of the instrumental ensemble, sometimes accompanying and sometimes coming forward with the melody," Weaver explains.
Faith Partners Premeires Still Going Strong!
The Northern Mississippi Faith Partners Consortium saw its fourth premiere on Feb. 4 at First Methodist Church in Columbus, Miss. For the anthem "Holy Mystery, Sacred Sign," composer-in-residence Mike Braz set the text, written by the church's music director Put LaBarre, for SATB choir and organ or piano accompaniment. The composer, who lives in Statesboro, Ga., attended the premiere and doubled the organ accompaniment on the piano; LaBarre conducted. The other members of the consortium – First Presbyterian Church in Greenwood and First Methodist Church in Tupelo – will share the work, which was written for communion services.
"Break Forth Together into Singing," an anthem for SATB chorus and organ, received its premiere performance on Sunday, Feb. 11, at First Congregational Church in Atlanta. Written by composer-in-residence Mark Gresham using text from the Book of Isaiah, the work was performed by the church's newly formed chamber choir with Music Director Trey Clegg playing the organ accompaniment. Gresham joined the choir to sing the anthem. It was the third premiere for the Atlanta I Faith Partners Consortium, which includes Central Presbyterian Church and Candler School of Theology at Emory University.
Faith Partners programming in the Southeast is made possible by the support of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
Tri-Cities High School Composer in the Schools Residency Wraps Up
On Jan. 19, the Composer in the Schools Residency at Tri-Cities High School wrapped up with a gala concert showcasing the talents of more than 100 participating students. The performance featured works written by students who had been studying composition with composer-in-residence James Oliverio. Early in the semester, Oliverio, the composition students, and the faculty had decided to link the evening's compositions with an overarching theme, incorporating the dance, drama, chorus, and orchestra departments as well. The nine works (seven composed by students) explored the journey one takes in a relationship. The pieces were linked by a dramatic narrative written and performed by the school's theater students. The evening included instrumental works by student composers Kevin Anderson, Tallie Brinson, Kenneth English, and Christopher Jackson, as well as a song with guitar accompaniment written by student Brandi Waller. Oliverio composed the program's overture and choral finale, the latter performed by a 60-voice student chorus.
Community Partners project with New Horizons Band
As part of a new Community Partners project, composer Gary Motley will work with the New Horizons Band of Atlanta, an ensemble of musicians over age 50. The group is part of a national network, with more than 30 New Horizons Bands currently spanning the country. The 24 members of the band play various brass and wind instruments. Motley will create a piece for the group based on its musicians' ideas and the band's instrumentation, and will teach a series of theory courses for band members. The new work is scheduled to premiere at a community festival in Sandy Springs, Ga. (a suburb of Atlanta) in September 2001.
In the first premiere of the Birmingham (Alabama) Faith Partners residency, Huffman United Methodist Church celebrated the second Sunday in Advent with "Come Gladly, Come Gaily, Come Gather Together," an anthem by composer-in-residence Bob Moore. The chancel choir performed the anthem on Sunday, Dec. 10 as the offertory in a service of lessons and carols. A lively, brightly colored work, the piece was written specifically for Huffman and made use of its chancel and handbell choirs. The text is by contemporary writer Sylvia Dunstan. Moore traveled from his home in Jacksonville, Fla., for the premiere, which was conducted by Huffman Music Director Bob Whetstone.
Composer Brent Weaver joined Central Congregational Church's choir to sing the premiere of Advent Cantata, the work he wrote for the congregation – a member of the Atlanta II Faith Partners consortium. The cantata for soprano solo, SATB choir, woodwinds, percussion, and organ was performed in two services at the church on Sunday, Dec. 17. The 14-minute work employed several different texts: two poems, "Young Mary" and "First Coming," by Madeleine L'Engle (a writer well-known for her children's book A Wrinkle in Time); "Magnificat Reflection," a poem by congregation member Kathy Clark; and the text of the "Magnificat" from the New Century Hymnal of the United Church of Christ. The premiere was conducted by music director Elizabeth Rice, featuring soprano Marion Crabb (also a member of the congregation) and church organist Fred Childers.
Students from Tri-Cities High School visit the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
On Nov. 9, as part of the chapter's Composer in the Schools program, six composition students from Tri-Cities High School attended a rehearsal of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, conducted by James DePreist. James Oliverio, composer-in-residence at Tri-Cities, organized the visit to Symphony Hall with the assistance of Susan Merritt, ASO education director. The students – Kevin Anderson, Elijah Bridges, Kenneth English, Pierre Henry, Chris Jackson, and Brandi Waller – watched the rehearsal of Prokofiev's Cinderella Suite. They met with DePreist after the rehearsal to discuss their interests in conducting and composition. "The students were thrilled to go 'behind the scenes' at the ASO for a professional orchestra rehearsal," Oliverio says. "And then to get to meet the maestro afterwards was a high point for all of them. ... They saw him as a role model and an example of what one can do when they are dedicated and love music."
Continental Harmony and local works featured at November Meeting
Continental Harmony Project Director Patricia Shifferd and Acworth, Ga., composer Eric Alexander were guests for the chapter's Nov. 18 meeting. Georgia's Continental Harmony project, Alexander's dance-drama The Unsung, premiered at Kennesaw State University Nov. 17-19. Shifferd discussed the implementation of the national program and the program's future. Alexander played excerpts from his composition and answered questions about the local project. The composer explained how he and choreographer Amy Howton worked together closely in order to identify important scenes from the lives of the historic figures portrayed in the dance-drama. Due to the wealth of material, the planned 30-minute performance blossomed into a five-part work, which was more than an hour in length.
The meeting also featured recordings of two works by chapter member Laurence Sherr. The compositions – Four Short Pieces for violin and a Nocturne for piano – were written a decade apart. Sherr used them to illustrate how his work has evolved. The violin solo was spikier and experimented with atonal writing, while the later work for piano was more lyrical and influenced by the writing of impressionist composers such as Debussy. Both pieces were similar in the subtlety of their timbral shadings and their demand on the technical skills of the performers.
FAITH PARTNERS PREMIERES BEGIN
The first premiere for the Atlanta II Faith Partners Consortium took place on Sunday, Sept. 24, at the 11 a.m. service at First Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. Music director and organist Charles Whittaker accompanied the adult choir in a performance of the anthem "With What Shall I Come Before The Lord?" by composer-in-residence Brent Weaver. Based on Micah 6: 6-8, the text includes a section in Hebrew for treble voices. A "shared" work for all three of the consortium's congregations, the anthem will receive subsequent performances by the other congregations – The Temple (synagogue) and Central Congregational Church. Weaver worked with The Temple Cantor Deborah Benardot to learn the Hebrew text, its pronunciation, and ways that the Hebrew could be set to music.
Composer Mike Braz premiered two works he wrote for the Northern Mississippi Faith Partners Consortium. On Sept. 17, the adult choir of First Presbyterian Church in Greenwood, Miss., performed the anthem "Savior! Visit Thy Plantation" accompanied on the organ by Karl Zinsmeister, the church's music director. Zinsmeister researched the first stanza of the anthem, which is from the Presbyterian Hymnal of 1874. The anonymous text is essentially a prayer for rain – particularly significant given the spiritual symbolism associated with rain and the more concrete economic impact it has on the area's cotton crop. Braz wrote two additional stanzas in the same style to round out the anthem. On Oct. 29, Braz's "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" premiered at First United Methodist Church in Columbus, Miss. With text written in 1785 by Robert Robinson, the anthem for SATB choir includes parts for handbells and brass as well as organ or piano accompaniment. Braz accompanied the choir on the piano for the premiere with music director Put LaBarre conducting.
Jonathan McNair, composer-in-residence for the Jackson (Miss.) II Consortium, has written two pieces that received premieres on Sunday, Sept. 24 at St. Christopher's Chapel. The first, "Wide River," is an anthem for men's chorus with piano accompaniment that adapts two traditional spirituals – "One More River to Cross" and "Stand the Storm." The second, "God, Be In My Head," is a choral benediction that uses as its text an excerpt from the Sarum liturgy ("God be in my head, and in my understanding ..."). Both pieces were conducted by the composer. The latter is one of the shared works for the consortium which also includes Northminster Baptist Church and Temple Beth Israel.
JAPANFEST WORK PREMIERED
In Spite of Civil Wars ..., a work by composer Eric Alexander of Acworth, Ga., received its premiere on Sunday, Sept. 17, at JapanFest, an annual festival celebrating Japanese culture held in Stone Mountain Park near Atlanta. As part of a Community Partners project funded by the Atlanta Chapter, the North Georgia Suzuki Strings under the direction of Keiko Furness, a Japanese native, performed the work. The group of 25 young musicians played to an enthusiastic audience of hundreds of festival goers. The six-minute rhapsody contained three string parts corresponding to the three levels of technical difficulty in the Suzuki school. Incorporating melodic ideas from a Creek Indian song, a spiritual, and a shape note tune, the work reflected the ways music transcends cultural differences in the cause of peace and understanding. Eric Alexander is also the composer for Georgia's Continental Harmony project.