The 2018 Program:
"Somehow This Madness Must Cease"
March 2 - Massachusetts Music Educators Conference, Seaport Hotel, Boston
March 4 - The Vilna Shul, Beacon Hill
May 26 - NIME6, Boston University
July 15 - United Parish Brookline
August - Cuernavaca and Mexico City
September 15 - "Bridges, Not Walls" Boston University
Program Selections: Mexico City
August 9
|
|
|
|
MMEA ConferenceIn the spring of 2018, VOICES 21C weathered the storm (literally, there was a monsoon going on) to perform for the attendees of the MMEA (Massachusetts Music Educators Association) conference.
Armed with umbrellas and our mission to enhance global understanding through music, our program, "Somehow this Madness Must Cease" explored the themes of conflict and resolution, despair and hope. |
2nd Annual "Voices of Freedom" at The Vilna ShulVOICES 21C returned to Vilna Shul to take part in "Voices of Freedom," a concert of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim music.
After each choir performs their separate program, we all come together as a symbol of unity and harmony, for a massive choral finale. VOICES was overjoyed to return to Vilna Shul this year, with a program of entirely Muslim music. |
|
National Inquiry in Music Education Conference:
Boston University
|
|
|
At NIME 6, VOICES 21C presented a version of "Somehow This Madness Must Cease" with a new collaboration.
The above video is our first appearance with Q, a prolific songwriter who was formerly incarcerated.
Our collaboration highlights the stigma, judgement, and extreme mistreatment of incarcerated persons throughout the globe.
The above video is our first appearance with Q, a prolific songwriter who was formerly incarcerated.
Our collaboration highlights the stigma, judgement, and extreme mistreatment of incarcerated persons throughout the globe.
|
|
SEND-OFF:
|
|
|
Workshops with "Les Semillas Estelares"
|
Below are videos of the Semillas performing En El Dragon, and our performance of Oye by Jim Papoulis at the Teatro Ocampo!
|
|
|
Adult Workshops [Cuernavaca, Morelos]
|
By the end of our week in Cuernavaca, VOICES 21C had given over 16 hours worth of workshops to both children and adult singers. Adult workshops included choirs from all over Cuernavaca, as well as members from Costa Rica.
We discussed the concepts of fear and love that emerged from one of our collaboration pieces, and did many ensemble building activities. Several of the exercises we completed helped everyone to more heavily associate with the emotional material in our upcoming concert program. The work we accomplished was truly spectacular. Participating Choirs in the 2018 "Dragón de Jade" Chorale: -Coro Cenzontle de Morelos -Vocal Axolote -Coro de Cámara de Morelos -Alajuela Internacional -Instituto de Energías Renovables |
|
|
|
We Are | Ysaye M. Barnwell
Workshop and Concert with
Voce in Tempore [Mexico City]
|
|
VOICES 21C closed out their time in Mexico by collaborating with Voce in Tempore, at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). These meetings and performances were centered around mutual understanding and common ground.
An especially wonderful memory took place after our last concert of the tour, when Voce in Tempore took off their beautiful jewelry, and put them onto members of VOICES 21C, showing their genuine appreciation for the time we had spent together (pictured left). Selections from VOICES 21C's portion of the concert are on our SoundCloud page (below)! |
|
|
Appraisals for VOICES 21C
-En Español -In English (Coming Soon!)
Full Program:
Trilo, Swedish Folk Song………………………………………….……………........................…….……………………..……Arr. A. Möller
(1965 - )
This Swedish folk tune was sung to welcome fishermen home from the sea. The
wives would sing with a very forward tone, hoping their song would carry over the
waves and greet their husbands. Imagine if you will, a sense of actively waiting
for something; an arrival, a change.
Scripts, “Who Are You?”…………………….....................................……………………...….………………………….….…Music: Orlando Gibbons
(1583-1625)
Here VOICES 21C uses Gibbons’ This is the Record of John as a vehicle to introduce
ourselves, how we tell stories, and the questions we must ask ourselves as a choir.
“And we confessed and denied not, and said plainly, “I am not the one.”
And they asked us, what art thou then? Have you the answers? And we said, “We do not.”
Are you the prophets? And we answered “No.”
And we say, “We are the voice of them that crieth in the wilderness. Transform the way of the world.”
Je me suis embarquée……………………….......…........………………………………......…….…………...…….…… Michael Genese
(1994 - )
This unsettling interpretation of poetry by Jean de La Ville de Mirmont brings up
the uncertain feeling inside of anyone who does not have control over where they
are going. VOICES 21C finds severe importance in the message of this piece, in light
of the current global refugee crisis.
“I have embarked on a ship which dances and rolls from side to side.
My feet have forgotten the Earth and its paths; the supple waves have taught me other cadences-
more beautiful than the rhythm of human songs.
To live among you; had I a soul?”
Til Ungdommen………………………………………...……………………………..............………Mortensen, Arr. Henning Sommero
(1952 - )
Translated as “To Youth,” this anti-war poem asks of us how we might respond in
the face of opposition and war, with the response that we should nurture beauty
and warmth.
The Listening……………………………………………….………………...…….……………………………… Cheryl B. Engelhardt
A member of VOICES 21C, Cheryl B. Engelhardt wrote The Listening with inspiration
from Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech; A Time to Break Silence.
Even When He is Silent…………………………….….............……………………………..…………...….………Kim André Arnesen
(1980 - )
“When everything is dark and difficult […] this is about keeping faith, love, and
hope. I think of the sun as a metaphor for hope.”
– Kim André Arnesen
I believe in the sun even when it’s not shining.
I believe in love even when I feel it not.
I believe in God even when He is silent.
Zikr……………………...........……………..…………………………..…………………..………….……A. R. Rahman, Arr. Ethan Sperry
(1971 - )
This arrangement of the Urdu text Zikr is based upon the music of the whirling
dervishes, Sufi Muslim musicians who perform this style of music from Egypt across
the Silk Road to Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Thailand, and Malaysia.
Would You Harbor Me?.........................…..………................................................................................Ysaye M. Barnwell
(1946 - )
We sing this song for those who do not have homes.
We live in a time when an unprecedented 69 million people throughout the world are refugees,
and where closer to home, thousands of Americans are rendered homeless and harbor-less.
The question of whom we welcome into our homes and into our hearts has
become a burning one.
13:14…………………………………..…………………………..………….....………….………..…………………...…....Elisa Schmelkes
At exactly 13:14 on 9/19/17, an earthquake violently shook Mexico City and
the Valley of Mexico. This work narrates the composer’s personal experience
of this event and the days that followed, including images of collapsed buildings,
shouting, tweets/WhatsApp group messages organizing help, and the raising
of fists to request silence, hearing those beneath the rubble.
Ezekiel Saw the Wheel (African-American Spiritual)……........………………..……………………arr. William Dawson
(1899–1990)
Spirituals are stories of faith. In this song, Ezekiel speaks of a prophecy that is
characterized by a stormy vision of a throne-chariot with wheels of fire spinning
in the air. Like many spirituals, the song speaks of man’s hope to be lifted out of
suffering and humanity’s desire for a better future.
#W88570………………………………………………………………..………………………..……………………… ……..Songwriter: Q
VOICES 21C closed its Boston concerts with this selection by Q a formerly incarcerated person:
"I'm sorry my people aren't evil inside, I'm sorry you people are quick to imply.
It could be contagious, don't look in their eyes. It could be the reason the reaper
decides to show you his face no longer disguised.
Don't need you to lie, don't need you to cry. But look deep inside, beneath
all the pride, cause either you're eatin', or either you die."
(1965 - )
This Swedish folk tune was sung to welcome fishermen home from the sea. The
wives would sing with a very forward tone, hoping their song would carry over the
waves and greet their husbands. Imagine if you will, a sense of actively waiting
for something; an arrival, a change.
Scripts, “Who Are You?”…………………….....................................……………………...….………………………….….…Music: Orlando Gibbons
(1583-1625)
Here VOICES 21C uses Gibbons’ This is the Record of John as a vehicle to introduce
ourselves, how we tell stories, and the questions we must ask ourselves as a choir.
“And we confessed and denied not, and said plainly, “I am not the one.”
And they asked us, what art thou then? Have you the answers? And we said, “We do not.”
Are you the prophets? And we answered “No.”
And we say, “We are the voice of them that crieth in the wilderness. Transform the way of the world.”
Je me suis embarquée……………………….......…........………………………………......…….…………...…….…… Michael Genese
(1994 - )
This unsettling interpretation of poetry by Jean de La Ville de Mirmont brings up
the uncertain feeling inside of anyone who does not have control over where they
are going. VOICES 21C finds severe importance in the message of this piece, in light
of the current global refugee crisis.
“I have embarked on a ship which dances and rolls from side to side.
My feet have forgotten the Earth and its paths; the supple waves have taught me other cadences-
more beautiful than the rhythm of human songs.
To live among you; had I a soul?”
Til Ungdommen………………………………………...……………………………..............………Mortensen, Arr. Henning Sommero
(1952 - )
Translated as “To Youth,” this anti-war poem asks of us how we might respond in
the face of opposition and war, with the response that we should nurture beauty
and warmth.
The Listening……………………………………………….………………...…….……………………………… Cheryl B. Engelhardt
A member of VOICES 21C, Cheryl B. Engelhardt wrote The Listening with inspiration
from Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech; A Time to Break Silence.
Even When He is Silent…………………………….….............……………………………..…………...….………Kim André Arnesen
(1980 - )
“When everything is dark and difficult […] this is about keeping faith, love, and
hope. I think of the sun as a metaphor for hope.”
– Kim André Arnesen
I believe in the sun even when it’s not shining.
I believe in love even when I feel it not.
I believe in God even when He is silent.
Zikr……………………...........……………..…………………………..…………………..………….……A. R. Rahman, Arr. Ethan Sperry
(1971 - )
This arrangement of the Urdu text Zikr is based upon the music of the whirling
dervishes, Sufi Muslim musicians who perform this style of music from Egypt across
the Silk Road to Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Thailand, and Malaysia.
Would You Harbor Me?.........................…..………................................................................................Ysaye M. Barnwell
(1946 - )
We sing this song for those who do not have homes.
We live in a time when an unprecedented 69 million people throughout the world are refugees,
and where closer to home, thousands of Americans are rendered homeless and harbor-less.
The question of whom we welcome into our homes and into our hearts has
become a burning one.
13:14…………………………………..…………………………..………….....………….………..…………………...…....Elisa Schmelkes
At exactly 13:14 on 9/19/17, an earthquake violently shook Mexico City and
the Valley of Mexico. This work narrates the composer’s personal experience
of this event and the days that followed, including images of collapsed buildings,
shouting, tweets/WhatsApp group messages organizing help, and the raising
of fists to request silence, hearing those beneath the rubble.
Ezekiel Saw the Wheel (African-American Spiritual)……........………………..……………………arr. William Dawson
(1899–1990)
Spirituals are stories of faith. In this song, Ezekiel speaks of a prophecy that is
characterized by a stormy vision of a throne-chariot with wheels of fire spinning
in the air. Like many spirituals, the song speaks of man’s hope to be lifted out of
suffering and humanity’s desire for a better future.
#W88570………………………………………………………………..………………………..……………………… ……..Songwriter: Q
VOICES 21C closed its Boston concerts with this selection by Q a formerly incarcerated person:
"I'm sorry my people aren't evil inside, I'm sorry you people are quick to imply.
It could be contagious, don't look in their eyes. It could be the reason the reaper
decides to show you his face no longer disguised.
Don't need you to lie, don't need you to cry. But look deep inside, beneath
all the pride, cause either you're eatin', or either you die."
