World Premier of One Flock by Jake Music by Jake Runestad. Libretto by Todd Boss. Performed by Ember Choral Arts. Deborah Simpkin King, conductor. More info: http://jakerunestad.com/store/one-flock
Opening with an explosion of birds and closing with the choir’s exit into the wider diasporic “flock of humanity,” this dramatic cantata tells the story of a town beseiged by a wildfire, and uses the performance space as a stage through which the choir enacts the community’s displacement. Now chaotic, now tender, imbued with loss and longing, this 11-minute work inspires audiences with its expansive sonic and emotional landscape.
© 2016 JR Music. All rights reserved.
Call Across (2021)
Music: Kyle Pederson
Text: Brian Newhouse
From Our Concert Series Can We Talk... About Our Friends
Artistic Director: Deborah Simpkin King
Sara Stopek, soprano • Ruston Ropac, alto • Billy Shaw, tenor • Christopher Tefft, baritone
Collaborative Pianist: Matthew Oden
Percussionist: Peter Saleh
Performance Captured by MUSAE
Video Extraction, Titles and Staging by James Mosser
Show Art by ATUM Kreative
TEXT:
I. Alone, for days without number / through forest and fjord I sing,
aching for your voice.
Not the sound of wind scraping rock / not the leaves empty talk
nor the sound of the brook; / but oh, for your voice
hungry and looking as mine.
Let it arc over mountain like a gull over water,
rush through the deep green and land in my heart.
To hear my name again, to be beloved and belong,
to be at home wherever I go...
There is no beauty without your voice.
II. The dry grass here runs forever.
It whispers without end and bends for rain that never comes,
and at the horizon it rises like smoke.
Grandfather walked here before me, his grandfather long before him.
Ancestors from across the centuries—step now from your silence and walk with me.
I will build my fire tonight against the dark and its teeth of all kinds,
yet I would fear nothing if only the light found your face.
You who walked these same fields, whose blood I share,
whose name I carry, step in and say my name as I say yours.
There is no beauty without your voice.
Additional Shona text: Tsvaga urare, gara udare, dare rinokuriga
Translation: Rest, remain in peace, trials/troubles can kill you
III. Brick and mortar / fence and guard/ glass and glare
fact and fake / lock and key
privilege protects me, seals me in safety.
I throw bolts to bar the door,
build walls and ward off the world--
though it seals me as well in silence.
And the soul shrinks down / and the heart grows small.
There is no beauty without your voice.
IV. I call across canyons, I call across plains.
I call across colors, I call across time.
What beauty can we make if our voices join?
Born This Way
(Featured in Glee; 2011 hit sung by LADY GAGA)
Roger Emerson, arr.
Text & Music by Stefani Germanotta, Jeppe Lauridson,
Paul Blair and Fernando Garibay Maglione
From Our Concert Series Can We Talk...About Our Friends
Artistic Director Deborah Simpkin King
Performance Captured by MUSAE
Video Extraction, Titles and Staging by James Mosser
Show Art by ATUM Kreative
Soloists:
Sei Young Pyo, alto • Billy Shaw, tenor • Jennifer Hiemstra, soprano
Collaborative Pianist: Matthew Oden
Percussion: Peter Saleh
TEXT:
My mama told me when I was young, “We are all born superstars.”
She rolled my hair and put my lipstick on in the glass of her boudoir
“There’s nothing wrong with loving who you are”, she said, “’Cause He made you perfect, babe
So hold your head up, girl, and you’ll go far”
Listen to me when I say:
Refrain: I’m beautiful in my way ‘cause God makes no mistakes
I’m on the right track, baby, I was born this way
Don’t hide yourself in regret, just love yourself, and you’re set
I’m on the right track, baby, I was born this way (born this way)
Ooh, there ain’t no other way, baby, I was born this way
Baby, I was born this way (born this way)
Ooh, there ain’t no other way, baby, I was born this way
Right track, baby, I was born this way
Give yourself prudence and love your friends
Subway kid, rejoice your truth
In the religion of the insecure, I must be myself, respect my youth
A different lover is not a sin, believe capital H-I-M
I love my life, I love this record, and
Mi amore vole fe, yah (same DNA) Refrain
No matter gay, straight, or bi’, lesbian, transgender life
I’m on the right track, baby, I was born to survive
No matter Black, white or beige, chola, or Orient’ made
I’m on the right track, baby, I was born to be brave. Refrain
I am a Voice that Sings (2022)
Music: Michael Bussewitz-Quarm
Text: Ronald W. Cadmus
From Our Concert Series Can We Talk...About Our Friends
Artistic Director Deborah Simpkin King
Performance Captured by MUSAE
Video Extraction, Titles and Staging by James Mosser
Show Art by ATUM Kreative
Soloists:
Sei Young Pyo, alto • Christopher Tefft, baritone • Billy Shaw, tenor
Collaborative Pianist: Matthew Oden
TEXT:
In the dark of night / In shades of fear
I’ll reach within / Deep in my soul
To find the promised light / A dream to keep in sight
I am a voice that sings!
When all hope seems gone / On your path unknown
Feeling alone / I’ll keep right on
And blend my voice with yours / To lift and reassure
I am a voice that sings!
I’m resolved to love / Be a force for change
My hand will hold / Your tender wounds
Together we will find / Something of grace and peace
I am a voice that sings!
When the flowers fade / When the stars grow dim
When the smile leaves / And tears appear
From deep within the heart / The song of life draws near
I am a voice that sings!
I am a voice that sings!
Together we will sing!
A New Video Series from Ember and Schola Cantorum on Hudson.
Since we can't be together in person just yet, we wanted to keep you connected to the work of Ember by featuring some of our members. Enjoy the video below and look for more videos soon.
For more information or to donate visit www.ScholaOnHudson.org.
Gilberto Gómez
Nella Fantasia
by
ENNIO MORRICONE
lyrics by: CHIARA FERRAU
Thankful
Words and music by:
DAVID FOSTER, CAROLE BAYER SAGER and RICHARD PAGE