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PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S VOCAL ENSEMBLE 2011-2012 The Fourteenth Season SHARON A. HANSEN, FOUNDER AND MUSIC DIRECTOR SOUTHERN SKIES AND WESTERN WINDS with Ernest Brusubardis III, piano Carl Storniolo, percussion Macyn Taylor Melvin, guitar and charango UNITY AND STRENGTH AFRICA Ise Oluwa (Jill Freese, soloist; Carl Storniolo, percussion) Traditional Yoruba Song Ke Nale Monna (Carl Storniolo, percussion) Traditional Sotho Song CANÇÓ – CANCIONES – CANTOS SPAIN Cançó a cau d’orella (poemes de Miquel Desclot) Josep Vila i Casañas 1. Cançó de finestra (Indra Brusubardis, soloist) 2. Cançó del pescador de llunes (Christine Papania, soloist) 3. Cançó del conductor de núvols 4. Cançó de la sabatera ARGENTINA Flor de Jarilla (Obras para canto) Emilio Dublanc (1911-1990) 1. Flor de Jarilla (poeme de Victor Volpe) 2. Cancion de Otoño (poeme de Renée Canard) URUGUAY Noche de lluvia (Carl Storniolo, percussion) Sid Robinovitch CALIFORNIA, USA Cantos Alegres (poemes de Gabriel Navar) Paul Basler 1. Adorable Flujo 2. Portones Abiertos y Rostros Brillantes * * * INTERMISSION * * * ISLAND INCANTATIONS Kona Kai ‘Opua ‘I Ka Lai (Indra Brusubardis and Mary MacDonald, soloists) Hawai’i - Traditional Hawai’ian Ezili (Faith Danneil, soloist) Haiti - Traditional Creole GENTLE TALES FROM IRELAND AND ENGLAND Geantraí (Meaghan Reider and Christine Papania, soloists) Traditional Irish, arr. Michael McGlynn Miri it is 13 th -century English, transcribed A. Doebele Siúil A Rúin (Elizabeth Holterman, soloist) Traditional Irish, arr. Michael McGlynn Macyn Taylor Melvin, guitar Carl Storniolo, percussion WOMEN’S LOVE SONGS GERMANY Sechs Mädchenlieder (poems by Paul Heyse) Heinrich von Herzogenberg (1843-1900) 1. Der Traum 2. Stelldichein 3. Der schlimme Gast 4. Sehnsucht 5. In der Spinnstuben 6. Trutzlied WOMEN’S WORK SONGS VENEZUELA Canto de Pilon Traditional Venezuelan, arr. Christian Grases BRAZIL As Costureiras Heitor Villa Lobos (Brazil, 1887-1959) COLOMBIA Maximína Traditional Colombian, arr. Julián Gomez Giraldo Macyn Taylor Melvin, charango Carl Storniolo, percussion February 18, 2012 Unitarian Universalist Church West 7:30PM 13001 West North Avenue, Brookfield WI

MCA-SouthernSkiesWesternWinds

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ARGENTINA Flor de Jarilla (Obras para canto) Emilio Dublanc (1911-1990) 1. Flor de Jarilla (poeme de Victor Volpe) 2. Cancion de Otoño (poeme de Renée Canard) with Ernest Brusubardis III, piano • Carl Storniolo, percussion Macyn Taylor Melvin, guitar and charango GENTLE TALES FROM IRELAND AND ENGLAND UNITY AND STRENGTH AFRICA Ise Oluwa (Jill Freese, soloist; Carl Storniolo, percussion) Traditional Yoruba Song Ke Nale Monna (Carl Storniolo, percussion) Traditional Sotho Song

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S H A R O N A . H A N S E N , F O U N D E R A N D M U S I C D I R E C T O R

P R O F E S S I O N A L W O M E N ’ S V O C A L E N S E M B L E

2011-2012 The Fourteenth

Season

SHARON A. HANSEN, FOUNDER AND MUSIC DIRECTOR

SOUTHERN SKIES AND WESTERN WINDSwith

Ernest Brusubardis III, piano • Carl Storniolo, percussionMacyn Taylor Melvin, guitar and charango

UNITY AND STRENGTHAFRICA Ise Oluwa (Jill Freese, soloist; Carl Storniolo, percussion) Traditional Yoruba Song Ke Nale Monna (Carl Storniolo, percussion) Traditional Sotho Song

CANÇÓ – CANCIONES – CANTOSSPAINCançó a cau d’orella (poemes de Miquel Desclot) Josep Vila i Casañas 1. Cançó de finestra (Indra Brusubardis, soloist) 2. Cançó del pescador de llunes (Christine Papania, soloist) 3. Cançó del conductor de núvols 4. Cançó de la sabatera

ARGENTINAFlor de Jarilla (Obras para canto) Emilio Dublanc (1911-1990) 1. Flor de Jarilla (poeme de Victor Volpe) 2. Cancion de Otoño (poeme de Renée Canard)

URUGUAYNoche de lluvia (Carl Storniolo, percussion) Sid Robinovitch

CALIFORNIA, USACantos Alegres (poemes de Gabriel Navar) Paul Basler 1. Adorable Flujo 2. Portones Abiertos y Rostros Brillantes

* * * INTERMISSION * * *

ISLAND INCANTATIONSKona Kai ‘Opua ‘I Ka Lai (Indra Brusubardis and Mary MacDonald, soloists) Hawai’i - Traditional Hawai’ianEzili (Faith Danneil, soloist) Haiti - Traditional Creole

GENTLE TALES FROM IRELAND AND ENGLANDGeantraí (Meaghan Reider and Christine Papania, soloists) Traditional Irish, arr. Michael McGlynnMiri it is 13th-century English, transcribed A. DoebeleSiúil A Rúin (Elizabeth Holterman, soloist) Traditional Irish, arr. Michael McGlynn

Macyn Taylor Melvin, guitar • Carl Storniolo, percussion

WOMEN’S LOVE SONGSGERMANYSechs Mädchenlieder (poems by Paul Heyse) Heinrich von Herzogenberg (1843-1900) 1. Der Traum 2. Stelldichein 3. Der schlimme Gast 4. Sehnsucht 5. In der Spinnstuben 6. Trutzlied

WOMEN’S WORK SONGSVENEZUELA Canto de Pilon Traditional Venezuelan, arr. Christian GrasesBRAZIL As Costureiras Heitor Villa Lobos (Brazil, 1887-1959) COLOMBIA Maximína Traditional Colombian, arr. Julián Gomez Giraldo

Macyn Taylor Melvin, charango • Carl Storniolo, percussion

February 18, 2012 Unitarian Universalist Church West7:30PM 13001 West North Avenue, Brookfield WI

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2 Milwaukee Choral Artists

A NOTE FROM THE MUSIC DIRECTOR: SOUTHERN SKIES AND WESTERN WINDS

Since my husband is an avowed Francophile, I have lived in Europe, and in particular, in Paris, on and off over the past twenty years — sometimes months at a time. Paris is the destination intersection of hundreds of world cultures. Stand on any street corner in Paris, and you may hear an African dialect being spoken. Turn in another direction and you’ll hear Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Mongolian, Italian, Greek, German and the list goes on. Go to a tourist spot like the Louvre and you may hardly hear any French at all. Visiting our friends in the Dordogne, we were treated to cable television with channels in Dutch, English, French, German, Egyptian, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Arabic. With films in original languages and subtitles in one’s mother (or second or third!) tongue, what a great way to learn another language! Information signs throughout France are often in two and three languages; on the trains and Metros, in four. Children often learn three and four languages from birth. For these reasons, over the years I couldn’t help but ask myself why we Americans are so afraid of language. What my many travels have taught me is that we live in a very small world indeed. Those of you who are our loyal followers may recognize this theme in MCA’s programming over the years. We are indeed one world community. And it is only when peoples and governments become arrogant and self-absorbed that they forget their interconnectedness. President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) offered this little quote:

“I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it.”

So what do we offer you this evening? A little reminder of this interconnection. Tonight, MCA represents that one peaceful world – through the beauty of many different voices. All of our songs, from countries diverse both southern and western, tell stories universal to the human experience:

• The ecstasy and sorrows of love, in Canço de finestra, Flor de Jarilla, Cancion de Otoño, Noche de Lluvia, Siúil a Rúin, and the Sechs Mädchenlieder;

• The determination of a community, in Ise Oluwa and Miri It Is; • The satisfaction of work, whatever the occupation, in Canto de Pilon and As

Costureiras;• The cry for brotherhood, in Ke Nale Monna;• The marvel of human interaction, in Cançó de la sabatera; • The power of storytelling, in Kona Kai ‘Opua ‘I Ka Lai and Ezili;• The innocence of childhood, in Cançó del pescador de llunes and Cançó del

conductor de núvols; • The defiance of adversity and absorbing the most in any moment, in Maximína;• The unabashed joy of living, in Adorable Flujo and Portones Abiertos y Rostros

Brillantes.

The Milwaukee Choral Artists would like to express its thanks to the many friends and patrons of the ensemble, and to the tireless Board of Directors and Managing Director Nancy Herro, without whom the work of this organization would not be possible. Before you are singers of exceeding talent, whose musicianship and professionalism over the last fourteen years has ushered in a new era of choral singing in Milwaukee. On behalf of the Milwaukee Choral Artists, I hope you will enjoy the diverse palette of music you will sample this season. All along the way to our 15th Anniversary, our concerts will be gloriously sung—don’t miss one note of them! Finally, to show our appreciation to you for coming to tonight’s celebration of global voices, the Milwaukee Choral Artists would like to say: Danke — Go raibh maith agaibh — Ke a leboha — Gracias — Mahalo — Mêci — Ė se — Mercès — and in the words of our mother tongue, Thank You!*

*Can you identify the languages? Here is the key: Danke (German); Go raibh maith agaibh (Gaelic); Ke a leboha (Sotho); Gracias (Spanish); Mahalo (Hawai’ian); Mêci (Haitian); Ẹ se (Yoruba); Mercès (Catalonian).

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3Milwaukee Choral Artists

Community

SUSANNAH

a riveting American opera of innocence lost

Florentine opera Company

William Florescu General Director

for tickets, call or visit

291-5700 ext 224 | Florentineopera.org414

By CarliSle FloyD

marCH 16 & 18 | marCUS Center

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4 Milwaukee Choral Artists

ABOUT THE MILWAUKEE CHOR AL ARTISTS

Jillian Hansen Bruss is currently the General Manager of the Milwaukee Opera Theatre. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of

Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. She is an award-winning soloist who has been featured with leading area performing groups, including the Florentine Opera, Racine Symphony, and Rockford Bach Chamber Choir. She produced the recording, “Voyage” with local compos-er Paula Foley Tillen, taking the concert on tour in Norway and Denmark. Jillian is an adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and maintains an active private voice studio in her home.

Indra Brusubardis holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Music degree in music therapy from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. For

fifteen years, Indra has performed with the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus as soloist, professional core member, and ACE program presenter. She is a long time member of the Milwaukee Latvian Choir, where she has been a soloist and featured in smaller ensembles. She has participated in Latvian Song Festivals in the United States, Canada, and Germany. She enjoys performing with the Oconomowoc American Legion Band, in area musical theatre productions, in the Waukesha Choral Union, and in concerts with her husband, Ernie, and their six children.

Faith Danneil is a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy, and holds a Master’s in Library and Information Science from the University

of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. Her first

professional choral engagement was with Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, where she was a choir member and cantor. Faith was a member and soloist of the Cantus Angelicus Choral Society in Fairfield, Iowa, and later was part of the professional core of the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus. Presently, Faith is soloist at The First Church of Christ, Scientist (Wauwatosa), and is a frequent soloist at the First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee.

Alexa Doebele is the Director of Choirs at Concordia University Wisconsin. She has taught previously at the University of Wyoming, the University of

Colorado, and Front Range Community College, and she is a ten-year veteran of K-12 music education. She is also active as both a solo and choral singer, having appeared with the Colorado Conduc-tors’ Chorus, the Ars Nova Singers, St. Martin’s Chamber Choir, the Boulder Chorale, the Littleton Chorale, and the CSO Chorus. She completed a bach-elor’s degree (double major in vocal performance and German language and literature) at Washington University in St. Louis and both her Master of Music Education and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees at the University of Colorado.

Jill Freese began her musical career as a child singing in Milwaukee’s Schola Cantorum. Since that time, she has performed with a variety of local

musical and theatre groups both in Milwaukee and in Indiana. Jill received the Bachelor of Arts degree from Valparaiso University, where she sang under the direction of Eldon Balko, and the Master of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. Jill is a professional speech pathologist at Easter Seals.

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5Milwaukee Choral Artists

ABOUT THE MILWAUKEE CHOR AL ARTISTS (c o n t.)

*Paula Garcia is a founding member* of MCA and has been singing with Milwaukee area choral groups for nearly forty years. She sang with the

Milwaukee Symphony Chorus and Chamber Singers for ten years and was a member of the professional core. She was also a performer and soloist with the Master Singers of Milwaukee. She has performed with the Skylight and has enjoyed many feature roles with area community theater companies. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Special Education from the University of Wisconsin – Stout, but has worked in the financial services industry for the past twenty-nine years, the last eight with Northwestern Mutual.

*Andrea Goetzinger is a founding member* of MCA. She is in her 29th Season as a member of the Bel Canto Chorus of Milwaukee, having served as alto

section leader since 1991. Andrea also serves as Assistant for the Bel Canto Chorus Senior Singers Program, and was the 2011 winner of the Bel Canto David J. Tolan Meritorious Service Award. Other Milwaukee-area ensembles with which Andrea has appeared include the Master Singers of Milwaukee, Festa Vocale, Bach Chamber Choir, Bach Collegium Choir, and the Ad Hoc Ensemble; from 1992-2002 she was a professional core member of the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church choir. A Licensed Practical Nurse for the past 31 years, Andrea is self-employed in elder care.

Elizabeth Holterman is a recent graduate in Vocal Performance from St. Norbert College. There, she participated in the Chamber Singers,

Women’s Concert Choir, and Vocal Jazz

Ensemble, and was a member of “The Abbey Singers” at St. Norbert Abbey. She was a member of St. Norbert College’s Knight Theatre and was the vocal music director of its 2011 production of Urinetown. She performed lead roles with St. Norbert’s Opera Workshop, including Lucy in Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera, the Sorceress in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and La Périchole in Offenbach’s La Périchole. Presently, she is singing with the Milwaukee Choral Artists, the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus, and is an adjunct music faculty member at Mother of Good Counsel Catholic School, through the Pius XI Performing Arts Academy.

Kristin Houge is a 2006 graduate of the University of Wiscon-sin-Milwaukee, having obtained her degrees in both choral and general music education. Presently,

Kristen is in her fifth year as choral director at Milwaukee Lutheran High School, where she conducts five curricular ensembles and one extra-curricular ensemble daily, teaching over 200 students. Having interest in international teaching, Kristen previ-ously taught English in Mexico and continues to travel to Haiti to conduct the Haitian boy choir, Les Petits Chan-teurs. This is Kristen’s sixth season singing with MCA.

*Charmaine LaBelle is a founding member* of MCA and serves as a soprano section leader. She has also been an ensemble representa-tive on the MCA

board. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin - Madison and her Master of Music degree from the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. Charmaine is a retired elementary general music specialist. She was a member of the professional core of the Milwaukee Sym-phony Chorus, a soloist with the Milwau-kee Symphony Orchestra, and can be

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6 Milwaukee Choral Artists

ABOUT THE MILWAUKEE CHOR AL ARTISTS (c o n t.)

heard as soprano soloist on the Pro Arte recording of Lukas Foss’ Psalms.

Mary MacDonald earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin - Whitewa-ter. She is a music specialist with the West Allis-West

Milwaukee Public Schools. She sang for ten years with the Milwaukee Sympho-ny Chorus, the Vocal Arts Consort, and the Wisconsin Conservatory Chamber Singers, including solo performances in their concerts with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Milwau-kee Chamber Orchestra. Mary has performed as soloist and recitalist in the Milwaukee and Racine area, and was presented as a young artist by the Civic Music Association of Milwaukee. She studied and performed lieder for two summers at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.

*Cynthia Matchette is a founding member* of MCA. Cynthia graduated from Westminster Choir College, where she was a member of the world-famous

Westminster and Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi choruses. She has also sung under such renowned conductors as Bernstein, Levine, Boulez, Penderecki, Keene, Muti, Chailly, and Conlin. In addi-tion, Cynthia has sung with the Dayton, Cincinnati and Florentine Opera Companies, and is currently a section leader and soprano soloist at North Shore Congregational Church. Cynthia is the president of her own business, SmArt Sales, a sales representation firm that specializes in servicing the giftware market.

Christine Papania received her Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music,

where she was a member of the University Singers, University Chorale, Pro Arte Singers, and Concentus. While at IU, Christine was heavily involved in the Early Music Institute, appearing as a soloist with the Pro Arte Singers and Concentus. Christine has performed with the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus, and will be appearing onstage in the upcoming Florentine Opera production of Turandot. She is the Advertising Assistant with an emphasis in Social Media at Hal Leonard Corporation, and is in the voice studio of Connie Haas.

Karen Ann Peters holds the Master of Music degree in organ from Concor-dia University and the Master of Education: (Math-ematics Emphasis)

degree from Whitewater, WI. She is currently serving as organist at Living Christ Lutheran Church in Germantown, WI. She is also a music minister at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Menomonee Falls, WI. Her singing experience includes memberships in the Community Chorus in Hales Corners, WI and the Milwaukee Choristers under the direction of Dr. James Kinchen. She has performed Verdi’s “Requiem” in Brookfield, WI under the direction of Rick Hynson and “The Nguza Saba Suite” by Glenn Edwards Burleigh at Lincoln Center, New York, under the direction of Dr. James Kinchen, as well as various other major works. She serves on the Board of Directors of Early Music Now.

Meaghan Reider graduated with a Master of Music in vocal performance from the University of Wisconsin - Milwau-kee and a Bachelor of Music from the

University of Iowa. During her studies as an undergraduate, Meaghan performed in the top university choral ensemble Kantorei, as well as the University of Iowa Opera Theatre and the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre. While

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7Milwaukee Choral Artists

ABOUT.. . (c o n t.)

receiving her Masters, she sang with the UWM Concert Chorale, UWM Opera Theatre, and was a soloist with the 2007 UWM Orchestra. Meaghan has previously served as the soprano section leader at North Shore Presbyte-rian Church and was a scholarship recipient and soloist with the Master Singers of Milwaukee. This season, Meaghan will be performing with Chicago’s Bella Voce and with the Milwaukee Choral Artists.

Jacqueline Rivera is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with degrees in choral and general music education. She has been a member

of the UWM University Choir, Women’s Chorus, Gospel Choir, and Concert Chorale, and previously sang with the Bel Canto Chorus. Jacqueline has taught in the school districts of Brown Deer and University Lake School, and recently sang under the direction of conductor/composer Eric Whitacre at the Lincoln Center in New York City.

Jennifer Sweetland is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a BFA in Music Education and Vocal Performance. She has worked with a

number of local performing arts groups, including First Stage Theater Academy, the Milwaukee Children’s Choir, and the Florentine Opera. She is the Preschool/K4 Teacher, Music Specialist, and Theater Director at St. Sava Orthodox School, as well as the director of children’s music at North Shore Presbyterian Church.

*Paula Foley Tillen is a founding member* of MCA. Paula is director of music at Southmin-ster Presbyterian Church in Waukesha, serves as musical

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8 Milwaukee Choral Artists

ABOUT THE MILWAUKEE CHOR AL ARTISTS (c o n t.)

director for the Musical Mainstage Series at Sunset Playhouse (Elm Grove), and is an adjunct music faculty member at Pius XI High School. Her compositions and arrangements have been performed by choral groups throughout the United States and Canada, and are found in the cata-logues of Alliance Music Publishing, Hal Leonard Publishing, Santa Barbara Music Press, and Treble Clef Music Press.

Ernest Brusubardis III is the Artistic Director of the Waukesha Choral Union. Brusubardis has been musical director for commu-nity theatres

throughout Southeastern Wisconsin including the Menomonee Falls Patio Players, On the Wall and Off the Wall Theatres, Archangel Productions, as well as for shows at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and UW-West Bend. Brusubardis has been a choral director at Hartford Union High School since 1999, where he also conducts the orchestra for the school’s annual musical theatre productions. He is a graduate of UW-Milwaukee with a BFA in Music and a Master’s Degree in Music Education with an emphasis in choral conducting. Brusubardis is an active member of the American Choral Directors’ Association and the National Association for Music Education. He is also President of the American Latvian Choir Association, is a featured conductor for Latvian choral music festivals around the world, and shares the podium of the Brusubardis-Dzim-tene Latvian Choir with his father. He resides in Dousman with his wife Indra and their six children.

Sharon Hansen is founder and music director of the Milwaukee Choral Artists. Widely known as a conduc-tor and master teacher throughout

the United States and in Europe, Hansen has conducted the Romanian

National Radio Choir (Bucharest), the Gächinger Kantorei and Bach Collegi-um-Stuttgart, the Stockholm Conserva-tory Chamber Choir, the Moldavian and Oltenian Philharmonic Choirs (Iasì and Craiova, Romania), and the University of Regensburg (Germany) Symphony Orchestra. Hansen holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Conducting from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music. She is Professor and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee and Chair of the Graduate Choral program. Author of the book Helmuth Rilling: Conductor— Teacher, Hansen is a member of the Editorial Board of The Choral Journal, where she is editor of “On the Voice,” dedicated to issues of vocal pedagogy and health. Her chapter “Women, Conductors, and the Tenure Process: What’s Up in the Academy” is part of the new book Wisdom, Wit, and Will: Women Choral Conductors on their Art, published in 2009 by GIA Press. Her latest mono-graph, On the Voice: ACDA, Teacher Preparation, and Voice Training in the Choral Classroom (1959-2009), is under consideration by the American Choral Directors’ Association. Her professional memberships include NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing), ACDA (American Choral Directors Association,) Chorus America, IFCM (International Federation of Choral Music), MENC (Music Educators National Conference), and The VoiceC-are Network. Locally, Hansen serves on the Board of Directors for the Southeast Wisconsin Chapter of the National Voice Foundation, having previously served Early Music Now and the Milwaukee Children’s Chorus. In 2003, she was honored by the Milwaukee Civic Music Association for Excellence in Choral Music. She was the recipient of the 2010 Alumni Achievement Award from the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

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9Milwaukee Choral Artists

HISTORY

Now in its fourteenth season, the Milwaukee Choral Artists is Wisconsin’s premiere professional choral ensemble, and one of only a handful of professional women’s vocal ensembles in the country. With its signature lush sound, MCA brings a distinctive repertory of choral and vocal masterworks—including well-known pieces, new music, seldom-performed works, and music of diverse cultures and historical periods—to concert audiences throughout the region.

Founded in 1998 as a chamber ensemble comprised of professional solo singers, MCA occupies a singular position of excellence in the city, state, and region. In July 2011, MCA was named a finalist in the AMERICAN PRIZE Professional Choral Division, and received a special citation from the AMERICAN PRIZE for “Unique Choral Programming” for its CD, SKY-BORN Music. In December 2007, Tom Strini, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Music Critic, named the Milwaukee Choral Artists—Present Music collaborative performance of Olivier Messiaen’s “Trois Petites Liturgies” (with MCA’s Sharon Hansen conducting) the #1 Performing Arts Event of the Year. Two years previously, MCA’s “Liederabend” was named the Journal Sentinel’s #1 performing arts event of 2005; of the top ten events named that year, MCA held two positions.

Regularly hailed for its imaginative programming, the group has firmly established itself in the mainstream of professional music making both within and beyond Milwaukee. Milwaukee Choral Artists enjoys regular appearances with Present Music, Milwaukee’s internationally acclaimed contemporary music ensemble. In 2006, the Milwaukee Choral Artists joined Present Music in the world premiere of Kamran Ince’s “Hammers and Whistlers,” which Journal-Sentinel music critic Tom Strini selected as one of his “Top Ten Performing Arts Events” for the year. Under Hansen’s baton, the two ensembles also presented the 2005 world premiere of Milwaukee-born composer Daron Hagen’s “Flight Music,” a six-movement work with texts by Amelia Earhart, named by Strini as “Best Musical Premiere of 2005.” In November 2004, MCA and Present Music performed the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Henry Brant’s “Wind, Water, Clouds and Fire,” which Tom Strini also selected as one of his “Top Ten Classical Music Events for 2004.

Equally well versed in early music, the Milwaukee Choral Artists has performed twice with the internationally acclaimed The Boston Camerata, presented by Early Music Now (the Midwest’s renowned early music presenting organization.) In May 2009, MCA was heard once again on the Early Music Now stage when they joined San Francisco’s professional female vocal ensemble KITKA in a collaborative concert. MCA has also performed as part of the Fine Arts Concert Series at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist (Milwaukee) and St. James Cathedral (Chicago); at the National Convention of Catholic Cathedral Musicians; at the National Convention of Lutheran Church Musicians; and in state and regional conventions of the American Choral Directors’ Association. Its Tenth Anniversary commercial CD, SKYBORN MUSIC, features commissioned works composed specifically for the Milwaukee Choral Artists in celebration of its distinguished history.

The Milwaukee Choral Artists performs three regular season concerts each year at historic venues throughout the Milwaukee area. Committed to presenting music from diverse cultures, the ensemble has performed music in twenty-eight languages from more than forty world cultures since its inception.

www.milwaukeechoralartists.org

[email protected]

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10 Milwaukee Choral Artists

DONORS

The Milwaukee Choral Artists deeply appreciates the contributions received from its generous donors. As ticket sales do not fully cover concert production costs, the continued support of our donors is vital to our success. The following list includes contributors whose support was received between July 1, 2011 and January 28, 2012. We regret any omissions or inaccuracies.

Conductor’s Circle ($5,000 and above) United Performing Arts Fund Benefactor ($1,000-2,499) CAMPAC Martha Brown and Tony Lam Emily Holt Crocker Ola Gjeilo 15th Season Commission FundRaquel and Andy Lauritzen Singer SponsorsMarjorie and Dean Fowler Singer SponsorsWisconsin Arts Board Guarantor ($500-999) Dean and Emily CrockerMartha Brown and Tony Lam Ola Gjeilo 15th Season Commission Fund

Patron ($250-499) Dr. Robert HarrisJill and Dr. James Freese Sponsor ($100-249) Lisa Berman and Larry DaltonMary BrennerNeil BubkeDr. Lucile CohnDrs. Vincent and Linda DindzansSteven R. DubackMike Fischer and Elaine GriffinMary HigleyJuleen and Richard JaegerPatricia Kiefer

JoAnne KrauseMargaret Murphy and Jeff Sweetland Ola Gjeilo 15th Season Commission FundMyron and Annette OlsonDeborah and Jamshed PatelDr. Ronald and Sue ReiderCharles Christian RichDan and Valerie Stefanich James Ward

Contributors (Up to $99) David and Larie Petrie AndersonCheryl AxfordJohn and Dr. Evelyn BurdickTeresa Burkhart Marlene and Wayne CookThallis Hoyt DrakeRuss and Marilyn EisenbergGloria and Jim HansenDr. Charlotte and Wayne Heidenreich Ellen KellenReverend Thomas Lijewski Patricia and Robert MaileSue Medford Dr. Jeffrey ReiderBrent and Ilze RingenbergBarbara and Ronald RitcheyAnn Siverling Marian Weinberg

In-Kind Contributions

Cynthia Matchette, SMART SALES

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Milwaukee Choral Artists also gratefully acknowledges: Jeanne Mueller, founding contributor

John Paradowski, videographerAndy Risser, Backbone Designs, web management

Ann Siverling, founding contributor University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee

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11Milwaukee Choral Artists

EASTERN VOYAGESSaturday, April 14, 2012 • 7:30 PM

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Tickets: adult $25, senior $20, students $15Purchase online or by phone:

262/628-5022 • www.milwaukeechoralartists.org

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Specializing in Grand Piano Restoration

• Fine Tuning• Voicing• Climate Control• Evaluations• Action Reconditioning & Regulating• Piano Accessories

~Serving Milwaukee Musicians since 1986~Sales & Restoration Facility • 5101 N. 125th St. • 414.315.7763

Dave Hulbert, RPT Proprietor

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12 Milwaukee Choral Artists

MILWAUKEE CHOR AL ARTISTS BOARD OF D IRECTORS 2011-2012

Raquel G. Lauritzen, PresidentJill Freese, Past President

John Paradowski, Secretary Deborah Paukner, Treasurer

Martha Brown, Chair, Development CommitteeEmily Crocker, Chair, Marketing Committee

Jennifer Sweetland, Ensemble RepresentativeJilaine Bauer, at largeNeil Bubke, at large

Charles Christian Rich, at large Sr. Marion Verhaalen, at large

Dr. Sharon A. Hansen, ex officio

Advisory Council Lisa Berman

Thallis Hoyt DrakeMichael Fischer

Dr. Dean R. FowlerDr. Robert A. Harris

Richard KirwinJames LaBelle

Cheryl Lucas-DeBerryMichael MacDonald

Administration and Staff

Artistic Dr. Sharon A. Hansen, Founder and Music Director

Executive

Nancy J. Herro, Managing Director

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