Something Wonderful Program (April 2015)

INSIDE FRONT COVER

Barristers Big Ball

SOMETHING WONDERFUL OFFICIAL PROGRAM

CBA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA & CHORUS | 3

On behalf of The Chicago Bar Association, I welcome you to a very special evening of music. Performed by a very talented group of exceptional lawyers from our bar association, The CBA Symphony Orchestra and Chorus are pleased to present, “Something Wonderful: The Music of Rodgers & Hammerstein.” Join me in acknowledging this fantastic assembly of musicians who do this part-time, juggling their busy legal practices with their love for music. The Orchestra and Chorus provide an important outlet for lawyers, judges, law professors and law students in Chicago who love the law, but also love music. They practice weekly to ensure that the performances they conduct such as tonight are top notch, amazing performances. We are lucky at The Chicago Bar Association to have such a fine symphony and chorus. Not many bar associations or associations of other professionals can make the claim that they have a remarkable group of their members who not only advance the cause of justice, but also amaze their members and the public with amazing performances. Welcome to Orchestra Hall. Thank you to the members of the CBA Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. We look forward to what I am sure will be an amazing and memorable performance. You make me and The CBA proud to be a member of the best bar association in the world. “A lovely night, a lovely night, a finer night you know you’ll never see,” Daniel A. Cotter President

Program designed by www.amyweaver.net

CBA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA & CHORUS OFFICIAL PROGRAM

4 | SOMETHING WONDERFUL

Something Wonderful:

THE CHICAGO BAR ASSOCIATION SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA & CHORUS in partnership with the

ELGIN MASTER CHORALE present

The Music of Rodgers & Hammerstein

Music by Richard Rodgers / Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II Orchestrated by Robert Russell Bennett and Don Walker

Conceived and Conducted by David Katz

CHICAGO BAR ASSOCIATION SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA & CHORUS

David Katz, founding music director & conductor Rebecca Patterson, chorus director

ELGIN MASTER CHORALE Andrew Lewis, director

featuring national winners of THE AMERICAN PRIZE in VOICE Chicago Musical Theater Award:

TANIA ARAZI COAMBS, soprano KATE RYAN, mezzo-soprano

JUSTIN JOHN MONIZ, tenor DELSHAWN TAYLOR, baritone

ELIZABETH KLING, soprano / KAREN ARCHBOLD, mezzo-soprano

CHRISTIAN KETTER, tenor / DAN RICHARDSON, bass-baritone

with RAY PROSSER, guitar

Narrated by HARRY PORTERFIELD

This concert is presented by special arrangement with the R&H Concert Library: www.rnh.com.

Recording of any portion of this concert, including on a mobile phone or other personal electronic device, is STRICTLY PROHIBITED by LAW. A multi-camera DVD is being produced. For information on how to purchase the official recording,

please email [email protected].



ACT I

CAROUSEL WALTZ (Carousel) OH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNIN' (Oklahoma!) IT'S A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING (State Fair)

GETTING TO KNOW YOU (The King and I) I WHISTLE A HAPPY TUNE (The King and I)

BALI HA'I (South Pacific) YOUNGER THAN SPRINGTIME (South Pacific)

TEN MINUTES AGO (Cinderella) JUNE IS BUSTIN’ OUT ALL OVER (Carousel)

SOME ENCHANTED EVENING (South Pacific) THERE IS NOTHIN' LIKE A DAME (South Pacific) CLIMB EV'RY MOUNTAIN (The Sound of Music)

INTERMISSION

ACT II

SOMETHING WONDERFUL (The King and I)

A RODGER’S & HAMMERSTEIN INTERLUDE KANSAS CITY (Oklahoma!)

IN MY OWN LITTLE CORNER (Cinderella) IF I LOVED YOU (Carousel)

THE SOUND OF MUSIC (The Sound of Music) EDELWEISS (The Sound of Music) DO RE MI (The Sound of Music)

I HAVE DREAMED (The King and I) YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE (Carousel)

OKLAHOMA (Oklahoma!)

***

Sunday, April 26, 2015 at 7:30 pm / Orchestra Hall / Symphony Center, Chicago Recording of any portion of this concert, including on a mobile phone or other personal electronic device, is STRICTLY

PROHIBITED by LAW. A multi-camera DVD is being produced. For information on how to purchase the official recording, please email [email protected].

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PROGRAM NOTE

Something Wonderful: The Partnership of Rodgers and Hammerstein

Who would have expected that a revolution could start with the words “Oh, what a beautiful mornin’/Oh, what a beautiful day?” Today, it’s hard to conceive that the writers behind this simple, bucolic sentiment were considered radical innovators in their time — but the reality was that composer Richard Rodgers (1902-1979) and lyricist/playwright Oscar Hammerstein II (1895-1960) were consummate masters of their craft, primed to transform the landscape of American musical theatre. Indeed, before they came together to create the juggernaut that would become Oklahoma! (1943), they had already made significant contributions to the form of the Broadway musical with other partners.

Of the two, Rodgers was the established hitmaker. His original partnership of almost 25 years with Lorenz Hart had generated enduring standards — “Manhattan,” “Blue Moon,” “My Funny Valentine,” “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered” — and hit Broadway shows — On Your Toes (1936), Babes in Arms (1937), Pal Joey (1940). Rodgers’ lively melodies and Hart’s witty, acerbic lyrics epitomized the wit, sophistication, and innovation of the Broadway musical comedy at the time. One key to their success was the infinite variety of their entertainments. According to a Time magazine cover story, “[W]hat was killing music [sic] comedy was its sameness, its tameness, its eternal rhyming of ‘June’ with ‘moon.’ [Rodgers and Hart] decided it was not enough to be just good at the job; they had to be constantly different also.” Rodgers became known for the prodigiousness of his musical output, and his ability to select just the right melody for any occasion.

Hammerstein, on the other hand, hadn’t had a hit in nearly two decades. After dropping out of Columbia Law School to follow his family into show business, his early successes were primarily in the operetta genre: Wildflower (1923) with Herbert Stothart and Vincent Youmans, Rose-Marie (1924) with Rudolf Friml, and The Desert Song (1926) with Sigmund Romberg. His most significant Broadway collaborator was Jerome Kern, with whom he produced the groundbreaking Show Boat (1927). In this sprawling musical drama, Hammerstein told a compelling story that included a bold, serious look at race relations, and was populated by characters with emotional depth. This monumental success, however, was followed by a string of failures, and the creative ambition behind Show Boat was nearly lost.

Rodgers took a risk when he ended his longtime collaboration with Hart — who was in the end stages of his battle with depression and alcoholism — and approached Hammerstein, an old college friend, with the idea of musicalizing a play called Green Grow the Lilacs (1931) by Lynn Riggs. But the bigger risk was the one Rodgers and Hammerstein would take together, creatively. With Oklahoma!, they introduced something original and enduring, a new genre that combined the musical comedy as perfected by Rodgers and Hart with the dramatic conventions of Hammerstein’s operetta: the “musical play,” or “book musical.”

It was time for the musical to catch up with its non-musical counterpart. The cultural impact of the Great Depression and World War II was already being seen in the dramatic realism of the straight plays on Broadway; this was the era of Eugene O’Neill, Clifford Odets, Thornton Wilder, and Lillian Hellman. Broadway musicals had, on a few occasions, shown the potential to be a vehicle for serious or experimental drama — like Kern and Hammerstein’s Show Boat and Rodgers and Hart’s Pal Joey — but they were isolated events. In general, musicals (both on stage and film) remained frothy, escapist fare offering hit tunes, broad laughs, and chorus lines of attractive dancers.

Imagine, then, how the audiences (and investors!) of 1943 reacted when the curtain rose on Oklahoma! and instead of a bevy of chorines presenting a peppy opening number, there sat an old woman churning butter, being serenaded by a cowboy. From those first moments, Rodgers and Hammerstein invited the viewers to engage with the story unfolding on stage. The plot wasn’t a convoluted farce or comedy of manners; the scenario of a young farm girl choosing between two very different suitors served as a metaphor for America on the precipice of change. There were hit songs, but they weren’t arch and flip. Instead, because they originated from Hammerstein’s specifically drawn characters and the easy, colloquial quality of his lyrics, they illuminated motivation and drove action. The comedy, too, arose from the characters’ personalities and situations, not cheap gags. And the chorus girls didn’t appear until well into the first act — wearing long prairie skirts and dancing modern ballet. As one naysayer sniffed, “No legs, no jokes — no chance!”



Present-day audiences understandably overlook Rodgers and Hammerstein’s innovations because the then-novel concept of developing every aspect of a show — song, dance, dialogue, production design — in the service of a coherent, dramatic story has since become a fundamental principle of modern storytelling. It would also be easy to shrug off their works as old-fashioned, the dated relics of an era that has long since been dismissed as out of touch with reality. But such a dismissal overlooks the social consciousness of the plays. Rodgers and Hammerstein were not afraid to put the darker, more troubling aspects of the human experience on stage: domestic abuse in Carousel, racism in South Pacific, globalism in The King and I, cultural assimilation in Flower Drum Song. Their examination of difficult issues might not delve as deeply as modern audiences now prefer, but their approach was always forthright, never coy. As Stephen Sondheim, Oscar Hammerstein’s protégé and a Broadway legend in his own right, said of his mentor’s work, “In the end, it’s not the sentimentality but the monumentality that matters.”

What sets Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musicals apart from all others is the humanity that comes through so clearly in their music and words. To this day, audiences instinctively know that these men genuinely believed in the principles espoused by their shows. These ideals meant a great deal not only to Rodgers and Hammerstein and their audiences, but to a nation that continually examines and explores the meaning — and limitations — of the American dream, the American identity, and the human condition at large.

Oklahoma! marked the start of the most successful partnership in the history of musical theatre. Rodgers and Hammerstein went on to produce eight more Broadway musicals, each one distinct in style and creative innovation, and most of them great classics in their own right: Carousel (1945), Allegro (1947), South Pacific (1949), The King and I (1951), Me and Juliet (1953), Pipe Dream (1955), Flower Drum Song (1958), and The Sound of Music (1959). They also wrote one movie musical, State Fair (1945), and one for live television, Cinderella (1957); both have also been adapted to the Broadway stage. Collectively, these eleven shows have earned, among many accolades, 34 Tonys, 14 Academy Awards, 2 Pulitzer Prizes, an Emmy, and a Grammy.

— Program note by Emily A. Chen

Something Wonderful —Blizzard Theater, Elgin, IL, March 2015. Photos by Mark Bergeron



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

THE CHICAGO BAR ASSOCIATION SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA & CHORUS SOMETHING WONDERFUL: THE MUSIC OF RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN

David Katz, Music Director Rebecca Patterson, Chorus Director

Janet Eckhardt, Accompanist

John S. Vishneski III, Chairperson Committee Members

Advertising Kevin Bry

Jon Duncan Linda Heacox (CBA Staff)

Catherine Masters Alexandra Newman

Sharon Nolan (CBA Staff) John S. Vishneski III

Concert Logistics Michael Poulos

John S. Vishneski III

Concert Program Rebecca Burlingham

Jennifer Widmer

Fundraising Events Catherine Masters

Carlin Metzger John S. Vishneski III

Orchestra/Chorus Liaison

Suzanne Poulos

Sponsors/Ads Sales Frank E. Cargle II

Dale Nichols John S. Vishneski III

Ticket Sales

Terrence Kennedy, Jr. Carolyn Kitty

John S. Vishneski III

Special thanks to the following:

* Terrence M. Murphy, Executive Director of the Chicago Bar Association, and the leadership of the Chicago Bar Association for their ongoing administrative and financial support, which makes these performances possible.

* David Beam, Tamra Drees, Toria Emas, Linda Heacox, Karen Highley, Sharon Nolan and Emily Riojas at the CBA for their assistance with the innumerable tasks that keep the orchestra and chorus running smoothly.

* Our directors, David Katz and Rebecca Patterson, chorus rehearsal accompanist, Janet Eckhardt, our co-chairs, and our members for their time, talent and dedication.

* Jon Duncan for managing the orchestra’s equipment, all logistics volunteers and everyone who pitches in behind the scenes to set up our rehearsal and concert spaces.

* Dorothy Voigt for serving as the liaison with the Elgin Master Chorale, Emily Chen for preparing the program note and all volunteers who made these concerts possible.

* The Daley Center judges and staff who allow us to rehearse in their courtrooms.

* St. James Cathedral for providing our primary performance venue as well as support, technical and otherwise, behind the scenes.

* All of the people involved in photographing, videotaping and recording tonight’s concert.

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CHICAGO BAR ASSOCIATION SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

The Chicago Bar Association Symphony Orchestra is Chicagoland’s unique orchestra of attorneys, judges and law students. Growing from just a handful of musicians at its first rehearsal in 1986, the CBASO now regularly fields an orchestra of 75 musicians or more, virtually all affiliated with Chicago’s legal community.

The musical momentum initiated by a small group of lawyers has grown into today’s CBASO, a musical group collaborating to perform fun and increasingly challenging musical works each year. Under Maestro Katz’s

leadership, the CBASO has performed in venues ranging from Daley Center courtrooms to Chicago’s Symphony Center.

The orchestra performs at many public events for the Chicago Bar Association, its prime sponsor, including annual Law Day celebrations on Daley Plaza. Other notable performances have included the Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration at Navy Pier with noted author Doris Kearns Goodwin, and a 2010 gala for retiring U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.

To mark its 20th anniversary in 2006, the CBASO performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at Navy Pier on the final evening of the convention of World Bar Associations. In 2011 the CBASO and CBA Chorus performed Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana at Symphony Center to a sell-out crowd to celebrate the Orchestra’s 25th anniversary.

The CBASO’s current performance home is St. James Episcopal Cathedral at Wabash and Huron in Chicago. The CBASO is proud to return tonight to Symphony Center for this special performance in collaboration with the CBA Chorus and Elgin Master Chorale!

Carmina Burana, Symphony Center, June 2011



CHICAGO BAR ASSOCIATION CHORUS

The Chicago Bar Association Chorus is comprised mainly of members from Chicago’s legal community. The Chorus was formed in 2006, when the Chicago Bar Association Symphony Orchestra celebrated its 20th Anniversary with a gala performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at Navy Pier. Thanks to the leadership of the Chicago Bar Association and the efforts of Chorus leaders, committees and individual volunteers, the Chorus is now in its ninth season.

Under the direction of Rebecca Patterson, the Chorus has collaborated with the Chicago Bar Association Symphony Orchestra in performing such major works as Mendelssohn’s Elijah,

Haydn’s Creation and Orff’s Carmina Burana. The Chorus's a cappella repertoire ranges from Rachmaninoff to Moses Hogan. Earlier this season, the Chorus presented Songs of Asia, a concert of music of China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines.

In commemoration of Lincoln’s Bicentennial, the Chorus presented "Lincoln and Liberty: Music of the Civil War Era" featuring popular music of the era. In September 2010, the Chorus gave a special concert performance at a celebration honoring retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.

A performance of Orff's Carmina Burana at Symphony Center marked the CBA Symphony Orchestra’s 25th anniversary and the CBA Chorus’ 5th anniversary. The Orchestra and Chorus were joined by the Naperville Chorus and the Young Naperville Singers.

In February 2013, the CBA Chorus and select members of the CBA Symphony Orchestra travelled to Springfield, Illinois to present “Lincoln and His America: A Musical Celebration”. The concert of Lincoln-era songs, instrumental works and narrative readings from the Civil War era was performed at historic Representative Hall in the Old State Capitol.

The following year, the CBA Chorus joined the New York City Bar Chorus for a program of popular American songs in the historic New York City Bar Association Building. In 2015, the New York City Bar Chorus will join the CBA Chorus in concert in Chicago.

In addition to major concerts, the CBA Chorus has performed at Law Day events in Chicago, and has performed at Navy Pier for CBA events and Pier-sponsored concerts. The Chorus has also sung the National Anthem at US Cellular Field, and has performed holiday concerts at the Harold Washington Library.

The CBA Chorus membership currently stands at over 90 singers comprising accomplished musicians as well as enthusiastic amateurs. Over time the Chorus plans to grow even more, and always welcomes new members. Most of the singers are lawyers. The rest work in a wide range of professions. What they all share is energy, discipline and commitment. Every chorister enjoys the opportunity to sing and to contribute to an enterprise that benefits the general public, the legal profession and the Chicago Bar Association. CBA Symphony Orchestra Membership Membership in the Chicago Bar Association Symphony Orchestra is open to qualified CBA members, law students, and other interested musicians in the legal community. Openings may be limited, but please inquire. For additional information, contact the CBASO co-chairs at [email protected]. More information about upcoming events as well as historical performance information can be found at: www.cbasymphonyandchorus.blogspot.com CBA Chorus Membership CBA Chorus membership is open to all CBA members, law students, and other interested singers. No audition is required, although prior choral experience is preferred. For additional information, contact the chorus co-chairs: Jennifer Widmer ([email protected]) or Rebecca Burlingham ([email protected]). Visit the CBA Chorus web page at www.chicagobar.org/chorus for more information.

Harold Washington Library



ELGIN MASTER CHORALE

Same amazing voices with a brand-new name and a new vision for the future! The Fox River Valley's oldest vocal music ensemble is also the newest. The Elgin Choral Union has a new name—the Elgin Master Chorale. The new name combines our rich history and strong tradition of musical excellence with a renewed commitment to outreach, collaboration and community.

A cultural cornerstone of the Fox Valley, the Elgin Master Chorale creates a thrilling, emotional experience for audiences at each performance by achieving excellence in singing, artistic production and presentations. Under the direction of Maestro Andrew Lewis, EMC is comprised of nearly 100 volunteer singers from across the Chicagoland area admitted by audition only. Far from a solitary organization, EMC creates

collaborations with performing arts organizations that elevate and energize the entire community. The Chorale is committed to educational outreach in performing for – and with – area students who learn to value the arts as an integral part of their growth and a path to achieving their full potential.

In 1947 local musician Dean Chipman had a vision of creating a large vocal ensemble to perform Brahms’ famed German Requiem. His dream became reality when 192 singers from over 15 local choirs joined together to give voice to this grand work. The premiere took place on May 7, 1948 at the First Congregational Church of Elgin. Frank Kratky directed the performance accompanied by two pianos. The house was full, the audience enthusiastic, and the largest vocal group in the Fox Valley, the Elgin Choral Union, was underway.

Incorporated as a not-for-profit in 1966, the organization changed its name to Elgin Master Chorale in 2014. In residence at Elgin Community College, EMC presents several concerts per year at the college’s Blizzard Theatre, Hemmens Cultural Arts Center and throughout the Chicago area. We are proud of our rich history, dedicated singers, and drive to excel. Dedicated to our mission of being the premiere vocal ensemble in the area, we have grown from our valued roots and look toward an exciting new future. For more information, please visit www.ElginMasterChorale.org.

Something Wonderful — Blizzard Theater, Elgin, IL, March 2015. Photo by Mark Bergeron

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David Katz Founding Music Director and Conductor Chicago Bar Association Symphony Orchestra

David Katz is one of the most versatile performing artists currently working in the Chicago area. Professional conductor, composer, author, playwright, actor and national arts advocate and entrepreneur, David is celebrating his 29th season as the founding music director of The Chicago Bar Association Symphony Orchestra. Katz has led Chicagoland’s unique all-lawyer ensemble more than one hundred fifty times during his long tenure, in repertoire ranging from Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial By Jury, to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. In 2011, Katz and the CBASO, joined by the CBA Chorus and guest choirs, presented Orff's Carmina

Burana to a capacity crowd at Symphony Center, Chicago, in celebration of the CBASO's 25th season.

David is pleased to be reuniting with musical friends from Elgin for these concerts, having held an number of important conducting posts in that city. Katz moved to Elgin in 1983 from Connecticut to become Margaret Hillis's assistant (later associate) conductor with the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, the outcome of the ESO's first national search. With the ESO, he conducted a score of performances, including classical subscription and pops concerts, young people's concerts and run-outs. At the same time, he assumed the posts of Music Director of the Elgin Youth Orchestras—leading them on their first international tour—and assistant conductor of the Elgin Choral Union, now the Elgin Master Chorale. In 1986, when the Elgin Symphony became a fully-professional orchestra, David was asked by ESO management to found and conduct the Elgin Symphonette (later the Valley Civic Symphony) to provide a musical outlet for the area's many skilled avocational musicians. At about the same time, David was appointed the theater critic of Elgin Daily Courier News, a post he held for three years. In 1988, he moved to Adrian, Michigan, to become music director of the Adrian Symphony Orchestra, where he later founded OPERA!Lenawee, the orchestra’s professional opera arm. In 2000, upon his departure from Adrian, he was honored by the Governor of Michigan for his service to the arts in his adopted state.

David Katz has led more than sixty orchestras and opera companies throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico as guest conductor, including concerts with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Mississippi Symphony and Corpus Christi Symphony. Katz is currently artistic director of Hat City Music Theater, Inc. in Connecticut, and is founder and chief judge of The American Prize national nonprofit competitions in the performing arts, which has provided reward and recognition to performing artists nationwide, awarding nearly $35,000 since its founding.

As a playwright and actor, Katz tours internationally in his acclaimed one-man play, MUSE of FIRE, about the secrets of conducting. Katz presented MUSE of FIRE at Theater Building Chicago in 2008, where it was praised by the Chicago Sun-Times for its “unique depth and humor...tremendous verve...and palpable passion.” Two books by David Katz, “MUSE of FIRE: A Symposium on the Art of Conducting,” and “Bruck Stories,” a companion volume, will be published by Del Gatto Press early next year.

David Katz holds baccalaureate and master’s degrees in composition and conducting from the Hartt School of Music of the University of Hartford. He was a student of the great Lithuanian maestro, Vytautas Marijosius, and was the first in the school’s history to be awarded an Artist’s Diploma in Conducting. Katz also studied for five years under Maestro Charles Bruck at the Pierre Monteux School for Conductors in Maine, and later founded Opera Maine, the Monteux Opera Festival, and the Chamber Orchestra of Maine. He has partnered such artists as Itzhak Perlman and Misha Dichter in concert and has worked with some of the greatest twentieth century composers, including William Schuman, Hans Werner Henze, Milton Babbitt and Elliott Carter. Katz’s own compositions are published by Carl Fischer and G. Schirmer, among others.

David Katz is delighted to return to Elgin to conduct “Something Wonderful: The Music of Rodgers and Hammerstein” with the Elgin Master Chorale and the Chicago Bar Association Symphony Orchestra and CBA Chorus, and to repeat the concert at Symphony Center, Chicago. www.museoffireplay.squarespace.com | www.theamericanprize.org

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Rebecca Patterson CBA Chorus Director Chorus director Rebecca Patterson has led the Chicago Bar Association Chorus since its inception,

preparing the chorus to perform such masterpieces as Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Fauré's Requiem, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Haydn’s Creation, Poulenc’s Gloria, Orff’s Carmina Burana. and Bruckner's Te Deum. Last season she directed the CBA Chorus in concert with the New York City Bar Chorus.

As a soprano soloist, Rebecca has appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Music of the Baroque, and regional orchestras. In operatic performances she has portrayed such diverse characters as Lauretta in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, Musetta in La Bohème, and Amahl in Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors. As a choral musician, she has sung with The Chicago Symphony Chorus, under Margaret Hillis and the Grant Park Festival Chorus.

In addition to conducting, Rebecca maintains a private voice studio, where she works with classical and musical theatre singers. For more information, please visit www.rebeccapatterson.com.

Harry Porterfield Narrator Harry Porterfield co-anchors the CBS Chicago 11 AM news with

Roseanne Tellez and continues the franchise he created at CBS 2 Chicago in 1977, "Someone You Should Know", a series of profiles on everyday people who make a difference. Described as a gentleman-journalist by his peers, Porterfield has earned the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia journalism award, along with 11 Emmy awards in his 45-year news career, including two features on WBBM-TV: Channel Two: The People and Two-on-Two. Porterfield began his broadcast career as a jazz and gospel radio disc jockey in 1955 in Saginaw, Michigan, after earning a B.S. in chemistry from Eastern Michigan University in 1954. His decision to pursue a career in television began at WKNK-TV, where he worked as a stagehand, cameraman and editor until 1964. A violinist, Harry Porterfield has been a member of the CBASO for twenty years.

Janet Eckhardt CBA Chorus Rehearsal Accompanist Pianist Janet Eckhardt serves as the Chicago

Bar Association Chorus’ rehearsal accompanist and occasionally appears in concert with the chorus and orchestra. Janet is well known among Chicago singers. A faculty member at North Park University and staff accompanist at the Moody Bible Institute, Janet also serves as accompanist for recitalists and for churches and synagogues in the Chicago area. Ms. Eckhardt received her Master of Music degree from the Hartt School of Music.

Ray Prosser Guitar Ray Prosser started his legal career as a Cook County Assistant State’s

Attorney and eventually moved into private practice in Chicago. Ray now spends much of his time as an Administrative Law Judge at the Chicago Department of Administrative Hearings and as a Deputy Hearing Commissioner at the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection.

Ray began playing the guitar at a young age after watching Gene Autry sing songs on horseback at the end of his TV show. By the time he was in high school he played rock & roll for school dances with a band composed of high school friends. Later while in college and law school he performed regularly with various local bands. Ray took a break from performing when his children were growing up but eventually returned to music. Over ten years ago, when he heard about the Chicago Bar Association’s Barristers Big Band, he joined the band and has played with the BBB whenever it performs. In addition, Ray plays with the Scales Of Justice, a small group composed of members of the BBB, that plays jazz for various bar-related charitable functions.

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Andrew Lewis, Conductor and Music Director Elgin Master Chorale

Celebrating his tenth year with Elgin Master Chorale, Maestro Lewis is also artistic director of Bella Voce; Founder and Artistic Director of The Janus Ensemble, a professional chamber orchestra specializing in Baroque and new music; choirmaster at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Evanston; and on the conducting faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Artistic Director Emeritus of the Lutheran Choir of Chicago, Mr. Lewis also taught conducting at DePaul University. Mr. Lewis has been a Guest Lecturer at Concordia University Chicago’s nationally recognized Lectures in Church Music series, Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, and as a Guest Conductor with the Elgin Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Lewis’ performances have been heard live on 98.7 WFMT.

Mr. Lewis received his Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University in Music Theory. While a student at Northwestern, Mr. Lewis was provided a scholarship to observe the rehearsals of Daniel Barenboim and Asher Fisch at the Staatsoper-Unter-den-Linden, Berlin. After graduation, he worked as a church musician in California and was an original member of the Philharmonia Baroque Chorale of San Francisco, having sung with Baroque specialists Nicholas McGegan and John Butt. He attended the Eastman School of Music to study choral and orchestral conducting with William Weinert and orchestral conducting with David Effron, receiving his Master of Music degree in 1998.

Mr. Lewis has studied with conductors Helmuth Rilling, Robert Shaw, Robert Spano, James Paul, Gustav Meier, Stephen Cleobury, Duain Wolfe, and Dale Warland in the United States and Michael Tapachnik in Denmark.

Mr. Lewis is married to singer and conductor Kirsten Hedegaard. He and Kirsten have three young boys, George, William and Henrik.

Jon Warfel, Accompanist Elgin Master Chorale

In addition to his choral conducting activities, Jon Warfel maintains an active performing schedule as both a piano soloist and an accompanist. He received the Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from Northern Illinois University, where his teacher was Donald Walker, and continued his studies at Northwestern University, participating in

Master Classes at the Ravinia Music Festival. In 1992 he was chosen Outstanding Young Alumni of Northern Illinois University. Under Mr. Warfel's direction, the Fox Valley Festival Chorus made tours to the 1983 World's Fair in Knoxville, TN and also to Disney World in Orlando, FL. In addition to serving as guest choral clinician for Junior High and High School festivals, Mr. Warfel was the featured clinician at the 1996 and 2010 Fellowship of United Methodists in Worship Music and Other Arts summer workshop in Deland, Florida.

As a pianist, Mr. Warfel has appeared as a guest soloist with the Chicago Grant Park Orchestra, Orchestra of Illinois, Fox Valley Symphony, Fox Valley Orchestra and Illinois Chamber Symphony. He has appeared in Symphonic Pops concerts with orchestras throughout the United States as a member of the Buffalo Shufflers, a “roaring 20's” show band. He performs regularly with flutist Carlyn Lloyd, and they can be heard on their most recent CD, American Made.

In 1977, Mr. Warfel joined the faculty of Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove, Illinois, where he directed the choral music program and taught classes in music and the humanities until 2008. In 1995 he received the Faculty of the Year Award from the College. He currently serves as Organist/Choirmaster at First Congregational Church of Elgin, Illinois, accompanist and assistant director for the Naperville Chorus. In addition, he serves as staff accompanist at North Central College, Naperville, IL.

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TONIGHT'S SOLOISTS

Soloists for SOMETHING WONDERFUL are all winners of the Chicago Musical Theater Award, administered by The American Prize national nonprofit competitions in the performing arts, David Katz, chief judge.

The American Prize is a series of new, non-profit national competitions in the performing arts unique in scope and structure, providing cash awards, professional adjudication and regional, national and international recognition for the best recorded performances of music each year in the United States by individuals and ensembles at the professional, college/university, church, community and secondary school levels. Since 2010, The American Prize has awarded nearly $35,000 in cash awards to composers, conductors, vocalists, chamber music ensembles and pianists from throughout the United States. Complete information on the website: www.theamericanprize.org

Tania Arazi Coambs, Soprano

Born in Cumaná, Venezuela, Tania Arazi Coambs is a passionate and versatile performer, stage director, and writer. Recognized for her “searing and intense acting and singing”, she has appeared internationally at the Shaw Theatre in London; St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome; the Urbania City Theater in Italy; the Errol Hill Theater in Bridgetown, Barbados; Muson Centre in Lagos, Nigeria; and with the Amadeus Opern Ensemble in Salzburg, Austria. She has also performed with the Allerton Music Barn Festival, Opera Venezuela, the Pittsburgh Savoyards, Station Theatre, Illinois Opera Theater, and with the Danville Symphony Orchestra. Previous roles include Aldonza in The Man of La Mancha, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Gretel in Hansel und Gretel, Aline in The Sorcerer, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, Linfea in La Calisto, Arsena in Der Zigeunerbaron, Edith in The Pirates

of Penzance, Annie in The Game of Love, Wren in A Body of Water, Nurse Ruth Kelley in Harvey, and Mrs. Webb in Our Town, as well as originating the role of Dr. Vivian Watson in an international tour to Barbados, England, and Nigeria of the play Preemptive.

With her strong interest in Spanish music and art song, as well as in jazz, French cabaret, and tango music, she has performed in concerts around the Midwest with groups such as the George Turner Trio, Tango Espejo, Tempest Performers, as well as presented recitals at the Mid-America Guitar Festival, the Southern Illinois Music Festival, and Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.

Tania’s recent directing projects include The Tender Land, Trouble in Tahiti, and Signor Deluso at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, as well as workshopping and directing scenes from her own opera, Catatumbo, based on her own libretto and composed by Griffin Candey at the University of Illinois. Other previous directing projects include productions of Stop Kiss, Roméo et Juliette, Feeding the Moonfish, The Informer, Brundibár, A Canoe on the Lake, and co-director of Don Giovanni. Tania currently serves as the Director of Opera/Music Theater at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and is a doctoral candidate in Vocal Performance and Literature at the University of Illinois.

Kate Ryan, Mezzo-Soprano

Mezzo-Soprano Kate Ryan is a versatile singer/actress who returns to Chicago after ten years in California. This December, she debuted as the mezzo-soprano soloist with the Waukegan Symphony Orchestra and Chorus for Handel's Messiah, and performed as a soloist with choir and orchestra at several sold-out performances of DePaul University’s “Christmas at DePaul”. Kate works as a singer/pianist for Howl at the Moon Chicago’s Howl2Go Program, and has performed for Chicago Dueling Pianos, and in regular cabaret at Davenport’s Piano Bar. Recent musical theater credits include A Christmas Carol, at San Jose Repertory Theater, Hairspray at Coastal Rep and Cabrillo Stage, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels with Broadway by the Bay, The Light in the Piazza with Palo Alto Players, and the title role in the National Tour of Strega Nona the Musical.

Ms. Ryan has served as an Adjunct Professor of Voice and Musical Theatre at Santa Clara University, and has worked on the Bay Area’s biggest stages as an actor and musical director. Kate was a print and commercial model for Marla Dell Talent in San Francisco, and has performed on tour as a backup vocalist for Ben Folds. She currently studies voice with international and Metropolitan Opera performing artist Jane Bunnell. Kate is a proud graduate of The Boston Conservatory, and a member of Actors’ Equity Association. Kate would like to extend her gratitude to Maestro Katz, the members of the chorus and orchestra, and the American Prize for this incredible opportunity. www.katesingingryan.com



Justin John Moniz, Tenor

American tenor Justin John Moniz has earned great acclaim for his “comic chops and huge voice”. Lauded by the South Florida Classical Review as a "superb high tenor" and a "vocal standout", his "refined" work has also been praised by the Miami Herald and Cape Cod Times. His unique style and versatility has afforded him an active career in concert, opera, and musical theatre. Mr. Moniz began the 2014/15 season with his debut as Gastone in La traviata, with the Opera Company of Middlebury, where he also covered the role of Alfredo. He returned for a second season with Sarasota Opera in Pagliacci and The Hobbit, where he “turned Old Bilbo (Moniz) into an

unforgettable creation bound to turn youthful audiences into future opera lovers” (The Observer). Moniz made a triumphant return to Miami this winter, where he joined the Civic Chorale of Greater Miami in Handel’s Messiah, and made his company debut in DreamCatcher Theatre’s production of Into the Woods at the Adrienne Arsht Center, in the roles of Cinderella's Prince and The Wolf. Mr. Moniz garnered critical acclaim for his “rich tenor” (The Miami Hurricane), “commanding stage presence” (TalkinBroadway.com) and “comic chops and huge voice” (The Miami Herald). He most recently made his role and company debut as Nanki-Poo in Gulfshore Opera's production of The Mikado. In previous seasons, Moniz has appeared with Sarasota Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Opera New Jersey, Center Stage Opera (CA), Orchestra Miami, and the Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre, where he made a triumphant debut as Cassio in Otello, with less than ten minutes notice. Mr. Moniz holds degrees from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami and the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, where he was recently selected as the recipient of the 2015 Rising Star Award. He is a proud member of the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) and the Actors’ Equity Association (AEA). For more information: www.justinjohnmoniz.com.

Delshawn Taylor, Baritone

Delshawn Taylor is a junior at Indiana University South Bend where is he studying Psychology with a Spanish minor. He has musically directed and accompanied over 10 musical productions. He has performed lead operatic roles such as Chevalier de la Force in Dialogue of the Carmelites (Opera Notre Dame), Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus, Tartuffe (UE Opera), The Pig in Jonathan Dove’s The Enchanted Pig, and currently learning the role of Gianni Schicchi in Gianni Schicchi (St. Mary’s Opera). He was a Top 5 Finalist in Michiana’s Rising

Star and placed second in LaPorte Symphony Orchestra’s Hoosier Star Vocal Competition in the fall of 2014. As a young musician, Delshawn has been mentored by Maestro Tsung Yeh of the South Bend Symphony, Maestro Thomas Wilkins of the Omaha Symphony Orchestra, and Dr. Marvin Curtis, Dean of the Ernestine Ranclin School of the Arts. He has served as Director of Music at Zoar United Church of Christ and currently serves as the Music Director at Sacred Heart Parish. As an aspiring choral composer, Delshawn is on the rise to success with growing commissions. He will be premiering his own setting of The Songs of Solomon for soprano, baritone, tenor, women’s chorus and chamber orchestra in February of 2016 and setting of seven poems by Emily Dickinson for voice and piano. To give back to his community, Delshawn recently started a thriving children’s choir at the Boys & Girls Club. He is the founder of Music for the Soul, an organization that annually unites an entire musical community across two states to raise money in a benefit concert for The Memorial Children’s Hospital and is dedicated to encouraging young singers, from elementary to high school, that their voice can make a difference. Delshawn will compete in the second round of Classical Singer Magazine Musical Theatre Competition this May in Chicago. He studies privately with Ms. Paula Harris.

Something Wonderful — Blizzard Theater, Elgin, IL, March 2015. Photos by Mark Bergeron



Winners of the Chicago Musical Theater Award (cover) for SOMETHING WONDERFUL will participate in the finales of the concerts in both locations and are available, if needed.

Elizabeth Kling, Soprano

Praised for her “delightful” (The Boston Globe) and “delicately compassionate” (Times Herald Record) singing, soprano Elizabeth Kling is recognized as a dynamic and versatile performer. In her Carnegie Hall début, she created the title role of Lucy by Tom Cipullo, and her performance was acclaimed as “excellent” (The Big City). Other roles include Gretel (Hansel and Gretel), Jessie (Mahagonny Songspiel), Ãljana (A Little Princess), and Hope (Anything Goes). Elizabeth has been a guest artist in song recitals at the University of Colorado, Metropolitan State University of Denver, and Cal Poly Pomona. She is a 2015 finalist in the G. Gershwin International

Competition. Elizabeth holds a DMA from The City University of New York Graduate Center and a MM from New England Conservatory. She is Assistant Professor of Music Theatre at Auburn University. www.elizabethkling.com

Karen Archbold, Mezzo-Soprano

Karen Archbold is poised to launch an exciting career as a promising young singer. She studied at the Hochschule für Künste in Bremen, Germany. She currently appears as a part of the Duo Striata, a cello and voice ensemble focusing on new music. Karen has been a member of the Washington Chorus, the Chicago Chorale, the Bremen Kammerchor, and the Symphonic Chorus at the Hochschule für Künste in Bremen. Karen has appeared as Miss Jessel in The Turn of the Screw, Buttercup in HMS Pinafore and Berthe in the Barber of Seville. She has also participated in the opera choruses of Die Zauberflöte and L’Enfant Sortilege at the Kennedy Center. Karen’s solo appearances include alto solos in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, John Rutter’s

Magnificat, Verdi’s Requiem, and the Mahler Kindertotenlieder with the MasterWorks Festival Orchestras, and as a mezzo soloist in Lili Boulanger’s Psalm Profundis.

Christian Ketter, Tenor

Tenor, Christian Ketter, recently made his Carnegie Hall debut with Marilyn Horne’s festival: “The Song Continues." In 2013, he was the tenor soloist in Bruckner’s Te Deum (Chicago Bar Symphony Orchestra), performed DuBois’ Les sept paroles du Christ and Saint-Saëns’ Oratorio de Noél and was Willy Loman in Rizzer’s Death of a Salesman (Chicago Cultural Center). Mr. Ketter performed under Carlisle Floyd in a concert of Floyd's operatic works. He has performed in Evita (Che) with the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, Tosca (Cavaradossi) with the Calumet City Chamber-Ensemble, Herrmann’s Wuthering Heights (Edgar) in its televised Chicago premiere, and ShowBoat (Ravenal). In 2010 Mr. Ketter gave a recital benefitting the Misericordia Foundation at the Ravinia Festival.

Mr. Ketter’s awards include the 2013 International-Finalist: Lotte Lenya Competition; Friedrich Schorr/The American Prize winner; National-Winner: Chicago Oratorio Award; 2nd National-Winner: Hal Leonard Art Song; The American Prize in Art Song and Shirley Rabb-Winston Grand Prize. In the summer of 2014 he released "Beloved", a collection of classical arrangements spanning many languages, styles, and genres with violinist, Cara Schlecker and pianist, Myron Silberstein. For more information visit: www.christianketter.com

Dan Richardson, Bass-Baritone

Bass-baritone Dan Richardson is known for his "clean, clear, declarative" tone and "lovely core sound and earnest musicianship." Recently, Mr. Richardson appeared as Elijah with Choral Union in Mendelssohn's Elijah, Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro with the Salt Creek Chamber Orchestra, as Papageno with Candid Concert Opera, and performed with the New Millennium Orchestra as Death in Viktor Ullmann's the Emperor of Atlantis on the Pritzker Pavilion Stage at Millennium Park.

Mr. Richardson also has performed with the Florentine Opera, Opera Omaha, Opera Louisiane, Des Moines Metro Opera, the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, Sarasota Opera, and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, where he performed the role of Don Bartolo for their “Opera in the Neighborhoods” production of Rossini's The Barber of Seville. As a concert soloist Mr. Richardson has performed with the Fox Valley Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, The Virginia Consort, the Milwaukee Ballet, Music by the Lake, and the Grant Park Chorus.

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CHICAGO BAR ASSOCIATION SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA David Katz, conductor and founding music director

Violin I Sara Su Jones, Concertmaster Alexandra Newman** †, Patricia Bronte† Amelia Lant Kira Manzo Kathy Marshall Carlin Metzger**† Kathryn Starshak† Elizabeth Vicars Violin II Emily Chen,*† Principal Mar Tenas Bastida Leslie Bertagnolli*† Heather Bowen Rachel Brady** Nicholas Butovich Ellen Douglass* Aaron Dozeman Hailey Golds Erin Hormozi Alyssa O’Connor Liisa Thomas* Jaime Walsh Viola Alexander Weaver,* Principal Melissa Berman Mitch Brumwell* Michael Gallo Catherine Hennessy Lowell Krahn Matthew McCrobie Cello Ethel Leichti,† Principal Scott Beller Henry Goldman Tracy S. Ickes Lina Ragep Powell Judith Sawyier Jennifer Zlotow

Bass Dirk VanKoughnett†, Principal Jay Broutman Flute Judith Grubner, Principal Julie Howie† Piccolo Joanne Burne Oboe Mary Callaghan,*† Principal Jan Baiden English Horn Diane Wood Clarinet John Vishneski,*† Principal Tom Lichten† Christine Rhode† Bass Clarinet Blanche Manning Bassoon Katherine Erwin,*† Principal Susan Henry† Horn Michael McVickar, Principal Ross Friedman David VanOverloop Gretchen Zook†

Trumpet Michael Poulos,* Principal Arthur Carvajal*† David Coronna† Christopher Kantas Peter Maltese† Trombone Lia Corinth, Principal Gary Huff Bass Trombone Phyllis Steinhauser Tuba Keith Polito Percussion Jon Duncan,*† Principal Barry Kozak Neil Posner Ed Voci Timpani Jon Duncan Piano Janet Eckhardt Harp Lillian Lau Narrator Harry Porterfield Librarian Ellen Douglass* CBA Liaisons Emily Riojas John Vishneski*† * Former CBASO Co-Chair ** Current CBASO Co-Chair † Supporting Member



DONATIONS and SPONSORS

We would like to thank the following for their kind donations

$250 Michael and Gretchen Zook,

in honor of David Katz

$150 The Cathedral Filipino Singers

$100 Leslie Bertagnolli and Kenneth R. Taube

Rebecca and Sarah Burlingham Emily A. Chen and Austin W. Bartlett

Janet Eckhardt Sheila Finnegan

Ann Shih-Hoellwarth and Larry Hoellwarth Dr. Sam Hohmann and Donna Weaver Carolyn J. Jones and Charles P. Barkley

Laura and Scott Liekis Alexandra L. Newman

Dale and Nancy Nichols The Roche Group, Merrill Lynch

Leslie Wilson

$50

BMW Money Works/Barb White, CFP(R) Rev. Daniel P. Buck

Jeannine Cordero and David Kolin The Sanborn Family Jennifer A. Widmer

Andrea Wood and Percy Moss III Peter Zeigler

$25 Anonymous

Nicholas Butovich Allison Castillo

The Civic Opera (Barber) Salon Mr. and Mrs. Manny Lucero

Nina Mariano Ramesh and Nieva Mehta

In Memory of Ray Masters, a veteran of the South Pacific (Catherine Masters)

Anita T. Molano Diane Panozzo

Susan M. Pudelek (Soprano) In Memory of LaRose Shepherd,

a True Oklahoman (Catherine Masters) Peter J. Zuercher

The Chicago Bar Association Symphony Orchestra and Chorus wish to thank and acknowledge our Premium Sponsors that helped make possible Something Wonderful for us all to enjoy!

Premium Sponsors Platinum Reed Smith $20,000.00 Gold FTI $ 5,000.00 Silver Skadden Arps $ 2,500.00 Silver IKO Industries, Inc $ 2,500.00 Silver Jenner & Block $ 2,500.00 Silver Mayer Brown $ 2,500.00 Silver Winston & Strawn $ 2,500.00 Silver Sidley Austin LLP $ 2,500.00



CHICAGO BAR ASSOCIATION CHORUS Rebecca Patterson, chorus director

Janet Eckhardt, accompanist Soprano Rebecca Burlingham † Jeannine Cordero Jamie Cucci Stefania Dion Alice E. Dolan Marilyn Heraty * Socorro Hernandez Maureen Kennedy * Tara Kennedy Dolores T. Kenney Nancy Klein * Laura Liekis Catherine M. Masters * Patricia Mehler Kimberly Mussman Nicolle Neulist Alexandra Nickow Diane Panozzo Suzanne M. Poulos ‡ Susan M. Pudelek Vilmarie Rosario Jarisse Sanborn Nicole Schall-Plotner * Miriam B. Scott Juditha A. Seghers Ann Shih-Hoellwarth * Gilda Small Hermine Valizadeh Jennifer A. Widmer † Andrea R. Wood

Alto Barbara Baldwin * Alice Brown * Sarah Burlingham * Allison Gans Castillo * Severina Dimaranan Sheila Finnegan Rene Girardi Barbra Goering Linda S. Harris ‡ Sarah Herman Carolyn J. Jones * Ruth Kaufman Carolyn Kitty * Carol A. Langer Nina Leung * Nina Mariano * Sandra Mertens * Anita T. Molano Courtney E. Moran Darka Papushkewych Allyn Wilcox Rawling * Olivia St. Clair Dorothy A. Voigt * Leslie Wilson *

Tenor Michael Anderson Louis Arata Eric Boyd Daniel Buck Emily Clott Eugene Decker Jim Farrell Martha A. Garcia * Malcolm Harsch Holly McGuire William H. Nichols ‡ Martha Niles * Mary Riley * Donna Weaver * Bass Ronald Balfour Eugene Beeler Louis Michael Bell Michael Berman Kevin E. Bry † Frank E. Cargle, II * Vlad Chirica Bradley Crandall Doug Davidson Samuel Hohmann Robert Jaydos Terrence Kennedy, Jr. * Joseph Marren Dale K. Nichols * Dave Perlman Thomas D. Rafter Frank E. Skony Peter J. Zuercher † Chorus Co-Chairs ‡ Section Leaders * Volunteers

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ELGIN MASTER CHORALE Andrew Lewis, music director

Jon Warfel, accompanist Soprano Jan Andresen, Dundee* Kristen Balisi, Batavia Jolie Bibulovic, Hoffman Estates* Valerie Bouagnon, St. Charles Pamela Cabeen, Geneva Amy Cho, Gilberts Barb Christie, Huntley* Cathy Ernzen, Batavia*~ Bethany Garbe, Geneva* Patricia Gilbert, Elgin*~ Patricia Golden, W. Dundee Susan Guina, Elburn* Kelly Herz, Aurora* Marilyn Hoglund, Glen Ellyn* Karen Holtquist, Elgin* Elizabeth Klbecka, Algonquin Marilyn Kunard, Elgin Nancy Maraat, Hoffman Estates Leslie Marcordes, Elgin* Carol McDonald, St. Charles Karen Neidlinger, St. Charles Michele Neidlinger, Bartlett Susan Newman, St. Charles Melissa Pagano-Arndt, Elgin+ Kathryn Petricca, Hanover Park Colleen Price, Sycamore Amie Roeder, Geneva* Gail Hamilton Rossow, Lake Zurich Kelly Schultz, Elgin~ Emily Sites, Aurora Charisma Starr, St. Charles Louise Tiemann, Dundee* Pat van Dusen, St. Charles Rosalyn Wesley, Barrington* Alto Tricia Aurand, Geneva Alison Bleick, Elgin* Lynnette Brent, Aurora*~ Lorry Cook, St. Charles Christine Dalphy, West Dundee* Christine Dawson, Roselle Julie Deines, Sycamore* Patty Dowd-Schmitz, Barrington JoAnne Dowdell, Sleepy Hollow*

Margie Dutcher, Elgin* Julie Frankowski, S. Elgin~ Marilyn House, Elgin~ Patricia Jachec, Hampshire Marilyn Keblusek, St. Charles Caryn Kingseed, St. Charles* Jeanne Kreymer, Warrenville Sandra Magana, Huntley Lolita McAffee, Algonquin Linda McCullagh, St. Charles* Linda Mueller, Elgin* Molly Mutschler, St. Charles Phyllis Otto, St. Charles Judy Pullen, Elgin Carolyn Raber, Wheaton* Christine Ross, St. Charles* Kathleen Rubino, St. Charles Carole Ruby, Aurora Kathy Shaughnessy, Elgin Christy Williamson, Carpentersville Katy Wells, Schuamberg+ Tenor John Gilbert, Elgin*~ Deborah Hrivnak, St. Charles* Jeffrey Jensen, Elgin Kurt Kuehnert, Crystal Lake* Brendon Marsh, Chicago Roy Olson, West Dundee* Ken Prazak, Elgin* Krista Ravenscraft, St. Charles* Mark Smith, St. Charles* Fred Steffen, Elgin Bass Robert Acker, Elgin* Stu Ainsworth, St. Charles~ Paul Anderson, Elgin~ Herb Anderson, Wheaton* Bill Beyerl, Batavia~ Larry Cabeen, Geneva Mark Clemens, Elgin Don Clemens, Elgin Mark Crump, Elburn~ Anthony Dean, Elgin* Allan Dempsey, St. Charles

Robert Donehey, Algonquin* Richard Grieger, Elgin* Richard Hattan, Geneva Derek Hauk, Elgin John Hrivnak, St. Charles* Chris Johnson, Batavia Arnold Klehm, Dundee* Larry Klemm, Sleepy Hollow Fran Kostel, Elgin* Arthur Kreymer, Warrenville Joe Labutka, Geneva~ Thomas Powell, Elgin* Dennis Rossow, Lake Zurich John Ruby, Aurora Bill Schnell, Elgin+ Paul Sitz, Elgin Chic Sweeney, Sleepy Hollow Robert van Dusen, St. Charles* ~ On Leave + Section Leader * Chamber Singers Board of Directors Patty Dowd Schmitz, President Roy Olson, Vice President Caryn Kingseed, Treasurer Jan Andresen, Secretary Alison Bleick, Immediate Past President Chris Johnson, President Emeritus Donna Hopp John Hrivnak Fran Kostel Mark Smith Chic Sweeney Patricia van Dusen Rosalyn Wesley Administrative Staff Jennifer Bolino, Executive Director Elizabeth Niemeier, Artistic/ Operations Assistant and Institutional Advancement Manager

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THE BEGINNINGS AND EVOLUTION OF THE CBA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

It all began at the old Medina Temple on State Street at Christmas-time in 1985. The annual Do-It-Yourself Messiah conducted by Margaret Hillis was being held there that year instead of the usual Orchestra Hall venue, and two lawyer-cellists, Susan Chernoff and Julia Nowicki, found themselves sharing a stand. During a break, Nowicki said “Wouldn’t this be fun to do more than once a year?” A light bulb went off in their heads and the idea for an all-lawyer orchestra was born.

They took the idea to the Chicago Bar Association which immediately embraced it. By March 1986 an ad appeared in the CBA’s newsletter:

Attention Music Lovers: Are you interested in getting together with other CBA musicians to play chamber music? We would like to start a chamber orchestra. Possibilities are unlimited, but include performing for Bar activities and receptions and participating in smaller ensembles (quartets, quintets, etc. – strings and winds). One rehearsal per week will be held beginning in the fall. If you are interested in playing or conducting, please call Susan Chernoff at 845-9249 by March 28.

Nowicki and Chernoff interviewed three conductors altogether, but according to Nowicki, “It was no contest as soon as we met David Katz.” Then the associate conductor of the Elgin Symphony under the direction of Margaret Hillis, David Katz took on the project with enthusiasm. Under the leadership of David Katz, the orchestra grew from a handful of musicians at its first rehearsal in 1986 (many of whom remain members today) to a group that now regularly fields more than 75 musicians.

The orchestra’s first rehearsal took place on November 5, 1986 in the dining room at CBA headquarters. Nine musicians showed up and several, including Nowicki and Leslie Bertagnolli (violin), remember playing Leroy Anderson’s “Syncopated Clock.” Rehearsals thereafter moved to Judge Julia Nowicki’s courtroom at the Daley Center, and rehearsals have been held at the Daley Center ever since.

The Early Years - Halloween at the CBA

David Katz with the two founding cellists, Susan Chernoff

Huvard and the Hon. Julia Nowicki, 1986

On the evening of March 25, 1987 in Room 2403 of the Daley Center, the fledgling orchestra’s 30 members performed their very first concert – for three people: Terry Murphy, Jack Jiganti and Evelyn Meine. They were apparently impressed, and the CBA orchestra received its first official booking – an inaugural performance at the 1987 CBA Annual Meeting on June 25, 1987.

Many wonderful guest artists have contributed to the orchestra’s musical growth. In the orchestra’s early years Deborah Hanks, a tax attorney from Milwaukee, was featured on clarinet playing Carl Maria von Weber’s “Concertino.” At the time Hanks was also principal clarinet with the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra and had previously been principal clarinet of the Toledo Symphony. Guest artist Robert Black’s rendition of Glazounov’s Concerto for Saxophone also stands out in the orchestra’s history. Black, then a third-year law student at DePaul University College of Law, had the distinction of being the first classical


SOMETHING WONDERFUL | 33

saxophonist to win a Grammy Award. His performance that April night with CBA Symphony Orchestra was ample evidence of why he won that distinction.

The CBASO also has collaborated with such notable soloists as Grammy Award winners William Warfield (Copland’s Lincoln Portrait), Chicago Symphony principal tubist, Gene Pokorny, and former Lyric Opera concertmaster Henry Criz.

Among notable performances in the orchestra’s history are the first performances anywhere of Gilbert & Sullivan’s courthouse operetta, Trial By Jury, in which the entire cast—soloists, chorus and orchestra—was made up of legal professionals, performing in a working courtroom.

To mark its 20th anniversary in 2006, the CBASO performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at Navy Pier on the final evening of the convention of World Bar Associations. The choral ensemble formed for that performance became the CBA Chorus. Under the direction of Rebecca Patterson, the Chorus has since performed many times with the CBASO in repertoire ranging from Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Haydn’s Creation to the Faure Requiem and Poulenc’s Gloria. In 2009, the orchestra performed at a commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth, and in 2010 the orchestra performed at a gala celebration for retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.

On June 5, 2011 the CBASO performed Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana at Symphony Center to a sell-out crowd along with the CBA Chorus, Naperville Chorus, Young Naperville Singers, and outstanding soloists in celebration of the CBASO’s 25th anniversary.

An early notice described the CBA Symphony Orchestra as follows:

“The Orchestra rehearses in the Daley Center on Wednesday evenings from 6:30-8:15 from September to May with a break for the holiday period to coincide with exams and holiday recess for our law student members. Our members range from sole practitioners to members of the city's largest law firms, from law students to attorneys with more than 25 years at the bar, city corporation counsel, public defenders, and in-house attorneys. Our rehearsals are an enjoyable way to network with a diverse group of attorneys and judges. Gourmet cookies are an added benefit enjoyed by all at rehearsal breaks!”

This description remains largely accurate today. The orchestra regularly rehearses on Wednesday evenings in Courtroom 1401 of the Daley Center, taking breaks during holidays and during the summer. The orchestra performs fall and spring concerts featuring serious works, and holiday concert featuring lighter music. The orchestra has performed at venues ranging from courtrooms at the Daley Center and conference rooms at the CBA building to Symphony Center. The orchestra’s current musical home is St. James Cathedral, which has an amazing musical tradition and has graciously hosted CBASO and CBA Chorus concerts for several years.

Tonight’s concert will be the group’s second performance at Symphony Center. The CBASO is proud to return to Symphony Center tonight in collaboration with the CBA Chorus and the Elgin Master Chorale for this concert!

June 1987 Debut Concert Vintage Benge Trumpet in Judge Blanch Manning's Courtroom



CHICAGO BAR ASSOCIATION SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA & CHORUS

20th Anniversary Concert at Navy Pier

Old State Capitol, Springfield, IL Justice Stevens Retirement Gala

Winter Wonderfest at Navy Pier

St. James Episcopal Cathedral

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Documents

Something Wonderful Program (April 2015)