MAY, 2010

Dear Friends,

Thank you to everyone who came to our RockAria! concert in April. If rock music's not your thing, then you'll love our Classics Series concert in June. We're also gearing up for the second leg of our California Freedom Tour. This time, we're heading south to Fresno and Bakersfield.

This month:

• Magnificat concert
• CD of the month
• California Freedom Tour 2nd Leg: Fresno & Bakersfield
  
• Special dinner at Jardiniere

MAGNIFICAT - CLASSICS CONCERT
Saturday, June 12, 2 pm & 8 pm
Old First Presbyterian Church, 1751 Sacramento Street @ Van Ness Avenue

Those of you who have been fans of SFGMC for a while will remember that we performed John Rutter's exuberant Gloria at Home For The Holidays in 2004. It is included on our Home For The Holidays CD. We have another Rutter treat in store for you this summer: Rutter's glorious Magnificat.

2010 is the year of Rutter's 65th birthday, and also the 20th anniversary of his Magnificat, which received its world premiere at Carnegie Hall on May 26, 1990. The piece also has personal meaning for me. Since it's my tenth season with SFGMC, I wanted to include a work for which I had particular passion. I met John Rutter (pictured) in 1995 when I was in England. The subject of my master's dissertation was the Life and Music of John Rutter. Rutter agreed to meet me in person so that I could interview him for my study. His wife picked me up at the train station and drove me to their lovely home. I sat with Rutter for over an hour in his private studio. Rehearsing the music for Magnificat has been a real treat for me and for the singers. If you're not familiar with the work, here's a link to the FIRST MOVEMENT.

Since it was composed for men's and women's voices, we are joining forces for the very first time with the San Francisco Girls Chorus Alumnae, directed by Susan McMane. San Francisco Girls Chorus is highly revered as a world-class arts organization, having won many awards, including FIVE Grammys. Frederica Von Stade described them "as important to San Francisco as the Golden Gate Bridge." Founded in the same year as SFGMC, this will be the first time that our organizations have worked together.

Another "first" for this performance is the venue: Old First Presbyterian Church. Long established as one of San Francisco's finest classical music venues, it provides a stunning setting for this program. One of the Bay Area's most active independent concert series, Old First Concerts has been presenting performances of chamber and recital repertoire on a year-round basis since 1970. Artists are attracted by the excellent acoustics and the superb Steinway concert grand piano.

When you enter the building, take a moment to enjoy the lobby (exonarthex - pictured right) and read a small plaque. You will learn that the lobby was lovingly painted by a homeless man who offered his services as an artist if the church would take him in. After a time he died of AIDS, but he is remembered for this enduring contribution.

As well as the Magnificat, each of the choruses will perform a set of music on its own. SFGMC's set will include selections from our California Freedom Tour, plus Mendelssohn's "Thou Lord Our Refuge" and "Never Ever" from NakedMan.

Here is a sneak peek of the program notes:

San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus:

California Here I Come
By Al Jolson (1886 - 1950), Buddy G. DeSylva (1895 - 1950), and Joseph Meyer (1894 - 1987), arranged by Paul Saccone
Not In Our Town
by Fred Small (b. 1952), arranged by Kevin Robison
Mark Para, solo

Lux aurumque (Light of Gold)
Text by Edward Esch, Latin translation by Charles Anthony Silvestri, music by Eric Whitacre (b. 1970)
performed by Vocal Minority, sung in Latin

Poem by Edward Esch:

Light
Warm and heavy as pure gold
And the angels sing softly
To the newborn baby

Nella Fantasia (Gabrielle’s Oboe) from The Mission
by Ennio Morricone (b. 1928) and Chiara Ferraù, arranged by Alan Berrington and Tim Seelig
performed by The Lollipop Guild, sung in Italian

English translation:
In my imagination I see a just world,
Everyone lives in peace and in honesty there.
I dream of souls that are always free,
Like the clouds that fly,
Full of humanity in the depths of the soul.
In my imagination I see a bright world,
Even the night is less dark there.
I dream of souls that are always free,
Like clouds that fly.
In my imagination there exists a warm wind,
That breathes on the cities, like a friend.
I dream of souls that are always free,
Like clouds that fly,
Full of humanity in the depths of the soul.

Thou Lord Our Refuge
by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809 - 1847), arranged by Katherine K. Harris

Material Madrigirl
by Peter Brown (b. 1953) and Roberta Rans, arranged by Anne Albritton
conducted by Garry Hanna

Never Ever from NakedMan
by Philip Littell (b. 1950) and Robert Seeley (b. 1956)

SFGC Alumnae:
Susan McMane, Artistic Director
The Alumnae Chorus
Susan McMane, conductor
Susan Soehner, piano


Dona Nobis Pacem by Richard DeLong

Noël des enfants qui n’ont plus des maisons by Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

Workin’ for the Dawn of Peace - Civil War Songs, arr. Ron Jeffers

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy by Don Raye and Hughie Prince, arr. Ed Lojeski

Over the Rainbow by Harold Arlen (1905-1986), arr. Ben Kendall

Notes and Translations:

Dona Nobis Pacem
American composer Richard DeLong combines the familiar, ancient Latin text with the English translation of the “Prayer for Peace” of St. Francis of Assisi. The gentle, yet slightly dissonant setting is a prayerful and powerful plea for peace.

Dona nobis pacem (Give us peace)
Where there is hatred, let us sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is discord, union;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, Hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console,
to be understood, as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned.

Noël des enfants qui n’ont plus de maisons
Claude Debussy (1862-1918) wrote both the words and music of this piece in 1915, amidst the chaos of World War I. Sung by the orphaned French children as they beg in the streets at Christmas time, it grimly depicts the horrible aftermath of war.

Nous n’avons plus de maisons!
Les ennemis ont tout pris,
Jusqu’à notre petit lit!

Ils ont brûlé l’école et notre maître aussi.
Ils ont brûlé l’église et monsieur Jésus Christ,
Et le vieux pauvre qui n’a pas pu s’en aller.

Bien sûr! Papa est á la guerre
Pauvre maman est morte!
Avant d’avoir vu tout ça.
Qu’est c’que l’on va faire?

Noël! Petit noël!
N’allez pas chez eux,
N’allez plus jamais chez eux,
Punissez-les!

Vengez les enfants de France!
Les petits Belges, les petits Serbes,
Et les petits Polonais aussi!
Se nous en oublions, pardonnez-nous.
Noël! Noël!

Surtout, pas de joujoux,
Tâchez de nous redonner le pain quotidian
Pour les petits Belges, pour les petits Serbes,
Pour les petits Polonais aussi

English translation:

We no longer have homes!
Enemies took all we had,
Even our own little bed!

The school they burnt; they burnt our teacher too.
They burnt the church and Mister Jesus Christ,
The poor old beggar too, who could not get away!

Surely Daddy has gone to the war,
Poor Mommy is in Heaven!
Died and before having seen all this.

What shall we do now?
Santa! dear Santa!
Don’t go to their houses,
Don’t go back to them ever,
Punish them all!

Avenge the children of France!
The little Belgians, the little Serbians,
And the Polish children, too!
Yet should we forget some, pray forgive us!
Noël! Noël!

No toys! We want no toys!
But may we please get back again our daily bread!
For the little Belgians, for the little Serbians,
For the Polish children too!

Workin’ for the Dawn of Peace
This piece is an arrangement of two famous Civil War songs by Oregon composer and publisher Ron Jeffers. The first song, “Two Brothers,” depicts the mournful story of two brothers fighting on different sides of the war. Jeffers combines this lament with “Tenting Tonight,” originally published as “Tenting on the Old Camp Ground” by singer Walter Kittredge (1834-1905). Kittredge was drafted into the Union army in 1863, and his piece became popular with both civilians and soldiers on both sides. The last line of the song, “waitin’ for the dawn of peace,” is the hopeful strain that ties the pieces together to illustrate the human desire for war to cease.

“Two Brothers”
Two brothers on their way,
one wore blue and one wore gray.

One wore blue and one wore gray,
as they marched along their way,
the fife and drum began to play,
all on a beautiful mornin’.

One was gentle, one was kind,
one came home, one stayed behind.

One wore blue and one wore gray,
as they marched along their way,
the fife and drum began to play,
all on a beautiful mornin’.

“Tentin’ Tonight”
Many are the hearts that are weary tonight,
waitin’ for the war to cease,
many are the hopes, the hopes once high and bright,
that sleep with those at peace.

Waitin’ tonight, workin’ tonight,
workin’ that the war might cease!
O many are the hearts that are working for the right,
waitin’ for the dawn of peace.

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", a wartime radio song about a virtuoso trumpet player, is an iconic World War II tune written in 1941, and made popular by the Andrews Sisters. It was recorded a year before the United States entered the war, after the start of the peacetime draft that was put into place to expand the armed forces in anticipation of American involvement.


Over the Rainbow
This familiar song, made famous by Judy Garland, was first heard in the 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz. Harold Arlen’s melody, which contains an octave leap in the first two notes, exquisitely matches text by E.Y. Harburg. The song remains a favorite of audiences today.

Act II:

Magnificat
by John Rutter (b. 1945)
Traditional Latin and 15th century English texts
Chamber orchestra: members of the Community Women's Orchestra

I. Magnificat anima mea
II. Of a rose, a lovely rose
III. Quia fecit mihi magna
IV. Et misericoridia
V. Fecit potentiam
VI. Esurientes
VII. Gloria patri

English translation:

I. My soul doth magnify the Lord:
and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he hath regarded the lowliness of his hand­maiden:
for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

III. For he that is mighty hath magnified me:and holy is his Name.
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are filled with thy glory.
Hosanna in the highest.

IV. And his mercy is on them that fear him throughout all generations.

V. He hath shewed strength with his arm:
he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the
humble and meek.

VI. He hath filled the hungry with good things:
and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel.
As he promised to our forefathers,
Abraham and his seed for ever.

VII. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Holy Mary, succour those in need,
help the faint­hearted, support the weak:
pray for the laity, assist the clergy,
intercede for all devout women:
may all feel the power of your help,
whoever prays for your holy aid. Alleluia.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.

(English Translation of the Magnificat from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.)

More About the San Francisco Girls Chorus Alumnae:
For over 30 years, the San Francisco Girls Chorus has been recognized as one of the world’s most respected choral organizations. Musicians, critics, and audiences laud its level of training, performance, quality, range, and leadership in commissioning new music for treble voices. Thousands of women have been trained in exemplary choral singing through the organization’s Chorus School and professional level performing ensembles.

The mission of the Alumnae Chorus is to enhance and expand the opportunities for musical growth for SFGC alumnae and to continue the organization’s mission of excellence in music performance and education. Now in its third season, the auditioned ensemble of talented, dedicated alumnae, give three concerts each year in the Bay Area.

The San Francisco Girls Chorus is a regional center for choral music education and performance for girls and young women ages 5-18. Four hundred singers from 45 Bay Area cities participate in this internationally recognized program, deemed “a model in the country for training girls’ voices” by the California Arts Council. The organization consists of a professional level performance, recording and touring ensemble and the Alumnae Chorus, both conducted by Artistic Director Susan McMane; the four-level Chorus School training program, supervised by Director Elizabeth Avakian; and a Preparatory Chorus for 5-7 year olds.

SFGC has won many honors, including five Grammy® awards, the prestigious Margaret Hillis Award, and two ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming. The Girls Chorus is invited annually to perform with musical organizations including San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Symphony, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, and others. The Chorus has been honored to sing at many national and international venues, including the World Choral Symposium in Kyoto, Japan in 2005. SFGC has been featured at the American Choral Directors Association Western Division Convention in Salt Lake City and represented North America in the prestigious World Vision Children’s Choir Festival in Seoul, Korea, and in the Gateway to Music Festival at the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing. In it’s 30th Anniversary season, 2008-2009, the SFGC was selected to sing on the U.S. Capitol steps for President Barack Obama’s swearing-in ceremony, and also, to perform a debut concert at Alice Tully Hall at New York’s Lincoln Center.

CD OF THE MONTH & SUMMER MADNESS SALE!
This month our featured CD is Divas' Revenge: Opera And Broadway Our Way. Recorded at Davies Symphony Hall in 2005, Divas’ Revenge - Opera and Broadway Our Way was the highly successful spring concert of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus’s 27th Season. Joining forces for the first time with the Community Women’s Orchestra proved to be a wonderful collboration. The selections on this CD will take you on a journey from the sublime to the ridiculous, with some very traditional fare receiving some not-so-traditional (but oh, so San Francisco!) treatment.

Act I features selections spanning almost three hundred years of operatic repertoire. If you think opera’s not really your thing, you may be surprised by how much of this is familiar to you. Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances, for instance, includes music that was adapted in the musical Kismet, and the Humming Chorus from Madama Butterfly became the basis for the hit song from the Broadway musical, Les Miserables. SFGMC’s ensemble, The Lollipop Guild, will help deepen your understanding with an hilarious examination of how opera can be fun, and if that’s not enough, we have our own Three Tenors singing "Nessun dorma." Move over, Pavarotti!

Act II brings us to the modern era of musical theater (1927-2003), with Broadway tunes you know and love plus a few new gems. When the chorus members were asked to list their favorite Broadway tunes of all time, the overwhelming subject was songs that spoke to them as gay men. Imagine, if you will, “Tonight” as the setting not for a fight, but for 200 homosexuals “armed” with hair products getting ready for a night on the town! “Get Me to the Church on Time” and selections from The Sound of Music are the backdrop for the marriage of a reluctant tuxedo-ed gay man and a drag queen (Donna Sachet), presided over by San Francisco’s Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence! With a little bit of luck - and imagination - you’ll soon see that we certainly do opera, and Broadway, “our way.”

CD SUMMER MADNESS SALE!
To help you stretch your entertainment dollar, and keep you and your friends in music all summer long, SFGMC is having a one-time only CD sale at one-time only sale prices. SFGMC's entire back catalog of CDs is on sale from now until August 31 for $4.99. This represents a 66% - 83% savings from retail pricing, AND is way less than the cost of buying the same titles on iTunes. The full SFGMC CD Catalog is available HERE.

CALIFORNIA FREEDOM TOUR - 2ND LEG: FRESNO & BAKERSFIELD
Recognizing Harvey Milk's birthday (May 22), the 2nd leg of our highly successful California Freedom Tour takes place the weekend of May 22 and May 23. Please spread the word and help us fill the houses! The second leg of the tour is presented in partnership with Central California Alliance and Bakersfield LGBTQ. The concert will be presented at the Tower Theatre in Fresno on Harvey Milk Day, May 22 and at the Fox Theater in Bakersfield Sunday, May 23. Full details are listed below.

This is the first time that San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus has embarked upon a tour of California and the first time that the Chorus is collaborating with local charities in these communities to raise funds to help them with their work. 100% of all concert proceeds will be invested back into local community programs. The objective is to reach out to diverse communities in the universal language of music with an inspiring and affirming message of acceptance.

The final leg of the tour will take the Chorus to Vallejo, July 10, at the Empress Theatre.

Fresno, CA
Saturday, May 22, 2010, 7:30 PM
Tower Theatre
815 E. Olive Avenue
Fresno, CA
With Special Guest: Fresno Gay Men’s Chorus
Benefiting Central California Alliance

Bakersfield, CA
Sunday, May 23, 2010, 2 PM
Fox Theater
2001 "H" Street
Bakersfield, CA
With Special Guest: Rainbow Voices of Bakersfield
Benefiting Bakersfield LGBTQ

SPECIAL DINNER AT JARDINIERE
On April 20, Jardiniere hosted a special dinner in honor of my tenth season with SFGMC, which was also a fund raiser for SFGMC. Among the two dozen guests were Dennis Coleman (conductor of the Seattle Men's and Women's Choruses - pictured) and Marriage Equality USA's Molly McKay. I am extremely grateful to everyone who attended or contributed to the event, and also to Jardiniere for generously hosting the dinner.

Kathleen McGuire & Dennis Coleman

Photo by Steven Underhill