School of Music

presents

HolidayFest 2021
~Winter Solstice~
featuring
The Madison Singers
The JMU Chorale
Jo-Anne Van der Vat-Chromy, music director
Amy Robertson, collaborative artist

The JMU Symphony Orchestra

Foster Beyers, music director

With special guests

Wanchi, violin
Jamison Walker, tenor
Joanne Gabbin, reader

Saturday, December 11, 2021, 8:00 pm

Sunday, December 12, 2021, 2:00 pm
Concert Hall
 PROGRAM
Solstice Taylor Scott Davis (b. 1980)
Stars Eriks Esenwalds (b. 1977)
Grayson Parker, Marian Woodington, Sarah Petko, handbells
The Madison Singers
*****************************
From the video game Civilization IV
Baba Yetu Music: Christopher Tin (b.
1976)
Swahili adaptation: Chris Kiagiri
Judd Blake, tenor; Amy Cajagas, alto
Hanacpachap cuisicuinin Juan Pérez Bocanegra (d.
1645)
arr. C. Moroney
The Great Clear Twilight Music: Austin Schend (b. 1998)
Text: Winter Dusk by Sara Teasdale (1884-1933)
Amy Robertson, piano
The Combined Choirs
*****************************
The Star Carol John Rutter (b. 1945)
The Combined Choirs and JMU Symphony Orchestra
*****************************
Christmas Overture Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1772-1834)
From Four Seasons Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Winter
I.    Allegro non molto
II.   Largo
III.  Allegro
Wanchi, violin
The JMU Symphony Orchestra
*****************************
Reflections on the Winter Solstice Poems selected or written by the:
JMU Furious Flower Center, The Madison Singers, and JMU Chorale
Readers: Jamison Walker (Saturday), Joanne Gabbin (Sunday)
Marion Woodington (TMS), Sydney Grace Havermann, Luca Moroianu (Chorale)
*****************************
S’vivon Traditional Chanukah folksong , arr. Darmon Meader
Solstice Carole Kim Barluyk (b. 1959), arr. S.
Reamer
The JMU Chorale
*****************************
Glory, Glory, Glory to the New Born King Moses Hogan (1957-2003)
Jamison Walker, tenor
The Combined Choirs
****************************
Winter Wonderland Calvin Custer (1939-1998)
Sleigh Ride Leroy Anderson (1908-1975)
The JMU Symphony Orchestra
 ****************************
Christmas Carol Serenade Traditional, arr. Dan Goeller
The Combined Choirs and JMU Symphony Orchestra

Program Notes
We are so happy to be back! Even with masks in rehearsals, it means the world to all of us to be
making music in person and for you to be joining us!

Our HolidayFest theme, “Winter Solstice,” mirrors our journey of the last eighteen months, looking
for the light inside of us to illuminate and transmute the darkness. In that light (!), you will also see a
more diverse and globally representative program than ever before; languages, genres, periods of
music, orchestration…symbolizing our beautiful world, and beautiful students in ever more
conscious and representative ways.

One of the beautiful surprises of this semester has been the choral ensemble ‘Poetry Projects;’
individual ensemble member meditations on the images, feelings, and meaning of the winter solstice,
which were then distilled into powerful imagery with two ensemble poetry teams. The teams will
share their poems and be joined as well by selections offered by Dr. Joanne Gabbin of the JMU
Furious Flower Center. The poems are below; we hope you are transfixed and inspired by their
beautiful images and meanings.
May this concert and season reconnect you ever more deeply to your inner light and beauty.
May peace reign on earth. Thank you for coming.

Commissioned by VOCES8 for their Live from London Festival in 2020, Taylor Scott Davis’s
Solstice, with lyrics by Milton Brasher-Cunningham, has an almost meterless feel and musically
reflects on the darkness and quiet of winter.

Latvian composer Eriks Esenwalds' passionate ode to Nature, “Stars,” is filled with the harmonic
universe of chord clusters that both emphasize and blur D major's subdominant and tonic functions,
enhanced by the resonance of handbells. The Madison Singers recently presented this work at the
new building opening ceremony for the JMU College of Business.
Alone in the night, on a dark hill, with pines around me, spicy and still.
And a heaven full of stars over my head, white and topaz and misty red.
Myriads with beating hearts of fire, the eons cannot vex or tire.
Up the dome of heaven like a great hill, I watch them marching stately and still.
And I know that I am honored to be witness of so much majesty.

Translated from the Swahili text of the Lord's Prayer, Baba Yetu, a unique world fusion piece, was
the Award-winning title track from the video game Civilization IV, the first composition from a
video game to be nominated for, and win, a Grammy.

Hanacpachap cussicuinin, from the SAVAE Choral ensemble series, is an anonymous hymn
written in Quechua, the imperial language of the Peruvian Incas. A fusion of both early Spanish
Catholic and ancient Inca influences in terms of mysticism, symbolism, and religious focus, this
work has the distinction of being the first piece of polyphonic music printed in the Western
Hemisphere; published in Lima, Peru by Gerónimo de Contreras in 1631.
For the happiness of the upper world (cosmos), I’ll kiss you a thousand times.
The hope of the human race is an old tree that produces fruit in abundance;
sustenance that gives strength.
What I ask for: Listen to my suffering, Mother and guide of God, flower and white light.
Remember, I keep watch over you, waiting for you to reveal your Son.

Published in 2021, Austin Schend’s A Great Clear Twilight paints a picture of Sara
Teasdale's Winter Dusk landscape tied to the thoughts of one solemnly reflecting life’s infinite

There will be no intermission.

meaning and gratitude. A piano feature for our amazing Amy Robertson, this work resonates
strongly with our Holiday Fest Solstice Theme.
Winter Dusk
I watch the great clear twilight
Veiling the ice-bowed trees;
Their branches tinkle faintly
With crystal melodies.
The larches bend their silver
Over the hush of snow;
One star is lighted in the west,
Two in the zenith glow.
For a moment I have forgotten
Wars and women who mourn,
I think of the mother who bore me
And thank her that I was born.

The masterful pen of renowned and beloved composer John Rutter created Star Carol, a marvelous
Christmas selection that has become a Christmas tradition for mixed choirs and orchestra.

Arranged by Darmon Meader for New York Voices, S’vivon is a popular Chanukah folksong set
with lush jazz chords and embellishments that underscore the beauty of this famous song.

Kim Baryluk (1959) is a founding and enduring member of one of Canada’s most significant folk
groups – the Wyrd Sisters (1990). Her Solstice Carole, with a vocal jazz arrangement by Scott
Reamer, is so much fun to sing!

Glory, Glory, Glory to the Newborn King: In his inimitable style, filled with lush choral
harmonies, sweeping dynamic shifts, driving motor rhythms, and an unbelievable solo line, the
legendary Moses Hogan took Go Tell It on the Mountain and created an unforgettable choral
masterwork. We are delighted to present this with soloist Dr. Jamison Walker, our tenor on faculty
and Interim Director of the JMU Opera Program.

Christmas Carol Serenade: What’s the holiday season without some carols? We will sing them for
you this year; please sing with us in your hearts, but not out loud!

Solstice Poetry
THE SHORTEST DAY 
By Susan Cooper

So the shortest day came, and the year died,

And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive,
And when the new year’s sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, reveling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us—Listen!!
All the long echoes sing the same delight,
This shortest day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, feast, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And so do we, here, now,
 This year and every year.
Welcome Yule!

THOSE WINTER SUNDAYS

By Robert Hayden

Sundays too my father got up early

and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold,
then with cracked hands that ached
from labor in the weekday weather made
banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him.

I’d wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking.

When the rooms were warm, he’d call,
and slowly I would rise and dress,
fearing the chronic angers of that house,

Speaking indifferently to him,

who had driven out the cold
and polished my good shoes as well.
What did I know, what did I know
of love’s austere and lonely offices?

THE SOLSTICE MOON

by The Madison Singers

The world grows steadily cooler, crisper,

Turning icy blue, shimmering gold,
The rising and setting sun grows dimmer, quieter,
And the world itself becomes still and dark.

This day is short,

And before I know it night has fallen
Draping over the earth, draping over me,
Like a dark shroud of nothing.

But even as the darkness embraces me,

I feel no fear, and simply wait,
For I know that even this, the darkest night,
Is lightened by the gentle moon and distant stars.

The shroud lifts,

I see the ocean rising to meet the sky,
I hear the stars glimmering and ringing above,
I feel the overwhelming everything this night holds.

It is too much, and too little.

Too bright, and too dark.
I look for something,
Something in all this everything to ground me.

I look up and, Oh,

There is the moon.
The only constant in this chaos
As it slowly moves across the sky.

It beckons me,
Calling for me to breathe,
Rest, Simply be.
 The moon rocks me with its tide,
Singing a cool and deep blue lullaby.
Coaxing out the light within my beating heart,
So that I may fly up and join the stars themselves.

Refreshing myself in the sea of constellations,

Finding redemption in the cosmic waves,
Despite the pursuing, persistent darkness, I can see
The light of the next journey, the future of humanity itself.

And when the moon grows tired and sits low in the sky,
I slowly float back down on the shore of our world,

The past year washed away from me like the ridges of a sea stone,
And I emerge smooth and reborn into the dawn.

once again
by The JMU Chorale

The spark of a star at night is fanned into the flame of day once again.
The sound of midnight's silence is
deafening as you stare up at the fog
It crowds and covers as you shiver.
As the silence continues to thunder,
It is only the ice beneath your feet
That sounds, it crackles and would sparkle
But the dark does not allow.

The wind is biting and cold

As it rushes past your ears
And dries your heavy eyes, you
shiver. You beg for allowance, for
Compromise, but she takes you in hand
And sweeps towards the sky
“Come,” she says, “the stars
Will sing you a lullaby.”

With a wave of her hand,

She clears the fog, and the
World is open to you, as bright
As it is long. The stars twinkle
And dance across the ever-stretching
Sky, an expanse of darkness cut
By the twinkle of millions of lights.

The night seems to last for eternity,

With the tilted universe hiding the sun.
The night is fresh, it is biting, and the
Bluest black attempts to consume all,
But the renewal of discipline and peace
allows the world to rush toward the daylight
Once again.

Below, in the golden buds of daylight,

You can see your reflection in the shine off the
Ice. Still flying on winds wing, she takes you
under, giving refuge from the icy sunrise.
You reflect, but decide you want to bathe in the
 Day; feel its rays wash over you, renew as the world
Once again turns on its head.

Despite the chill, you can feel the reawakening

Of nature. As you float down to earth, grounded
Once again, winter starts its season long retreat
Within. As the ground thaws, your heart follows.
Thoughts of family and friends that surround bring
Peace, and with the new absence of the dark, you
Wave goodbye to Aurora.

And so the spark of a star at night is fanned into the firelight of day once again.

aurora rising
by The JMU Chorale

When absoluteness strikes

in lapis blues and fuchsia hues,
the icy air greets Night
like a true friend.

As the wind whispers

“Let me hold you again…”,
Light refracts dreams
of a greater purpose
like Dew in the morning
or the pensive Stars
carrying their mourning

Take a closer look, at

Sona, Light, Vision.
—All desperate lovers
seeking clarity, circulating cognition;
forever held in orbital motion,
For we are Infinite yet Bound;
but all that remains is Energy shifting.

It happened quietly—collision between

Dark and Light; a lonely war fought
for as long as we can remember…
When the weight of the world
sinks by your feet, like an anchor
Does it pull you under?

No—there are higher altitudes;

where solar winds at the edge of Earth
radiate red at the zenith’s glow
scattered sunlight and celestial curtains
show life in entropy–chaotic yet magnificent.
An atmospheric dance; Aurora rising.
the path to find Her rises, like heat

Will you follow?

 JMU Symphony Orchestra
Professor Foster Beyers, Music Director
Thomas O’Keefe, Symphony Manager

Violin I Bass Trumpets

Lauren Bristow James Adkinson- Eva Bayliss^
Aidan Coleman Piccirello Owen Brown
Isaac Cotnoir Tina Battaglia Max Parrish
Adeline King Michael Cseh
Tomona Mims John Foley Trombones
Rachel Tan Alex Haldane Shiv Love^
Patrick Joey Lane Thomas Valentine
Shaughnessy* Gabe Ravel^
Piccolo Bass Trombone
Violin II Ariel Collins Will Crowson
Paul Anderson Flutes
Briana Clark Dominic Baldoni^ Tuba
Louanna Colon Bo Boisen Jake Munn
Nathaniel Gordy
Thomas O’Keefe^ Oboes Harp
Sierra Rickard Rebekah Gernert Vanessa Putnam
Emily Werner Will Slopnick^
Timpani
Viola Clarinets Will Alderman
Mary Binder Josie Garner
Kamryn Cajohn Gregorio Paone^ Percussion
Madeleine Josh Cummings^
Gabalaski Bassoons Hanna Maranzatto
Ryan Haymans Hanna Maranzatto Matt Tignor^
Chris King^ Matt Tignor^
Nina Ravel
David Swanson Horns
Jacob Anderson Key
Cello Andrew Parker *Concertmaster
Alison Lilly Jordyn Shultz^ ^Principal
Kyle Mendez Jackson Van Hyning
Isaiah Ortiz
Jessi Sfarnas
Kim Souther^
 The FA ’21 “Resilience” Madison Singers* & JMU Chorale
Dr. Jo-Anne van der Vat-Chromy, director
Mrs. Amy Robertson collaborative artist
Nikos Myrogiannis Koukos, graduate assistant
Grayson Parker, Laura Bessellieu, Megan Paje, Chorale undergraduate managers
N. Gomez Colon, M. Humes, S. Petko, G. Parker, S. Peterson: TMS graduate/undergraduate managers
Lyric Soprano Dramatic Soprano Alto Tenor Bass X
Annabelle Porter* Amanda Aponte* Abigail Carter* Adam Williams* Andrew Magruder*
Bryanna Toll* Anna Valentino* Amy Cajigas* Brandon Morris* Carter Johnson
Emily Swett Gillian Saunders* Ashley Seminaro Brendon O’Donnell * Cody Watson 
Emma York Lauren Boyle* Caitlyn Higgins* Devonte Garcia  DeJuan Woods 
Grace Mead* Megan Humes* Camila Maric* Dillon Corral* Evelyn Larking
Kimmie Swift Sarah Petko* Caroline Lynch* Jeremy Alexander* Grayson Parker*
Kaitlyn Connolly Sam Preece Grace Templeton JJ Hensley Logan Blatt*
Lizzy Thomas* Hailey White* Josiah Lesley Luca Moroianu
Marissa Adams* Hannah Contardi Judd Blake* Nick Gomez Colon *
Shannon Mathews Hannah Ramsbottom Kareem Abdelmoneim* Nikos Myrogiannis Koukos*
Laura Bessellieu Ricky Goodwyn * Pete Berman*
Lauren Elam TJ Oxbrough Sam Peterson*
Linda Blazer 
Lindsay Marcus*
Marian Woodington*
Marie Knight
Megan Paje
Sophie Wellington
Sydney Grace Havermann

FA’21 JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY CHORAL AREA

Dr. Jo-Anne van der Vat-Chromy
Director of Choral Activities, Voice Area Coordinator
Associate Professor of Choirs, Choral Music Education

Dr. W. Bryce Hayes

Associate Director of Choral Activities
Associate Professor of Choirs, Choral Music Education

Nikos Myrogiannis Koukos, DMA Choral Conducting Graduate Student

Erinne Phillips, Choral Librarian

JMU COLLABORATIVE PIANISTS

Amy Robertson, The Madison Singers and The JMU Chorale
Kendall Waters, Treble Chamber Choir, University Women’s Chorus
Lylia Petrosyan, University Men’s Chorus

UNDERGRADUATE/GRADUATE MANAGERS/CONDUCTING ASSISTANTS

Nick Gomez-Colon, Megan Humes, Sarah Petko, Sam Peterson, The Madison Singers
Laura Bessillieu, Megan Paje, Grayson Parker, JMU Chorale
Abigail Carter, Treble Chamber Choir
Erinne Phillips, Anna Valentino, UCSA
Ricky Goodwyn, UCTB

EXECUTIVE BOARD: JMU CHAPTER OF THE ACDA

Kaitlyn Connolly, president; Caitlyn Higgins - vice president; Erinne Phillips, secretary;
Carter Johnson, treasurer; Amanda Aponte, historian; Dejuan Woods, public relations

JMU VIRTUAL CHOIR AUDIO/VISUAL ENGINEERS

Marian Woodington, Dillon Corral, Rose Guo, Evelyn Larking, Andrew Magruder

CHECK OUT THE JMU CHORAL AREA YOUTUBE CHANNEL!

 The HolidayFest Team gratefully acknowledges:
Regan Byrne: Executive Director, Forbes Center
Shawn Tucker, Tom Carr: Design and Technical Support
Donna Wampler, Kim Velazquez and Brian Juntilla: Administrative Support
Amy Robertson: Collaborative piano, and so much more…
Nikos Myrogiannis Koukos: Choral Graduate Assistant
Thomas O’Keefe, Orchestra Graduate Assistant
Nick GC, Megan H, Grayson P, Sarah P, and Sam P: TMS Undergraduate Managers
Grayson Parker, Laura Bessellieu, Megan Paje, Chorale Undergraduate Managers
Grayson Parker, Marian Woodington, Sarah Petko: Handbells
Black Creek Baptist Church of Mechanicsville: For the generous loan of your handbells!
Joanne Gabbin and the JMU Furious Flower Center: Winter solstice poems!
Gillian, Marian, and Brendan: TMS Poetry Team
Sydney, Luca, and TJ: Chorale Poetry Team
Laura Bessellieu: Poster Design

School of Music Staff

John Allemeier.............................................................................................................Director, School
of Music
Mary Jean Speare...................................................................................................Associate Director of
Music
William Dabback..................................................................................................Director of Graduate
Studies
Sarah Macomber............................................................................Director of Concert and Support
Services
Kirk Weaver……...........................................................................................Administrative Assistant,
Bands

Patrons are reminded to turn off all pagers, cell phones,

personal computers, and any other electronic devices.

The unauthorized videotaping or any other recording

of this production is strictly prohibited in adherence
with Federal copyright laws.

Kimberley Velasquez...................................................................................................Administrative
Assistant
Brian Juntilla.................................................................................................................Administrative
Assistant Donna Wampler......................................................................................................Program
Support Specialist
 JMU School of Music Diversity Statement
Difference in identity enriches our community, fosters artistic and
intellectual growth, and is vital to creating thriving venues for expression in a
global world. In addition to welcoming all individuals and perspectives
regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation,
religion, disability, socio-economic status, or citizenship status, we wish to
make the following acknowledgements and affirmations, adapted from
Americans for the Arts:
• In the United States, there are systems of power that grant privilege
and access unequally such that inequity and injustice result. We
resolve to educate ourselves, keep vigilant watch, and act to bring an
end to systemic oppression.
• Cultural equity--which embodies values, practices, and policies that
ensure all people have access to, and are represented in, the arts--is
critical to the sustained engagement of music in society.
• Acknowledging and challenging our inequities and working in
partnership is how we will make change happen.
• Everyone deserves equal access to a full, vibrant creative life, which is
essential to a healthy and democratic society.
• The prominent presence of musicians in society can challenge
inequities and encourage alternatives.

Music and You

How you can make a difference!
Dear Patron,
Thank you for attending today’s performance. The JMU School of Music educates
the most talented students from around the world to shape the fabric of society. We are ecstatic to
return to our stages to showcase the talent and hard work of our students and faculty.
Scholarship contributions help young musicians blossom into mature artists. With
your support, we will be able to offer our talented students more financial help in
pursuing their goals. If you are interested in supporting our students’ passion and
dedication, please consider contributing to the Music Scholarship Fund at James Madison
University.
Name: ____________________________________________________________________
Address: _______________________ City: _________________State: ____ Zip: ________
Amount: $ ____________________________________
I would like to support the following foundation account:
 Music General Scholarship Fund #15600
Make checks payable to JMU Foundation and send to:
Advancement Gifts and Records, James Madison University
220 University Boulevard, MSC 3603
Harrisonburg, VA 22807 www.jmu.edu/give