jewish roots of broadway program

1Jewish Roots of Broadway

Jewish Roots of BroadwaySaturday, October 10, 2015, 8:00 pm

Congregation Beth Shalom 772 W 5th Ave., Naperville

Sunday, October 11, 2015, 4:00 pm West Suburban Temple Har Zion 1040 N Harlem Ave., River Forest

Saturday, October 17, 2015, 8:00 pm Nichols Concert Hall

1490 Chicago Ave., Evanston

Sunday, October 25, 2015, 4:00 pm K.A.M. Isaiah Israel Congregation 1100 E Hyde Park Blvd., Chicago

Chicago a cappellaKathryn Kamp, Soprano

Cari Plachy, SopranoSarah Ponder, Mezzo-sopranoEmily Price, Mezzo-soprano

Garrett Johannsen, TenorTrevor Mitchell, Tenor

Carl Frank, BassJoe Labozetta, BassWilbur Pauley, Bass

Founder and Artistic DirectorJonathan Miller

Principal Music DirectorJohn William Trotter

Chicago a cappella is partially supported by The MacArthur Funds for Arts and Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation; The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; the Arts Work Fund for Organizational Development;

the Oak Park Area Arts Council, in partnership with the Villages of Oak Park, Forest Park and River Forest; a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events; and the Illinois Arts Council

Agency, a state agency. Media Sponsors: The Daily Herald, WBEZ

The Evanston performance is generously underwritten by Lawrence Hamilton and Ann Hicks.The River Forest performance is generously underwritten by Joyce Grenis and Mike Koen.

2 Chicago a cappella

PROGR A M

Torah Blessings 1 .............................................................................................................trad. LiturgyIt Ain’t Necessarily So .........G. & I. Gershwin & D. Heyward, arr. Ed Lojeski / Jonathan Miller(with Torah Blessings 2)

* * * * * * *

Di Grine Kuzine ..................................................................... A. Schwartz/H. Prizant, arr. J. MillerSwanee................................................................................... G. Gershwin & I. Ceasar, arr. J. Miller

* * * * * * *

Get Happy / Ac-cen-tu-ate the Positive ...........H. Arlen /T. Koehler/J. Mercer, arr. Robert PageI’ll Be Seeing You ........................................ Sammy Fain and Irving Kahal, arr. Darmon Meader‘S Wonderful ............................................................................... G. & I Gershwin, arr. Kevin KellerEmbraceable You ....................................................................... G. & I Gershwin, arr. Steve ZegreeAll of Me ............................................. Gerald Marks and Seymour Simons, arr. Patrick Sinozich

* * * * * * *

Summertime......................................... G. & I. Gershwin & D. Heyward, arr. Roderick Williams Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man ........... Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, arr. Nicholas Hare

* * * * * * *

Rozhinkes mit Mandlen .......................................................... Abraham Goldfaden, arr. J. TrotterBlue Skies .................................................................................... Irving Berlin, arr. Joseph Jennings

INTERMISSION

Haynt iz Purim, Brider ...............................A. Goldfaden and Mordecai Rivesman, arr. J. MillerSteppin’ Out ......................................................................................Irving Berlin, arr. Deke Sharon

* * * * * * *

P’tach lanu sha’ar.......................................................................... trad. Yom Kippur N’ilah nussachMy Funny Valentine ................................................................. Rodgers & Hart, arr. Bob Krogstad

* * * * * * *

Carefully Taught / Children Will Listen ................................................Rodgers & Hammerstein/Stephen Sondheim

* * * * * * *

Getting to Know You / Surrey with the Fringe on Top ............................Rodgers & Hammerstein, arr. Patrick SinozichIf I Loved You ................................................................ Rodgers & Hammerstein, arr. Kirby ShawDames! ...................................................................Rodgers & Hammerstein, arr. Patrick Sinozich

* * * * * * *

Send in the Clowns.................................................................Stephen Sondheim, arr. Robert PageSo Long, Farewell............................................................... Rodgers & Hammerstein, arr. Sinozich

Latecomers will be seated at the discretion of the ushers. Unauthorized photography or sound recording of any kind are strictly prohibited. Smoking is prohibited in all venues. Food and beverage are not permitted

in the audience seating area. Thank you for your cooperation


Available in the lobby: $16 each (includes sales tax)

CHICAGO A CAPPELLA CDS

Bound for Glory!New setting of African-American SpiritualsOur debut recording on the Gothic Records label is a moving and joyous collection of spirituals, featuring new settings of powerful melodies by a host of brilliant and innovative composers.

Days of Awe and Rejoicing:Radiant Gems of Jewish Music

Shall I Compare Thee?Contemporary settings of Shakespeare’s timeless words

Holidays a cappella LiveLive performances of Christmas spirituals, Chanukah songs and holiday music from around the world

Mathurin Forestier: MassesWorld-premiere recording of breathtaking Renaissance church music

Christmas a cappellaA celebration of the holiday season with Christmas songs from around the world

EclectricNew works, familiar favorites, pop & jazz. “An overflowing cornucopia of choral delights” (ChicagoTribune)

Go Down, MosesA stunning collection of spirituals

Palestrina: Music for the Christmas SeasonBrilliant Renaissance polyphony by the Italian master Palestrina


FROM THE ARTISTIC D IRECTOR

Broadway musicals, as we now know them, didn’t just pop out of nowhere. Prior to the great surge in popularity and esteem for the genre in the 1920s, most American cities had experienced a mishmash of styles: operetta, blackface minstrelsy, vaudeville, the musicals of Gilbert and Sullivan, and more. However, in New York, a perfect storm occurred, including a surge in Jewish population (roughly 25% of New Yorkers in 1920 were Jewish), a concentration of talent, a desire of

first-generation American Jewish musicians and lyricists to get beyond Yiddishe culture by defining something new and truly American, and a palpable sense of an American Dream.

In many ways, the Jewish dream in America is very closely tied to the American Dream. Indeed, it can be (and has been) argued that the American Dream is actually an invention of the Jewish-born composers and poets who created the Broadway musical. But what’s so Jewish about Broadway musicals, other than the fact that virtually all of the creative material was written by Jews? That is a fabulous question, and the attempt to answer it gave rise to this program.

The young, creative Jews who came of age in Manhattan were exposed to a world much more open, much more filled with possibility, than the Europe they had left. Here in America, “you could be anyone,” not just a Jew. Young immigrants loved their new adopted language of English, which absorbed their intense curiosity.

As we shall see, elements of synagogue music, the Yiddish theatre, and other parts of Jewish culture seeped into the Broadway musical. The writers were making conscious efforts not to write “Jewish musicals” or “musicals just for Jews,” but rather stories and music to which everyone would relate… and productions to which everyone would want to buy tickets. Their desire for a more universal appeal helped create an art form that now has made its stamp virtually around the globe, even in languages other than English.

* * * * * * *

This concert began to take shape a year ago, when Matt Greenberg, our wonderful executive director, told me excitedly about a PBS television special that was tracing the Jewish roots of Broadway musicals. That connection sounds intuitively obvious. After all, Gershwin, Irving Berlin, and Rodgers and Hammerstein were all Jewish, to name a few greats. “So,” came the question, “can we do a program about that?” “Sure, I’ll take that on,” I said, with a little trepidation, knowing that I probably have less background with musical theatre than anyone on our music staff. The task at hand soon became that of getting the lump out of my throat and wrestling the program to the ground (my version of Jacob’s visit with the angel).

As it turned out, most of the research for this program coincided with my taking several trips to Portland, Oregon, to visit my dad, Ephraim Moses Miller of blessed memory, who was struggling with liver cancer. We finally lost him on May 28th, at the age of 84. As I have told so many friends and loved ones, Dad was truly the sweetest man I have ever known.

My dad was not a practicing Jew. I think he came to synagogue maybe twice during all the years I was attending KAM Isaiah Israel in Hyde Park, a time during which I was having my head filled with the melodies of Max Janowski and Debbie Friedman. In keeping with his overall kindness, my dad wasn’t boycotting shul out of any sense of hostility, as I’ve


FROM THE ARTISTIC D IRECTOR c o n t.

heard other people describe their parents’ attitude toward organized religion. In fact, he was a lifelong seeker of a particular variety of religious experience that drew him in turn to Hinduism, Quakerism, and finally Tibetan Buddhism. (I even learned recently that my dad’s mother poo-poohed traditional Jewish religious practice.) He was a walking encyclopedia about mysticism and spiritual practices. More than anyone I’ve ever met, Dad was all about religion—just not Judaism.

As I saw on Dad’s birth certificate, he was born in New York City to Russian immigrant parents who lived in Brooklyn. After his birth, the family moved to rural areas for my grandfather’s work, which was to help Jewish immigrants settle as farmers in upstate New York and New England. My grandmother had been a concert singer, including solos with the Freyheyt Gezang Vereyn, which was the choral wing of the Communist Party in New York City (seriously – it was a time when many self-styled intellectuals very closely identified with socialism and/or communism). Inspired by her own passion for music, Grandmother encouraged my dad to study classical piano. Dad also told puns, and he had a tremendous ear for languages, so I suppose that’s a slim personal connection from me to Broadway. My uncle David retains more of a vaudeville sense of humor—his hero is probably Groucho Marx—and my Dad’s older cousin Maish actually was a vaudeville actor back in the day. However, none of this family background gave me much confidence in building this program.

One of the great lessons of my midlife is that asking for help is a wonderful thing. Needing confidence and expertise to make real for myself the musical connections between synagogue music, Yiddish theater, and Broadway songs, I turned to colleagues. Marsha Bryan Edelman, who works at Gratz College and at the Zamir Choral Foundation in New York, is probably the nation’s leading expert on the overall history of Jewish music. Her book, Discovering Jewish Music, was the first source I devoured. Looking to build on what I learned there, I asked Marsha where to look to start tracing some of the actual melodic and thematic connections that I was after. She said, “Well, the book you need to get is Funny, It Doesn’t Sound Jewish by Jack Gottlieb.” That book was my constant companion, living in my carry-on bag for all those trips to Portland. I wish that Jack were still alive, because his book is really something—erudite, funny, wide-ranging, and more than just an academic study. The whole genre and its cultural background come to life in his book, and we are deeply in his debt for helping us draw out some of these connections between genres.

Matt’s initial suggestion of the PBS special, Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy, was the next indispensable resource that I devoured. That video features experts who happily and enthusiastically sing and play their way through some of the vocal lines in synagogue music, Yiddish folk and theatre songs, and Broadway and Tin Pan Alley tunes. The connections just pop right out – what fun. The interviewees also share first-hand stories about the people involved in that intense and exhilarating creative and commercial process during the first half of the 20th century.

There’s another element that is beautifully described in the production, in which people talk about the compassionate nature of some of the writers. The lyricists, especially Oscar Hammerstein II, sought to address some of the most pressing social issues of his times (especially race and prejudice) in his creative work—a sort of tikkun olam, a healing of the world, through the art form. Doing all this research, I gradually learned why Show Boat is so important in the history of musical theater, I began to appreciate the sorts of risks that led


FROM THE ARTISTIC D IRECTOR c o n t.

to The King and I, and so on. If you have any interest in this subject matter at all, just go buy that video, and watch all the special features.

Maybe because this program had so much to do with losing my dad, it was truly one of the toughest assignments I’ve ever had in programming for Chicago a cappella. While I can sometimes flesh out the scaffolding for a program in a few weeks of deeply focused activity, this one had gone on for at least three months—and that’s just to get the working outline down. Despite all of the reading and listening and intense work, I still was not satisfied.

Have you ever just hit a wall when working on something? I was feeling that in some sense I was trying to do what academics call a “literature review,” where you read everything on the subject and come up with a sort of annotated bibliography, a sense of the current state of research in your area. That is good and potentially valuable, but it feels remote, not anything that really lives inside you, and it’s certainly not what a Chicago a cappella concert is. What kept eluding me was a first-hand sense of connection between the synagogue music that I knew and the Broadway tunes that I’ve come to love. I started to feel (and wish) that, if one little thread could somehow actually connect synagogue music and American Songbook music inside me, it would be enough.

Then something magical happened, around the middle of June. I truly cannot say what precipitated it. It could have been any number of things: going to synagogue more often to say Kaddish for my dad, or a critical mass of musical material swimming around in my head, or just enough simmering time to be able to see the forest for the trees; but in any case, I’ll never forget it. I was driving back from the park here in Downers Grove, where I walk my dogs almost every afternoon; the dogs were flopped in the back seat, and I was taking the road home that goes up a big hill and then back down, with no stop signs or traffic lights. For some stubborn reason, I wasn’t willing to settle for the opinion of others that the song “My Funny Valentine” has no Jewish connection. I was searching for a melody from the cantorial repertoire that I sing on the High Holidays at Rodfei Zedek—something that had the same intense depth of feeling that I feel in “My Funny Valentine”—and it hit me. I could make something work—I sang it in the car. My heart leapt for joy, really for the first time since my dad had died. I came home and wrote down what I had heard. You’ll get to hear it too. Then I found another one, where an example from Jack Gottlieb connected a Yiddish song by Abraham Goldfaden with a beloved tune by Irving Berlin. That too filled my brain and had me singing the musical connection to Sandy as I bopped around the house.

* * * * * * *

I am sure that there are many more stories about the birth of this genre, and anyone from Matt and John Trotter to the singers surely can tell you their versions. I’ve now told you some of my own journey, from Torah service to Second Avenue to Broadway to Chicago a cappella. I hope that it illuminates in some way the journey that you take with us as we present this music to you on the stage. Thank you so much for being here, and enjoy the show.

—Jonathan Miller Founder and Artistic Director


NOTES ON THE MUSIC BY JONATHAN MILLER

Trad. Liturgy: Torah Blessings 1Whenever the Torah is read in synagogue, this blessing is chanted before each section. It is an honor to go up for an aliyah (the word aliyah literally means “going up”). Bar and bat mitzvah students learn these and other blessings as well as their assigned Torah portion.

Barchu et Adonai ham’vorach.

Baruch Adonai ham’vorach l’olam va-ed.

Baruch Atah Adonai, elo-heinu melech ha-olam,

Asher bachar banu mi-kol ha-amim v’natan lanu et Torah-to.

Baruch Atah Adonai, noten ha-Torah.

Praise Adonai, the Blessed One

Praised be Adonai, who is blessed for ever and ever.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the universe,

Who has chosen us from among all the nations, and given us the Torah.

Blessed are You, Adonai, Provider of the Torah.

Gershwin/Heyward, arr. Ed Lojeski: It Ain’t Necessarily So (with Torah Blessings 2)After the Torah portion is read, there is a concluding blessing. We have paired it with one of the great tunes from Porgy and Bess. We’re not the first people to notice the similarities between these two tunes. The Gershwins and Dubose Heyward, when writing Porgy and Bess, used some irony in taking the Torah-blessing melody and putting it into a song that mocks religion, saying, “The things that you’re li’ble to read in the Bible / It ain’t necessarily so.”

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NOTES ON THE MUSIC BY JONATHAN MILLER c o n t.

Baruch Atah Adonai, elo-heinu melech ha-olam,

asher natan lanu Torat emet,

v’cha-yei olam nata b’to-cheinu.

Baruch Atah Adonai, noten ha-Torah.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the universe,

Who has given us the Torah of truth,

And implanted within us eternal life.

Blessed are You, Adonai, Provider of the Torah.

* * * * * * *Abe Schwartz and Hyman Priant, arr. Miller: Di Grine KuzineThis theatrical song was hugely popular both inside and outside Yiddish music halls in the early 1920s. As Neil Levin notes, the lyrics refer (in later verses) to the disillusionment felt by immigrants, who fed on stories that American streets were paved with gold, who came to this country only to endure sweatshop conditions. The popularity of the song gave Abe Schwartz’s career a large boost. The basic rhythmic profile and overall feel are remarkably similar to “Swanee,” George Gershwin’s first and biggest-ever hit song.

Yiddish - H. Prizant

Tsu mir iz gekumen a kuzine Sheyn vi gold iz zi geven, di grine Bekelakh vi royte pomerantsn Fiselakh vos betn zich tsum tantsn.

Herelakh vi zaydn-veb gelokte Tseyndelekh vi perelakh getokte Eygelakh vi himl-bloy in friling Lipelekh vi karshelekh a tsviling.

Nisht gegangen iz zi, nor geshprungen Nisht geret hot zi, nor gezungen Lebedik un freylekh yede mine - Ot aza geven iz mayn kuzine.

Un azoy ariber tseyner yorn Fun mayn kuzine iz a tel gevorn “Peides” hot zi vokhenlang geklibn Biz fun ir iz gornisht nit geblibn.

Haynt az ikh bagegen mayn kuzine Un ikh freg ir: S’makhtsu epes, Grine? Ziftst zi op, un kh’leyen in ir mine: Brenen zol Colombus’ es medine!

English - trans. J. Miller

A girl cousin arrived, a greenhorn, Beautiful as gold she was Cheeks red as oranges Tiny feet, just made for dancing.

Her hair was as a silk web Her teeth as pearls on a string Her eyes, blue as skies in spring Her lips, just like twin cherries.

She did not walk, she leapt She did not talk, she sang. Her every feature joyful and gay - Such a one was my cousin.

But, as the years passed by My cousin went downhill From working hard week after week Nothing remained but a wreck.

Today, as I meet her in the street And I ask: How’s everything, Greenhorn? She just sighs and I read in her eye: To hell with Columbus’ paradise!

George Gershwin and Irving Caesar, arr. Miller: SwaneeThis famous song was written in 1919, when George Gershwin was 20 years old, for a New York City-based review called Demi-Tasse. The song, partly intended as a parody of Stephen Foster’s “Swanee River,” was a big production number in the revue, with kicking showgirls and such, but it never caught on until after Gershwin mentioned the song to Al Jolson at a party. Jolson recorded the song the next year, and it took off like lightning. It was broadcast on radio and sold a million copies of sheet music and two million records, enabling Gershwin to concentrate future efforts on theatre and film music instead of “one-off ” pop songs. “Swanee” is an example of the “minor verse / major chorus” quality of many of the Jewish Broadway composers. Yiddish song was pretty unrelentingly minor, and non-Jewish songs were mostly major; this was a new hybrid that kept a slightly heart-tugging feel while also



providing a happy ending – happy endings, as we’ll see later, being a significant part of the 20th-century American worldview.

* * * * * * *Harold Arlen/Ted Koehler/Johnny Mercer, arr. Page: Get Happy / Ac-cen-tu-ate the PositiveThe emerging sense of an American Dream – where old histories could be thrown off, problems could be forgotten, and anything is possible – was a contrast from Old-World attitudes. Few people were better champions of having a good attitude than the first generation of American-Jewish songwriters. The American Dream is captured vividly in these two songs, woven into a mini-medley by the ever-inventive Robert Page, one of the iconic choral directors in American musical history, who is director emeritus of the Mendelssohn Club and professor emeritus at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

Sammy Fain and Irving Kahal, arr. Darmon Meader: I’ll Be Seeing You George Gershwin and Ira, arr. Kevin Kelley: ‘Swonderful George Gershwin and Ira, arr. Steve Zegree: Embraceable You Gerald Marks and Seymour Simons, arr. Patrick Sinozich: All of MeThese four songs help us to appreciate the inventiveness of the Jewish lyricists who penned mainstream popular songs. They eschewed Yiddish and reveled in the delights of English. Their lyrics are subtle and sophisticated, humorous and charming, and they helped to define the American mindset of their own era, which we also inherit. Let the lyrics charm you; listen for the rhythms, rhymes, assonance and alliteration in the poetry; and experience how the composers worked with the superb sonic material—made of words—that they were given.

* * * * * * *George and Ira Gershwin and Dubose Heyward, arr. Roderick Williams: SummertimeIn October 1935, Porgy and Bess made its Broadway debut, after an initial run in Boston during which many cuts were made to shorten and tighten the overall flow. It ran for 126 performances on Broadway and then went on tour. There are several angles to the Jewish roots of Porgy and Bess. The work owes much to the pioneering example of Show Boat, which dealt with racial issues in a way that mainstream Broadway audience had never seen onstage. In terms of actual musical material, there’s no exact source that we can trace, but there are several lines of thought that help to paint the picture. Jack Gottlieb has noted some melodic parallels to Yiddish song in the “Summertime” tune (as well as echoes of the spiritual “Motherless Child”). Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, a descendant son of the renowned Thomashevsky family of Yiddish theatre, notes the interplay between major and minor melodic inflections in freygish tunes, Chasidic song, cantorial chant, and African-American music, including blues. The poignant flatted note on “don’t you cry” is a perfect example of this stylistic hybrid.

Kern/Hammerstein, arr. Nicholas Hare: Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat ManJudging by the legacy of lyrics that he left us, Oscar Hammerstein II seems to have had a compassionate heart. Many of his musicals—Show Boat, The Sound of Music, South Pacific, The King and I—tackle difficult social issues that were mostly being ignored by the rest of Broadway. This is one of the great songs from Show Boat, which dealt head-on with an interracial love relationship. Julie, the character who sings the song in the show, is “passing”



as white, though she is really a light-skinned African-American married to a white husband, violating the state’s law against such unions.

* * * * * * *Abraham Goldfaden, arr. J. Trotter: Rozhinkes mit MandlenThis plaintive melody would have been heard all over the Jewish sections of New York City for decades around the year 1900. It was featured in the 1880 musical Shulamis by Abraham Goldfaden, one of the greats of the Yiddish Theatre on Second Avenue. To this day, it is a common lullaby among the Ashkenazim in Europe, and it has taken on the character of a folksong, though it was written in America for a particular production. Jane Seymour famously sang it at the end of the film War and Remembrance.

Yiddish - folk song

In dem Beis-Hamikdosh In a vinkl cheyder Zitst di almone, bas-tsion, aleyn Ihr ben yochidle yideln vigt zi keseider Un zingt im tzum shlofn a ledeleh sheyn. Ai-lu-lu

Unter Yidele’s vigele Shteyt a klor-vays tsigele Dos tsigele iz geforn handlen Dos vet zayn dayn baruf Rozhinkes mit mandlen Slof-zhe, Yidele, shlof.

In dem lidl mayn kind, Lign fil nevues Az du vest amol zayn tsezeyt oyf der velt. A soykher vest du zayn fun ale tvues, Un vest fardinen in dem oykh fil gelt. Ai-lu-lu

Un az du vest raykh yidele. Zolzt du zikh dermonen in dem lidele. Rozhinkes mit mandlen, Dos vet zayn dayn baruf. Yidele vet alts ding handlen, Shlof-zhe, Yidele, shlof.

English - trans. J. Trotter

In the Temple, in a corner of a room, Sits the widowed daughter of Zion, alone. She rocks her only son, Yidele, to sleep With a sweet lullaby. Ai-lu-lu

Under Yidele’s cradle Stands a small white goat. The goat travelled to sell his wares This will be Yidele’s calling, too. Trading in raisins and almonds. Sleep, Yidele, sleep.

In that song, my child, lie many wonders, When you will at some time Be scattered throughout the world A merchant of all grains, Earning from your trade a lot of money. Ai-lu-lu

And when you become rich, Yidele, Remind yourself of this lullaby. Raisins and almonds. This will be your calling. You’ll be a merchant of all wares, But for now, sleep, Yidele, sleep.

Irving Berlin, arr. Joseph Jennings: Blue SkiesJack Gottlieb notes that the some of the melodic contours of “Blue Skies” come right out of “Rozhinkes mit Mandlen”: “Blue skies, smilin’ at me” is basically the same as “Unter Yideles vigele,” and “Nothing but blue skies do I see” is the same contour as “Vigt si keseyder un zingt im…” There’s even a Goldfanden tune with the same essential shape as “Never saw the sun shining so bright.” As Jack Gottlieb notes, there’s no evidence that Berlin was intending to refer to Jewish sources, but one can imagine all sorts of Jewish melodic fragments lying around Berlin’s head. Also, as it’s often said about songwriting, there’s really nothing new under the sun; it’s all a question of how you put things together.

I N T E R M I S S I O N


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HOLIDAYS A CAPPELLACelebrate the holiday season a cappella style, as Chicago a cappella performs a new collection of familiar and new music, from traditional carols and Renaissance works, to Chanukah melodies,

popular holiday favorites and Christmas spirituals.Chicago (Hyde Park)

Sunday, Nov. 29, 4:00 pm Rockefeller Memorial Chapel

Chicago (Gold Coast) Friday, Dec. 4, 7:30 pm

Fourth Presbyterian Church

Chicago (Lincoln Park) Sunday, Dec. 6, 3:30 pm

St. Clement Church

Oak Park Sunday, Dec. 13, 4:00 pm

Pilgrim Congregational Church

Naperville Friday, Dec. 18, 8:00 pm

Wentz Concert Hall

Evanston Saturday, Dec. 19, 8:00 pm

Nichols Concert Hall

SHAKESPEARE A CAPPELLAThe words of William Shakespeare are illuminated through innovative and artful a cappella music as we commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death. Actors from Chicago Shakespeare

Theater join us on stage to enhance the drama, as sonnets and soliloquies are set to music by brilliant composers from around the world.

Evanston Saturday, Feb. 13, 8:00 pm


Chicago (Hyde Park) Sunday, Feb. 14, 4:00 pm

Rockefeller Memorial Chapel

Oak Park Saturday, Feb. 20, 8:00 pm


Naperville Sunday, Feb. 21, 4:00 pm

Wentz Concert Hall

THE HISTORY OF ROCK AND SOULFor Decades, Radio Hall-of Famer Terri Hemmert has taught a college course called “The History of Rock and Soul,” and now we bring it to musical life. From Louis Jordan and Elvis to Motown, gospel,

and R&B, we’ll trace the path of the 20th century’s popular music, with Terri herself as onstage narrator and guide. This fascinating musical history lesson will be the most fun you’ve ever had in school!

Oak Park Friday, April 15, 8:00 pm


Evanston Saturday, April 16, 8:00 pm


Chicago Sunday, April 17, 4:00 pm Logan Center for the Arts

Naperville Sunday, April 24, 4:00 pm

Wentz Concert Hall

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Abraham Goldfaden, Mordecai Rivesman, arr. Jonathan Miller: Haynt iz Purim, Brider Irving Berlin, arr. Deke Sharon: Steppin’ OutPurim is one of the most joyous festivals in the Jewish year. It occurs in midwinter, between Chanukah and Passover. On Purim, we read the entire scroll (the whole megillah) of the Book of Esther. Part of the fun is using noisemakers (greggers) to drown out the name of Haman, the villain in the Esther story, every time it is read. And how appropriate that this tune was penned by another Mordecai (Esther’s father in the Purim story), Mordecai Rivesman, with help from Abraham Goldfaden.And what popular song seems to rise straight from this Yiddish melody? One of Irving Berlin’s greatest hits, “Steppin’ Out”, that’s what! To connect the two songs, our own Jonathan Miller has put together a musical “scene” that shows one way Berlin might have taken the Purim song in 1948 and turned it into a hit for Easter Parade. (There are even melodic parallels between the second half of “Haynt iz Purim” and “Puttin’ on the Ritz”). Jonathan has given a swing element to the Yiddish song, which makes the distance between the two tunes very small indeed.



Yiddish - M. Rivesman

Haynt iz Purim, brider es iz der yon-tev groys. Lomir zingen lider un geyn fun hoyz tsu hoyz.

Lahkt, kinderlach, lahkt a yon-tevl makh, kindskinder gedenken dem nes. Zingt, brider-lekh, zingt, tantst freylech un shpringt, dem tayern tog nit fargest.

English - trans. J. Miller

Today is Purim, brothers it is a big festival. Let’s sing songs and go from house to house.

Laugh, children, laugh make it a little holiday, generations remember the miracle. Sing, brothers, sing, dance happily and jump, this dear day do not forget.

* * * * * * *Trad. Yom Kippur (N’ilah) liturgy: P’tach lanu sha’ar Rodgers & Hart, arr. Bob Krogstad: My Funny ValentineThe Jewish minor key isn’t always sad. It can be glorious and grand. At the end of Yom Kippur, the holiest of Jewish holidays, there is a final service called N’ilah, during which we petition the Almighty to keep the gates of heaven open just a bit longer, so that we may be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life for the coming year. This majestic melody is a moving petition, including a plea for forgiveness. The melody rises strongly toward the end, as the plea becomes more urgent. Many people have written that “My Funny Valentine” isn’t Jewish. Perhaps not, but we have found one possible connection; you’ll hear the hint of it toward the end of the cantorial chant.

P’tach lanu sha’ar, b’eit n’ilat sha’ar, Ki fana yom

Hayom yifneh, haShemesh yavo v’yifneh navo’ah sh’arecha

Ana, Eil na, sa na, s’lach na, m’chal na Chamal na, rachem na, kapeir na k’vosh chet v’avon.

Open for us the gate, at this time of the locking of the gate, now that the day is waning.

The day is past, the sun is setting, we will enter your gates.

We plead, O God, we beseech You: Forgive, pardon, have pity, grant us atonement, subdue our transgression and iniquity.

* * * * * * *Rodgers and Hammerstein / Stephen Sondheim: Carefully Taught / Children Will ListenThis medley draws attention to the powerful mentoring that Stephen Sondheim received from his surrogate father, Oscar Hammerstein II. When he was ten, Stephen Sondheim befriended James Hammerstein, Oscar’s son. Sondheim’s parents were breaking up at the time, and Oscar graciously mentored Sondheim for years. There is a great story of Sondheim bringing a musical that he had written at boarding school for Hammerstein’s feedback, not revealing who had composed it. Hammerstein’s reply was that it was the worst thing he’d ever seen—“but if you want to know why it’s terrible, I’ll tell you.” The two spent the afternoon discussing the work, and Sondheim later said: “In that afternoon I learned more about songwriting and the musical theater than most people learn in a lifetime.”Here is a medley of one of the best-loved songs from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific and Sondheim’s Into the Woods, respectively. “Carefully Taught” was criticized for being too blunt and controversial about the shaping of prejudice. The writers risked censorship when South Pacific first toured the southern United States, because the musical was said to justify interracial marriage, but they stuck by their work and eventually prevailed. “Children Will Listen” is a moral warning from Into the Woods, Sondheim’s inventive mashup of several traditional fairy tales, in which the Witch warns parents to pay attention to what they say.



* * * * * * *More from Rodgers and Hammerstein: arr. Patrick Sinozich: Getting to Know You / Surrey with the Fringe on Top arr. Kirby Shaw: If I Loved You arr. Patrick Sinozich: Dames! (a medley)We continue to celebrate the spirit, lyrics and music of Rodgers and Hammerstein. “Getting to Know You” comes from the King and I, a groundbreaking study in cross-cultural understanding. Hammerstein struggled with the 1944 novel by Margaret Landon, failing to see how it could inspire a plot for a musical, but he created a subplot with Tuptim and Lun Tha, two secondary characters whose love could be expressed (which Anna’s and the King’s could not) but not fulfilled, and Rodgers gave rich vocal material to both of those characters. “Surrey” is from Oklahoma!, a musical that some said had no business being successful because it had no big stars, no scantily-clad showgirls and no gags or bad jokes. However, it ran for five years on Broadway, shattering all previous records. “If I Loved You” is a gem from Carousel, a delightful use of the subjunctive, where Julie Jordan tells Billy Bigelow that she indeed could marry him, “if I loved you.” The final piece in this set is a brilliant combination of several R & H songs about women, created by our music director emeritus, Patrick Sinozich.

* * * * * * *Sondheim, arr. Robert Page: Send in the ClownsOne of Sondheim’s strengths is the way he has stretched the definition of musical theatre to include the messiness and confusion of contemporary life—especially of relationships. In the show A Little Night Music, the character Desirée has just been rejected by Fredrik after suggesting that they could be together permanently. While Desirée ordinarily can fire off witty and blithe dialogue, she finds herself utterly incapable of doing so in this situation. The result is this touching song, full of vulnerability and guilelessness, remorse and compassion. Graham Wolfe has written that this song is “an exemplary manifestation of Sondheim’s musico-dramatic complexity, his inclination to write music that performs drama.”Rodgers and Hammerstein, arr. Patrick Sinozich: So Long, FarewellWe bid adieu with this beloved song from The Sound of Music. This pair of Jewish songwriters took on the job of telling a story that takes place during the Nazi era—a gutsy move. This show was the final triumph of the Rodgers-and-Hammerstein team; nine months after the show’s premiere (with Theodore Bikel as the original Captain von Trapp), Hammerstein died. The Sound of Music generated more than three million dollars in sales before opening in New York, at that time the largest advance sale in the history of the Broadway theater. During the show’s first two years, there was never an empty seat in the house.

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THANK YOU

Marsha Bryan EdelmanEllyn Caruso, Caruso PR

Cantor Stewart FigaJack Gottlieb (z”l)

Nicholas HareBill Hoban

Joan Hutchinson and Joycelin Fowler, Pilgrim Congregational Church

Mark LubbockSue Prousa and Rabbi Marc Rudolph,

Congregation Beth ShalomFiona Queen, Music Institute of Chicago

Carol Serber, West Suburban Temple Har Zion

Patrick SinozichJoseph Slade, K.A.M. Isaiah Israel

Judith TugendreichDouglas VanHouten and Dennis Northway,

Grace Episcopal Church

Thanks also to The Saints, Volunteers for the Performing Arts, for providing our house staff. For information visit www.saintschicago.org or call 773-529-5510.

Very special thanks to outgoing board member Howard Hush, for his nine years of leadership, dedication, and service to our creative enterprise.

SAVE THE DATEfor Chicago a cappella’s Gala concert,

Good Vibrations: Music of the Beach Boys

Saturday, May 14, 2016The Winter Garden at the Harold Washington Library

400 S. State Street

Join us for a great evening of music as Chicago a cappella performs unforgettable classics by the Beach Boys, celebrating the 50th anniversary of their iconic sound. You’ll enjoy a light dinner buffet and be inspired by our talented High School Intern ensemble. All proceeds

benefit Chicago a cappella’s educational and artistic programming.

Tribute Award: Michael Mitzen, Board President, Kol ZimrahFriend of the Year: Robert B. Linn

Information: chicagoacappella.org or (773) 281-7820


Chicago a cappella Outreach Chicago a cappella’s Educational Outreach Programs strive to promote and improve the life-long performance, understanding and appreciation of a cappella vocal music through programming, mentorship and collaboration with schools and community organizations in Chicago and beyond.

Youth Choral FestivalThe Youth Choral Festival is a day of workshops, rehearsals, discussions and mentoring for area high school ensembles. The students work with Chicago a cappella’s artists, and the festival culminates in a concert featuring all the groups and Chicago a cappella. The fifth annual Youth

Choral Festival will be held on November 7, 2015, at the Logan Center for the Arts on the University of Chicago campus.

High School Internship ProgramOur High School Internship Program gives students a full year of musical and administrative training and mentoring with Chicago a cappella’s singers, directors, board members, and arts administrators. Selected through a comprehensive audition process,

nine talented and motivated students are serving as Chicago a cappella High School Interns in 2015-16, forming their own a cappella ensemble and gaining skills to further their musical ambitions.

Customized OutreachOther programs, such as master classes, choral residencies, and youth concerts, are presented by artists from Chicago a cappella’s professional roster of singers and directors, and are customized for the specific needs of each organization.

Learn more at chicagoacappella.org/outreach.


ABOUT CHICAGO A CAPPELL A

Board of DirectorsClaudia Divis, President

Gary Belkin, Vice PresidentDavid Perlman, SecretaryStephen Shaw, Treasurer

William K. FlowersHelen C. Gagel

Joyce Grenis

Robert B. LinnJennifer MarlingJames G. Massie

Monroe RothMaria T. Suarez

David G. ThompsonBarbara Volin

StaffFounder & Artistic Director......................................... Jonathan MillerExecutive Director ..................................................Matthew GreenbergBox Office & Concert Manager ...........................................Deb HobanMarketing/Operations Coordinator ................................Spencer BlairEducation Outreach Coordinator ................................. Susan SchoberProduction & Operations Intern ..........................................Jordan TanMarketing Intern ............................................................. Taylor SeabergMusic Librarian.........................................................Ellen Marchessault

Artistic Roster Jonathan Miller .............................................................Artistic DirectorJohn William Trotter ..................................... Principal Music Director (Jewish Roots of Broadway, Shakespeare a cappella)Benjamin Rivera ............ Guest Music Director (Holidays a cappella)Patrick Sinozich .................................................. Guest Music Director (The History of Rock and Soul)Paul Langford ......................Guest Music Director (Good Vibrations)

Megan Bell ........................................ Soprano (Holidays; Shakespeare)Ryan Cox....................................................................Bass (Shakespeare)Matthew Dean ........................................................ Tenor (Shakespeare)Carl Frank ........................Bass (Jewish Roots; Holidays; Shakespeare)Ace Gangoso ........................................ Tenor (Holidays; Rock & Soul)Matt Greenberg ........................................................ Bass (Rock & Soul)Garrett Johannsen .......Tenor (Jewish Roots; Holidays; Rock & Soul)Kathryn Kamp .. Soprano (Jewish Roots; Shakespeare; Rock & Soul)Joe Labozetta .................. Bass (Jewish Roots; Holidays; Rock & Soul)Trevor Mitchell ............................. Tenor (Jewish Roots; Shakespeare)Wilbur Pauley..........................................................Bass (Entire season)Cari Plachy .............. Soprano (Jewish Roots; Holidays; Rock & Soul)Sarah Ponder ...................................................... Mezzo (Entire Season)Emily Price ..........................................................Mezzo (Entire season)


B IOGR APHIES

Jonathan Miller, Founder and Artistic DirectorSince founding Chicago a cappella in 1993, Jonathan Miller has guided

the ensemble through more than 130 concerts, seven commercial CD releases, and thirty choral-music demo CDs. His international accolades include the 2008 Louis Botto Award for Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal from Chorus America. His skills at presenting a wide spectrum of music are a combined product of his singer’s ear, scholar’s training, and composer’s temperament. He was fortunate to be exposed at an early age to a wide range of music by a remarkable group of mentors, including Christopher Moore, Lena McLin, Max Janowski, Joseph Brewer, Howard Mayer Brown, Richard Proulx, John Nygro, and Anne Heider. He was a founding member of His Majestie’s Clerkes (now Bella Voce) and for ten years was bass soloist with the Harwood Early Music Ensemble. Eager to learn research tools for repertoire, Jonathan pursued musicology, earning his doctorate at UNC-Chapel Hill while remaining an active performer. Since returning to the Chicago area, Jonathan has expanded his role as a conductor and composer. He has led the volunteer choir at Unity Temple and Heritage Chorale in Oak Park and has served several other choirs as clinician and coach. He has written more than fifty choral works in a variety of genres and languages; his music has been sung at venues including St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City and the Pentagon. He conducted his piece The Lincoln Memorial at the Lincoln Memorial on the 200th anniversary weekend of Lincoln’s birth. Since 1998, Jonathan has taken a growing leadership role in Chicago-area Jewish music, leading the high-holiday choir and occasional Kabbalat Shabbat services at Congregation Rodfei Zedek in Hyde Park;

he now serves there as high-holiday cantor. He is principal guest conductor of Kol Zimrah, the Jewish Community Chorus of Metro Chicago, and holds as a great honor his role as publisher of the late Max Janowski’s catalogue. Jonathan enjoys the blessings of family and neighbors in the woods of Downers Grove, where he loves helping to maintain two shared vegetable gardens.

John William Trotter, Principal Music DirectorJohn William Trotter is a rapidly rising conductor on today’s concert music stage. His work from the podium

has been recognized internationally through numerous prizes, grants, and guest conducting invitations. To date, he has conducted more than a dozen professional orchestras and choirs in seven countries. Trotter earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Conducting from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). He was awarded honors from the American Choral Directors Association and the Canada Council for the Arts before joining the Vancouver Chamber Choir, Canada’s most active professional choir, as a full-time conductor in 2009. Over three seasons, he led the ensemble in more than twenty-five performances throughout Canada, Taiwan, and Japan. His performance of the Vivaldi Magnificat was hailed by the Vancouver Sun as “a radiant performance of this work that overstated nothing and brought out all of its freshness and charm.” In 2011, his season-opening concert with the ensemble was broadcast nationally by CBC Radio. In the course of his work with the professional ensemble, Trotter became recognized for establishing and enhancing education, outreach, and engagement programs for composers, conductors, singers, and audiences. In 2012, he was appointed to the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music as Assistant


B IOGR APHIES c o n t.

Professor, where he teaches conducting and leads the Wheaton College Concert Choir, the Conservatory’s select SATB ensemble. Trotter’s current musical activities range from traditional choral/orchestral repertoire, new music, jazz, and film score recording to work as a consultant, clinician, writer, speaker, composer/arranger, and leader of improvisation workshops. (www.johnwilliamtrotter.com)

Matthew Greenberg, Executive DirectorA founding ensemble member of Chicago a cappella, Matt has served as the organization’s Executive Director

since 1995. Combining a career in arts management with that of a professional singer, he has been an active member of the Chicago arts community for over 25 years. Matt has led workshops for Chorus America’s national conference and for the Arts and Business Council of Chicago. He has sung with Chicago a cappella since the groups inception in 1993, and has performed in musical theater and with many of Chicago’s other leading choral ensembles, including the Chicago Symphony Chorus, Music of the Baroque, William Ferris Chorale, and the Grant Park Chorus.

Carl Frank, bassCarl Frank, baritone, has received praise for his “compelling”, “spirited” and “charming” performances of a wide range of repertoire

spanning opera and oratorio. Mr. Frank has appeared with the Florentine Opera Company and Arbor Opera Theater, and been a featured soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Elgin Symphony, the Community Chorus of Detroit, and the Lakeview Symphony. Favorite operatic

roles include: Count Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro), Doncairo (Carmen), Sid (Albert Herring), Guglielmo (Cosi fan tutte), John Brooke (Little Women), and Gianni Schicchi (Gianni Schicchi). Also an active ensemble singer, Mr. Frank performs with Chicago a cappella, Music of the Baroque, Bach Collegium-Ft. Wayne, The William Ferris Chorale, Bella Voce, Schola Antiqua of Chicago, and Musik Ekklesia. Mr. Frank received his Master’s degree from the University of Michigan and his Bachelor’s degree from DePauw University. He currently resides in Chicago with his wife, mezzo-soprano, Lindsey Adams and their dog Fiona.

Garrett Johannsen, tenorGarrett Johannsen is proud to be singing with Chicago a cappella! He grew up in Schiller Park, IL and graduated from

The Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. Over the years, he has sung for the Lyric Opera Chorus, Chicago Symphony Chorus, Grant Park Chorus, William Ferris Chorale, and Bella Voce. Operatic roles include; Spalanzani / Les contes d’Hoffmann, Rev. Parris (Cover) / The Crucible, The Realtor / The Yellow Wallpaper, Nanki-Poo / The Mikado, The Lover / Amelia Goes to the Ball and Lucano / The Coronation of Poppea. He has appeared as soloist with the International Chamber Artists / Mozart’s Requiem, the Elmhurst Choral Union & Waukegan Symphony / Handel’s Messiah. Garrett has recently ventured into the wonderful art of cabaret performance with three shows last year alone. He has also been invited back to sing for his favorite sports team, The Chicago White Sox, four times. Follow Garrett at garrettjohannsen.com.



Kathryn Kamp, sopranoKathryn (an Iowa native) has appeared as soloist at the Ravinia Festival, Orchestra Hall at Chicago Symphony

Center, Grant Park Music Festival, the Peninsula Music Festival, and Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, among others. Favorite works include Mozart Requiem; Haydn Creation and Dixit Dominus; Handel (Messiah); Poulenc (Gloria) and Brahms (Requiem); Mozart’s Despina (Cosi fan tutte); many Gilbert and Sullivan ingénues (Patience, Rose Maybud, Yum-Yum and Mabel); and anything by Steven Sondheim (especially Anne Egerman and Mrs. Segstrom of A Little Night Music). She has also directed over 15 opera and operetta productions. Free time is spent on two feet (running), two wheels (biking), in the dirt (gardening), and hanging out with her husband Erich. She enjoys the unique vocal demands and wonderful colleagues of Chicago a cappella.

Joe Labozetta, bassNow in his fifth season with Chicago a cappella, baritone Joe Labozetta is thrilled to be singing with such esteemed colleagues. Ever the

ensemble musician, Joe has an instrumental background as well. Although perfectly content at the piano and organ, or holding a guitar or bass, choral singing is what he most enjoys. Starting as a boy soprano with the Grammy-recognized Ragazzi Boys’ Chorus in northern California, he has continued to pursue every choral niche, no matter how obscure or exotic. Stylistic interests include: symphonic masterworks, Renaissance polyphony, tight jazz harmonies, vocal percussion, overtone-singing, and traditional Georgian folksong. A graduate of DePaul

University’s School of Music, Joe currently holds the position of Director of Music at St. Josaphat Church in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. When not directing his own church choirs, composing hymnody or flailing away on the pipe organ, he regularly appears with Chicago-based performing ensembles: Chicago Symphony Chorus, Grant Park Chorus, William Ferris Chorale, Bella Voce, Ensemble Alioni, The Rookery, and Schola Antiqua.

Trevor Mitchell, tenorBest known for his work in oratorio and early music, Trevor Mitchell sings a wide range of classical music. Recently a critic wrote,

‘Simply the most uniquely beautiful and easily produced tenor instrument most people will ever hear.’ The past season, audiences heard Mr. Mitchell in Bach’s B-Minor Mass and Cantata # 214, Haydn’s Die Jahreszeiten, Bach’s St. Matthew and St. John Passion, Telemann’s Cantata # 161, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem and recitals. Scheduled works this season include Bach’s Magnificat, Actus Tragicus, Ein feste Burg, Christmas Oratorio and B-Minor Mass, Telemann’s Cantata # 161, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Schubert’s Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, a recording of some Mozart’s Coronation Mass masses as well as recitals. This fall Mr. Mitchell will tour 5 cities in Italy as tenor soloist with a concluding performance at the Vatican City. Known for his superb musicianship and interpretive skills, Mr. Mitchell, though concentrated in early music, is equally at ease in other musical periods. A native of Chicago, Mr. Mitchell’s singing engagements, both as a soloist and an ensemble member, have taken him virtually all over the U.S. as well as Italy, England, Austria, Ukraine and other places in Europe. Mr. Mitchell is a regular soloist at St. John Cantius in Chicago,



a member of the professional 9-voice singing ensemble, Chicago a cappella and divides his time between it and solo engagements.

Wilbur Pauley, bassBass Wilbur Pauley is honored to join Chicago a cappella this season. A veteran a cappellan, Wilbur has participated in

the following unaccompanied recordings: Wagner’s Das Liebesmahl der Apostel with NYPhilarmonic under Boulez (essentially a cappella: the orchestra plays for the last five minutes of this thirty-minute work); Byrd’s The Great Service with Saint Thomas Choir, NY; Robbins’ Sacred Love (from the film Dead Man Walking), the Dusing Singers, NY; Leslee’s Avenue X (an a cappella do-wop musical); De La Rue’s Missa Conceptio Tua, Schola Antiqua of Chicago. Wilbur sang as a soloist on two a cappella recordings: Strauss’ Deutsche Motette with Musica Sacra, NY, and Rautavaara’s Vigilia with Chicago Chorale. Wilbur has appeared in operas at the Met, Salzburg, Carnegie Hall, and seventeen seasons as a principal artist at Lyric Opera. He has appeared twice on Broadway. And his voice can be heard on almost a dozen Disney film soundtracks including: Beauty and the Beast, Enchanted and Tangled. Wilbur lives in Hyde Park with his family.

Cari Plachy, sopranoSoprano Cari Plachy is enjoying splitting her time between choral and opera singing. She has been seen throughout the Midwest

with Opera for the Young, DuPage Opera Theater, Light Opera Works and Bowen Park Opera. Favorite roles include Mabel (Pirates of Penzance), Yum-Yum (The Mikado), Gretel (Hansel and Gretel), and Rosina (The Barber of Seville.) Her choral work

includes singing with the Chicago Symphony Chorus. In 2008, she had an opportunity to step out from the chorus and sing a solo in Bruckner’s Psalm 150. The Chicago Sun-Times recognized it as being a “sparkling, and aggressively sung solo.” Cari received her Bachelor’s degree in music education from DePaul University. Since then, she has been working with the education department of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, bringing music to children all over Chicago. In addition to her work in Chicago, Cari was fortunate to bring her love of music to deaf children at Child’s Voice School in Wood Dale. Currently, her days are mostly spent playing mommy to her two little girls!

Sarah Ponder, mezzoSarah Ponder, mezzo-soprano enjoys a busy career as a soloist and ensemble singer in Chicago. Hailed as “Deeply expressive”

(Chicago Sun Times) and a “first-class soloist” (Chicago Classical Review), some of Sarah’s recent favorite performances include two featured solo appearances with the Grant Park Music Festival, starring as Julia Child in Lee Hoiby’s one-woman opera, Bon Appétit! and a rousing trio rendition of “Row, Row Your Boat” with Yo-Yo Ma at Children’s Memorial Hospital as part of her ongoing work with the Citizen Musician Initiative. Through her outreach at Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sarah has also “beguilingly” (Chicago Tribune) performed several solo concerts with famed Maestro Riccardo Muti at the piano. A passionate educator, Sarah holds a teaching position at Loyola University and maintains a large private studio in addition to supporting young composers in workshops throughout the city. She also recently finished recording works from Carnegie Hall’s Lullaby Project partnered with the CSO, assisting young mothers to create original lullabies.



Emily Price, mezzoMezzo-soprano Emily Price is a graduate of Northwestern University and enjoys performing in opera, choral and musical

theater productions. In Chicago she sings with the Grant Park Chorus, Music of the Baroque and Lyric Opera. Internationally, she has performed in over 35 countries as a soloist with the Voices of Baha International Choir in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Vienna Konzerthaus, and the National

Theaters of Spain, Catalonia, and India. She has also performed with the Czech National Symphony, Budapest Symphony Orchestra, and the Warsaw Philharmonic. Favorite theater productions include the premiere of RESPECT! A Musical Journey of Women (Cuillo Center/CCPA) and Rona in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Drury Lane Watertower). She can be heard on a number of recordings, including The Voices of Baha at Carnegie Hall, RESPECT! The Original Cast Album, and a solo album to be released entitled Songs of the Nightingale with the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra.

A Tribute to Tom Huyck

William Thomas Huyck, a former board member, volunteer, subscriber, supporter, and longtime friend to Chicago a cappella, passed away July 10 after a long illness. A resident of Hyde Park since 1961, Tom was active at First Unitarian Church and

served on the board of the Chicago Children’s Choir. Among his many professional achievements was a 1984 case which he argued before the Supreme Court. Tom and

his wife Margaret attended Chicago a cappella’s very first concert, and Tom served on our board from 2001 until 2007. His legal expertise, board experience, and great collegiality were instrumental in building our organization, and following his board service he continued providing assistance as a committee member and as a charter

member of The Accompanists. Tom’s legacy of service touched many, and we gratefully dedicate this set of concerts to his memory.


SUPPORT CHICAGO A CAPPELLA

Chicago a cappella is a creative enterprise devoted to furthering the art of singing together without instruments. Founded in 1993, our classical vocal ensemble of professional singers moves the heart and spirit with

fun, innovative concerts. Through our Chicago-area subscription series, guest appearances both locally and on tour, CD recordings and broadcast appearances, and educational and community outreach programming, we

strive to enrich lives through music.

DONATEMake a gift today! Ticket sales cover only a portion of our costs. In fact, as a not-for-profit organization, our single largest source of revenue is the generosity of individual donors like you! Your tax-deductible gift supports our educational and artistic work and allows it to thrive and grow. Join our family of supporters by donating in the lobby, or online at chicagoacappella.org/support.

VOLUNTEERGive the gift of time and talent! We often seek volunteers for office work and events, as well as for specialized skills such as music librarian, photography and videography, and more. To receive periodic emails about volunteer opportunities, contact Spencer Blair at [email protected] or call 773-281-7820.

BOARD SERVICEOur Board members are passionate individuals committed to guiding Chicago a cappella to its next stage of success. Each brings a unique skill, professional expertise, and personal and professional network, and all are deeply supportive of our mission. To learn more, contact Matt Greenberg at [email protected].

CONNECTSign up for our e-newsletter at chicagoacappella.org. Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/chicagoacappella.

2936 N. Southport Ave., Room 226 | Chicago, IL 60657Phone (773) 281-7820 | Fax (773) 435-6453

[email protected] | www.chicagoacappella.org


DONORS

Chicago a cappella is honored to acknowledge members of The Accompa-nists, a group of donors who make three-year pledges in support of Chicago

a cappella’s educational and artistic programs.

THE ACCOMPANISTS

Gary Belkin and Ed TuderClaudia and Timothy Divis

William and Jeanetta FlowersHelen Gagel

Marina GilmanJoyce Grenis and Michael Koen

Lawrence Hamilton and Ann HicksHank and Becky Hartman

Howard and Jane HushTom and Margaret Huyck

Murray Kopelow and Cathy BachmanLeslie Lauderdale

Dan and Cari LevinRobert and Fleury Linn

Jennifer MarlingMary Miller

James G. and Christine MassieRuth Oberg

David and Carole PerlmanBette Sikes and Joan Pederson

Monroe and Elaine RothSteve and Priscilla Shaw

Maria T. SuarezBarbara Volin

Dee Dee Whipple

KEEP THE MUSIC GOINGYou can help ensure the ongoing success of our musical and educational programs

by including Chicago a cappella as part of your estate plan. Your commitment provides an opportunity for continued financial support without a current cost. Including Chicago a cappella in your estate planning can be done through any number of vehicles, including bequests, retirement plans, and life insurance.

For more information contact Matt Greenberg at (773) 281-7820 or visit chicagoacappella.org/support.


We offer our deep gratitude to our contributors who made gifts and pledges to Chicago a cappella since January 1, 2014. We regret that we are unable to list the many thoughtful contributors who made gifts under $50. If this list contains an error, please accept our apologies and kindly let us know so that we may correct it.

$10,000+Paul M. Angell Family FoundationThe Arts Work Fund for Organizational

DevelopmentThe MacArthur Funds for Arts and Culture at the

Richard H. Driehaus Foundation

$5,000-$9,999Elizabeth F. Cheney FoundationThe Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley FoundationIllinois Arts Council AgencyThe Saints

$1,000-$4,999City of Chicago Dept. of Cultural Affairs and

Special EventsCommunity Bank of Oak Park River ForestOak Park Area Arts CouncilPierce Family Charitable Foundation

Up to $999Amazon Smile FoundationFirst Bank and Trust EvanstonNorthern Trust

Press AmericaStaver Law Group

Matching GiftsAT&T Bank of AmericaJP Morgan Chase FoundationNuveenCharles Schwab

In-KindArts & Business Council of ChicagoAV ChicagoCaruso PRPress AmericaNorbert Shimkus DesignsShiraleah

Media Sponsors91.5 WBEZ Chicago MaroonThe Daily HeraldWFMT 98.7 FM

CORPORATE, FOUNDATION, AND GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTORSVISIONARY ($10,000 or more)AnonymousJoyce Grenis & Michael KoenLawrence Hamilton & Ann HicksDee Dee Whipple

UNDERWRITER ($5,000 or more)Howard & Jane HushDavid & Carole PerlmanBette Sikes & Joan PedersonMaria SuarezBarbara Volin

GRAND BENEFACTOR ($2,500 or more)

Gary Belkin & Edward TuderAlex & Rosemary CudzewiczClaudia & Timothy DivisBill & Jeanetta FlowersHank & Becky HartmanLouise Holland

Murray Kopelow & Cathy Bachman

Leslie LauderdaleBob & Fleury LinnJames G. & Christine MassieMary MillerRuth ObergMonroe & Elaine RothSteve & Priscilla Shaw

BENEFACTOR ($1,000 or more)

Frank G. and Gertrude Dunlap Fund

Helen GagelMarina GilmanJoan & Guy GunzbergTerri HemmertDick HewittTom & Margaret HuyckJay & Jackie LauderdaleDan & Cari Levin

Jennifer MarlingAlice & David Osberg*Kris SwansonDavid Thompson & Beatriz

MedweckyRichard TribbleLance & Stephanie Wilkening

PATRON ($500 or more)AnonymousBarbara Butz & Robb GeigerJim & Ellen DaltonJudith Grubner & Craig JobsonDon & Joanna Gwinn*Jim & Lois HobartKaren HuntThomas & Linda KampDouglas & Christine Kelner*Jonathan Miller & Sandra Siegel

MillerJames & Kimberly NormanRichard & Cindy Pardo

DONORS


DONORS c o n t.

Dale & Donna PrestDoris RoskinNorman & Patricia SackCarolyn Sacksteder*Jennifer & Warren Schultz*Quenten Schumacher & Steve

GeiermannAnn Stevens*John & Marie TrotterRockwell C. VanceFrank Villella*Joan Ward & Joe ChandlerDuain Wolfe

SPONSOR ($250 or more)AnonymousTom AndrewsMarguerite BlochPaul BoulisAnn & Roger ColeLaura & Gary CooperHoward & Judy GilbertSanford Greenberg & Betsy

Perdue*Robert HarrisAnne Heider & Steve WarnerNancy & Arthur HirschSusan KampCharles KatzenmeyerRae Kendrick*Shirlene Ward & Kevin Kipp*Marina & Andrey KuznetsovJoan Davis LevinLinda Mast & Bard SchatzmanCorinne MorrisseyDrs. Donald & Mary Ellen

Newsom*Dr. Kathleen & Joseph OcchipintiDiane RasmussenEllen RombergSuzanne & Tim SchoolmasterJeri & Richard SkeltonGordon & Evelyn StrawGary & Beth WainerTom & Denise WhennenPaul Winberg & Bruce CzuchnaLori YokoyamaPenny Yunker in Honor of Bill

Flowers

SUPPORTERS ($100 or more)AnonymousDr. Diane AltkornEula Lewis AndersonWendy Anker & Edward ReedDian & David BarthCarole Baumgart

Susan Beal*Marie BeckmanMarolin BellefleurAllan I & Jan L BergmanBlumenthal & Associates, LLCJonathan BourneNorm & Mary Jo BowersDonna BrazulisArlene BunisMartrice CaldwellMaria K CarrigJudy ChernickDolores CrossTheodore & Ann DoegeRon & Judy EshlemanMaurice Fantus and Judith A.

Aiello Philanthropic Fund in honor of Helen Gagel

Terry FeiertagDale & Marilyn FitschenMark GreenbergMargo Lynn HablutzelIrene HansenAnn Hewitt*Munn & Bonnie HeydornTerry HodgesElizabeth J HurtigJoe JaniaMargaret & Gary KachadurianGeorge KlippelJohn & Martha KopczykIvan & Jasna LappinHelen Lauderdale in honor of

Leslie LauderdaleLindy LauderdaleStephen & Lisbeth LernerBarbara & Martin LetscherTom Letscher In Honor of Marty

and Barbara LetscherVirginia & William LloydSusan & Joe LunnMary & Steven MagnaniChristine Nicole MartinDavid Miller & Mary Ellen

McNishCheryl & Tom McRobertsGlenn MeadeBetsy Meisenheimer & Richard

W. WesterfieldRobert & Laure MineoRobert & Lois MoellerAlice E. MossKaren MurphyVreni Naess*Cathy & Paul NewportCarolyn & Peter PereiraMarianne & Bernard A PhelanLarry & Judy Pitts

John & Gail PollesJane Ann PrestMary QuiggLowell SachnoffScott & Brooke SchwarzLeonard & Lisa ServedioLaura SmithLes & Bev SmulevitzGeri SztukCindy TomeiDave & Carolyn Utech*Paul & Sara VandebergLauren Verdich & Gail MorseJanneke & Jeff Waal-FowersTracy & Tony WeismanFred Wellisch & Edie CanterRebecca WellischVirginia WituckeRobert WolffShawn Ying & Jason CohenJoel & Frances Zemans

FRIEND ($50 or more)AnonymousPaul & Mary AltmanJanene Bergen & Lori NeblungBrad BerlageJennifer BiegelSally BirgerFrank Brockway & Margaret

Lonquist*Richard BrunotDan & Amy BurkeJennifer BurrusIoanna & Robert ChaneyJulia & Daniel CoyneRuth CrippenHenry & Ellen CrizJeanne CroweLynn & Jim DentonLora DrozdAnn DwyerRalph & Jenny EarlandsonJim & Carol FancherNorma Felbinger*Jerry Smith & Dottie FugielEvelyn GaudutisJo-Ann & Stanley GaynorCarolyn HayesBarbara Hofmaier & David HeimMari Jo & David HigginsKarl & Janice HobartCharles Hoffman & Tamara

SchillerJames HooverValerie HumowieckiMark & Amy JarmanBruce Kuehl & Mary Jane Cross


DONORS c o n t.

Colleen LabozettaThomas LipsmeyerKaren MaurerScott & Kelly McClearyRobert & Marjorie McCommonDaniel MelamedWilliam MilesSandi & Mike MillerBelverd & Marian NeedlesGeraldine L. Oberman & Eleida

M. Gomez

Jennifer Lee O’NeilMarjorie PentlandRaiselle & Kenneth ResnickJonathan & Joy RosnerRobert SacksHoward & Roberta SiegelDavid & Barbara SlivnickTrent & Rachel SparrowGene & Mindy SteinNikki & Fred SteinDorothy & Casmir Szczepaniak

Bernard SzeszolTricia TeaterWillard ThomenWilliam WallaceEileen & Dirk WalvoordRobert & Barbara WichmannDimis J. WymanDeety & Bruce Winograd

*Sustaining donor

About Face TheaterAV ChicagoBallroom Dance ChicagoBella VoceBig City SwingBike and Roll ChicagoBollywood GrooveBroadway in ChicagoEric BuchholzCheryl WollinChicago BearsChicago Botanic GardenChicago DramatistsChicago Gay Men’s ChorusChicago Modern Orchestra

ProjectChicago Opera TheaterChicago Shakespeare TheaterChicago SinfoniettaChicago SkyChicago Symphony OrchestraChicago White SoxChicago Zoological SocietyCity Lit Theater CompanyComedysportz TheaterCopper Art DesignsCorepower Dailey MethodDance SpaDee Dee WhippleDePaul Merle Reskin TheatreDevon Seafood GrillClaudia DivisEast Bank ClubEdgewater Fitness ClubEmerald City TheatreEnsemble Español Spanish Dance

TheatreEvanston Symphony OrchestraFairgrass LLC

Fat Willy’s BBQ ShackField MuseumFirst Folio TheatreFive Point Holistic HealthFlavour Cooking SchoolFox Valley RepertoryFrank Lloyd Wright TrustFrench Pastry School Jennifer GirardHarris Theater for Music and

DanceAnn HewittHotel FelixHowl at the MoonJane HushJoffrey Ballet ChicagoKingston MinesKoval Distillery Jim and Archana Lal-TabakLifeline TheatreLou Malnati’sLyric Opera ChicagoMara Karzen Jeweler DesignsMargaret KachadurianMariano’sJennifer Marling May I Have This DanceMerit School of MusicMetropolis Performing Arts

CenterMichael KorsMindy’s Hot ChocolateMiss Motley PhotographyMity NiceMoksha Yoga CenterMorton ArboretumMuseum of Science and IndustryMusic Institute of ChicagoMusic of the BaroqueMusic Box Theater

Norbert Shimkus DesignsNorth Central CollegeNorthlight TheaterNuns 4 Fun EntertainmentOld Town School of Folk MusicOm on the RangeOpen Door TheaterOrange Shoe Personal FitnessOwen & EngineCindy PardoPerennial VirantPorchlight Music TheatrePress AmericaRavinia FestivalRedhead Piano BarRemy Bumppo Theatre CompanyShedd AquariumShiraleahSips on ShermanSix FlagsSketchbook Brewing Co.Steep TheaterAnn StevensStrawdog Theatre CompanySwedish American MuseumSwedish BakerySymphony of Oak Park and River

ForestTargetThe Second CityTimeline Theatre CompanyTreasure IslandU of C PresentsUp Comedy ClubVictory Gardens TheaterBarbara VolinYogaview Lincoln ParkZanies Comedy Nite Club

IN KIND CONTRIBUTIONS (SINCE JANUARY 1, 2015)

jewish roots of broadway program

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