Fmnisim-

VAI
St Chamber Singers
Chamber Orchestra

MESSIAH
George Frideric Handel

David Schildkret,

conductor

Evelyn Smith Musical Theatre
ASU School of Music, Tempe
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
7:00 p.m.
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral
100 W. Roosevelt Street, Phoenix
Thursday, March 6, 2008
7:00 p.m.

MUSIC
--4--ferberger College
of the Arts
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

MESSIAH
George Frideric Handel

Arizona State University Chamber Singers
Arizona State University Chamber Orchestra

David Schildkret, conductor

Soloists - Wednesday, March 5
Jamilyn Manning-White, soprano
Danielle Krison, mezzo-soprano
Erik Gustafson, tenor
Robert Wright, bass

Wednesday, March 5, 2008
7:00 p.m.
Evelyn Smith Music Theatre
School of Music
Arizona State University, Tempe

Soloists - Thursday, March 6
Jee Hyun Kim, soprano
Brianna Kramer, mezzo-soprano
Kenny Miller, tenor
Dong Kyu Oh, bass

Thursday, March 6, 2008
7:00 p.m.
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral
100 W. Roosevelt Street, Phoenix

Program
MESSIAH

George Frideric Handel
(1685 — 1759)

Part One
Sinfony
Comfort ye my people (Tenor Recitative)
Every valley shall be exalted (Tenor Aria)
And the glory of the Lord (Chorus)
Thus saith the Lord (Bass Recitative)
But who may abide (Alto Aria)
And He shall purify (Chorus)
Behold, a virgin shall conceive (Alto Recitative)
0 thou that tellest good tidings to Zion (Alto Aria and Chorus)
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth (Bass Recitative)
The people that walked in darkness (Bass Aria)
For unto us a child is born (Chorus)
Pifa
There were shepherds abiding in the field (Soprano Recitative)
Glory to God (Chorus)
Rejoice greatly, 0 daughter of Zion (Soprano Aria)
Then shall the eyes of the blind (Alto Recitative)
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd (Alto-Soprano Duet)
His yoke is easy, and his burthen is light (Chorus)

Unto which of the angels (Tenor Recitative)
Let all the angels of God (Chorus)
Thou art gone up on high (Alto Aria)
The Lord gave the word (Chorus)
How beautiful are the feet (Soprano Aria)
Their sound is gone out (Chorus)
Why do the nations so furiously rage together? (Bass Aria)
Let us break their bonds asunder (Chorus)
He that dwelleth in heaven (Tenor Recitative)
Thou shalt break them (Tenor Aria)
Hallelujah! (Chorus)
Part Three
I know that my redeemer liveth (Soprano Aria)
Since by man came death (Chorus)
Behold I tell you a mystery (Bass Recitative)
The trumpet shall sound (Bass Aria)
Then shall be brought to pass (Alto Recitative)
O death (Alto and Tenor Duet, Chorus)
If God be for us (Soprano)
Worthy is the Lamb (Chorus)

Intermission
Part Two
Behold the Lamb of God (Chorus)
He was despised (Alto Aria)
Surely he hath borne our griefs (Chorus)
And with his stripes we are healed (Chorus)
All we like sheep have gone astray (Chorus)
All they that see him laugh him to scorn (Tenor Recitative)
He trusted in God (Chorus)
Thy rebuke hath broken his heart (Tenor Recitative)
Behold, and see if there be any sorrow (Tenor Arioso)
He was cut off out of the land of the living (Soprano Recitative)
But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell (Soprano Aria)
Lift up your heads, 0 ye gates (Chorus)

As a courtesy to the performers and those seated nearyou, please set cell phones and other
electronic devices to silent mode.
The use of unauthorized recording devices is strictly prohibited.

=mum= -

Notes on the Program
by David Schildkret
Messiah occupies a unique place both in Western music and in Handel's
output. It contains some of the most familiar music ever written (think of
the "Hallelujah" chorus), yet as a whole it is not well-known. It has come
to be associated with the Christmas season, though Handel always
performed it during Lent. Listeners who love Messiah often know very little
other music by Handel, which is part of the reason that we have built the
series "Discovering Handel" around our performance. Alone among
Handel's two-dozen or so oratorios, Messiah tells no narrative story and
does not involve characters. It is, rather, an abstract drama—a tribute to
and a celebration of the concept of redemption.
Messiah surely owes part of its unique character to the circumstances
that gave rise to its creation. In the spring of 1741, the Lord Lieutenant of
Ireland suggested that Handel should come to Dublin to give some
concerts. The prospect of leaving London—then the great cultural center
of Europe—for the relative backwater of Dublin could not have seemed
terribly appealing to Handel at first. A few months later, the librettist
Charles Jennens wrote to a friend that he had given Handel a text for a new
oratorio. Its words were drawn from scripture, and the theme, as he
reported, "excels every other subject. The subject is Messiah." Again,
Handel could not have been terribly interested in the project. In fact, he
probably found it puzzling. Only three years earlier, he and Jennens had
been roundly castigated for putting scriptural words onto the concert stage
in Israel in Egypt. That work had been a commercial failure, and it was
denounced as profane from pulpits all over London. Would critics,
audiences, and clerics be any less contemptuous of Messiah? There was no
reason to suppose that they would. Dublin could wait, and the text of
Messiah could sit in a drawer.
But something changed Handel's mind in late July or early August of
1741. He made the extraordinary announcement that he would offer no
London season in 1741 — 42 and would instead perform his music in
Dublin. The gamble proved worthwhile: Dublin society treated him as a
magnificent celebrity, and his every move, musical and otherwise, became
noteworthy. The concerts were the talk of the town and heavily subscribed.
In advertisements for the first performances of Messiah, women were
exhorted not to wear hoopskirts so as to allow room in the hall for more
listeners. Even the dress rehearsal drew a large, enthusiastic crowd.
But as Handel contemplated the trip, he must have wondered about the
resources in Dublin. What kind of singers and instrumentalists would he
find in this relatively provincial town? Handel could not be sure, so he
sought to ensure success by keeping to modest forces. The text that

Jennens had given him a few months earlier provided him just the flexibility
he needed. Perhaps the Dublin audience, proud to have a famous
composer in their midst, would be more tolerant of hearing scriptural texts
outside of a church service. (This proved not to be entirely true: Jonathan
Swift, the author of Gulliver's Tray& and dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in
Dublin, seriously contemplated forbidding the choir to take part in the
performance because of the blasphemy of singing biblical words outside of
a worship service. Probably Handel's decision to make the performance a
benefit for prisoners and in support of two Dublin hospitals made it
possible for Swift to relent.)
The aspect of Jennens's Messiah libretto that may have made it seem
odd to Handel at first proved to be just the thing that made it successful for
Dublin: because the soloists did not assume the roles of characters in a
drama, the music could be freely exchanged among them. Was the tenor
not quite up to the challenge the music presented? Then perhaps the aria
could be given to a soprano instead—a substitution that would clearly be
impossible if an aria were associated with a particular person in a story.
Handel would make liberal use of this flexibility not only in Dublin, but in
the remaining 17 years of his life, when he performed Messiah virtually
annually.
Handel also kept the number of musicians to a minimum: the work
could easily be performed by four soloists (though he typically used more in
his own performances of Messiah), a small choir, and a string orchestra with
minimal contributions from the trumpets and drums. The oboes and
bassoons were added later, when the work was performed in London.
Even the slightly expanded orchestra he used later in London is modest to
the point of austerity when compared to the orchestras in Handel's other
works: they typically include flutes, horns, and such special instruments as
harps and lutes, and they frequently feature solo instruments. While the
rest of Handel's oratorios call for the choir to be divided into anywhere
from five to eight parts, Messiah is almost entirely for four-part chorus. The
one exception is the opening of "Lift up your heads, 0 ye gates," where the
sopranos divide, creating a five-voice texture.
***

Messiah is in three parts, as was typical for the Handelian oratorio. Part One
of the work deals with the prophecy of the coming of the Messiah, the
carrying out of that plan through the Nativity, and the miracles attendant
upon the Messiah's coming. Part Two deals with the initial rejection of the
Messiah by the world, told through the scourging of Jesus and the Passion
story. By the end of Part Two, the Messiah's message is victorious. Part

Three deals with the promise of resurrection and ends with a song of praise
to the Paschal Victim.
All of this is couched in exquisite music that is remarkably varied given
the limited palette with which it is painted. The choruses in particular range
from the delicate chamber music style of "For unto us a child is born" and
"His yoke is easy" (based on Italian duets Handel had written earlier in the
summer of 1741) to the grand anthem style of the "Hallelujah" and the final
chorus. The arias provide ample scope for the singers, from the dazzling
ebullience of "Rejoice greatly" to the heart-rending sympathy of "He was
despised." The death and resurrection of the Messiah are treated simply, in
stark solos that are especially affecting.
Our performance this evening is not a recreation of an eighteenthcentury performance, but rather a modern one that we hope is informed by
Baroque practice. We are using forces comparable in number to those
Handel typically used, with about two dozen singers in the choir and a
similar number of instrumentalists. Recognizing that Handers oratorio
soloists were frequently English and therefore less schooled in the Italian
art of ornamentation, we are using a fairly restrained approach to vocal
embellishment. We are performing all of the music Handel wrote: the
piece was much revised, so we are performing the versions of individual
movements that Handel used consistently towards the end of his life.
As Goethe famously said in his sonnet "On Nature and Art," "in der
Beschrankung eigt .rich erst der Mei stet"—a master reveals himself through
limitations. Handel, limiting himself to a bare-bones ensemble—the most
minimal forces he could imagine—worked for 24 days and turned out a
masterwork that has endured for a quarter of a millennium. Uniquely in
Western music, Messiah has been performed virtually continuously since it
was composed in 1742. And though we may think of the work as a
Christmas celebration, Handel intended for this time of the year, which
gives it an altogether different context. We suspect that many listeners will
discover something new tonight as we perform many movements typically
cut and others that are less frequently heard than the "Hallelujah" Chorus.
That is the voyage we have undertaken during this month's Handel series,
and we hope you have enjoyed it.

Biographies
David Schildkret joined the faculty of Arizona State University as
Professor of Music and Chair of the Choral Program in 2002. He conducts
ASU's Choral Union and the highly select Chamber Singers, teaches classes
in conducting and choral repertory, and oversees the doctoral program in
choral conducting. Schildkret holds the Doctor of Music and the Master of
Music degrees in Choral Conducting from Indiana University School of
Music, where his primary teachers were Robert Porco and George Buelow,
and the Bachelor of Arts in Music from Rutgers University, where he
studied with David Drinkwater and F. Austin Walter.
In addition to teaching at ASU, he is the Music Director of the Mount
Desert Summer Chorale in Bar Harbor, Maine, and is Director of Music at
Scottsdale United Methodist Church. He is the Founding Editor of The
Choral Scholar, the online journal of the National Collegiate Choral
Organization (NCCO) and is the NCCO board member for Arizona. He is
active in the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and serves as
the Repertory and Standards Chair for Four-Year Colleges and Universities
in Arizona ACDA. Last week, he conducted the ASU Chamber Singers at
the ACDA's Western Division convention in Anaheim, CA, the first major
convention appearance by an ASU choir since 1993.
Schildkret has given numerous talks and published papers on the music of
Bach, Mozart, and Handel. He authored two major articles on Messiah, one
dealing with the various versions of "But Who May Abide" and another
dealing with Mozart's reorchestration of the work. His articles have
appeared in the newsletters of the Mozart Society of America and the
Society for Seventeenth-Century Music, in the Choral Journal, Bach, Eighteenth
Cent/40,14, and the NATS Bulletin. He has published reviews in the
American Choral Review and has written liner notes for numerous
recordings.
Last year, he organized the series, "Ways of Happiness, Paths of Peace:
Bernstein, Bloch, and Music of the Jewish Tradition." He planned this
year's festival, "Discovering Handel," of which tonight's performance is a
major component. For next year, he is working on events to celebrate the
200th anniversary of the birth of Mendelssohn that will culminate in an ASU
performance of Elijah with the combined choirs and Symphony Orchestra.
Next week, he will be in Daegu, South Korea, giving lectures and master
classes in conducting.

Prior to coming to Arizona State University, Schildkret taught at the
University of Rochester, Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, and Salem
College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he was dean of the
School of Music.
Timothy Russell is in his 15th year as a Professor of Music and Director
of Orchestras at Arizona State University. In addition, he directs the
School's graduate orchestral conducting program. Dr. Russell is also the cofounder and Music Director of the award-winning ProMusica Chamber
Orchestra of Columbus, Ohio. He was the recipient of the 2006 Ohioana
Pegasus Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions in the arts and
humanities.
Russell has been a frequent guest conductor with The Phoenix Symphony,
including highly acclaimed full-length productions with Ballet Arizona. The
conductor/producer of twenty-seven CDs, Russell has received two
Grammy nominations. All of his recordings have been enthusiastically
received by listeners and critics alike, as has his vital and imaginative
orchestral leadership. Russell has conducted the world premiere
performances of over ninety new compositions.
Erik Gustafson is a senior completing a degree in Vocal Performance
under the teaching of David Britton. Since moving to the valley from his
hometown of Portland, OR, he has been featured as a tenor soloist for
many different organizations, including singing the role of The Evangelist
in J.S. Bach's The Passion According to St. John, three stints as the tenor soloist
for Handel's Messiah at South Mountain Community College's annual
performance, and as the tenor soloist for the Phoenix Symphony's
performance of Beethoven's Choral Fantas y. He has also been seen on stage
at ASU's Lyric Opera Theater in such roles as Brighella in Ariadne auf Naxos
and the Head Waiter in She Loves Me, as well as in the Kander and Ebb
revue The World Goes Round this past January. Erik is currently enjoying his
fifth season with the Phoenix Bach Choir, and is proud to be a part of their
Grammy-winning recording: Gretchaninoir Passion Week.
Jee-Hyun Kim, soprano, is enrolled in the Doctor of Musical Arts program
at ASU, where she is a vocal student of David Britton. While at ASU, she
has served as a soloist in performances of the Bach B Minor Mass and
Schubert's Mass in G Major. She was a winner of the 2007 NATS (National
Association of Teachers of Singing) competition, in the DMA division.

Brianna Kramer, mezzo soprano, is a native of Lacey, Washington. She
received a Bachelor of Music from Washington State University, her
Masters in Opera Performance from Arizona State University, and is
currently working on her Doctorate in Vocal Performance at Arizona State
University. Brianna played the role of "Mrs.Ott" in Arizona Opera
Company's production of Susannah, and has been a part of many shows at
ASU including "Baba" in The Medium, "3rd Lady" in The Magic Flute,
"Mother" in Amahl and the Night Visitors, "Madame De Croissy" in Dialogue
Of The Carmelites, "Aunt Eller" in Oklahoma, 'The Witch" in The Scarecrow,
and "Cornelia" in Cesare.
Danielle Krison is senior majoring in Choral Music Education and a
student of Anne Elgar Kopta. She has performed with the Lyric Opera
Theatre in Dialogues of the Carmelites and most recently portrayed Dryad in
Ariadne auf Naxos. In 2005 she studied at the American Institute of Music
Studies in Graz, Austria.
Jamilyn Manning-White, coloratura soprano, hails from Smithfield, Utah
where she received her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance at
Utah State University. She will be graduating this May with her Master's of
Music degree in Opera Theatre Performance from the studio of Prof.
Carole FitzPatrick. She has sung principal roles with Utah Festival Opera
Company, Hand Made Opera Company of London, Arizona State
University Lyric Opera Theatre and Utah State University Opera Theatre.
Her upcoming engagements include Belinda in Dido and Aeneas this spring
with Arizona State University choral department, Adina in L'Elisir d'More
with Teatro Massimo Bellini of Catania, Italy, and Gilda in Rigoletto with
Teatro Nacional de El Salvador. She is a recipient of numerous awards
including a Western Regional Finalist of the 2007 Metropolitan Opera
Competition, and winner of the National Association for Teachers of
Singing since 2002.
Kenny Miller, tenor, began his vocal studies at the University of WisconsinMadison under the guidance of Lois Fisher-Svitayski. He graduated summa
cum laude with his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Arizona
State University where he also earned a Master of Music in Vocal
Performance and Pedagogy. As a concert singer, Kenny has given
numerous recital performances around the country focusing primarily on
British art song. He has also performed as the tenor soloist in numerous
oratorios, masses and concert pieces; among these are Handel's Messiah,
Saint-Satins' Oratorio de Noel, Respighi's Lauda per la Nativita del Signore,
Bach's Weihnachts-oratorium, and Mendelssohn's Elijah. In addition to
standard repertoire, Kenny actively works to promote the compositions of

emerging composers and has premiered three new and vital pieces over the
last three years.
Kenny teaches voice and other music related classes at Phoenix College and
is currently in his final semester of completing a Doctorate in Vocal
Performance at ASU under the supervision of David Britton.
Dong Kyu Oh, baritone, and a native of South Korea, first received
recognition in 1996 when he was awarded first place in the Korean
National Music Competition. He has appeared in operas by Mozart,
Puccini, and in the Korean premiere of Rossini's L'occasione fa it Ladro. In
February, he received first place in the Arizona NATS competition. Dong
Kyu has studied with the legendary baritone Reno Bruson, Pierro Capucilli,
and Hans Choi. He is currently pursuing a master's degree in opera
performance at ASU, where he studies with Jerry Doan
Robert Wright, bass, is a native of Arizona. He is a senior vocal
performance major studying with Dr. Jerry Doan. Robert has appeared in
The Magic Flute and The Elixir of Love, and appeared in the premiere of Ghost
Voices. He frequently sings oratorio performances in Valley churches, and
has a private voice studio. After graduation, he plans to pursue a career in
dentistry.

Arizona State University Chamber Singers
David Schildkret, conductor
Jennifer Garrett, assistant conductor
Sara Stapley, rehearsal accompanist
Soprano
Meredith Aiken
Lyndsey Miller
Bora Na
Anne-Kathryn Olsen
Melissa Solomon
Allison Stanford
Jamilyn Manning-White

Tenor
Gregory Amerind
Erik Gustafson
Ryan Keller
Christopher Meade
Edson Mclendez
Kenny Miller
Paul Stever

Alto
Jennifer Allen
Kimberly Badger
Jennifer Garrett
Kerry Ginger
Brianna Kramer
Danielle Krison
Zayra Velazquez
Melissa Walker

Bass
In Hwan Choi
Ryan Garrison
Joshua Hillmann
Dong Kyu Oh
Carric Smolnik
Matthew Strader
Robert Wright

The Arizona State University Choral Program (David Schildkret, Chair)
provides singers with outstanding opportunities to apply their knowledge of
voice, music history, and music theory to create a compelling musical
experience for the listener and performer. The range of ensembles offers
both the singers and the ASU community the opportunity to experience
first hand the great repertory for vocal ensemble, from intimate a cappella
pieces for just a few voices, to the grand works for large chorus and
orchestra. Participation in choirs equips members for a lifetime of choral
singing, whether as professional members of paid ensembles, as section
leaders in church and community choruses, or as members of volunteer
choirs. More information can be found on the ASU Choral wcbsite:
http://music.asu.edu/choirs
The ASU Chamber Singers is a highly-select ensemble whose members
arc doctoral students, master's students, and advanced undergraduates. The
Chamber Singers performs the outstanding works for small chorus,
including a cappella literature from the Renaissance through the present,
compositions with piano or small instrumental ensemble, and works for
chorus and chamber orchestra.

Chamber Orchestra
Timothy Russell, Director of Orchestras
Violin I
Laura Speck**
Angela Cassette
Sarah Bowlin
Bonnie Teplik
Christian Sirnmelink
Holly Roberts
Violin II
Eliza Hesse*
Alisha Bean
Kate Bivona
Molly McCarthy
Ansel Eklund
Viola
Allyson Wuenschel*
Garrett McDaniel
Alexander Vittal
Cello
Hope Shepherd*
Adele E. Stein
Evan Henley
Molly Rife
Bass
Rossine Parucci*
Daniel Stotz
Oboe
Dane Philipsen*
Katie Mordarski
Bassoon
Joseph Kluesener

Trumpet
William Anonie*
Kent Foss
Timpani
Elizabeth DeLamater
Harpsichord
Eckart Sellheim
Organ
Christina Hutten

** Concertmaster
* Principal

Orchestra Assistants
Jacob Harrison
Brandon S. Matthews
Jana Minov
Orchestra Librarian
Jacob Harrison
Orchestra Manager
Rossine Parucci
Orchestra Office Specialist
Linda Bennett

The Arizona State University Orchestra Program in the Herberger
College of The Arts School of Music is dedicated to providing the Ernest
musical and educational opportunities for those qualified individuals
interested in studying and performing a wide variety of orchestral music.
As one of the country's foremost university orchestra programs, the faculty
and administration are committed to the training and development of
professional orchestral performers (instrumentalists and conductors),
orchestral music educators, music therapists, musicologists, theorists,
composers, arts administrators, and future arts supporters. The students
share in this commitment, aspiring to the highest possible standards of
musical excellence.
Currently the program includes three ensembles: the University Symphony
Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra, and the Sinfonietta. The ASU Chamber
Orchestra, which in 1997 produced its first commercially released CD, A
Bracy Night at the Opera, on the Summit label, presently performs
approximately six concerts annually. This ensemble performs works
explicitly composed or originally intended for a small orchestra. Their
recording of the Hoover Clarinet Concerto was released in 2005 on the
Summit Label.
More information can be found on the ASU orchestras website:
http://music.asu.edu/orchestras

411
Tonight's concert is part of the series: "Discovering Handel." Read about
other series events at http://music.asu.edu/handel

Coming Events
Sunday, March 30, 7:30 p.m.
Men's Chorus, Brook Larson, conductor
Women's Chorus, Ryan Garrison, conductor
Katzin Concert Hall. Free admission.
Friday, April 25, 7:30 p.m.
Verdi Requiem
ASU Combined Choirs and Symphony Orchestra
Timothy Russell, conductor
Carole FitzPatrick, soprano, Jennifer Roderer, mezzo soprano,
Robert Chafin, tenor, Peter Volpe, bass
ASU Gammage Auditorium. Free admission.

ASU Choral Office 480-965-3879
http://music.asu.edu/choirs

EVENTS INFORMATION 480.965.TUNE (480.965.8863)

herbergercollege.asu.edu/calendar

02007 ASV Herberger College of the Arts 0607