Second Concert of the 57th Season
A Holiday Extravaganza
Sunday, December 3rd, 1995
Cordier Auditorium
Bradley Creswell, Conductor
| Amahl and the Night Visitors | Gian Carlo Menotti | |||
| Cast | ||||
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Amahl His Mother King Kaspar King Melchior King Balthazar The Page Dancer Shepherds and Villagers |
Christopher Myers Mary Creswell C. Alin Cass Brent Wilcoxson Carlton Higginbotham Ben Kambs Kirsti Miller Manchester Choral Society |
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| Intermission | ||||
| Gloria | John Rutter | |||
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Gloria in excelsis Deo |
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| The Many Moods of Christmas | Robert Shaw / Robert Russell Bennett | |||
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"Good Christian Men Rejoice" |
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Program Notes |
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| Amahl and the Night Visitors |
Gian Carlo Menotti (b. 1911) |
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Somewhere in the world lives a crippled little shepherd called Amahl, with his mother, an impoverished widow. Nothing is left to them of the little they ever had, and they are now faced with hunger and cold in their empty house. Three Wise Men, on their way to Betholehem, stop at the hut and ask to be taken in for the night. Amahl and his mother welcome them and their Page as well as they can, and are much astonished at the splendor of their robes and the wealth of gifts they are carrying with them. When Amahl's mother realizes that the Three Kings are looking for a newbown babe and that the expensive gifts are all destined for him, she becomes bitter and envious. She cannot understand why at least some of these gifts could not be given to her own child, who is so poor and sickly. Under cover of darkness, while the Three Kings are asleep, she steals some of the gold from them - and is caught red-handed. When she explains to the Three Kings that she needs the gold to feed her starving child, she is readily forgiven. With great tenderness they try to explain to her who this newborn child is and how much he needs the love of every human being to build his coming kingdom. Touched by their words, the poor widow not only gives back the stolen gold, but wishes she could add a gift of her own. Little Amahl comes to her rescue. He impulsively hands the Three Kings his wooden crutch, his most precious possession, and in so doing he is miraculously cured of his lameness. As dawn appears in the sky, the Three Kings prepare to resume their journey. Amahl begs his mother to let him join them, and he is finally allowed to follow the Kings to Bethlehem to adore and give thanks to the Christ Child. |
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| Gloria | John Rutter (b. 1945) |
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I. Gloria in excelsis Deo Gloria to God in the highest II. Domine Deus Lord God, Heavenly King, God the Father almighty. III. Quoniam tu solus sanctus For Thou alone are holy. |
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Manchester Symphony Orchestra Personnel |
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Violin Linda Kanzawa, Concertmaster Rosemary Manifold * Matt Baker +^ Martha Barker Beth Chiarenza Joyce Dubach Sherry Gajewski Matthew N. Hendryx Rod Morrison Margaret A. Piety Moo Il Rhee Viola Naida MacDermid * Bethany Bruss Peter Collins Cello Anne Gratz * Polly Hoover +^ C.D. Stevens +^ Preston Thomas +^ Bass Randy Gratz * Darrel Fiene George Scheerer Piccolo Madalyn Metzger +^ Barbi Pyrah Flute Kathy Urbani * Madalyn Metzger +^ Barbi Pyrah Oboe Rita Kimberley * George Donner Clarinet Lila D. Hammer * Jane Grandstaff |
Bass Clarinet Robert Jones Bassoon Donna Russell * (co-) Erich Zummack * (co-) Horn Nancy A. Bremer * Bryan Gibson Jennifer J. Double +^ Chris McGavic Trumpet Steven Hammer * Scott D. Steenburg +^ Richard Pepple Jim Kibby Trombone Larry Dockter * Robert D. Brown Stephen Berkebile + Tuba John Beery Timpani Mark Sternberg + Percussion Terry Vaughan Marc Coulomb Organ/Piano Robin Gratz Harp Allison Perkins * Denotes principal + Denotes MC student ^ Denotes MSS Scholarship recipient |
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Manchester Choral Society Personnel |
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| Bradley Creswell, Conductor | ||||
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Soprano Christine Beery Hope Bowman Lynn Bucher Jenni Double Jessica Eller Kari Garber Rachel George Cari Gilbert Larisa Hoke Megan Joseph Andrea Kling Ann Lester Tricia Markley Uranda Miller Kara Morris Taryn Nicodemus Deb Schuler Michele Shrider Phaedra Sumpter Jennifer Tolle Geneva Veasey Andrea Waites Jane Willmert Julia Woodcock Tenor D.J. Brooks Jeremy Brown Bill DeWitt Torin Eikenberry Phil Martin Howard McKee Mark Schwartz Eric Zawadzki |
Alto Chelsea Abbott Phyllis Baker Jennifer Bowman Cathy Gatchel Michele Hartogh Melissa Hendricks Erin Hermes Edith Hoffer Jackie Horst Angela Lahman Paige Leonhard Karen Macke Lisa Mathias Wendy Noffsinger Jen Patterson Claudia Rosen Jeanne Smith Karen Smith Katherine Tinsley Rachel Waites Bass Steve Berkebile Jonathan Bryant Zachery Erbaugh Chris Fitze Gabe Garrison Francis Hoffer Christian Maslowski Mark Sternberg |
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Warsaw Community High School Select Chorale |
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| Scott Avery, Director | ||||
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Julie Arnold John Conley Sam Cruz Patrick Etienne Gabe Fitzsimmons Kyle Garner Brooke Geiger Steve McNeal Kirstan Pletcher Liz Regier |
Sarah Regier Terri Reuter Jessica Saylor Shawn Schlag Ryan Sparks Kristie Thorpe Brandy Waldridge Erica Watkins Beth Withrow |
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 Christopher
David Myers began singing in public when he was eighteen months
old. Since then he has performed in A Christmas Carol with the
Osceola Community Players, Penn High School's production of Music
Man, Amahl and the Night Visitors as produced by Bethel
College and Indiana Opera North, and a varity of other musical theater
performances. Earlier this year, Chris was a featured soloist with the
Indiana All State Honor Choir, and was a participant in the annual
"Circle the State with Song." He is a student at Schmucker Middle School
in the PHM School Corporation. Christopher's parents are John and Debbie
Myers of Granger, Indiana. |
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 Mary
Creswell is an active performer in opera, oratorio, and as a
song recitalist. Operatic performances by Mrs. Creswell include Il
Barbiere di Siviglia, Così fan tutte, Amahl and the
Night Visitors, and The Crucible. Her oratorio repertoire
includes Verdi's Requiem, Mozart Requiem, Messiah,
Magnificat by Bach, Mendelssohn's Elijah, and
Vivaldi's Gloria. She was a Metropolitan Opera regional
finalist and was chosen 1994 "Vocalist of the Year" by Mothers of
America, Inc. Mrs. Creswell has a M.M. from the University of Michigan,
and a B.M. from Western Michigan University. She is a member of the
voice faculty at Grace College in Winona Lake, Indiana, and teaches
voice at the Interlochen Arts Camp in Interlochen, Michigan. |
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 C.
Alin Cass is a native of Beaver City, Nebraska. He attended
Grace College where he received a Bachelor's degree in voice performance
and music education. As a student, her performed the bass solos in
Handel's Messian and Elijah by Mendelssohn, and was
the 1993 vocal winner of the Grace Community Orchestra Solo Competition.
He is a member of NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing),
and Opus 18, a chamber choral group in Fort Wayne, Indian. Alin also is
choir director at Saint Anne's Episcopal Church in Warsaw. He currently
resides in Winona Lake and is preparing for graduate school auditions. |
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 Brent
Wilcoxson lives in Winona Lake, Indiana, where he is currently
involved in the historic restoration of over twenty landmark buildings
in the community. Formerly, he was for fourteen years an investment
portfolios manager. He holds the B.S. degree in classical languages and
history from Grace College and the M.B.A. degree from Ball State
University. Mr. Wilcoxson has performed the role of the father in
Hansel and Gretel and the role of King Melchior in Amahl,
both with Indiana Opera North. During his student years at Grace College
he was active in theater productions and choral ensembles. |
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 Carlton
Higginbotham holds a Master of Music degree from Indiana
University (Bloomington), and is a member of the VoiceCare Network. He
has performed principal roles in over twenty opera productions including
Amahl and the Night Visitors, Don Carlo, The
Marriage of Figaro, La Bohème, The Barber of Seville,
and Rigoletto. He is also an oratorio and concert artist and
has appeared at Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, and Carnegie Recital
Hall. He has been a member of the South Bend Chamber Singers for several
seasons. |
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Ben Kambs is a senior at Manchester High School and is a voice student of Bradley Creswell. He has performed solo roles in Grease, Lil' Abner, Once Upon a Mattress, and Sugar. Ben's experience in choral ensembles includes Manchester High School Choir, Barbershop Quartet, and Manchester Choral Society. For three years he has been honored with selection to the Indiana All-State Chorus. His participation as a vocal soloist in the Indiana State Solo and Ensemble Contest has resulted in first place ratings for the past two years. Ben's parents are Dennis and Eunice Kambs of North Manchester. |
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Kirsti Miller is from Warsaw, Indiana. She has been dancing for seven years. She enjoys ballet, jazz, tap, pointe, modern dance, and character. Last year she performed in Michael Tevlin's The Nutcracker with the Fort Wayne Ballet. Kirsti has also been the choreographer for Warsaw Community High School's 1993 spring musical production, Annie. Kirsti will attend Grace college in the fall of '96. Kirsti also enjoys singing under the instruction of Mary Creswell. |
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Manchester Choral Society has performed with the Manchester Symphony Orchestra on many occasions in its long history. The Choral Society is an important part of choral activities at Manchester College and in the North Manchester community, providing an opportunity for any interested singer to participate in the performance of some of the great masterpieces of oratorio repertoire. |
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 Bradley
Creswell, conductor of the Manchester Choral Society, is
Assisstant Professor of Music and Director of Choirs at Manchester
College. He has served on the music faculties at Illinois Wesleyan
University, Albion College, and Muskegon Community College. Professor
Creswell also serves as music director and conductor for the music
theater program at the Interlochen Arts Camp. He holds degrees in vocal
performance from Western Michigan University, the University of
Michigan, and is a candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in
choral conducting at Michigan State University. |
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The Warsaw Community High School Select Chorale has twice been ranked as one of the top ten high school choirs in Indiana. They have produced a recording, performed with the Lettermen, and toured in Canada. Director Scott Avery is in his eleventh year as director of choirs at Warsaw Community High School. He earned the Bachelor of Music Education degree at Northern Michigan University and the Master of Music degree at Ball State University where he studied with Douglas Amman. |
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