This popular annual program by the Chamber Singers, University Chorale, University Singers, Treble Choir, Gospel Choir, and UW Glee Club features seven conductors, six choral ensembles, five hundred singers, four graduate conductors, three choral faculty, two hours of great music, and one impressive grand finale.
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Program
GOSPEL CHOIR
Phyllis Byrdwell, conductor
(Program will be announced by microphone)
COMBINED UNDERGRADUATE CHOIRS
Oure Light in Oure Night: Adrienne Inglis (b. 1960)
The Shewings of Julian of Norwich
Part III, LXXXIII, lines 3362-3364
Brightest and Best: Southern Harmony Hymn, Arr. Shawn Kirchner (b. 1970)
UNIVERSITY SINGERS
Cee Adamson and Scott Fikse, conductors
Dominico Reyes, piano
Ku‘u Ipo Pua Rose: John K. Almeida. Arranged Herb Mahelona
Light from NEXT TO NORMAL: Tom Kitt. Arranged by Lisa DeSpain
GLEE CLUB
Evan Norberg and Tyler Todd Kimmel, conductors
Dominico Reyes, piano
How Do You Fly? Jamie Cullum (b. 1979)
Soloists: Alex Trias, Aaron Gehrke, Christian Stranne
Ad Astra: Jacob Narverud (b. 1986)
TREBLE CHOIR
Larke Witten and Anjali Chudasama, conductors
Dominico Reyes, piano
Floating Moon on the Water: Wei-Pin Chen (b. 1953). Arranged by Eric Liu
By Night: Elaine Hagenberg (b. 1979). Text by Harriet Prescott Spofford (1861-1921)
Anjali Chudasama, conductor
CHAMBER SINGERS
Dr. Geoffrey Boers, conductor
Dominico Reyes, piano
Anjali Chudasama and Tyler Todd Kimmel, assistant conductors
Les Cris des Berges (The Shepherd’s Cry): Bernat Vivancos (b. 1973)
Tyler Todd Kimmel, tenor solo
Eatnemen Vuelie (The Earth’s Joik/song): Frode Fjellheim (b. 1959)
Wexford Carol
UNIVERSITY CHORALE
Dr. Giselle Wyers, conductor
Serena Chin, collaborative pianist
Justin Birchell and Marshell Lombard, assistant conductors
Coventry Carol: 15th Century. Text from Pageant of the Shearman and Tailors
O Magnum Mysterium: Cesar Carrillo (b. 1957)
Shchedryk: Mykola Leontovych (1877-1921)
COMBINED CHOIRS FINALE
Geoffrey Boers, conductor
Carol of the Stranger: Abbie Betinis (b. 1980)
Lyrics and Text
Oure Light in Oure Night
Thus I saw and understode
that oure feith is oure light in oure night,
which light is God, our endless day.
Brightest and Best
Hail the bless’d morn, see the great Mediator
Down from the regions of glory descend!
Shepherds go worship the babe in the manger,
Lo, for his guard the bright angels attend.
:
Brightest and best of the stars of the morning,
Dawn on our darkness and lend us thine aid.
Star in the East, the horizon adorning,
Guide where our infant Redeemer is laid.
Cold on his cradle the dewdrops are shining,
Low lies his bed with the beasts of the stall.
Angels adore him in slumber reclining,
Maker, and Monarch, and Savior of all.
Shall we not yield him, in costly devotion,
Odours of Edom and off’rings divine,
Gems of the mountains and pearls of the ocean,
Myrrh from the forest and gold from the mine?
Ku‘u Ipo Pua Rose
Translation from Hawai’ian:
Beloved is my sweetheart,
the rose My darling of the evening hours
Made by me into a lei To adorn my person
You are fair indeed to see
A flower fondled by my hands
A beauty that appeals to my heart
A loved one to cherish in my bosom
I love the voice of the cock
That proclaims that day is here
This ends the song for my loved one
My beloved one of the morning .
Light from NEXT TO NORMAL
We need some light
First of all, we need some light
You can't sit here in the dark
And all alone, it's a sorry sight
It's just you and me
We'll live, you'll see.
Night after night
We'd sit and wait for the morning light
But we've waited far too long
For all that's wrong to be made right
Day after day
Wishing all our cares away
Trying to fight the things we feel
But some hurts never heal
Some ghosts are never gone
But we go on
We still go on
And you find some way to survive
And you find out you don't have
to be happy at all
To be happy you're alive
Day after day
Give me clouds and rain and gray
Give me pain, if that's what's real
It's the price we pay to feel
The price of love is loss
But still we pay
We love anyway
And when the night has finally gone
And when we see the new day dawn
We'll wonder how we wandered for so long, so blin
The wasted world we thought we knew
The light will make it look brand new
So let it shine, shine, shine
Day after day, day after day
We'll find the will to find our way
Knowing that the darkest skies will someday see the sun
When our long night is done
There will be light
When we open up our lives Sons and daughters, husbands, wives
Can fight that fight
There will be light
How Do You Fly?
Let’s say hello to the real world
Let's say hello to the real world
Give her a wave, tell her it's ok
To be scared of being discovered
Find it hard to trust another
To feel often like a child when you are grown
Saw you swoop by on that frosty night
I swear it was you, Lord, it must be true
I am tired but my eyes are shining
Be the one who catches lightning
But I'm scared of letting all the magic go
How do you fly? 'Cause I think I'm ready to give it a try
Let's say hello to the real world
Bring on the rain it'll be ok
How do you fly ‘round the planet?
Can you speak in every language?
How will I create my own path through the world?
How do you fly?
'Cause I think I'm ready to give it a try
I hear your feet on my old slate roof
I'll stay in bed, no I don't need proof
Let me hold on to the magic
Now close your eyes my sweet romantic
When they open there's another Christmas Day
How do you fly?
'Cause I think I'm ready to give it a try
Ad Astra
Ad astra per aspera
Sursum!
When you’re feeling troubled and you have lost your way
Don’t let hard times lead you astray
Though you may be weary just know you’re not alone
For the stars will guide you home
Movere de inceps se cura post omnes
Move forward, look upward, leave all cares behind!
To the stars!
Floating Moon on the Water
Floating moon on the water
Sparkling was the moon shadow
That night of our farewell;
The moonlight was tenderly
Reflected in your eyes.
I tried to scoop the
floating moon into my hands
But the only thing captured was
a chill to my heart.
Like the phantom of
our love when we met–
So true, and yet unable to be held.
Floating moon on the water;
Blurred is the moon shadow.
The moon and the stars
have gone to darkness,
And the floating moon on the
water has gone away.
By Night
She leaned out into the midnight,
And the summer wind went by,
The scent of the rose on its silken wing
And a song its sigh.
Deep in the tarn the mountain
A mighty phantom gleamed,
Shadow and silver and floating cloud
Over it streamed.
And, in depths below, the waters
Answered some mystic height,
As a star stooped out of the depths above
With its lance of light.
And she thought, in the dark and the fragrance,
How vast was the wonder wrought
If the sweet world were but the beauty born
In its Maker’s thought.
Les Cris des Berges
No text. This piece is sung on vowels
Eatnemen Vuelie
Translation from Saami Norwegian:
Lovely is the earth
Magnificent is God’s heaven
Beautiful is the soul’s pilgrimage
Through the wonderful
kingdoms of the earth
We go to paradise with song!
Wexford Carol
Good people all, this Christmas time,
Consider well and bear in mind
What our good God for us has done,
In sending His belovèd Son.
With Mary holy we should pray
To God with love this Christmas Day;
In Bethlehem upon the morn
There was a blest Messiah born.
The night before that happy tide
The noble virgin and her guide
Were long time seeking up and down
To find a lodging in the town.
But mark how all things came to pass:
From every door repelled, alas!
As long foretold, their refuge all
Was but a humble oxen stall.
Near Bethlehem did shepherds keep
Their flocks of lambs and feeding sheep;
To whom God’s angels did appear
Which put the shepherds in great fear.
Prepare and go, the angels said,
To Bethlehem, be not afraid;
For there you’ll find, this happy morn,
A princely babe, sweet Jesus born.
With thankful heart and joyful mind,
The shepherds went the babe to find,
And as God’s angel has foretold,
They did our Savior Christ behold.
Within a manger He was laid,
And by His side the virgin maid
Attending to the Lord of Life,
Who came on earth to end all strife.
Coventry Carol
Lully, lullay, thou little tiny child,
Bye bye, lully, lullay
Thou little tiny child
Bye bye, lully, lullay
O sisters too, how may we do
For to preserve this day
This poor youngling for whom we sing,
“Bye bye, lully, lullay?”
Herod the king, in his raging
Chargèd he hath this day
His men of might in his own sight
All young children to slay
That woe is me, poor child, for thee
And ever mourn and may
For thy parting neither say nor sing
“Bye bye, lully, lullay”
O Magnum Mysterium
O great mystery, and wonderful sacrament,
that animals should see the new-born Lord, lying in a manger!
Blessed is the Virgin whose womb was worthy to bear Christ the Lord.
Alleluia!
Shchedryk
Here flew the swallow from afar
Started to sing lively and loud
Asking the master to come out
Come here, oh come, master – it’s time
In the sheepfold wonders to find
Your lovely sheep have given birth
To little lambs of great worth
All of your wares are very fine
Coin you will have in a big pile
All of your wares are very fine
Coin you will have in a big pile
You have a wife
Fair as a dove
If not the coin, then the chaff
You have a wife fair as a dove.
Carol of the Stranger
Peace and grace be to this house
Where all are welcomed in;
Receive the guest, receive this heart
Tell the Stranger, tell.
Tell the Stranger what you cannot tell
Those who love you and desire your joy:
Tell.
Make tall your walls, make long these beams,
Who once believed alone;
Make wide the circle, feed the fire:
Tell the Silence, tell.
Tell the Silence what you cannot tell
Those who love you and desire your joy.
Tell.
Blessings be upon this place,
Let every wound be healed,
Let every secret, every dream:
Tell the Angel, tell.
Tell the Angel what you cannot tell
Those who love you and desire your joy.
Tell.
Peace and grace be to this house,
All will be returned;
Let every soul be called your own,
Tell the Mystery, tell.
Tell the Mystery what you long to tell
Those who love you and desire your joy.
Tell.
UW Gospel Choir
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Director Bios
Geoffrey Boers is Director of Choral Activities at the University of Washington in Seattle, a program widely recognized as forward thinking, unique, and of great distinction. Under his direction, the graduate choral program has developed a singular mission: to nurture the whole student as conductor-teacher-servant-leader-scholar. This vision has led the program to become one of the most vibrant and innovative in the country, attracting students from around the world interested in exploring the future of our art. Through his teaching he is exploring the evolution of conducting gesture and rehearsal pedagogy and their connection with the emerging neuroscience of mirror neurons, empathy, perception, learning, and personal transformation. His exploration has led to new thoughts about conducting and teaching with regard to breath, movement, artistry, personal awareness, and cultural development. Recently, his work has led to the mentoring of local choral cohorts of teachers and conductors who are interested in building professional communities of ongoing mentorship and musical development. He has developed such mentorship programs across the United States and Canada. In addition to these thoughts about mentorship he is actively working with other leaders in ACDA and NAfME to develop a more unified and useful system for development of musicianship, assessment, adjudication, and repertoire grading.
Geoffrey maintains an active conducting, teaching, workshop and clinic schedule; his recent engagements have included conducting concerts in Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, Meyerson Concert Hall in Dallas, New York’s Alice Tully and Avery Fischer Hall at Lincoln Center, the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, and Benaroya Hall in Seattle. In addition he has served as artist-in-residence in Toronto, Ontario, Mainz, Germany, as well as Seoul, Korea with the world-renown choir the Incheon City Chorale.
In addition to his position at the UW, Boers sings professionally and is the conductor of the Tacoma Symphony Chorus where he conducts both the choir and symphony players in a four-concert season.
Since his tenure at the University of Washington, the choral program has become a leader in promoting the performance, study and exchange of Baltic music in the United States. The choir has toured to the Baltic countries in 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2013. Geoffrey Boers was awarded a prestigious Royalty Research Grant in 2004 to create a Baltic Choral Library in collaboration with the UW Library as well as State and academic libraries in the Baltic. This collection of scores, manuscripts, vocal music, and writings is the first of its kind in the United States. This collection has promoted yearly exchanges with choirs and conductors from the Baltic area who travel each year to Seattle. Further, it has led to numerous UW choral students winning awards and scholarships to travel, study, and work in the Baltic countries.
Phyllis Byrdwell, director of the UW Gospel Choir, is Minister of Music at Mount Zion Baptist Church of Seattle and also a music educator for Lakeside School. She has conducted several seminar workshops on Gospel music throughout Washington state and nationally, and served as a songleader for the Baptist World Alliance conference in Birmingham, England in 2005.
Byrdwell was inducted into the Washington Music Educators Association's Hall of Fame in 2002 and serves on the Seattle Symphony Board of Directors.
A School of Music alumna, she holds a bachelor's degree in music and bachelor's and master's degrees in music education.
Giselle Wyers (she/her/hers) is the Donald E. Petersen Endowed Professor of Choral Music at the University of Washington, where she conducts the award-winning University Chorale and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in choral conducting and music education. She serves as the newly appointed School of Music's designated Diversity Liaison. University Chorale’s latest CD, Chasing Daybreak, will begin streaming in January 2024 on Apple Music and Spotify. Their third CD, Resonant Streams (on the MSR Music Recordings label) was featured in a 2018 Gramophone magazine article. Wyers is the newly appointed director of Concord Chamber Choir, an adult community chorus within the Columbia Choirs community. Her professional project choir Solaris Vocal Ensemble, specializes in the performance of contemporary American choral literature. Their premiere album Floodsongs, on the Albany Music label, won the American Prize Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music in 2017-18.
As a guest conductor, Wyers has led high school honor choirs and all-state choruses in New York (Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center), Kansas, Wisconsin, Georgia, Missouri, Louisiana, Connecticut, Nebraska, Texas, Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Nevada and Vancouver, Canada. She has conducted semi-professional ensembles across the United States and in Germany, the Netherlands, Estonia, and Sweden.
Wyers is a leading national figure in the application of Laban movement theory for conductors. She has served as guest lecturer in conducting at Sweden’s Örebro Universitet, European Festival of Church Music (Germany), Latvian Academy of Music, Eastman School of Music, Ithaca College, Westminster Choir College, University of Iowa, Hobart and William Smith Colleges and Portland State University.
Wyers’ choral works are published by Santa Barbara Music Publishing Company as part of the "Giselle Wyers Choral Series," as well as with MusicSpoke and Hildegard Publishing. Her works have been performed across the United States, South America, Canada, Australia, Cuba, and numerous European cities. She conducted her 30-minute choral cycle entitled And All Shall Be Well, in Carnegie Hall during May of 2022 with a consortium of NW-based choruses, and she will return with a newly composed choral/orchestral work in May of 2026. In 2021-22, she served as composer-in-residence for the Greater Seattle Choral Consortium's annual festivities celebrating the return of in-person singing (her appearance was sponsored by Consortio). Wyers is also committed to mentoring scholar-writers in the field, and served on the editorial board of ACDA’s Choral Journal for six years.
In the distinguished sphere of classical music, Cee E. Adamson (she/they/Mx.) stands as a beacon of versatility and excellence, seamlessly weaving together her roles as an opera singer, voice teacher, choral director, arts administrator, and student affairs practitioner with grace and passion.
As a mezzo-soprano, Cee occupies a fluid place as an operatic talent, capable of treading the beguiling and liminal space between the countertenor and mezzo-soprano, and her vocal versatility has been well showcased in roles as Oberon in Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Giulio Cesare in Handel's Giulio Cesare, The Sorceress in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, and tragic and comic roles from Mercedes in Carmen to Florence Pike in Albert Herring. Cee was also requested to appear as a featured supernumerary in Glimmerglass Opera’s production of Philip Glass’s Orphée.
A relentless pursuit of artistic growth and expression has marked her journey as an opera singer. From her early days honing her craft in conservatories to gracing international stages, Cee has consistently captivated audiences with her powerful performances and nuanced interpretations. Moreover, she brings a profound authenticity to each character she embodies, leaving audiences spellbound in her wake.
As a choral educator, Mx. Adamson assumes the role of a visionary choral director whose leadership has transformed vocal ensembles into beacons of musical excellence. Cee is known for her meticulous attention to vocal technique and ensemble precision and her ability to cultivate a deep emotional connection within her choirs, resulting in authentic performances that resonate deeply with audiences and performers alike.
But Mx. Adamson's talents extend far beyond the realm of performance. As an arts administrator, she is a driving force behind the scenes, working tirelessly to cultivate the next generation of artists and administrators alike. Her roles in higher education and student affairs have provided her with a platform to inspire and mentor aspiring musicians, instilling within them a passion for the arts and a commitment to excellence that will resonate throughout their careers. Whether advocating for the importance of arts education, spearheading innovative programming, or fostering meaningful collaborations within the arts community, Cee is dedicated to ensuring that the transformative power of music continues to enrich lives for generations to come.
Throughout her journey, Cee has remained steadfast in her dedication to the power of music to uplift, inspire, and unite. Her contributions to the world of classical music, both as a performer and as a mentor, serve as a testament to her unwavering commitment to artistic excellence and her profound belief in the transformative potential of the arts.
Cee is completing the Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance at the University of Washington, where she studies with Dr. Carrie Shaw and is undertaking Choral Conducting as a secondary proficiency area with Geoffrey Boers and Giselle Wyers. Before the University of Washington, Cee studied at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama (UK), where she earned the Master of Music and the Master of Performance degrees and was designated a Guildhall Artist. Her other education includes coursework towards the MBA in Leadership & Legal Studies from Northern Kentucky University, the Advanced Artist Diploma and Master of Music from Shenandoah Conservatory at Shenandoah University, and undergraduate degrees in music, theatre arts, accounting, and management from Franklin Pierce University.
Anjali is an alumna of the Masters of Music in Choral Conducting program. Before moving to Seattle, she was an active performer and conductor in the Southern California and Chicagoland areas, particularly centered in the intersection between music education, choral music, and community music making.
Anjali completed her Bachelor of Music Education from Wheaton College where she studied with John William Trotter and Mary Hopper. She served as the Honors Conductor for the Concert Choir for two years as a creative and musical leader for many unorthodox projects such as: FEAST - an interactive exploration of the Shabbat dinner through the musical, theatrical, visual, and culinary arts; Singing the Reformation - the premier of a semi-staged concert-length compilation of Michael Praetorius' poly-choral works; and, The Big Sing - a project of community building through choral music which included hundreds of "non-musician" singers and participants. Following graduation, she was invited back to serve as a guest conductor to continue her work in choral improvisation and audience engagement with the Concert Choir through projects such as the WCC Chicago Weekend, which included multiple performances and engagements throughout Chicago from homeless shelters to churches, and to continue the Concert Choir's dedication to singing, teaching, and learning in the Sheridan Correctional Center.
An educator by trade and by heart, Anjali has taught Choir, Music History and Appreciation, and Music from Different Cultures in classrooms with students of all ages from K-5, to middle school and high school, to a community treble choir in the Chicagoland area, striving to utilize a student-centered and equity-based pedagogical approach. She has also performed as an active Mezzo-Soprano soloist, chamber musician, and symphonic chorister to feed her love of the vocal instrument, and teaches voice lessons to students of all ages. Anjali is grateful for the opportunities she has had to learn from master conductors such as Jerry Blackstone, Bruce Chamberlain, Simon Carrington, Geoffrey Boers, Giselle Wyers, John William Trotter, and Mary Hopper, and to sing under and absorb knowledge from many others, notably Rodney Eichenberger and John Nelson. She hopes to utilize the wisdom and experience learned from her students and teachers to help expand the tradition of choral music to reach populations and transform individuals beyond the scope of the concert hall.