Charming High School Concert Choir

presents:

Music for
Musics Sake
Featuring music composed with
extreme love for music itself by Greg
Gilpin, Joseph M. Martin, Gwyneth
Walker, and more!

June 3rd, 2015

7:00pm
Charming High School Auditorium
Directed by Ms. Lauren Casey

Our Musicians
Soprano
Alexandra P.
Nicole Q.
Danielle M.
Sasha L.
Kelly C.

Alto
Amanda
W.
Megan C.
Kelly Z.
Alana B.
Anna G.
Patricia M.
Michelle E.

Tenor
Tom C.
Joseph P.
Johnny C.
Alex N.

Bass
Daniel E.
Jake C.
Kevin L.
Steve S.
Billy B.

Program
Celebrate With Music!
Lightfoot
(b. 1952)

Mary Lynn
Joe C., trumpet

The Awakening
Martin
(b. 1959)
Just Sing!
Emerson
(b. 1950)

Joseph M.

arr. Roger

And the Night Shall Be Filled With Music

Gilpin
(b. unknown)
How Can I Keep From Singing?
Gwyneth Walker
(b. 1947)
Music Sing On!
Gray
(b. unknown)

Greg

arr.

Cynthia

And Sweet Singing in the Choir

Douglas E. Wagner
(b. 1952)

arr.

A Note from the Director

Tonights program focuses on the importance of music in our lives. To
better explain, I will borrow and paraphrase a quote from an
anonymous author:

Music is a science and a foreign language. It is

mathematical, history, and physical education.
Music is all of these things, but most of all, music
is art. It allows a human being to take all these
dry, technically boring (but difficult) techniques
and use them to create emotion. That is one
thing science cannot duplicate: humanism,
feeling, emotion - call it what you will.
That is why we teach music so you will be
human, so you will recognize beauty, so you will
be sensitive, so you will be closer to an infinite
beyond this world, so you will have something to
cling to, so you will have more love, more
compassion, more gentleness, more good in
short, more life.
Of what value will it be to make a prosperous
living unless you know how to live?
Each piece will be in a new key and style to avoid similar sounding
consecutive works. We begin our concert with a short, simple, exciting

opening piece to grasp your attention! We move on to our most

challenging piece that requires the utmost emotion from the choir.
After lightening the mood again with another shorter, up-tempo work,
we will move on to another gentle, soothing piece. Similarly, the next
two pieces will excite and relax you, respectively. Finally, we will close
the program with a glorious arrangement of a holiday carol, exalting
how lucky we are to be parts of such a wonderful musical group! The
Charming High School Choir feels music is a necessity in life, and it is
our goal to help you embrace all of its miraculous powers through our
singing tonight!
Thank you for supporting the Charming High School Music
Department!

Program Notes
Celebrate with Music!
2:00

Published by Heritage Music Press in 2011

For SATB Chorus, Piano, and B-flat Trumpet
Key of G Major with 2/2 meter
Tempo: dance-like; half note = 76-88
Style: Joyfully; flowing

This exuberant opener does exactly what the title suggests celebrates music
WITH music! Singing in octave unison can be quite the challenge for men and
women voices, but you will find that the Charming High Choir sounds like one
beautiful, pure voice! Celebrate with Music! features our senior trumpet
player, Joe C. Playing with accompanied instruments poses a unique
challenge in that the human voice should emulate the instruments sound or
tone quality. To do this, we worked on many energizers and focused on the
written tenuto articulations. Please celebrate the jubilant song with us!
The Awakening

7:00

Published by Shawnee Press in 1995

For SATB Choir and Piano Accompaniment
Keys of f minor, c# minor, and E Major with 4/4 and 2/4 meter
Tempo: andante (walking speed); quarter note = 76
Styles: expressive, delicate, flowing, sad, passionate, tenderly, joyful

Fitting with our program theme of music for musics sake, composer Joseph M.
Martins goal was to encourage music teachers and remind them of how
important their work is through The Awakening. In three very contrasting,
emotional sections, the choir is required to create atmospheres of haunting
silence and despair, the coming of a new day, and finally, the banishment of
darkness forever with joyful proclamations! The choir must follow strict text
cues that breathe this musical-textual imagery to life, a challenging concept
for a high school choir. Other challenges include imitation and lyrical
repetition, wide leaps (minor sevenths down and Major sixths and octaves up),
and extreme dynamic contrast (pppp fff). The Awakening ends with the
proclamation, Let Music Live!, and we hope youll do just that after hearing
how important music is in our lives!

Just Sing!

3:00

Published by Hal Leonard Corporation in 2013

For SATB Chorus and Piano Accompaniment
Key of E-flat Major with 4/4 meter
Tempo: quick, with a feel of two; quarter note = 132
Style: Grandly, thoughtful, confident

Just Sing! affirms music as a powerful means of healing. Some challenges of

this piece include leaps of a P5 or greater, triplet rhythms, legato singing,
dissonant suspensions, and a gradual build in dynamics throughout the piece.
When reflecting on all of the pain and suffering in the world, it is easy to feel
hopeless and distraught. However, the Charming High Choir knows how to
help by simply singing until the world sings along!
And the Night Shall Be Filled With Music
2:30

Published by Heritage Music Press in 2004

For SATB Chorus and Piano Accompaniment
Key of D Major with 4/4, 2/4, and 2/2 meters
Tempo: slow; quarter note = 52, half note = 60
Style: reflective, gentle, but with distinction

And the Night Shall Be Filled With Music is an encouraging work that expresses
how important music is to relax the entire being. While an easier piece on our
program, it challenges our choir with gradual dynamic contrast throughout
(pp, mp, mf, mp, p, pp), quickly executed swells, and call and response
singing. Intonation and vocal resonance are key elements that we focus on to
correctly execute the unison parts. As with anything, it is difficult to make
repetition interesting, but you might find that were able to keep your
attention by adding expression and motion to the music, only to slow down
again, all while maintaining that great expression. Please let us help your
cares that infest the day to fold their tents by singing this beautiful piece by
Greg Gilpin!
How Can I Keep From Singing?
4:30
Published by E. C. Schirmer Music Company Inc. in 1996
For SA(T)B Chorus and Piano
Key of G Major with 4/4 meter

 Tempo: energetic; quarter note = 108

Style: With energy and celebration
Gwyneth Walkers arrangement of this Quaker hymn dating back to the 1800s
emphasizes the celebratory and life affirming aspects of the song. A quicker,
energetic piece of our program, How Can I Keep From Singing? has many
challenges, such as phrasing, diction, and dynamics. Our choir has worked
hard on making the lyrics as clear as possible and has taken much
consideration towards the accents and articulations of the rhythms of this
piece. Agreeing on the dotted rhythms as a full choir was also a tedious task.
However, through thick and thin, we always came back to one question how
can we keep from singing?
Music Sing On!

3:30

Published by Heritage Music Press in 2014

For SATB Chorus with option Childrens Choir and Piano Accompaniment
Key of E-flat Major with 4/4 meter
Tempo: slow; quarter note = 60 - 69
Style: With quiet simplicity

Music Sing On! celebrates music in a unique way, beginning with the silence of
the earth before music. It goes on to express how important music is to life all
life nature, animals, and people! Opening with unison soprano and alto
voices presents a challenge for the Charming High Choir, as there are many
female vocalists! Range extension is of special need in this piece, as the
soprano range is B-flat-4 to G-5, and the bass range is A-flat-3 to C-4. Many
accidentals are written as well, creating chromaticism and unusual leaps. The
soprano voice is also divisi, which creates additional harmonies and therefore
requires extreme attention to intonation.
And Sweet Singing in the Choir
2:30

Published by Heritage Music Press in 2015

For SATB Chorus and Piano Accompaniment
Key of F Major and A Major with 4/4 meter
Tempo: rhythmically; quarter note = 126
Style: gladly, sweetly

While an arrangement of the beloved holiday carol The Holly and the Ivy, we
decided to close with this piece to affirm how sweet it truly is to sing in the
choir! The eight-note ostinato piano accompaniment creates an energetic
atmosphere. Syncopated rhythms and vocal leaps were the most difficult
aspects of this piece (Major sixths and octaves up). Range extension was also
a huge technique we tackled. The final eighth-note runs were also a challenge
to correctly place the syllables and remain together during the accelerando
and ritardando. We hope you have has as much fun listening to our program
as we have had preparing it for you!