New Orchestra of Washington presents
Día de los Muertos Celebration
Friday, November 4 | 7:30 PM
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Terrace Theater
2700 F St., NW, Washington, DC 20566
New Orchestra of Washington • Dr. Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, conductor
Choral Arts Chamber Singers • Dr. Jace Kaholokula Saplan, conductor
Danielle Talamantes, soprano
Shawn Bartels, tenor
Celebrate the Mexican holiday el día de los muertos, the day of the dead, with a chamber orchestra concert featuring Mexican composers. The highlight of the evening will be the world premiere of Jorge Vidales’s new requiem, sung by the Choral Arts Chamber Singers and conducted by Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, NOW Artistic Director and Mexico native.
On Día de los Muertos, celebrated at the beginning of November, families celebrate and honor their relatives who have passed on. They build a special altar, an ofrenda, decorated with marigolds to encourage the spirits of the dead to return. Families share meals together with the spirits, attend celebrations and parades in town, and visit the gravesites of their departed loved ones. A requiem is a musical piece written for a church service in honor of the dead, to pray for those who have passed away, so it is very fitting for this occasion.
NOW and Choral Arts are proud to continue their annual tradition of performing a requiem to honor this holiday. Through this concert, NOW and Choral Arts celebrate the circle of life and the rich culture of Mexico.
This performance is an external rental presented in coordination with the Kennedy Center Campus Rentals Office and is not produced by the Kennedy Center.
Program
JUAN GUTIÉRREZ de PADILLA (c. 1590–1664) Stabat Mater
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Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla was born in Malaga, Spain and is regarded as one of the finest Spanish composers who worked in the New World. Padilla developed his musical skills through singing as a choir boy at the College of Saint Sebastian at the Cathedral of Malaga, where he learned plainchant and polyphony. In 1612, he was appointed as maestro de capilla (chapel master) at the Collegiate Church in Jerez de la Frontera and, soon after, at the Cádiz Cathedral. In 1622, Padilla relocated to New Spain (now central and southern Mexico) where he served as a cantor and music teacher at the Puebla Cathedral, after which he was named maestro de capilla in 1629 and he served in that position until the end of his life. His extensive output from the Puebla Cathedral contains motets, psalms, lamentations, responsories, hymns, and four masses written for two choirs. Padilla’s duties at the cathedral also included teaching choirboys polyphony and writing numerous chanzonetas and villancicos—festive songs in the vernacular used in celebration of feast days such as Christmas.
Padilla’s “Stabat Mater” is a polyphonic work for four-part choir that uses the first two lines of text and melody from the sequence “Stabat mater dolorosa” as the basis for the composition. A sequence is a Latin hymn with poetry based on a biblical topic that is inserted into the mass after the “alleluia.” Elaborate polyphonic settings of chants and hymns were used on major feast days to heighten the experience of the liturgy. The text of “Stabat Mater” describes the suffering of the Virgin Mary as she witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Padilla’s setting is filled with imitative texture, dissonance, and delayed resolutions that create a somber atmosphere that vividly conveys the immensity of Mary’s grief.
—Notes by Thomas Rohde
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Stabat Mater dolorosa
Iuxta crucem lacrimosa
Dum pendebat Filius.Cuius animam gementem
Contristatam et dolentem
Pertransivit gladius. -
At the cross her station keeping,
stood the mournful mother weeping,
close to Jesus to the last.Through her soul, of joy bereaved,
bowed with anguish, deeply grieved,
now at length the sword hath passed.—Translations from the Choral Public Domain Library.
FRANCISCO LÓPEZ CAPILLAS (c.1608–1674) Aufer a Nobis
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Mexican-born composer Francisco López Capillas was one of the most prominent and prolific Latin American composers of sacred music during the colonial period. Capillas worked as a organist, dulcian (an early type of bassoon) player, and singer in the cathedral chapel in Puebla from 1641 to 1648 and he was later appointed to the prestigious post of maestro de capilla (chapel master) at the Mexico City Cathedral from 1654 to 1674 where he began signing his name as “López Capillas” (López of the Chapels). During his lifetime, Capilla was often referred to as the “Ockeghem of Mexico” due to his uncanny mastery of the polyphonic practices of Franco-Flemish composers from the Renaissance period such as Josquin and Ockeghem. In the preface to his hexachord mass, Capillas indicates that he was also influenced by Hellinck, Richafort, Morales, and Palestrina through studying their compositional styles in Pedro Guevara de Loyola’s (1537–1602) Compendio de musica and an extensive theoretical treatise by Pietro Cerone (1556–1625) titled El melopeo y maestro. Capilla masterfuly utilized the polyphonic writing practices of the Renaissance in his compositions including imitation, mensural notation, canon technique, and Palestrinian-style counterpoint.
“Aufer a Nobis” (“take away from us”) is a sacred motet in praise of the Virgin Mary adapted from a Latin prayer that is quietly recited by a priest while approaching the altar during Catholic Mass. The composer also used this motet as the thematic basis for his Missa Aufer a Nobis. “Aufer a Nobis” begins with two independent melodies gently introduced through the vocal parts in gradual succession in support of the solemn nature of the text Aufer a nobis iniquitates nostras (“Take away from us our sins”), which is repeated through a series of unfolding melodic statements in imitative polyphony. As the text moves to Ut digni canamus tibi gloriae melos (“so that we may sing praises worthy of thee”) the voices sing together in syllabic homophony and Capillas changes the mensuration (meter) to a division of three, which was considered “perfect” during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The texture reverts back to imitative polyphony as the text shifts back to a penitential tone with the phrase Quibus indigni omni laude (“We who are by our sins unworthy”). With the final line of text, dignissimam collaudamus (“praise the most worthy”), the meter changes back to three and the voices are predominantly aligned in homophonic texture as the motet comes to a graceful close.
—Notes by Thomas Rohde
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Aufer a nobis iniquitates nostras
ut digni canamus tibi gloriae melos.
Quibus indigni omni laude
Dignissimam collaudamus. -
Take away from us our sins,
So that worthy, we may sing you a song of glory.
We unworthy, with all praise
Hail you, most worthy.—Translations from the Choral Public Domain Library.
JORGE VIDALES (b. 1969) Cantos de Requiem
World Premiere
Co-Commissioned by NOW and Choral Arts
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Cantos de Requiem (“Songs of Requiem”)
“How can the dead be truly dead when they still live in the souls of those who are left behind?” – Carson McCullers
Death is the ultimate mystery of contemporary culture. Perhaps one of the most shocking aspects of the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic was its utter disregard for the workings of modern technology and current socio-political issues, in the way it insisted on thrusting us face to face with death. Mexico City was hit especially hard by the pandemic. I lost family members, friends and colleagues, and for the second half of 2020 and the early months of 2021, social media—the medium where people usually celebrate and display their “perfect” lives—was a constant display of black ribbons and messages of pain and grief.
Songs of Requiem is a work that combines both the spiritual and the earthly realms’ relationship and reactions to death. Its text is derived from two sources. The first is the Latin Mass for the Dead, from Catholic liturgy. The second source is Mexican lyric poetry. Songs of Requiem is not a liturgical work and is not a proper Requiem in the sense that I did not set the whole text of the Requiem Mass to music. Rather, I employed only some sections of the Latin text (some of them complete, while others were edited down) and combined them with three secular poems from the great tradition of Mexican poetry. These poems are “Canto” (“Song”) by Axayácatl, “Nieblas” (“Mists”) by Laura Méndez de Cuenca, and “A dónde van los muertos” (“Where do the dead go”) by Amado Nervo.
A brief note about these authors. Axayáctl (c. 1449–1481) was an Aztec Emperor who ruled before the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadores. His Náhuatl name could be roughly translated as “the face of water”. He was the successor of Moctezuma I, father to Moctezuma II and uncle of Cuauhtémoc—the last of the Aztec Emperors who took the throne in 1520, one year before the Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlan.
Laura Méndez de Cuenca (1853–1928) was a Mexican poet and author who cultivated practically all literary genres and did important work as an educator during the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, working both in Mexico and in the United States in this capacity. Her ease with languages enabled her to translate a lot of poetry into Spanish, notable among her translations is the famous poem “Anabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe.
Amado Nervo (1870–1919) was one of the most famous authors of the Modernist movement in Spanish-language literature. He was a member of the Mexican Academy of Letters and travelled extensively through Europe, where he fraternized with some of the most important literary figures of the time. In his later years, he did a lot of diplomatic work in Spain, Argentina and Uruguay.
While selecting the texts for Songs of Requiem, my aim was to set up a dialogue between the spiritual and the earthly realms. In this sense, the spiritual realm is characterized by the texts of the Requiem Mass. These sections are sung in Latin by the choir (a soprano solo joins the choir for the “Agnus Dei”). The earthly realm is characterized by the Spanish texts of the secular poems (I should note I used the Spanish translation from the original Náhuatl of Axayácatl’s “Canto”). So, these sections are sung in Spanish by the soloists.
The first five numbers comprise the first part of the work. After the traditional “Introitus” and “Kyrie” we hear Song 1—four lines of Axayácatl’s “Canto”—which marks the first appearance of the tenor soloist. This is followed by the Offertorium, which uses a reduced version of the original liturgical text for this section of the Mass. This leads to Song 2, with the final four lines of “Canto,” again sung by the tenor.
The second part of the work is comprised by three numbers: “Sanctus,” Song 3, and “Agnus Dei.” “Sanctus” is a brilliant number for choir that ends in a majestic manner. This is followed by a brief epilogue that sets the tone for the melancholy of Laura Méndez de Cuenca’s “Nieblas,” which marks the first appearance of the soprano soloist. “Agnus Dei” is a number for choir and soprano solo, which has a dark, menacing tone.
The third part of the work is comprised of four numbers. Song 4—”A dónde van los muertos”—is a fierce, defiant outcry for solo tenor against the terribleness of death. “Lux Aeterna” is a peaceful, serene piece for a capella choir that offers a stark contrast with the previously heard number. This leads to the final section of the work, beginning with Song 5, that sets the final three lines of Laura Méndez de Cuenca’s “Nieblas”—sung first by the soprano and then the tenor soloists—and the last number, “Requiem Aeternam,” reprising the material heard in the Introitus, but overlapping it now with both soloists who repeat a line from “Nieblas.” So, all participants come together, both humanity—represented by the soloistsand Heaven—represented by the choir—as we get nearer to the final mystery of death and the music finally dissolves in a mystical trance followed by sepulchral silence.
Songs of Requiem was commissioned by the New Orchestra of Washington and receives its world premiere under the baton of its conductor, Alejandro Hernández Valdez. The work is dedicated to all the victims of the COVID-19 pandemic.
—Notes by the composer. English Translations by Jessica Rosas Posada y Eric Posada. Edited by Jorge Vidales.
I. Introitus
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Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.Exaudi orationem meam;
ad te omnis caro veniet. -
Give them eternal rest, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.O hear my prayers;
all flesh returns to you.
II. Kyrie
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Kyrie eleison,
Christe eleison. -
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
III. Canto 1: “Canto” by Axayácatl
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Ha bajado aquí a la tierra la muerte florida,
se acerca ya aquí,
en la región del color rojo la inventaron
quienes antes estuvieron con nosotros. -
A flowery death has descended to the earth,
it now approaches,
in the region of the red color, it was invented
by those who were with us in the past.
IV. Offertorium
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O Domine Jesu Christe, Rex Gloriae,
libera animas defunctorum
de poenis inferni, et de profundo lacu. -
Lord Jesus Christ, King of Glory,
deliver the souls of the departed
from the punishments of hell and from the deep lake.
V. Canto 2: “Canto” by Axayácatl
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Va elevándose el llanto,
hacia allá son impelidas las gentes,
en el interior del cielo hay cantos tristes,
con ellos va uno a la región donde de algún modo se existe. -
The sobbing soars,
over there, the people are constrained,
inside the heavens there are heartbreaking songs,
with them, one travels to the region where somehow you exist.
VI. Sanctus
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Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua.
Hosanna in excelsis. -
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Hosts.
Full are heaven and earth of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
VII. Canto 3: “Nieblas” by Laura Méndez de Cuenca
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Mientras tanto en incierta lontananza
el indeciso término del viaje
¡Ay! la razón a comprender no alcanza.¿Qué deja al hombre al fin? Tedio, amargura,
recuerdos de una sombra pasajera,
quién sabe si de pena o de ventura. -
Meanwhile, off in the unknown distance
an ambiguous end to a trip
Oh! the reason is incomprehensible.In the end, what leaves man? Monotony, resentment,
memories of a fleeting shadow,
who knows if of mourning or of fortune.
VIII. Agnus Dei
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Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
dona eis requiem,
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
dona eis requiem sempiternam. -
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
Grant them rest,
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
Grant them eternal rest.
IX. Canto 4: “A Dónde Van los Muertos” by Amado Nervo
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¡Quién sabe por qué abismos hostiles y encubiertos
sus blancas alas trémulas el vuelo tenderán!
¡Quién sabe por qué espacios brumosos y desiertos!
Oh, Padre de los vivos, ¿a dónde van los muertos?,
¿a dónde van los muertos, Señor?, ¿a dónde van? -
Who knows to what hostile and cloaked abysses
their fluttering white wings take flight!
Who knows what misty and desolate spaces!
Oh, Father of the living, where do the departed go?
Where do the departed go, Lord? Where do they go?
X. Lux Aeterna
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Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine,
cum sanctis tuis in aeternum,
quia pius es. -
May eternal light shine upon them, Lord,
with your saints forever,
for you are good.
XI. Canto 5: “Nieblas” by Laura Méndez de Cuenca
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Así te espero, humano sufrimiento:
¡Ay! ¡ni cedes, ni menguas ni te paras!
¡Alerta siempre y sin cesar hambriento! -
Thus, I wait for you, human torture:
Alas! You do not concede, abate, nor end!
Always vigilant and with insatiable hunger!
XII. Requiem Aeternam
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Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis. -
Give them eternal rest, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
Intermission
JOSE PABLO MONCAYO (1912–1958) Arr. Manuel Enríquez Huapango
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The huapango is a traditional song and dance genre from eastern Mexico derived from a blend of indigenous and mestizo influences that is often associated with indigenous festivals and celebrations. The dance is typically performed on wooden platforms, by single dancers or couples wearing traditional attire, and is characterized by complex zapateado (accented foot stomping) patterns. The huapango is typically accompanied by a trio huasteca, an ensemble of singing musicians consisting of a violin and two guitars—a jarana huasteca (a small 5-string guitar and a huapanguera (a full-sized 8-string guitar). The music features harmonized falsetto-style singing, virtuosic violin interludes, improvised verses, and sesquialtera (alternating 3/4 and 6/8 meter) rhythmic patterns.
“Huapango” was commissioned by Carlos Chávez and premiered in 1941 by the Mexican Symphony Orchestra with whom Moncayo played percussion. Moncayo incorporated three traditional huapango melodies into the composition: “El Siquisirí,” “El Balajú,” and “El Gavilancito,” which were collected and transcribed by the composer during a song-collecting visit to the port of Alvarado in the state of Veracruz. Moncayo’s lively and colorful orchestration captures the essence and atmosphere of the huapango style through an array of catchy melodies featuring brilliant brass, violin, and harp passages, strummed violins (imitating guitar accompaniment), and percussion instruments such as the güiro, clave, and xylophone. Since its introduction into the orchestral repertoire, the ensuing popularity of Moncaya’s “Huapango” has resulted in the work being referred to as “The Second National Anthem” of Mexico.
—Notes by Thomas Rohde
SILVESTRE REVUELTAS (1899–1940) Redes
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Redes (“fishing nets”) was the first film score written by Revueltas and is considered one of the composer’s finest works. The movie is centered around the life of a local fishing community in Alvarado, Veracruz and it was completed and released in 1936. Redes was initially to be composed by Carlos Chávez when he was serving as Director of Fine Arts for the Mexican government, but a change in administration caused Chávez to leave the position and the new director contracted Revueltas to compose the score instead, resulting in tension between the two composers. Sponsored by the Mexican Ministry of Education, the film was originally titled Pescados (meaning “fish” or to be “fished”) and highlighted local mestizo communities and culture. According to Paul Strand, the film’s cinematographer, the short movie was intended for “the workers and peasants of Mexico.” The movie functions as a patriotic mural portraying the life of the people and the beauty of the Mexican landscape. The plot centers around a group of hardworking and underpaid fishermen working in frustration against a local businessman and politician who repeatedly shortchanges them on their payments and transactions while undermining their efforts to take action.
One of the primary themes in the film is maintaining social unity and pride in the face of death, tragedy, and adversity while making sacrifices for the betterment of the community. Revueltas captured the essence of the plot and regional culture through visiting Veracruz while he composed the score. With the music constituting the strength of the film, the dialogue and visual images are largely built around the music with large sections devoted to dramatic content enhanced by picturesque scenes. While working on the soundtrack for the film, Revueltas also produced a concert version of the score that was conceptualized as a symphonic poem revolving around the major events and themes in the movie.
The score is dark and dramatic with powerful modernist musical statements and emblematic motives used to represent the themes, images, and actions in the movie. The work opens with themes of death, tragedy, and hopelessness which lead to triumphant passages with characteristically Mexican rhythms and melodies evocative of the musical culture of the Veracruz region such as the huapango and the Mexican corrido, a folk ballad form associated with national consciousness and contemporary social issues. The unresolved qualities of the music reflect the tension of the plot and the will of the people to rise up and take action as they struggle, first among themselves and eventually against their real adversaries, with a renewed sense of hope as the work comes to a close.
—Notes by Thomas Rohde
ARTURO MÁRQUEZ (b. 1950) Danzón No. 2
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Arturo Márquez is one of the most important and popular Mexican orchestral composers from the latter half of the twentieth century. The international popularity of “Danzón No. 2” and several other works by the composer have helped to familiarize the world with Mexican culture while showcasing the multifaceted musical traditions of Mexico. The danzón is a popular instrumental music and dance genre typically played by an ensemble of strings, brass, and percussion. The genre developed in Cuban dance halls during the late nineteenth century through the mixing of the European contradanza (a type of social set dance) with Afro-Cuban rhythms such as the habanera and cinquillo, after which it became a popular couples dance. The danzón was brought to Mexico and popularized through both the radio and Mexican movies such as Salón México (1948), which was based on the famous Mexican dance hall El Salón México in Mexico City, where both Cuban and Mexican danzónes were performed and danced to by people from all levels of society. The danzón has since been embraced as a core genre of traditional Mexican music ensembles and it is performed and danced in both urban and rural settings throughout Mexico.
Modelled after the popular danzón, “Danzón No. 2” features sectional variety with many changes in orchestral texture and color as it delves into a range of rhythms, tempos, and instrumental combinations. The piece is constructed as a series of musical episodes with broad lyrical melodies, catchy themes, syncopation, and sharply punctuated rhythmic breaks. The sections are arranged in a continuous flow of music that reflects the practice of the danzón ensemble smoothly segueing from one piece to another to keep the dancers moving on the dance floor. Márquez grew up immersed in Mexican music and culture and he was inspired to compose the piece after a visit to a ballroom in Veracruz. The composer describes the piece in the following manner:
Danzón No. 2 is a tribute to the environment that nourishes the genre. It endeavors to get as close as possible to the dance, to its nostalgic melodies, to its wild rhythms, and although it violates its intimacy, its form and its harmonic language. It is a very personal way of paying my respects and expressing my emotions towards truly popular music. Danzón No. 2 was written on a commission by the Department of Musical Activities at Mexico’s National Autonomous University and is dedicated to my daughter Lily.
—Notes by Thomas Rohde
Meet the Artists
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Esteemed conductor and pianist Dr. Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez is Artistic Director of Musica Viva NY and Director of Music at the historic Unitarian Church of All Souls in Manhattan. He is also Artistic Director and co-founder of the New Orchestra of Washington, and Artistic Director of the Victoria Bach Festival. He has earned accolades from The Washington Post as a conductor “with the incisive clarity of someone born to the idiom,” as well as praise from The New York Times for leading “a stirring performance” of Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem. At a concert commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the WWI Armistice (featuring the world premiere of Joseph Turrin’s cantata, And Crimson Roses Once Again Be Fair) Oberon’s Grove wrote: “Maestro Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez drew rich, warm sounds from the musicians” in “a beautiful and deeply moving program.” He is featured in El mundo en las manos/Creadores mexicanos en el extranjero (The World in Their Hands/Creative Mexicans Abroad), a book by the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs honoring Mexican nationals who are leading figures in diverse artistic fields. He is the recipient of a 2016 Shenandoah Conservatory Alumni of Excellence Award for his exemplary contribution to his profession, national level of prominence, and exceptional integrity. He resides in New York City.
In 2016, during its 40th anniversary season, Hernandez-Valdez was named the third Artistic Director of the Victoria Bach Festival in Texas. As Mike Greenberg wrote in Classical Voice America: “A big question mark hung over the venerable Victoria Bach Festival two years ago when the brilliant Craig Hella Johnson, its artistic director since 1992, decided to give up the post…Johnson’s successor has replaced the question mark with an exclamation point — perhaps more appropriately, given his Spanish name and Mexican provenance, two exclamation points: ¡Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez!” “The results,” Greenberg continued, “were astonishing.”
Founded in 1977, Musica Viva NY was recently praised by The New York Times as “an excellent chorus.” The ensemble has a longstanding tradition of top-caliber performances, innovative programming, and a strong dedication to the commissioning of new music. Its alumni include Renée Fleming, Samuel Ramey, and Michael Maliakel. Since taking the helm at Musica Viva NY in 2015, Hernandez-Valdez has presented an exceptionally broad and innovative repertoire in each of the choir’s seasons, engaging and inspiring audiences with remarkable interpretations of familiar and new works, and exploring the acoustical capabilities of the historic sanctuary of All Souls Church and other venues on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
As the Artistic Director and co-founder of the New Orchestra of Washington (NOW), a chamber orchestra that “has constituted itself in the forefront of this smaller-is-better movement” (The Washington Post), Hernandez-Valdez has been reimagining for the past ten years what have been the limited definitions of “classical music.” NOW’s innovative programming and creative approach to music performance continues to reshape and enrich the cultural landscape of the National Capital Region.
A passionate advocate of new music, Hernandez-Valdez has commissioned and premiered works by Joan Tower, Arturo Márquez, Joseph Turrin, Gilda Lyons, Seymour Bernstein, Viet Cuong, Juan Pablo Contreras, Elena Ruehr, Ramzi Aburedwan, Jorge Vidales, Mokale Koapeng, Trent Johnson, Javier Farias, Andrés Levell, Zachary Wadsworth, Martin Spruijt, Joel Friedman, and other notable composers.
Hernandez-Valdez’s guest conducting engagements include appearances at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Lincoln Center in New York City, and the historic Degollado Theatre in Guadalajara, Mexico, where he has directed the Jalisco Philharmonic. As a pianist, Hernandez-Valdez performed for the 2013 Britten100 festival in New York City, organized by the Britten-Pears Foundation to honor the 100th anniversary of the titular composer’s birth. As a composer and conductor, he led the premiere of his own composition, The Imaginary City, a cantata inspired by the life of Ramzi Aburedwan, a violist who has opened schools throughout Palestine to teach music to children in refugee camps. He also arranged and premiered the chamber orchestra version of A Song of Nature by Seymour Bernstein. Mr. Bernstein, the subject of Ethan Hawke’s 2014 documentary film, Seymour: An Introduction, is one of Hernandez-Valdez’s most influential teachers and mentors.
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I believe choral music can change the world. Once text intertwines with melodic contour, magic is conjured. History comes alive. The present is enshrouded in beloved community. The future ignites us to hold each other in song, singing the infinite possibilities ahead. I have spent my life witnessing and facilitating this powerful art form. Choral music is how I love on my community, honor the traditions and stories of what has come before with relevance to our neighborhoods, and model the possibilities of a world united.
I spent my life in song and movement—I grew up studying voice, piano, ‘ukulele, and singing in the St. Joseph Church Choir and with the Kamehameha Schools Hawai’i Campus. At the same time, I embodied music through global dance traditions. I have spent my life dancing hula as a spiritual and cultural practice, and in the summers, I would learn Bon Dori and Tinikling with my family as we honored the seasons and our ancestors. My upbringing in Hawai’i was full of joy and fond memories in which music was a time machine to experience the world and a kaleidoscope of awe-inspiring discovery. On my tenth birthday, my parents took me to watch Seiji Ozawa conduct Orff’s Carmina Burana, and I thought to myself, “That’s it. That is who I am.” I saw three crucial components of what I value collide—music, movement, and community. The path was clear.
While many individuals have helped me on my journey, I credit three fierce women who helped me shape and refine my path. I thank Maya Hoover, who taught me to believe in my ideas, honor the collective vision, and care for my community as a conductor; Sharon Paul, who helped me see the endless possibilities in a score and who taught me to see the rehearsal as a sanctuary of joyful connection; and Karen Kennedy, who showed me that love of people and craft, imaginative gesture, and a tenacious spirit to find the perfect sound is all that is needed to ensure that a chorus can thrive.
I have been so fortunate to enjoy a career encompassing teaching at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of higher education and professional choral ensembles. I look back on these experiences with gratitude for those communities prepared me for who I am today—the music director of Nā Wai Chamber Choir, director of choral activities at Arizona State University, and the distinction of serving as the Artistic Director of the Choral Arts Society of Washington, where I inherit a responsibility to share the magic of choral music with the world.
Visit jacesaplan.com to view Jace’s upcoming engagements, recordings, curriculum vitae, and traditional bio.
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“It’s not often that an operagoer is fortunate enough to witness the birth of a star!,” noted of Soprano Danielle Talamantes’ recent turn as Violetta in La Traviata with Hawaii Opera Theatre. Last season she made her Washington National Opera début as Maria Hernández in Kamal Sankaram’s Rise as part of their production Written in Stone, returned to her signature role as Mimì in Puccini’s La Bohème with Jacksonville Symphony and three world premiers: Mosaic for Earth by composer Dwight Bigler at her Alma Mater, Virginia Tech, the rhapsody written for Talamantes and orchestra based on T.S. Eliot’s iconic poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock with the National Philharmonic, and the stunning choral cantata Kohelet with the Washington Master Chorale and Santa Clara Master Chorale; the latter two works by acclaimed composer Henry Dehlinger. The conclusion of the season was with the Fairfax Symphony in the Beethoven Symphony No. 9 and a debut as guest soloist with the Buffalo Philharmonic.
This season’s engagements include Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 and Ginastera’s Milena with the National Philharmonic, Verdi’s Requiem with the Pensacola Symphony and the NC Master Chorale, Britten’s War Requiem with Opera Roanoke, Handel’s Messiah with The US Naval Academy, as well as concerts with Lyric Fest, Choralis, and the Artist Series of Sarasota.
Recent seasons performances include Frasquita in Bizet’s Carmen and Anna in Verdi’s Nabucco with The Metropolitan Opera, Beatrice in Catán’s Il postino with VA Opera, Marzelline in Beethoven’s Fidelio with Princeton Festival; Violetta in La traviata with Hawaii Opera Theater, Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, and Finger Lakes Opera, Mimì in La bohème with St Petersburg (FL) Opera and Jacksonville Symphony; the title role of Susannah with Opera Roanoke; Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Cedar Rapids Opera Theater; and a Spoleto Festival USA début as Sergente in Cavalli’s Veremonda.
Professional recordings include At That Hour: Art Songs by Henry Dehlinger on the Avie Record Label; Canciones españolas and Heaven and Earth: A Duke Ellington Songbook on the MSR Classics label.
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Shawn Bartels, Tenor, is a native of Gillette, Wyoming. Roles include Count Almaviva (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Lindoro (L'Italiana in Algieri), Il Podestà (La finta giardiniera), Nanki-Poo (The Mikado), The Vain Man/The Snake (The Little Prince), Alfred (Die Fledermaus), the Roasting Swan (Carmina Burana) and St. Nicolas in Britten's Saint Nicolas. He appeared as the Ballad Singer (Of Mice and Men) with Glimmerglass Opera. Mr. Bartels sang Uriel (The Creation) under the baton of Robert Shaw, appeared at Carnegie Hall in both Mozart's Vesperae de Dominica and Coronation Mass and appeared in Jonathan Miller's stagings of Bach's St. Matthew Passion and Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppea at The Brooklyn Academy of Music. He performed The Prologue/Quint (The Turn of the Screw) with Broomhill Opera (London) and Skylight Opera, and sang Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni) with Ensemble D'Opera European (Marseille, France).
Most recently, Shawn has appeared with the Victoria Bach Festival, the Society of Musical Arts and the State Repertory Opera of New Jersey. He has been a soloist with Musica Viva NY since 1996. He received his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Northern Colorado and his Master in Music in Vocal Performance from Florida State University. Shawn is a member of the New York guitar-pop band Portraiture, who released their EP Cruel Yellow in 2017.
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Jorge Vidales is a graduate of the Music Faculty at Mexico’s National Autonomous University, where he studied Composition with Federico Ibarra, graduating cum laude. After graduation, he also studied with Mario Lavista and Gabriela Ortíz.
In 1999–2000 he was a recipient of the Young Creators Grant, awarded by the Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (FONCA). From 1999 to 2001 he was a member of the faculty of the Vida y Movimiento Music School at the Centro Cultural Ollin Yoliztli. From 2001 to 2005 he was a member of the faculty and head of the music theory department at Escuela Superior de Música of the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (INBA). He is currently a member of the Music Faculty at UNAM, where he teaches Composition and Orchestration.
His music has been performed in all the main concert halls in Mexico and in festivals such as the “Manuel Enríquez” International New Music Forum; the Festival Universitario de Composición; the Festival Universitario de las Humanidades y las Artes; the Festival Internacional de la Ciudad de México and the Jornadas Pianísticas at Nezahualcóyotl Hall.
His music has also been performed and recorded in the United States, Canada, England, France, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Greece, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and Argentina.
He has been awarded prizes in four international composition contests, in the United States and Europe.
His catalog includes chamber music, vocal and choral music, orchestral music, and music for film and theater.
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Experience. Passion. Harmony. Space. This is choral music—a story that soars from a composer’s intention to a conductor’s interpretation, from a chorus’ passion to an audience’s moment of awe. Leaping from the page to the lungs to the air, it reverberates in the chambers of the heart. Transporting us out of ourselves. Ushering us into ourselves. Mind. Breath. Sound. Heart. Choral singing is an elemental human experience, a sound with the power to crack open new worlds.
Choral Arts imbues every single performance with the promise of this experience. Based in the nation’s capital, we weave our shared passion, world-class repertoire, and radiant voices into a sound that changes people. We sing for a city with little time and high expectations, which compels us to transform a night out into a lifelong memory. We defy preconceived notions—exploring styles, arrangements, spaces, and collaborations that reimagine traditions and create surprising new ones.
At Choral Arts, we sing the music we love as a balm to frenzied days, an antidote to solitude, a union in an often-fractured world. As our conductor raises their baton, a moment is born. As our melody rises, spirits rise with it. As our notes weave intricate harmonies, the bonds between people are strengthened. And as our last note fades, in the heartbeat before the ovation, you will suddenly hear the story singing within you—a small awakening to take back into the world.
Founded in 1965 by Norman Scribner (1936–2015), Choral Arts has a rich history of bringing the power of the human voice to audiences large and small. We weave our shared passion, world-class repertoire, and radiant voices into a sound that changes people. We advance the story of choral music by partnering with musicians, composers, and ensembles from all walks of life.
Choral Arts
Awaken your world. -
New Orchestra of Washington (NOW) is a one-of-a-kind ensemble. A small chamber orchestra with flexible instrumentation, NOW elevates every member to their highest potential as an individual virtuoso and as an ensemble player, creating a unique and engaging live performance experience for its audience. Reimagining what have been the limited definitions of “classical music,” NOW welcomes audiences into an experience that lessens the distance between our identities and compels listeners to feel something in the sound. NOW believes in the transformative power of music and strives to build a world where transformative musical experiences are accessible to all. Learn more about NOW and our upcoming programs at www.neworchestraofwashington.org.
Orchestra and Singers
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Violin I
Akemi Takayama, concertmaster
Chaeyoung Yeom
Sabina TorosjanViolin II
Sandy Choi, principal
Celaya Kirchner
Amyr JoynerViola
Dudley Raine IV, principal
Ivan Mendoza
Dan ZhangCello
Valeriya Sholokhova, principal
Joseph GotoffDouble Bass
Chris ChlumskyHarp
Chris Johnson -
Flute
Conor NelsonOboe
Stephen KeyClarinet
Jay Niepoetter, principal
Sammy LesnickBassoon
Ryan RomineHorn
Amy Horn, principal
Eric MooreTrumpet
Les Linn, principal
Christian HinkleTrombone
Matt NiessTuba
Zach Bridges -
Piano
Grace ChoPercussion
Lee Hinkle, principal
Malcolm Taylor
Zachary Wilson -
Soprano
Melissa Coombs
Heather MacDonald
Lisa Sommers
Erika Rissi
Julie WommackAlto
Cindy Jensen
Diedre Robinson
Marty Brown
Karen Coda
Karen HopperTenor
Bryan Wells
Edward Hoover
Paul Nooney
Dileep SrihariBass
Brian Eriksen
Bob Schiff
Chris Wilde
Charlie Cerf
New Orchestra of Washington
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Officers
Dianne Peterson, Chair
Ann Yonemura, Secretary
Paul Connor, TreasurerBoard Members
Morris Deutsch
Louise Harkavy
Neeta Helms
Joan Lewis
Juan I. Montesinos
Tom Patton
Ryuji Ueno
Sarah Wilson
Grace Cho, ex-officio
Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, ex-officio -
Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, Artistic Director
Grace Cho, Executive Director
Abby Carlson, Manager of Operations
Will Esterling, Assistant Conductor
David Luo, Development Coordinator
Richard Spero, Education and Community Coordinator
Laurel Bahar, Director of Patron Relations
Ayaan Productions, Digital Media and Marketing
Choral Arts Society of Washington
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Officers
Matthew Garber, Chair
Emily Riffle, Vice Chair
Barbara Rossotti, Secretary
Anne B. Keiser, Treasurer
Craig Miller, Immediate Past Chair
Laura S. Pruitt, Of Counsel / Advisor to CommitteesDirectors
Suzanne S. Brock
Eric Broyles
Charles Cerf
Tad Czyzewski, Executive Director, ex officio
Karen Florini
Sue Goodhart
Elke Gordon
Lexy B. Kessler
Dr. Jace Kaholokula Saplan, Artistic Director, ex officio
Monica Schmude
Nicholas Smith
Alex Swartsel, Chorus President, ex officio
Ashley WilsonHonorary Trustees
John Adams
Dr. Ysaye Maria Barnwell
Mrs. W. Tapley Bennett, Jr.
James Conlon
John Corigliano
Christoph Eschenbach
Denyce Graves
Marta Casals Istomin
Bobby McFerrin
Leontyne Price
Samuel Ramey
Helmuth Rilling
Leonard Slatkin
John Williams -
Dr. Jace Kaholokula Saplan, DMA, Artistic Director
Tad Czyzewski, Executive Director
April Angilletta, Associate Director of Communications
Joe Aubry, Artistic and Production Associate
Miriam Bernstein, Patron Services Coordinator
Caryn Fraim, Deputy Director
Drew Halford, Development Manager
Whitney McColley, Artistic Manager
Brandon Straub, Associate Conductor and Pianist
Friends of NOW
The Friends of NOW is a vital group of supporters who empower and enable NOW to build a world where transformative musical experiences are accessible and available to All People.
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Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County
Greater Washington Community Foundation
Dr. Sachiko Kuno
Maryland State Arts Council
National Endowment for the Arts
Dianne and Frank Peterson
Dr. Ryuji Ueno
Ann Yonemura -
Joan Lewis and Robbie Hopkins
Susan and David Rockefeller
Sarah Wilson and Lou Lappin -
Heather Hippsley and Paul Connor
Nancy and Morris Deutsch
Rachel Dougan
Lynn Knaupp and John Griffin in honor of Alejandro and Grace
Louise and Jon Harkavy
Kay and Don Jansky in honor of Alejandro and Grace
Knight and Ann Kiplinger
Laura DeBonis and Scott Nathan
Elizabeth and Thomas Patton -
Atsuko and Robert Anders
Lauren Chelec and Elliot Cafritz
Patricia and Alton Frye
Ava and Neal Gross in honor of Nancy and Morris Deutsch
Grace Cho and Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez
Jon Hiatt and Barbara Shepp
Rusty Krauss
Rosalie Mandelbaum in loving memory of Perry Cohen
Jessica and Brian Markham
Ruth and Joseph McInerney
Nanette and David Schoeder
Patti Tice in honor of Alejandro
Neeta Helms and Johan van Zyl -
Laurel and Hadi Bahar
Betsy and David Bennett
Patricia and John Bevacqua
Devar Burbage
Rose Lee and Steven Butler
Katie and Steve Capanna
Gail and John Edie
Elizabeth Fox
Jan and Elizabeth Lodal
Robert Myers
Avril and David Rodney
Marta Goldsmith and Gary Rosenthal
Sherry Schiller
Rita Sloan -
Jane Aylward
Karen Baynard in honor of Louise Harkavy
Cynthia Dunbar and Charles Cerf
Constance Chan
Miles Chapin
Peter Clunie
Heather Coryell
Jacqueline and Pete Davis
John Driscoll
Jonathan Eig
Herta and Jim Feely
Barbara Finkelstein
Kathleen Plunkett and Bob Fruit
Marolyn and John Hatch
Gretchen Kuhrmann
Susan and Stephen Langley
Lucia Leith
Terri Lesko
Marilyn Lichtman
Linda and Robert Maddox in memory of Dorothy Clark
Janet and Ed Moyer
Alison and Warren Mullison
David Osborne
Larry Robertson
Diedre Robinson
Elizabeth Savage
Deborah Boudreau and Michael Schwartz
Jane Williams and George Singleton
Howard Spendelow
Daphne Kiplinger and Dave Steadman
Andrea and Garrett Stevens
Warren and Elaine Stone -
Kathleen and Leigh Alexander
Janine Byers
Yuri Chayama
Maggie Emblom
Polly Gordon
Donald Grantt
Nathan Gross
Douglas Grove
Melissa Herman
Jean Jawdat
Pam and Don Lassell
Dee Daly and Phil Mazzara
Grant McClure
Frances James McKay
Anne and Tim Murphy
Carl Nash
Lisa Emenheiser Sarratt
Simon Sidamon-Eristoff
Penny Mills and Peter Simpson
Jeanie and Richard Teare
Alvin Thompson
Our Sponsors
NOW gratefully acknowledges the support of our 2022–2023 season sponsors:
Dianne and Frank Peterson
Ann Yonemura
