Finally Here

Today we had our dress rehearsal with the orchestra. There were some rough spots as we got used to a different configuration, choir in back, soloists, orchestra, then the director. It is always so exciting to sing with an orchestra. We know most of these players, they come back to play each year. It is a thrill to put voices and instruments together. Tomorrow is the concert, and all of our work will come together at last. I know that after the concert, we'll be singing this music in our heads for days. I call it concert withdrawal. Here is our program.

Pass Chorale Christmas Celebration


Magnificat in D
BWV 243
With Christmas Interpolations
by
Johann Sebastian Bach


Patricia Cordova, Soprano
Veronica Angel, Soprano
Danielle Perrault, Alto
Jonathan Frias, Tenor
Ulises Espinoza, Bass

The Pass Chorale and Orchestra

Directed by Ernest Siva

13 December 2009
2:30 pm

Our Savior’s Lutheran Church
1320 W. Williams Av.
Banning, CA



Magnificat

For soloists, five-part chorus, and orchestra

Christmas Anthems
Joan Frost, Accompanist

I Am So Glad – Norwegian Carol.....................Arranged by Bradley Ellingboe
Philip Rehfeldt, Clarinet

Still, Still Still - Austrian Carol................Arranged by Mark Shepperd

How Far is it to Bethlehem? - English Carol........Arranged by Stan Pethel
Jackie Aronowitz, Flute

Mary’s Little Boy Child - Calypso Carol............Jester Hairston
Monty Joham, Bass
Mike Shea, Percussion

How Should a King Come?.................Carol Owens, Jimmy Owens, Tom Fettke


Carol Sing-along
The Pass Chorale, Orchestra, and Audience

Joy to the World
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming
Away in a Manger
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Silent Night, Holy Night

THANK YOU!
•Thanks to Our Savior’s Lutheran Church for our beautiful concert venue.
• Thanks to our volunteers Pat Murkland and Jill Trick for taking tickets and handing out programs, and Jill Trick and Laura Trick for arranging our post-concert reception.
• Thanks to our wonderful accompanist, Joan Frost, for another great season.
• Thanks to our singers whose hard work and dedication makes this concert possible.
• Thanks to you for coming and supporting fine music in the Pass area!
• Thanks to sponsors Millie Plueger and Ernest & June Siva.

The Pass Chorale
The Pass Chorale is a non-profit 501-c-3 organization. All contributions are tax deductible. Singers are volunteers, but instrumentalists and soloists are paid. Donations at concerts cover only a small part of overall expenses. We would really appreciate your support so we can continue these concerts. Donations can be mailed to: The Pass Chorale, P.O. Box 589, Beaumont, CA 92223.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

The Pass Chorale
Ernest Siva, Director
Joan Frost, Accompanist

It's Countdown to Concert Time

Our last rehearsals have focused on singing through the entire program, clearing up problem spots, working with soloists and generally preparing for the concert. It is a wonderful experience to sing this music. Director Ernest has the orchestra completed. We'll have two extra rehearsals, and then the dress rehearsal the day before the concert.

PASS CHORALE CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION 2009

The Pass Chorale is a community chorus serving the San Gorgonio Pass area. Their annual Celebration of Christmas concert is scheduled for Sunday, December 13, 2009, 2:30pm at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 1320 W. Williams St. in Banning.

The concert features the Magnificat by Johann Sebastian Bach, with Christmas interpolations. This is a festive work for soloists, 5 part chorus, and orchestra. It is based on the biblical text, Mary’s song of praise. The Magnificat follows the biblical text in Latin. The interpolations, in German and Latin, were added by Bach especially for Christmas performances.

Soloists are Patricia Cordova , soprano (winner of the 2009 Pass Has Talent competition), Veronica Angel, soprano, Danielle Perrault, alto, Jonathan Arana, tenor, and Ulises Espinoza, Bass. Soloists Angel, Perrault, Arana and Espinoza are all students in the choral and voice program at California State University, San Bernardino. We are pleased to have them join us for this performance. Soloist Cordova is a regular member of the Pass Chorale. The soloists, chorus, and orchestra are directed by Ernest Siva.

The second part of the program is a sampling of Christmas anthems featuring the Chorale, accompanist, Joan Frost, and the orchestra. The concert ends with the traditional carol sing-along featuring the audience, the chorale and the orchestra. It is guaranteed to put you in the Christmas spirit!

Suggested donation is $15 for adults, $10 for students and seniors. All donations to the Pass Chorale are tax deductible.

Pass Chorale Director, Ernest Siva, grew up in Banning and has directed the Chorale for 14 years. He has Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Music Education and Chorale Music from USC. He taught music in the public schools and American Indian Music ant UCLA. He is founder and President of Dorothy Ramon Learning Center in Banning, a cultural center aimed at saving and sharing the music, languages, traditional arts and cultures of southern California Indian communities.

Fifteenth and Sixteenth Rehearsals

We've spent most of our time in these rehearsals on "woodshedding," as the music folks call it. That means making sure we are all secure on our parts. Ernest particularly likes isolating two parts and having them sing together, e.g., second sopranos and tenors, altos and basses, first sopranos and altos. This way we see how the music fits together. We also get an appreciation for all the parts. Often in these sessions we practice singing each other's parts. This also gives us greater appreciation for the entire work. At the end we put all 5 parts together.

We were having particular trouble with the last movement where we all sing something different, only joining in the last few measures. It is a matter of careful counting and knowing your part cold! At the end of the rehearsal, we did it correctly. Now let's hope we can do it again, at our next rehearsal.

Ernest has been busy lining up instrumentalists and soloists. There will be some students joining us from the Cal State San Bernardino choral program.

December 13 will be here before we know it. It is getting to be crunch time as we prepare for the wonderful Christmas program.

Fourteenth Rehearsal

I didn't blog about our 13th rehearsal because it was like a step backwards. We were missing several members, so we limped through most of the Bach. But our 14th rehearsal was wonderful. We began with the announcement that Soprano Pat Cordova won the Pass Has Talent contest. We were all very excited. Pat wasn't there so we'll have more details next week. We know there were many contestants, the contest has gone on for several weeks. Our member Pat won the Grand Prize. Congratulations, Pat! We are proud of you.

We started with our anthems, and they are beginning to really sound nice. We're still having a bit of trouble with the Jester Hairston, Mary's Boy Child. The syncopation and going back and forth for multiple verses is still confusing. We're improving though.

We also got all the way through the Bach. We're doing much better on the Christmas interpolations. All in all, a great rehearsal. We love this music!

Twelfth Rehearsal

We accomplished another milestone at our 12th rehearsal. We sang through our entire program for the first time! We are learning this music. Now, more and more, we'll be focusing on the finer points - dynamics, tempi, pronounciation, tone. There is still lots of work ahead, but we all felt good when the rehearsal ended!

Eleventh Rehearsal

We returned to action after a week off. We started with our Christmas anthems. The first was the Norwegian carol, "I am so glad." We worked on some of the trickier sections, and alto Robin gave us the name of a woman who knows Norwegian. We may be able to sing in Norwegian yet! The carol, Still, Still, Still is beginning to sound very nice. It is a gorgeous arrangement and a flute will accompany the choir (as well as keyboard).

We worked on the rhythms of the calypso, Mary's Boy Child, arranged by Jester Hairston. I remember hearing this carol every year when we were students at USC. The annual Christmas concert always featured two carols, sung by the Chamber Singers, directed by Charles Hirt. One was Mary's Boy Child. The solo part was highly prized, and I remeber Ernest's roommate, tenor John Fleming, did it more than once. The other was a soprano solo with choir, "Who will buy my sweet blooming lavender?" There was high competition for that solo too. I don't know of an arrangement for the Lavender carol, maybe it was Charles Hirt's own. Those two carols meant it was really Christmas again.

We then started the Magnificat at the beginning and got about half way through before the rehearsal ended. We'll start at that point next week!