Voices Unite

I wonder what forces of the universe collided to see Masterwork’s last and next concert occur just after a national tragedy. First Newtown, Connecticut, and now Boston, Massachusetts weigh heavy in our hearts as we get ready for a performance.

I am thankful that I belong to a group like Masterwork, who, spontaneously and naturally, always make it a priority to share music that embodies generosity and unity. This weekend, that natural spirit will be a welcome refuge from the tragedy our sisters and brothers in Boston faced on April 15 during the Boston Marathon Bombing. Our spring concert this year is a very special collaboration between us and Cäcilien-Chor, a chorus based in Frankfurt, Germany, whose members have travelled across the Atlantic to share this performance. Called Voices Unite, the concert will represent both American and German cultures in both music and spirit.

The members of Cäcilien-Chor are our true family in more ways than one. Not only are they part of that unique group of people worldwide who make it a point, like us, to dedicate hours our of their week to sing with each other as a community; we also share a member between us. Martina Molner, a member of Masterwork for five years, joined us from Cäcilien-Chor after she moved to the United States. In fact, it was Martina who conceived the idea of a collaboration between the two choruses.

Director Andrew Megill recalled how the idea came into being:

“After her first year, Martina told me how much she loved Masterwork Chorus and how it reminded her of her home chorus in Germany,” Andrew said. “Her feeling was that it was shocking how much we had in common. We’re about the same size, we have the same repertoire, we work at the same speed, we both have the same warm friendly atmosphere. We shared a lot of values. She was so happy to find a chorus she fit into so easily and so fast. Two years after that, she approached me because Cäcilien-Chor has a tradition of doing tours outside of Germany.”

And the rest, as they say, is history.

The structure of the concert will be a true joining of cultures. 20 minutes will be dedicated to American choral music directed by our own Andrew; 20 minutes will be music from Germany, conducted by the director of Cäcilien-Chor, Christian Kabitz. Then, 40 minutes of music will be sung by the two choruses together, with the conducting split in half between the two directors.

Cäcilien-Chor has a storied history. “The people sing along with so much fire and so it is a joy,” said Felix Mendelssohn about the choir. The chorus was founded in 1818, and Mendelssohn himself conducted Cäcilien-Chor for some years shortly after its birth. How cool is that?

The music Masterwork is singing was chosen very deliberately to represent the United States. Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms is sung in Hebrew, and excerpts the 108th, 23rd, 2nd, 131st and 133rd Psalms. The piece focuses on praise and peace.

Benjamin Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb has similar themes, but is based on text written by poet Christopher Smart while he was held in an insane asylum. I challenge audiences to listen to us sing about “my Cat Jeoffrey . . . a cat, surpassing in beauty, from whom I take occasion to bless Almighty God” and decide whether Smart was indeed insane or just saner than the rest of us.

November 22 this year will also mark Britten’s 100th birthday.

Andrew was able to find two pieces that are uniquely connected in ways that many audiences may not be aware of:

“The Bernstein and the Britten were both commissioned by the same person—Reverand Mark Hussey of Chichester cathedral in England. He was a strong believer that the contemporary church needed to connect to the people through the highest examples of modern art that they could. He commissioned 4 or 5 of the greatest composers of his time, great visual artists such as Henry Moore and Alexander Calder, and great Christian poets of the time.”

Though Bernstein and Britten are “accessible,” Andrew explained, to audiences who may not be highly educated in music, they are still two of the greatest composers of the 21st century.

“I think that that’s something that’s related to the basic theme of Voices Unite,” he continued. “This concert is about building community. We’re doing it between the two choirs, but there’s also a way in which without dialing down the level of accomplishemtn of the music in any way, we did want this program to be widely appealing to people who may not know anything about  choral music. We’re inviting people into our world rather than saying if you love our world already, come join us—which is a valuable and important thing to do.”

Cäcilien-Chor and Masterwork will unite to sing Josef Rheinberger’s Mass in A. Rheinberger was considered the most important composer of sacred music for the Catholic church in the 19th century, and is often compared to Brahms and Mendelssohn.

Last Christmas I quoted Bernstein, who famously said “This will be our reply to violence: To make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.” Bernstein also happened to be a friend of Irving Fine, a composer and native son of Boston. Bernstein once said of Fine, “he was rather a tragic person inside, but he never bothered anybody with those problems of his.” This seems to embody the gritty, hard-as-nails spirit of Boston, famous for its harsh winters and its forever-heartbroken sports fans. Voices Unite will join communities in more than a few ways this April, but most of all, we will participate in the joy of music, which has throughout human history soothed hurting hearts. Next week, we will sing for Boston and those around the world who suffer from violence.

We hope you will join us.

Sunday, April 21, 2013 · 4:00pm
Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Newark, NJ
Suggested Donation: $15.00
This concert is part of the Cathedral Basilica Concert Series

Thursday, April 25, 2013 · 7:30 pm
Calvary Episcopal Church, Summit, NJ
Individual Ticket: $30.00
Click here to purchase tickets.

Friday, April 26, 2013 · 7:30pm
Princeton University Chapel, Princeton, NJ
Freewill Offering

Masterwork’s 250th Messiah, Part II: O Thou That Tellest

One of our choristers, a baritone by the name of Pete Tamburro, had a Messiah Moment at will-call on the day of our 250th performance. He was there with his veritable entourage of friends of family that had come out to see him, and he got into a conversation with a couple from Iowa who were visiting New York City for the first time. It turned out they were a brother and sister, he a finance student and she an aspiring opera singer (perfect place for them to be visiting). They were there to pick up their tickets, and it was just before noon. Pete introduced himself as a chorus member, and I’m sure they were very excited to meet him. But – they had mistaken the start time for 12 instead of 2 pm. Not to be deterred, once Pete informed them of the correct start time, they went off to occupy themselves until curtain.

In the dressing rooms, Pete told me about it, and said how it made him happy because as a musician steeped in the arts, you just don’t know how wide the appeal of what we do is. Well, as it turns out – wide enough to attract two tourists from the Midwest who made Masterwork’s Messiah the last stop on their trip, which is pretty gratifying to know (kudos to our marketing team!)

“I wish I had gotten their names,” Pete told me.

Lo and behold, though, during the concert Pete managed to spot the pair in the audience of almost 3000 (!) a few rows from the front, and was able to sing to them for the rest of the oratorio. Magic! And he even got to see them after the show, when they spotted him and waved. He got to do what Andrew always tells us – to sing with generosity – to two special people who bumped into just the right person at just the right time.

It’s especially lovely to know that people, both local and not-so-local, make it a point to include Masterwork’s Messiah as part of their Christmas. We love singing to each and every one of them.

From the Iowa brother and sister, to the little boy (a friend of a chorus member) who was just fascinated with everything that was happening on stage, to the gentleman who mouthed every single word of only the bass solos, to the woman who brought her Messiah score with her and flipped through it as she followed along every movement, to the curious man in the lower balcony who was wearing elbow-length leather gloves and a skirt – every single one of those people chose to include us, and we were privileged to include them in our Christmas too.

Masterwork’s 250th Messiah, Part I: Comfort Ye

Tags

Carnegie Hall, Handel, Handel's Messiah, Messiah, music, Newtown

‎”Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Isaiah 40:1-3, KJV).

This year, Masterwork Chorus performed Handel’s Messiah for the 250th time over its 57-year history. The event merits several blog posts (this being the first) which will be reflections on the particular experience of the 250th performance, which was held at 2pm, Dec 23rd, on the Perelman stage in the Stern auditorium of Carnegie Hall.

Truly, the value in what we do as a chorus is the joy we bring to people. I don’t say that lightly –it’s an honor to do what we do, and it’s an honor to hear how people are blessed by the music we produce under the able baton of Dr. Andrew Megill, and David Briskin and David Randolph before him. It’s an equal honor to work with the wonderful musicians we do time and time again.

I’ve only been a member of Masterwork for two years, but I’ve noticed that every performance day, Andrew brings us a singular message: Generosity. I have heard him say, several times, that what he loves about Masterwork is the generosity with which we make music. So no matter how hard the journey has been to a particular performance; no matter how busy or challenging the semester has been; come performance day, Andrew never fails to remind us why we do what we do, and what we bring to the audience. “Looking up” is not just a reminder to watch the conductor: It’s also a reminder to connect and communicate with the audience.

During our 249th performance, held on Dec 23rd at Drew University, Andrew noticed a young boy in one of the front rows. On Sunday, he told us that every time he glanced at the boy, he seemed so interested in whatever was happening at that moment on stage. “And that’s why we’re all here, isn’t it?” Andrew said on stage at Carnegie during warm-up. “Because somebody introduced us to this at a young age.”

It’s true. There is so much talk of the arts dying, and it is times like these—times of war, struggle, and violence—when art is needed most. The one certain way to ensure creativity and the arts survive is to expose young people to it, so they, like us, can fall in love.

This brings me to show time at Carnegie. Everyone has his or her “favorites” among the Messiah pieces. For many, it’s the opening tenor aria “Comfort Ye.” This year, our tenor was Steven Brennfleck—a slight young man with a beautiful upper register. As he started to sing, you could feel the hush come over the packed house. And right at the moment when the orchestra pauses to let the tenor voice soar over the phrase “Comfort ye, my people”—a child’s voice in the audience could be heard. He wasn’t crying or being obnoxious. It was just a small child whining, and from the second row in the risers I saw a father running with the boy to the nearest exit. Steven, of course, wasn’t fazed. He kept going, and the aria was gorgeous (one wouldn’t expect less).

Fast forward to after the performance. You can never go straight to sleep after an experience like singing the entire Messiah front-to-back—my fellow choristers and I can be found many a Wednesday night after rehearsal, which ends at 10 pm, on Facebook, unable to sleep. Similarly, post-performance at Carnegie calls for celebration and libation! So I went out for dinner with my friend who had come to see the performance. We got to talking about classical music and art in general, and how masterpieces like Messiah last through the centuries because of how they speak to a common thread in humanity. Every time such a piece is performed, it is new again. And that such a piece has a different context every time it is performed, and it speaks to the time it is performed in as well as for the time from whence it came. We talked about how the challenge of such completely unique, original music, can be too much for many, especially if they are introduced to it later in life. Which brought us back to the notion of introducing art like this to children. Which brought us back to that noisy child in the audience. Which brought us back to the idea of context.

My friend was sitting in the fourth row. As Steven was singing “Comfort Ye,” her eyes were closed. She told me that how as she was sitting there, letting the music wash over her, she heard that child’s cry from behind her right at the moment of one of the most poignant phrases in Messiah. And she couldn’t help but recall the massacre at Newtown, Connecticut, which has been coloring all the activity of what should be a joyful season in America. She said she looked up at Steven—he was speaking comfort and he had the most peaceful expression on his face. The child’s voice in the back of the hall was so spontaneous, yet so apt at that moment, that she couldn’t help crying. The innocence of the child reminded her of renewal, and she was comforted.

Masterwork’s 250th performance of Handel’s Messiah was for such a time as this. In this moment, in this time, our music meant something very specific. And I am thankful every day to be a part of that work which we love, that work we call art.

“This will be our reply to violence: To make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.” – Leonard Bernstein.

Masterwork’s Director, Andrew Megill, is in Montréal!

Andrew Megill

All of us here in the Masterwork Chorus know how lucky we are to be able to sit at the feet of one of the nation’s most respected choral conductors every week. As one member said, it’s like taking a free graduate course in music. Dr. Andrew Megill, who holds degrees from the University of New Mexico (BM, Theory and Composition), Westminster Choir College (MM, Choral Conducting), and Rutgers University (DMA, Choral Conducting), all with highest honors, is taking a sabbatical from his teaching position at the Westminster Choir College of Rider University to do some great work in Canada this year.

While we do miss him on the weeks he is in Montréal, he is spending about half our rehearsal time in New Jersey and providing an extra workshop per semester so we can hone the work we’re doing for the season—Handel’s Messiah (of course), Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Elegischer Gesang, John Tavener’s Funeral Ikos, Frank Ticheli’s There Will Be Rest, C. H. H. Parry’s Never Weatherbeaten Sail, and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Rest (phew).

So what is our fearless leader doing in La métropole? A whole lot, actually.

Andrew has a wealth of knowledge from his years of study, teaching, and experience. He has now sit down to write a book about Baroque music, since there isn’t a comprehensive textbook out there that students can use in a classroom setting. As of now, he has three publishers interested in reading it, and it is about 10 percent complete.

Currently, though, he is also fulfilling an exciting contract with the Montréal Symphony Orchestra (Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal) and Chorus.

“Like the Atlanta, Chicago, and San Francisco Symphonies, the resident chorus [in Montréal] is a combination of professional and volunteer singers,” he explained. Last year, he spent some time re-auditioning and gathering a fresh group of singers to bring the symphony chorus forward, which had been struggling as of late, and ended up with 110 volunteers and about 50 professional singers to form quite a substantial group. He will, however, pare the group down for some work, including Bach or Handel pieces.

Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal is led by Kent Nagano, the Symphony’s music director and resident rock star.

“Nagano has been there for seven years,” Andrew said. “Their orchestra is one of the finest orchestras in the world—certainly for me, one of the two or three best orchestras in North America right now. Nagano has done a lot of work with building the new hall and getting them a new home and getting them a new orchestral sound. The choral sound was not good, and part of his feeling was that for his legacy he wanted to have every part of [the Symphony] working. So that’s my mandate—to come in and revamp the choir from top to bottom. It’s a totally new group and they’re singing very beautifully. For their first concert I was really pleased.”

Kent Nagano. Photo courtesy of theartoftheconductor.com

The secret behind Nagano’s rock star status, according to Andrew, is the Symphony’s extremely successful and creative marketing committee. They have managed to make Nagano’s name so ubiquitous that even average, blue-collar workers who don’t typically listen to classical music know who he is and what he does.

“They all think of him as one of their hockey teams that they are proud of,” Andrew said. “Because of that, they have this very interesting statistic that they average 85 percent capacity for every concert he conducts. They only average about 60 percent for every other conductor.”

(Side note: Montréal’s hockey team is the Montréal Canadiens).

Because it is a Francophone chorus, Andrew’s contract states that he has to conduct half of the rehearsals in French.

“….and so they’re mostly in English,” Andrew laughs, “and they’re very gracious to me. Nagano’s advice – he’s an American as well – is if you do all the measure numbers, page numbers, and rehearsal numbers in French, that’s 50 percent of the words one says in a rehearsal, so it works out.”

It can be difficult teaching at the level Andrew maintains in a language not your own: “I can’t talk very much about meaning in a specific way,” he said. “I don’t have the richness of vocabulary that I do in English—but luckily they don’t make fun of me very much.”

One of the best words he has learned, Andrew quipped in one of our rehearsals, is the French word for the radiator dial. When he wants to crank up intense emotion or feeling, he uses that word (and the appropriate hand motions) and the chorus understands exactly what he means.

Music truly is the universal language.

This upcoming year, Andrew will be doing a smaller season, opening with Berlioz’s L’Enfance du Christ. “It’s a piece I really love but have avoided doing mostly because the biggest difficulty is how much French there is, but to do it with a Francophone chorus will be great. It is really a dream come true because we get to work on the music rather than words and how they sound.”

The chorus will also be performing Brahm’s Requiem (which will be broadcast on CBC radio, and can be streamed online), and will end the season with one of Andrew’s favorite pieces of music: Joan D’Arc au Bucher (Joan of Arc at the Stake) by Honegger.

“I think Joan is [Honegger’s] masterpiece, but it’s virtually never performed because it’s a huge work (about 85 minutes), all of it’s in French, it’s very difficult, and it’s got the most enormous orchestra so it’s very expensive.”

Sounds like a blast to me.

The first concert Andrew conducted with the chorus was Monteverdi’s Madrigaux Querriers et Amoureux (Madrigals of Warriors and Lovers). It was part of a fascinating marketing campaign that Andrew described for us:

“They did something fascinating for my first concert, the Monteverdi concert, called Virée Classique [“The Classical Virus,” though the series was marketed in English as “A Cool Classical Journey”]. The concert series was marketed towards people that have not experienced much classical music.

“[Montréal Symphony’s] new hall is part of a complex of five performing halls in one plaza. Most of them are not used for music – there’s an experimental theater, a dance theater, two really big opera houses and then this beautiful hall for the Symphony.

The Montréal Symphony Orchestra’s new home, La Maison Symphonique de Montréal, has no “official” English translation. Photo courtesy of Bob Essert.

“The Montréal Symphony owns a stake in this plaza so we were given all five performing halls for 24 hours. They did I think 72 concerts of 45 minutes in all five halls at $10 a pop. The point was it was supposed to be like tapas. You should try a little classical music, and if you don’t like it, it’s over in 45 minutes. They overlapped with one starting every 15 minutes so people could go to as many as they liked, and they sold out every concert. They sold 15,000 tickets for the day. They were mostly families—they did a lot of free outdoor events in the surrounding plaza, they had the brass orchestra playing with jazz singers, and they had seven pianists who were playing various things throughout the day. They played in the plaza for 10 minutes, whatever they wanted to play. There was such a buzz around it.”

All this work Andrew is doing also serves the purpose of being a respite for him. He’s worked hard for over a decade at Westminster, taking on roles over and above teaching.

“I have found it a little hard emotionally to let go of the responsibility of the school. It’s good for me to go away for a year, and when I come back, I can just be a professor again. I’m really looking forward to that because it’s been too much anxiety—too much Mozart Requiem” he quipped. “I’m looking forward to coming back and being just a musician again.”

And isn’t music the reason we all do what we do here?

We’re very proud of Andrew and all the excellent, exciting work he’s doing up in Montréal. Be sure to follow the work of Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal here.

Sore Throat Remedies: From the Normal to the Not-So-Normal

Photo courtesy of Gourmet Traveller 88

As the weather changes and Fall approaches, two things happen in the minds of singers:

Fall! Singing season starts again! Christmas music!

And

Cold! The moment singers are called upon to start the singing season with a bang, sometimes their throats and voices have other plans, rebelling against them in response to the decreased humidity and change in temperature.

So what’s a singer to do? I’ve heard everything from hot tea and pineapple juice to sleeping with eight humidifiers. Do you think I’m exaggerating? Pop sensation Mariah Carey, who has a fabled five-octave range including notes in her whistle tone, sleeps with eight humidifiers every night on a terry cloth bed. Ah, if only we were all so privileged…

At any rate, I’ve collected some tips from Masterwork Chorus members past and present, who have shared their sore throat and tired voice remedies with me.

A classic, and my personal favorite, is warm tea (or just warm water) with honey and lemon. For a long time, I thought this remedy had just a placebo effect—that is, it works because you think it will. It turns out that honey has antimicrobial properties. People used to slather the stuff on wounds before modern science – not too much though, because that could have adverse effects! A few teaspoons of honey in a hot liquid help by fighting off bad bugs that might cause an infection. The lemon serves two purposes: the high vitamin C unhindered by sugars boosts the immune system, which admittedly isn’t much help if you’re already sick. But it also balances the PH level in the tea/hot liquid. Feel like adding some ginger? Go for it. Ginger has anti-inflammatory properties. Tea from real tea leaves (as opposed to herbal teas made from other plants) has tons of antioxidants in it, and drinking the beverage warm lets steam waft up the nasal and throat cavities, which also has a soothing effect. All in all, a great all-natural remedy.

Remember: the tea/drink mustn’t be hot, but warm. Liquids that are too hot are too cold can have detrimental effects on the vocal cords, shrinking and expanding them too quickly and damaging them. Singer should ideally avoid extreme temperatures.

Another member suggested eucalyptus oil. Place a few drops in a cup of steaming hot water, or boiling water, and inhale the vapor. This clears congestion, so is particularly helpful if you have the cold or flu.

A family member suggested plain old nasal saline solution to me. For a raw throat, twice in each nostril, every 4-6 hours helps dry up what drips down your throat.

A jazz singer I know recommended pineapple juice during a performance to keep your voice juicy – haha. The particular combination of acid, sugar and sour taste stimulates the saliva glands, lubricating the voice during the time of the performance.

A remedy from my home country, Sri Lanka – besides the multitude of herbal drinks that aren’t available in the U.S. – is burnt coconut. Yes, you read that right! If you take fresh coconut, shred it, and toast it in a saucepan, the coconut milk will keep it moist. Toast until it is brown or almost black, then after it cools, swallow it down. Coconut oil has anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties – but beyond that, don’t ask me about the science behind it! All I know is it worked for me as a kid. Give it a try!

I’ll end with one crazy, insane method I learned about from a friend who is a recording artist. He has toured internationally, and touring schedules can be brutal. He has a pharmacist in his entourage who gave him this remedy, but I DO NOT recommend trying this at home, kids!

He was in Detroit, and he had to sing the next day. He had a really bad case of the flu, and had little to no voice left in him. And he carries a three-hour show by himself, which is quite a feat. Well, his pharmacist friend told him “Scott, I’m going to tell you something that you’re going to think is crazy, but trust me, it works.” He them told him that one capful of CLOROX, yes, CLOROX brand bleach, mixed with a cup of Welch’s grape juice, would cure him. As I heard this story, my jaw dropped.

“You didn’t do it, did you?” I asked, incredulously.

“I trusted him. So yes, I did,” my friend said.

After protestations of “It smells like a swimming pool!” and the like, my friend finally downed it. Within a few hours, he felt better. Can you believe it?

I repeat: Don’t try this at home, kids!

So whatever method you use this season to combat the Fall singer’s blues, be sure to treat your voice like the incredibly precious instrument it is, and don’t overstrain it. Treat it well, and it will treat you well.

Sing on!

Goodbye Anh!

We say goodbye to Anh Le Molloy as she embarks on a new phase in her life. She will be moving out of state after years of being a member of Masterwork. I especially want to highlight that Anh has set up a seed scholarship fund for Masterwork members who can’t afford their dues. This is the generous, warm, kind person we are losing – we will miss you Anh, and though we know you will still be an important member of the Masterwork community, we will miss your voice among us.

“Messiah” 2011

We’re well into January and it’s only now that we’re recovering from our incredibly successful Christmas season. You’ve heard about Brian Stokes Mitchell and the NJSO; you’ve heard about our special Christmas performances of Haydn and Resphigi; and now it’s time to review our 2011 Messiah performances.

And what performances they were.

This was my first year singing Handel’s Messiah, my first Christmas with Masterwork, and my first time singing in Carnegie Hall. I keep telling everyone it was the best Christmas I’ve ever had, and for good reason.

We did two Messiahs this season – one at Drew University and one at Carnegie. The Drew University Dorothy Young Auditorium is small, very intimate and incredibly cold. Yes that’s right – for some reason, the hall could not get the temperature right. Sitting on stage I could see most people in the audience dressed like they were watching the Ice Capades rather than the Masterwork Chorus:

Now personally, I was fine. It must have been the ridiculous amounts of adrenaline coursing through my veins that was keeping me warm, but the poor altos on either side of me were shivering. The musicians were cold, too, and our first trumpet player felt the bite especially. Not the ideal environment for making music. Still a very special evening though.

However – Mr Carnegie QUITE made up for this on the 23^rd. The gods (and goddesses) blessed us with a near-perfect mix of good weather, no transit strikes and a great date which made for a great concert day. December 23^rd happened to fall on a Friday, which seemed to be ideal for audiences who were in town (the biggest town, NYC) for the holidays and wanted something special before Christmas weekend. We almost sold out the house (2800 seats!). A full house gives great energy, and when we took our places on stage the good vibes hit us in waves.

It was a truly special feeling, walking onto that stage:

And what an auditorium:

And what an audience. They were attentive, enthusiastic, and almost no one left after the “Hallelujah Chorus”! (For the uninitiated, it’s a common practice for people to leave after the second part out of three which ends with Handel’s most famous piece, because Messiah is all of three hours long).

The orchestra absolutely rocked the house. We are so lucky to be able to sing with such world class (literally) musicians. Andrew couldn’t stop singing the praises of our incredibly talented concertmistress Nancy Wilson. As one chorus member said, the principal cellist Allen Whear truly looked enraptured by the soloists – as if it were the first time he were hearing the music. I personally noticed Mark Zaki, violinist, playing with such generosity and patience. It seems an odd thing to say of a musician – patience – but his face really communicated a sense of calm paired with experience that I’ve never seen before. What a pleasure to see two women playing the double bass, something I’ve never seen before. Deb Spohnheimer and Motomi Igarishi really thrilled me with their bow work.

Finally, and certainly not the least of them, is Terry Szor. His “The Trumpet Shall Sound” sent chills up, down and through me – and I wasn’t the only one. A lot of chorus members told me over and over, “If you think he was good tonight, you should have HEARD him in *insert year of choice here*.” They speak of him like a god: his playing is truly incendiary. No words can really describe what he did that night. Thank you Terry.

During the “Hallelujah Chorus”, the audience typically stands. This was the moment that brought me to tears, because I couldn’t help but focus on one elderly woman all the way to my right. She has been paying rapt attention throughout the performance. When we began the HC she couldn’t stand – but she looked absolutely thrilled. When we were finished, she applauded – and it took great effort for her to do so. She was determined, though, to show her appreciation. But I wished at that moment she could feel my appreciation for her very obvious pleasure with what we were doing on stage. This is why we do what we do.

Masterwork and Brian Stokes Mitchell!

I apologize for not updating our loyal readers with how the Haydn and Resphigi special Christmas concerts went – but they went very well, thank you! The Camarata pieces went well and received many compliments, and two audience members said of the Resphigi: “It was like being in a dream” – “It was like velvet.” Thank you St Rose’s and St Elizabeth’s for sharing those two wonderful evenings with us.

On December 9th and 10th, Masterwork had the unbelievable privilege of singing with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Brian Stokes Mitchell in their “Home for the Holidays” concert. We were also joined by the New Jersey Youth Chorus who floored us with their professionalism and gorgeous singing.

Got billing? Why yes, yes we do.

The week was crazy, to say the least. Weary from our own two Christmas concerts, we soldiered on, rehearsing the challenging pieces for the NJSO concert. There was an arrangement of the openeing sequence of La Boheme, “Operatic Christmas Overture”; there was “This Christmaside”; a favorite of BSM’s, “Grateful”; and a special arrangement of some traditional Hannukah songs. They were challenging in that they were not the usual types of songs Masterwork is used to singing, and that they added a lot of music to learn to our already packed season. However – Sun Min was key in bringing us together and making sure we knew what a great opportunity this was for our chorus. And we made it. Boy, did we make it.

Thursday was our first rehearsal with the Orchestra and Brian. And let me tell you, I was acting like quite the groupie – I mean, come one, Brian Stokes Mitchell is…well, he’s quite a handsome man. And his VOICE – well, let me tell you, his voice sends a thrill up your spine (especially if your spine happens to be female). So there I was, sitting backstage chatting on the phone with my sister when Brian walks in and bruhes my knees as he passes by. I was squealing into the phone (not sure how he didn’t hear me – or maybe he did) and my sister was telling me to stop acting like a tween, when suddenly it was time to go on stage.

Being on stage was great – we were sitting behind the 100 piece, professional orchestra. Singing with them was such an honor. Constantine Kitsopolous was the conductor, and he had such a generosity and warmth to him. He was very subtle, and it was amazing seeing how he controlled the masses before him with just a glance and a turn of the wrist.

Then Brian came on! He didn’t sing much at rehearsal, but it was great seeing him anyway. It was kind of good that he didn’t really sing during rehearsal because when we finally got to hear him in full voice during the performance, the effect was THAT much more awesome.

On Friday at the State Theater, things went along swimmingly. At the end of the first act, Brian announced “The Impossible Dream” and there were audible gasps of “YES!” from the audience. I could barely contain my cheers myself. The music started – the snare drum kept rhythm – and when he opened his mouth and sang the first line, the audience couldn’t keep quiet anymore. They applauded him into the song, and by the end of the number it was all I could do to not leap to my feet and cheer along with the rest of them. He brought the house down.

The next night, Saturday, was at the NJPAC – I’d never been there, and the Prudential Theater was stunningly beautiful. How great was it that we were on THIS end of the view?  Our Director Andrew Megill was in the audience this time, and I spotted him all the way to the far right. I hope we made him (and Sun Min) proud!

At the end of this performance, the conductor graciously waited backstage and shook everyone’s hand. It was an honor to sing under his baton.

Brian gave some people hugs, but alas – I was ill fated that night and wasn’t lucky enough to get one. Next time!

I cannot say thank you to Sun Min enough – her patience is boundless, and her talent is humbling. So, from all of us at Masterwork, THANK YOU SUN MIN for your guidance.

Interview with Peter Tamburro – Making his Masterwork Solo Debut this Christmas Season

For how long have you been involved with music? Did you study an instrument, voice, etc? Have there been any musical inspirations that inspired you to stick with it?

I’ve been involved with music for as long as I can remember.  At first, it wasn’t by choice.  My family has an incredible knack for finding a song for every mundane event usually not worthy of fanfare.  So my early career in music, probably until the age of eight or nine, was to yell “no more songing [sic]!” when my parents and grandparents got out of hand.  Alas, the third grade rolled around, I was offered a solo in a chorus concert, and I’ve been the one in my family “songing” ever since.  Since then, I did a few grade school musicals, always opted for chorus rather than general music, and eventually found my niche in high school.  By then I was making it into honors choirs such as New Jersey Region and All-State, had joined all the available groups in school: Mixed Chorus, Concert Choir, and The Noteworthys (my high school’s men’s a cappella group), and had started taking music theory and piano classes.  It was probably the end of my Junior year of high school when I first contemplated continuing with music in college.  My parents, always my biggest supporters and fans, were thrilled to see me find my passion so clearly and so early.  So I went off and earned a degree in Music Education from Millersville University and have been in and out of the Music Masters program at Montclair State.  I can’t say that along the way I had one person in particular that inspired me to do what I did.  What I do know is that I had a steady stream of amazing mentors starting with Mr. Finella in 3rd grade; Mrs. Lagomarsino and Mrs. Wysocki in middle school; my high school chorus teacher, and the man who I can probably most blame for finding my passion: Masterwork’s very own Vinny Rufino; and my college advisor, professor, director, and friend, Dr. Buddy James, who took a rough work in progress and smoothed out the edges.  Without a single one of those people, and their constant support and encouragement, the chain may have been broken and I wouldn’t be able to do what I do today, that much is certain.  Ultimately, however, I know that I was given a wonderful gift, and I feel empty when I can’t share that gift with others.  I love singing, and I love choral music.  That in itself is my inspiration.

What other performances have you been a part of in the past?

Being a choral singer throughout all those years, and having majored in music in college, the performances I’ve been a part of are countless – I mean, unless I sat down and counted them.  But let me list a few significant highlights.  I think I’ll go chronologically:

1989 – Solo/Duet with Henry Huang in 3rd Grade Chorus

1990 – Lead in the 4th Grade musical The Gloid

1993 – 7th grade, the only soprano Tin Man ever in The Wizard of Oz

1994 – 8th grade, the only alto Riff ever in West Side Story

1994 – 9th grade, my first time singing Messiah, with the WMC Mixed Chorus and Orchestra

1997 – West Morris Central HS, Duet, “O Death, Where is Thy Sting,” Messiah

1998 – Roxbury Choir Festival, Noteworthys, finalists for Jazz Choir which we were not. They gave us 2nd place just so we could be in the showcase.  It brought the house down.

2002 – Millersville University Choir tour, Baritone Soloist, Requiem in D minor, Faure

2009 – Peapack Reformed Church choir, Bass Soloist, German Requiem, Brahms

2009 – Masterwork Chorus, my first Messiah and Carnegie Hall experience

2010 – Peapack Reformed Church choir, Bass Soloist, Mass in E-flat major, Schubert

2011 – Peapack Reformed Church Choir, Bass Soloist, St. Cecilia Mass, Gounod

2011 – Kinnara Ensemble, “Home” concert series

2011 – Masterwork Camerata, Soloist, Go Lovely Rose, Quilter

2011 – Masterwork Chorus, Baritone Soloist, Laud to the Nativity, Respighi

How long have you been with Masterwork? How did you get started with the chorus, and what are your favorite aspects of being a part of it?

I’ve been with Masterwork since 2009.  I was invited to audition by Vinny Rufino, my high school choir director, mentor, colleague, and friend.  It has been an absolute joy working with Andrew, JD, Sun Min, and everyone in the chorus.  My favorite thing about the chorus is learning and absorbing as much as I possibly can from all of our directors, but especially Andrew.  It is easy to forget how blessed we all are to work with such an amazing director, musician, and person.  I tell everyone I know that even though it’s a bit tight at the beginning of the year when I have to shell out those dues, it’s still the cheapest graduate level class I’ll ever take.  And by the end of the year, there is never a doubt that it was worth every single penny.  Carnegie Hall is pretty neat, too…

Is there anything else about you that we may find interesting, surprising or that you would like to share?

I think after being in Masterwork for over two years, now, no one is surprised by anything I do or say.  I guess one thing that could be a bit mind-boggling is that with all the singing I do with Masterwork, as well as the other ensembles I belong to and for which I do as-needed “ringer” work (I’m already up to six different groups for this concert season), my actual 9-to-5 job is as a paralegal at a law firm.  But I’m pretty sure everyone knows that, too.

 

Hear Pete sing at our special Christmas Concert Series:

Ottorino Respighi’s Laud to the Nativity
Michael Haydn’s Missa Sancti Heironymi

Friday, December 2 — 8:00 pm
St. Rose of Lima Church, Short Hills, NJ

Sunday, December 4 — 2:30 pm
Holy Family Chapel, Campus of Saint Elizabeth

For more info, visit our website at www.masterwork.org

Masterwork Camarata: Auditioning From a New Member’s Perspective

Part of the Camarata 2010-2011 during their Spring 2011 concert

Camarata is like a baby-Masterwork-Chorus, a little nugget from the mother-choir, its size making it more portable. This year, I decided to audition for it.

I am an alto. I was nervous – the alto section in Masterwork is really, really solid (if I do say so myself) and I knew I would be up against some stiff competition. The audition was scheduled for a Saturday, a Saturday on which the whole chorus would be doing a day-long rehearsal workshop. We had to prepare one song of our own that is less than 2 minutes, learn a folk song that Andrew assigned (“She Moved Through the Fair”), sing pages 5-9 from Resphigi’s Laud to the Nativity, a piece the chorus has been rehearsing for a Christmas concert, and finally do a piece of sight-reading (gulp). I learned of all this on a Wednesday, and the rehearsal was that same Saturday – 3 days later, with a realistic 2 days to prepare.

So I do. I prepare. I agonize over what to sing, and my sister (who is in the military) suggests “Laudate Dominum”. I listen to it, and accuse her of trying to make me sing a soprano song and sabotage my audition. She says, “Oh just lower the key.” I rebut with “I think it’s frowned upon in musical society to lower the key of a classical song just to suit your range.” Her response: “Years of singing in my base’s choir has clearly made me mad ghetto.” I decide to find something else to sing.

It dawns on me that there have to be some short contralto solos in my Messiah score which I had just purchased for our performances this year. I crack it open, and with some help from youtube* I settle on “He shall Feed His Flock,” the contralto section of which is conveniently just short of 2 minutes. I practice, the phrasing seems easy enough, and I make up some dynamics that seem logical.

The folk song I had sung before. However, the timing of the way it is written on the sheet Andrew gives us is really strange. It’s in 6/4 and the phrases make no sense whatsoever – but I go with it. And because I wanted to be super prepared, I typed up all the lyrics and cut out the bars of music and pasted them on a sheet to make them easier to read and sing at the same time.

I listened to Andrew’s recorded Italian to make sure I had all the Resphigi pronunciations correct. I sang it over and over again to get it note perfect.

I did some practice sight reading and basically resigned to the fact that there was nothing more I could do to really ensure the sight reading wouldn’t end in absolute nervous panic.

I buy pineapple juice because someone on Google said it helps to moisten the throat during a performance. I fight with my room mate about leaving the apartment windows open – “The cold air is going to ruin my voice!” I say. “You’re a diva,” he says.

And the day arrives. Andrew lets us know that the audition will take place in the afternoon – basically after a whole day of rehearsal, when our voices would be “warmed up” (read: worn out).  Joy, one of our best altos and shoo-in for the Camarata (it’s not her first year in it), threatened to poison my drink while I wasn’t looking. I accused her her of putting a curse on me when I randomly got a nose-bleed. Did I mention the alto competition was stiff?

I am the first person to sign up to audition – I like to go first and get things over with. Sun Min and Andrew will be hearing us. I’m waiting outside the door – the trepidation almost killing me – and they finally call me in. The first thing Andrew asks for is the prepared song. As I open my score, Andrew smiles as he knows it well. He plays for me, and as soon as I start to sing I realize that it doesn’t matter how much you prepare – when you’re in the audition room and you’re that nervous, your lungs forget to breath and your heart behaves as if it’s hooked up to a car battery. I vaguely remember singing it, and clearly I finished it, but I do remember almost dying from oxygen deprivation. But  – phase one complete.

Phase two – the folk song. He tells me to sing it a cappella, and when he looks at my elaborately organized glued-together score, he tells me – Oh we just wanted one verse, we should have mentioned that. Thanks Andrew! The song is so familiar to me that I got through it vaguely decently. Phase two complete.

Then he pulls out the Resphigi. He says “you know, you can do this a cappella as well.” I was so nervous that when I opened my mouth to sing, literally no sound comes out. I ask if I could start again, and Sun Min told me to “Relaaaax.” In that moment I was ridiculously grateful for Andrew’s Italian demonstration recording and for how great a teacher he is, because I hammered that out as well with no issue without the accompaniment. Oh, except for the lungs not cooperating thing, because those darn things just didn’t want to fill with air. I’m lucky I didn’t keel over. And Sun Min said “Now I feel like singing with you!” which I chose to take as a compliment. Phase three complete.

Finally the sight reading. The dread. The nemesis no one ever wants to face, but has to over and over. Sun Min hands it to me – and it’s in 4/4 in C Major! I send up thanks to the music gods, get through it decently well, and I’m done! As I stumble out of the room in a daze, sending in Mike after me, I run down all the things expected of us to the others waiting outside for which I hope they were grateful. I felt like a warrior from the front lines reporting back to the second wave troops. I was done!

2 weeks later having not heard anything, I figured I hadn’t gotten in and Joy’s voodoo curse had worked. But Wednesday just before rehearsal, I see an email from Andrew asking me to join and if I would consider singing soprano. Joining the dark side is a small price to pay for the joy of singing, I said to myself, and with a a whistful glance backwards at my alto compadres, I stepped over the line to join the sops. I almost laughed in the first rehearsal when Sun Min told me I was not only singing soprano, but soprano 1 – but hey. The price you pay.

*Here is a gorgeous version of “He Shall Feed His Flock” sung by Bejun Mehta and Cornelia Horak. I couldn’t get enough of the unique staging and the beautiful clarity of the voices.