On March 14, 2014, the THS Chamber Choir performed at the Northwest division conference of the American Choral Directors Association.
The video of our performance is below, broken up by song.
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Kevin Siegfried’s arrangement of Come to Zion is one of his many arrangements of Shaker songs. First recorded by The Tudor Choir (Doug Fullington, conductor) on their album Gentle Words, this song captures the energy and abandon of many Shaker tunes. |
Afternoon on a Hill is Eric Barnum’s setting of the Edna St. Vincent Millay poem. The song uses text painting and unusual compositional devices to illuminate the beautiful poetry about an afternoon of complete freedom. |
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William Hawley’s Io son la primavera, written for 10-part choir, is the final piece in his set of Six Madrigals. The cascading and swirling vocal lines mimic the sounds of Spring, as this Italian text from the 16th century is set to modern music. |
James Leigh Hunt, a contemporary of Shelly and Keats, wrote the poem Jenny Kiss’d Me in response to a time when Jane Welsh, the wife of his good friend Thomas Carlyle, suddenly jumped up and kissed him after his long absence. Eric Barnum’s setting uses mixed meter and complex rhythms to create a sense of playfulness and joy at this experience. |
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In Dear Sarah, James Syler has set the text of a now famous letter from the Civil War soldier Major Sullivan Ballou to his wife. Ballou wrote the letter one week before the battle of Bull Run in which he gave his life for his country. |
William Dawson is one of the most well-known names when it comes to the Negro Spiritual. He distinguished himself during his long tenure at the Tuskegee Institute as one of the foremost arrangers of this genres. His Soon-ah Will Be Done has become a standard in the choral repertoire. |
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