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In Tune: Spring 2005Gala 2005TMC’s annual party-cum-auction, held on February 12, was enjoyed by all who came. The Chorus’ performance of some great love songs, from a traditional Scottish folk tune and George Gershwin to Morten Lauridsen’s lyrical Dirait-on, left the audience wanting more. All of the auction items were sold to happy bidders. The Arlington Hilton & Towers provided delicious desserts, and the Night & Day band’s selections were outstanding. Board chairman Janis McCollim said, “It was a wonderful evening. On behalf of the board of directors, I thank all who were involved in making it happen. We especially thank the donors of the splendid auction items.”
From the Artistic Director
The mass was composed during July and August of 1993 while the composer was on sabbatical in Miami Beach; hence the “Latinized” title which is meant to translate as The Miami Mass . National Public Radio said of Morten Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna, “. . . It is possible for important contemporary music to speak directly to the heart. . . . Lux Aeterna is a rich, complex, intensely moving piece that people will be listening to for a long time to come.” Composed for and dedicated to the Los Angeles Master Chorale and its superb conductor, Paul Salamunovich, the work is in five movements, performed without pause. Its texts are drawn from sacred Latin sources, each containing references to Light. The piece opens and closes with the beginning and ending of the Requiem Mass, and the center three movements are taken from the Te Deum, O Nata Lux, and Veni, Sancte Spiritus. Interestingly, James Buonemani assisted in preparing the organ score and played the organ at the world premiere in April 1997. Nick Strimple in Choral Music in the Twentieth Century said, “. . . Morten Lauridsen has been described as ‘the only American composer in history who can be called a mystic [whose] probing, serene work contains an elusive and indefinable ingredient which leaves the impression that all the questions have been answered. . . . ’ From 1993 Lauridsen’s music rapidly increased in international popularity, and by century’s end he had eclipsed Randall Thompson as the most frequently performed American choral composer.” Completing our concert on May 8 th will be four memorable anthems: Elijah Rock and I’m Gonne Sing ‘Til the Spirit Moves in My Heart by the incomparable Moses Hogan; a beautiful eight-part arrangement of Steal Away by Dale Adelmann, whose music was also heard at the American Guild of Organists convention last summer; and a setting of William Blake’s text The Lamb by John Tavener, a contemporary English composer. I am especially proud to feature an outstanding musician as our guest artist. Irvin Peterson’s performance on the soprano saxophone has delighted listeners of Missa Miamiensis for a decade. He will also serve as a tenor soloist and guest conductor for part of the concert. I look forward to seeing you at Mount Olivet United Methodist Church on May 8 th for Spirit!
Barry Hemphill Spotlight on Composers
Born in New Orleans in 1957, Moses Hogan was a graduate of the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. He also studied at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City and Louisiana Hogan established the Moses Hogan Chorale, succeeded by the Moses Hogan Singers, ensembles that entertained audiences in the world’s most prestigious concert halls and on recordings. By the end of his life, he was in demand internationally as an arranger, composer, conductor, and clinician at workshops and festivals. He was commissioned to arrange and perform several pieces for the 1995 PBS documentary The American Promise. He served as editor of the new Oxford Book of Spirituals. His arrangements have become staples in the repertoires of choirs of every level around the world.
From the Chairman of the Board
Share the Vision, Enjoy the Present, Relish the Future, Catch the Spirit
Share the VisionIn the Fall, I announced the seven goals for our 2004-2005 season. Has our spirited involvement with these seven goals reached our continued vision for the organization? 1. Provide Quality Concerts—ONGOING. 2. Become more fiscally sound—STILL WORKING and STRIVING. 3. Foster a performing environment for both singers and audiences— Various venues supply varied audiences and continued clientele. 4. Build a stronger community base—ONGOING. 5. Build a stronger Board of Directors—ONGOING. 6. Enjoy another overseas trip for singers and groupies traveling to Spain and Portugal in May/June 2005—STILL TO COME and we can’t wait! 7. Allow The Met Singers more venues to perform for the community in addition to the full Chorus performances—ONGOING AND OUT SINGING!
Enjoy the Present As you can see, we have tackled 2004-2005 goals with true relish. Many of our goals have no “end,” as continuing challenges weave their way through our choral fabric. As a Board, we want to accept those things we can change, acknowledge those we can’t, but work to provide the strongest choral performing arts organization in Arlington. Every year, our Board has a retreat to take ourselves to task to see where we were, where we are, and what we need to do, where we want to go, and how we are going to get there. Our retreat this year will be on April 2 nd, and we will go over all our goals, reassess our challenges, and forge a blueprint for our future. Relish the FutureFor those of us touring Spain and Portugal, we can’t wait to spread the word abroad about the artistic abilities of The Metropolitan Chorus. We will need your continued support of our efforts in order for us to enjoy our future. We are already planning our next few seasons and are looking forward to our BIG “4-0”. YES, we will be entering our mid-life crisis, and we invite you to celebrate every season, but especially this one –2006-2007. Catch the SpiritOur last concert of the season is our SPIRIT concert. We want all of you to Catch our Spirit, and enjoy our last glorious formal concert presentation. To our Board of Directors, our talented vocal musicians, our hard-working staff, and to you, our contributors, audience, friends and family, we thank you for all you do to make TMC one of the premier vocal performing organizations in the Washington, DC area.
Share the Vision, Enjoy the Present, Relish the Future, Catch the Spirit. Janis McCollim Gifts and GrantsTThe Metropolitan Chorus is dependent upon contributions from the corporate and business community, as well as grants from governments such as Arlington County and the Virginia Commission for the Arts. However, most of its non-ticket revenue comes from individuals. TMC appreciates your support. We are proud to have an endowment fund and welcome donations designated to help this important fund grow to ensure our future. We are grateful for contributions to our general operating fund, which help make our current concert season possible. If you choose to
contribute through your workplace giving campaign, TMC's designation number
is 8681. Planned giving through estates is another excellent way to provide
support. Thank you for helping to keep the arts alive as a vital part
of our community.
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The final concert of our 2004-2005 season, Spirit!, promises to be a real treat. We’ll be doing the Northern Virginia premiere of James Buonemani’s Missa Miamiensis, first heard in its original version at the Church of the Epiphany in 1994 in Washington, which commissioned the piece to celebrate its 150 th anniversary. Initially written for chorus, piano, organ and soprano saxophone, the work has been revised to include a field drum and other extensive changes over time. The latest version of the work, which TMC will be performing for the first time in the Washington, DC area., was premiered at the American Guild of Organists’ National Convention on July 4, 2004.
Born in Rochester, NY in 1956, James Buonemani’s earliest musical memories were extemporizing at the piano and on the clarinet. He graduated with highest distinction from both the Eastman School of Music and the Westminster Choir College, and has also studied in England at the Royal School of Church Music. Buonemani is currently Organist & Director of Music for St. James’ Church, Los Angeles. 
Morten Lauridsen was born in Colfax, Washington in 1943 and reared in Portland, Oregon by his Swedish immigrant parents. His love of poetry naturally influenced him in the direction of choral music. Since 1990 he has been Chair of the Department of Composition at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music. He also has been Composer-in-Residence with the Los Angeles Master Chorale since 1994. 
State University in Baton Rouge. He died on February 11, 2003, when a brain tumor led to a stroke. 
Dale Adelmann is active as a guest conductor and has conducted choral festivals in numerous cities in the United States. While serving as Organist-Choirmaster of St. Paul’s Cathedral, Buffalo, his choirs sang some 175 choral services and concerts annually and recorded three compact discs for the Pro Organo (Zarex) label. In addition, he has also served as Conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus. His book, The Contribution of Cambridge Ecclesiologists to the Revival of Anglican Choral Worship, 1839-62, is an expansion of his Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Cambridge, England. His arrangements of spirituals and a carol are published by Paraclete Press and Trinitas, respectively. 
At the debut concert of the London Sinfonietta in 1968, John Tavener's dramatic cantata The Whale took its audience by storm and led to Tavener's music being recorded on The Beatles' Apple label. Since that time Tavener has continued to show an originality of concept and an intensely personal idiom, making his a voice quite distinct from those of his contemporaries. His growing interest in the Russian Orthodox Church, which he joined in 1977, marked a significant change in his style of composition. Increasingly, his influences looked back to ancient tradition as he worked towards the creation of an icon in sound. 