Lawrence Academy of Music presents

Academy Girl Choir Concert Saturday December 12, 2015

Academy Young Men’s Chorus, guest artists

TheRhythmof Life

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Established as a not-for-profit community school, the Lawrence

Academy of Music became a certified member of the National Guild

of Community Schools of the Arts in 1983. Today it services more

than 1,600 families throughout Northeast Wisconsin through music

lessons and classes, an Early Childhood music program, youth

ensembles, adult music programs, summer music camps, and the

Girl Choir program.

Learn more at go.lawrence.edu/academy

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ADMINISTRATIONBrian Pertl, dean, Lawrence University Conservatory of Music

Karen Bruno, director, Lawrence Academy of Music

Anne Powling, youth ensembles coordinator

Cheryl Boyle, registrar

Theresa Shifflett, program and marketing assistant

LAWRENCE ACADEMY OF MUSICStreet address:100 West Water Street

Appleton WI 54911

Mailing address:711 East Boldt Way

Appleton, WI 54911-5699

920-832-6632

acad_music @lawrence.edu

go.lawrence.edu/academy

go.lawrence.edu/academy-girlchoir

Like Us: www.facebook.com/lawrenceacademy

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSAppleton East High School Choirs

David Been

The Crafty Penguin

First English Lutheran Church

Carol Foust

Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

Gail Heiks

Gordon Lind

Mark Merrifield

Jon Meyer

Michelle Northey, Flower Girl Design Studio

David Powling

Mark Scheffler

Jason Weijola

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GIRL CHOIR HISTORY

January 1991: The Lawrence Academy Girl Choir was founded for girls in fourth through sixth grade.

September 1991: A training choir for fourth-grade girls was added, creating a sequential Girl Choir.

The original choir expanded to include girls in fifth through seventh grade.

September 1997: Due to the large number of girls who wished to participate, the program expanded in

both directions with the addition of Primo—then third and fourth grade—and Cantabile—then seventh

through ninth grade.

September 1999: The eldest Cantabile singers couldn’t bear to leave the program after ninth grade and

became the founding members of Bel Canto, a choir for high school girls.

September 2007: After waiting several years to fulfill the dream of offering a non-auditioned choir,

the program was able to secure additional rehearsal space. Ragazze, a non-auditioned training choir,

was born.

March 2011: The Girl Choir celebrated its twentieth anniversary and featured alumnae in the combined

choirs’ finale.

September 2013: After attempting a variety of rehearsal structures to accommodate Intermezzo, the

largest choir at 70–80 singers, an additional choir was added. Intermezzo was eliminated and replaced

with two choirs, Capriccio and Arioso.

March 19, 2016: Save the date and plan your visit! The Girl Choir will celebrate its 25th birthday.

Alumnae will be invited to sing as a choir.

MISSION STATEMENT

The Lawrence Academy of Music Girl Choir is the only nonprofit girl choir in the Fox Valley. Through

the study and performance of the highest quality music, the girls develop vocal technique, musical

skills, creativity, expressive artistry and an awareness of various cultures. The Girl Choir creates

an atmosphere that encourages girls to respect the uniqueness of others, to take risks that foster

individual growth and to continue their development into self-assured young women.

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THE CHOIRS

Ragazze: Non-auditioned choir for girls in third through fifth grade. Focuses on healthy vocal production using folk songs and singing games. Performs on spring concert only.

Primo: Auditioned choir for girls in third through fifth grade. Performs on winter and spring concerts.

Allegretto: Auditioned choir for girls in fourth through sixth grade. One additional community performance annually.

Capriccio: Auditioned choir for girls in fifth through seventh grade. One additional community performance annually.

Arioso: Auditioned choir for girls in sixth through eighth grade. One additional community performance annually. One day tour available (optional).

Cantabile: Auditioned choir for girls in eighth through tenth grade. National tour offered biannually (optional). Additional community performances as opportunities arise.

Bel Canto: Auditioned choir for girls in tenth through twelfth grade. Local tours and additional performances as opportunities arise, generally several times per year.

ARTISTIC PERSONNEL

RagazzePatricia Merrifield, teacher

Ann Boeckman, pianist

Gillian Payne, manager

PrimoKarrie Been, teacher

Nell Buchman, pianist and manager

AllegrettoCheryl Meyer, teacher

Janet Erbach, pianist

Karen Bultman, manager

CapriccioToni Weijola, ’01, teacher

Kristin Heiges, ’11, pianist

Heather Urness, manager

AriosoJaclyn Kottman, ’12, teacher

Kristin Heiges ’11, pianist

Lauren Vanderlinden ’17, manager

CantabileDebbie Lind, teacher

Janet Erbach, pianist

Cayla Morton ’15, manager

Bel CantoKaren Bruno, teacher

Nell Buchman, pianist and manager

As a courtesy to the singers and other audience members, please silence all cell phones and refrain from

whispering or rustling paper. Turn off all electronic devices with a screen while the concert is in progress

and refrain from flash photography. Thank you.

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GUEST ARTISTS

Young Men’s ChorusJames Heiks, teacher

David Fisher, ’19, manager

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FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

I am fortunate to have, as of this writing, a grandmother still alive and well. Born in

1919, she experienced first-hand many events we read about in history books—wars,

women’s suffrage, the Great Depression. She was an army nurse in World War II, then

took up a second career as a math teacher while raising two daughters. In retirement,

she traveled, remarried (the man she left to marry my grandfather!), moved to Florida

and then to California and continues to remain physically and mentally active. Her life

has been—and continues to be—an inspiration to me.

Although my life has been very different from hers, there are common experiences that

bind us: family celebrations and holidays, marriage, parenthood and teaching. It got me

to thinking about the rhythms in each of our lives and the ways in which they intersect.

This concert celebrates the events that make our lives whole: births and deaths;

celebrations and milestones; the natural beauty of the earth and its seasons; our daily

interactions and experiences; life plans, struggles, and accomplishments; memories

and tributes. We build community through these shared experiences.

Today we expand our singing community to welcome the Academy’s newest program: the

Young Men’s Chorus. The middle- and high-school boys singing with us today are looking

for the same experiences our girl choir singers enjoy. We are thrilled to welcome them

as today’s guest artists and to the Academy of Music for years to come.

We hope you see some of your own experiences in the rhythms we share today.

On behalf of the singers and staff,

Karen Bruno, artistic director

Lawrence Academy Girl Choir

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Lawrence Academy of Music’s Girl Choir and Young Men’s Chorus present

THE RHYTHM OF LIFESaturday, December 12, 2015 • Lawrence Memorial Chapel

from The Sprig of Thyme Irish Folk Song

1. I know where I’m going arr. John Rutter

One of the things Primo discussed over the course of the semester is the idea that text often drives

the rhythm of a melody. This is certainly true in each of these five verses, the changes which present a

challenge for young singers. Verse three is set with space between the phrases, giving us reason to discuss

why the arranger would set it so differently than the other verses. Notice that the melody of each verse ends

on the second scale degree, which gives it a sense of being incomplete. This mirrors the uncertainty of the

text, “But the dear knows who I’ll marry.”

Dance of the Willow Victoria Ebel-Sabo

(b. 1957)

The lilting vocal melody and buoyant piano accompaniment imaginatively capture the freedom and graceful

movement of a willow blowing in the breeze. The meter is in three, which evokes the sensation of swaying.

In our hectic daily schedules, this song reminds us to take a breath, feel the breeze and gently dance.

A Great Big Sea Newfoundland Folksong

arr. Lori-Anne Dolloff

This song tells the story of a fishing community in Newfoundland, the easternmost province of Canada, whose

economy was affected by an ocean flood. This arrangement proceeds through several keys, rising just as

the water did. The piano accompaniment in verse four incorporates dissonant harmonies to represent the

dire state of the town. Finally, we hear a sense of determination to set off for a better life if conditions didn’t

improve. Each of the verses has a rollicking rhythmic refrain, bringing levity to a time of difficulty.

PRIMO

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The Raggle Taggle Gypsies Scottish Folk Song

arr. Robert I. Hugh

This song is loosely based on the execution of Scottish gypsy chief Johnny Faa in 1624. Under James V of

Scotland, all “gypsies” were ordered out of Scotland in 1540. They were exiled again in 1609. Johnny Faa

and seven others refused to leave and were hanged in 1624. As time progressed, the facts were obscured

and Johnny Faa became John Faa of England. He is in love with Lady Jean Hamilton, wife of the sixth Earl of

Cassilis. While the Earl is attending Westminster Abbey, Lady Hamilton runs away with Faa, who is disguised

as a gypsy. The Earl returns, pursues his wife and the band of gypsies, led by Faa.

As this version evolves, the “lady” abandons her life of luxury for the romantic freedom of the gypsies,

eluding capture and living out her life in tranquility. The ballad’s melody is accompanied by the piano in the

style of a guitar. While learning the song, the singers had several discussions about how different their lives

are from Lady Hamilton, especially in the choices that are available in education, career, travel and leisure.

Joy (adapted from Seligkeit) music by Franz Schubert

(1797–1828)

new text by Harold Whitehall

In addition to his well-known lieder, a style of song that conveys a story through text painting and the equal

partnership of voice and piano, Schubert composed songs in the style of folk music using strophic form and

simple piano accompaniment. In 1816, Schubert set Ludwig Heinrich Hölty’s poem, Seligkeit (Bliss), in this

folk song style.

In today’s performance, the waltzing melody of Seligkeit partners with Harold Whitehall’s poem, Joy. Each

verse suggests where to find joy: in nature; in friendship; in the qualities of honor, truth and beauty. After

first experiencing the music by moving to its melody, the singers explored the rise and fall of the pitches,

the meter of the text, and finding and creating joy in their lives and the world.

from Reflections of Youth Mark Hierholzer (b. 1960)

Red Tail

Red Tail is a song about the red-tailed hawk commonly seen in the Texas hill country. The beauty of the sight

inspires one to consider the nobility and wisdom of the hawk as well as the very laws of nature that reveal a

wisdom deeper than our own. Reflecting on these thoughts, the singers explored answers to some of life’s

questions through what is routinely seen and experienced in life. We hope that you can hear and imagine

the swooping and gliding hawk through the melody and text as the choir sings.

ALLEGRETTO

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Sing With Pleasure George F. Handel

(1685–1759)

ed. and arr. Patrick Liebergen

A joyous and rhythmic piano part sets the tone for this celebratory anthem, inviting all to rejoice with

singing. The interplay between the singers and the piano is one of continuous forward motion, suggestive

of dancers moving gracefully through a progression of steps at a formal Baroque social dance. Singers

considered all types of celebrations and milestones in life: birthdays, holidays, marriages, baby’s first

steps, riding a bicycle, weeklong sleep-away camps, even college acceptance letters. But the singers also

considered the celebrations of day-to-day life: rising to a new day, having healthy bodies, enjoying food and

appreciating friends. If every day is seen as a gift, then gladly we sing with pleasure!

Tuuti, Tuuti Tummaistani music by Charles Collins

text from Kaanteletar, 19th c. Finnish poetry

Hush, hush my little dark one,

Lying in the hush of darkness

By the dark one who gently rocks you

In your dark cradle.

This lullaby is a farewell. It is sung by a peasant mother to her deceased child, wishing for safe passage to

the afterlife. Collins’ setting of the poem includes three repetitions of the poem, layered over an unyielding

undercurrent of eighth notes from the piano. Each repetition adds musical intensity; first the choir sings in

unison, then in a round. Individual parts unfold before the third verse, revealing a tender, mournful scene in

which mother sings to her child, pondering the life that passed away too soon.

Will There Really Be a “Morning”? music by Craig Hella Johnson (b. 1962)

text by Emily Dickinson

Though life can be filled with adversity, hope rises every day with the dawn. Like the daily rising of the sun,

the short melodic theme rises in repetitive fashion, and like the waters of a river, the piano part pours

forth expressively as it ebbs and flows with the tempo. Singers examined the poem and reflected on the

character of the narrator, wondering what inspired the writing of the poem. From this question, singers then

considered how a person can overcome hardships and trials, like separation, disappointment, death and

grief. The answer was found in the conclusion of each verse: “Morning, morning, where does morning lie?”

After the darkness of night, the sun rises, bringing with it the promises of life, light and hope—morning.

CAPRICCIO

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A Girl’s Garden (from Frostiana) music by Randall Thompson (1899–1984)

text by Robert Frost

From the vivid writing of beloved American poet Robert Frost comes a tale of what one young woman was

able to create when given the tools to bring her vision to life. Set to a sprightly accompaniment, the unison

melody tells the tale of a woman who looks back on the time she decided to plant a “one-girl farm.” From

the perspective of a neighbor girl soaking in the wisdom from the woman’s story, the poem takes us through

her year—from finding the courage to ask for the ideal bit of land, to cultivating and tending it herself, to

harvesting her bounty. Arioso singers explored ways in which they were inspired to use the strength of their

own arms and voices to bring their ideas to fruition.

Ahi che si parti (Ah, Must We Part) Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643)

arr. Owen Goldsmith

Ah, must we part, beautiful sun whom I adore.

Why do you want to leave me, my sun?

Ah, do not go, my heart,

For if you leave me, you will leave me dying.

You would deny me your bright rays

That sweeten my sorrow and torment.

This song is a musical expression of what can be one of the most difficult experiences in life: saying

goodbye to someone we love. Rising and falling, moving from major to minor, from canon to unison and

back again, sighing lines give voice to the heartache that can come with parting. In stark contrast to the

intertwining melodies that often move in opposite directions between the three voices, the unison ending of

each section sounds lonely yet also reminds us that we all experience loss.

Sing a Song of Sixpence Michael D. Mendoza (b. 1944)

How fitting for middle schoolers to tackle a piece that turns a childhood nursery rhyme completely on

its head! Mendoza’s setting reinvents the sing-song children’s tune with sudden melodic turns, complex

rhythms and fighting meters. Much like the unexpected turns we encounter in our own lives, what once

seemed so simple has become just the opposite. Rests and accents on unexpected beats throw us off

balance, singers who carried the upper part earlier in the song suddenly find themselves on the bottom

of the harmonies, the rollicking accompaniment bounces us along and then turns on a dime to fight the

singers’ rhythms and altered scale degrees—like turning the reliably familiar leading tone “ti” into its

unstable-sounding flat counterpart “te”—leave the melody feeling (literally) unresolved until we finally arrive

at our triumphant finish.

ARIOSO

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Savory, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Folk Song from British Columbia

arr. Donald Patriquin (b. 1938)

Cayla Morton, temple block

This Canadian folksong was originally an English ballad from the North Yorkshire town of Scarborough, a

harbor town along the North Sea. Scarborough Faire was an actual agricultural and craftsman fair originating

in Medieval times, during the mid-1200s. The more well-known ballad, Scarborough Fair, tells the tale of a

young man who instructs the listener to send a message to his former love to perform for him a series of

impossible tasks, such as buying him an acre of land between the ocean and the seashore and plowing

it with one ram’s horn. But then the woman sends back a message of equally impossible tasks, such as

making her a shirt without any seams or needlework and washing it where water never flowed since the

earth was made. What is the purpose of the back-and-forth banter between the two lovers? Is it scorn-filled

sarcasm? Romantic flirtation? Provocative dares? The 6/8 meter, or tree swing meter, helps to accentuate

the back-and-forth, back-and-forth teasing mood of the song. The tempo moves so swiftly, however, that

Cantabile has renamed it the “skipping race meter.” Finally, the herbs are not selected just to aid the song’s

rhythm. These Medieval herbs carried strong symbolism: savory (parsley) cleansed bitterness of digestion,

and thus of life; sage was to give wisdom and strength; rosemary was used in wedding bouquets; and

thyme was a sign of love and courage.

Tundra music by Ola Gjeilo (b. 1978)

text by Charles A. Silvestri

Cayla Morton, soprano

Ola Gjeilo wrote this music as an effort to describe part of his native Norway that is very dear to him: the

Hardangervidda mountain plateau, located in the mountains between Oslo and Bergen. This area is vastly

barren, icy, and intensely beautiful. He claims it is easy to feel one is treading on sacred land when there.

The lyrics, sung by the soloist, express this:

Wide, worn, and weathered, sacred expanse of green and white and granite gray;

Snowy patches strewn, anchored to the craggy earth, unmoving;

While clouds dance across the vast eternal sky.

Not encumbered by text, the choir sings almost entirely on “Oh,” enhancing the image of endless,

relentless, wide-open space. Without quick rhythms, obvious breaths, or consonants to interrupt the sound,

the choral lines create a stunning, mysterious tableau. Consider listening to this song with your eyes closed,

drinking in the sound.

CANTABILE

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Tambur Old Hungarian Dancing Song

arr. Lajos Bardos (1899–1986)

A Tambur is a drum, etymologically related to the tambourine. “Andandori” is a nonsense word that

describes the tambur’s rhythmic sound. The cimbalom is a stringed instrument that looks like a hammered

dulcimer and makes a “tzin-tzini-tzin” sound. The bass drum booms “dzuma-dzum-boom” and the pipe sings

“tu-lu-lu-lu-loom” … at least that is what the singers think! They also sing of true love, roses fresh from

the garden, clasping hands and stepping sprightly, sighing, yearning and wooing and of love’s ultimate joy

forever. Faster and faster and faster they sing to keep up with their beating hearts! And so a little movement

is a must.

CANTABILE AND YOUNG MEN’S CHORUS

Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder Chain Gang Song

arr. Robert De Cormier

Alice Parker, a well-known American composer and conductor, suggests that every piece of music be

approached by asking the question: is this music driven by rhythm or pitch? She goes even further by

having singers create a relationship between the music and dance. How would you dance the piece? What

is your body’s relationship to the floor? Does it call for steady stomps, or floating leaps? Rainbow ’Round My

Shoulder, an authentic chain gang song, asks for heavy boots on the ground, driven by a steady, pounding,

angry beat.

She Moved Through the Fair Irish Ballad

arr. Timothy C. Takach

This Irish love song requires almost the exact opposite approach to the melody as did Rainbow ’Round My

Shoulder. This “pitch piece” floats as if gravity didn’t matter. The melody is driven not by a steady beat, but

rather by the fluidity of the text, requiring the chorus to feel the push and pull of the phrases. The singers

must become one voice connected by a common understanding of the poetic text.

YOUNG MEN’S CHORUS

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Sto Mi E Milo Macedonian Folk Song

collected and arr. Ethel Raim

Oh, how I’d like to have a shop in Struga! “Hey, girl! Hey, Kalina!” To have a shop in Struga,

where I can sit at the front of the store and watch the Struga girls go by with their colorful

water jugs on the way to the cold stream to meet with their friends there.

“The folk vocal traditions of music from Bulgaria, Macedonia and southeast Europe are those of fellowship

and play through singing. The repertoire in the folk realm is generally all women singing together, or all men

singing together; rarely both. The text is completely secondary to the primary element in group singing of

this repertoire: the sonic experience of close harmonies locking together. There is something visceral and

utterly satisfying about this kind of music when sung with the correct energy and tonal concept.”

—Daniel Hughes

from So Many Voices Stephen Hatfield (b. 1956)

Family Tree

Take a Step

The suite So Many Voices was commissioned by a group of schools to honor the women who were teachers

and guides to the present generation. The composer, Tsur Mishelo Achalnu, writes:

No more heroic example of female mentorship can be found than in the experience of

immigrant mothers, caught between two worlds and anxious that their daughters benefit

from opportunities in the new country without losing touch with the birthright of their

ancestral culture. Family Tree is in a way a duet for great-great-grandmother and great-great-

granddaughter … The daughter’s melody is adapted from Ev Chistr ‘Ta Laou!, a song from

Breton often used at weddings. The grandmother’s lullaby has a melody that appears in the

Sephardic plyyut (religious song).

Take a Step, whose melody was also inspired by Sephardic tradition, begins with a young mother talking to

her baby daughter in an immigrant neighborhood. By the end of the piece, we realize that the mother is now

an old woman. Hatfield writes:

As the years and generations telescope into a single moment, she sees every young

woman who passes as both herself and her daughter, for she realizes that through her

own struggles she has advanced them all.

Through the study of these songs, Bel Canto girls explored the rhythms of generations. The lives of

our grandmothers and our own lives are so different and yet so similar: we have hopes for ourselves,

expectations of our culture and society, and decisions to make about who we wish to be in the world.

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The Lord is My Shepherd (Psalm 23) Schubert

Schubert wrote this piece for women’s choir in 1820, although it was not published until 1832, four years

after his death. This composition came at a difficult period in his life. In 1820, Schubert wrote two major

works, Die Zwillingsbrüder, a singspiel, and Die Zauberharfe, a melodrama. While critics thought the music

beautiful, neither work had significant plots, causing each to be withdrawn from the theatre after only a few

performances. In addition, he traveled in a circle of students who were under constant police surveillance. A

friend of Schubert’s was arrested while they were together, and Schubert received a warning for “maliciously

reviling the authorities.”

Bel Canto singers noted that the music has a sense of calmness that mirrors the text of the psalm. Further,

the piano accompaniment is steady and constant, and almost always contains triplets (possibly signifying

the divine) while the singers sing in duple rhythms (possibly representing humanity). The piano part

generally supports—and sometimes doubles—the vocal lines, which may be another way in which Schubert

musically portrayed the meaning of the text.

BEL CANTO

How Can I Keep from Singing Rev. Robert Lowry

arr. Robert I. Hugh

“My life flows on in endless song …” is a perfect way to conclude a concert about the rhythms of life. This

simple, pentatonic melody is beautifully paired with Amazing Grace near the end of the song. Whether our life’s

song is harmonious or dissonant, music “sounds an echo in [our] soul.” How can we keep from singing?

COMBINED CHOIRS

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PRIMOElla BaumanGianna BayClaire BenzElianna CoussonsRowan CruzTaylor DavisMadelyn DillenburgLucy DollevoetAshlyn DoranJenna DugalJulia Gurholt

Hailie HerronVivienne HoltienJenna HooymanKeira JahnerCaroline JiaAbigail KallioElana LaceyLola LevinAnna LindsayVictoria LopezGreta Melzl

Alexia NelsonGreta NolteAmelia O’LearyElizabeth OsorioElena OwensMihret PattersonGrace PetersHannah RadtkeTalia RoselaarNevaeh Roug-SchmitzBreanna Schilling

Eva SchmidtAurora SmithKaren SomersLydia SoremMolly StonelakeElsa ThielGracie TuckerAbigail WintersJocelyn WittkopfLily Yaun

CAPRICCIONora AustinMaria BenzAbbey BernardBailey BidwellCarly BomierHannah BrownReese BrunetteWilla CarmanHaili CaseyRosie CobbJessica CuffEleanora DaneColette Ferguson-Roug

Solara GomezEllie GregersenAlice HarkeElizabeth HartmanElla HeiksEmily HodsonLola HuntEmma HuntleyClaire HydeMadison KneislerTéa KoehlerSarah LongMadeleine McDermott

Nola McDonaldTatum ModersonKarina MoseKoryn MouaKatie PheeHannah PitterleDrew PollardChelsea PoppletonEmma ReisMaya RuffoloJenna SabrowskyKellin ScheelLauren Stefl

Colleen TeboAvianna ThyssenDanika TrzebiatowskiGillian UlrichAnnika UrnessAbigail Van ElzenEleanor Van NulandClara VandeHeyAnna VechartEleanor VogelSamantha Jo WhiteClaire WileyRose Williams

ALLEGRETTOMorgan AldanaRenna AmaralSophia BaumanHailey BayIsabelle BestulMadison ChangMillie CislerAlanna DehnGrace DollevoetMaria Draves

Eliza DuimstraKatherine HellerAbriel HooymanTrinity InmanLydia JohnsonCaroline KiesnowskiKeira KnuppelZoe KrausMichaela KrisherPaige Marcoe

Leah McElhaneyLinnea OlsonElisabeth OwensElaina PlankeyEmma RademakerMadison RechnerOlivia RechnerAnya RiabovElla RyanMara Schell

Eva SchneiderLauren SchneiderKaylee TrzebiatowskiSophie Van StippenAudrey VogelShanice WarigiKatherine WarnerMeredith WestonSusan Yao

CHOIRS

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YOUNG MEN’S CHORUSAlex ArbaughNicholas BauerMauricio BentleyBenjamin BomierDaniel BomierMichael BrayNathan Campshure

Hunter CookPeter DuimstraSpencer EatonConnor FoustWilliam HansenJames KellermanMatthew Knick

Seth KohlbeckMiles KubickiAaron LeschkeNathan LeschkeDrake MooreTim RauschJack Russell

David SalazarPaul SchaeferAustin SchwartzNicholas StanJackson VendolaHunter Wohlrabe-Fritsch

BEL CANTOElena AnderlaRachel BascueEmily BeenJulia BennerIsabelle BlankHannah BorchertZoe BossertChloe CelsorCorrina CzarnikAbby DollevoetEleanor Erbach

Phoebe FrantzHaley GablerImogen GillardPaige GleasonClaire GorgesEmma HagerEmalie HartleyMadeline HassTess HurleyAlyssa JansenJenna Keller

Katharina KellerLaura KelleyValerie LambertMeg LehmanAshley MarcusenElizabeth MoranAnna OlsonGillian PayneColette PollardMcKenna SeegersEmma Simon

Lena SimonRachel SinaAime SkroberAshley SmithJulia SomaJordyn UlmanAlaina VerstegenFiona VillacaRachel WestraHannah WolfrathBethany Zoch

CANTABILEEllie Grace BernierLily BirschbachClaire BoldtGrace BrinkmannClara BrownKhloe CaseyAlana ChristenGeena CoffeyHaley CorcoranAshley Evans

Emma FrederickEmilie GilliganGrace GollnickOlivia GroenewoldAlyssa KellerHolly KrabbeMakenna KrausCamryn MaesEmmalee MindockGabrielle Mitchell

Lucy MorrisEmma NolteClare NortheyJacy OlszewskiJulia PengraziChloe PetersonSydney PittnerAnna RettlerClaire SawallElizabeth Schulz

Maria SernaSteph SerratoClaire SlocumKathryn StonesmythEmily TeschSamantha WellsAlayna WernerMarilee WilliamsonCarrie Willson

ARIOSOPippa AustinAshley AuthementIrysa BauerKate BerneckerKayla BooksMollie BrackettJane BrinkmannKaitlyn BubolzCharlotte BuchmanMadelyn CareyBree Casey

Maya CorcoranLauren DoneyLaura EsselmanSophie FellingerAbigail GentzElsa HarveyBrianna HauserAlisha JahnkeSigrid LokensgardRuby March-TormeAbby Moard

Claire MotenClaire OlsonMadison PriceSophie Quick-LaughlinJenna QuinnCaitlin ScheelTessa SchreiterIsabella SierraKate SlesarClaudia SmithBethany Steenbock

MaKayla StrohmeyerMadison Irwin TetzlaffAlyssa Van DomelenEmmaline Van DykeMayLynn VangRachel VogelKelsey WadleighMoriah WebsterChloe Zering

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BIOGRAPHIES

Patricia Merrifield, who teaches Ragazze singers, teaches elementary general music in the

Appleton Area School District and frequently serves Lawrence University’s Conservatory as a

cooperating teacher. She is currently co-teaching a Lawrence class in recorder and guitar

methods for music education majors. Merrifield holds a Bachelor of Music from Michigan

State University and teaching certification and master’s degree in music education with a

Kodály emphasis from Silver Lake College. Before entering the field of teaching, she worked

in orchestra management for the Phoenix, Ariz. and Fairfax, Va. Symphony Orchestras. Merrifield is a past

Board member of the Association of Wisconsin Area Kodály Educators (AWAKE), has co-chaired the AWAKE

Singing Games Festival and is a member of the Wisconsin School Music Association and Music Educator’s

National Conference.

Karrie Been, who teaches Primo singers, graduated from Carroll College (University) with a

Bachelor of Science in music education and earned her Master of Music in music education

with a Kodály emphasis from Silver Lake College. She is currently the general and vocal

music instructor at Woodland and Mapleview Intermediate Schools in Kimberly, where she

also serves as curriculum coordinator for the district’s general and choral music staff.

Previously, Been taught in Franklin, Wisc., teaching elementary music, middle and high

school choirs and worked as the orchestra conductor for the high school’s musical theatre productions. She

was the founding chair of the Association of Wisconsin Area Kodály Educators (AWAKE) Children’s Choir

Festival and served on the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association choir festival committee. She is a member

of the Wisconsin School Music Association, American Choral Director’s Association and Music Educator’s

National Conference. She has served Lawrence University’s Conservatory of Music and St. Norbert College,

working as cooperating teacher and practicum adviser. Been and her husband both sing with newVoices,

formerly the White Heron Chorale..

Cheryl Meyer, who teaches Allegretto singers, received her Bachelor of Music from

UW–Madison. She joined the Academy as a conductor in the Girl Choir Program in 1992,

the first full year of the Academy Girl Choir program. A vocal music specialist with the

Appleton Area School District, Meyer is an advocate for the Comprehensive Musicianship

through Performance (CMP) method of teaching. She is a frequent cooperating teacher and

practicum teacher for Lawrence Conservatory students and is currently co-teaching a class

in recorder and guitar methods for music education majors.

As a member of the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association (WCDA), Meyer has conducted Singing in

Wisconsin youth choirs, presented sessions and choirs at state conventions and served as Children’s

Choir Repertoire and Standards Chair. She is also a member of the Wisconsin Music Educators Conference

(WMEA) and the Organization of Kodály Educators, serving as a past conductor of the AWAKE Youth Honor

Choir. Currently an adjudicator for the Wisconsin School Music Association, Meyer also conducts the Camp

Choir during the Academy of Music’s residential summer band camp.

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Toni K. Weijola, who teaches the Capriccio singers, is an alumna of Lawrence University

with a Bachelor of Music in choral and general music education and vocal performance.

She also holds a Master of Music in music education with a Kodály emphasis from

Silver Lake College. Weijola is an elementary music teacher with the Appleton Area School

District and collaborates regularly with Lawrence as a cooperating teacher for future music

educators. A member of Wisconsin Music Educators Association (WMEA), Wisconsin

Choral Directors Association (WCDA) and the Association of Wisconsin Area Kodály Educators (AWAKE),

she is also an advocate for the Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance (CMP) model of teaching.

As an active musician and educator in the Fox Valley, she has previously served as conducting intern with

the Girl Choir program, taught with the conducting staff of the Appleton Boychoir, conducted private studio

instruction in voice and served as soprano section leader with the newVoices choir. Weijola continues

to sing with newVoices and, with her husband, currently co-leads the music and worship ministry at

their church.

Jaclyn Kottman, who teaches Arioso singers, previously served as a manager and

conducting intern with all three middle and high school Academy Girl Choirs. Kottman

graduated from Lawrence University with a Bachelor of Music in choral and general

music education and a minor in religious studies. She has taught in New Zealand,

Costa Rica, Appleton and Boston. She is currently teaching choral music in the Appleton

Area School District at Einstein Middle School, Classical School and North High School

and teaches voice through the Lawrence Academy of Music. Kottman is a member of the Wisconsin Music

Educators Association (WMEA), the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), the Sigma Alpha Iota

music fraternity and is the recipient of Lawrence University’s Pi Kappa Lambda Award for excellence in

music education.

Debbie Lind, wwho teaches Cantabile singers, is a graduate of the University of Nebraska–

Lincoln with a Bachelor of Music in education, vocal and instrumental. In June, 2011,

she retired from 25 years of teaching vocal and choral music in the Appleton Area School

District, having served most recently as choral music director at Appleton East High School.

She taught in Omaha, Neb., and Schofield, Wis., before coming to Appleton.

Lind has been a clinician for the Wisconsin School Music Association and a guest

conductor for WCDA’s Singing in Wisconsin. She has been actively involved in church music as a choral

director, accompanist and singer throughout her career. She is a member of the Voicecare Network,

Wisconsin Music Educators Association (WMEA) and the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association (WCDA).

Lind has worked and continues to work with future and new music educators as a cooperating teacher, a

practicum advisor and a mentor for the AASD new teacher mentoring program.

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James Heiks, who teaches singers in the Young Men’s Chorus, taught choral music in

Appleton, Wis. public schools for 30 years. During those years he started a men’s singing

movement in the high schools resulting in Varsity Men’s Choruses of 80–90 voices in each

school. He is also a founder of the Appleton Boychoir, established in 1979.

In 1987 he led the Appleton Boychoir on a Mission of Peace to the former Soviet Union.

In 1997 he received the Kohl Fellowship for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching from

Sen. Herb Kohl and was nominated for Wisconsin Teacher of the Year. In 1998 he was awarded Outstanding

Teacher in Wisconsin by Lawrence University. His high school choirs have won critical acclaim for their

compact disc recordings and are featured along with choirs from around the globe on the Best of High

School a cappella CD released in 2003 by Varsity Vocals. From 2004–07 he served as associate professor

of music at Goshen College in Indiana where he directed the Goshen College Choral and Men’s Chorus.

Since 2007, he has served as Fine Arts Coordinator for the Appleton Public Schools and adjunct professor

of music at Lawrence University.

Karen Bruno, who teaches Bel Canto singers, is the artistic director of the Girl Choir

program. She received the Bachelor of Arts from Smith College, a teaching certificate

from Lawrence University’s Conservatory of Music, and the Master of Music from

Boston University. She has taught choral music in the Appleton and Oshkosh school

districts, and at an international school in Senegal, West Africa. Bruno has been a guest

speaker and adjunct faculty member for Lawrence Conservatory music education classes

and has served as both cooperating and practicum teacher for students from Lawrence and St. Norbert

College. She is currently the director of the Lawrence Academy of Music.

Bruno has conducted the South Dakota All-State Children’s Choir, numerous regional honor choirs, and is

a past staff member of the Wisconsin School Music Association’s Treble Honor Choir. She served for six

years as the repertoire and standards chair for Children and Community Youth Choirs in the North Central

Division of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), is a member of the VoiceCare Network, and

serves on the committee advocating the Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance (CMP) method

of teaching. Bruno is a two-time recipient of WCDA’s Five-Star Award, a recipient of Lawrence University’s

Pi Kappa Lambda award for excellence in music education, is a Rotary Scholarship Award winner, and was

recognized by the Danbury (CT) Music Centre for providing outstanding musical opportunities for youth in

the United States. Under her tutelage, Bel Canto was awarded Second Place in the national American Prize

competition and has performed, by audition, on state and divisional conventions of choral conductors.

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Arioso Mini-Tour to MilwaukeeSaturday, October 24, 2015

Clinic with Miriam Altman, experience Tokwe dance and drumming

Allegretto sings at First English Lutheran ChurchSunday, November 15, 2015

10:30 a.m. service

Bel Canto sings at Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist FellowshipSunday, November 22, 2015

10:45 a.m. service

tutti Online FundraiserDecember 3–14, 2015

www.biddingforgood.com/lamtutti

Purchase holiday gifts and support Academy tuition assistance

Cantabile sings at Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist FellowshipSaturday, January 23, 2016

4:30 p.m. service

Girl Choir 25th Anniversary ConcertSaturday March 19, 2016, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Alumnae choir rehearsal Saturday, March 19, 10 a.m.–noon

To receive event information: go.lawrence.edu/academy-alum

Cantabile Tour to New York CityApril 1–4, 2016

Carnegie Hall performance Sunday, April 3, 2016

Auditions for 2016–17April 2016 (watch for registration material in February or March)

go.lawrence.edu/academy-girlchoir

Young Men’s Chorus ConcertSunday, April 10, 2016

With Appleton Boychoir: info@appletonboychoir.com

Lawrence Memorial Chapel