Opus 7: In Search of America

John Stafford Smith — The Star-Spangled Banner
Leonard Bernstein — "America" from West Side Story
Andrew Lippa — I Believe in Democracy
Lloyd Pfautsch — A Litany for America
Stephen Paulus — Hymn for America
Irving Berlin — Got Bless America
John Muehleisen — Salut au Monde
Randall Thompson — Woe unto them
Charles B. Griffin — Don't treat me as a stranger
Charles Ives — Psalm 90 "Lord thou hast been our dwelling place"
Randall Thompson — The Peaceable Kingdom
Walter Robinson — Harriet Tubman
Traditional — Cindy
Carol Barnett — Selected works
Kathleen McGuire — Selected works
Greg Lyne — Selected works
Peter J. Wilhousky — Selected works
Aaron Copland — Selected works
Traditional — Battle Hymn of the Republic (John Brown's Body)

Elisabeth Ellis, piano
David Nichols, organ & piano
Gunnar Folsom, percussion
Rob Tucker, percussion
Loren W. Pontén, artistic director

John Stafford Smith – The Star-Spangled Banner (arr. Lloyd Pfautsch)
Leonard Bernstein – “America” from West Side Story (1957)
Andrew Lippa – “I Believe in Democracy” from Sing Out, Mr. President (2011)
Lloyd Pfautsch – “A Litany for America” from Songs of Experience (1977)
Stephen Paulus – Hymn for America (2004)
Irving Berlin – God Bless America (1918/1938, arr. Dr. Greg Lyne)
Battle Hymn of the Republic (1862, arr. before 1940, arr. Peter J. Wilhousky)
John Muehleisen – Salut au Monde (2006, rev. 2018)

Intermission

Randall Thompson – “Woe unto them” from The Peaceable Kingdom (1935)
Charles B. Griffin – “Don't treat me as a stranger” from The Dome of the Sky (2002)
Charles Ives – Psalm 90 “Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place” (1923-24)
Randall Thompson – The Peaceable Kingdom (1935)
Walter Robinson – Harriet Tubman (1977; arr. 2017 Kathleen McGuire)
Trad. – Cindy (1991, arr. Carol Barnett)
Aaron Copland – “The Promise of Living” from The Tender Land (1952-1954)

What does it mean to be an American?
What is a patriot?
What defines a “hero”?

National award-winning Opus 7 Vocal Ensemble explores these thought-provoking questions in a celebratory concert of musical Americana: traditional patriotic and historical songs, folksongs, spirituals, musical theater, light opera, and even barbershop! Composers include Aaron Copeland, Irving Berlin, Stephen Paulus, and Carol Barnett, and others.

Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday will be celebrated with a performance of his iconic look at immigration in “America” from West Side Story, while Charles Griffin’s Don’t Treat Me as a Stranger, for choir and percussion, poses the question “Who is my brother, my sister?”

Two major American choral works form the centerpiece of the concert: Charles Ives’s Psalm 90 “Lord thou hast been our dwelling place,” for choir, organ, and percussion, and the West Coast premiere of John Muehleisen’s setting of Walt Whitman’s epic poem Salut au Monde (Greetings to the World) – the American poet's timely, border-blurring homage to the universal bond between all humanity.

Tickets: $20 general admission, $40 preferred seating (in advance); $24 at the door

 

About Opus 7

http://opus7.org/