Making Music Soar
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This week chorale-member and Maine Music Society board member Karen McArthur takes us to Broadway for the song “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from the musical Carousel (which is set in a Maine coastal town). Karen tells us about her choice this way: “Growing up in a musical family, there have been 3 constants in my life: Handel, Britten and Broadway musicals. Robert Shaw is as likely to be mentioned in dinner conversation as Zero Mostel. Random moments in life tend to break out in related songs. Music is there supporting me through hard times and easy. As such, I offer this video.” This song about the importance of hope in difficult times seems especially appropriate to our current hard times.
Karen McArthur plays several roles in the Maine Music Society, singing alto in both the Chorale and the Chamber Singers and also serving on the Board of Directors. Karen, who works as a senior computer systems/infrastructure administrator at Bates College, lives in Lewiston where her multi-generational household includes her mother Barbara, her husband Brad, son Kevin and daughter Kiera, as well as two cats and a dog. In addition to singing, her hobbies and activities include sewing (costumes and quilting), crocheting, house renovations, and volunteering at church.
Link: youtu.be/RMpZl9751Mo
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In this week when the Maine Music Society Chorale will gather for the first time since last February – a Zoom meeting with our new director, Rick Nickerson – chorale-member Christine Koch is sharing two versions of the song “How Can I Keep From Singing?” Christine explains her choice this way: “In September, Maine Music Society will not be able to come together to do what we love so well, to sing beautiful music together. While it is disappointing, and we miss making music together, we know that music is everywhere at our fingertips. I don’t know about you, but I’m singing every day, and this piece reflects power, love and longing, and the weaving of music and humanity that I find so compelling. I heard it performed live by Pete Seeger once at the St. Lawrence River, and it made me weep and smile at the same time. I offer that version first. It was also arranged for the New York City Virtual Choir and Orchestra in a more joyful sounding version (but I still like Pete’s quietly heartfelt one better).”
Christine, who lives in South Portland, sings alto in the Maine Music Society Chorale. She taught in elementary classrooms for years and then became a literacy specialist in Scarborough. She now volunteers to tutor new Mainers in English and works with Welcoming the Stranger, a group that mentors immigrants from around the world. She also volunteers at Portland Adult Ed, teaching English, citizenship (civics and history) and math. When she is not engaging in her main passions, tutoring and singing, Christine likes to garden, hike, swim, and to cook and bake for others.
Links: youtu.be/B4nKrFLQiE0
youtu.be/VLPP3XmYxXg
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Oh, Christine, that Pete Seeger version takes me right back to when Jon and Emily were little! 😍😍
This week, chorale member Jack Howard is sharing one of his favorite pieces of music, “In Paradisum” from Faure’s Requiem. Jack says that this piece “always makes me happy. It is so gently evocative of serene bliss, like a perfect afternoon in your favorite spot. Literally, paradise. Whenever things become unsettling, listening to ‘In Paradisum’ restores a sense of calm and well-being.” It seems like a perfect choice for these unsettling times!
Jack, who sings bass in the Maine Music Society Chorale, is retired after serving in the Navy onboard a nuclear submarine and then providing engineering and program management assistance to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for numerous research programs. He and his wife Pat (who also sings in the Chorale) live on Hobbs Pond in Norway, Maine. In addition to singing, his favorite activities include reading, history, and genealogy.
Link: youtu.be/k0g5RsYT9Ro
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I am so happy for you and Pat that you have found your niche.
This week we have a new virtual performance from our own Maine Music Society Chamber Singers. “Chains” is a song that the whole chorale performed in our May 2017 Carole King/James Taylor concert. When the pandemic interrupted, the Chamber Singers were working on a program to perform in May at a fundraiser at John Corrie’s church. As the Chamber Singers explain, “We – along with every singer in every choral group worldwide – were crushed when the lockdown occurred and our concert was cancelled. It’s been truly heartbreaking to have our singing lives so abruptly and completely halted! To make up for the loss in at least a small part, we’ve been working on creating some virtual choir recordings. It’s not as satisfying as actually singing together, but it’s better than nothing. It’s also a lot harder than it looks! … The doo-wop classic Chains, … would have ended our program. Stay tuned for some future surprise offerings! We gotta keep singin’!”
Link: youtu.be/tjolyOFpJvA
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Wonderful! Miss you all!
Wonderful!
This week, we return to classical music with a performance of “Out of the Deep” from John Rutter’s Requiem. This music has deep personal meaning for chorale-member Valerie Saurer, who is sharing it with us: “I first sang with a chorus in December of 2001. I was grieving the recent death of my partner of 11 years, and mostly doing it alone. One Sunday afternoon I wandered into a local church for a Messiah sing-along. I knew how to read music, so I grabbed a book, found a chair, and sang along. It was wonderful! For two hours, as I stumbled over the sight-reading and did my best to sing, I forgot all about my sorrow. That afternoon was so healing that I joined the local community chorus, and every week, two hours of rehearsal at a time, my broken heart healed. In my first year or two of singing, the chorus arranged to sing John Rutter’s Requiem at Carnegie Hall in New York City, under the direction of John Rutter himself.… Singing in that space under such an accomplished and legendary conductor was the most thrilling moment of my musical career. Even more meaningful, though, was the fact that Rutter’s Requiem is a funeral mass. Throughout the process of preparing and performing this piece, I was very conscious of the death that had led me to this moment in time. I sang this Requiem for him. This second movement, ‘Out of the Deep,’ best captures the depth of my grief…. As a bonus, it also helped me to discover the richness of the lower levels of my vocal range, my favorite notes to sing.”
Valerie continues to explore the richness of her lower vocal range by singing tenor in the Maine Music Society chorale. She is happily retired after a varied career as a bookkeeper, janitor, cashier, call center agent, cook, and teacher. She lives with her cat, Xena the Warrior Kitty, in the woods of Naples, Maine, in a camper with no running water. In addition to singing, she enjoys cooking, reading, sewing, and puttering. She notes that she also spends a lot of time stacking firewood and carrying water, and says that this “keeps me humble.”
Link: youtu.be/JoOPG4eloPs
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Love this piece! Thanks, Valerie!
Thanks to Valerie for sharing such a deeply personal story. I sang the Rutter Requiem in high school and it remains one of my all-time favorites. 💗
I loved this Valerie Saurer...what a wonderful healing experience ((❤))
Loved reading this, my friend. ❤
Wonderful write up!💕
You're so wonderful!! ❤
This week, chorale member and former Board president Connie Hitchcock is inviting us to enjoy the Blues, specifically a performance of “The Thrill is Gone” by B.B. King and Luciano Pavarotti. Connie notes that “Even though I like to sing the classics, I prefer to relax with the sound of Blues/Jazz mellow instrumentals. I find myself tuning in to YouTube’s Relax Café Music as I read or work on files for MMS. However, I did find this unique combination: Pavarotti and BB King -The Thrill is Gone. Hope you get a kick out of it too.”
Connie has been singing soprano in the Maine Music Society chorale since 2012 and is also a charter member of the Chamber Singers. She has been an active member of the Maine Music Society Board of Directors almost as long as she has been singing in the chorale, and she just completed a five-year term as Board president.
Connie, a retired school librarian, is a native of Lewiston and a graduate of the University of Maine. After decades in which work took them to live and raise two sons in Massachusetts, Montreal, and New Jersey, she and her husband Bob returned to Lewiston in retirement. In addition to singing, Connie enjoys gardening, swimming, kayaking, snowshoeing, reading, knitting, and word and math puzzles. During the pandemic, she has been working on getting her fingers loosened to be able to play some of her old favorites on the ivories.
Link: youtu.be/xE_NEO2UfBQ
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Miss you and your lovely voice.
Wow, Connie! Never knew BB King ever doubled with with Pavorrotti - fantastic!!
Very talented and busy...
Very talented lady!
Good one Connie! Thanks!
Awesome!
This week we turn to folk music, with Joan Baez’s rendition of the Bob Dylan song, “Forever Young.” This piece is being shared by chorale member Jane Morse who says, “Joan Baez was my musical hero starting in the 1970s. At twelve years of age, in the middle of the folk song craze, I learned to play the guitar and soon attended my first Joan Baez concert. I bought a Baez song book and learned many of her songs, including one of my favorites, Forever Young…. Nearly fifty years later I still perform this song with my guitar!”
Jane Morse sings alto (and occasionally tenor) in the Maine Music Society Chorale. She has also sung in an a capella group named Vocal Solution for over 23 years. She loves all kinds of music and plays guitar, ukulele, piano (a bit) and is currently learning to play the mandolin. She recently retired from a 42-year career in education as a teacher and administrator with the Oxford Hills School District. She continues to direct the choir at the Waterford Congregational Church and to work part time for Maine Behavioral Health.
Jane lives with her husband Peter in Waterford, Maine, except in summers when they are in Phippsburg. Their family also includes daughter Kelsey, son-in-law Mike, and grandchildren Owyn and Ivy. When Jane isn’t engaged in musical pursuits, she can be found skiing (in winter), at the beach (in summer), or reading (any time of year).
Link: youtu.be/7QRABDOg6fQ
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As we’ve been deprived of in-person choral performances during the pandemic, virtual choirs have come into their own. Composer and conductor Eric Whitacre was creating virtual choir performances long before COVID-19. (One of these was our first post here.) His Virtual Choir 6 performance of “Sing Gently” was just released last week and is being shared with us by chorale member and Virtual Choir 6 participant, Shelley Rau. Shelley explains that “Virtual Choir 6 (VC 6), was launched shortly before the pandemic hit. Then came Covid, the shutting down of most, if not all, choral music groups, and the explosion of participation in VC6. In the end, more than 17,500 singers from 129 countries participated. This number includes at least 7 members of Maine Music Society Chorale, including me! This is my 2nd time participating in one of Whitacre’s projects. The final video … is so moving - even knowing what to expect, I was awed by the scope and sound. Hope you will all enjoy this!”
Shelley Rau has been singing alto in the Maine Music Society Chorale for 37 years. She also sings with the Chamber Singers, and in the past has served on the board and as president of what was then the Androscoggin Chorale Board of Directors. Shelley is a retired occupational therapist who lives in Turner with her husband Rick (also a chorale member). Her family also includes two adult children, their spouses, and two grandchildren. In addition to all things musical, her favorite activities include knitting, quilting, reading, and kayaking.
Link: youtu.be/InULYfJHKI0
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This is amazing! Such a testament to the power of music. It gives me chills, even on a hot, steamy summer day. Thanks to Shelley for sharing this and congratulations to all who participated in VC6.
It was terrifying to submit my video, but so worth the effort! I listen to it often and hope to do another one day.
It was wonderful to participate, and still moves me every time I listen.
This week we turn to the world of popular music, with Carly Simon’s song “Like A River,” a remembrance of her mother from the 1994 album Letters Never Sent. This piece is being shared by chorale member Jean Potuchek who says, “I was first introduced to Carly Simon’s music in the early 1970s and was immediately drawn to her powerful lyrics and her rich contralto voice. Ten years ago, when my mother was dying, I often listened to a boxed set of Carly Simon’s greatest hits during the four-hour drives back and forth to Rhode Island. This song, in particular, brought me comfort.”
Jean Potuchek sings alto with the Maine Music Society chorale. She lives in Poland, Maine where she is keeping out of trouble during the pandemic by spending lots of time working on her perennial garden and on writing about gardening, aging, and the small daily pleasures that bring her happiness.
Link: youtu.be/leQhz8oIYRQ
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Beautiful choice, Jean!
Brings tears to my eyes
This week we return to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for a performance of “The Heavens Are Telling” from The Creation by Franz Josef Haydn. This performance is being shared with us by chorale member Cynthia McGuire, who explains her choice this way: “This is the first piece of classical choral music I ever sang. I was a freshman in high school. From then on, I was hooked on the classics. At one point in my choral career, I performed the soprano solo. … A few years ago, when I was a member of the Colby-Kennebec Choral Society, I finally had the opportunity to sing the entire work. When the performance was over, I remember saying, ‘I wish I could go on tour, and just sing The Creation for the rest of my life.’”
Cynthia McGuire has been a soprano in the Maine Music Society Chorale for several years, and she graced us with her conducting skills on two pieces at our last holiday concert. She is a longtime music teacher who currently teaches part-time at Kennebec Montessori School in Fairfield. In addition to music, she enjoys attending (and occasionally performing in) theatrical performances. She lives in West Gardiner with her husband, Bob.
Link: youtu.be/yTYJm5Ae0Xo
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And I knew Cynthia McGuire when she was a freshman in high school. She is outstanding.
I also sang The Heavens are Telling in high school for District Chorus. Still remember the thrill! 🎼🥰
Love this piece - it has one of the best musical depictions of sunrise - fabulous!
Very nice!
A wonderful musical work. I too first sang this in high school.
This week we celebrate Independence Day with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s performance of Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America.” This selection is being shared by chorale member Randi Cornelio who finds it a source of comfort and inspiration in troubling times. As Randi explains, “Whether listening to it or singing it, this song always brings tears to my eyes. With everything that has been happening in our country lately, it is easy to get caught up in all of the negativity and let it bring us down. It helps to listen to something that reminds us to count our blessings and take a look at the beauty that is all around us.”
Randi, who has been singing alto with the Maine Music Society Chorale since 2018, lives in Turner and has worked as Accounting Director for Continuum Health Services in Lewiston for the past twenty years. When she is not at work, Randi enjoys puzzles, traveling, drawing, photography, and family gatherings with son Peter, daughter Sintija, dogs Brody and Angel, and cats Mitsy, Callie, Mollie, and Skittles.
Link: youtu.be/wZYl0AThQLk
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This week we join the celebration of Black Music Month with a virtual a cappella performance of “Bring Me Little Water, Silvy” by members of our own Maine Music Society Chamber Singers. This song is a favorite of the MMS Chamber Singers, and this virtual rendition was put together by Rick Rau and features body percussion by Carol DiBello.
A division of the MMS Chorale, the 18 voices of the Maine Music Society Chamber Singers delight in singing a cappella, that is, without accompaniment. Formed in 2013, their musical repertoire includes a delightful mix of genres, including Renaissance pieces, madrigals, spirituals, and ballads as well as modern songs by composers such as George Gershwin, the Beatles and Billy Joel. They sing at local events including Naturalization Ceremonies, Twelfth Night Celebrations at the Auburn Foss Mansion, and Battle of the Blends at the Gendron Franco Center. MMS Chamber Singers also had the honor of performing at Governor Mill’s Inaugural Celebration.
For more information about them and the Maine Music Society Chorale check out the MMS website at www.mainemusicsociety.org.
Link: youtu.be/QDZ0nx3w7G8
#MakingMusicSoar #BlackMusicMonth
Great work putting this together! Carol is rock solid on the percussion. I could never do that.
That was awesome!
This week’s selection, provided by Chorale member Cynthia DeSoi, is Shemekia Copeland’s “Ain’t Got Time for Hate.” It is a timely choice because, as Cynthia explains, “This music is incredibly relevant to the increasing recognition of the pain present in our multiracial society. We first heard Shemekia Copeland many years ago, when she was just 19 years old and opening for BB King, and have followed her career ever since. I love the blues, which resonate with me deeply. I love the energy of the music and the way it transforms life's sadness into a lifting of heart…. ‘Ain’t Got Time for Hate,’ her plea for racial justice and understanding, comes from a mother's heart, as she has a young son, but it is universal.”
Cynthia, who sings alto with the Maine Music Society Chorale, is a physician who is transitioning to a position as a Hospice and Palliative care physician for Androscoggin Home Health Care and Hospice after almost thirty years of private practice as a nephrologist. She lives in Greene, Maine, but also spends as much time as possible by the ocean at her family’s second home in Hancock, Maine. In addition to singing and being at the ocean, Cynthia enjoys fiber arts, traveling, gardening, skiing, and being outdoors as much as possible.
Link: youtu.be/_BHXA_cVx8w
#MakingMusicSoar #BlackMusicMonth
This is a really great piece and very timely, as always. Thanks for sharing!
What a voice! I listened to several other of Shemekia's other posts and really like her sound and lyrics. Thanks for introducing her.
Yes!! Thanks Cynthia!
This week chorale member Rick Rau shares a virtual performance of J.S. Bach’s “Bist Du Bei Mir,” recorded by his brother and himself this spring. As Rick explains, “[This is] a beautiful, expressive piece of music, very comforting. My brother (in New Mexico) is playing the piano. We played together all through school, and now we're playing remotely. It's great to reconnect through music.”
Rick, who sings baritone with the Maine Music Society Chorale, is an accomplished musician. He plays both clarinet and piano and also composes and arranges music. He sometimes arranges music for the chorale, including several of the Billy Joel and Elton John compositions that we sang in our May 2016 concert, “Piano Men.” Rick is a partially retired clinical psychologist and lives in Turner, Maine. His family includes wife Shelley, Adrienne and Lucas. When he is not engaged in musical activity, he may often be found woodworking.
Link: youtu.be/mtIGpJRSC5o
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Nicely done! What a lovely sibling connection. Admit to being jealous!
Delightful!