Making Music Soar
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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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Comment on Facebook 122234034468253_4764882520203358
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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Comment on Facebook 4686022868089324
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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Comment on Facebook 122234034468253_4646841245340820
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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Comment on Facebook 122234034468253_4607563409268604
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
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Comment on Facebook 122234034468253_4527261513965461
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
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Comment on Facebook 122234034468253_4495052223853057
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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Comment on Facebook 122234034468253_4459801727378107
Nicely done! What a lovely sibling connection. Admit to being jealous!
Delightful!
This week’s selection, from chorale President Susan Trask, is Bobby McFerrin’s arrangement and performance of the 23rd psalm, dedicated to his mother. Susan chose this piece because “I’ve always been a huge fan of Bobby McFerrin. He’s an astonishingly accomplished musician, with a HUGE vocal range. He sings all the parts in this song! When I heard this piece as I listened to the album [Medicine Music] for the first time, I sat down and wept, it was so beautiful. It seems especially appropriate in our current times….”
Susan has been singing alto with the Maine Music Society Chorale since it was begun. She is also a member of the Chamber Singers, is Secretary of the Maine Music Society Board of Directors, and is President of the chorale. In addition, she is noted for writing the music notes that are shared with audiences as part of our spring pop concerts.
Susan lives in Auburn with her husband Woody who also sings with the chorale. She is retired from a career as a teacher and literary coach in the Auburn schools and is now pursuing a “retirement career” as director of (and singer in) Androscoggin Harmony, a choir that sings for hospice patients at Androscoggin Home Healthcare and Hospice. When she is not involved with her various singing activities, she loves sewing, reading, word puzzles, sailing and kayaking.
Link: youtu.be/FrIISwwK9Y0
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Comment on Facebook 122234034468253_4424020250956255
This is so lovely. My favorite part of that was "Glory be to our mothers and our daughters and the holiest of holies...." I really enjoy Bobby McFerrin too. I have a recording of his where he sings the "Flight of the Bumblebees". Makes me laugh every time I hear it! Thank you for sharing this recording. I hadn't heard it before.
Love this selection.
Thank you Susan for sharing this healing gift with us.
Beautiful!
That was beautiful... ❤️
This week’s selection, from Chorale member Nancy Kelliher, is a very playful rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah by members of the College Church of Wheaton, Illinois. Nancy explains her choice this way: “It is fantastic to have such a wonderful piece to listen to. YouTube makes the world of music and performance available to all of us. To see the group present it while adhering to our new way of life with social distancing is very funny. They are definitely enjoying their crafty performance and humor.”
Nancy, who has sung alto with the Maine Music Society Chorale for the past five years, is an Occupational Therapist who lives in Lewiston. Her family includes husband Wally, twenty-somethings Tom and Rachel, and dog Jake. When Nancy is not singing or working, she enjoys being outdoors walking or riding her bicycle. Indoors, she enjoys working with fiber. She describes herself as a beginner at crocheting and knitting and says that she has “just ordered a loom to weave my way through all this time at home.”
Link: youtu.be/Ag6CYY0cbFc
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This week’s selection, from Chorale member Jean Bass, is Ola Gjeilo’s “The Ground,” performed by the Central Washington University Chamber Choir. Jean explains her choice this way: “Of all the pieces we've sung in the Chorale, ‘The Ground’ … has filled my heart and soul the most. As its name suggests, it offers a solid ground of beauty, then gradually lifts the singers until we are soaring, before bringing us to a gentle rest. To be in the center of this beauty as it was being sung took me beyond myself.”
Jean Bass has sung alto with the Maine Music Society Chorale since 2012 and is also a member of the Chamber Singers. She is retired from a career as a church pastor, serving longest with a congregation in Bethel, Maine. She now lives in Brunswick where, in addition to singing, she loves to knit, read, walk and garden.
Jean is the in the back row of the photo - the one in black!
Link: youtu.be/4lf26JLbVF4
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Comment on Facebook 122234034468253_4355984907759790
It's a very lovely piece. Thank you. I enjoyed listening and watching the cellist. From time to time he had the loveliest smile on his face, presumably in response to the conductor.
This was one of my favorites to sing, too, Jean. Still brings chills~
Oh yes, Jean, this one is so special! 😍😍
This week, chorale member Jean Potuchek is sharing Erik Linder’s performance of Sinead O’Connor’s ballad, “In This Heart.” Jean explains that “the song means a lot to me because I learned and performed it as part of a creative aging workshop at the Portland Public Library that brought me back to choral singing after more than four decades away. As a song about loss and grieving, hope and recovery, it speaks to our present moment, as does Erik Linder’s creativity in fashioning a choral performance alone. And I love the light touches as the various Eriks interact.”
Jean, who has been singing alto with the Maine Music Society Chorale since 2016, is retired from a career teaching sociology and women’s studies to college undergraduates. She is happily single and lives alone in a house tucked into the woods at the end of a dirt road in Poland, Maine. In addition to singing, her passions include gardening and learning new things. She is a Maine Master Gardener Volunteer, both teaches and takes courses at the Lewiston Senior College, and writes several blogs.
Link: youtu.be/1LAhL8EKlVs
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Comment on Facebook 122234034468253_4323861477638800
Thank you Jean. This is so beautiful and calming - with a touch of humor as well.
Beautiful!
Love this! Thank you!
Just lovely. Thanks.
Chorale member Karen McArthur has chosen to share a virtual performance of the “Ode to Joy” from Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, the piece we were working on when rehearsals and our March concert were abruptly cancelled by COVID-19. She chose it because “I very much missed collaborating with the local singers and orchestras and also because it is a virtual performance which builds on itself. Starting with only one instrument, it continues to build to the final measures of the piece culminating in full orchestra and vocals. The way they build the instrumentation section by section … epitomizes how music can bring us together and lift us out of ourselves.”
Karen sings alto with both the Maine Music Society Chorale and the Chamber Singers and is about to become the newest member of the Maine Music Society Board of Directors. She lives in Lewiston with family members Brad, Kevin, Kiera and Barbara. Karen works in Information Technology at Bates College. In addition to singing, her hobbies include costuming and sewing.
youtu.be/3eXT60rbBVk
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Comment on Facebook 122234034468253_4285821924776089
I've seen several virtual orchestra performances of the Ode to Joy, but this is my favorite. Thanks for sharing it, Karen!
Yayyy! That was great!
That piece will forevermore bring tears to my eyes. "Lifts us out of ourselves", indeed.