WSU Treble Choir in Performance at Northwest NAfME

Dr. Matthew Myers, conductor
Elena Panchenko, pianist

WSU Treble Choir

Treble Choir is WSU’s non-auditioned choir for upper voices: soprano and alto. Treble Choir celebrates the beauty and unique timbres of choral music for upper voices. The ensemble performs music from all periods from Renaissance to contemporary and offers at least three public performances per semester. Membership in the Treble Choir is open to students of all majors across campus. Upcoming performances include a collaboration to perform the Haydn Te Deum and Lord Nelson Mass with the WSU Concert Choir, University Singers, and Symphony Orchestra as well as the Palouse Choral Society this April. Singers from these ensembles will travel to Eisenstadt, Austria, in August 2023 to present the music of Haydn in the spaces where it was premiered as part of this summer’s Classical Music Festival.

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Program Notes, Texts, and Translations

Treble Choir’s program today focuses on belonging, acceptance, and community amidst the trials of our present-day existence. With a repertoire solely of music by women composers, Treble Choir uplifts voices that have too often been unheard.

Our program begins with “Stars in Your Bones” by Portland composer Joan Szymko. Szymko’s work focuses on the beauty of place and the belonging one can feel when connected to the earth. This message of acceptance and hope highlights themes present throughout our repertoire: feeling alive, feeling important, and feeling safe.

The next piece, “L’annonce,” comes from Marie-Claire’s triptych Méditations de la Vierge Marie. This piece is sung from the perspective of the Virgin Mary as she discovers that she has been chosen among all women to carry the Savior. While such a revelation is beyond anything we have experienced in our lives, we have all experienced impostor syndrome. Sometimes we do not see within ourselves the power and agency to accomplish what is asked of us, but like the narrator of this piece, we find a way.

“Refugee” begins to highlight the barriers we can experience, the difficulties which prevent us from feeling safe in the world. Composer Moira Smiley wrote this piece after volunteering at the Calais Jungle refugee camp in France. She realized how each of us could be just one traumatic experience away from being displaced from our homes and families, but she also recognized the power and beauty that communities can provide one another in times of difficulty.

B.E. Boykin wrote “Stardust” in response to the tragic murders of young Black people in recent years in the United States. We sing of a “home where we can run” as we remember Ahmaud Arbery, “a home where we can pray” for the victims of the shooting at Mother Emanuel Church, “a home where we can breathe” as we remember George Floyd, and a place where we can “sleep and dream without fear” in honor of Breonna Taylor. We cry their names. The poetry features an untranslatable Bantu phrase, “Kum buba yali,” which calls to mind a magical power to fly away in order to escape the turmoil of slavery.

Alana Scott wrote “We Can Come Together (To Sing a Song)” in memory of those affected by the catastrophic hurricanes and floods in Southern Louisiana in 2021. This work, premiered by the WSU Treble Choir in March 2022, addresses the difficulties of natural disaster but focuses on the human connection that can help us all to push through these hardships. Through community, we can recover.

Our final piece is composed by Amy Beach, arguably the most significant American Romantic composer and the first American woman composer to achieve widespread recognition for her works. “The Year’s at the Spring” shares pure positivity in the recognition of the gifts and beauty of nature.

Despite the challenges of our current world, we belong. We are important. Through community, we create safety for one another.

Poetry by Albert Lozier, sung in French

Je ne suis qu’une jeune fille
     I am just a young girl
Et pourtant le Seigneur m’a choisie
     And yet, the Lord has chosen me.
Le message de l’ange m’a surprise.
     The angel’s message took me by surprise.
Je serai mère de Dieu.
     I will be the mother of God.

Le Seigneur m’annonce
     The Lord informs me
Mon rôle en son projet.
     Of my role in his plan.
Je ferai de mon plus grand effort
     I will strive my very hardest
Que sa volonté soit faite.
     So that His will may be done.

Joseph et moi étions promis.
     Joseph and I were betrothed.
Que sera ma vie sans lui?
     What will my life be without him?
O Seigneur, tu sais ce que tu fais.
     O Lord, Thou knowest what is best.
Je m’en remets à ta bonté.
     I’m giving myself up to Thy mercy.

J’ai déja beaucoup reçu.
     I’ve already received so much.
Mon coeur et ma vie sont à toi.
     My heart and my life belong to Thee.
Savoir que je vais porter mon Dieu
     To know that I will bear my God—
C’est la surprise de ma vie.
     It’s the surprise of my life.

Refugee (2016)

Moira Smiley (b. 1976)
Moira Smiley Music Publishing

Dr. Dean Luethi, guest conductor

Poetry by Moira Smiley (2016)

Let your names reach to the sky above us

Like petals wafting on a breeze
We lift you up beyond our reach

“Kum Buba Yali, Kum Buba Tambe”
Amen, Amen
”Kum Buba Yali, Kum Buba Tambe”
We say your names

If we are only stardust
May your blood never be in vain

Like petals wafting on a breeze
We lift you up beyond our reach

“Kum Buba Yali, Kum Buba Tambe”
Amen, Amen
“Kum Buba Yali, Kum Buba Tambe”
We say your names

Each day we grieve another face
Maybe all this stardust
Will carry us home one day
To a home where we can run
A home where we can pray
A home where we can breathe,
To sleep and dream without fear—
Is justice this far away?

We cry your names
For the strength to keep on fighting
With the hope that you are flying

“Kum Buba Yali, Kum Buba Tambe”
Stardust

We Can Come Together
(To Sing a Song) (2021)

Alana Scott (b. 1998)
Manuscript

Renee Roulo, soprano I solo
Kayla Mommsen, soprano II solo
Mackenzie Jacobs, alto I solo
Madysen McCarthy, alto II solo

Poetry by Alana Scott (2021)

With the time we have
we can look for things
that remind us of
the beauty life can bring
of its hills and valleys
and gentle coasts
of the things we survive
the “yet” and “almost”

when the waters are much higher
than the floodbanks can withstand

when the fires roar and tear through
things we built with our bare hands
when the earth herself will rumble
all to reclaim her own land – 
what can we do?

we can come together to sing a song
a song of hope, of highs, of lows,
of moving on

we come together to sing a song

The Year’s at the Spring (1900)

Amy Beach (1867-1944)
Public Domain

Poetry by Robert Browning (1812-89),
“Pippa’s Song” (1841)

The year’s at the spring,
And day’s at the morn;
Morning’s at seven;
The hill-side’s dew-pearled;
The lark’s on the wing;
The snail’s on the thorn;
God’s in his Heaven—
All’s right with the world!

Personnel

Soprano I
Emily Berry, junior,
Neuroscience, Spokane, WA
Akasha Burgess, first-year,
Global Politics, Boise, ID
Hazel Gomez, first-year,
Music Composition, Spokane Valley, WA
Abigail Moore, first-year,
General Biology, Port Angeles, WA
Amy Moore, junior,
Marketing, Bellevue, WA
Elakkiya Saravanan, sophomore,
Pre-Medicine and Psychology, Bothell, WA
Madison Sickels, senior,
Elementary Education, Castle Rock, WA
Rebekah Straka, junior,
Creative Writing, Medical Lake, WA
Kayden Warwick, senior,
Piano Performance, Clarkston, WA

Soprano II
Meg Fritz, senior,
Music Composition, North Bonneville, WA
America Hoxeng, senior,
Music Composition, Vancouver, WA
Jordan Isler, senior,
Psychology, Woodinville, WA
Hannah Lopardi, sophomore,
Business Management, Fife, WA
Madysen McCarthy, senior,
Music, Seattle, WA
Kayla Mommsen, sophomore,
Music Education, Gig Harbor, WA
Dominiqué Pierre, senior,
Psychology, Blytheville, SC
Renee Roulo, sophomore,
Genetics and Cell Biology, Renton, WA
Allison Vanderley, junior,
Biochemistry, Tacoma, WA
Ava Whalon, first-year,
Music Education, Portland, OR

Alto I
Emma Berreth, sophomore,
Mechanical Engineering, Bellingham, WA
Clara Brown, junior,
Piano Performance, Puyallup, WA
Katlyn Cook, junior,
Kinesiology, Spanaway, WA
Rowan Dunn, sophomore,
Linguistics, Olympia, WA
Kasandra Fong, senior,
Biology and Spanish, Woodland, CA
Mackenzie Jacobs, sophomore,
Music Education, Bremerton, WA
Savannah Kahl, junior,
Biochemistry and Spanish, Spokane, WA
Carly Ostrem, first-year,
Human Development, Leavenworth, WA
Yebsera Pachelli, first-year,
Nursing, Spokane, WA
Sabrina Radford, sophomore,
Zoology, Troutdale, OR
Ailie Turnbull, senior,
Psychology, Leavenworth, WA
Sarah Alexis Walker, first-year,
Music Education, Omak, WA

Alto II
Daniela Alpire, junior,
Music and Finance, Wenatchee, WA
Hannah Chalom, junior,
Neuroscience and History, Meridian, ID
Aurelia Cromwell, junior,
Mathematics and Environmental Science, Chewelah, WA
Sidney Gillaspie, first-year,
Multimedia Journalism, Mount Vernon, WA
Madison Holdway, junior,
Animal Science, Reardan, WA
Sarra Jones, senior,
Civil Engineering, Port Orchard, WA
Rylie Linford, sophomore,
Sports Medicine, Bonney Lake, WA
Elizabeth Marsh, first-year,
Neuroscience, Arlington, WA
Ashley Myers, sophomore,
Sports Medicine, Vancouver, WA
Francesca Poledrelli, junior,
Animal Science, San Diego, CA
Amabel Zucker, sophomore,
Applied Mathematics and Philosophy, Morgantown, WV

Officers
Daniela Alpire, president
Ailie Turnbull, secretary
Kayla Mommsen, social media coordinator

Section Leaders
Madison Sickels, Soprano I
Madysen McCarthy, Soprano II
Emma Berreth, Alto I
Ashley Myers, Alto II

Biographies

Dr. Matthew Myers, conductor

Dr. Matthew Myers serves as associate director of choral activities and assistant professor of choral music education at WSU. He conducts the University Singers and Treble Choir and teaches courses in music education methods and conducting. He earned his DMA in choral conducting at Louisiana State University, his master’s degree in choral conducting at Northern Arizona University, and his bachelor’s degree in vocal performance and music education at Luther College. He taught secondary choir, music theory, and class piano in Illinois and the Sultanate of Oman. He has served as conductor of the NAU Men’s Chorale and Chamber Singers, the LSU Chamber Singers, the Master Chorale of Flagstaff, and the Flagstaff Youth Chorale and has held church music positions in Iowa, Illinois, Louisiana, and Alabama. Prior to his time at WSU, Dr. Myers taught at the University of Alabama. He is a frequent choral clinician, guest conductor, presenter, and tenor soloist. He serves as Artistic Director of the Palouse Choral Society and co-host of the Choir Fam Podcast.

Elena Panchenko, pianist

Elena Panchenko is originally from Ukraine and studied at the Moscow Conservatory, where she earned her degree in piano performance, music history, and music theory. She served as the musical director of the Penn State Opera for four years and performed the debut of two new operas, including Mrs. Satan, an opera about the life of the first woman presidential candidate, Victoria Woodhall. Working extensively as an accompanist and church musician, Elena has performed with groups as varied as a children’s dance group to such well-known musicians as Francis Orval and David Shifrin, clarinetist and Director of Chamber Music at the Lincoln Center. In addition to playing with the WSU Concert Choir, Treble Choir, University Singers, and Opera Workshop, she is the pianist for the Palouse Choral Society and the music director at St. James Episcopal Church in Pullman. Elena’s family includes her husband, Alex, WSU math professor and former Ukrainian rock star (as is Elena), and their son Ivan, an attorney.

Dr. Dean Luethi, guest conductor

Dr. Dean Luethi serves as the Director of Choral Activities, Associate Professor, and former Director of the School of Music at Washington State University. He received degrees from the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay, University of South Florida in Tampa, and University of Illinois – Urbana/Champaign. Before pursuing advanced degrees, Dean was a high/middle school choir and musical theatre director in the Green Bay area. Known for his work as a choral pedagogue, Dean has presented research, workshops, or conducted choirs at regional and national festivals, conferences, and competitions in the US, India, China, Cuba, Canada, Austria, Poland, and Germany. He is published in the Choral Journal and Music Educators Journal. Dean has served as the chair of the NAFME Council for Choral Education and held state and regional offices for ACDA. His books, A Quick Start Guide to Choral Singing and Aligning Voices: Exercises to Build Choral Musicianship, are available through GIA Publications. Dean lives with his wife in Pullman, WA. In his free time Dean enjoys amateur photography, woodworking, and spending time with their two cats.

Dr. Darryl Singleton, djembe

Dr. Darryl Singleton is Assistant Professor of Black Music in America and Social Justice at Washington State University. As a member of the Jazz Studies faculty, he also teaches jazz percussion and performs with Jazz Northwest, the faculty jazz ensemble. He established and leads “Crimson Ties,” the WSU world music ensemble. Born in Washington, D.C., he began his teaching career at the Duke Ellington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Notably, around that time, he became the first instrumental ensemble director at Gallaudet University for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired. He went on to teach band, percussion, theory, and arts survey courses at The University of the District of Columbia (1987-1990), Grambling State University (1990-1993), and Texas Southern University (1993-1998, 2004-2021). Just prior to his appointment at WSU, he spent two years as interim director of TSU’s famous “Ocean of Soul” Marching Band. He received a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Howard University, a Master of Music in Music Performance (percussion) from Florida State University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Education from Boston University.