The Girl Choir of South Florida 3347 NW 55th St Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309 954-533-9227 | girlchoir.org

The Girl Choir of South Florida

The Girl Choir of South Florida is the premier singing ensemble for young women in the

tri-county area. The Girl Choir, led by Artistic Director Wallis Peterson, has been extolled by

the South Florida Sun-Sentinel as “imaginative, accessible, expressive, and entertaining”,

gaining a reputation for delivering compelling concert programming.

Do you know a girl who loves to sing? Then she’ll love singing with the Girl Choir!

Save the date for one of our open auditions:

Saturday, May 26 & Saturday, June 9 10:00 am to 1:00 pm

3347 NW 55th St, Fort Lauderdale | Go to girlchoir.org/location for directions

All girls ages 6 through 13 are welcome to audition. No appointment, preparation, or prior experience is necessary.

For more information, go to girlchoir.org/audition

The Girl Choir of South Florida

Celestial Light

Friday, May 18, 2012 | 8:00 pm All Saints Episcopal Church Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Funding for this organization is provided

in part by the Broward County Board of

County Commissioners as recommended

by the Broward Cultural Council.

Concert Choir

Isabella Alvarez

Christa Anderson

Sylvia Aycock

Rachael Banach

Laura Blank

Helen Budowsky

Gillian Cannataro

JaVonda Carter

Erini Chong

Alexandra Colaizzi

Mariana Colmenares

Marcia Cuellar-Garcia

Brooke D'Avignon

Sophie Garrett

Paige Giese

Olivia Goehrig

Amanda Goldberg

Shannon Harper

Christina Hernandez

Eliza Hurst

Leah John

Seyra Joseph

Sadie Klein

Jana Lebert

Franchesca Linares

Alise Lofgren

Jessica Loman

Cassidy Long

Daela Lyewsang-Holness

Valerie Martinez

Elizabeth Mathew

Towns McClain

Naija Murphy

Caitlin Payne

Cristina Pichardo

Kayla Raper

Rebecca Roberts

Lilly Rogers

Maddie Rogers

Kali Rosendo

Bryndahlyn Silverstrom

Jyothy Thomas

Ashley Vogt

Kelly Walsh

Rayna Whye

Jenna Workman

Chamber Singers

Isabella Alvarez

Sylvia Aycock

Laura Blank

Alexandra Colaizzi

Mariana Colmenares

Brooke D'Avignon

Paige Giese

Olivia Goehrig

Amanda Goldberg

Christina Hernandez

Eliza Hurst

Alise Lofgren

Jessica Loman

Kayla Raper

Maddie Rogers

Bryndahlyn Silverstrom

Jyothy Thomas

Kelly Walsh

Many thanks to our Concert Choir volunteers

Lina Arias, Ana Colmenares, Marsha Cuellar-Garcia, Carmen Hernandez,

Carol Loman, Kay Raper, Blythe Rogers, Lori Walsh, and Linda Whye

Program Cover Artwork

Mary Manteiga

9

Like a Rainbow

Guaymi Dawn Song

adapted by Bob Chilcott (b. 1955)

Sadie Klein, conductor

Let my life be like a rainbow Whose colours teach us unity; Let me follow the great circle, The roundness of power. One with the moon and the sun, And the ripple of the waters, Following the way of honour, A guide to the weak, A rock of strength in my word That shall say no lie, No lie nor deception. Let my life be like a rainbow Whose colours teach us unity, Be kind, be brave, Be humble as the earth, And be as radiant as the sunlight! Like a rainbow.

A Celtic Blessing of Light

Eleanor Daley (b. 1955)

text Anonymous

adapted by Eleanor Daley

Commissioned by

The Girl Choir of South Florida

in conjunction with a consortium

of youth and children’s choruses

through a project sponsored

by Chorus America

May the blessing of light be upon you, Light without and light within. May the blessed sunlight shine upon you, And warm your heart till it glows. May the light shine out of the eyes of you, Bidding the wanderer to come in from the storm. May the blessing of the great rains be upon you, Washing your spirit fair and clean. May the blessing of the rain be upon you, The soft, sweet rain. May the blessing of the earth be upon you, May the Lord bless you, and bless you kindly. May the blessing of light be upon you.

Aquarius

Let the Sunshine In

From the musical Hair

Galt MacDermot

arr. Greg Gilpin

text James Rado and Gerome Ragni

When the moon is in the seventh house, And Jupiter aligns with Mars, Then peace will guide the planets, And love will steer the stars. This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. Harmony and understanding, Sympathy and trust abounding. No more falsehoods or derisions, Golden living dreams of visions, Mystic crystal revelations, And the mind’s true liberation. Aquarius, Aquarius. Let the sun shine. Let the sunshine in. The sunshine in.

8

Scântei solare

(Solar Flares)

Jonathan Pieslak (b. 1974)

text Sabina Pa uţa Pieslak (b. 1976)

Sun and stars, many tiny ones A game of light on the mountain peak, The snow has melted easily, It flows clearly towards the spring. The warm wind carried the spring, The doe once again leaps through valleys. She drinks from the pure, crystal river That pours itself smoothly into the sea; Springtime is fully born. The sea is rising, waves with foam, Migratory birds are gathering, A siren sings sweetly to them, “la da lo …”

You Are the New Day

John David (b. 1978) descant arr. Olivia Goehrig

“The inspiration for New Day was quite

simple. I had just had a major blow in my

personal life and was sitting alone late at

night, feeling very low. I started singing

to the (hopefully) soon-to-arrive new day

like it was an entity that would rescue me

from the depths. If the sun came up and

the birds started singing as usual, then I

could believe that it really was the new

day in which life would go on and in

which hope would survive.”

—John David

You are the new day. You are the new day. I will love you more than me And more than yesterday If you can but prove me me You are the new day. Send the sun in time for dawn Let the birds all hail the morning. Love of life will urge me say You are the new day. When I lay me down at night Knowing we must pay, Thoughts occur that this night might Stay yesterday. Thoughts that we as humans small Could slow worlds and end it all Lie around me where they fall Before the new day. One more day when time is running out For everyone Like a breath I knew would come I reach for a new day. Hope is my philosophy, Just needs days in which to be, Love of life means hope for me, Borne on a new day. You are the new day. You are the new day.

The Storm Is Passing Over

Charles Albert Tindley (1851-1933)

arr. Barbara W. Baker

Have courage my soul, and let us journey on. Though the night is dark, and I am far from home. Thanks be to God, the morning light appears. The storm is passing over. Hallelu.

1

Stars I Shall Find

arr. Jessica Loman (b. 1993)

text Sara Teasdale (1884-1933)

Jessica Loman, conductor

There will be rest, and sure stars shining Over the roof-tops crowned with snow, A reign of rest, serene forgetting, The music of stillness holy and low. I will make this world of my devising, Out of a dream in my lonely mind, I shall find the crystal of peace,--above me Stars I shall find. “Stars I Shall Find” is the last poem Sara Teasdale wrote before she ended her own life.

The Girl Choir of South Florida

Celestial Light Wallis Peterson, Artistic Director

Gayle Giese, Accompanist

Songs of the Lights

Imant Raminsh (b. 1943)

text Algonquin and Navajo

Algonquin text translated

by Nellie Barnes

Navajo text translated

by Eda Lou Walton

1. Song of the Stars (Algonquin) We are the stars which sing, We sing with our light. We are the birds of fire. We fly o’er the sky. Our light is a voice. We make a road for the spirits to pass over. Among us are three Hunters who chase a bear. There never was a time when they were not hunting. We are the stars which sing. We sing with our light. We look down on the mountains. This is the song of stars. The Hunters are three stars in the constellation Ursa Major (The Great Bear). They form the handle of the highly visible formation commonly called The Big Dipper. As the Earth travels around the Sun, the three Hunters appear to pursue the Great Bear across the sky.

2

Songs of the Lights

continued

2. The Sower (Navajo) I hold pollen of dawn in my hand With it I sow the night… Over the mountain Spring the first pale blades of the day I hold pollen of dawn

3. The Sun Is a Luminous Shield (Navajo) The sun is a luminous shield Borne up the blue path by a God. The moon is the torch of an old man Who stumbles over stars.

4. Daybreak Song (Navajo) All night the gods were with us, Now the night is gone. Silence the rattle, Sing the daybreak song. For in the dawn Bluebird calls With voice melodious. And out from his blankets of tumbled grey The sun comes, combing his hair for the day. We are the stars which sing, We sing with our light. We are the birds of fire. We fly o’er the sky.

Catch a falling star

Bob Chilcott (b. 1955)

text John Donne (1572-1631)

Paige Giese, conductor

Go and catch a falling star, Get with child a mandrake root, Tell me where all past years are, Or who cleft the devil's foot, Teach me to hear mermaids singing, Or to keep off envy's stinging, And find what wind Serves to advance an honest mind. If thou be'st born to strange sights, Things invisible to see, Ride ten thousand days and nights, Till age snow white hairs on thee, Thou, when thou return'st, wilt tell me, All strange wonders that befell thee, And swear no where Lives a woman true and fair. If thou find'st one, let me know, Such a pilgrimage were sweet; Yet do not, I would not go, Though at next door we might meet, Though she were true, when you met her, And last, till you write your letter, Yet she will be False, ere I come, to two, or three.

7

Suite de Lorca

continued

III. The Moon Comes Forth When the moon comes out, the bells die away And impenetrable paths appear. When the moon comes out, water covers land And the heart feels itself an island in infinity. No one eats oranges under the full moon. It is right to eat green, cold, hard fruit. When the moon comes out, With a hundred faces all the same, Coins of silver start sobbing in the pocket.

IV. Malagueña Death comes and goes from the tavern. Midnight horses and sinister people Pass along the deep paths of the guitar. There is the smell of salt and the blood of women in the sickly ferns of the shipyard. Death comes and goes, Goes and comes from the tavern.

Noche de Lluvia

(Rainy Night)

Sid Robinovitch (b. 1942)

text Juana de Ibarbourou

(1892-1979)

Mindy Lofgren, guitar

Wait, do not sleep. Listen to what the wind is saying And to what the water says tapping With little fingers upon the window panes. All my heart is listening To hear the enchanted sister Who has slept in the sky, Who has seen the sun, And now comes down, buoyant and gay. Let us listen to the rhythm of the rain. Cradle on my heart Your silent forehead. I will feel the warmth Of your heartbeat. How gay the waving wheat will be! How eagerly the grass will thrive! What diamonds will cluster now In the deep branches of the pines! Wait, do not sleep. Tonight, the two of us are a world, Inside and warm, Away from the wind and rain.

6

Song to the Moon

(La Luna)

Z. Randall Stroope (b. 1953)

text freely paraphrased

and inspired by Jarosolv Kvapil

(1868-1950)

a portion of the text also written by

Z. Randall Stroope

Emma Mellinger, flute

Lisa Gelfand, oboe

La Luna, La Luna, Your light sees through endless time, Tell, o tell me where my love lies. O moon e’er you pass, Wake my dreaming lover, I am waiting, I am calling, Tell him, light his place. Ah, moon, help him remember And dream of me, Tell him, O tell him, Who is waiting, who is longing! I am waiting, longing! Longing! Tell him come, tell him, O moon. Help to remember our laughter and tears, Mem’ries of summer nights. Help him remember our triumphs and fears, May this remembrance waken him! Tell that I am holding firm for at least a while. Tell him, moon. Moon, O moon don’t disappear, O moon, silver moon, in the deep dark sky, Your light sees through endless time. Tell, O tell me where my love lies.

Suite de Lorca

Einojuhani Rautavaara

(b. 1928), Op. 72

text Federico Garcí a Lorca

(1899-1936)

I. Song of the Horseman Cordoba. Distant and alone. A black nag, the giant moon, and olives in my saddlebag. Even if I know the way, I never will reach Cordoba. Over the plain, through the wind, a black nag, the bloody moon. The Reaper is watching me from the tall towers of Cordoba. Oh, such a long road! Oh, my valiant nag! Oh, the Reaper awaits me before I ever reach Cordoba! Cordoba. Distant and alone.

II. The Scream The arc of a scream curves from hill to hill. Ay! From the olive trees, a black rainbow over the blue night. Ay! Like a viola’s bow, the scream has made the long strings of the wind vibrate. Ay! (The people of the caves put their oil lamps out.)

3

Dance into the Day

Mark Patterson

Dance into the day And dream into the night. Breathe life into being; Release, unfold, embrace, behold The joy that is now. Dance into the day, Sing boldly into the light, Awaken now the joy of life! Dwell in the deepest possibilities. Embrace the meanings and the mysteries Of morning sun and midnight rain, Of faint-lit glow and roaring flame, Of child-like joy and wisdom gained. Rejoice in the living of these days!

Hymn to the Night

Eugene Butler (b. 1935)

text Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

(1807-1882)

Sylvia Aycock, conductor

I heard the trav’ling garments of the night Sweep through her marble halls; I saw her sable skirts all fringed with light From the celestial walls. I felt her presence by its spell of might Stoop o’er me from above; The calm, majestic presence of the night, As of the one I love. I heard the sounds of sorrow and delight, The manifold soft chimes, That fill the haunted chamber of the night Like some old poet's rhymes. O sacred night from you I learn to bear What man has borne before. You lay your finger on the lips of care And they complain no more. O best beloved night, O Peaceful Night.

Child with the Starry Crayon

Eleanor Daley (b. 1955)

text Dinushi Munasinghe (Grade 5)

Grace Ferelli (Primes Choir), solo

The sun slowly sets, Goes down for the night. All the little children are sleeping. All except for one, the child with the starry crayon. As the sun sets she slowly … Yawns … stretches … and gets out of bed. She floats up to sit on the moon … to draw on the fresh piece of black paper. She doodles all night, Some earth people watch her, as she draws the constellations.

4

Radiant Sister of the Day

David L. Brunner

text from “To Jane: The Invitation”

by Percy Bryce Shelley

(1792-1822)

Radiant Sister of the Day Awake! Arise! And come away! To the wild woods and the plains, To the pools where winter rains Image all their roof of leaves, Where the pine its garland weaves Of sapless green, and ivy dun, Round stems that never kiss the sun, Where the lawns and pastures be And the sandhills of the sea, Where the melting hoar-frost wets The daisy-star that never sets, And wind-flowers and violets Which yet join not scent to hue Crown the pale year weak and new; When the night is left behind The blue noon is over us, And the multitudinous Billows murmur at our feet, Where the earth and ocean meet, And all things seem only one In the universal Sun.

You Are Made

Jessica Loman (b. 1993)

text Serbian proverb

Jessica Loman, conductor

Be humble, for you are made of earth. Be noble, for you are made of stars

O choruscans lux stellarum

(O glistening starlight)

No. 1 from Hildegard Motets

Maria Lo fberg (b. 1968)

text Hildegard of Bingen

(1098-1179)

O glistening starlight, O royal bride-elect, resplendent, O sparkling gem: You are robed like a noble lady without spot or wrinkle. Companion of angels, Fellow citizen with saints — Flee, flee the ancient destroyer’s cave And come into the palace of the King!

5

Nuit d’étoiles

(Starry Night)

Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

arr. Alan Raines (b. 1966)

text The odore Faullin de Banville

(1823-1891)

Starry night, under your veils Under your breeze and your perfume, A sad lyre that sighs, I dream of loves lapsed. A serene melancholy Unfurls in the pit of my heart, And I hear the soul of my beloved Trembling in the dreamlike wood. I see again in our fountain Your eyes, blue like the skies; This rose, it’s your breath, And these stars are your eyes.

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod

Joan Szymko (b. 1957)

text Eugene Field (1850-1895)

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night Sailed off in a wooden shoe, — Sailed on a river of crystal light Into a sea of dew. "Where are you going, and what do you wish?" The old moon asked the three. "We have come to fish for the herring-fish That live in this beautiful sea; Nets of silver and gold have we," Said Wynken, Blynken, and Nod. The old moon laughed and sang a song, As they rocked in the wooden shoe; And the wind that sped them all night long Ruffled the waves of dew; The little stars were the herring-fish That lived in the beautiful sea. "Now cast your nets wherever you wish, — Never afraid are we!" So cried the stars to the fishermen three, Wynken, Blynken, and Nod. All night long their nets they threw To the stars in the twinkling foam, — Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe, Bringing the fishermen home: 'Twas all so pretty a sail, it seemed As if it could not be; And some folk thought 'twas a dream they'd dreamed Of sailing that beautiful sea; But I shall name you the fishermen three: Wynken, Blynken, and Nod. Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes, And Nod is a little head, And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies Is a wee one's trundle-bed; So shut your eyes while Mother sings Of wonderful sights that be, And you shall see the beautiful things As you rock in the misty sea Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three: — Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.