Grant us Humanity: Brahms, Ein deutsches Requiem Concert Program

GRANT US HUMANITY
Brahms, Ein deutsches Requiem
Shafer, A Prayer for Ukraine
Elgar, Nimrod from Enigma Variations
June 26, 2022 | 5:00 p.m.
Washington National Cathedral
3101 Wisconsin Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20016

THE CITY CHOIR OF WASHINGTON
Robert Shafer, Artistic Director
Kathleen Jagielski, Assistant Conductor
CHORALIS
Gretchen Kurhmann, Artistic Director
Todd Fickley, Associate Director and Keyboard Artist
Katelyn G. Aungst, Soprano | James Shaffran, Baritone
THE CITY CHOIR ORCHESTRA
The City Choir of Washington dedicates this concert to the people of Ukraine:
In memory of the victims of war in Ukraine, and for those who mourn.
Her Excellency Oksana Markarova, Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States,
stands as Honorary Patron of the concert.
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c o n c e r t p r o g r a m
the city choir
of washington
thanks
our partner
organizations
for their
outreach in
promoting
the concert.
Embassy of Ukraine
in the United States
American Purpose
ACSA Ivano–Frantivsk
Committee
g r a n t u s h u m a n i t y .
A Prayer for Ukraine....................................................Robert Shafer (b. 1946)
Katelyn Aungst, Soprano
WORLD PREMIERE
Nimrod from Enigma Variations..................................Edward Elgar (1857–1936)
PAUSE
Ein deutsches Requiem........................................Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
I. Selig sind, die da Leid tragen
II. Denn alles Fleisch, es ist wie Gras
III. Herr, lehre doch mich
IV. Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen
V. Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit
VI. Denn wir haben hier keine bleibende Statt
VII. Selig sind die Toten
Katelyn Aungst, Soprano
James Shaffran, Baritone
A reception will follow the concert at the Refectory of St. Albans School, adjacent to the Cathedral.
Separate tickets are required, and can be purchased at citychoir.org/concerts or by scanning the QR code

p r o g r a m n o t e s
by Emily Hantman Tsai
A Prayer for Ukraine
As the City Choir of Washington began rehearsals
for the Brahms Requiem, the terrible war in
Ukraine raged. Robert Shafer, Artistic Director
of City Choir, was heartsick over the devastation
visited upon Ukraine. Shafer felt that supporting
the Ukrainians through music would make his
last concert as artistic director, featuring the
Brahms Requiem, especially meaningful.
In addition to dedicating the concert to the
people of Ukraine, Shafer, a composer, felt that
one of the most significant gestures he could
make was to write a new piece, a prayer for
Ukraine in this time of war. The world premiere
of Shafer’s A Prayer for Ukraine opens the concert.
The Ukrainian text translates as, “God, protect
Ukraine. Give us strength, faith and hope, our
Father. Amen.”
Brahms wrote his “Human Requiem” not only
in memory of the dead, but also to comfort
those who mourn. City Choir’s dedication of
the concert, “in memory of the victims of war in
Ukraine, and for those who mourn,” pays tribute
to Brahms’s intention.
Nimrod, from Enigma Variations
As a prelude to the Brahms Requiem, Robert
Shafer has programmed Edward Elgar’s
“Nimrod” from Enigma Variations. “Nimrod,”
the most well-known of the Variations, has a
somber and elegiac mood, and is often played
at memorial services and solemn occasions,
particularly in England.
The solemnity of the piece, however, is lightened
somewhat by Elgar’s playful approach to the
writing of the work. The theme was composed
when Elgar, in Robert Shafer’s words, was
“noodling at the piano after enjoying his postdinner
cigar.” Elgar’s wife heard the melody,
said how much she liked it, and exhorted her
husband to elaborate on the theme. Each of
the fourteen variations refers to one of the
composer’s family or friends, and the title itself
remains a puzzle: Elgar said it was a secret
known only to himself—and the truth of the
enigma is a riddle to this day.
Elgar described the piece thus: “This work,
commenced in a spirit of humour & continued
in deep seriousness, contains sketches of the
composer’s friends. It may be understood that
these personages comment or reflect on the
original theme & each one attempts a solution
of the Enigma, for so the theme is called. The
sketches are not ‘portraits’ but each variation
contains a distinct idea founded on some
particular personality or perhaps on some
incident known only to two people. This is the
basis of the composition, but the work may be
listened to as a ‘piece of music’ apart from any
extraneous consideration.”
Nimrod, the mighty Biblical hunter, lent
his name to Elgar’s ninth variation, which
referenced his close friend and music editor
Augustus J. Jaeger (Jäger means “hunter”
in German). Elgar credited Jaeger with
encouraging him at a creative low point. Jaeger
held Beethoven as a model: despite Beethoven’s
personal and emotional turmoil he nevertheless
wrote beautiful music, and Elgar could too.
Elgar later told a friend that the beginning
of “Nimrod” was inspired by a theme from
Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 8 Pathétique, which
Jaeger sang to illustrate his point.
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p r o g r a m n o t e s
p r o g r a m n o t e s
by Brian Bartoldus
Ein deutches Requiem, nach Worten der
heiligen Schrift (A German Requiem, to
the words of holy scripture), Op. 45
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) has been called
many conflicting things: a traditionalist and a
visionary, a classicist and a romantic, a secularist
and a scriptural scholar. If asked where Brahms
stood on any of these divides, this author
would respond by saying “yes.” On one hand,
it can be hard to imagine that Brahms was
Wagner’s junior of thirty years; yet, Schönberg
cites Brahms as a “progressive” whose sense of
motivic development inspired the expressionist
school. Similarly, parsing out Brahms’s classical
and contemporary influences (to say nothing
of the renaissance and baroque) would be like
separating wheat and sugar from a baked cake.
As for philosophy, few people are so championed
by humanists and the religious alike. In short,
Brahms was a complex composer with complex
influences. His reticence to share his inner
thoughts leaves scholars to make educated
conjectures, often letting their own motives fill
in the gaps.
And thus begins our conjecture (hopefully with
more education than agenda) about A German
Requiem. Brahms began composing the work
at the tender age of 31. The recent death of his
mother and the passing of Robert Schumann
nine years prior both figure prominently in
Brahms’s contemporary letters, but its impetus is
of minor importance to the work. The purpose
of this particular Requiem is not, as with
the Catholic Requiem Mass, to pray for the
deceased, but to console those that remain.
This distinction connects A German Requiem to
the Lutheran tradition. Without the Catholic
doctrine of Purgatory, there is no purpose to
pray for the dead, and thus the attention of
the funeral liturgy shifts to the living. In the
fervently Lutheran funeral works of Schütz,
Bach, and others, Jesus’s death and resurrection
serve as the ultimate model for the Christian
believer in his or her last days. Yet, here A
German Requiem departs from its Protestant
predecessors. Though drawn entirely from
scripture, Brahms’s libretto includes no mention
of the salvific nature of Christ’s sacrifice—in
fact, there is no mention of Jesus in the entire
work! Brahms keeps one foot grounded in his
own tradition while stepping outside its bounds,
once sharing that he would have gladly titled the
work A human Requiem. By treading such a careful
theological line, A German Requiem paradoxically
serves as an important model for the explicitly
Christian Requiems of Rutter and Forrest, as
well Hindemith’s decidedly secular When Lilacs
Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d.
Brahms structures his Requiem as an arch, with
“Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnugen” serving as
its keystone. Listeners can find elements of the
first three movements reflected in their latter
counterparts. Soloists feature prominently in
the third and fifth movements, while the second
and sixth are highly dramatic, culminating with
lengthy fugues. The connections between the
first and last movements are the most explicit:
both share much with regards to both text
and music. One of these uniting features is the
use of an extended tonic pedal point in their
introductions. Brahms strengthens this bond
by beginning with some of the Requiem’s most
memorable music. The contrabass and horns
enter almost imperceptibly, lightly pulsating just
below a succession of unfolding instrumental
lines. Their rich, mahogany hues suddenly pull
away, revealing the first entrance of the voices
as they sustain a shimmering open fifth. This
hollow sonority is the same chord that closes
Mozart’s Requiem; yet what for Mozart was
finality is for Brahms a blessed beginning.
After what seems like a small eternity, the
chorus blossoms into a lush seventh chord before
evaporating into the orchestra. As the voices
grow in confidence, the orchestra echoes each
statement in a dialogue reminiscent of Gabrieli’s
double chorus works. Brahms uses chromaticism
to paint the sowing of tears before returning to
the warmth of F Major to comfort those who
mourn. The second movement takes a darker
turn, as a brooding funeral march combines
with a sarabande to form a foreboding dance
of death. Eventually, the chorus dismisses such
dreaded declarations of our mortal doom by
launching into a jubilant fugue.
Beethoven’s shadow looms large, and not only
in the repeated exclamations of “Freude.” The
glow of the post-climactic closing owes much to
the Credo from his Missa Solemnis, particularly
in the final rush of ascending scales. The
gravitas of the baritone soloist defines the third
movement, with the chorus reacting to his sober
proclamations with agitation. Anxious strings
foreshadow a coming Mahlerian orchestral
explosion, yet later transform into the delicate
accompaniment to “wess soll ich mich trösten?,”
a stunning homage to Beethoven’s Ninth
Symphony. As in the preceding movement,
Brahms strikes a more hopeful tone with a
closing fugue, but now with a unique twist. This
passage features an omnipresent timpani pedal
point, perhaps symbolizing the steadfastness of
the “hand of God.”
Fugues require a high degree of harmonic
flexibility, and thus Brahms’s ability to write
such successful music over this constraint is a
testament to his compositional skill. After such
heightened passions, the fourth movement is a
breath of fresh air, portending the optimism that
pervades the second half of the Requiem.
The piece is not without excitement though,
particularly in the boisterous setting of “die
loben dich immerdar.” Here, the men’s
ascending scales obscure the otherwise regular
rhythm, as the ladies course through a series
of beautiful chain suspensions. This lengthy
musical line conveys a sense of praise and
eternity worthy of the text. The return of “wie
lieblich” features rising tritones that would
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p r o g r a m n o t e s
sound gauche in the hands of a lesser composer.
Brahms’s tendency toward restraint prevents
this beautifully sensual moment from turning
saccharine.
Brahms originally conceived of A German Requiem
as a piece in six movements, eventually adding
“Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit” years after the
work’s premiere. Perhaps he was inspired when a
conductor inserted Handel’s “I Know That My
Redeemer Liveth” during an early performance,
though again, Brahms’s motivations remain
unclear. Its text contrasts sorrow and comfort,
the former painted by subtle chromaticism, and
the latter by stable triadic harmonies. These
two ideas pivot around the falling tritones of
“aber,” fully capitalizing on the ambiguity of this
unstable interval.
A different sort of ambiguity marks the opening
of movement six, as walking pizzicato bass line
wanders through aimless modal harmonies in
search of a “continuing place.” The bass soloist
serves as prophet to these lost masses, telling of
the last trumpet (or, to be true to the German,
trombone) that will shake the dead from their
tombs. Ferocious strings provide a properly
convincing earthquake. The orchestra joyously
leaps as the chorus mocks death itself, asking
“Hell, where is thy victory?” Thrice, it questions
“where?” with silence thrice its reply. The
subsequent fugue is technically brilliant, but by
now we should expect nothing less of Brahms.
Rather than scratching one’s beard approvingly
at his contrapuntal machinations, this
author invites you to be swept away by the
rhythmic drive and variety presented in the
accompaniment. The ecstatic triplets of the
strings lead to a fervent doxology, with the
chorus confessing God’s worthiness, honor and
strength with requisite delight.
The final movement returns to the initial key
of F major, again rooted firmly by a contrabass
pedal point. The hesitancy of the opening choral
statement is replaced by total assurance, with
sopranos soaring over ascendant strings. After
the men stoically intone “Ja, der geist spricht”
like ancient monks, their prayers unfold into a
vision of angelic glory.
Fittingly, the word “selig” returns us to the
music of the first movement. The final words
of scripture are not a lamentation or prayer for
supplication, but an acknowledgment of the
blessings already given to those who die in the
Lord. In doing so, Brahms brings us full circle,
for what better means have we of comforting
those who mourn?
A German Requiem premiered at the Bremen Cathedral
By Ulamm, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41263531
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t e x t a n d t r a n s l a t i o n s
t e x t a n d t r a n s l a t i o n s
A PRAYER FOR UKRAINE
Robert Shafer (b. 1946)
EIN DEUTSCHES REQUIEM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Боже, Україну храни
Дай нам силу, вірі, й надії
Отче наш, Отче наш
Амінь
God protect Ukraine.
Give us strength, faith and hope,
our Father, our Father.
Amen.
First Movement
Selig sind, die da Leid tragen,
denn sie sollen getröstet werden.
—Matthäus 5:4
Brahms’s German text comes from the German Luther Bible.
The English texts come from the King James Bible
First Movement
Blessed are they that mourn:
for they shall be comforted.
—Matthew 5:4
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Die mit Tränen säen,
werden mit Freuden ernten.
Sie gehen hin und weinen
und tragen edlen Samen,
und kommen mit Freuden
und bringen ihre Garben.
—Psalm 126:5, 6
Second Movement
Denn alles Fleisch es ist wie Gras
und alle Herrlichkeit des Menschen
wie des Grases Blumen.
Das Gras ist verdorret
und die Blume abgefallen.
—1. Petrus 1:24
They that sow in tears
shall reap in joy.
He that goeth forth and weepeth,
bearing precious seed,
shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
bringing his sheaves with him.
—Psalm 126:5, 6
Second Movement
For all flesh is as grass,
and all the glory of man
as the flower of grass.
The grass withereth,
and the flower falleth away.
—1 Peter 1:24
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t e x t a n d t r a n s l a t i o n s
t e x t a n d t r a n s l a t i o n s
So seid nun geduldig, lieben Brüder,
bis auf die Zukunft des Herrn.
Siehe, ein Ackermann wartet
auf die köstliche Frucht der Erde
und ist geduldig darüber, bis er empfahe
den Morgenregen und Abendregen.
—Jakobus 5:7
Aber des Herrn Wort bleibet in Ewigkeit.
—1. Petrus 1:25
Die Erlöseten des Herrn werden wieder kommen
und gen Zion kommen mit Jauchzen;
ewige Freude wird über ihrem Haupte sein;
Freude und Wonne werden sie ergreifen
und Schmerz und Seufzen wird weg müssen.
—Jesaja 35:10
Third Movement
Herr, lehre doch mich,
daß ein Ende mit mir haben muß,
und mein Leben ein Ziel hat,
und ich davon muß.
Siehe, meine Tage
sind einer Hand breit vor dir,
und mein Leben
ist wie nichts vor dir.
Ach wie gar nichts sind alle Menschen,
die doch so sicher leben.
Be patient, therefore, brethren,
unto the coming of the Lord.
Behold, the husbandman waiteth
for the precious fruit of the earth,
and hath long patience for it, until he receive
the early and latter rain.
—James 5:7
But the word of the Lord endureth for ever.
—1 Peter 1:25
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
and come to Zion with songs
and everlasting joy upon their heads:
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
—Isaiah 35:10
Third Movement
Lord, make me to know mine end,
and the measure of my days,
what it is:
that I may know how frail I am.
Behold, thou hast made my days
as a handbreadth;
and my age
is as nothing before thee:
verily every man at his best state
is altogether vanity.
Sie gehen daher wie ein Schemen,
und machen ihnen viel vergebliche Unruhe;
sie sammeln und wissen nicht
wer es kriegen wird.
Nun Herr, wess soll ich mich trösten?
Ich hoffe auf dich.
—Psalm 39:5-8
Der Gerechten Seelen sind in Gottes Hand
und keine Qual rühret sie an.
—Weisheit Salomos 3:1
Fourth Movement
Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen,
Herr Zebaoth!
Meine Seele verlanget und sehnet sich
nach den Vorhöfen des Herrn;
mein Leib und Seele freuen sich
in dem lebendigen Gott.
Wohl denen, die in deinem Hause wohnen,
die loben dich immerdar.
—Psalm 84:2, 3, 5
Fifth Movement
Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit;
aber ich will euch wieder sehen
Surely every man walketh in a vain shew:
surely they are disquieted in vain:
he heapeth up riches,
and knoweth not who shall gather them.
And now, Lord, what wait I for?
My hope is in thee.
—Psalm 39:4-7
But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
and there shall no torment touch them.
—Wisdom of Solomon 3:1
Fourth Movement
How amiable are thy tabernacles,
O Lord of hosts!
My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth
for the courts of the Lord:
my heart and my flesh crieth out
for the living God.
Blessed are they that dwell in thy house:
they will be still praising thee.
—Psalm 84:1, 2, 4
Fifth Movement
And ye now therefore have sorrow:
but I will see you again,
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t e x t a n d t r a n s l a t i o n s
t e x t a n d t r a n s l a t i o n s
und euer Herz soll sich freuen
und eure Freude soll niemand von euch nehmen.
—Evangelium Johannes 16:22
and your heart shall rejoice,
and your joy no man taketh from you.
—John 16:22
Dann wird erfüllet werden
das Wort, das geschrieben steht:
Der Tod ist verschlungen in den Sieg.
Then shall be brought to pass
the saying that is written:
Death is swallowed up in victory.
Sehet mich an:
Ich habe eine kleine Zeit
Mühe und Arbeit gehabt
und habe großen Trost funden.
—Jesus Sirach 51:35[27]
Ich will euch trösten,
wie Einen seine Mutter tröstet.
—Jesaja 66:13
Sixth Movement
Denn wir haben hie keine bleibende Statt,
sondern die zukünftige suchen wir.
—Hebräer 13:14
Siehe, ich sage euch ein Geheimnis:
Wir werden nicht alle entschlafen,
wir werden aber alle verwandelt werden;
Ye see how
for a little while
I labor and toil,
yet have I found much rest.
—Ecclesiasticus 51:27
As one whom his mother comforteth,
so will I comfort you…
—Isaiah 66:13
Sixth Movement
For here have we no continuing city,
but we seek one to come.
—Hebrews 13:14
Behold, I shew you a mystery;
We shall not all sleep,
but we shall all be changed,
Tod, wo ist dein Stachel?
Hölle, wo ist dein Sieg?
—1. Korinther 15:51, 52, 54, 55
Herr, du bist würdig
zu nehmen Preis und Ehre und Kraft,
denn du hast alle Dinge erschaffen,
und durch deinen Willen haben sie das Wesen
und sind geschaffen.
—Offenbarung Johannes 4:11
Seventh Movement
Selig sind die Toten,
die in dem Herrn sterben, von nun an.
Ja der Geist spricht,
daß sie ruhen von ihrer Arbeit;
denn ihre Werke folgen ihnen nach.
—Offenbarung Johannes 14:13
O death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory?
—1 Corinthians 15:51, 52, 54, 55
Thou art worthy, O Lord,
to receive glory and honor and power:
for thou hast created all things,
and for thy pleasure they are
and were created.
—Revelation 4:11
Seventh Movement
Blessed are the dead
which die in the Lord from henceforth:
Yea, saith the Spirit,
that they may rest from their labors;
and their works do follow them.
—Revelation 14:13
und dasselbige plötzlich, in einen Augenblick,
zu der Zeit der letzten Posaune.
Denn es wird die Posaune schallen,
und die Toten werden auferstehen unverweslich,
und wir werden verwandelt werden.
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trump:
for the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed.
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m e e t t h e a r t i s t s
m e e t t h e a r t i s t s
“In just a few seasons, artistic director
Robert Shafer has shaped The City Choir
of Washington into another of the area’s
first-class choruses.” The Washington Post
The City Choir of Washington (TCCW), which
is celebrating its 15th season under the artistic
leadership of Robert Shafer, is known for its
beautiful choral sound, attention to musical detail,
and moving performances. Maestro Shafer,
an accomplished lifelong educator and conductor,
is a master at preparing his singers, giving
careful attention to vocal technique and musical
style to communicate each composer’s vision.
Shafer challenges his singers and audiences
through creative programming, breathing new
life into old masterworks, such as Handel’s oratorio
Solomon, and pairing them with stunning renditions
of new or under-performed works, such as
Arvo Pärt’s Te Deum, Benjamin Britten’s Cantata
Misericordium, and Tarik O’Regan’s Triptych.
The City Choir of Washington was nominated
in 2014 for an Ovation Award for Most
Creative Programming, and is acclaimed for
its innovative concertizing. TCCW marked the
centennial of the 1918 Armistice with a moving
rumination on the nature of war and peace,
featuring Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Dona Nobis
Pacem, a color guard, a collection of vintage
photographs from the trenches, and a special
exhibition of World War I music-related artifacts.
Other inventive programs over the choir’s
history include Maestro Shafer’s re-orchestration
for chamber orchestra of Bruckner’s Mass in
F Minor; a unique French baroque program that
included Charpentier’s Te Deum, and a ballet
solo, to Lully’s Entrée d’Apollon; and a celebration
of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee that
featured the world premiere of Sir John Tavener’s
Three Hymns of George Herbert, commissioned
by TCCW. The composer was present for the
sold-out performance, which took place at the
Washington National Cathedral.
Besides performing to capacity audiences in its
own yearly subscription series, City Choir has
sung with The National Symphony Orchestra
and The Washington National Opera Orchestra
at The Kennedy Center and at Wolf Trap
Farm Park for the Performing Arts. The chorus
has sung under the batons of such noted conductors
as Stephen Lord, Randall Craig Fleischer,
Ludwig Wicki, and Marvin Hamlisch. City
Choir has also been honored to join with The
Defiant Requiem Foundation and Maestro
Murry Sidlin to present performances of
The Defiant Requiem at the Kennedy Center,
Strathmore Hall, and Avery Fisher Hall at
New York’s Lincoln Center.
The City Choir of Washington is composed
of over 100 experienced and highly skilled
volunteer singers from throughout the greater
Washington metropolitan area. Singers come
to rehearse from as far as Annapolis and
Frederick, Maryland; Warrenton, Virginia;
and even from Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
The singers state enthusiastically that it
is worth the drive to have the privilege to sing
with Maestro Shafer.
City Choir seeks to inspire singers, audience
members, and the community at large to discover
the rich musical and cultural heritage
of choral music and, in the words of Maestro
Shafer, “to create beauty and give our
audiences an escape from our deeply troubled
world and a vision of a new world truly at
peace and filled with love.” Also, through performances
and educational and community
outreach programs such as the City Singers,
the high school Partners in Song, and commitment
to spotlighting emerging American
soloists, the City Choir of Washington aims to
nurture the next generation of performers and
audience members.
Robert Shafer, recognized as one of America’s
major choral conductors, has served as
Artistic Director of the City Choir of Washington
since its launch in
September 2007. For more
than fifty years, Maestro
Shafer has served the
Washington, D.C. area as a
choral conductor, composer,
educator, and church
musician. He was the music
director of The Washington Chorus for over
thirty-five years. In February 2000, he was
honored by the National Academy of Recording
Arts & Sciences with a Grammy Award for Best
Choral Performance for a live concert recording
of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem.
Photo credit: Jill Bochicchio
Shafer prepared The Washington Chorus for
the Grammy Award-winning recording of
John Corigliano’s Of Rage and Remembrance with
Leonard Slatkin and The National Symphony
Orchestra and for the Grammy Award-nominated
compact disc and film soundtrack recording
of Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov with Mstislav
Rostropovich and The National Symphony
Orchestra. Shafer has prepared choruses for
many of the world’s leading conductors, including
Sir Neville Marriner, Seiji Ozawa, Zdenek
Macal, Christopher Warren-Green, Charles
Dutoit, Kent Nagano, Mstislav Rostropovich,
and Leonard Slatkin. He has guest-conducted
the National Symphony Orchestra on several
occasions and has also conducted choral
performances for NBC national telecasts. In
addition, he has conducted numerous European
concert tours with the choral groups that he has
prepared, most recently leading the City Choir
of Washington on tour to England in July 2018.
A student of the distinguished Nadia Boulanger,
Shafer has been noted for his own compositions,
including his setting of Lux Aeterna, which was
premiered in April 2009. In 1969, he won first
prize in composition at the American Conservatory,
Fontainebleau, France, and his works
have been performed throughout the United
States and Europe. When he served as music
director of the Basilica of the National Shrine
of the Immaculate Conception, he composed
and conducted a setting of Tu es Petrus in honor
of Pope John Paul II’s 1979 visit to Washington,
D.C. Another setting of Tu es Petrus, which he
wrote for the Children’s Chorus of Washington,
was published by Boosey & Hawkes. He
also composed and conducted a setting of Nunc
Dimittis for the funeral of the Honorable Elliot
Richardson, which was held at Washington
National Cathedral. In 2015 Maestro Shafer
was commissioned to compose a new work in
celebration of the 150th anniversary of Hope
College in Holland, Michigan, which coincided
with the opening of a new Arts Complex at
the college. Shafer’s composition Sweet Was the
Song, premiered by the City Choir of Washington
in 2017, was performed in December
2019 by the Catholic University of America
orchestra and chorus at the Basilica of the National
Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
An influential teacher, Shafer taught at James
Madison High School (Vienna, Virginia)
from 1968-1975, producing one of the finest
madrigal groups in the country. He served
as Artist-in-Residence and professor of music
at the Conservatory of Music of Shenandoah
University in Winchester, Virginia, from
1983 until his retirement in 2016. In 1989,
Shafer was honored by the Virginia Council
on Higher Education with an Outstanding
Faculty Award for his outstanding public service,
research, and teaching, the first teacher
in the arts to receive this award. In 2011, the
Choralis Foundation named Robert Shafer as
the winner of the 2nd Annual Greater Washington,
D.C. Area Choral Excellence Award.
This award is given to a person or organization
that has made significant contributions to
the art of choral singing in the greater D.C.
metropolitan area.
On June 30, 2022, Robert Shafer will retire
as artistic director of the City Choir of Wash-
16 17

m e e t t h e a r t i s t s
m e e t t h e a r t i s t s
ington. He will continue his association with
City Choir as Artistic Director Emeritus.
The Choralis Foundation was established by
Artistic Director Gretchen Kuhrmann in 2000
to nurture a passion for choral music through
excellent choral performances, professional development
opportunities for young soloists and
conductors, education and training for young
choristers, and community outreach events.
Nearly 110 singers perform across two ensembles:
Choralis, an auditioned SATB chorus, and Echos,
a semi-professional chamber group. Choralis is
committed to programming that includes not only
the classical choral repertoire, but compositions of
living composers and world music.
Artistic Director
Gretchen Kuhrmann
is the founder and
visionary of Choralis. A
true advocate for choral
music in all schools and
communities, she has
spent her career honing
choral ensembles into
musically sensitive performers and encouraging
young singers to develop their skills.
The daughter of a diplomat, Ms. Kuhrmann
has traveled and lived around the world, including
an extended stay in Hamburg, Germany,
where she spent her formative years. Before
leaving Europe, she toured and performed with
her own ensemble throughout Western Europe.
In addition to being a sought-after conducting
and choral clinician, Kuhrmann has shown
great success in building choral organizations
and is in demand as a speaker and consultant on
the topic at choral conventions and workshops
around the world.
Audiences and critics alike have recognized
Choralis for its musical excellence. Ms.
Kuhrmann’s detailed preparation and skillful
conducting have earned Choralis ensembles acclaim
throughout the United States and Europe.
Critics observed “…Kuhrmann has trained
this big group to sing with the delicacy and
transparency of a chamber chorus, and it does
this very well” and “…Conductor Gretchen
Kuhrmann drew a clear and beautifully blended
sound from the group, which was maintained
when the music pulled down to only a handful
of voices.” (The Washington Post).
In 2014, Choralis and the Choralis Cantus
Primo youth choir were selected to be featured
performing ensembles for the Chorus America
national conference held in Washington, DC
in June. Ensembles under Ms. Kuhrmann’s
direction have also been selected to perform
for both American Choral Directors Association
(ACDA) and Virginia Music Educators
Association (VMEA) conventions.
Ms. Kuhrmann also has prepared choruses
for many notable U.S. and international
conductors as well as numerous area diplomatic
and political events. She is the Director
of Music for Fairfax Presbyterian Church
and holds performance degrees in conducting
from the University of North Carolina at
Greensboro and George Mason University.
Todd Fickley is the
Organist of National
Presbyterian Church and
founder of “The Bach
Project.” He is the longtime
protégé of the late
Bach expert Dr. J. Reilly
Lewis, having served as
his Artistic Assistant at both the Washington
Bach Consort and the Cathedral Choral
Society. He is also the Associate Director and
Keyboard Artist for The Choralis Foundation.
Equally comfortable at the podium, harpsichord,
piano, and organ, his career spans
over 25 years performing across the United
States, Europe, and Israel. He is frequently seen
in concert with a wide variety of ensembles,
such as the National Symphony Orchestra, The
Washington Ballet, the National Philharmonic,
and the Three Notch’d Road baroque ensemble.
A native Washingtonian, Mr. Fickley began his
organ studies at the Washington National Cathedral
under Bruce Neswick. At the age of 23,
Mr. Fickley was made a Fellow of the American
Guild of Organists (AGO). He also holds the
AGO Choirmaster Diploma as well as the M.A.
in Organ Performance with High Distinction
from the University of Wales.
A prize-winning organist and specialist in
the music of J.S. Bach, Mr. Fickley has been
featured numerous times on NPR and PRI. In
2014 he launched “The Bach Project,” a cycle
of concerts performing and recording all of
Bach’s organ works, the first time in almost a
quarter of a century that such a project has been
undertaken in the D.C. area. The first volume
on the MSR Classics label was praised in Fanfare
Magazine as “some of the most enthralling Bach
organ playing you are likely to hear anywhere
by anyone.” The Project has taken him to
Germany in 2015 and 2018 researching and
performing on historic organs.
Mr. Fickley is frequently seen as conductor,
soloist, accompanist and lecturer in the Washington,
D.C., metro area, and enjoys teaching
privately. He is an Officer in the Order of St.
John and a member of the National Society of
Washington Family Descendants.
Kathleen Jagielski is
director of The City Singers,
TCCW’s outreach ensemble.
Ms. Jagielski has earned
her Bachelor’s of Music
Education degree from
Shenandoah University and
her Master’s of Music in
Vocal Pedagogy from The Catholic University of
America. Since 2005, she has worked in the area
actively as a singer and teacher and has directed
choruses and vocal ensembles for Anne Arundel
County Public Schools, Barbara Ingram School
for the Arts, and Charles County Public Schools.
She is currently in her seventh year as the Choral
Director at Trailside Middle School with
Loudoun County Public Schools. Ms. Jagielski
has helped to create music for many churches
in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area
and was recently the Choral Director for Our
Savior’s Way Lutheran Church in Ashburn, Virginia.
Ms. Jagielski has served as the music director
for many theatrical productions in Charles
and Loudoun County Public Schools. She is an
active member of NAfME, and ACDA.
Hailed by the Washington Post for her “supple,
haunting soprano,” Katelyn G. Aungst
performs as a featured
soloist and chorister with
intelligence, “particular
purity of tone” (San
Francisco Classical Voice),
and grace.
Her choral and chamber
experiences boast recording Dame Ethel
Smyth’s The Prison with the Experiential
Orchestra & Chorus (2021 Grammy Award
for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album), and
performances with The Thirteen, Clarion
Music Society, Oregon Bach Festival, Third
Practice, the U.S. Air Force Singing Sergeants,
Ensemble Altera, and Three Notch’d Road.
She has soloed with the American Bach Soloists
(St. Matthew Passion), Washington Bach
Consort (St. John Passion), the Nashville Symphony
Orchestra (Messiah), the City Choir of
Washington (Solomon, Dona Nobis Pacem, Lord
Nelson Mass), the Washington Master Chorale
(Out of the Ashes of Holocaust–premiere), and the
Peabody Symphony Orchestra (Harmoniemesse,
Great Mass in C Minor).
Theatrical highlights include the titular role
in Purcell’s Fairy Queen and Norina in Don
18 19

m e e t t h e a r t i s t s
t h e c i t y c h o i r o f w a s h i n g t o n
Pasquale. Ms. Aungst spent six years teaching
in the Montgomery County Public Schools and
served as the Assistant Artistic Director of the
Six Degree Singers, a community choir based
in Silver Spring, MD, from 2013-2019. She
currently serves on the artistic committee for
Third Practice.
Baritone James Shaffran’s
versatility and audience
appeal have made him a
long-sought-after performer,
accomplished singing
actor and perennial favorite.
Equally comfortable in
chamber, symphony hall
and opera stage, Mr. Shaffran has sung with
virtually every arts organization in the Washington-Baltimore
area and many beyond. A
WAMMIE nominee for Best Classical Vocal
Soloist for the past five years, he soloed on the
Grammy-winning recording of Corigliano’s Of
Rage And Remembrance with Leonard Slatkin and
the NSO.
Described as “a pillar of the company” by
former director Placido Domingo, Mr. Shaffran
has amassed over 50 roles in over 300 performances
with Washington National Opera, and
enjoys an active stage presence regionally as
well. Recent performances include his participation
in the critically-acclaimed world premiere
adaptation of Glass’ Appomattox as the Union
Soldier, an Inmate in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man
Walking, and the Registrar in Madame Butterfly.
He will continue his collaboration with the
WNO Young Artists by appearing as Sergeant
in their production of Barber of Seville next season,
after singing Antonio earlier this season in
their Marriage of Figaro.
He has several world premiere productions to
his credit, including creating the role of the
Principal in the acclaimed Greg Spears opera
Paul’s Case (a New Yorker Top-10 production of
2015 at the Prototype Festival, and which will
be released worldwide next year on the VIA label),
and the title role of Bernie Madoff in Luna
Pearl Wolff’s The Pillar in 2016.
Mr. Shaffran is a regular local presence as
a National Anthem singer, and is a frequent performer
with the Washington Nationals. He is a
staff bass chorister and soloist in the esteemed
Choir of Men, Boys and Girls of Washington
National Cathedral. He lives in Annandale,
Virginia with his wife Mary, a lyric soprano and
health tech executive with whom he performs
regularly in charity events and recitals, and with
their son Stephen.
SING WITH US!
The City Choir of Washington will
hold auditions this July and August.
“NOW IS THE TIME
TO GET BACK INTO
SINGING!”
—Erin Freeman,
Artistic Director Designate,
The City Choir of Washington
Are you a singer who is dedicated to
the art of beautiful choral music?
Would you like to sing under the direction
of dynamic conductor Erin Freeman?
Are you excited to meet new people
who are equally as thrilled
about music as you?
The City Choir of Washington
may be the very group for you.
Please visit us at
CITYCHOIR.ORG/AUDITIONS
for more information.
SOPRANO I
Bridget Boston
Laura Bradford
Linda Cirba
Yi-Ping Fu
Emma Harger
Marie Hyder**
Lanette Kanakry
Lindsay King
Thelma Leenhouts
Kathy Lupinacci
Emmilu Olson
Kelly Puza
Jessica Robbins
Michelle Schrier
Susan Schumacher
Hallie Skripak Gordon
Amy Solomon
Rachel Tester*
Juliet Weenink-Grifiths
Reshmina William
SOPRANO II
Vivian Chakarian**
Carol Edison*
Katie Jagielski
Lynn Kaplan
Kelly Krepelka
Beth Lilienstein
Susan Schreurs
Nastasia Stipo
Emily Tsai
Sara Watson
ALTO I
Anna Balchunas
Gail Crane
Melaina Dyck
Susan Gryder**
Meaghan Heselden
Heather Hunter
Robin Kerr
Joyce Korvick
Vicki Merlo
Patricia Morris-Falconi
Catherine Pruett
Ann Roddy
Emily Schutz
Amy Smith
Lauren Stuart
Chi-yu Sun
Nola Tolsma*
Alfhild Winder
Kristin Zimmer
ALTO II
Erica Antonelli
Audrey Bigelow*
Marilyn Fleming
Pat Giraldi
Barbara Greene
Lucy Guinivan
Elizabeth Horowitz**
Annabel Hunter
Rhoda Metcalfe
Lynne Price
Connie Ridgway
ROBERT SHAFER, Artistic Director
KATHLEEN JAGIELSKI, Assistant Conductor
PETER UHLIR, Accompanist
Shira Stein
Shelley Stewart
Claudia Tornblom
Elaine Wunderlich
TENOR I
Noah Beye
David Boomsma**
Kenneth Bailes
David Flaxman
Margaret Hemingway*
James Hutchinson
Geoff Kaiser
Chris Kanakry
Betsy Morse
Stuart Portnoy
Ben Tsai
Lejerian Williams
TENOR II
Bob Barnes
Douglas Fisher
Joseph Jones
Simon Kaplan
Joel Miller
Justin Moul
Drew Riggs
Leo Settler*
Will Stewart
Chris Thorne
Scott Tousley
BASS I
Eugene Beye
Robert Bonistalli
Kevin Boteler*
Steve Briggs
Dan Bullinger
William Gilcher
Frederick Griffin
Joe Hill**
Dan Hinderliter
Robin Mearns
Richard Morrison
Larry Robertson
BASS II
Jim Blackburn
Al Bradford
Sean Christiansen
Jeff Jenkins**
Don Juran
Philip Kopper
Jay Labov
Howard Lincoln
Mark Moverman
Joseph O’Leary
Steve Pearcy
Zain Shariff
Rod Sterling*
Alan Van Orden
Jim Weinstein
* Section leader
** Assistant section leader
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c h o r a l i s
t h e c i t y c h o i r o r c h e s t r a
SOPRANO
Barbara Alexander
Ingrid Ask
Lisbeth Bagnold
Gosia Bochenek
Sheri Reed Crotty
Tanya Hoffmann
Genevieve Jordan
Stacy Lu
Lynn Lunger
Veronica Passarelli
Mary Peterson
Helen Samhan
Mary Shaffran
Jennifer Sosin
Patricia Stephenson
Karen Stepka
Daisy Torla
Jeannette Warren-Anderson
GRETCHEN KURHMANN, Artistic Director
TODD FICKLEY, Associate Director & Keyboard Artist
ALTO
Susan Alpern-Fisch
Emma Baker
Heather Carkuff Joson
Mary Martha Churchman
Susan Frost
Angela Gladwell
Maggie Gonglewski
Jenni Henry
Tish Hickey
Lauren Knausenberger
Linda Knutsen
Laurie Lee
Anne-Marie McPhillips
Jeannette Oliver
Marti Olson
Michelle Perrine
Nicole Santos
Sonja Schmid
Lucinda Sexton
Anne Sorensen
Karin Sweet
Susan Trainor
Eileen West
TENOR
Elaine Block
John Downey
David Caleb
David Evans
Jeff Jordan
Erich Knausenberger
Charles Russell
Dan Stevens
Steven White
Kerry Wingell
BASS
Jeff Baron
Micheal Crotty
Len Discenza
Michael Discenza
David Early
William Foos
Jerry Gladwell
Scott Gladwell
Chris Hatfield
Gene Kaye
Kahaari Kenyatta
Greg Mugione
Jon Westergaard
Peter Wolfe
22 23
PROGRAM & MARKETING DESIGN: VICKI DODSON, BALTIMORE CREATIVE STUDIO
VIOLIN
Sonya Hayes
VIOLA I
Ann Steck
Matthew Maffett
VIOLA II
Michael Polonchak
Marta Howard
CELLO I
Christine Lightner
Vivian Podgainy
Benjamin Tsai
President
David Flaxman
Vice President
David B. Robinson
Secretary/Counsel
Douglas J. Fisher
Treasurer
Cita Furlani
Assistant Treasurer
Margaret Hemingway
General Manager
CELLO II
Sam Swift
David Cho
BASS
Michael Rittling
HORN
Rick Lee
Bradley Tatum
HARP
Marian Rian Hayes
Gail Crane
Barbara Greene
Meaghan Heselden
Jeff Jenkins
Thelma K. Leenhouts
Carole Lynne Price
Susan Holaday Schumacher
Rachel Tester
Nola Tolsma
Emily Hantman Tsai
Patricia Yee
Chorus Officer
Rod Sterling,
Chorus President
PERCUSSION
Gregory Herron
ORGAN
Todd Fickley
PERSONNEL
Pam Lassell
t h e c i t y c h o i r b o a r d o f d i r e c t o r s
Staff
Robert Shafer
Artistic Director
Kathleen Jagielski
Assistant Conductor
Zain Shariff
Operations Director
Emmilu Olson
Chorus Manager
Peter Uhlir
Accompanist

t h a n k yo u to o u r donor s & s u p p o rt e r s
NEED A RETREAT?
LIVE FROM THE MOUNTAINTOP
JULY 6-31, 2022
ERIN FREEMAN, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Plan your escape to the cool, breezy
air of the Blue Ridge and surround
yourself with breathtaking views – all
set to music that is designed to leave
you feeling recharged and inspired.
Four weekends of full symphony
orchestra plus chamber concerts and
coffee talks held daily: Head to the
Festival for a weekend, a week, or the
entire month of July!
TICKETS & WEEKEND
PACKAGES AT
WINTERGREEN-MUSIC.ORG
434.361.0541
@WINTERGREENMUSIC
FESTIVAL WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS:
July 8-10: Opening Night
Concert & Celebration: Jazzy
Favorites with the WFO //
MountainTop Masterworks I:
Opening Weekend – Carnival
of the Animals
July 15-17: Tango Night with
Quintango // MountainTop
Masterworks II: Four Seasons,
Four Ways & A Summery
Beethoven Symphony!
July 22-24: Movie Night //
MountainTop Masterworks
III: Mozart Symphony No. 40
& Shostakovich Piano
Concerto No. 1
July 29-31: The Best of
Bluegrass with Frank Solivan
& Dirty Kitchen //
MountainTop Masterworks
IV: Season Finale –
Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony
The City Choir of Washington
gratefully acknowledges
the assistance of the
VOLUNTEERS
who generously give
their time and expertise
to help us continue to provide
beautiful music to
the Washington community.
L. Robert Barnes
In memory of Terry J. Barnes
Judy & Richard Berglund
Gail & Donald Crane
Glenda Finley & Frank Maddox
David & Katherine Flaxman
Cita Furlani
In memory of John Furlani
Jonathan & Barbara Greene
Charles Hazlehurst Moura Family
Foundation
Margaret Hemingway
Marie A. Hyder
In honor of Robert Shafer’s years of
music making in D.C.
Barbara Esposito Ilacqua
In honor of Maestro Robert Shafer
Judy James
Thank you to our 2021–2022 Season Underwriters
Jeff & Carol Jenkins
Joseph E. Jones
Marion & Geoffrey Kaiser
Joyce Korvick & Paul Bickel
THE CITY CHOIR OF
WASHINGTON
SEASON
UNDERWRITERS
Thelma K. Leenhouts &
Joseph W. MacDoniels
Richard E. Morrison &
Joyce N. Siegel
Carole Lynne Price
In memory of Joseph B. Price, Jr. and
In honor of Caroline E. Price
Drew Riggs
In memory of Beth Riggs
David & Sandy Robinson
Robert & Sharon Shafer
Jeanne Harrison Smith
Amy & Eric Solomon
Shelley & Edward Stewart
Takeda Pharmaceuticals America,
Inc.
Benjamin & Emily Tsai
Ruby Kung Tsai
Vivian C. Tsai
Fred & Anne Harding Woodworth
Elaine Wunderlich
Patricia Yee
THE CITY CHOIR OF WASHINGTON
acknowledges with gratitude the generous
support of its donors.
GRATIAS IN PERPETUAM
The City Choir of Washington is forever
indebted to Elaine and Marv Wunderlich
for their 2007 matching grant of $100,000,
without which this chorus would not have
been formed.
THE ARTISTS’ CIRCLE
The City Choir of Washington invites you to
support our mission by becoming a valued
member of The Artists’ Circle (with a
contribution of or above $1,000). The support
of committed and generous patrons enables
us to pursue the very highest artistic
standards in our performances and to
inspire singers and audiences to discover the
boundless musical and cultural heritage of
great choral music. The City Choir is deeply
grateful for this support.
PLATINUM CLUB
($10,000 and up)
Barbara & Jonathan Greene
Charles Hazlehurst Moura Family
Foundation
Barbara Esposito Ilacqua
In honor of Maestro Robert Shafer
and in memory of Alex Riley
Judith James
In memory of Stanley James
Geoffrey D. & Marion J. Kaiser
Drew Riggs
Sharon & Robert J. Shafer, Jr.
Benjamin & Emily Tsai
Ruby Kung Tsai
Vivian C. Tsai
Elaine Wunderlich
GOLD CLUB
($5,000 to $9,999)
Leroy (Bob) Barnes
Glenda Finley & Frank Maddox
David & Katherine Flaxman
Honoring the inaugural year of Artistic Director
Erin Freeman
Cita Furlani
In memory of John J. Furlani
Marie A. Hyder
Thelma K. Leenhouts
Carole Lynne Price
In memory of Joseph B. Price, Jr.
Amy & Eric Solomon
Shelley, Ed, Maggie & Bill Stewart
In honor of Maggie Stewart
Anne & Fred Woodworth
In memory of Beth Riggs
SILVER CLUB
($2,500 to $4,999)
Richard & Judith Berglund
Gail & Donald Crane
Margaret Hemingway
In memory of John J. Furlani
Jeff & Carol Jenkins
Joyce A. Korvick & Paul Birkel
R. Gary Lortscher
In memory of Betty Lortscher
Richard E. Morrison
David & Sandy Robinson
Susan & Stephen Schreurs
Jeanne Smith
Claudia Tornblom
Patricia E. Yee
24
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t h a n k yo u to o u r donor s & s u p p o rt e r s
t h a n k yo u to o u r donor s & s u p p o rt e r s
BRONZE CLUB
($1,000 to $2,499)
Anonymous (2)
Morris Antonelli
In memory of Amy Antonelli
David Bass & Sue Hall
Audrey Bigelow
Anne P. Black
The Busis Family
Carol & William Edison
Pat & Albert Giraldi
William & Jennifer Gotten
Melinda Hall
Meaghan & Luke Heselden
In memory of Beth Riggs
Bruce Hunter
Joseph E. Jones
Lani Kanakry
Lynn Kaplan
Howard & Katherine Lincoln
To honor and thank Maestro Robert Shafer
for his dedication and devotion to choral
arts performance in the greater Washington
metropolitan area for the last 60 years, and
especially for his leadership of The City Choir
of Washington this past year.
Aaron & Kathryn Money
Monty Oppenheim
Caroline E. Price
In memory of Joseph B. Price
In honor of Carole Lynne Price
Susan Schumacher
In memory of Gus Schumacher
Leo H. Settler, Jr. & Joel A. Cuffman
Rachel Tester
Maude A. Williams
In memory of Patrick W. Jacobson
FRIENDS OF
THE CITY CHOIR
All donations to The City Choir are accepted
with gratitude. Individuals or corporations
contributing $20–$999 are recognized as
Friends of The City Choir and listed below.
BENEFACTORS ($500 to $999)
Stephen Beaudoin
Jim Blackburn
Albert G. Bradford, Jr.
Stephen L. Briggs
William & Diana Corrigan
Douglas J. Fisher
Karen L. Florini & Neil R. Ericsson
William & Kay Gilcher
Thomas A. & Ruth R. Green
In honor of Carol Edison
Peggie J. Hatton
Kathleen Jagielski
The Jagielski Family
Nell Jeter
Christopher Kanakry
David A. Klaus
Jay B. Labov
Steve & Nancy Lohman
In honor of Barbara Greene and all her
hard work
Kathryn & Michael Lupinacci
Patricia Morris-Falconi
In honor of my mother, Yolanda Falconi
de Morris
Northstrat Charity Matching
Tad & Whitney Nymo
In honor of Barbara Greene
Sharon Shafer
James Shaffran
Ann & Tim Stahmer
William R. Stewart
Nola Tolsma
Eva Tsai
Juliet Weenink-Griffiths
Debra Wynn & Allen Maberry
PATRONS ($250 to $499)
Barbara C. Batson
In honor of Erin Freeman
Gisele T. Becker
Rachel A. Binger
Laura Bradford
Cindy Carlton
Vivian Chakarian
In honor of Dikranuhi Chakarian
Franco & Paula Einaudi
In honor of Anne Harding Woodworth
Douglas E. Gill
Stephen Hantman
In memory of Carol Hantman
Neeta Helms
Joe P. Hill
Carol Jason
Martha Johnson
Marley Joyce
In honor of Amy Solomon
Don & Carol Juran
Dr. Thea Kano
Katharine King
Patricia & John Koskinen
Joseph W. MacDoniels
Marianne Marsolais
In honor of Maurice and
Alice Marsolais
Hon, & Mrs. Dennis McHugh
Robin Mearns
William V. Newman
Joseph H. O’Leary
Emmilu Olson
Virginia Pancoe
Steve Pearcy
Constance G. Ridgway
Susan Rogers
Mary Jane Ruhl
Nancy & Mike Shank
In honor of Barbara Greene
Erika Singer
Amy Claire Smith
Bill & Judith Stephenson
In honor of Shelley and Maggie Stewart
Kathryn M. Tidyman
Scott Tousley
Scott & Julie Tucker
Joanna Ward
Jim Weinstein
Joe & June Widmayer
Alfhild & James Winder
Julian Zottl
In honor of Rachel Tester
SPONSORS ($100 to $249)
Sue & Kim Ahearn
Anonymous
Anonymous
Ari & David Antonelli
In memory of Amy Antonelli
Kenneth Bailes
John Ball
Linda Whelan Barber
Virginia Bland
Marlene S. Blevins
Dave Boomsma
Carol & Don Borut
Sharon Bothwell
G. H. Patrick Bursley
Lauren Cairns
Toby Chun
Linda Cirba
Jarrett S. Cohen
James & Ann Connell
Patricia Corey
Jan Crews
Alice M. Denney
Hannah Donohue
Pat & Delores Dunn
Kathryn Erhardt
In honor of Erin Freeman
Carol Farris
Erin Freeman
Beth Gawne
Jeffrey Gedmin
Mark & Sara Gibson
Evan Gittlein
Tanya Godfrey
Susan Gryder
Dr. DeVere Henderson
Cynthia M. Hibbert
In honor of Barbara Greene
Elliott & Susan Jacks
Ed & Carol Johnson
Lynn & Simon Kaplan
Carol Kelly
Richard Landfield
Peter Laugesen & William Stewart
Kristen Maria Lewandowski
Leslie Luxemburg
Pat & Chris Maher
Christine Maher
Elizabeth Manning
Steph Marvin
Sandy R. McKenzie
Bill Miller
Joel Miller
Claire Miller
In honor of Marvin Wunderlich
Mary Beth Moore & Douglas Ruby
Nina Morwell
Mark Moverman
Mark Ohnmacht
Kay O’Neal
Linda & Peter Parkin
In honor of Barbara Greene, for her devotion
to and enthusiasm for City Choir
Scott & Elizabeth Perkins
John Platt
Dawn Powell
Edward E. Purcell, III
Roz Rakoff
James Schufreider
Zain Shariff
Mary Ann Simmons
Donald M. Simonds
Rod Sterling
Jeanie W. Teare
Kathleen Tester
Dennis Thorp
In honor of Dr. Robert Shafer
Kim Toebbe
Vinson Hall Retirement Community
Sara Watson
Janice Zimmeck
FRIENDS ($20 to $99)
Gail Allio
Edith Armstrong
Joan Cade
Jay Chen
Marie & Mark Colturi
Patricia A. Cover
Dr. Lisa Susan Crawford
Liana C. Cuffman
Deborah Dewey
Trudy Downs
Leslie England
Yi-Ping Fu
Peter Gallanis
Cleve & Judith Gardner
Duane Girdner
John Holley
Norma Joiner
Philip Kopper
Cheryl Lawson
Robert E. Lee, Jr.
Carol Lund
Rhoda Metcalfe
Nancy Miller
Margaret Minton
Lisa Nelson
Gail Nordheimer
Robert Olson
Jessica Olson
Nancy M. Gordon & Robert P. Parker
Brian Percival
David M. Petrou
Nancy Plum
Michael Pontone
John Robbins
Peter Rocco
Carmen Rodriguez
Jean & Larry Rood
Nannon Roosa
Philip Sailor
Jean & Douglas Saunders
Grace Scarborough
Dale Feuer Stahl
James R. Tidyman
David Tidyman
TerriToebbe
Peter Uhlir
Virginia Vitucci
Ann Voss
Amy Watson
Wendy A. Wexler
In honor of Barbara Greene
Grace White
Madeline Willhite
Lejerian Williams
Mark Wychulis
CORPORATE AND
IN-KIND SPONSORS
We would like to thank the following
sponsors for their generous in-kind
donations:
Morris Antonelli
Barrel Oak Winery
Bochicchio Photography
Vivian Chakarian
Chrystal Mountain Resort and Spa
William J. Doepkens &
Doepkens Farm
Neil Doherty
Kay Elsasser
Barbara Esposito Ilacqua
David Flaxman
Barbara & Jon Greene
Judy James
Jeffrey Jenkins
Thelma Leenhouts
Allison Mondel
Virginia Pancoe
Lynne Price
David Robinson Law
Susan Schreurs
Amy & Eric Solomon
Ann & Tim Stahmer
Nola Tolsma
Benjamin Tsai
Emily Tsai
Juliet Weenink-Griffiths
The Willard InterContinental Hotel
Anne Woodworth
Unwined Wine Store
Patricia Yee
The list above reflects gifts received from
January 1, 2021 through May 30, 2022.
Every effort has been made to ensure this list
is complete and accurate. If your name has
been misspelled or omitted, please accept our
apologies and contact Zain Shariff, Operations
Director, at zain.shariff@citychoir.org
so the error may be corrected.
26 27

Dear Bob:
As we get on stage to sing the Brahms Requiem,
we are incredibly grateful for what you have shared
with us in the past 15 years as the City Choir of
Washington’s Artistic Director. You have taught us to
always serve the music, through which we find beauty,
humanity, and ultimately spiritual renewal. You have
not only made us better musicians, but better citizens
and better humans.
Shenandoah Conservatory
Music. Theatre. Dance.
Superior
professional
training
Internationally
celebrated
faculty
Extensive
performance
opportunities
su.edu/ccw | 540-665-4581
Shenandoah University is an Equal Opportunity Educational Institution/Employer.
Inventive
and artistic
integration of
technology
In addition to the City Choir, many of us have
sung with you for decades under the Washington
Chorus and the Oratorio Society. We have so many
wonderful memories of transcendent performances
in world-class venues, as well as some wild moments
on tour that we will never forget. Most important, we
cherish your friendship.
When we started the choir 15 years ago, we had no
idea what the future would look like. We all took a
leap of faith, and we are so glad we did! Your artistic
vision and leadership have ensured a bright future for
us as we welcome Erin into our choral family. You will
always be family to us, and we look forward to seeing
you and working with you in your new role as Artistic
Director Emeritus.
Enjoy Paris!
With love,
The Singers of the City Choir of Washington
28 29

Rossini’s
Sublime Transgressions
Sunday, November 13, 2022
National Presybterian Church
Peace & Promise
in the New Year
Sunday, January 22, 2023
George Washington Masonic National Memorial
THE CITY CHOIR OF WASHINGTON IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE OUR 2022-2023 SEASON
WITH INCOMING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR ERIN FREEMAN
From Grief to Hope
Sunday, March 26, 2023
Temple Sinai
Old & New American Songs
Sunday, June 4, 2023
Schlesinger Concert Hall