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Family Portraits: a Musical ExplorationJanuary 18, 19, 20, 2002 Program NotesAs humans, we desire to develop families based on trust, honesty and strong positive values. Ginger Starling, a lesbian composer has written a powerful song to open our concert. Hate is Not a Family Value serves as a musical declaration of the OVMC Mission Statement. Lionel Bart was the youngest child of a Jewish family in the East End of London. When he was 30, Oliver! his greatest musical success, opened at the New Theatre. Consider Yourself is one of the many memorable songs from this musical. Although Lionel Bart was known to be gay by those in the theatre world, he did not "consider himself part of the gay family" until 1990 when he described himself as "out at last." How many of you remember your mother, grandmother, or aunt singing as they did any number of the things one does during the day? Stuart Stotts is a singer, songwriter and children's musician who shares his personal memories of his mother and the music with which she filled his life in Music in My Mother's House. J. David Moore, a composer, and arranger living in St. Paul, MN, has arranged Stotts's touching tribute. Joyce Maguire Pavoa believes that "adoption is not about finding children for families, it's about finding families for children." Who will ever forget the curly, redheaded Annie, who softens the heart of Daddy Warbucks, gets a mom, dad, dog, great house, and a "Yes!" instead of "Maybe"? It is tough in the "woods" of Minneapolis, St. Paul, New York, Los Angeles or Bismarck, North Dakota. (Hey, are there any woods in North Dakota?) Stephen Sondheim — the gay composer lyricist who has been writing for the musical theatre for the past four decades, reminds us that "even though sometimes people leave you halfway through the wood, and others may deceive you, No One Is Alone." Biologically, we have no choice when it comes to the family in which we are born. But, we can choose to surround ourselves with Chosen Family members with whom we can share our joys and sorrows, our hopes and desires. "When separate hearts become one, a new understanding of love comes alive." Our Second Set consists of six unusual pieces that relate to our belonging to the spirit of our universal family. There is much controversy over the authenticity of Chief Seattle's Treaty Oration of 1854. It is believed that one "Dr." Smith, an early settler in what would become Seattle, took notes as Chief See Yaâlth' spoke in the Suquamish dialect and created the English text set here to music in This We Know (see footnote). At the time this speech was made, whites commonly believed that Native Americans would inevitably become extinct. Oodgeroo Nunuccal had a strong belief in the value of all people and in the value of the earth which owns us. The first Aboriginal poet published in Australia, Oodgeroo was also active in the civil rights movement. Composer Clare Maclean used Oodgeroo's poem, "Hope" as the text of Hope There Is. This piece is influenced by authentic Aboriginal music. Standing in a crowded playground, or walking in the mall, every mother's head turns to the sound of "Mom!" Jere Hutchinson's Lament for a Lost Child employs the sounds of toddlers and infants, inviting you to empathize with the anguish of hearing the faint cries of someone, young or old, who is lost. Long-time fans of One Voice may wonder if there is any topic for which Dr. Ysaye Barnwell of Sweet Honey in the Rock has not written a piece. The wonderful We Are gives hope to the lost in finding out who we really are. Wonfa Nyem is a traditional song in Akan from Ghana. This song is sung at festivals and funerals as a celebration of being an active part in community life. The performers sing that they are alone like the tortoise, which has a dual meaning for the Akan people. The first is the tortoise alone during hardships and having to fend for itself. The second is the admiration of this creature for its patience and its non-aggressive ways. In the end, the song teaches us that good and bad come to all, but if we involve ourselves in the community we will be helped when our time of need arrives. Stick Around is based on Fanga, a rhythm of welcome from Liberia, combined with the Samba rhythm, which originated from African slaves in Brazil. One Voice has created this arrangement of Stick Around as a metaphor for our musical family. Drawn from the chaos of life, scattered parts find each other to join and blend in sound. Though each part brings something different to the mix, the "whole" is held together through a playful rhythmic exchange. The second half opens with a celebration of family fun and movement! We begin rockin' and rollin' to an infectious beat in Family, by composer Kirby Shaw. Dr. Shaw has made an impact in music education and has shared his musical expertise around the world. Camilla Horne, Interim Music Director, sang in his jazz ensemble at the University of Missouri. Small world! Besides composing music and serving as artistic director for Singing Out! The Lesbian and Gay Chorus of Toronto, John Schrag is an expert juggler! He started juggling because "I was neither graceful nor coordinated." He composed Pride's Child as a whimsical tribute to same-sex parents and their children. Children everywhere and of all ages can enjoy the infectious pleasures of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music. Is The Lonely Goatherd a boy or a girl? We couldn't decide, either, but at the end, s/he is lonely no more! Miss Celie's Blues comes to us from the movie adaptation of Alice Walker's The Color Purple. We dare you to stay in your seat! We close our Third Set after having mixed a bit of Broadway pizzazz with a pinch of juicy, hip-swaying jazz by adding a tasteful frosting of promise with Everything Possible, a delightful lullaby popularized by The Flirtations. Our final set is about the most important family ingredient, Love. Love binds us all together, young or old, rich or poor, gay or straight, individuals or groups. Even love that is not shared can bind us in the most difficult ways. Sometimes I Wish is a song about unrequited love arranged from a 16th century sonnet. Apprentice director Kathy Webster takes up the reigns for this piece. Gwyneth Walker, a full-time composer who lives on a dairy farm in Vermont, composed My Love Walks in Velvet as a wedding gift for some friends. I wonder how one goes about registering for a gift like this? Naked in the Leaves celebrates growing old with the one you love. Despite the wrinkles, graying hair and diminishing senses, the memory of younger love "like flowers, newly blossomed, dancing wildly in the breeze" lives on forever. No matter if you are a family member of one or one hundred, "No [One] Is an Island...no one stands alone." The greatest family member of all, is you and the gifts you bring to the universal family of humanity. --Camilla J. Horne "You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of our grandfathers. So that they will respect the land, tell your children that the earth is rich with the lives of our kin. Teach your children that we have taught our children that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of earth. If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves. This we know; the earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family." -Chief Seattle's speech as submitted by Dr. Glenn T. Olds at Alaska's Future Frontiers conference in 1979. |
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