Belmont University School of Music
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2025 5:00 PM
MCAFEE CONCERT HALL
Belmont University School of Music presents
Bel Canto & Chorale
Lesley Mann, conductor
Jeffery L. Ames, conductor
“Aflame”
Bel Canto
Lesley Mann, conductor
Et in Terra Pax
Luke Baxley, violin
Macahila Hinnenkamp, violin
George Graefen, viola Grant Brown, cello Alex Haldane*, bass
The Peace of Wild Things
George Graefen, viola
Chris Smallwood+, piano
Shelby Bagg, soloist
Nandi Dube, soloist
Angela Stenzel*, conductor
Chris Smallwood+, piano
Todd London+, percussion
Alex Haldane*, bass
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) arr. David Rayl
Sean Ivory (b. 1969)
Storm Comin’
Ruth Moody (b. 1975)
Fire Dance of Luna
Darius Lim (b. 1986)
In “Aflame,” this program asks: What sets you aflame? Using fire as a metaphor, this collection of works explores the various forms that passion and commitment take when engaging with the world. We begin with Vivaldi’s Et in Terra Pax (arr. David Rayl), a profoundly haunting and modulatory work that captures the initial flicker of commitment the mysterious inner light that guides us through uncertainty. This intense opening sets a pensive tone, suggesting that to be “Aflame” first requires a journey of searching. Sean Ivory’s The Peace of Wild Things offers a stabilizing counterpoint. It reminds us that resilient passion requires deep reserves, providing the steady, controlled warmth of a hearth that delivers the internal solace and quiet resolve necessary to sustain engagement.
The program then moves to fire’s more elemental and kinetic forms the sheer energy required to face challenges head-on. Ruth Moody’s Storm Comin’ channels fire’s raw, untamed force, using insistent rhythms and powerful drive to evoke the gathering intensity of change, mirroring the unstoppable commitment needed to challenge the status quo. Finally, Darius Lim’s The Fire Dance of Luna concludes with a vision of vibrant transformation, dazzling with rhythmic vitality and shimmering musical color. This dynamic program represents the magnificent, beautiful result of living a life fully “Aflame.”
Program notes by Dr. Lesley Mann, School of Music Faculty
“Many Fears, One Hope”
Chorale
Edition 56
Jeffery L. Ames, conductor
In today’s world, fears surround us in many forms. We worry about our safety and stability in uncertain economic times. We wonder about the direction of our nation’s leadership. We wrestle with concerns about healthcare, mental well-being, and the overall welfare of humankind. Trouble seems to press in from every side, and even the daily headlines can weigh down the heart. Yet, in the face of many fears, there remains one powerful force that lifts us about despair: hope. Hope is what steadies us when the ground feels shaky, what shines through the darkest night, and what reminds us that tomorrow can hold something better. The question we must ask is this: in the midst of so much fear, how do we nurture and hold on to hope?
Fear of Judgement
Dies irae
José Maurício Nunes Garcia from Missa de Requiem (1767-1830) arr. Matthew Harrison
Ana Sophia Butkus, soprano
Wesleigh Jane Winfrey, alto Javier Castro, tenor
Nathan Rosenquist*, bass
Sami Copeland*, piano
Nunes Garcia is now considered to be Brazil’s greatest composer of sacred music. Born in 1767 to Afro-Brazilian parents, he became a gifted instrumentalist, priest, and teacher who championed the musical developments of the Classical period in South America.
Inspired by Viennese contemporaries such as Mozart and Haydn, music of Nunes Garcia’s surviving work was composed during his appointment as Master of the Royal Chapel in 1808. In 1816, he composed the Requiem for the Mother Queen Maria I who died March 20. The work’s intensity and dramaticism could also be attributed to the fact that his own mother died shortly after the queen.
Text and Translation
Dies irae, dies illa Solvet saeclum in favilla: Teste David cum Sibylla.
Quantus tremor est futurus Quando Judex est venturus Cunta stricte dicussurus!
Tuba mirum spargens sonum Per sepulchra regionum, Coget omnes ante thronum.
Mors stupebit, et natura, Cum resurget creatura, Judicanti responsura.
Rex tremendae majestatis, Qui salvandos salvas gratis, Salva me, fons pietatis.
Quaerens me, sedisti lassus: Redemisti Crucem passus: Tantus lavor non sit cassus.
Juste Judex ultionis, Donum fac remissionis Ante diem rationis.
Day of wrath, that day shall dissolve the world into embers, as David prophesied with Sybil.
How great the trembling will be, when the Judge shall come, the rigorous investigator of all things!
The trumpet, spreading its wondrous sound, through the tombs of every land, will summon all before the throne.
Death and nature will marvel, when the creature will rise again, to respond to the Judge.
King of fearsome majesty, Who saves the redeemed freely, save me, O fount of mercy.
Seeking me, You rested, tired You redeemed [me], having suffered the cross let not such hardship be in vain.
Just Judge of vengeance, make a gift of remission before the day of reckoning.
Fear of Losing Time
When the Earth Stands Still Don Macdonald (b. 1966)
Macdonald is a well-respected and recognized Canadian composer whose eclectic musical background includes works for theatre and dance, from rock to jazz to world and folk music. He has over fifty film music credits, many of which include 20th Century Fox and Lionsgate Films. Although Macdonald has performed professionally as a saxophonist and violinist, his connection to choral music was cultivated at a young age. Writing poetry is another passion he embraces.
Macdonald first got the notion to write the poem, “When the Earth Stands Still,” while he was lying on the grass with his young son. Both were mesmerized by the slow-moving dance of the clouds. He continued to share how in moments like these, time has a way of slowing down and the fast-paced life we live becomes trivial.
When the Earth Stands Still “is a call to a loved one to be present in the moment and to really see and reflect on simple things. It is in these moments that we can appreciate the gift of life and the ability to love and be loved.”
Fear of Lost Love
Gaelic Song of the Boatman (Fhir a’Bhata)
Sine NicFhionnlaigh (18th Century) arr. Philip Lawson
Folksongs are passed orally from generation to generation. With this comes many variations of the song and its storyline. One version attributes Fhir a’Bhata to Sine NicFhionnlaigh. She was from the Isle of Lewis in Scotland and wrote the well-known Gaelic folk song at the end of the 18th century.
Legend says that NicFhionnlaigh penned these lyrics to express her deep love and longing for her absent fisherman, Dòmhnall MacRath. The song paints the depiction of her waiting and watching from the highest hilltop wondering if her boatman will return safely. This story is not uncommon... the girl alone on the shore awaiting her love, a man she has been warned about called “fickle” or “false one.” Yet, she continues to wait. In the traditional version of the story, MacRath returns home, and they are married shortly thereafter. In Lawson’s arrangment, however, one still wonders if the boatman ever arrives or is lost at sea.
Text and Translation
Fhir a’Bhata na horo eile.
Mo shoraidh slàn leat’s gach àit’ an téid thu.
Night Vision
Fear of the Night
O Boatman, no one else. My farewell to you wherever you go.
Chatman (b. 1950)
Sami Copeland*, piano
Decorated Vancouver composer, Stephen Chatman, is one of the country’s most prominent composers with multiple Juno nominations (presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences) and a member of the Order of Canada. Born in Minnesota, he served as a Professor and Head of Composition at the University of British Columbia School of Music. His teaching spanned forty-five years.
Night Vision was commissioned by a women’s choir in Whitehorse, Yukon. This text is a setting of Whitehorse poet, Joanna Lilley. The words and music of Night Vision convey the spirit of the cold,
Stephen
vast northern wilderness. The fast, energetic music complements images of wild foxes, coyotes, and wolves at night, through the back gate, two pairs of eyes electric in the flashlight. Contrasting homophonic and contrapuntal sections build in intensity toward the climactic final moments of the piece.
Fear of Worldly Struggles
Stone Jacob Narverud & Ryan Main (b. 1986), (b. 1984)
Todd London+, percussion
Todd Kemp+, percussion
Members of the Belmont University Dance Company
Debbie Belue+, choreographer
This piece is set in a dissonant tonal language. Stone speaks to the immense pressure of affliction and how it can harden one’s thoughts and feelings into an “iron heart.” Robert Bode’s text for Stone is written in the form of a Haiku: a minimalist form of poetry based on a solid, concrete idea.
Hard the ringing stone, Heavy the flinting edges, As cold as regret.
Volcano daughter, Forged of slow and fiery breath, Cooled to hardest ice.
Pressed against the night, Against the strongest darkness, You iron heart is mine.
Tonight’s rendition is an aggressive fusion of choral, electronica, percussion forces, and dance. The result is a visceral, aural, and visual experience.
One Hope
Nearer, My God, to Thee
BETHANY
Lowell Mason (1792-1872) arr. Jeffery L. Ames+
The author of the text, Sarah Flower Adams, was born in 1805. She died at an early age of fortythree but was widely known for her literary accomplishments. Sarah, and her musician sister Eliza, were part of the Unitarian Church. Together, they contributed thirteen texts and sixty-two new tunes for a hymnal being compiled by their pastor.
The text for this hymn is based on the dream that Jacob had in the desert when he was fleeing as a fugitive from his home and his brother Esau (Genesis 28). Sarah versified the complete Biblical story in five stanzas still in use today. Interestingly, this Unitarian hymn is found in nearly every published hymnal and translated into other languages. Additionally, there is a well-known account
of hearing strains of the hymn while the sinking, ill-fated ship, The Titanic, plunged into the icy waters of the Atlantic in 1912 - sending 1,500 people into eternal rest.
Despite the Unitarian affiliation of the hymn writer, one could conclude that this hymn has been greatly used by God to bring spiritual comfort and peace during the most perilous times. Danger, fear, and insecurity have no respect for age or color. Yet, there’s one hope…. “And when I fear, Nearer, to Thee.”
Program notes by Dr. Jeffery L. Ames, School of Music Faculty
He Lives in You
Bel Canto & Chorale Finale
Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Lebo M from The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride (b. 1957), (b. 1955), (b. 1964) arr. Mark Brymer
Baylee Broom, soloist
Todd London+, percussion
Todd Kemp+, percussion
Members of the Belmont University Dance Company
Debbie Belue+, choreographer
*School of Music Graduate Student
+College of Music and Performing Arts Faculty
Acknowledgements
Dr. Ryan Joseph, Coordinator/Professor of Strings
Mr. Todd London & Mr. Todd Kemp, Professors of Percussion
Ms. Debra L. Belue, Professor of Dance
Members of the Belmont Dance Company
Emma Ask
Jack Anderson (Swing)
Xander Benton
Eliza Cook
Kelly Goenaga
Grace Heinrichs
Dee Pace
Autumn Perez (Swing)
John Turelli
Carson Williams
McAfee Concert Hall Crew
Lily Adams
Sophia Andrzejewski
Norah Armstrong
Hannah Arnold
Georgie Ascoli
Zoe Assis
Shelby Bagg
McKinnon Baker
Molly Barbery
Claire Barton
Emilee Beauman
Lara Blizzard
Baylee Broom
Haven Brown
Lily Burke
Bel Canto Personnel
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Emma Walsh
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Savannah Bensing^
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Chorale Personnel
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Clay Bradford^
Logan Bressman*^
Ella Buettner^
Ana Sophia Butkus
Javier Castro
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Rowan Clark
Jenna Clarke
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Sam Cooper
Sami Copeland**
Olivia Cotton
Jordan Darnell^
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Rox Davidson^ Classical Vocal Performance Singapore
Abby Everett
Abby Ferrell
Carter Ferris
Caleb Flores
Ryan Flynn
Kelly Fox
Joshua Fraze^
Kate Gallandt
Katelyn Glass^
Eva Grossardt
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Caroline Raus
Nathan Rosenquist**
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James Shepard
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Bella Swarthout
Scott Vaughn
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Anthony Wheaton Undeclared Clinton, MS
Jillian Wilson Classical Composition Charleston, SC
Wesleigh Jane Winfrey Classical Vocal Performance Waukee, IA
Camden Wright Musical Theatre Castle Rock, CO
*2025-2026 Chorale Scholar **School of Music Graduate Student ^Chorale Leadership
Upcoming Concerts and Events
Jazz Small Group 1 & Jazz String Quartet Monday, October 27, 7:30 p.m. Harton Recital Hall
Southbound Thursday, October 30, 7:30 p.m. Massey Concert Hall
Piano Concert Series Rosângela Sebba Thursday, October 30, 7:30 p.m. McAfee Concert Hall
For more information on upcoming concerts and events, please visit www.belmont.edu/cmpa or “like” Belmont University School of Music on Facebook.
