American Voices!
Celebrating Our Choral Tradition
Commemorating America’s Semiquincentennial and Westminster’s Centennial Anniversary through choral music by composers and genres from the last 125+ years!
Dr. Heather J. Buchanan ‘98, conductor
Scott Dettra ‘97 ‘98, accompanist
Alumni Composers
Gerald Custer ‘75
Karen Marrolli ‘97 ‘00
Brandon Waddles ‘13
Saturday, August 1, 2026 at 2:30 p.m.
Princeton Theological Seminary Chapel
64 Mercer St. Princeton, N.J.
Please note the unauthorized use of any recording device, either audio or video is prohibited by law. Out of courtesy to the performers and everyone in the audience, please refrain from using cell phones and electronic devices.
Program
I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear: (Walt Whitman, “Leaves of Grass”)
Faith, Hope & Love
God is Seen (Traditional Hymn) arr. Alice Parker Tune: Captain Kidd (1925–2023)
The Last Words of David Randall Thompson 2 Samuel, 23: 3-4 (1899–1984)
“Set Me as a Seal” from A New Creation René Clausen Song of Solomon 8: 6 (b. 1953)
This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.
(Leonard Bernstein)
A Bridge Between Cultures: Praise, Peace & Reconciliation
Chichester Psalms Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990)
Mvt I: Psalm 108, vs. 2; Psalm 100 entire
Mvt II: Psalm 23, entire; Psalm 2, vs. 1-4
Mvt III: Psalm 131, entire; Psalm 133, vs. 1
Alex Farah, soprano; Gabrielle Cintrón, mezzo-soprano
Christian Johnson, tenor; Nathan Anderson, baritone
Emrys Pengelly, treble
Jackie Kerrod, harp
Eric Borghi, percussion
Emrys Pengelly, treble, appears courtesy of Saint Thomas Church, New York City
In the rustle of leaves, find whispers of wonder that remind you to breathe. (Mary Oliver)
Inspiration from the Natural World
Innisfree Gerald Custer Poem “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” (b. 1950)
William Butler Yates (1865-1939)
Winner of the 75th Anniversary Alumni Composition Competition
“Sure On This Shining Night” from Nocturnes Morten Lauridsen Poem by James Agee (1907-1955) (b. 1943)
Measure Me, Sky! Elaine Hagenberg Poem by Leonora Speyer (1872-1956) (b. 1979)
The Peace of Wild Things Jake Runestad Poem by Wendell Berry (b. 1934) (b. 1986)
You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I’ll rise! (Maya Angelou)
Struggle, Resistance & Resolve
“Anthony O Daly” from Reincarnations Samuel Barber James Stephens (1880-1950) (1910-1981)
Were You There arr. Brandon Waddles
Traditional Negro Spiritual (b. 1988)
My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord arr. Moses Hogan
Traditional Negro Spiritual (1957-2003)
Undivided Karen Marrolli
Lyrics by Karen Marrolli (b. 1975)
Alexa Tammone & Gabrielle Cintrón, soloists
Alexei Yavtuhovich, violin
Paige Elise Buchanan Stewart, cello
Special Thanks
• Guest artists
o Emrys Pengelly, treble, appearing courtesy of Saint Thomas Church, NYC – Richard Tannner, music director
o Instrumentalists: Jackie Kerrod, harp; Eric Borghi, percussion; Alexei Yavtuhovich, violin; Paige Elise Buchanan Stewart, cello
• Alexa Tammone, Choral Festival Assistant
• Choral Scholars: Nathan Anderson (BI), Gabrielle Cintrón (AII), Alex Farah (SI), Ben Glick (BI), Christian Johnson (TI),
• Duomi Liu (AII), Tyler Miller (TI), Alexa Tammone (SI),
• Sarah Vawdrey (SI)
• Section leaders and sectional conductors – thank you for sharing your skills in service of the choral festival experience
• Dr. Kathy Kessler Price for vocal pedagogy workshops
• Princeton Theological Seminary for Chapel use
Westminster College of Media & Performing Arts Personnel
Jason Vodicka, Interim Dean
Leandra Acosta, Associate Director of Performance Management
Ben Shively, Performing Arts Coordinator
Summer Festival Choir
Soprano
Amy (Xiaoman) Chen
Min Chen
Alex Farah
Lyndsey Gallagher
Laura Gealt
JoAnne Harla
Christine Psolka
Alexa Tammone
Sarah Vawdrey**
Hui-Ling Wu
Maggie Wu
Ti Wu
Tenor
Dinuka De Silva
Anthony Glick
Elijah Hertzog
Christian Johnson**
Alex Li
Aaron Lynch
Tyler Miller
Fred Millner
Ricky Salazar
Hong Sima
** Section Leader
Alto
Grace Ahn
LaVerna Albury
Janet Breslin
Evelyn Chan
Gabrielle Cintrón**
Brielle L. Epstein
Melinda Hunt
Kayla Kutes
Duomi Liu
Jessica Lowe
Debra Mayer
Susan Metz
Fran Perlman
Wen Shi
Shirley X. Vashi
Judy Wang
Cathy Wright
Bass
John Anderson
Nathan Anderson**
Ted Cherney
Richard Farris
Ben Glick
Sean D. Haugh
Len Moskowitz
Dudley Rice
Louis Sokolow
Gordon Wu
Dr. Heather J. Buchanan, conductor Australian-born conductor Heather J. Buchanan, PhD, is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Montclair State University where she conducts choirs ranging in size from 24 to 150 voices. Choirs under her direction have earned critical acclaim for their “heartfelt conviction,” “vibrant sound,” “grace and precision,” being a “marvel of diction, tuning and rhythm, “eloquence,” “impeccable dynamics and diction,” “new-minted enthusiasm and vibrancy,” and for singing with the “crispness and dexterity of a professional choir.” During her 24-year tenure, Montclair choirs have collaborated with a variety of renowned national and international performing artists including Richard Alston Dance Company (UK), Meredith Monk, Eric Whitacre, Jake Runestad, VOCES8, and members of the Vienna Philharmonic strings. As principal choral collaborator with the New Jersey Symphony for 20+ years, she has prepared masterwork repertoire for conductors such as Neeme Järvi, Xian Zhang, Jacques Lacombe, George Manahan, Nicholas McGegan, and Jeanette Sorrell. Her choirs have sung on commercially produced recordings including the Grammy-nominated Songs of Ascension with Meredith Monk (ECM Records produced by Manfred Eicher) and two limited release NJS recordings (Carmina Burana & Verdi Messa da Requiem).
Dr. Buchanan holds degrees from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Griffith University (Australia), Westminster Choir College of Rider University, and the University of New England (Australia). A Licensed Body Mapping Educator since 2002, she also specializes in neuro-anatomical educational technique training musicians to attain freedom of expression through effective movement. A vibrant teacher, dynamic performer, and passionate musicians’ health advocate, Dr. Buchanan is in demand as a guest conductor and somatic educator in the US and abroad.
Scott Dettra, accompanist
Scott Dettra is acclaimed as one of America’s outstanding organ virtuosos. Hailed as a “brilliant organist” (Dallas Morning News), and an “outstanding musician” (The Diapason), his playing is known for its clarity, rhythmic intensity, and musical elegance, and has been described by The American Organist as “music making of absolute authority and sophisticated expression.”
Mr. Dettra is Director of Music at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in McKinney, Texas, a concert organist and ragtime pianist, director of the period-instrument group Ensemble XIV, and organist for The Crossing, the multi-Grammy-winning professional chamber choir based in Philadelphia. Throughout 2022, Mr. Dettra undertook a celebrated 15-city national tour of the complete organ works of César Franck in commemoration of the composer’s bicentenary. Recent and upcoming performances include appearances in New York, Chicago, Boston, Washington, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Kansas City. He has been a featured performer at national conventions of the American Guild of Organists, the Association of Anglican Musicians, the Organ Historical Society, and the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, and is in demand as a clinician and adjudicator for master classes, workshops, and competitions. Mr. Dettra holds two degrees from Westminster Choir College, where he was a student of Joan Lippincott, and has studied organ and jazz piano at Manhattan School of Music.
