No-Name Chorale | All of Us

This concert was recorded at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Belleville, IL on Sunday, June 19, 2022. For more info visit our website, nonamechorale.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, & UA-cam.
Program:
NNC Children's Choir (premiere performance)
Wacky Do-Re-Mi (0:04) | Jennifer Rea, director
The Moon by Andy Beck (2:30) | Laura Hollingsworth, director
Rise by Andrea Abela (5:45) | Shannon McFarland, director
I. Give Good Gifts (8:52) | Traditional Shaker Hymn
Wild Forces (10:34) | Jake Runestad
II. Deal Gently With Thy Servants (13:13) | Traditional Shaker Hymn
Malala (17:38) | Joan Szymko
Eye for Eye (21:32) | Shawn Kirchner
III. Encouragement (26:58) | Traditional Shaker Hymn
Please Stay (29:34) | Jake Runestad | Solomon Wilken, baritone
IV. More Love (34:53) | Traditional Shaker Hymn | Whitley Foehner, soprano
When We Love (36:07) | Elaine Hagenberg
V. Rights of Conscience (39:55) | Shaker Song by Issachar Bates
Light the World (42:18) | Connor Koppin
America the Beautiful (46:51) | arr. Shawn Kirchner
VI. All of Us from Considering Matthew Shepard (53:25) | Craig Johnson
Jennifer Rea, Laura Hollingsworth, Shannon McFarland, trio
Program Notes:
I was so full of optimism and energy when this concert was first planned - February 2020. All of Us was scheduled to be our summer project and the choir had recently achieved a new level of artistry with the concert, The Fruit of Silence. It goes without saying that the past two and a half years have been challenging and in our nation especially fraught. We are a nation divided against itself and without healing we risk the fulfillment of President Lincoln’s chilling warning. But what does that kind of healing look like? Who gets to decide the path forward? On so many issues we seem to dig in and refuse to find common ground.
Now I’m not claiming the higher ground. When it comes to polarizing views and Us vs. Them mentality I’m both the pot and the kettle. Like many people, I hold firm convictions about hot button issues like abortion and gun rights, police violence, a fordable health care, and systemic racism - and like many, I’m sure my views are right!
Yet I recognize that to participate in society is to seek common ground. It requires argument and debate in good faith that we are truly all in it together. It may seem that this concert is all about unity - but it’s not. It’s about empathy. Singing about unity seems so naive and useless in today’s climate. I want NNC to sing truth and to me the truth is this: when we practice empathy (especially toward those we see as ‘other’) we begin to see each other as fully human. Only then can we begin to heal because the future of our nation includes All of Us.
With each new project we strive to become a more complete realization of our mission: NNC is dedicated to creating meaningful shared experiences through the art of choral singing and cultivating an appreciation of choral music by presenting fine-art music in an approachable, welcoming manner.
I hope this concert provides a moment to pause and give thanks for the gift of music and its ability to create experiences worth sharing.
~Andy Jensen, NNC Artistic Director
Meet the Band
Conductor - Andy Jensen
Piano - Gail Long
Soprano:
Erin Caughlan
Jackie Davis
Maggie Dorgan
Romayne Filges
Courtney Finkel
Whitley Foehner
Natalie Gravois
Laura Hollingsworth
Cathy Jensen
Mary MacIntire
Shannon McFarland
Heather Netemeyer
Belinda Quimby
Jennifer Rea
Alto:
Jen Brauer
Maggie Burnworth
Reilly Munsell
Lisa Cleveland
Lisa Cripe
Eve Diel
Candice Pajda
Bethany Pottho ff
Rachel Robison
Maureen Stetzen
Mady Wetzel
Natalie Young:
Tenor:
Kristian Avise-Rouse
Evan Babel
James Croft
Jacob Davis
Bill Farrell
Nick Rhodes
Robert Voelker
Vinny Vymola
Bass:
Chip Belpedio
Chris Boemler
Darby Dachroeden
Solomon Davis
Richard Deitte
Charlie Grames
Ja’Quis Hardin
Cristian Larios
Parker Lindsey
Solomon Wilken