Songs Along the Road We Share
Saturday, May 16
3:30
Sunday, May 17
3:30
Solvang Veterans’ Memorial Hall
1745 Mission Drive
Solvang, CA
SYV Chorale People
Hyejin Jung, Conductor
Hyejin Jung is renowned for her musical, effortless, and energetic conducting style. In addition to conducting the Santa Ynez Valley Chorale, Jung is the choir conductor for the Miracle LA Church in Los Angeles and an assistant conductor for the Korean Community Christian Singers Los Angeles. Both an instrumental and choral conductor, she was a fellow conductor at the 2023 Chorus America Choral-Orchestra Academy and the 2019 Seoul Oratorio Festival.
Erin Bonski, Pianist
In addition to serving as the SYV Chorale’s collaborative pianist, Erin Bonski is an adjunct faculty member at Westmont College, and works as a collaborative pianist and vocal coach with local arts organizations, including the Ensemble Theatre Company. She has won international awards for her collaborative work, and is listed in Who’s Who Among American Colleges and Universities.
Kay Dominguez, Santa Ynez Valley Jazz Band
Conductor Kay Dominguez leads, teaches and inspires a talented group of young musicians known as the Santa Ynez Valley Jazz Band as they perform throughout the local area. Multi-talented, Kay also serves as section leader for the Chorale’s tenors.
The Santa Ynez Valley Band will open today’s concert.
Chorale Members
Barbara Brown
Marta Jorgensen
Anne Nicholas
Alice Olla
Betina Heron
Jessica Jacob
Carlene Jones
Alto I
Linda Boyd
Mary Beth Lepkowsky
Arwen Lewis
Mary Nash
Becky Reid
Deborah Wilson
Alto II
Terry Billings
Theresa Duer
Eliz Hale
Charlotte Johnson
Inge Plier
Tenors
Stuart Cluff
Kay Dominguez
Alan Dworsky
Joon Kang
Bases
David Ewell
Richard Lane
Larry Li
John Roulston
Guest Vocalists
Duncan Tuomi, Baritone
https://www.duncantuomi.com
Amanda Light, Soprano
Margaret Neuberger, Soprano
https://www.margozelle.com
Guest Instrumentalists
Thomas Håkanson, Percussion and Baritone Sax
Brendon statom, Double Bass
Santa Ynez Valley Jazz Band Members
Tristan Abello—Drums
Geoff Ball—Trombone, Bass
Niki Ball—Flute, Tenor Sax
Sam Bassett—Alto Sax
Kay Dominguez—Trumpet
Judy Mayeda—Piano
Les Rose—Clarinet
Jerry Stickel—Guitar
Concert Program
Journey: Songs Along the Road We Share uses the road as a metaphor for life — the colorful byways we take, the memories we create together, and the paths we choose that shape who we become. In works by giants of the choral repertoire, such as Aaron Copland, Ola Gjeilo, and Randall Thompson, we travel a broad highway that includes the hopes of springtime in the Medieval Cuckoo Song, Sumer is Icumen In, to soft and summery Days of Beauty by Emily Bronte. We share a bit of everyday fun in I Bought Me a Cat, then cross over into the fierce Gospel song Ain’t No Grave. We even travel down Manhattan Transfer’s iconic Route 66 — in a jazz-infused celebration of the great American road trip westward — before landing in a triumphant place of joy and hope with Ad Astra (To the Stars).
Guest Stage—The Santa Ynez Valley Jazz Band
My Heart Will Go On
arr. John Moss
The Rainbow Connection
arr. Michael Sweeney
You’ll Be In My Heart
arr. Michael Sweeney
Sentimental Journey
Arr.Paul Murtha
Scarborough Fair
Arr. Carl Strommeh
Santa Ynez Valley Chorale
Sumer Is Icumen In
Medieval English Song (c. 1240)
arr. Audrey Snyder
Sumer Is icumen—or Summer Has Come In—is a 13th-century Middle English song celebrating the arrival of summer, often recognized as one of the oldest examples of polyphonic music (voices singing different words at the same time).
Modern Translation:
Summer has come in,
Loudly sing, Cuckoo!
The seed grows and the meadow blooms
And the wood springs anew,
Sing, Cuckoo!
Oh Shenandoah
Early American Folk Song
arr. Ruth Elaine Schram
This American folk song dates back to the early 19th century and is believed to have originated from French travelers journeying down the Missouri River. By the 1880s, the song had become popular with sailors and was sung as a sea shanty, or “work song.”
The Road Not Taken
from Frostina
Randall Thompson
lyrics from the poetry of
Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh.
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Humming Chorus
from Madama Butterfly
Glacomo Puccini
arr. John Rutter
Written by Glacomo Puccini in 1904, the renowned opera Madama Butterfly features the Humming Chorus, an emotional and wordless scene where the protagonist waits for her lover to return to her.
Broadway fans will recognize the tune from Le Miserables’ Bring Him Home. The similarity is intentional; the composers of Les Miserables were paying tribute to Puccini’s work and assumed a sophisticated audience would understand the connection.
In our travels, sometimes we wait by the side of our metaphorical road for our loved ones to return to us.
Intermission
Try to Remember
Linda Boyd, soloist
Harvey Schmidt & Tom Jones
arr. Jay Althouse
Try to Remember is a nostalgic song from the musical comedy play The Fantasticks (1960). The words were written by the American lyricist Tom Jones while Harvey Schmidt composed the music.
Days of Beauty
Ola Gjeilo
from the poetry of Emily Brontë
Like The Road Not Taken, Emiliy Brontë’s Days of Beauty is a poem set to music. In it, Brontë finds solace and relief from suffering. Celebrated Norwegian Composer Ola Gjeilo (YAY-loh) originally wrote the score for a women’s choir. Luckily for us, our conductor Hyejin Yung was able to obtain a secret score—modified by Gjeilo in 2023—adding tenor and bass voices.
To quote Emily Brontë, whether life is pleasant “days of beauty” or difficult “stormy nights,” the composer’s magic releases us from the present moment.
I Bought Me a Cat
Alan Dworsky, John Roulston, Anne Nicholas, & Deborah Wilson, solos
Aaron Copland
arr. Irving Fine
We hope you have as much fun with this delightful children’s song as we do, perhaps recalling silly songs sung on long road trips with children young and old.
Route 66
Recorded by The Manhattan Transfer
Bobby Troup
arr. Dick Averre
U.S. Route 66 was dedicated in November 1926, spanning twenty five hundred miles between Chicago and Santa Monica. In the days before interstate highways were built, it was designed to connect rural main streets to cities across the mid-west and southwest, linking them together all the way to the pacific coast.
This year marks the 100th Anniversary of Route 66. Celebrate with us!
Ain’t No Grave
Claude Ely, Jonathan Helser, Melissa Helser, & Molly Skaggs
arr. David Angerman
The end of the road together is sometimes the grave… but Ain’t No Grave is a fierce rejection of death. The song was first sung in 1934 by 12-year old Claude Ely, battling acute tuberculosis. As his family gathered around his sickbed to pray for him, Claude declared that he was NOT going to die… and began singing, “There ain’t no grave gonna hold my body down.” Ain’t no Grave is a profound declaration of faith and resurrection. Claude lived… and became a Pentecostal preacher in adulthood.
I Sing Because I’m Happy
Charles Gabriel & Civilla Martin
arr. Kenneth Paden?rollo Dilworth
As our spring concert comes to a close, we remind our audience, patrons and supporters why we sing. This song is a lively gospel-style interpretation of the hymn, His Eye is on the Sparrow.
“I sing Because I’m Happy. I sing Because I’m Free. His Eye is on the Sparrow,
And I Know He Watches Me”
Ad Astra
Jacob Narverud
Ad Astra is Latin for “to the stars”. More importantly, Ad astra per aspera, means “to the stars through hardship.” It’s the motto of many government, military, and educational organizations, reminding all of us that greatness is achieved through adversity. Ad Astra Per Aspera is prominently displayed in NASA’s Memorial for the 3 fallen astronauts of Apollo 1.
Supporters
Chorale Patrons
We extend our deepest appreciation to all our patrons who contribute to the Santa Ynez Valley Chorale.
Karin Aitken
Gus and Shawn Dascanio
Ms. Judy A. Duffy
Barbara T. Young
Walt and Kay Alves
Bill and Karen Bernstein
Mrs. Judith Dale
Ms. Margaret Gadberry
Patrick Garvey
Miguel and Tiffany Loya
Gene and Hariett Madsen
Joe Olla & Alice Olla
Tom and Carolynn Petersen
Pat and Ginger Povah
Ann Raleigh
James and Marietta Richard
Mr. John Scherrer
Elaine Taylor
Ms. Trudy Yeager
Ms. Barbara A. Anderson
Mr. Nick Angel
Donald and Kelli Belden
Cal and Monica Cluff
Sid and Karen Goldstien
David and Ellen Goldstien
Ms. Frances Gomez
Gerald and Connie Mackey
Annalisa Nearn
Don and Linda Noonan
Mr. Joe Olla & Alice J. Olla
Mr. G Paraskou & Ms. M.Minor
Don and Ilse Popma
Mrs. Helen Townsend
Ken and JoAnn Verkler
Edward and Linda Barber
Dana Andersen
Ms. E. Crooke
Robert and Debbie Esser
Bobbi & Ken Hunter
Robert Kvaas
Mr. Alvin Salge
Ron and Betty Ziegler
Greg and Theresa Duer
David Elwell
Gina and Richard Lane
Concert Sponsors
Foundational Support
The Christian Science Society of Solvang via the Doris De Stefano Fund