Life on the World Scale

University of Wisconsin-Stout Choirs Presents Life on the World’s Scale April 26, 2025 (Sat) • 7:00pm • Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Menomonie JERRY HUI, director • AIMEE PASHBY, pianist

* Symphonic Singers † Chamber Choir ‡ Devil Tones Acappella

Kerry Livgren, arr. Emerson

Dust In the Wind *

Timothy Takach

Mantra *

Spiritual, arr. Osterman

Oh, What a Beautiful City †

Sarah Ziebarth, soloist

Majel Connery

I Am a Mountain (world premiere of SATB arrangement) †

Cole Porter, arr. Blackwell

Let’s Do It †

Ola Gjeilo

Autumn †

OPB Bastille

Pompeii ‡ Hot to Go ‡

OPB Chappell Roan

Randall Thompson Carson Cooman

Choose Something Like a Star *

Ocean of Light *

Trad. Swedish, arr. Söderberg

Limu Limu Lima † Southern Lullaby †

Henry Thacker Burleigh

Jenna Carpenter and Ryan Thiede, soloists

Stout Alma Mater

Lillian Hylland & Jane Hambley

Don Mcdonald

When the Earth Stands Still *† This Is My Song (Finlandia) *†

Jean Sibelius Tawny Ruppert, American Sign Language interpretation (in partial fulfillment of an Honors College Contract)

Program Notes Thanks for joining us on a musical journey from the microcosmos to the cosmos and back! From a speck of dust, the places we live in, the nature, or the universe, we see faces looking back, as we reflect our life experience big or small. We are delighted to have a chance to work with Carson Cooman in coaching the performance of his composition Ocean of Light . And we are honored to be the first SATB choir to perform I Am a Mountain by Majel Connery, after the song was performed by the San Francisco-based professional men’s choir Chanticleers.

I invite you to join us in singing on portions of Mantra ; Stout Alma Mater ; and the last verse of This Is My Song .

– Jerry Hui, Director of Choral Activities

§ Graduating Seniors ‡ Devil Tones Acappella * Section Representatives

Symphonic Singers

Soprano

Alto

Tenor

Bass

Shannon Burlum Emily Carranza Montes Livi Higginson ‡ Helena Slabber *‡ Hannah Willis ‡ Elizabeth Adamson Calvin Anich Sydney Birkholz Katarina Cavanaugh Tawny Ruppert Novie Touchstone ‡ Rebecca Yardley

Madeline Berg Rebecca Berry ‡ Nancy Costa ‡ § Sarah Flock Aeryn Gary Gabby Gossett Diep Huynh‡ Eden Meyer Lara Mitchell Emma Moore ‡ Celia Powell *‡ Emily Sorem Anna Tupy Amber Conner Claire Olson MaK Powell Juniper Rydberg Grace Weber Helen Wilson *‡ § Sarah Ziebarth * Alto

Allison Corter Ty Graves

Dylan Bartley James DeWitt Connor Donnelly ‡ Keegan Mayr Jonathan Montes ‡ Phillip Hebbe Colin Kintzinger * Patrick Ryans ‡ Kellen Sowinski Alexander Wegner

Liam Harney Sean Krueger Garrett Pals Luke Radzikinas Evan Stottlemyre *

Chamber Choir

Soprano

Tenor

Bass

Jenna Carpenter Emily Carranza Montes Reece Halda * McKenna Johnson ‡ Mallory Schmelzer § Denajah Smith

Guyal Buckley Nathan Humphrey Clayton Larsen *‡ Steven Lee *‡ § Ryan Thiede Brayden Thomas

Aydren Beebe Connor Donnelly ‡ Bretton German Jonathan Montes ‡ Josh Warner ‡

Choir Personnel Symphonic Singers Section Representatives: Helena Slabber, Celia Powell, Evan Stottlemyer, Colin Kintzinger Chamber Choir Section Representatives: Reece Halda, Sarah Ziebarth, Steven Lee, Connor Donnelly Lead Librarians: Tawny Ruppert, Mallory Schmelzer Student Tour Coordinator: McKenna Johnson Biography The music of prize-winning composer Jerry (Chiwei) Hui has been performed in the United States, China, Estonia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Scotland, and Taiwan. As a conductor, Dr. Hui has founded and directed various ensembles, and has performed often as a singer of early and contemporary music. He is the Director of Choral Activities at University of Wisconsin-Stout, assistant conductor for the Madison Early Music Festival, founder/director of the early music ensemble Schola Cantorum of Eau Claire, and conductor of the Chippewa Valley Festival Choir. More at www.jerryhui.com. Aimee Pashby is an experienced music educator with over 25 years of teaching expertise at Shell Lake Arts Center, Department of Defense Schools in Germany, and most recently Rice Lake High School. As band director, she has led concert bands, jazz ensemble, pep band, marching band, ukulele club, and a steel drum program with two active bands. Aimee holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from UW-Eau Claire and a Master’s in Conducting from the American Band College of Sam Houston State University. Committed to fostering community music, she is working to launch a community steel drum band in northwestern Wisconsin.

Text & Translation

Dust In the Wind

I close my eyes Only for a moment, and the moment's gone All my dreams Pass before my eyes, a curiosity

Same old song Just a drop of water in an endless sea All we do Crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see Dust in the wind All we are is dust in the wind

Now don't hang on Nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky It slips away And all your money won't another minute buy Dust in the wind All we are is dust in the wind…

Dust in the wind All they are is dust in the wind

Mantra

Vitamin D. Sunlight. Go outside.

Exercise. Actually exercise instead of just Googling it. Eat well. Cook for yourself. Organize your closet, the garage. Drink plenty of water and repeat after me: I am not a problem to be solved. Repeat after me: I am worthy I am worthy I am neither mistake nor the punishment. Forget to take vitamins. Let the houseplant die.

Shave your head. Forget this poem. It doesn’t matter.

Get a good night of sleep. Not too good.

There is no wrong way to remember the grace of your

own body; no choice that can unmake itself. There is only now, here,

Not shades drawn forever good. Not like you used to.

look: you are already forgiven.

Open the windows.

Buy more houseplants. Breathe. Meditate. (One day,

you will no longer be afraid of being alone with your thoughts.)

Eat spoonfuls of peanut butter.

- from Today Means Amen by Sierra DeMulder (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2016). Copyright © 2016 by Sierra DeMulder. Reprinted and used with permission from Sierra DeMulder.

Oh, What a Beautiful City

Oh! What a beautiful city! Oh! What a beautiful city! Oh! What a beautiful city! Twelve gates to the city Hallelu! Three gates in-a the east

Three gates in-a the west Three gates in-a the north Three gates in-a the south Makin’ it twelve gates to the city Hallelu!

My Lord built-a that city Said it was just-a fo’ square Wanted all-a you sinners To meet Him in-a the air Makin’ it twelve gates-a to city Hallelu!

I Am a Mountain

I am a mountain, I am Father Time. I am a memory, a reminder, of the old things.

I am a monument. I never forget. I am a sculpture of a former life. Secretly, I’m not tall, I’m small. The exposure makes me shy. Failure’s not an option, I cannot take it back. I’m naked at the summit, I’m lost in the avalanche. You can use me, you can climb me. I will lift you up, I’m not like the rest. I’m the voice that supports you, The voice that affirms you. I will never contradict you, I say yes. Talk to me. Talk to me. You can laugh at the world, and I’ll laugh back. Climb me. You can climb me.

We can sing together, or apart. Higher than the wind can wind, Darker than the storm that blacks the sky, Sweeter than the water flowing down me, The oldest metaphor we know.

I am listening. What do you need? You lack the journey. I will oblige. A mountain to conquer, A memory to make. Simpler, much simpler than you think. To climb is easier. To think is to wait.

- from The Rivers are our Brothers, released April 21, 2022

Let’s Do It

When the little Bluebirds, Who has never said a word, Starts to sing “Spring, Spring”;

Not to mention the Finns Folks in Siam do it, think of Siamese twins Some Argentines without means do it People say in Boston even beans do it Let's do it, let's fall in love Romantic sponges, they say, do it Oysters down in oyster bay do it Let's do it, let's fall in love Cold cape cod clams 'gainst their wish do it Even lazy jellyfish do it Let's do it, let's fall in love Electric eels, I might add, do it Though it shocks 'em I know Why ask if shad do it? Waiter, bring me shad roe In shallow shoals English soles do it Goldfish in the privacy of bowls do it Let's do it, let's fall in love

When the little Bluebell, In the bottom of the dell, Starts to ring “Ding, Ding”; When the little blue clerk, In the middle of his work, Starts a tune to the moon up above; It is nature, that’s all, Simply telling us to fall in love. And that’s why Birds do it, bees do it

Even educated fleas do it Let's do it, let's fall in love In Spain, the best upper sets do it Lithuanians and Letts do it Let's do it, let's fall in love The Dutch in old Amsterdam do it

Autumn

Feel the falling air The light becoming golden Trees their colors wear Deep and all-enfolding The autumn leaves embracing But soon they all must fall The summer green erasing To answer winter's call

And here once again Familiar paths I wander Through the westmark wend The living earth I ponder Though fading days are colder And soon the darkness long My spirit-fire grows bolder And in my heart a song Even when shadows lengthen I'm here where I belong

Choose Something Like a Star

O Star (the fairest one in sight), We grant your loftiness the right

To some obscurity of cloud – It will not do to say of night, Since dark is what brings out your light. Some mystery becomes the proud. But to be wholly taciturn In your reserve is not allowed. Say something to us we can learn By heart and when alone repeat. Say something! And it says “I burn.” But say with what degree of heat. Talk Fahrenheit, talk Centigrade. Use language we can comprehend. Tell us what elements you blend. It gives us strangely little aid, But does tell something in the end. And steadfast as Keats’ Eremite, Not even stooping from its sphere, It asks a little of us here. It asks of us a certain height, So when at times the mob is swayed To carry praise or blame too far, We may choose something like a star To stay our minds on and be staid. - Robert Frost

Ocean of Light

Vast Ocean of light, whose rays surround The Universe, who know’st not ebb, nor shore, Who lend’st the Sun his sparkling drop, to store With overflowing beams Heav’n, air, ground, Whose depths beneath the Center none can sound, Whose heights ‘bove Heav’n, and thoughts so lofty soar, Whose breadth no feet, no lines, no chaines, no eyes survey, Whose length no thoughts can reach, no worlds can bound,

What cloud can mask thy face? where can thy ray Find an Eclipse? what night can hide Eternal Day?

- Phineas Fletcher (1582–1650)

Limu limu lima (sung in Swedish)

Limu limu lima Gud, låt solen skina

Limu limu lima God, let the sun shine Over the blue mountains Over the small hills Like walking in the forest in the summer.

Över bergena blå Över kullorna små Som I Skogen ska gå om sommaren.

Southern Lullaby

De night am long an’ de col’ win’ roar, Sleep li’l chile, go sleep! Yo’ Pappy he doan’ come home no more, Sleep li’l chile, go sleep!

De stars am hid an’ de sky am black, Sleep li’l chile, go sleep! Yo’ Pappy am gone an’ he doan’ come back, Sleep, li’l chile, go sleep! He say “goodbye!” an’ he gone away Till come dat evahlastin’ day— An’ it seems sech a long, long while to stay! Sleep, li’l chile, go sleep! - George Vere Hbart (1867-1926)

I wonder he sees us all alone, Wif nuffin’ to eat except a bone; An’ do he hear yo’ Mammy moan? Sleep, li’l chile, go sleep!

Stout Alma Mater School songs are a long-held tradition at colleges and universities and are often performed at ceremonies and special events. By 1923, Stout was more than 30 years old, yet had no official school song. The Stoutonia initiated a school song contest and the winners received a $5 dollar reward. The resulting song, composed by a group of four students, became the school’s early fight song. Four years later, freshmen Lillian Hylland and Jane Hambley decided to create a more solemn and majestic piece appropriate for formal school ceremonies. Hylland, a Menomonie native, was a noted organist who accompanied many local musical groups. Hambley hailed from Ramsay, Mich., and was known for both her strong contralto voice and leadership in campus organizations.

When the Earth Stands Still

Come listen In the silence of the moment before rain comes down There's a deep sigh In the quiet of the forest and the tall tree's crown Now hold me Will you take the time to hold me and embrace the chill? Or miss me Will you take the time to miss me when the Earth stands still? 'Cause there's no use running 'Cause the storm's still coming And you've been running for so many years For so many years Come listen In the silence of the moment before shadows fall Feel the tremor Of your heartbeat matching heartbeat as we both dissolve Now hold me Will you take the time to hold me and embrace the chill? Or miss me Will you take the time to miss me when the Earth stands still?

'Cause there's no use running 'Cause the storm's still coming And you've been running for so many years So stay with me Held in my arms, like branches of a tree They'll shelter you for many years So many years For so many years (stay with me) Stay with me This is my song, O God of all the nations, A song of peace for lands afar and mine. This is my home, the country where my heart is; Here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine; But other hearts in other lands are beating With hopes and dreams as true as high as mine. My country's skies are bluer than the ocean, And sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine. But other lands have sunlight too, and clover,

This Is My Song (Finlandia)

And skies are everywhere as blue as mine. So hear my song, O God of all the nations, A song of peace for their land and for mine. May truth and freedom come to every nation; May peace abound where strife has raged so long; That each may seek to love and build together,

A world united righting every wrong; A world united in its love for freedom, Proclaiming peace together in one song.

Special Thanks Staff of School of Art & Design (SoAD) Student staff of UW-Stout Performing Arts: Reese Heebink, Alissa Kremm, Blake Herrick UW-Stout College of Arts and Human Sciences UW-Stout Marketing Communications Staff of UW-Stout Memorial Student Center Upcoming Events Stout Symphonic Band | Sun., Apr. 27, 2:00pm, Great Hall, Memorial Student Center Stout Choirs, UW-EC Symphonic Choir & The Menomonie Singers | Tue., Apr. 29, 7:00pm, Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, Eau Claire

Devil Tones Acappella | Wed., Apr. 30, 5:00pm, The Raw Deal Stout Jazz Band | Sun., Apr. 27, 2:00pm, Harvey Hall Theatre

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