# New Century Chamber Orchestra at First Congregational Church, December 18, 2014

[New Century Chamber Orchestra](http://ncco.org/) and the [San Francisco Girls Chorus](http://www.sfgirlschorus.org/) present [Holiday Favorites](http://ncco.org/concert-tickets/2014-2015-season/holiday-favorites/)  
2014-12-18  
[First Congregational Church](http://www.calperfs.berkeley.edu/)  
[2345 Channing Way, Berkeley, CA](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=2345+Channing+Way,+Berkeley,+CA&hl=en)  
8:00 PM, Thursday, December 18, 2014

[[2014-12-16|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2014|Up to the 2014 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2014#December_events|Up to the 2014 event list!]] ☸  [[2014-12-19|On to the next event!]]

## Tentative Program

* Handel: Entrance of the Queen of Sheba from _Solomon_
* Corelli: Concerto Grosso in G Minor, Op. 6, No.8, "Christmas Concerto"
* Vivaldi: The Four Seasons: Winter, featuring Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, soloist
* Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No.3
* Traditional: Medley of Christmas Carols
* John Rutter: Nativity Carol
* Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart: Engel Gottes Kunden
* Handel (arr: Assad): excerpt from _Messiah_: _Unto us a child is born, Hallelujah_

## Set One

[8:04 PM lights down]

### Handel: Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, from Solomon

01. [8:05 PM] Georg Frideric Handel (1685-1759): _Arrival of the Queen of Sheba_, Overture to Act III of the _Solomon_  oratorio, (1748), HWV 67, performed by NCCO

### Corelli: Concerto Grosso in G Minor, Op. 6, No. 8

Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713): Concerto Grosso in G Minor, Op. 6, No. 8, (ca. 1690), _Fatto per la Note di Natale_ (Made for Christmas Night) AKA Christmas Concerto, performed by NCCO

01. [8:09 PM] Vivace – Grave. Arcate, sostenuto e come stà
02. [8:13 PM] Allegro
03. [8:14 PM] Adagio – Allegro – Adagio
04. [8:16 PM] Vivace
05. [8:17 PM] Allegro
06. [8:m PM] Largo  
[work ends 8:24 PM]

### Cesar Antonovich Cui: Radiant Stars

01. [8:24 PM] Cesar Antonovich Cui (1835-1918): _Radiant Stars_, excerpted from Six Choruses, Op. 53, No. 4,  
original Russian text from a poem by Mikhail Lermontov (1814–1841), English text by [Miriam Chase](https://www.linkedin.com/pub/miriam-chase/2b/8b6/248), performed by the San Francisco Girls Chorus  
[work ends 8:28 PM]

### Vaughan Williams: Winter, from Folksongs of the Four Seasons

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958): _Winter_ from _Folksongs of the Four Seasons_ (1949), performed by the San Francisco Girls Chorus, accompanied by NCCO

01. [8:28 PM] Children’s Christmas Song (Yorkshire Wassail)
02. [8:32 PM] Wassail Song
03. [8:34 PM] In Bethlehem City
04. [8:37 PM] God Bless the Master  
[work ends 8:41 PM]

### Vivaldi: Winter, from The Four Seasons

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (1678-1741): Concerto No. 4 in F minor, Op. 8, RV 297, _L'inverno_ (Winter), from _Le quattro stagioni_ (The Four Seasons), (ca. 1720)  
performed by NCCO, featuring Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, soloist

01. [8:43 PM] Allegro non molto
02. [8:46 PM] Largo
03. [8:48 PM] Allegro  
[set ends 8:51 PM]

## Set Two

[9:15 PM lights down]

### Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart: Engel Gottes Künden

01. [9:16 PM] Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart (1791-1844): _Engel Gottes künden_ (God's Angels Announce), Weihnachtslied (1825), performed by the San Francisco Girls Chorus, accompanied by NCCO

### John Rutter: Nativity Carol

01. [9:20 PM] John Rutter (b. 1945): Nativity Carol (1967), performed by the San Francisco Girls Chorus, accompanied by NCCO

### Traditional Christmas Carols

[doh! shoulda been making notes here!]

01. [9:25 PM] ?
02. [9:26 PM] ? Carol of the Bells
03. [9:28 PM] ? Silent Night
04. [9:29 PM] ?
05. [9:33 PM] ?  
[work ends 9:35 PM]

### Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No.3

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750): Brandenburg Concerto No.3 in G major, BWV 1048 (ca 1720), performed by NCCO

01. [9:36 PM] Allegro
02. [9:42 PM] Adagio
03. [9:45 PM] Allegro  
[work ends 9:46 PM]

### Handel: Two selections from Messiah

Georg Frideric Handel (1685-1759): Two selections from the _Messiah_ oratorio, (1741),  
arranged ca. 2008 by Clarice Assad (b. 1978), performed by NCCO and San Francisco Girls Chorus

01. [9:46 PM] _For unto us a child is born_, from Part I
02. [9:50 PM] _Hallelujah_, from Part II  
[set ends 9:53 PM]

### Encores

01. [9:53 PM] _Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas_, arranged by Evan Price, performed by NCCO
02. [9:55 PM] _We Wish You a Merry Christmas_, performed by the San Francisco Girls Chorus  
[show ends 9:59 PM; applause, all off at 10:02 PM]


## Performers

### New Century Chamber Orchestra

* Hrabba Atladottir: first violin;
* Kathleen Balfe: cello;
* Robin Bonnell: cello;
* Jennifer Cho: second violin;
* Michelle Djokic: acting principal cello;
* Marcel Gemperli: viola;
* Candace Guirao: principal second violin;
* Dawn Harms: assistant concertmaster, first violin;
* Anna Kruger: principal viola;
* Robin Mayforth: first violin;
* Isaac Melamed: cello;
* Emily Onderdonk: viola;
* Jeremy Preston: second violin;
* Deborah Tien Price: second violin;
* Cassandra Lynne Richburg: viola;
* [Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg](http://www.nadjasalernosonnenberg.com/): concertmaster, music director, first violin;
* Karen Shinozaki Sor: first violin;
* Iris Stone: first violin;
* Sarah Usher: second violin;
* Mark Wallace: acting principal contrabass.

### San Francisco Girls Chorus

* Sofia Elena Alekna: soprano II vox;
* Sarah Ancheta: soprano II vox;
* [Lisa Bielawa](http://www.lisabielawa.net/): artistic director, choirmaster;
* Shayna Bomfim-Finkelstein: soprano I vox;
* Clara Cagney: alto I vox;
* Livia Camperi: alto II vox;
* Audrey Chandler: alto I vox;
* Isabela Colmenar: soprano II vox;
* Alison Dart: alto II vox;
* Mia David: soprano I vox;
* Emma Dean: alto I vox;
* Lucy Downes: soprano II vox;
* Rachel Durney: alto I vox;
* Elisabeth Easton: alto II vox;
* Charlotte Ensley: soprano II vox;
* Anna Gray: alto I vox;
* Maya Greenhill: soprano II vox;
* Noemie Hamker: soprano I vox;
* Glenna Harris: alto II vox;
* Arianna Hee: soprano II vox;
* Phoebe Hicks: soprano I vox;
* Evie Hidysmith: alto II vox;
* Kathleen Isaza: soprano II vox;
* Katherine Jonckheer: alto I vox;
* Cecilia Kakehashi: soprano I vox;
* Caroline Kunkel: soprano II vox;
* Erin lchimura: alto II vox;
* Hannah Liu: alto I vox;
* Gwyneth Luhmann: soprano II vox;
* Emma MacKenzie: soprano I vox;
* Margaret Martin: alto I vox;
* Lola Miller-Henline: alto II vox;
* Elise Mills: alto I vox;
* Ella Nelson: soprano I vox;
* Sarah Ng: soprano II vox;
* Leah Ofman: alto II vox;
* Alessandra Peek: soprano II vox;
* Natalie Pierce: alto I vox;
* Emma Powell: soprano II vox;
* Isabelle Rim: soprano II vox;
* [Valerie Sainte-Agathe](https://plus.google.com/105770983833682157610): musical director, principal conductor;
* Caroline Sloan: soprano I vox;
* Katherine Sowerwine: soprano I vox;
* Nia Caiani Spaulding: alto II vox;
* Renée Theodore: alto II vox;
* Darya Verzhbinsky: soprano II vox;
* Juliana Iluminata Wilczynski: alto I vox;
* Viola Yasuda: alto I vox.

## Notes

Somewhat detailed program notes have been posted at the [NCCO website](http://ncco.org/concert-tickets/2014-2015-season/holiday-favorites/program-notes/), however, they fail to list the carols from the medley, which I recognized, but didn't bother writing down -- doh! -- _Carol of the Bells_ (AKA _Ring, Christmas Bells_) was in there, as was _Silent Night_ -- but I guess I wasn't really paying attention, since I don't recall any of the rest! Likewise, I didn't note what was played for the encore. Yo soy en idiota‼ This lack of attention -- due no doubt in part to my distaste for Christmas music -- is likely also manifested in numerous timing mistakes. I certainly can't promise that what is given above is correct, but it's probably close, since the timestamps seemed to match reasonably well to the number of tunes.

The evening started with NCCO marching onstage and standing briefly at attention, then launching into a furiously-paced performance of _Arrival of the Queen of Sheba_. Quite bracing! Then the players sat down, and the show continued with Corelli's "Christmas Concerto" -- also performed in a pretty lively fashion, though slower when called for by the composer's tempo markings. This introductory section finished, we next heard the voices of the San Francisco Girls Chorus coming from the back of the church, then closer, as the girls filed down the inner and outer aisles in row long columns, stopping to sing for a few moments from the middle of the hall before continuing onto the risers at the back of the stage for the conclusion of the work. This bit of choreography made for interesting listening, but the clatter of their shoes as the girls climbed to the stage and then up onto the risers was pretty distracting. In retrospect, I think that part should have happened after finishing the first work, or during a prolonged pause, as it really disrupted the musical flow. During the following set of Vaughan Williams folksongs, the NCCO added simple accompaniment, but laid out entirely in one of the sections -- _Bethlehem City_? Again, I regret to inform the reader that I was not paying enough attention to be sure that detail is correct. To close the first set, Nadja assumed the role of featured soloist and stood up at center stage to lead the NCCO through an electric reading of Vivaldi's _Winter_ concerto. The fury of the sawing strings certainly evoked pouring rain for me, and it was a delight to see and hear Nadja's swooping runs on this piece.

I thought the second set started off a bit slowly. The F.X.W. Mozart cantata that set us off was only mildly interesting, and the following sets of carols did little to engage my attention (though that's really just evidence of my baggage rather than a hit against the performance). As with the other instrumental sections of tonight's concert, the Brandenburg seemed to be take at lightning pace. Great for emphasizing virtuosity; not so much for showing off the refinement and lucidly constructed inner parts of Bach's great piece of work. Anyone still reading by this point will not be surprised to hear that the remainder of the show was a gliss for me. I enjoyed hearing the two Handel excerpts, though by now I was beginning to tire of the chorus' over-emphasis on high parts -- not that I expected to hear 14-year old female tenors or bass-baritones, but my ear was beginning to rebel, and I suppose I might have been using my imagination to fill in some of the missing lower register parts!

Georgia Rowe, who may have been sitting next to me at the show, posted a [nice review](http://www.mercurynews.com/entertainment/ci_27171698/review-new-century-chamber-girls-chorus-team-magical) for the Mercury News. Stephen Smoliar attended the following gig in San Francisco, posting his [review](http://www.examiner.com/article/ncco-joins-forces-effectively-with-the-san-francisco-girls-chorus) for the Examiner. Interestingly, though the three of us seem to have somewhat divergent opinions about the show's highlights, it looks like none of us thought it important to note which carols were performed in the second-set medley, hah!

{{tag>music New_Century_Chamber_Orchestra San_Francisco_Girls_Chorus First_Congregational_Church Hrabba_Atladottir Kathleen_Balfe Robin_Bonnell Jennifer_Cho Michelle_Djokic Marcel_Gemperli Candace_Guirao Dawn_Harms Anna_Kruger Robin_Mayforth Isaac_Melamed Emily_Onderdonk Jeremy_Preston Deborah_Tien_Price Cassandra_Lynne_Richburg Nadja_Salerno-Sonnenberg Karen_Shinozaki_Sor Iris_Stone Sarah_Usher Mark_Wallace Sofia_Elena_Alekna Sarah_Ancheta Lisa_Bielawa Shayna_Bomfim-Finkelstein Clara_Cagney Livia_Camperi Audrey_Chandler Isabela_Colmenar Alison_Dart Mia_David Emma_Dean Lucy_Downes Rachel_Durney Elisabeth_Easton Charlotte_Ensley Anna_Gray Maya_Greenhill Noemie_Hamker Glenna_Harris Arianna_Hee Phoebe_Hicks Evie_Hidysmith Kathleen_Isaza Katherine_Jonckheer Cecilia_Kakehashi Caroline_Kunkel Erin_lchimura Hannah_Liu Gwyneth_Luhmann Emma_MacKenzie Margaret_Martin Lola_Miller-Henline Elise_Mills Ella_Nelson Sarah_Ng Leah_Ofman Alessandra_Peek Natalie_Pierce Emma_Powell Isabelle_Rim Valerie_Sainte-Agathe Caroline_Sloan Katherine_Sowerwine Nia_Caiani_Spaulding Renée_Theodore Darya_Verzhbinsky Juliana_Iluminata_Wilczynski Viola_Yasuda}}

[[2014-12-16|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2014|Up to the 2014 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2014#December_events|Up to the 2014 event list!]] ☸  [[2014-12-19|On to the next event!]]