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The Force is with BMC

Chorale Chosen to Perform with Star Wars in Concert

The chorale has had an exciting summer! Following the early summer trip to Carnegie Hall, we sang with Star Wars Live in Concert tour as it touched down at the Idaho Center in Nampa!

Looking? Found something you have, eh?

BMC @ Carnegie Hall Review

Members of the BMC sang at Carnegie this summer, under the direction of Dr. Paul Aitken. The work performed was the result of a commission requested by the Chorale's artistic director Dr. Jim Jirak.

Chorale Members Perform Paul Aitken's "And None Shall Be Afraid" in Carnegie Hall

Mark Emmet, Chorale President

A Singer's Perspective
by Mark Emmet

As a member of the Boise Master Chorale, it was an honor and a pleasure to participate in the New York Premier in Carnegie Hall of Paul Aitken's And None Shall Be Afraid. Although the Chorale had commissioned the piece and had been the sole chorus for the World Premier in 2009, only a fraction of our chorus was able to make the trip to New York. We joined a larger number of choristers from Boise's First United Methodist Church, where Paul is the Director of Music. The chorus was further enhanced by the Newton High School Madrigals from Newton, New Jersey, and The Emmaus High School Chorale and Women's' Choir from Emmaus, Pennsylvania.

One of the concerns going in to rehearsals would be the balance among sections. Only four of the sixty singers from Idaho were represented in the tenor section, so we knew we would rely heavily on the high school singers who would join us. They came well prepared! Our first two rehearsals took place in a ballroom in the Grand Hyatt New York Hotel. The room was adequate, certainly, but was not particularly 'alive' acoustically. My placement in the room was in the center of the back row and I could not hear the full sound of the combined choir. At the end of the first rehearsal I spoke with Sharon Helppie, who was placed in the second row. She said that from her perspective, the balance was good. "How do the men sound?" I asked. "The tone is fabulous!"

Members of the children's choir joined us late in the rehearsal. It seems their plane had been late on arrival to O'Hare in Chicago and they had missed their connection. They were rerouted through Atlanta the next day and spent some six hours awaiting their connection there. They'll have stories to tell their grandchildren about their Carnegie Hall debut!

By the end of second rehearsal I felt the chorus was really coming together. Our entrances and releases were tight, the diction was clean, and the composer seemed pleased. The dress rehearsal with the New England Symphonic Ensemble on Sunday morning, just hours before the performance, would be the final step in preparation for the performance at Carnegie Hall!

In the middle of the rehearsal, Paul took a moment to recollect the genesis of the piece. He described the conversation with Dr. James Jirak (Jim) in October 2008 where Jim had asked Paul to write a piece of music to compliment John Rutter's Mass for the Children, using a children's choir and similar orchestration. Paul described how quickly he and Jim came to agreement on thematic material, and the threads of And None Shall Be Afraid began to form. Later, while Paul was at work on the piece he received a call from Peter Tiboris, Artistic Director of MidAmerica Productions, the very group who invited us to New York. Peter had called to ask Paul about his interest in conducting a children's choir in Carnegie Hall. Paul responded by saying, "I can't speak with you now. I'm writing a piece of music." That ended their first conversation. Later that day, Paul returned Peter's call. Peter had taken an interest and asked Paul about the piece he was writing. Paul explained the commissioned work with Boise Master Chorale, and included a comment about the piece being paired in a program with Rutter's Mass Of The Children. Peter was silent for a moment. He then shared that MidAmerica had commissioned Rutter's Mass., In a short period of time Peter was asking Paul to conduct his own piece in Carnegie Hall. It also just so happens that John Rutter conducted the New England Symphonic Ensemble in a performance of his Mass Of The Children at Carnegie Hall the day after our performance. Talk about stars aligning!

At the end of rehearsal, Paul said that Jim had asked him if he could say a few words to us, and added that he acquiesced, "Because I trust him!" Jim took the floor and very thoughtfully recounted the first conversations with Paul, highlighting the very rapid development of the piece after the initial conversation. Just weeks later, Paul had asked Jim to come to his home and listen to what he had written. Jim recalled coming into Paul's small kitchen and listening to the work on a synthesizer. Jim was struck by the beauty of the melodies, and the manner in which Paul had woven the themes throughout the piece, but he said that what really struck him was that the piece was largely complete at that first hearing. He described his awe at hearing such a beautifully written work, how the prayers affected him, and then reminded us of what a privilege it was to be among a group coming together for a single performance of this work. He then stopped, held his hand out to us and said, "When you sing this work tomorrow, think of what it would be like to live in a world..." The room was silent. Jim seemed to take a moment to compose himself and then continued, "...where none shall be afraid."

So what was it like to enter perhaps the most acclaimed performance hall in the world? I'll tell you, from my perspective it was a little daunting. We gathered that morning in cramped quarters backstage and waited for the cue to take our place on stage. As we filed through the stairwells and hallways, a bit of excited expectation seemed to envelop the group. Yes, there were a number of high school 'kids' with us, but I'm sure I felt as giddy as they did. Just before entering the stage, I saw Dr. James Jirak, ahead in line, break from the queue and step aside. As I entered through the stage door, there was Jim extending his hand with a smile on his face. "Welcome!" was all he said.

And what a welcome! I looked up at the tiered rows of red velvet seats that seemingly disappeared into the heavens, the gilded scroll work that seemed to be everywhere, and the golden hues that created a tone of opulence and grandeur. The view from the stage was everything one would expect of Carnegie Hall.

The dress rehearsal, however, was not as smooth as I anticipated. The orchestra was well prepared and sounded wonderful, and the hall was acoustically 'alive.' However, there were issues of balance, especially with soloists, and the diction and timing among choral members was simply not as clean as it had been the day before. Perhaps it was the early hour, nerves, the change in venue, the adaptation to hearing the orchestra, or a combination of the above.

And so, the moment we had been waiting for soon arrived: Carnegie Hall, May 30, 2010 at 2:00 PM. Vivaldi and Mozart were ahead of us on the program, so again we waited backstage for our cue. Paul came out moments before we left for the stage and simply said, "Have fun!"

As I entered the stage this time, I looked into the audience and saw in a box on the first tier members of my family. My wife and sister had conspired to keep this secret from me until I arrived in New York. But there they were: fourteen friends and family members joining me for this occasion. I have never felt so blessed.

At dinner the night before, I had made a promise to maintain my composure during the concert. During the World Premier, Paul's composition had surfaced certain emotions that made it quite difficult to sing. The same emotions were choking me up in the rehearsal the day before the Carnegie Hall concert. In the fourth movement, A Child's Prayer, Wilson, Paul's eight year old son, sings a sweet phrase and is joined by the children's choir. The soprano solo, sung beautifully by Melissa Hamilton, joins the children's choir as the texture of the music opens up into a gorgeous harmony. The words at this moment are, "Lord in Heaven, listen to those who are praying to you now...those who are sad and crying, those who have lost friends and family, those who are alone and frightened." We have all endured difficult moments of loss in our lives. It just so happens that I was introduced to Paul, and to his composition, exactly one week after my father had died, and the emotions of that week are, in my mind, inextricably linked to this music.

And so, the first chord of the first movement began, the soprano soloist entered, and the chorus sang with absolute precision. Our diction was clear, the dynamic range was, well, dynamic, and the tone was rich, full and thrilling to be a part of. I would say that, as a group, the chorus 'peaked' just at the right time. When the fourth movement started, I kept my composure as promised, and had this little realization that soon this grand event would be over. The best way to honor the moment, it seemed, was to sing well and maintain focus, which I felt we all did.

The last chord of And None Shall Be Afraid is really something to behold. To hear that chord echo through Carnegie Hall after our release is a memory I will always treasure. At that moment, I looked out at my friends and family joining the other audience members in a standing ovation and allowed myself a little self-indulgent tear. I was so happy and proud to be a part of this experience.