Friday, October 30, 2020 at 7:30 pm Central

Post-Concert Discussion with Craig Hella Johnson, Andrew Timm, Simon Barrad, Kathlene Ritch and Sonja DuToit Tengblad

Sunday, November 1, 2020 at 3:00 pm Central Post-Concert Discussion with Craig Hella Johnson, Andrew Timm, Sarah Brauer, and Melissa Givens

Streaming at conspirare.org/unity beginning Monday, November 2

Program O Thou Who art unchangeable Samuel Barber (1910 – 1981) (from Prayers of Kierkegaard, Op. 30) Melissa Givens, soprano Chant: Where there is sorrow there is holy ground Craig Hella Johnson (b. 1962) Litany John Musto (b. 1954) Dashon Burton, baritone and Carla McElhaney, piano Requiem Eliza Gilkyson, arr. Craig Hella Johnson Poem: Once the World Was Perfect Joy Harjo (b. 1951)

Shari Wilson, reader O ewiges Feuer, or Ursprung der Liebe J.S. Bach (1685 – 1750) (from Cantata BWV 34) Wish Erika Fine In Time of Plague N. Scott Momaday (b. 1934) nameless Mahogany L. Browne (b. 1976) Readers (in order of appearance: Gitanjali Mathur, Ernest Harrison,

Simon Barrad, Melissa Givens, Laura Mercado-Wright, Kathlene Ritch, Chelsea Helm, Sonja DuToit Tengblad

A Thousand Beautiful Things Annie Lennox (b. 1954), arr. Craig Hella Johnson Kathlene Ritch, soprano Shall We Gather Traditional, arr. Craig Hella Johnson

Charles Wesley Evans, bass Me/No (world premiere) Deke Sharon Agnus Dei (Adagio for Strings, Op. 11) Samuel Barber If I Had a Hammer Craig Hella Johnson God Bless America Irving Berlin (1888-1989) Then the Great Song (excerpt from Siddhartha) Herman Hesse (1877 – 1962) Dashon Burton, reader Dona Nobis Pacem (Mass in B minor) J.S. Bach Remember Joy Harjo (b. 1951) Laura Mercado-Wright, reader Bless this House May Brahe (1884-1956) arr. Paul Ayres (b. 1970)

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https://conspirare.org/people/craig-hella-johnson/http://johnmusto.com/http://elizagilkyson.com/https://www.joyharjo.com/https://www.erikafinelines.com/https://poets.org/poet/n-scott-momadayhttps://mobrowne.com/index.htmlhttps://www.annielennox.com/https://www.dekesharon.com/bio-2/https://www.joyharjo.com/https://www.paulayres.co.uk/biog/

UNITY CONCERT TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS O Thou Who are unchangeable, Whom nothing changes, May we find our rest And remain at rest in Thee unchanging. Thou art moved and moved in infinite love by all things; the need of a sparrow, even this moves Thee; and what we scarcely see, a human sigh, the moves Thee, O infinite Love!

(the need of a sparrow, even this moves Thee; and what we scarcely see, a human sigh, the moves Thee, O infinite Love!)

- Søren Kierkegaard Where there is sorrow, there is holy ground. - Oscar Wilde Litany Gather up In the arms of your pity The sick, the depraved, The desperate, the tired, All the scum Of our weary city. Gather up In the arms of your pity. Gather up In the arms of your love– Those who expect No love from above. - Langston Hughes Requiem Mother mary, full of grace, awaken All our homes are gone, our loved ones taken Taken by the sea Mother mary, calm our fears, have mercy Drowning in a sea of tears, have mercy Hear our mournful plea

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Our world has been shaken We wander our homelands forsaken In the dark night of the soul Bring some comfort to us all Oh mother mary come and carry us in your embrace That our sorrows may be faced Mary, fill the glass to overflowing Illuminate the path where we are going Have mercy on us all In funeral fires burning Each flame to your mystery returning In the dark night of the soul Your shattered dreamers, make them whole, Oh mother mary find us where we've fallen out of grace Lead us to a higher place In the dark night of the soul Our broken hearts you can make whole Oh mother mary come and carry us in your embrace Let us see your gentle face, mary - Eliza Gilkyson (The heart that breaks open can contain the whole universe.) - Joanna Macy Once the World Was Perfect Once the world was perfect, and we were happy in that world. Then we took it for granted. Discontent began a small rumble in the earthly mind. Then Doubt pushed through with its spiked head. And once Doubt ruptured the web, All manner of demon thoughts Jumped through— We destroyed the world we had been given For inspiration, for life— Each stone of jealousy, each stone Of fear, greed, envy, and hatred, put out the light. No one was without a stone in his or her hand. There we were, Right back where we had started. We were bumping into each other In the dark. And now we had no place to live, since we didn't know

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How to live with each other. Then one of the stumbling ones took pity on another And shared a blanket. A spark of kindness made a light. The light made an opening in the darkness. Everyone worked together to make a ladder. A Wind Clan person climbed out first into the next world, And then the other clans, the children of those clans, their children, And their children, all the way through time— To now, into this morning light to you. - Joy Harjo O ewiges Feuer, or Ursprung der Liebe (from Bach Cantata BWV 34) O ewiges Feuer, o Ursprung der Liebe, O eternal fire, o source of love, Entzünde die Herzen und weihe sie ein. ignite our hearts and consecrate them. Laß himmlische Flammen durchdringen und wallen, Let heavenly flames penetrate and surge over us, Wir wünschen, o Höchster, dein Tempel zu sein, we wish, o Highest, to be Your temple, Ach, lass dir die Seelen im Glauben gefallen. Ah, may our souls be pleasing to you in faith! - Anonymous Wish The weeks go by, the fourth, the fifth, And normalcy’s become a myth. I want to hug, I want to hold, I want this deadly scourge controlled. I want to walk amidst a crowd. I want to lift this morbid shroud. I sit, sequestered in my home, And yearn to mingle, travel, roam. My energy is out of whack — I want my normal problems back. - Erika Fine In the Time of Plague We keep indoors. When we dare to venture out We are cautious. Our neighbors Smile, but in their eyes there is Reserve and suspicion. They keep their distance, As we do ours, in mute accord. Much of our fear is unspoken, For there is at last the weight of custom, The tender of rote consolation. We endure thoughts of demise And measure the distance of death.

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Death too wears a mask. But consider, there may well be good In our misfortune if we can find it. It is Hidden in the darkness of our fear. But discover it and see that it is hope And more; it is the gift of opportunity. We have the rare chance to prevail, To pose a resolution for world renewal. We can be better than we have ever been. We can improve the human condition. We can imagine, then strive to realize, Our potential for goodness and morality. We can overcome pestilence, war and poverty. We can preserve our sacred purpose. We can Determine who we are in our essential nature And who we can be. We are committed to this end For our own sake and for the sake of those Who will come after us. There is a better future, And we can secure it. Let us take up the task, and Let us be worthy of our best destiny. - N. Scott Momaday And we all finally come to know the liberation and healing for all which occurs when we proclaim over and over until it is known and realized. Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter. nameless A Thousand Beautiful Things Every day I write the list Of reasons why I still believe they do exist (A thousand beautiful things) And even though it's hard to see The glass is full and not half empty (A thousand beautiful things) So, light me up like the sun To cool down with your rain I never want to close my eyes again Never close my eyes Never close my eyes I thank you for the air to breathe The heart to beat The eyes to see again (A thousand beautiful things) And all the things that's been and done The battle's won

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The good and bad in everyone (This is mine to remember) So, Here I go again Singing by your window Picking up the pieces of what's left to find The world was meant for you and me To figure out our destiny (A thousand beautiful things) To live To die To breathe To sleep To try to make your life complete (Yes yes…) So Light me up like the sun To cool down with your rain I never want to close my eyes again Never close my eyes Never close my eyes That is everything I have to say (That's is everything I have to say) - Annie Lennox Shall we Gather Shall we gather at the river Where bright angel feet have trod With its crystal tide forever Flowing by the throne of God? Yes, we'll gather at the river The beautiful, the beautiful river Gather with the saints at the river That flows by the throne of God - Robert Lowry Agnus Dei Agnus Dei, The Lamb of God Qui tollis peccata mundi, Who took the sins of the world, Miserere nobis. Have mercy upon us. Agnus Dei, The Lamb of God Qui tollis peccata mundi, Who took the sins of the world, Dona nobis pacem. Grant us peace. - John 1:29

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Me / No me no If I had a Hammer If I had a hammer I'd hammer in the morning I'd hammer in the evening All over this land I'd hammer out danger I'd hammer out a warning I'd hammer out love between My brothers and my sisters All over this land If I had a bell I'd ring it in the morning I'd ring it in the evening All over this land I'd ring out danger I'd ring out a warning I'd ring out love between My brothers and my sisters All over this land If I had a song I'd sing it in the morning I'd sing it in the evening All over this world I'd sing out danger I'd sing out a warning I'd sing out love between My brothers and my sisters All over this land I got a hammer And I've got a bell And I've got a song to sing All over this land It's the hammer of justice It's the bell of freedom It's the song about love between My brothers and my sisters All over this land - Lee Hays & Pete Seeger

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God Bless America God Bless America, land that I love Stand beside her and guide her Through the night with the light from above

Tell her what she hasn't known How her heart can lead her there So near to where she needs to be May we sing together soon

From the mountains to the prairies To the oceans white with foam

Love her like the child she is Hold her while she shakes in fear Heal the rage that fills her soul Comfort all the hurt within Bewildered child your sorrows burn Still so far from where you dream Freedom is your secret name You will come to feel her joy -Michael Dennis Browne & Craig Hella Johnson

God bless America God Bless America God Bless America My home sweet home. - Irving Berlin The Great Song He felt that he had now completely learned the art of listening. He had often heard all this before, all these numerous voices in the river, but today they sounded different. He could no longer distinguish the different voices--. The merry voice from the weeping voice the childish voice from the manly voice. The all belonged to each other;. The lament of those who yearn, the laughter of the wise, the cry of indignation and the groan of the dying… They were all interwoven and interlocked, entwined in a thousand ways.. And all the voices, all the goals, all the yearnings, all the sorrows, all the pleasures, all the good and evil, all of them together was the world. All of them together was the stream of events, the music of live. When (he) listened attentively to this river to this song of a thousand voices;. When he did not listen to the sorrow of the laughter, when he did not bind his soul to any particular voice and absorb it in his self, but heard them all, the whole, the unity; then the great song of a thousand voices consisted of one word: Om—perfection. - Herman Hesse May all beings be happy. No justice no peace. May all beings be happy. No justice no peace.

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Dona nobis pacem Dona nobis pacem Grant us peace - Latin mass Remember Remember the sky that you were born under, / know each of the star's stories. Remember the moon, know who she is. Remember the sun's birth at dawn, that is the strongest point of time. Remember sundown / and the giving away to night. Remember your birth, how your mother struggled to give you form and breath. You are evidence of / her life, and her mother's, and hers. Remember your father. He is your life, also. Remember the earth whose skin you are: red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth brown earth, we are earth. Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their tribes, their families, their histories, too. Talk to them, listen to them. They are alive poems. Remember the wind. Remember her voice. She knows the origin of this universe. Remember you are all people and all people are you. Remember you are this universe and this / universe is you. Remember all is in motion, is growing, is you. / Remember language comes from this. Remember the dance language is, that life is. / Remember. - Joy Harjo Bless this House Bless this house, O Lord we pray / Make it safe by night and day Bless these walls so firm and stout / Keeping want and trouble out Bless the roof and chimneys tall / Let thy peace lie overall Bless this door that it may prove / Ever open, / To joy and love Bless these windows shining bright / Letting in God's Heavenly light Bless the hearth, ablazing there / With smoke ascending like a prayer! Bless the people here within / Keep them pure and free from sin Bless us all that we may be / Fit O Lord to dwell with thee Bless us all that one day we may dwell / O Lord! With Thee! - Helen Taylor

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Kindness

Before you know what kindness really is you must lose things, feel the future dissolve in a moment like salt in a weakened broth. What you held in your hand, what you counted and carefully saved, all this must go so you know how desolate the landscape can be between the regions of kindness. How you ride and ride thinking the bus will never stop, the passengers eating maize and chicken will stare out the window forever.

Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho lies dead by the side of the road. You must see how this could be you, how he too was someone who journeyed through the night with plans and the simple breath that kept him alive.

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside, you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing. You must wake up with sorrow. You must speak to it till your voice catches the thread of all sorrows and you see the size of the cloth. Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore, only kindness that ties your shoes and sends you out into the day to gaze at bread, only kindness that raises its head from the crowd of the world to say It is I you have been looking for, and then goes with you everywhere like a shadow or a friend.

- Naomi Shahib Nye

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https://poets.org/poem/kindnesshttps://poets.org/poem/kindness

Performing Note Conspirare has the privilege of performing in a variety of beautiful venues that best enhance choral performances. While our performing venues and the text of some of our repertoire may be representative of specific traditions, it is in no way intended to exclude any individual whose experience or set of beliefs is not represented. Conspirare respects and celebrates the great diversity of religious, artistic and human experiences represented among our singers and audience members. The audience creates the space in which the music is held. Composer Note for “Me/No” World Premiere Our social isolation has sadly only exacerbated the cultural bifurcation plaguing nations around the world, America being no exception. Too much of today's online discourse has devolved into a toxic brew of narcissism and negation, as people’s certainty, based on incomplete and sometimes even false information, has them convinced that others are the problem, rather than realizing so many of society’s ills require a unified solution. Alas, before solving this social and political crisis it must be acknowledged. To that end, in the words of my middle-school English teacher: “Show, don’t tell.”

- Deke Sharon (October 2020) This is the first in a series of three commissions from Deke Sharon. Each commission will be in response to current cultural climate and in the composers words, serve as a timestamp, and intended to be premiered online. Creative Collaborators Andrew Timm Creative Andrew Timm is an award-winning Creative Director as well as a creator, writer and director of TV shows, commercials, musicals, concerts and music videos, as well as professional theater and corporate shows. He studied drama and Journalism and has three decades of experience in the entertainment industry. Among his career highlights, Timm is the Creative Director of two internationally viral choir videos for YouTube and Facebook (Bohemian Rhapsody – Rustenburg High School & Hallelujah – Roedean) and was appointed Creative Director of Staging for X-Factor South Africa. His awards include the South African Comedy Awards Best Television Comedy for The Coconuts, and he has the honor of having been the top award winner in South Africa in one year for TV & video production at the Avanti Awards, South Africa’s version of the Emmys. Randall Squires Randall “Aretoo” Squires is an Audio Engineer, collaborating with ensembles including Conspirare and Roomful of Teeth. From the stage to studio, Randall serves a variety of roles for live performance and recording. He mastered Roomful of Teeth’s recently released albums Just Constellations and Wally Gunn: The Ascendant. Randall can be found under the headphones as Lead Audio Engineer & Broadcast Mix Engineer for Conspirare Christmas and Conspirare’s Considering Matthew Shepard national tour. Steve Peterson Steve Peterson is an active musician and media creator. Since the pandemic began, he has busy creating virtual performance videos for the San Antonio Symphony and the Grammy-award winning choir Conspirare. Conspirare commissioned him to create their inaugural Big Sing at Home. Steve is principal trombone with the San Antonio Symphony and on the music faculty of St. Mary’s University and Trinity University.

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http://www.facebook.com/AndrewTimmCreative/https://www.stillmastering.com/https://www.youtube.com/petersonproject

Poetry Permissions Once the World Was Perfect Joy Harjo ©2015 by Joy Harjo, from Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings. Used by permission of Anderson Literary Management LLC. Erika Fine Used with permission from Erika Fine In Time of Plague N. Scott Momaday Used with permission from author; originally printed in the New York Times on May 22, 2020 Nameless Mahogany L. Browne “nameless” from The BreakBeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop. Copyright © 2015 by Mahogany L. Browne. Remember Joy Harjo © 1983 by Joy Harjo, from She Had Some Horses. Used by permission of Anderson Literary Management LLC. Kindness By permission of the author, Naomi Shihab Nye

Your investment provides the gift of Conspirare’s music to everyone and keeps our nationwide roster of artists employed.

Please consider a gift to support the uplifting power of song.

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Unity: Songs of Invitation

Craig Hella Johnson, Conductor, Artistic Director and Pianist

SOPRANO Melissa Givens – Claremont, CA Chelsea Helm – New York, NY Gitanjali Mathur – Austin, TX Stefanie Moore^ – Los Angeles, CA Kathlene Ritch*^ – Santa Fe, NM Sonja DuToit Tengblad^ – East Boston, MA Shari Alise Wilson – Austin, TX

ALTO Ana Baida^ – Atlanta, GA Sarah Brauer – Portland, OR Lauren McAllister^ – Cincinnati, OH Laura Mercado-Wright^ – Austin, TX Keely J Rhodes – Aiken, SC

*denotes section leader^ Me/No

INSTRUMENTALISTS Thomas Burritt, percussion – Austin, TX Ian Davidson, oboe – Austin, TX Austin Haller, organ – Austin, TX Douglas Harvey, cello – Austin, TX Carla McElhaney, piano – Round Rock, TX Caleb Hans Polashek, violin double – Austin, TX Melanie Punter, double bass – Tallahassee, FL

TENOR Dann Coakwell^ – Ithaca, NY Ernest H. Harrison – Los Angeles, CA Michael Jones^ – Peoria, IL David Kurtenbach Rivera – San Francisco, CA Wilson Nichols*^– New York, NY

BASS Simon Barrad – San Francisco, CA Dashon Burton^ – New York, NY Charles Wesley Evans – Wallingford, CT Gregory Fletcher – Long Beach, CA Rick Gabrillo* – Round Rock, TX Robert Harlan – Austin, TX Enrico Lagasca^ – New York, NY John Proft^ – Austin, TX Evan Blaché^ – Austin, TX (Insight Fellow)

Stephen Redfield, violin – Hattiesburg, MS Brian Shaw, trumpet – Baton Rouge, LA Mitch Watkins, guitar – Austin, TX Bruce Williams, viola – Austin, TX Jordan Walsh, hand drums – Austin, TX Ivy Wang, hand drums – Austin, TX

Additional arrangements and improvisations – Craig Hella Johnson

Creative Director – Andrew Timm Associate Director and footage selection – Sandy Dyer

Senior Animator – Charl Joubert Video editor – Adino Poggiali-Trapani Poetry Sound Design – Andrew Buntain

Audio Mixing & Mastering: Steve Peterson, Assembly and Mixing Engineer Randall L. Squires, Audio Post Production & Broadcast Audio Mastering

Event Graphics: Hornaday Design

Licensing: Jaime Leighton & Kendall Walshak

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All audio and video captured by artists in their own homes. Additional cinematography for instrumentalists and conductor by Robert Harlan and Randall L. Squires. Produced by Craig Hella Johnson, Robert Harlan and Ann McNair Conspirare Staff Craig Hella Johnson, Artistic Director Ann McNair, Managing Director Ellen Culver, Digital Content Coordinator Scott Dinger, Development Specialist Lucas Edwards, Marketing Intern Rick Gabrillo, Associate Conductor Robert Harlan, Technical Director and Stage Manager Briona Jenkins, Marketing Specialist

Meri Krueger, Artist Relations Jaime Leighton, Production Administrator and Webmaster Kathy Leighton, House Manager Ali Lewis, Conspirare Concierge Jane Ramirez, Business Manager Natalie Seeboth, Director of Development Kendall Walshak, Production Assistant

Conspirare Board of Directors Nancy Lesch, Chair, Health and Wellness Strategist and Consultant Robert Harlan, Vice Chair, Owner, Harlan Enterprises William G. Fivecoat, Treasurer, CPA (ret.) William C. Bednar, Secretary, Attorney, Independent Practice Camille Atkins, Business Management & Finance Kenneth H. Beck, Co-Founder, The Crossings (ret.) Marvin J. Brittman, Legal Executive (ret.) Carl Caricari, Founder, Caricari Consultants, Technology/Business Consultants Fran Collmann, Owner, TesCom (ret.) MaryAnne Connolly, Founder/Chief Creative Officer, MACMedia Susanna Finnell, Director of Admissions, Adjunct Professor of English, University of Houston (ret.) Sandra Fivecoat, Consultant & Executive Coach In Memoriam Elliott Forrest, Broadcaster/Producer/Director/Designer, WQXR, NY Marcus Cruz Sanchez, Director of Communications and Marketing, Kind Clinic Lucy Tiblier, Paralegal Joni Wallace, Dentist, Dr. Joni Wallace, DDS Ambassadors: Janet Bezner, Fran Collmann, Michelle Fisher, Stephanie Foster, Leslie Friedlander, Wravan Godsoe, Bob & Helen Hays, Bill Hulsey, Susie Milam, Pat Reed Kathleen Weitzel, Lauren Vick

With special thanks to: John Stinson, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Cathy Collier and George Dupere, Eliza Fischer, Steven Barclay Agency, Thomas Jung, Timothy Kosel, Easy Song Licensing, Tamara Kawar, ICM Partners, Philip Overbaugh, Charlotte Sheedy and Regula Noetzl

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Your Generosity Sustains Our Song We are deeply grateful to every individual, foundation, business, and government agency for your investments in Conspirare’s mission to change lives through the power of music. Dedicated support from the following individuals and foundations has allowed us to fulfill our mission throughout 2020: Joyce & Ken Beck William Bednar Mark Bierner Marvin J. Brittman Leslie Brown Dixie Camp Fran & Larry Collmann Danna & Crutch Crutchfield Mary & Phil Delk Lynne Dobson and Greg Wooldridge Kristin Drumm Carol & Chris Elms Susanna & Richard Finnell

William Fivecoat Lara & Robert Harlan Richard Hartgrove and Gary Cooper Trish & Robert Karli Gail & Jeffrey Kodosky Wendi & Brian Kushner Lee Manford and Casey Blass Nancy Quinn and Tom Driscoll Susan & Jack Robertson Gayle Roche Joni Wallace Eva Womack

conspirare.org

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Kindness