Program for Ragazzi Boys Chorus – Mysteries and Miracles

Sunday, December 12, 2021 at 4 pm

download a copy of this program here.

Ragazzi Boys Chorus
Mysteries and Miracles

Kent Jue, Artistic & Executive Director
Yongyu Gao, collaborative pianist
Travis Rogers, Director-Young Men’s Ensemble
Nancy Whitecar, Assistant Director-Young Men’s Ensemble, collaborative pianist

Program

Concert Group and Choral Scholars

Richard Oswin (b. 1957)
Sanctus

from Melody: Pie cantiones (1582), arranged by J. Edmund Hughes (b. 1947) and Brian Edward Galante (b. 1974)
Hodie
      Soloist: Amit Krishnan

Craig Courtney (b. 1948) words by Nahum Tate
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night

Anton Bruckner (1824–1896)
Locus Iste

Traditional, arranged by Philip Lawson (b. 1957)
Down to the River
      Soloist: Nicholas Hu
Trio: Andrew Altorfer, Nick Damon, Ethan Leonard

Concert Group

English traditional carol arranged by John Rutter (b. 1945)
Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day from Dancing Day
      Septet: Andrew Altorfer, Ian Bass, Nick Damon, Ethan Leonard, Liam Lowitz, Smaran Narayanan, Finn Reese

Evan Ramos (b. 1983)
O Magnum Mysterium 

Alessandro Grandi (c. 1590–1630), edited by William Tortolano
Hodie, nobis de caelo

Choral Scholars

Traditional Catalan Carol, arr. Howard Helvey (b. 1968)
Fum, Fum, Fum

Young Men’s Ensemble

Traditional Kenyan, arr. Shawn Kirchner (b. 1970)
Wana Baraka

18th Century Latin Hymn, arr. Michael John Trotta (b. 1978)
Veni, Veni Emmanuel
      Ben Carlson, triangle; Nick McKee, tambourine; James Thomas, djembe
      Sextet: Misha Aganin, Todd Crandell, Gabriel Hawkins, Lincoln Mendenhall, Paul Sapilewski, Daniel Wu

Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943)
O Magnum Mysterium 

Kim Andrė Arnesen (b. 1980)
Cradle Hymn

Traditional Burgundian Carol, arr. David Conte (b. 1955)
Pat-a-pan

Melchior Franck (c. 1579–1639), arranged by Stephen Caracciolo (b. 1962)
O Tannenbaum
      Soloists: Amit Krishnan, Adrian Vahamaki

Traditional German Carol, arr. Carl J. Nygard, Jr. (b. 1947)
Oh! Christmas Tree???

James L. Pierpont (1822–1893), arr. Philip Lawson (b. 1957)
Jingle bells
      Ben Carlson, bells

Translations

Sanctus (sung in Latin)
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth.
Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory.
Hosana in the highest.

Hodie (sung in Latin)
Today is Christ born,
Glory to God in the highest.
Today the Savior has appeared,
today the angels sing on earth
Today the righteous rejoice, saying
Glory to God in the highest.

Locus Iste (sung in Latin)
Consecrated in worship be this place,
consecrated to the Lord our God.
In worship consecrate this place
as an inestimable sacrament.
Blameless without fault forever.

O Magnum Mysterium (sung in Latin)
O great mystery, and wonderous sacrament,
that animals should see the new-born Lord
lying in a manger.
Blessed Virgin, whose womb was worthy
to bear our Lord Christ.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.

Hodie, nobis de caelo (sung in Latin)
Peace Today Descends from Heaven
Today for us true peace
from Heaven came down.
Today throughout the whole world,
the Heavens distilled honey.
Today there shone for us
a day of new redemption,
a long-expected restoration
of eternal happiness.
Alleluia!

Wana Baraka (sung in Swahili)
They have blessings, those who pray;
Jesus himself said so. Alleluia!
They have peace; they have joy;
they have well-being.

Veni, Veni Emmanuel (sung in Latin)
O come, o come, the “I AM” that is with us.
Break the bond of the captive people
who mourn in exile
derived of the incarnation of the father.

Rejoice! Rejoice! The great “I AM”
will be born for you.

O come, gatherer of all nations,
come to make us whole,
to save your servants
from their separateness.

O come, thou light of life (Morningstar)
to shine on us by your coming,
dispel the clouds of night,
drive away the shadows of death.

O Tannenbaum (sung in German)
O fir tree, o fir tree,
how faithful are your branches!
You’re green not only in the summertime,
but, also, in winter when it snows.

O fir tree, o fir tree,
you can very much please me!
How often has at Christmastime
a tree like you delighted me!

O fir tree, o fir tree, your dress
has something to teach me!
Hope and durability,
give trust and strength always.

About the artists

Ragazzi Boys Chorus is one of the San Francisco Bay Area’s premier music and performance organizations for boys. Currently serving more than 175 boys from over 100 schools in more than 30 communities, Ragazzi is the largest boys chorus in the Bay Area. Ragazzi means “boys” in Italian, and is the term used in opera to refer to children’s voices.

Ragazzi has performed with the San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Symphony, Opera San Jose, Symphony Silicon Valley, and the Stanford University Symphonic Chorus, among others. Ragazzi was honored for its contribution to the San Francisco Symphony’s triple Grammy Award-winning recording of Stravinsky’s Perséphone and produces its own discography. Under the leadership of Artistic and Executive Director Kent Jue, the group tours throughout the United States and internationally to widen chorus members’ cultural and musical horizons and deepen Ragazzi’s reputation for performance excellence.

Kent Jue, Artistic and Executive Director; Director of Concert Group/Choral Scholars, is an experienced choral conductor, music educator, and facilitator for lifelong learning in music. An energetic teacher, adjudicator, guest clinician, workshop presenter, and mentor, he is known for building high-level musicianship skills through his engaging style and rapport with students. He has a passion for uncovering the full artistic and expressive potential of individual choristers in an ensemble setting. Kent conducts Ragazzi’s most accomplished treble singers, Concert Group, and the select tenor and bass Choral Scholars. He has toured extensively with the Ragazzi program and has led Ragazzi choirs to numerous festivals. An avid collaborator, Kent has prepared ensembles for performances with organizations including San Francisco Symphony, Symphony Silicon Valley, Opera San Jose, and West Bay Opera. Kent has also conducted youth choruses at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and performed and recorded with the Golden Gate Men’s Chorus and the Gay Men’s Choruses of San Francisco and Boston. He has a Masters of Music Education, with a Kodaly Emphasis from Holy Names University, a Bachelor of Music, Music Education from the University of the Pacific, a certificate in the Orff-Schulwerk method of music education, and holds a CA teaching credential. As Ragazzi’s second Artistic Director, Kent is honored to continue Ragazzi’s legacy of musical excellence, and its tradition of developing choral artists of character and distinction.

Travis Rogers, Young Men’s Ensemble Director, has been a professional choral conductor for 45 years. He retired from Napa High School after 37 years as the choral music director, where his ensembles won the most awards of any high school in California at Golden State Invitational Choral Festivals, also earning top honors at several national and international competitions. Mr. Rogers began the school’s first Men’s Choir with 20 students, growing the program to include 220 men in three separate male ensembles. Most young men enrolled with no previous choral training yet earned “Unanimous Superior” ratings at area choral festivals, a story told in the film Top Row which chronicled the school’s Beginning Men’s Choir’s preparation and performance at their first choral competition. Mr. Rogers has served the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) California Chapter in many capacities including repertoire and standards chair for high school and male choirs, summer conference chair and President. He is now President of the western division of ACDA. Mr. Rogers has conducted over thirty honor and district choirs in northern and central California. He has been a choral competition/festival adjudicator and clinician for over thirty years as well as a frequent presenter at professional conferences for ACDA and CMEA.

Yongyu Gao, Collaborative Pianist began playing the accordion at age four, establishing a strong musical foundation for piano studies she began at the age of 10. In 2005, Yongyu won first place in the Beijing National Accordion Competition, and third place in the Beijing National Piano Competition. This experience helped her focus on piano, and in 2009, she graduated with a BA from South China University in Music Education with an emphasis in piano performance. After moving to the United States, she played for the Inna Opera Group at the Community Music Center in San Francisco. Yongyu continued her study in piano performance as a Walker Scholar at San Jose State University, earning her Master’s degree in 2013. She accompanies for the Burlingame School District and Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, and is an active performer throughout the Bay Area. She also serves as a pianist and organist at Burlingame United Methodist Church. She is a member of the Music Teachers Association of California, and her piano students regularly participate in the Certificate of Merit and Royal School of Music programs and exams.

Nancy Whitecar, Assistant Young Men’s Ensemble Director; Collaborative Pianist, is a professional musician and music educator with over 30 years of experience. She teaches general music classes at The Music School at the Sunnyvale Presbyterian church and accompanies instrumentalists and choirs throughout the Bay Area. Nancy has directed children’s and youth choirs, and taught piano to students of all ages. She served as accompanist and assistant director of the BeckRidge Chorale in Southeast Michigan for over 20 years, and as Associate Director of Music at the First United Methodist Church in Plymouth, Michigan. Nancy is a member of the Music Teachers National Association, and the California Association of Professional Music Teachers. She graduated from the University of Illinois, and holds a Piano Teacher Certificate from Schoolcraft College in Michigan.

Concert Group
Andrew Altorfer**
Ian Bass*
Calvin Blanford
Logan Crawford
Nick Damon
Alex Dujmovic
Kui Fine
Ollie Gullick
Eli Hart
Talinn Hatti&
Kash Hodges^
Jonah Hsu
Elliot Lee
Ethan Leonard
Ming Lim
Brandon Liu
Isaac Liu
Michael Long
Liam Lowitz**
Albert Luo
Kyan Mayenkar
Smaran Narayanan^^
Finn Reese
Hersh Saxena
Arthur Scholom
Johan Sijp
Nikhil Srinivasan
Connor Statton
Luke Suffoletto
Adrian Twomey
Iker Vahamaki
Abraham Villeda
Justin Vives
Brenden Yu
Joshua Zheng

Concert Group leadership designations:
*Head Chorister
**Assistant Head Chorister
^Team Captain
^^ Student Conductor
& Head Chorister Emeritus

Choral Scholars
Misha Aganin
Spencer Bergland
Simon Braun
Yanni Cheng
Todd Crandell
Quinn Goldberg
Aryan Gupta
Finley Heinzen
Brij Howard-Sarin
Nicholas Hu †
Miles Kaludzinski
Amit Krishnan †
Luca Lit †
Henry Liu
Paolo Marasco
Lincoln Mendenhall
Leon Qin
Yash Saxena
Adrian Vahamaki †
Marvin Valdez
Tom Vosganian
Brian Wu

†Section Leader

Young Men’s Ensemble
Misha Aganin
Spencer Bergland
Simon Braun
Ben Carlson
Yanni Cheng
Brandon Cho †
Armani Choy †
Danny Cox
Manny Cox
Todd Crandell
Christopher Culwell
Jack Day
Sam Dickey
Ronin Fanelli
Quinn Goldberg
David Gu
Aryan Gupta
Gabriel Hawkins
Finley Heinzen
Carter Hendrix
Brij Howard-Sarin
Nicholas Hu †
Miles Kaludzinski
Jackson Kay
William Keller
Olivier Kondo
Amit Krishnan †
Luca Lit †
Henry Liu
Paolo Marasco
Nick McKee
Lincoln Mendenhall
Krishna Nagarajan
Matteo Navarro
Charlie Pellegrin
John Phillips
Leon Qin
Diego Ramirez
Peter Reeves
Paul Sapilewski
Yash Saxena
Zachary Sayyah
Armaan Sharma
James Thomas
Charlie Trainor
Javier Tulabing
Declan Twomey
Adrian Vahamaki †
Marvin Valdez
Tom Vosganian
Theo Waltuch
Thomas Williams
Brian Wu
Daniel Wu †
Ethan Zettler-Bray

†Section Leader