2015

Our program for the advent season included classical and modern songs and carols from England, France, the Carribean, USA and Germany. In our concerts, we were musically supported by Soprano Lisa Lindstrom (soloist in “Laudate Dominum”) and the following musicians:

• Violin: Zsuzsanna Przyzycki, Susanne Kemner

• Trumpet: Dave Dell, Dorothea Baumgarten, Bernd-Udo Schneider, Benedikt Kielburg

• Trombone: Mark Burditt, James Hubbard, Hubert Holmes

• Bass trombone: Ben Huseby

• Tuba: Tristan Calabrese, Colby Fahrenbacher

• Oboe: Suzanne Hendlinger

• Percussion: Jon Friedman, Steve Przyzycki

A musical highlight was the Gloria (John Rutter), directed by Dr. Catherine Sailer at our December 6 concert in the Pauluskirche. The Rheinpfalz reported about the concert on December 8 and lauded the “homogenous tone and pure intonation” of the choir.

he concert of the USAFE Band in the Fruchthalle Kaiserslautern was a highlight of the Kaiserslautern 2015 Christmas concert season. Like every year, it was a great pleasure and honor for the choir to participate in this concert event and present selected songs of our Christmas program. 

The “Blackbirds” are a chamber choir consisting of members of the big choir. The following pieces were included in our 30-minute program for the advent times:

• Tollite hostias - Camille Saint-Saëns

• Dixit Maria - Hans Leo Hassler

• O Tannenbaum - arr. Frank Leitnaker

• The Angel Gabriel - arr. Stephanie Benton

• Bring a Torch - old French Christmas Carol

• Psallite unigenito (Singt und klingt) - Michael Praetorius

• Tochter Zion - Georg Friedrich Händel

• The Holly and the Ivy - Kirby Shaw

• The Virgin Mary Had A Baby Boy - Arr.: Drew Collins und Brenda Ellis

• German Christmas Carols

• (We Wish You) A Merry Christmas

The themes “joy” and “spring” are apparent in many choral songs from a great variety. Our choral director, Mrs. Stephanie Benton had selected choral works from 5 centuries that follow these themes. The pieces were sung in English, German and Latin.

The Rheinpfalz newspaper reviewed our Deutschordensaal concert in its May 18th issue:

“This choral community in its changing formations as a chamber choir “Blackbirds”, as a mens choir, and with its many exceptional soloists completely fulfilled its reputation as a musical ambassador and advocate of sophisticated concert choir literature. All performances – spanning from 16th to 20th century – penetrated deeply into the spirit and nature of the textual message, capturing special melodic features as well as rhythmic finesse, and crafting a homogeneity and expressiveness of sound that originated from the song text and its prosody.”

The program included the following pieces:

• Welten singen Dank und Ehre/Preiset ihn, ihr Engelchöre (aus Christus am Ölberge) - Ludwig van Beethoven

• Der erste Frühlingstag - Felix Mendelssohn

  1. Frühlingsahnung

  2. Die Primel

  3. Frühlingsfeier

  4. Lerchengesang

  5. Morgengebet

• Zigeunerleben - Robert Schumann

• Laetatus sum (Be Joyful) - Claudio Monteverdi (ed. James McKelvy)

• Music’s Echo - Greg Gilpin

• Ode to Joy/Freude schöner Götterfunken - Ludwig van Beethoven

• Blackbird - Lennon/McCartney, arr. Daryl Runswick

• Tanzen und Springen - Hans Leo Hassler

• Exultate Justi - Ludovico da Viadana

• A Jubilant Song - Norman Dello Joio

• Frühlingsglaube - Franz Schubert, arr. Patricia Ann Weinandy

• Zions Walls - Aaron Copland, Arr. Glen Koponen

• Ching-A-Ring Chaw - Aaron Copland, Arr.: Irving Fine

• I’m Goin’ To Sing - Spiritual, Arr. A. Parker, R. Shaw

• Ev’ry Time I Feel The Spirit - William L. Dawson

The choir was invited to a musical contribution at the Holocaust Memorial Service. We performed the following pieces:

• Ani Ma’amin - Traditional, Arr.: John Leavitt

• Ose Shalom- Arr.: John Leavitt