Robbinsville School District

Choral Music Department

proudly presents

Songs of the Season

a choir concert

Sunday, December 15th, 4pm

Robbinsville High School Auditorium
 Robbinsville School District
Superintendent of Schools
Dr. Kathie Foster
Assistant Superintendent
Dr. Kim Tew
Robbinsville Board of Education
Mrs. Jane Luciano, President
Mr. Scott Veisz, Vice President
Mrs. Shaina Ciaccio
Mrs. Sharon DeVito
Mr. Christopher Emigholz
Mr. Vito Galluccio
Mr. Craig Heilman
Ms. Lisa Temple
Mr. Richard Young
Interim School Business Administrator
Nick Puleio
Robbinsville High School
Ms. Molly C. Avery, Principal
Ms. Nicole Rossi, Assistant Principal
Mr. Curtis Wyers, Assistant Principal
Mr. Tom Brettell, Athletic Director
Mr. Brian Williams, Choral Director
Pond Road Middle School
Mr. Paul Gizzo, Principal
Ms. Tawrye Mason, Assistant Principal
Mr. Mike Passafaro, Assistant Principal
Mr. PJ Heckman, Choral Director
Thank you to everyone who made this concert possible! Additionally, a special
thank you to Mr. Brian Murphy, Mr. Kyle Brosseau and Mr. Birch Wilson as well
as the entire facilities staff for helping us book this space and keeping it in great
working order. A special thank you to Abigail Dorwart for running sound for our
concerts.

At multiple points in this concert, the conductors may include

a few moments of silence after a piece of music.
Please hold your applause until the conductor has lowered their hands.

Please refrain from any video and/or audio recording.

As per United States Copyright law any recording of a
performance is strictly prohibited.
 From the Directors
PJ Heckman For our winter concert repertoire the 7th and 8th grade choir presents several
Pond Road Middle School different reflections on this time of year. Simple, complex, fast, slow, nostalgic,
serene, or exuberant - we’ve made efforts to include the various dimensions of the
Director
December season.

We open with Betelehemu. This Nigerian Christmas carol opens with a steady
duple meter walking song before bouncing into an excited triple meter melody. The
piece employs polyrhythm and simple parallel harmonies which are hallmarks of
West African traditional style.

Stephen Schwartz is famous for his musicals like Pippin and Wicked and more.
He has also composed several choral pieces including The Chanukah Song (We
Are Lights). His musical theatre style seems to blend into the work through the
harmonies and the way he sets the text. The lyrics “we are lights of memory,
remembering times long gone” evoke a sense of connection to ancestors and
traditions. The sentiment segues well into Remembering Decembers which
explores more recent, personal, happy memories of the season. The song ends
with an invitation, “so now, come and join with me, make a memory.”

A la Media Noche is a fast paced Puerto Rican Christmas Carol. The “A” section
of the song includes a jaunty minor melody sung on “la” along with hand claps. To
contrast, the “B” section is sung with quiet excitement and entirely in Spanish.
Similarly fast-paced is S’Vivon, which is Hebrew for Dreydl. The song opens with
various repeats of the word “sov” which evokes the spinning of the dreydl. Layered
on top of the repeated harmonies, a small group soli sings the melody. The piece
ends with an exciting and mostly homophonic presentation of the tune sung on
“la.”

We hope to leave you humming with final two pieces of our portion of the concert.
Holiday Road was written by Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac fame for the
movie National Lampoon’s Vacation. We end with a unique arrangement of We
Wish You a Merry Christmas and with the sincere wish to all “for health, luck, and
prosperity...and a very happy new year!”

Brian Williams O Come, O Come, Emmanuel tackles the identity of universal hope by setting the
Robbinsville High School text in traditional english while simultaneously being recounted by others singing
in latin. We transition into Only In Sleep, a lush setting of a Sara Teasdale poem
Director
describing the people she remembers so fondly from her childhood. The set is
concluded with a simple quote set in an intriguing and powerful way. Shadows
Will Fall is a fascinating setting of a famous quote. By mixing up the order in which
the quote is read the audience is swept into despair and warned of the incoming
shadows. As the piece darkens and all hope is lost, a quiet rally of slowly shifting
major homophonic chords reminds the listener that perspective is everything, and
even the darkest days can be illuminated with the correct mindset.

Concert Choir begins with Climbin’ Up the Mountain, Children! The piece
recounts trials in which perseverance and belief saved others in times of strife, and
assures that continuing to climb even when the slope gets steeper will deliver you
to a happier life. God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen is a fascinating arrangement of
the 18th century carol focusing on a lavish accompaniment and canonical
reinterpretations of the well known melody. The Dan Forrest arrangement of
Silent Night provides a new ascending motivic identity to the Germanic carol
while allowing the voices to flow masterfully around each other. We end our
holiday set with Bidi Bom, an upbeat and whimsical celebration of Hannukah, with
voices layering one by one to represent the individual candles being lit day after
day.

We end the concert with a set of three upbeat pieces, the most recognizable being
Snow from Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. This joyful song pining for snow is
contrasted by a similarly joyful yet robustly large Salmo 150. The South American
rhythms become a driving factor of the song as dotted eighth notes are juxtaposed
against straight triple meter passages in rather extreme ranges of the human voice
for high school vocalists. I Will Sing is a contemporary gospel piece of music
exclaiming how regardless of our journey or purpose in life, we will raise our voices
in song to fulfill ourselves and help those around us.
 Songs of the Season
Pond Road 7th & 8th Grade Choirs
Mr. PJ Heckman, Director
Mike Gilch, Accompanist

Betehemu Betelehemu. Bethlehem.

Nigerian Christmas Carol Awa yio ri Baba gbojule. We rejoice, for we have a trustworthy Father.
arr. Andy Beck Awa yio ri Baba fehinti. We rejoice, for we have a dependable Father.
Nibo l'abi Jesu? Where was Jesus born?
Nibo l'abi bi-i? Where was he born?
Betelehemu, ilu ara, Bthelehem, city of wonder,
Nibe l'abi Baba o daju That is where the Father was born for sure.
Iyin, iyin, iyin ni fun o. Praise, praise, praise be to you.
Adupe funo jo oni, We thank thee for this day,
Baba olo ore. gracious Father.
Iyin fun o Baba anu, Praise be to the merciful Father,
Baba to da'wa si. the Father who created us.

The Chanukah Song (We A lamp that kept on burning, a miracle they say;
Are Lights) but the world has kept on turning are there miracles today?
Stephen Schwartz Everyone who lights the candles has a bit of ancient spark.
arr. Mac Huff We are miracles, lighting up the dark.
Sidney Davis, soloist
We are lights, lights of memory, remembering times long gone.
Elizabeth Harris, soloist
We are glowing, growing miracles.
We are lights shining on and on.

A row of burning candles shines light upon your face,

Linking you and me and all of us to a far off holy place.
But the blazing of the candles is not the only light.
Look at all of us, shining here tonight.

We are lights, lights of memory, remembering times long gone.

We are glowing, growing miracles.
We are lights shining on and on.

Remembering Decembers I’m remembering Decembers in the quiet of the evening.

PINKZEBRA I’m recalling winter moments, long ago.
Felicity Holt, soloist I saw life through the eyes of a child then,
Ranvir Singh, soloist Playing games in the snow with my best friends.
And now, how it warms my heart.
Life was at the start.

I’m remembering Decembers, spent with loved ones, filled with laughter.
Time was moving so much slower in those days.
There was wonder and joy in the small things.
I can still feel it now when the bells ring.
They ring just like they did before.
My heart is filled once more.

The candle lanterns glowing in the snow

ignite my memories leading me back home.
The seasons turn with lessons learned as life unveils it’s play,
in it’s own way.

I’ll remember this December, I’ll forever hold it closely.

When I look back on this season I’ll recall,
time with you, by your side, spent together.
In my dreams these are days I will treasure.
So now, come and join with me.
Make a memory.
A la Media Noche A la media noche, al rigor de hielo, At the hour of midnight, in the icy harshness.
nace Jesu Cristo, Rednator del Cielo. born was Jesus Christ, Redeemer of Heaven.
(At the Hour of Midnight)
Traditional Puerto Rican Carol A la media noche, el gallo cantaba, At the hour of midnight, the cock crowed,
arr. Greg Gilpin y en su voz decia ya Cristo ha and his voice was doing so because Christ
nacido. was born.

S'vivon (Dredyl Song) S’vivon, sov, sov, sov Dredyl, spin, spin, spin.
Tradition Hanukkah Song Hanukkah, hu hag tov Hanukkah is a great holiday.
arr. Nancy Grundahl Hag simcha hu laam A joyous holiday for the nation.
Nes gadol haya sham A great miracle happened her.
Sahana Iyer, Isabella Peroni,
Dreydl spin, dreydl spin, Hanukah to welcome in.
Lauren Poprik, Sydney
Dreydl spin, dreydl spin, let the holiday begin.
Regen, Elizabeth Reid,
Happy people on this holiday, burning candles guide us on our way.
Catalina Vasquez, small
We proclaim the great miracle which did happen for our people.
group soli
A miracle happened for our people.

Holiday Road I found out long ago

Lindsey Buckingham it’s a long way down the holiday road.
arr. Roger Emerson Holiday road, holiday road.

Jack be nimble, Jack be quick.

Take a ride on the West Coast kick.
Holiday road, holiday road.

We Wish You A We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
Merry Christmas Good tidings we bring wherever we go;
Traditional Christmas Carol We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
arr. Emily Crocker Now bring us some figgy pudding. Now bring some out here.
For we won’t go until we got some, so bring some out here.
Ah, a very very, merry Christmas, and a very happy New Year!
We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
We wish you a lot of presents.
We wish you the best of everything,
Good health, luck, and prosperity, and a very happy New Year!
A very, very, very, very, very, very, very merry Christmas, and a happy New Year!
 Robbinsville High School Chamber Choir
Mr. Brian Williams, Director
Caty Butler, Cello
Meghan Doyle, Guitar

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel O Come, o come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel.
Traditional French Melody That mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear.
Traditional Latin Text Translated
by John Mason Neale Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
arr. Trevor Johnson & Keith
McKay Evans O come, Thou Key of David, come and open wide our heavenly home;
Adapted Denny Crockett Make safe the way that leads to Thee, and close the path to misery.
Rafael Ferriera, baritone
Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse’s stem, from every foe deliver them
that trust Thy mighty power to save, and give them victory over the grave.

Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

Only In Sleep Only in sleep I see their faces,

Ēriks Ešenvalds Children I played with when I was a child,
Text Sara Teasdale Louise comes back with her brown hair braided,
Sarah Scatena, soprano Annie with ringlets warm and wild.

Only in sleep Time is forgotten —

What may have come to them, who can know?
Yet we played last night as long ago,
And the doll-house stood at the turn of the stair.

The years had not sharpened their smooth round faces,

I met their eyes and found them mild —
Do they, too, dream of me, I wonder,
And for them am I too a child?

Shadows Will Fall Keep your face always toward the sunshine-
Daniel Elder and shadows will fall behind you.
Text Attr. Walt Whitman

Robbinsville High School Concert Choir

Mr. Brian Williams, Director
Elaine Wolochuk '21, Accompanist
Caty Butler, Cello
Meghan Doyle, Guitar

Climbin' Up the Mountain, Climbin’ up the mountain, children. I didn’t come here for to stay.
Children! ‘Cause if I nevermore see you again.
Traditional Spiritual Im gonna meet you at the judgement day.
Arr. Rollo Dilworth Hallelujah!

Moses went down into Egypt land. He told ol’ Pharoah,

the good Lord sittin’ on His heavenly throne,
said “Let my people go!”
Hallelujah!

Children inside of the fiery furnace. They did begin to pray,

the Angel of the Lord smote the fire out,
that sho’ was a mighty good day.

Hallelujah!
God Rest Ye, Merry God rest ye merry, gentlemen let nothing you dismay;
Gentlemen remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas day,
Traditional English Carol to save us all from Satan’s pow’r when we were gone astray,
18th century O tidings of comfort and joy.
Arr. Molly Ijames
From God our heavenly Father a blessed angel came,
and unto certain shepherds brought tidings of the same,
how that in Bethlehem was born the Son of God by name,
O tidings of comfort and joy.

“Fear Not,” then said the angel, “let nothing you afright,
This day is born a Savior of a pure virgin bright,
to free all those who trust in Him from Satan’s pow’r and might,”
O tidings of comfort and joy.

Now to the Lord sing praises, all you within this place,
and with true love and brotherhood each other now embrace;
this sacred time of Christmas tide all others now deface;

O tidings of comfort and joy.

Silent Night Silent Night, Holy Night! All is calm, all is bright
Stille Nacht, Franz Grüber round yon virgin mother and child;
Joseph Mohr Holy infant so tender and mild,
Arr. Dan Forrest Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent Night, Holy Night! Son of God, love’s pure light.

Radiant beams from Thy holy face,
with the daw of redeeming grace.
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birch.

Silent Night, Holy Night,

Wondrous star, lend thy light;
With the angels let us sing “Alleluia”
to our King, “Christ the Savior is born.”

Bidi Bom Bom, bidi bom

David Eddleman
Monica Alverado, conductor Holiday is here, it’s a happy time of year.
Once more the time sung in melody and rhyme.
Candles alight, and their flame is so bright,
reflected in little children’s eyes.
Come and dance to the tune ‘neath a holidaying moon.

Hanukkah is here, it’s a happy time of year.

Once more the time sung in melody and rhyme.
Candles alight, and their flame is so bright,
reflected in little children’s eyes.
Come and dance to the tune ‘neath a holidaying moon.
Snow Snow!
from Irving Berlin's
"White Christmas" It won’t be long before we’ll all be there with snow,
Words and Music by I want to wash my hands my face and hair with snow.
Irving Berlin I long to clear a path and lift a spade of snow,
Arr. Mark Brymer to see a great big man entirely made of snow.

Where it’s snowing all winter through

that’s where I want to be.
Snowball throwing, that’s what I’ll do
How I’m longing to ski! Through the snow!

Those glist’ning houses that seems to be built of snow,

to see a mountain covered with a quilt of snow.
What is Christmas with no snow.
No White Christmas with no snow.

I’ll soon be there with snow.

I’ll wash my hair with snow.
And with a spade of snow,
I’ll build a man that’s made of snow.

I’d love to stay up with you but I’d recommend

a little shut-eye go to sleep and dream of snow.

Salmo 150 Laudáte Dóminum in sánctis éjus: Praise Lord in sacred places his,
("Psalm 150") Laudáte éum in firmaménto virtútis éjus. praise him in firmament of power his.
Laudáte éum in virtútibus éjus: Praise him for mighty acts his,
Ernani Anguiar Laudáte éum secúndum praise him according to
multitúdinem magnitúdinis éjus. enormity of greatness his.

Laudáte éum in sóno túbae: Praise him with sound of trumpet,

Laudáte éum in psaltério et cíthara. praise him with psaltery and harp.
Laudáte éum in tympani et chóro: Praise him with drum and dance,
Laudáte éum in chórdis et orgáno. praise him with strings and pipes.
Laudáte éum in cymbalis Praise him with cymbals high-sounding,
benesonántibus: praise him with cymbals of joy.
Laudáte éum in cymbalis jubilatiónis: Every spirit/breath let praise Lord.
ómnis spíritus láudet Dóminum.

I Will Sing We’ve all been given our little corner of space and time.
Michael Engelhardt With the permission to do with it as we see fit for a while.
Dani Mirando, soloist So begs the question, what will I do with the portion given to me?
This one possession, so pure and precious.

Darkness and fear abound, but this song keeps calling out from deep within me.

With all of my soul I will sing.

My heart ever steadfast this melody will bring.
It may or may not resonate, but here’s the thing.
Even so, with all of my soul I will sing.

It’s not that easy. Great are the doubts from within and without.
They won’t defeat me, not if I’m completely standing on higher ground
confident in the sound that lives within me.

I will sing forever more! I will sing with all my heart and my soul!
I have decided that with this one life I will sing!
We will sing with all our souls, we will sing with all our hearts!
We will sing forevermore; so we’re just getting started.
 The Performers
7th Grade Choir
Ayush Ahluwalia, Paras Anand, Sana Anand, Anika Banda, Katherine Blando, Rithika Bodicherla,
Angella Brown, Dominic Cataldo, Raya Chaudhuri, Gianna Ciccia, Elise Dailey, Thea Danze, Sidney
Davis, Emma Dente, Kaitlyn Enciso, Seraphina Griffin, Jayme Hayes, Summer Heyburn, Claire Horner,
Sahana Iyer, Vidur Jannapureddy, Sanai Jones, Ashvinder Kaur, Noelle Kein, Parth Khera, Anamitra
Kugapalan, Grace Malunow, Ellison Mentzer, Harper Mosmen, Brianna Mosquera, Finn Motzenbecker,
Sandhya Muthukumaran, Anusha Nandan, Connor Nolan, Evan Novik, Elizabeth Reid, Ria Sharma,
Sydney Soriano, Hailey Tkacs, Catalina Vasquez, Emily Volchansky, Shruthi Yarraguntla, Ava Yen

8th Grade Choir

Katelyn Adams, Sanjana Ananth, Alexis Bloom, Christina Brannigan, Olivia Brenna, Madeleine
Delcampe, Maria Emanuel, Mia Gamler, Lindsay Goyden, Nora Gray, Serena Gulati, Julia Guzicki, Avery
Hanson, Elizabeth Harris, Hailey Harrison, Felicity Holt, Nedhi Kaki, Khushmeet Kaur, Nimrat Kaur,
Katherine Kratz, Jia Lamba, Elliora Liebmann, Michelle Mains, Pavitra Menon, Smriti Naik, Lily Ondy,
Isabella Peroni, Isabella Pogorzelski, Jessica Poprik, Lauren Poprik, Macie Prohammer, Sydney Regen,
Ashley Roberts, Ashley Rohloff, Jonathan Roy, Vaishnavi Saravanakumar, Shreya Savur, Andrew
Semmel, Ashley Semmel, Brianna Semmel, Sarah Silverstein, Ashley Simon, Ranvir Singh, Ryan
Stanton, Erin Stenger, Addis Tafesse, Aanya Tummala, Natalie Villegas, Allyson Wolochuk, Marisa
Yanucil

Robbinsville High School Concert Choir

Anthony Adamo, Saisha Ahluwalia, Samantha Baron, Ava Blando, Laura Bradley, Sabrina Breden, Maris
Brown, Leah Caiola, Jack Cavanaugh-Gialloreto, James Cavanaugh-Gialloreto, Jade Chau, Dulce
Cifuentes Lopez, Isabel Cox, Isabella Crapanzano, David Cruz, Mykala Davison, Joelle DelPrete, John
Exner, Kelley Fernandes, Rafael Ferreira, Emanuel Flores, Arabella Foulks, Devon Fruscione, Melina
Fusco, Abigail Gafgen, Ashley Gafgen, Ella Gallagher, Bridget Godfrey, Rachael Godfrey, Vivienne
Halm, Alyce Heller, Courtney Horvath, Shreeya Iyer, Sanisa Kanade, Gavin Karas, Samantha Keating,
Maura Kelly, Kyle Kempton, Bree Krail, Larissa Leigh, Nathan Leonard, Leah Lichtenfeld, Abby
Lieberman, Viveka Madhan, Shane Maher, Ava Malkin, Aashmi Mathew, Claire Mauerman, Delaney
McEvoy, Lili Meddahi, Emily Milo, Daniela Mirando, Dominick Mirando, Abigail Moir, Nida Mubaraki, Kate
Myers, Chiraag Nadig, Mohith Nagendra, Gabriella Natale, Juliana Oliveira, Cara Pergament, Jonas
Peter, Caleigh Pokallus, Anusha Qaisar, Sam Regen, Kaleigh Rejent, Heidi Riad, Bella Riether, Timothy
Riley, Emilia Rossidivito, Sumedha Sabbani, Saanvi Sawkar, Abby Scatena, Sarah Scatena, Brandon
Semmel, Ethan Shaev, Dylan Shah, Morgan Shapiro, Annakah Smolensky, Ashley Spilatore, Sanjana
Sureshbabu, Cindi Sussman, Sylvia Wahby, Katherine Weil, Srishti Wilfred, Lizzy Young, Lucy Zaidi

Robbinsville High School Chamber Choir

Jack Cavanaugh-Gialloreto, James Cavanaugh-Gialloreto, Isabel Cox, David Cruz, Rafael Ferreira,
Devon Fruscione, Kyle Kempton, Nathan Leonard, Ava Malkin, Aashmi Mathew, Emily Milo, Jonas Peter,
Sarah Scatena, Annakah Smolensky, Sanjana Sureshbabu, Lizzy Young

Thank you for your continued support of the

performing arts at Robbinsville High School!
The Pond Road Middle School Production of:

Friday, February 7 at 7pm

Saturday, February 8 at 2pm and 7pm
Robbinsville High School Auditorium

General Admission Tickets: $10

Visit tinyurl.com/prmsmermaid for details
 Robbinsville High School
Proudly Presents

Friday, March 27th at 7pm

Saturday, March 28th at 7pm
Sunday, March 29th at 3pm
Robbinsville High School Auditorium

Purchase tickets at
RHSMD.booktix.com
Students / Seniors : $8
Adults : $12
 Upcoming Vocal Performances
5th Annual Java Jam January 11th
RHS Commons Area 7:00pm

Come enjoy an evening of coffee, desserts, and cabaret

style performances by the RHS Jazz Band and Chamber Choir.

2nd Annual Pops & Pasta May 1st

RHS Commons Area 6:30pm

Pasta dinner complimented by pops music presented by the RHS Music

Department. Purchase tickets at RHSMD.booktix.com.

RHS Spring Concert: My Voice, My Story May 3rd

RHS Auditorium 4:00pm

"She has a voice. If you can't hear it, maybe it's because you're too busy talking."
-Scarlett Curtis

5th & 6th Grade Choir Musical: Alice in Wonderland Jr. May 19th
RHS Auditorium 7:00pm

7th & 8th Grade Choir Spring Concert May 20th

RHS Auditorium 7:00pm

8th Annual Robbinsville Choral Festival May 21st

RHS Auditorium 7:00pm

Choirs from around the district team up after noon to learn music
to present a joint concert featuring the hard work of each ensemble.

Keep up to date with the RHS Music Department

by finding us on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/RHSMusicDepartment