NewDayDawning:AwakeningthePromiseofAmerica

Conceived and directed by Barbara Pickhardt, artistic director

Produced by Barbara Schamest

Released: December 31, 2020

This project is made possible with funds from the Decentralization Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by Arts Mid-Hudson.

Altos*Ann BelmontBarbara BerlindEdith Bolt*Anne BruecknerTracy Dowd*Linda DunneRachel Holt*Nancy Howell*Sarah Kessenich*Mary Leonard*Holly MooreMary Noecker*Barbara Schamest*Jan SolowMarla UlrichSue Ulrich

TenorsHarvey BoyerMark JosefskiMark Lindeman*Rebecca Lowe*Jim NoeckerEd PetersTony Stiker*Matt UlrichCynthia Werthamer*Todd West*Bill Wolz

Basses*Tony CorettoAndrew Cymbal*Greg Dinger*Mike HallerRob HollinsedKeith LangstonJim Moore*Chuck Snyder*James UlrichJohn Wolfe

SopranosBeth AbramsKim AndersonKailey CampbellLaurel CrossLeëta Damon*Ellen Davidson*Shannon DonnellSheila FranceChristina GardnerIvy GreenSonja Maclary*Amy Martin*Katelyn Noecker*Susan Palmgren*Lynn Peck*Sally Rubin*Cathy SchuylerAnita ShamanskySue Ellen Sheeley*Anna Tuttman*Carolyn Wolz*Ginny Workstus

“The struggle to be who we ought to be is difficult, demanding and ongoing.” Jon Meacham

*Participated in Virtual Choir1

BoardofDirectors

Barbara Pickhardt Artistic DirectorGregory Dinger PresidentJim Moore Vice PresidentKatelyn Noecker SecretaryTodd West TreasurerTony Coretto Director at largeBarbara Schamest Director at largeJan Solow Director at largeVirginia Workstus Director at large

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FromthePodium“We the People . . . in Order to form a more perfect Union . . .”America’s founding documents bear promises that we cherish – equality, freedom, protection and justice, among others. These tenets of democracy drew my ancestors, and possibly yours, to this country. They believed in the “promise of America” and came in search of a better life for their families. But not everyone has had equal access to these promises.

“New Day Dawning: Awakening the Soul of America” is inspired by the poetry of Langston Hughes and honors the marginalized Americans who helped build this country while being denied many of its opportunities. It includes three newly-recorded virtual songs, readings from everyday Americans and prominent civil rights leaders, and music from Ars Choralis’s archives.

With respect and love for all Americans, we share this performance in hopes that the words and music will open hearts to the promises of a truly inclusive society, free of discrimination, humiliation and fear.

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Woodstock-based ARS CHORALIS, formed in 1965, is a chorus of singers from all walks of life, drawn together by a mutual love of singing and a belief in the power of music to create harmony among people. The chorus is known for its diverse programming, from classical concerts to “message concerts” composed of music, readings, dance and visuals. Ars Choralis was named Organization of the Year by the YWCA of Ulster County in 2015 for the chorus’s extraordinary service, dedication andcontributions to the community. In May 2017 the Arts Society of Kingston honored Ars Choralis with its Artistic Excellence and Innovation Award for Music.

BARBARA PICKHARDT (artistic director) has had a multifaceted career involving teaching, conducting, composing, arranging and performing as a pianist and harpsichordist. Pickhardt has been associated with Ars Choralis for over 50 years, first as a singer and since 1976 as its Artistic Director and conductor. She was affiliated with the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra as harpsichordist, pianist and supporting choral conductor for over 20 years, led the choral music and piano music departments at SUNY Ulster

and was the assistant music director and pianist for the Overlook Lyric Theater. She founded the Hudson Valley Youth Chorale and was its artistic director for 13 years, during which time the group performed throughout the Northeast and abroad. Pickhardt maintains a piano studio in her home in Woodstock, where she continues to compose and arrange choral music, creating her uniquely thoughtful and inspiring choral programs.

AbouttheArtists

AbouttheArtists,cont.

JAMES MERCER LANGSTON HUGHES (1901–1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form called jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance. He famously wrote about the period that "the Negro was in vogue", which was later paraphrased as "when Harlem was in vogue.”

Growing up in a series of Midwestern towns, Hughes became a prolific writer at an early age. He moved to New York City as a young man, where he made his career. He gained notice from New York

publishers, first in The Crisis magazine, and then from book publishers and became known in the creative community in Harlem. In addition to poetry, Hughes wrote plays, and short stories. He also published several non-fiction works. From 1942 to 1962, as the civil rights movement was gaining traction, he wrote an in-depth weekly column in a leading black newspaper, The Chicago Defender.

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BARBARA SCHAMEST (producer) is a life-long choral singer who joined Ars Choralis in 2019. A retired marketing executive, she brings a strong artistic sense as well as her musical and organization skills to translate Barbara Pickhardt’s vision for New Day Dawning: Awakening the Promise of America into video.

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Anne BruecknerTony CorettoLaurel CrossSheila FranceMark Josefski

Sarah KessenichJim MooreAnna TuttmanJim UlrichJohn Wolfe

Narrators: Members of Ars Choralis

CHUCK SNYDER is celebrating his silver anniversary with Ars Choralis as a tenor, bass, baritone. Lacking any formal musical training beyond the Temple University Marching Owls (Hoot), Chuck wishes to remember Ken Matthews, his junior high school band instructor, who passed from us much too early this past summer. Forever grateful for your friendship, your mentoring, your trust, and your most impressionable demonstration of how one shall properly syncopate. Thank you, Mr. Matthews, and thanks to all of the music educators in the chorus. Love what you do!

AbouttheArtists,cont.NANCY HOWELL (alto) has had the pleasure of singing with Ars Choralis for years. Her singing background is all over the map. Rock music captured her heart when she saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. Since then, she has sung in many rock and country bands and has also ventured into the opera world with the Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice.

AMY MARTIN (soprano) has been singing with Ars Choralis since 2005 and has been featured as a soloist many times. She was selected by audition to perform at Carnegie Hall under the direction of esteemed composer and choral conductor Eric Whitacre. Martin is the choral director and director of the spring musical at FDR High School in Hyde Park.

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VirtualChoirRecordings:

Song of Gratitude Craig Hella JohnsonAmy Martin, sopranoBarbara Pickhardt, piano

Beautiful City Stephen SchwartzBarbara Pickhardt, piano arr. Mac Huff

I Am Willing Holly Near arr. Steven MillerNancy Howell, altoChuck Snyder, tenorBarbara Pickhardt, piano

Conductor Barbara PickhardtVideo Production Sara Langworthy, DeveloPlay, LLCRehearsal Videos Tony Coretto

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Deep River Spiritual arr. Barbara PickhardtChuck Snyder, tenorString Ensemble: Elizabeth Silver

Cindy OgulnickValentina Charlap-EvansErica PickhardtPhil Helm

The Road Home, from Southern Harmony adapt. Stephen Paulus,lyrics Michael Dennis Browne

Conductor Barbara PickhardtProducer Barbara Schamest

Recorded live at Holy Cross Church in Kingston, NY March 1 & 2, 2008

Recorded, mastered and manufactured by Tod Levine/Magnetic North

ArchivalRecordings:

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Readings:Brod, Harry. “Work Clothes and Leisure Suits: The Class Basis and Bias of the Men’s Movement”

in Men’s Lives, ed. Michael S. Kimmel and Michael Messner (New York: Macmillan, 1989), 280

DiAngelo, Dr. Robin. “Deconstructing White Privilege with Dr. Robin DiAngelo.” General Commission on Religion and Race of The United Methodist Church, March 20, 2018.

DiAngelo, Dr. Robin. “Shout Out Studio.” CNN.com. June 8, 2020. DiAngelo, Dr. Robin. “White Fragility.” Family Action Network. June 12, 2020.Johnson, Allan G. “Where White Privilege Came From.” Essay in The Forest and The Trees:

Sociology as Life, Practice and Promise, rev. ed., 2014, 173-182.Kantrowitz, Steve. “The Language of the Unheard” – A History Professor’s Honest Account of

Racial Justice Past and Present. Nehemiah blog, June 10, 2020.King, Dr. Martin Luther. Speech given at Bishop Charles Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee,

April 4, 2018.Lewis, John. “John Lewis: Together You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation.” The New York

Times, July 30, 2020.Lewis, John. Remarks at the “Let Freedom Ring” ceremony to commemorate the 50th

anniversary of the March on Washington, August 28, 2013.McIntosh, Peggy. “What Is White Privilege, Really?” Teaching Tolerance, Fall 2018.McIntosh, Peggy. “Showing Up For Racial Justice – SURJ.”Meacham, Jon. “Small Talk with Michael Small.” August 22, 2020. Meacham, Jon. Talk at the Rancho Mirage Writers Festival, January 31, 2019.Obama, Barack. Speech “Honoring Our Civil Rights Heroes.” June 4, 2013.Patra, Kevin. “Around the NFL.” June 4, 2020.Paulson, Michael. “Interview: Kenny Leon.” The New York Times, June 10, 2020.Rivers, Doc. L.A. Clippers Head Coach. August 25, 2020.Tatum, Beverly Daniel. Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? Basic Books,

rev. ed., 2017.Trudell, John. Quote.Tubman, Harriet. Quote attributed.

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Permissions:

"Beautiful City"Words and music by Stephen Schwartz; arranged by Mac HuffUsed by permission of WC Music Corp. (ASCAP) on behalf of Grey Dog Music

“Song of Gratitude”Music by Craig Hella JohnsonLyrics by Michael Dennis BrowneCopyright © 2016 by G. Schirmer, Inc. (ASCAP), New York, NYAll Rights Reserved. Used with permission.

”The Road Home" from Southern Harmonyadapted by Stephen PaulusLyrics by Michael Dennis Browne

"I Am Willing"Words and music by Holly NearUsed by permissionHereford Music (ASCAP)

Langston Hughes, "Let America be America Again" from The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes.Copyright © 1995 by Langston Hughes. Used by permission of Harold Ober Associates, Inc.

”Deep River”, spiritualArranged by Barbara PickhardtUsed with permission.

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“Tobacco Farmworker” by bbcworldservice is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0“The road home” by bjcoving is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0Boston Public Library on Unsplash"Mrs. Judy Gyorfi of London, was one of 18 women to start on the assembly line at the Ford

Plant at Talbotville in April 1977" by Elgin County Archives is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Brad Helmink on Unsplash“Black workers pick cotton” by Kheel Center, Cornell University Library is licensed under CC

BY 2.0Kyle on UnsplashLibrary of Congress Prints & PhotographsLucas Franko on UnsplashLibrary of Congress Prints & PhotographsLucas Franko on UnsplashMika on UnsplashNational ArchivesNew York Public LibraryPeter on the Cape“Ballis – Farmworkers in Puerto Rico2” by ruralhome is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0"US OK Tulsa OK 1909 RPPC Range Cowboy on Pony SIGN LANGUAGE & TRADING with

HANDSOME Native American Indians Cowboys Cowgirls & Rodeo Photographer MARTIN3" by UpNorth Memories - Don Harrison is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

PhotoCredits:

Sponsors

With heartfelt thanks, we are grateful to our sponsors for their support throughout many years!

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