Capital Region Performance Gallery

by Dick Frantzreb

Let’s begin with an introduction. The Sacramento Valley Concert Choir (SVCC) is a mixed chorus that has been in existence for 52 years. The group is non-auditioned and is organized as a self-supporting nonprofit organization. In recent years they have given 2 public concerts per year, but their primary mission is to bring choral music as a service to organizations such as retirement communities and other community groups, and but for the pandemic, they would have given 6 or 7 private performances to groups like this. Like other choruses, it has been 2 years since SVCC has had a public performance. For a more complete picture of this choral organization, visit their website at www.svcchoir.org. What you won’t read there is what I know of them, having observed them off and on over the past 7 years. There are dozens of community choirs in the Sacramento region, but this one is most of all a choral community, genuinely supportive of each other and their organization’s mission.

Both rehearsals and performances of the Sacramento Valley Concert Choir are held at Sacramento’s Arden Christian Church. On this evening, concert attendees had to provide proof of vaccination and wear masks while inside the church. We audience members entered to the sound of gentle Christmas piano music, which eventually became orchestral. There was no ticket charge, as with all SVCC concerts.

By 7:00 p.m. the audience numbered about 150 people and the singers entered from the main door, proceeding down the center aisle to take up positions on the steps leading to the church’s altar. They were all dressed in black with red stoles ─ and all were masked throughout the concert. SVCC’s website shows a membership of nearly 80. Tonight there were only about 40 singers on hand. Of these, I counted only 6 men, though I believe 3 women were singing baritone, and according to their website, nearly all the tenors are women.

We were welcomed by SVCC Board President, Sherrill Leake, who told us a little about the organization, and introduced Artistic Director Jim R. Parr, Jr. and pianist Jason Sia. She added that, since the singers were all masked, the audience couldn’t “see that we’re up here smiling at you. So I’ve asked everyone to wave.” That they did, and we in the audience waved back.

(Click here to open the concert program in a new window.)

As they began their performance, I was struck by the good acoustics inside the church, and I heard good tone and harmony from the chorus. However, it was difficult to make out the words to the first selection, “At This Table,” and I attribute that mostly to the fact that people were singing through masks. Eventually, I had the idea of checking the Internet on my phone, and I quickly found the lyrics, interestingly written by Idina Menzel, the “wicked” witch Elphaba in the original cast of Wicked. Besides being able to follow along with the chorus’s singing, I saw the note that Menzel described her lyrics as being “about inclusivity and acceptance, and forgiveness” ─ a great way to start a holiday concert. Interestingly, this song was debuted by Menzel on NBC’s “Today” show on December 10, 2019, just before the pandemic began to hit the world. (Click here to open the lyrics to “At This Table” in a new window.)

SVCC is an organization that values inclusion and diversity, so continuing that thought after “At This Table,” the second song, “Bidi Bom” was a nod to the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah (just passed). It’s a spirited piece, and the spirit was enhanced tonight by the energetic playing of Jason Sia. For the chorus, even though I couldn’t see their expressions, their head movements showed that they were really having fun with the music.

The traditional “O Come, Little Children,” was a bit of a departure early in the program in that it was performed a cappella in solid 4-part harmony. It was followed by something I had not heard before: “Sing a Song of Merry Christmas.” It was an interesting piece, and the repeated theme almost sounded like a fugue. I couldn’t find the lyrics to this 1975 composition online, but I did find that the music was Mozart's, arranged by my high school choir director, Walter Ehret.

As you might guess, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” was not really a holiday song, but it was interesting for the many intersecting themes that took it far beyond the nursery rhyme. As I listened to this pleasant music, my attention focused on Artistic Director, Jim R. Parr, Jr. I was struck by what an expressive conductor he is, bringing out the essence of each piece with graceful gestures of both arms with fingers extended. I also was aware, as I have been before, that there is a strong rapport between Parr and his singers.

“Jolly Old St. Nicholas” brought out jingle bells (or a “bell tree”) for an accompaniment, and it seemed that the spirit in the chorus elevated several notches. I noticed a few singers turning to their neighbor in the pure enjoyment of the song. And there were many heads bobbing to emphasize the infectious rhythm.

“Christmas Time Is Here” is the Vince Guaraldi song written for the 1965 television special, “A Charley Brown Christmas.” Its dreamy pace was a decided contrast to what went before, and as it began, I was especially aware of the good sound of the lower voices (not all men). From my past experience with this song, I’d say it presents some more difficult vocal lines and harmonies. Not that I expected anything different, but what I heard from SVCC was clear pitches. As I thought about that, I remembered that in his “other life” Parr is an educator, and I could imagine his careful work with the chorus on this piece.

“Still, Still, Still” is a gem of a song, and it was performed beautifully by the women of SVCC, including a very nice descant solo by Pam Jacobsen. It was followed by a stirring arrangement of “The Little Drummer Boy” that was performed with great spirit. I must add that a lot of the spirit in this piece came from pianist Jason Sia ─ who had been providing spirited playing all night. I was sitting where I could see him clearly, including the action of his hands on the keyboard of the unusually powerful upright piano. More accurately, the power came from Sia, who played all evening with strength and assertiveness, giving the chorus confidence in his support of them. But there was more than power in Sia’s playing: at one point as I watched him, the thought came to me that I was observing a true artist.

“Do You Hear What I Hear?” is a song of great emotional potential, with a lot of changes in dynamics. I felt that the chorus took full advantage of crescendos and decrescendos, culminating in a big finish. And as the song concluded, director Parr turned to acknowledge the audience’s applause, as he had done after every song in the concert. He never spoke to us, but of course, the music and the smile through his transparent face shield spoke for him.

We knew something special was coming for the final selection because the chorus put their music down and assumed the parody stance of the formal soloist ─ hands with closed fingers interlocked in front of their chests like the coupling mechanism between cars of a train. The title was “Various Themes on ‘Fa-La-La’,” and it was a hoot! First, there was the expected bit of “Deck the Halls.” But soon the music changed to the William Tell overture ─ still with the fa-la-la lyric. Then there was the familiar theme from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. For this one, the chorus all turned their heads to the right, and Parr had to run to his left to get their attention to keep directing them. Then they turned to their left ─ with the same result of Parr’s running off his stand to control the singers. There were more actions from the chorus for the succeeding themes: the “Blue Danube” waltz and the “1812 Overture.” It was all great fun, and the audience laughed and loved every minute. Then, as we in the audience expressed our appreciation for chorus, director and pianist through our applause, the chorus members gave enthusiastic, much-deserved applause to Jason Sia.

Only 40 minutes had elapsed since the start of the concert, but the festivities weren’t over. It’s a tradition for SVCC to invite their audiences to stay for a singalong. Tonight was no exception, and they distributed books with the words to Christmastime favorites ─ books that had been used for many holiday concerts before ─ and most of the audience stayed for this bonus activity. Another tradition of SVCC is to invite the audience to join them for refreshments. Alas, the pandemic did away with that tradition ─ for the present. So after just an hour of holiday cheer, we in the audience were on our way, grateful to SVCC for their gift of music and looking forward to seeing their next public performance.