Capital Region Performance Gallery

by Dick Frantzreb

Sacramento's St. John's Lutheran Church is a wonderful venue for a concert. It has a beautiful interior, enhanced on this occasion by a 15-foot Christmas tree to the right of the altar. And the church's acoustics are superb, making it a favorite venue for many choral concerts. But on this Sunday afternoon it seemed far too small for the enthusiastic parents, friends, and fans of the Sacramento Children's Chorus (SCC), who filled the church to overflowing.

A few minutes after the scheduled start time for the concert, SCC Executive Director Daphne Quist welcomed the audience and spoke of the SCC's recent appearances around Sacramento, as well as future concerts. She also noted the dedication of this concert to the memory of SCC parent, Bradford Dozier (see the attached program). Then she turned over the microphone to Alexander Grambow, who was beginning his second season as Artistic Director, with the SCC marking the 26th year since its founding.

Grambow gave his own welcome to the audience, and while the piano covered their movement, the three youngest of the SCC choirs — Allegro, Brio and Crescendo — took their places on the risers at the front of the church. The singing started behind the audience.  It was from the oldest choir, Dolce, which quickly processed down the central aisle to take their places behind the younger groups. Soon all were singing Leslie Bricusse's bright, energetic “A Christmas Carol,” which showcased each of the choirs as they harmonized with each other.

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

With the piano playing the familiar melody of Beethoven's “Ode to Joy,” the younger singers filed out, leaving the 13 young women and 5 young men of Dolce. They performed Eric Whitacre's “Glow,” a beautiful piece which has become immensely popular in recent years, and which they delivered with great expressiveness.

In a practice that would continue throughout the concert, the piano again covered the exchange of the oldest singers for the very youngest. With smiles of excitement, these 2nd to 6th graders performed “Carol of the Russian Children” under the direction of Jessica Suderman. This group of 13 children included 2 boys, and it was delightful to watch them as they intently followed their director in presenting the 2-part harmony of this song.

With just a few exceptions, the piano accompaniments and interludes throughout this concert were provided by the solid playing of Ryan Lee. For the “Carol of the Russian Children,” he was joined by oboist Erik Moberg, whose playing gave a welcome special dimension to this piece and to several that followed. (In case you’re following the attached program, it appears that “Deck the Hall with Beethoven, Bach, and Brahms!” was cut from the concert after the program was printed.)

With the youngest singers having run off to be replaced by the Brio choir, the latter performed the “Sussex Carol,” still under the direction of Jessica Suderman. Among the 20 girls in this choir was one boy who held the position of honor in the center of the bottom row. As I listened, I reflected on how these very young voices would soon mature, under the excellent guidance they were getting at the SCC, eventually to match the fine voices of the current Crescendo and Dolce singers.

And when the Crescendo choir joined these younger singers from the Brio choir for “The Colors of Christmas” (bringing the total to 48 voices, now under Grambow's direction), we in the audience got a really pleasant choral sound for this lovely song. Then with the younger singers having departed, the 17 girls of Crescendo dazzled us in the audience with a lightning-fast performance of “This Little Babe.” I marveled that they were able to get all the words out at the extraordinarily fast tempo of the piece.

A song called “Esurientes” followed, and considering that it was composed by Antonio Vivaldi, it wasn't surprising to hear that it included the characteristic Baroque melismata (singing the same syllable on multiple notes). This more advanced vocal technique gave the singers a greater challenge, and brief though the piece was, I felt it was very well done.

Crescendo continued, accompanied by both piano and oboe, with “There Is No Rose.” To me, this was pensive music, more difficult harmonically than anything I had heard to this point. Beyond that, this song “went somewhere” — i.e. there was a peak of emotion, and a gentle building to the final chord. Then as I reflected on what I was hearing, it occurred to me that these kids were being taught to be, not just singers, but musicians — because they were clearly sensitive to the emotional content of what they were singing. And of course, in a program like that of SCC, these young people were gaining an appreciation for different kinds of music and for compositions that were increasingly sophisticated. And that is the gift of a richer life to come for all of them.

With the intermission imminent, it was time for some fun. Dolce joined Crescendo for Mark Hayes' arrangement of “Jingle Bells.” This is a piece that is fast becoming a classic. For one thing, the tempo is impossibly fast most of the time. Moreover, the rhythm is completely unexpected, and there are several key changes. I marvel at anyone who can memorize this arrangement. But not only did these kids memorize it: they nailed it — to the delight of everyone in the audience.

The second half of the concert began as the first half ended — with a light-hearted, fast-moving piece full of different melodies and key changes. This was Dolce performing Mac Huff's arrangement of “The Spirit of the Season,” with a little spice provided by the quick appearance of Crescendo on either side of the director, only to withdraw after delivering a few musical phrases. The audience was so delighted by this presentation that their applause came in early, obscuring the final couple of chords of the song.

“Bidi Bom” was more fun, and I was glad to see this first of two nods to another major holiday of this season, Hanukkah. The song was spirited and rhythmic, a creative piece with many segments of different musical ideas. And in case there was any remaining doubt that this was a concert with a great deal of variety in musical styles, the next selection brought out the pop stylings of the mid-20th century in “Let It Snow. Let It Snow. Let It Snow.” Then the young men of Dolce left, and the remaining women spread into a wide arc. With a gentle piano part that allowed their lovely 2-part harmonies to come through, they presented “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” As I listened, I was entranced, especially with the pure tone of the altos.

At this point Jessica Suderman returned to direct the young Allegro choir in the rhythmic “Celebrate the Feast of Lights” with its bouncy accompaniment, now provided by guest accompanist, Natalya Amelchenko. These children were serious but enthusiastic, and perhaps that is why the words they were singing came through so clearly. I’m guessing there were a lot of justifiably proud parents in the audience, because when the song ended there was not only applause, but quite a few cheers.

I believe that the next selection, “Fa, La, La, La, La” was performed by the Brio choir with Ryan Lee accompanying. The music had a bluesy feel to it, and the lyrics seemed complicated to me for kids of this age. But those lyrics were clever, even humorous, and I noticed many of the children who were really enjoying this song.

With Natalya Amelchenko accompanying and Alexander Grambow again directing (if my notes are correct), the Crescendo choir next performed “Ring Out Bells, Ring!” Interestingly, I had heard this piece from them last night at the Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra’s “Wells Fargo Home for the Holidays.” My thought then was that the song had a pleasant folk sound that “somehow made one want to dance.” I had the same impression this time, and since on this afternoon I was much closer to the singers, I was able to appreciate their good articulation of the lyrics. It also struck me that the singers were more relaxed performing in this more intimate venue — compared to the Sacramento Community Center Theater, which can be pretty imposing.

Now the women of Dolce were back in the same arc formation to deliver a Kirby Shaw arrangement of “The Holly and the Ivy.” Interestingly, director Grambow stepped to the side to leave them to sing without a director. And swaying easily to the music, they delivered an excellent performance of what turned out to be a sophisticated, jazz version of this carol.

With the concert drawing to a close, Sacramento Children’s Chorus Board President, Patrick McGiff, took the microphone to recount the recent accomplishments of SCC and explain its mission to the audience. And with all the good work of SCC evident from this concert, his pitch for donations was, I’m sure, well received.

For the final musical selection, all singers were on stage, and with Natalya Amelchenko at the piano, Erik Moberg playing the flute, and Alexander Grambow directing, they performed “Peace, Peace” by Rick & Sylvia Powell in an arrangement by Fred Bock. The music was beautiful and the lyrics inspiring:

Peace, peace, peace on earth
And goodwill to all.
This is a time for joy.
This is a time for love.
Now let us all sing together
Of peace, peace, peace on earth.

This music transitioned seamlessly into “Silent Night,” which was accompanied by a lovely descant. The spirits of the audience had been rising throughout this piece — actually they were rising throughout the whole concert — and we expressed our feelings in sustained applause and cheers in appreciation for the holiday gift we had just been given.