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WSU Vancouver Community Choir

Concert Flyer

Program Info

Performance Photo

 

WELCOME!

ABOUT THE CHOIR
  • Our annual performances include Convocation, formal concerts near the end of fall and spring semesters, and Commencement.
  • We are a forty-plus voice choir comprised of WSU Vancouver students, faculty, staff, and community volunteers.
  • Rehearsals are every Tuesday and Thursday from 12:00-1:00 PM during the academic year in VEHD 103.
  • Our repertoire is diverse and challenging.
  • No try-outs are required.
    A COMMUNITY CHOIR
  • Participation in the choir is open to all WSU Vancouver students, alumni, staff, faculty, and volunteers from the community.
  • Freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors can earn one semester credit by enrolling in Mus 432 University Singers.
  • The ability, humor, and passion of instructor Lee Jennings provides an outstanding and fun learning environment.
  • Involvement in the arts has been found to relieve stress and enhance academic performance.
  • The course can be repeated for credit to a cumulative maximum of 8 credits.
  • You don't have to be a student or WSU Vancouver employee to join.
  • Students can also join without signing up for Mus 432. 
    HISTORY OF THE CHOIR
  • The choir was officially established in Fall 2002 with about about twenty members.
  • Forming a choir on campus was the idea of former Director of Facilities Operations, Bill Kelley.
  • Bill proposed that WSU Vancouver employees who enjoy singing get together once a week for an hour.
  • The volunteer support of retired music educator Lee Jennings was enlisted to direct the choir and he is still directing.
  • Kathy Edsill-Charles, who holds a doctorate in piano, became our accompanist in Fall 2006.
  • Several choir members participated in a Summer 2008 concert tour of the United Kingdom.
  • Choir membership has grown steadily; we now have more than forty active members.
  • Mus 432 was first offered for credit in Spring 2003 to encourage student participation.
  • Semester enrollment grew from 2 students in Spring 2003 to 17 in Fall 2007.
  • We currently have 10 registered students (approximately 1/4 of the choir).
  • Students established the University Singers Club in Fall 2008.
A VARIETY OF MUSICAL STYLES
  • Our repertoire is very diverse and includes music from all around the world.
  • We've sung in many different languates (Spanish, Latin, and Swahili, to mention a few).
  • The choir sings popular, folk, traditional, classical and sacred pieces, too.
  • We performed "Songs of Nature" by Antonin Dvorak in Fall 2006 and show tunes like "Lullaby of Broadway" and "That's Entertainment."
  • In Spring 2007, we celebrated black authors, arrangers, and composers of the 19th and 20th Centuries; our repertoire included a selection of spirituals including "God's Trombones" by J.W. Johnson and R. Ringwald.
  • Our Fall 2007 concert featured two major works: a medley of fifteen classics by The Beatles and "Gloria" by Vivaldi.
  • The theme for our Spring 2008 concert was music from the theater.
  • Our Fall 2008 concert featured music from the Southern Hemisphere.
  • America Sings was our theme for Spring 2009.
  • This term (Fall 2009), we will perform the major classical work "Missa Solemnis in B Flat" by Franz Joseph Haydn. The choir will be accompanied by professional soloists and a chamber orchestra.
HOW YOU CAN JOIN
FUNDING SUPPORTS FOR THE 2009-2010 ACADEMIC YEAR
  • The WSU Vancouver Services and Activities (S&A) Fees Committee awarded the choir $4000 for operating expenses.
  • The choir has als been the recipient of contributions by individual donors.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
  • Lee Jennings has a long record as an educator and as a choral director. Besides the WSU Vancouver Choir and University Singers, he is director of music for St. Johns Presbyterian Church in Camas and the Columbia Choral Ensemble, an international touring choir that recently returned from a performance tour of the United Kingdom. Lee holds degrees from Westminster College and the University of Idaho with additional study at the University of Utah and the University of Washington. Conducting teachers who influenced Lee include Walter Teutsch, Lee Kjelson, Harold Wolf, and Roger Wagner.
  • Dr. Kathy Edsill-Charles is an adjunct instructor at Clark College and has been on the faculty at the University of Northern Idaho and Wartburg College teaching applied piano, group piano, piano pedagogy, and accompanying. Kathy served as staff accompanist at the University of Puget Sound where she also taught through the Community Music Program. She has performed concerts in the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest, and in Europe. Kathy maintains a private studio and teaches through Moondance Studio in Camas. As a nationally certified teacher of piano, her students have received honors at the local and state level. In addition to private teaching, she is in demand as a chamber musician and collaborative artist.

2009-2010 CHOIR LEADERSHIP

LEE JENNINGS, MMus, Conductor
WSU Vancouver Faculty Adjunct: College of Liberal Arts
LeeNJ@aol.com

KATHY EDSILL-CHARLES, DMA, Pianist
cwkathy1002@msn.com

DEBRA BARNETT, BA,  President/Treasurer/Webmaster
WSU Vancouver College of Education, Principal Assistant
360-546-9660 VUCB 300  debarnett@vancouver.wsu.edu

JUNE CANTY, EdD, Faculty Advisor
WSU Vancouver College of Education,  Director
360-546-9108 VUCB 310 jcanty@vancouver.wsu.edu

BILL KELLEY, Stage Manager
 kelley_bill@omcast.net

ROXANNE DOENECKE, Wardrobe Coordinator
WSU Vancouver College of Education, Secretary
360-546-9652 VUCB 300  rdoenecke@vancouver.wsu.edu

JUDY BLEVENS, Membership Secretary/Music Librarian
judymb98604@yahoo.com

HELEN EILIFF, Historian
jhelieff@q.com
FALL 2009 CHOIR MEMBERSHIP

NAME

SINGING PART

Dorothy Allin

Soprano

Gerald Allin

Tenor

Debra Barnett

Alto

Bob Blevens

Baritone/Bass

June Canty

Alto
George Cha Tenor
Patti Collins Alto

Roxanne Doenecke

Alto

Kathy Edsill-Charles

Pianist

Helen Elieff

Alto

Jim Elieff

Tenor

Maureen Forgeng

Alto

Dawn Freeman

Soprano

Ed Graham

Baritone/Bass

Bob Gruwell

Tenor

Garret hollister

Bass

David James

Bass

Gladys Jennings

Soprano

Lee Jennings

Conductor

Lynn Jensen

Tenor

Bill Kelley

Baritone/Bass
Christine Lundeen Alto

Laura Manthe

Soprano

Gayle Matthews

Alto
Joene Myers Also
Miwako Nakamoto Soprano

Mary Newman

Soprano

Cheryl Niman

Alto

Roger Phillips

Bass

Ruth Phillips

Soprano

Jake Roest

Tenor

Nelson Sigrah

Bass

Laura Stephens

Soprano

Kit Stowell

Bass

Rhiannon Thomas

Soprano

Aaron Todd

Bass

Shielah Toomey

Soprano

Willy Tsang

Tenor

Jessie Wlson

Soprano

Kathy Winters

Alto

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Updated November 7, 2009 by Debra Barnett