• Welcome to IOCSF’s spring concert, I Sing the Body Electric.

    This evening’s program is a celebration of the beauty, vulnerability, and power of the human body through song. In a world that often feels heavy and disorienting, we wanted this concert to offer our singers and audience a sense of joy, play, and celebration. At this moment, it’s also (unfortunately) radical to make a statement that says: I love my body, and I love all bodies. Equally. And all of those bodies deserve safety, love, and joy. 

    Our first set explores the idea of embodiment. We begin with Dave Malloy’s “Prayer” from Ghost Quartet, opening with the fragile, searching line: “I will try to forgive myself… for not remembering. For not being in my body.” It flows attacca into Ingrid Stölzel’s Into Being, a meditative setting of the Sanskrit mantra So ham, ham sa (“Who am I? I am that”), before culminating in the energetic I Belong in My Skin, which joyfully asserts presence and belonging in the body.

    The second set turns to movement. Three folk-like dance pieces invite us into physical rhythm and groundedness. These works offer a simple, beautiful opportunity to focus on singing with the whole body. 

    Our third set celebrates the body itself. Morten Lauridsen’s Soneto de la Noche utilizes a poem by Pablo Neruda to reflect on mortality through the lens of embodied beauty rather than sorrow. This is followed by the thrilling I Sing the Body Electric, a virtuosic and ecstatic celebration of the human form for chorus and two pianists.

    We close with connection. IOCSF member Nicholas Weininger’s setting of
    e. e. cummings’ i like my body (when it is with your) returns us to joy and intimacy. This is followed by a deeply personal work for me: a vocal jazz setting of It’s You I Like from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.  Ayanna Woods’ Golden Hour from Infinite Body closes our program with a reminder that we are, quite literally, made of light. 

    Thank you for being here. May this music offer a moment of joy, presence, and belonging.

Concert Program

I. embodiment

  • I will try to forgive myself
    For living in the dark 
    For my loss of wonder
    For forgetting how to play

    I will try to forgive myself
    For being absent in public
    And bored before stars

    For not remembering
    For not being in my body
    For not starting right now

    I will try
    To see myself as i am.

Prayer (2014)
Dave MALLOY, composer

BrieAnne Martin, Dominic Lim, Evan Paradise, Eryka Raines,
Giacomo DiGrigoli, Joshua Saulle, Patricia Wallinga, Valerie Moy

Into Being (2011)
Ingrid STÖLZEL

  • So ham; ham sa
    Who am I? I am that.

  • I was drawn to this mantra because it is the breath that connects us all and brings everything into being. Breath is our first act of life as we enter this world, and our last as we depart it. In between, we take on average a staggering 17,000 breaths a day, mostly unaware of our breathing, while a barely audible mantra continuously flows through our bodies as we inhale and exhale. It is the awareness of our breath that lies at the heart of “Into Being.”

I Belong in My Skin (2021)
Timothy TAKACH

  • At that moment, I was sure. That I belonged in my skin. That my organs were mine and my eyes were mine and my ears, which could only hear the silence of this night and my faint breathing, were mine, and I loved them and what they could do. There was so much water in so many places, rushing everywhere, up and down, the water on top moving so much faster than the water below it. Under the water was sand, then rocks, miles of rocks, then fire.

    - Dave Eggers, from You Shall Know Our Velocity!  

II. movement

lo dello: the dance
Hanna COHOON (c.1860)
arr. Jennifer Lucy COOK (2023)

  • lo dello: the dance is constructed like a film soundtrack to this imagined scene. The descriptive boxed text throughout the score is provided to help the performers imagine the dramatic narrative, so that even though the audience won’t know the exact specifics of the scene, they will still be taken on a highly emotional journey through extremes of dynamic, tempo, and intention.

    - Jennifer Lucy Cook

Hands (2017)
Jocelyn HAGEN

Kimberly Kaz, soprano; Jack Tran, tenor

  • “Hands” is a vocalise, a song without words. I started the writing process just by singing to myself. My mother told me that, as a child, she could always tell when I was happy because I was singing. I wanted this melody to have the same kind of spontaneous joy. Because I want the vowels to feel natural in every language, each performing ensemble may choose which vowels to sing. When I composed the opening melody, the vowel that came naturally to me was a shallow version of an “uh” vowel, like the word “cut,” but with a more “pop” color. When the Vocal Art Ensemble of Sweden sang it, the conductor chose a pure “ah.” I love both versions, as well as the opportunity for wider diversity. 

Sing My Child (2017)
Sarah QUARTEL

Kimberly Kaz, soprano; Jack Tran, tenor

  • Sing for the promise in each new morning.
    Sing for the hope in a new day dawning.
    All around is beauty bright!
    Wake in the morning and sing, my child.
    Laugh in the cool and the fresh of the ev'ning.
    Laugh in your triumph.
    All around is beauty bright!
    Peace in the stillness and rest in the ev'ning,
    and laugh, my child.
    Peace in the dark of the night,
    peace in the dreams of your silent delights.
    Sleep in the night and peace, my child. 
    But when troubles come and worry is all that can be found,
    gather your strength and hear your voice.
    Sing, my child.
    Laugh, my child.
    Peace, my child.

III. celebration

Soneto de la Noche (2005)
Morten LAURIDSEN

  • Cuando yo muera quiero tus manos en mis ojos:
    quiero la luz y el trigo de tus manos amadas
    pasar una vez más sobre mí su frescura:
    sentir la suavidad que cambió mi destino.

    Quiero que vivas mientras yo, dormido, te espero,
    quiero que tus oídos sigan oyendo el viento,
    que huelas el aroma del mar que amamos juntos
    y que sigas pisando la arena que pisamos

    Quiero que lo que amo siga vivo
    y a ti te amé y canté sobre todas las cosas,
    por eso sigue tú floreciendo, florida,

    para que alcances todo lo que mi amor te ordena,
    para que se pasee mi sombra por tu pelo,
    para que así conozcan la razón de mi canto.

    Translation:
    When I die I want your hands on my eyes:
    I want the light and the wheat of your beloved hands to pass their freshness over me one more time
    to feel the smoothness that changed my destiny.

    I want you to live while I wait for you, asleep,
    I want for your ears to go on hearing the wind,
    for you to smell the sea that we loved together
    and for you to go on walking the sand where we walked.

    I want for what I love to go on living
    and as for you I loved you and sang you above everything, for that, go on flowering, flowery one,

    so that you reach all that my love orders for you,
    so that my shadow passes through your hair,
    so that they know by this the reason for my song.

I Sing the Body Electric (2024)
John Frederick HUDSON

  • I sing the body electric,
    The expression of the body ... is perfect
    ... the bent head, the curved neck
    ... and pause and listen and count
    ...wonderful vigor and calmness and beauty of person;
    To be surrounded by beautiful curious breathing laughing flesh

    You are the gates of the body
    You are the gates of the soul.
    I sing the body electric.

    excerpts from “I Sing the Body Electric”
    Leaves of Grass
    Walt Whitman

  • Walt Whitman (1819-1892) was a visionary with his evocative writing and wielded a huge influence over future American poets. His most extensive work, Leaves of Grass, was first published in 1855 and was revised eight times until the final version was published in 1891-92. This monumental work celebrates democracy, nature, love and friendship. Upon first publishing Leaves of Grass, he was fired from his job with the Department of Interior for its frankly erotic imagery. Whitman received little public acclaim for this masterpiece during his lifetime.

    Today we often associate the word electric with electricity, however at the time when Leaves of Grass was published, electricity was not widely available in the United States. At that time, a more common meaning of the word was “very exciting and producing strong feelings” (Cambridge Dictionary). The essence of the piece is to capture the electric joy of living and what it feels like to be alive.

    The text of “I Sing the Body Electric” praises the human body, extolling specific parts and praising the whole. Additionally, the text expresses the similar nature of the body and the soul, saying that they are in fact one. There is a high sense of excitement in the text, with curiosity and wonder of the body.

    Musically, two themes exist throughout. First, the opening theme in the piano parts is a short rhythmic, minimalist feature that underlies the voice parts, giving a sense of intense energy as the work opens. The long vocal lines soar above the exciting accompaniment with the slightest of nods to Handel’s “Zadok the Priest.” The second theme is an exuberant, groovy dance using the text “I Sing the Body Electric”. Beginning with the basses, it is passed through the voice parts and includes a bombastic finish, celebrating the joy of life and living for the body and soul. This piece is both a celebration of the wonders of the body and soul as well as celebrating Whitman himself.

    John Frederick Hudson

IV. connection

i like my body when it is with your (2011)
Nicholas WEININGER

  • i like my body when it is with your
    body. It is so quite new a thing.
    Muscles better and nerves more.
    i like your body.  i like what it does,
    i like its hows.  i like to feel the spine
    of your body and its bones,and the trembling
    -firm-smooth ness and which i will
    again and again and again
    kiss, i like kissing this and that of you,
    i like, slowly stroking the,shocking fuzz
    of your electric furr,and what-is-it comes
    over parting flesh….And eyes big love-crumbs,

    and possibly i like the thrill
    of you under me quite so new

    e.e. cummings, 1925

It’s You I Like
Fred ROGERS (1970)
David von Kampen (arr. 2024)

  • It's you I like,
    It's not the things you wear,
    It's not the way you do your hair
    But it's you I like
    The way you are right now,
    The way down deep inside you
    Not the things that hide you,
    Not your toys
    They're just beside you.

    But it's you I like
    Every part of you.
    Your skin, your eyes, your feelings
    Whether old or new.
    I hope that you'll remember
    Even when you're feeling blue
    That it's you I like,
    It's you yourself
    It's you.
    It's you I like.

Golden Hour (2023)
Ayanna WOODS

  • My love, our time

                   on Earth is made

                                of sunlight.

    Though we harden like snowflakes

        in the cold, we come to each other

                again in stillness, giving

                           ourselves into the shimmering

                                         pool of one another.

    My love, our time

           on Earth is made

                 of sunlight—and you,

                        beaming at me

                                golden.

GUESTS

  • PIANIST Fred Cummins received his BA in music, MA in music education, and MBA from Stanford University. Early in his music career, he ang and played bass with Waterwheel, a folk/jazz duo that was featured for two years at the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra's summer concert series. He was the first paid director of The Community School of Music and Arts in Mountain View, where he established choruses in ten elementary schools, directed in five, and wrote grants that funded ten “artists in the community” for two years.
    Fred is organist and choir director at Foothills Congregational Church in Los Altos. He has written and arranged many pieces for the church's singing and bell choirs and actively recruits classical, bluegrass, gospel, praise and jazz musicians to sing and play during services.

    Fred has accompanied the Golden Gate Men’s Chorus since 2010 and has sung with the San Francisco Choral Artists, San Francisco Bach Choir, Stanford Early Music Singers, Stanford Memorial Church Choir, and Stanford Mendicants, which he led for two years.

  • TRUMPET, DJEMBE Wyatt Reams is a trumpet player from the Bay Area. Currently a music major at the University of San Diego, he is first chair of the Wind Ensemble and a founding member of the USD Jazz Quintet. He attended Moreau Catholic High School, where he was lead trumpet in the jazz ensemble. Wyatt has performed at venues such as Yoshi's in Jack London Square and the Santa Cruz Jazz Festival, in addition to accompanying and arranging sacred music at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph in San José. Now based in San Diego, Wyatt makes regular visits to the Bay Area to serve as a guest conductor and trumpet sectional coach at Lincoln High School in San Francisco.

THE SINGERS

  • Willa Albrecht
    Laura Curlin
    Chiara Darnton
    * Allison Dedrick
    Hannah Fox
    Kimberly Kaz
    Mandy Lai
    Jane Spencer Mills
    Simona Nass

  • Allegra Bandy
    * Rebecca Edwards
    Miranda Kumpe
    Emma Lingle
    Brianne Martin
    Valerie Moy
    Eryka Raines
    Lena Smith
    Patricia Wallinga
    Laura Yogi

  • * Teddy De Puy
    Giacomo DiGrigoli
    Declan Galli
    Dan Metzler
    Sibley Nystrom
    Joshua Saulle
    Pierre Teplitxky
    Jack Tran

  • Joseph Blodgett
    Jeremy Davidson
    Jon Diaz
    Dominic Lim
    Jack Miller
    Evan Paradise
    Mark Penrod
    James Waldinger
    * Chris Willmore

* Denotes section leader

ARTISTIC STAFF

  • Chris Filice is a teacher, conductor, and singer from the San Francisco Bay Area. Chris received his Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Master of Arts in Teaching at Westminster Choir College. As a member of the Westminster Williamson Voices, Chris sang on the GRAMMY-nominated recording of James Whitbourn's Annelies. After graduating from Westminster, Chris returned to the Bay Area to work as the Director of Choirs at Livermore High School, where he taught for eight years. Chris recently moved back to the South Bay where he grew up, and currently serves as the Director of Choirs at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale. Chris previously served as the Assistant Conductor of the International Orange Chorale of San Francisco, and is excited to be taking on the role of Interim Artistic Director for the 2024–2025 season. In addition to IOCSF, Chris currently sings in The Same Stream, a professional choral ensemble under the direction of James Jordan.Description text goes here

  • Dr. Christopher Koelzer, a San Francisco Bay Area native, is an accomplished solo and collaborative pianist who performs, records, directs, and coaches in New York City, Washington, D.C., and the Bay Area. He began his musical career at age 13, working with opera and musical theater companies. Christopher holds a Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance from Brigham Young University and both Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees in Collaborative Piano from the University of Maryland, College Park. Currently, he teaches and performs as Music Faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Stanford University, and San José State University.

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Bill Bremer and Angie Holt at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, Joey Kotfica for IOCSF photography; all volunteers and IOCSF members past and present for helping us share this gorgeous music with you. 

International Orange Chorale is proud to be supported by The National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, the City and County of San Francisco, the Zellerbach Foundation, CAF America, the Schwab Charitable Fund, the PayPal Giving Fund, and the Give Lively Foundation.

THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS

  • Giacomo DiGrigoli
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  • William Blodgett

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      Daffy Charitable Fund

      Schwab Charitable

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IOCSF gratefully welcomes contributions in all amounts. To make your tax-deductible donation, please visit the information table with your gift at intermission or after the concert. Donations can also be made through our website at www.iocsf.org/donate or by mailing a check to us at 77 Van Ness Ave #2222, San Francisco, CA 94102. We are a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. Donations are fully tax-deductible to the extent permitted under applicable laws.

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