Music Notes – Sunday, August 30th:
This Sunday’s musicians are Anya Ustin, Aaron Burkle, The Multigen Choir, and UUCC Music Director Mike Carney
Come, Sing a Song with…the Multigen Choir this Sunday!
Attention singers of all ages and experience levels (including those with no experience at all) – you’re invited to sing with the Multigen Choir this Sunday, August 30th. Here are the details:
- Who: Anyone and everyone who wants to sing – including you! All ages are welcome, and no experience is necessary.
- What: Singing a great song during our service this Sunday, August 30th
- When: Meet at 9:45 to learn the songs, then we’ll sing during the service.
- Where: On the East Lawn, or in the sanctuary in case of rain.
- Why: Because singing together is fun and rewarding!
Get in touch with UUCC Music Director Mike Carney if you have any questions. I hope to see you on Sunday at 9:30!
About Sunday’s guest musicians:
Anya Ustin is a rising senior at the Mastery School of Hawken and a lifelong UUCC member. She started Suzuki violin at age five before being introduced to jazz in middle school. She enjoys participating in the Tri-C jazz program and performing Croatian folk dance with the American Zagreb Junior Tamburitzans.
UUCC’s own Aaron Burkle has worked professionally as a percussion performer, educator, clinician, and adjudicator since 1995, primarily across Pennsylvania. He studied briefly at Berklee College of Music, and serves as the Commander and Conductor of the 28th Infantry Division Band of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard where he holds the rank of Chief Warrant Officer Three.
Prelude: What a Difference a Day Makes – Grever
“What a Difference a Day Makes” is a jazz standard popularized in 1959 by legendary American singer and pianist Dinah Washington (1924-1963), whose recording won the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Performance. What many jazz and R&B fans don’t realize is that this song was written 25 years earlier in 1934, originally titled “Cuando vuelva a tu lado” (“When I Return to Your Side”). It was written by María Grever (1885-1951), a composer of over 1000 songs and the first female Mexican composer to achieve international success and acclaim.
Song: Somos el Barco – Wyatt
“Somos el Barco (We Are the Boat)” is the best-known composition of folk singer and songwriter Lorre Wyatt (b. 1945). A native of New Jersey, Wyatt was also long-rumored to be the original composer of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind”, a claim Wyatt himself has disavowed. “Somos el Barco”, which has been recorded by many artists, including Pete Seeger and Peter, Paul and Mary, is a song of our shared voyage and aspirations to build a better world together.
Joys and Concerns Music: The Shadow of Your Smile – Mandel & Webster
Written by composer Johnny Mandel (1925-2020) and lyricist Paul Francis Webster (1907-1984) and featured in the 1965 film The Sandpiper, this song won the 1965 Academy Award for Best Original Song as well as the Grammy Award for Song of the Year. It has been recorded by such renowned artists as Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughan, and Frank Sinatra, to name just a few.
Offertory Music: I Choose Love – Miller
American composer, conductor, and performer Mark Miller (b. 1967) believes passionately that music can change the world. He also believes in Cornell West’s quote that “Justice is what love looks like in public.” Mark’s dream is that the music he composes, performs, teaches and leads will inspire and empower people to create the beloved community. Mark serves as Assistant Professor of Church Music at Drew Theological School and is a Lecturer in the Practice of Sacred Music at Yale University (from markamillermusic.com). Miller wrote “I Choose Love” as a prayer in response to a 2015 mass shooting that occurred at the Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and dedicated the song to the members of that congregation.
Song: Lead With Love – DeMore
Friend of UUCC Melanie Demore has traveled the world, was a founding member of the Grammy-nominated vocal ensemble Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir, and is constantly amazed by her life. But nothing is closer to Melanie’s heart than bringing people together wherever she is to experience the healing power of music. Melanie has been a formidable presence onstage at such noted venues as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, international folk music festivals from Europe to Cuba to New Zealand. She has shared the stage with some of the world’s most notable musicians and political activists from Gloria Steinem, Odetta, Pete Seeger, and Judy Collins to Ed Asner, Holly Near, Ronnie Gilbert, and Ani DiFranco. (from melaniedemore.com) Written in 2016, “Lead With Love” is one of Melanie’s best-known songs and is a favorite of her audiences whenever she performs. In the composer’s own words: “I was inspired by the great movements that were started out of the love their people, not out of the hatred of others.”
Postlude: Blue Skies – Berlin
Irving Berlin (1888-1989) was one of the most important and influential composers in American history. Born in Russia, Berlin’s family emigrated to the United States when he was five years old and settled in New York City. During his long career, Berlin wrote an estimated 1,500 songs, as well as the scores to 20 original Broadway shows and 15 Hollywood films. His contributions to the Great American Songbook are significant, including timeless songs such as “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”, “Puttin’ on the Ritz”, “Cheek to Cheek”, “Easter Parade”, “There’s No Business Like Show Business”, “White Christmas”, and “God Bless America”. “Blue Skies” was one of Berlin’s earlier hits, written in 1926 and inspired by Berlin’s feelings about family life after the birth of his first daughter. The song was debuted by Belle Baker in a mostly forgotten Ziegfeld show called Betsy, and was subsequently recorded by many performers, including Al Jolson (in The Jazz Singer), Count Basie, and Willie Nelson, who took Berlin’s song to #1 on the country music charts in 1978.
-Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director