NORTHWEST REPERTORY SINGERS OFFER "SONGS OF LOVE, LUST, AND LAUGHTER"



The Northwest Repertory Singers will give voice to some of life’s richest moments at their upcoming concert, “Songs of Love, Lust, and Laughter.” And just as those moments pass too quickly for all of us, so did the past season for fans of this highly acclaimed vocal ensemble. Their final performance for the 2012-1013 season takes place at 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 19, at Mason United Methodist Church in Tacoma’s Proctor District, the last chance to enjoy their stirring music until October. You won't want to miss this one, especially considering the delightful theme.

The ensemble’s Artistic Director Dr. Paul Schultz gave me some enticing details:

"This concert closes a terrific 2012-2013 season and has something for everyone. The Songs of Love include Brahms' Liebeslieder Waltzes for piano four-hands and my wife, Donna Gartman Schultz, joins accompanist Marjorie Skreen as the third and fourth hands. Songs of Lust are covered by selections from section three of the very popular Carmina Burana (The Court of Love). I will guarantee you'll leave laughing after a couple visits from PDQ Bach and songs carrots and rutabagas by Seattle's John Muehleisen."

 

Schultz will present a lecture between 2 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., before the performance begins, to offer background and enhance your experience of the choral music you’ll hear. With his warm and charming personality, his talks always entertain as much as they enlighten.

Surprise, delight, and occasional laughter make every Northwest Repertory Singers a thrill to attend. After hearing a vocal music performance of such unsurpassed quality and beauty, you will leave reminded that, in spite of all the turmoil in the world, we were meant to live with joy. Take a look at the joy in store during their 2012-1014 season by clicking here. The video below, from a past performance, shows the love, talent, and professionalism each dedicated member brings to the group. Here are some accolades.


 

Mason United Methodist Church is located at 2710 N. Madison St., Tacoma, WA 98407. If you’ve ever visited the Proctor Farmers Market, you’ve seen the large white church building on the street corner at the market’s west end. It’s also home to one location of the FISH Food Bank, and donations of non-perishable food or cash on the day of the concert, or any time, are deeply appreciated.

The last day to purchase tickets online is today, Wednesday, May 15, and you can do so, without a service fee, online at Brown Paper Tickets or by calling (800) 838-3006 or (253) 265-3042.

Unless they sell out early, tickets will also be available at the door: $18 general admission, and $15 for senior/student/military. Children under 12 are free.

And those tickets entitle you to discounts at three Proctor District Restaurants. See the NWRS newsletter for details.

Instead of your usual activities (gardening, housework, errands) why not treat yourself to something truly memorable this weekend?

Photos were provided by, and used with the permission of, Northwest Repertory Singers.

 

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How Sweet the Sound -- Northwest Repertory Singers and Total Experience Gospel Choir in Joint Concert June 2-3

It's a good thing Mason United Methodist Church in Tacoma's Proctor District has sturdy walls, because the building will be rockin' with gospel music this weekend. For the first time ever, Tacoma's Northwest Repertory Singers, under the leadership of Dr. Paul Schultz, has invited Seattle's Total Experience Gospel Choir, led by Pastor Patrinell Wright, to join them for what they promise will be a "rip roaring" time. 

You won't want to miss the opportunity to hear this extraordinary concert called "How Sweet the Sound." It takes place on Saturday, June 2, at 7:30 p.m. and at 3 p.m. on Sunday, June 3.



Schultz had this to say about Wright and her approach to the music:

"When I asked Pat for her arrangements we could perform together, she responded that there were no arrangements.  I asked: 'Then where do you get your arrangements?'

She pointed to the heavens, then to her head, then to her heart.  She simply teaches the choir what she has received and processed from above. We invited Pat, and a handful of her singers, to come to an NWRS rehearsal to teach us two songs.  The hour they spent with us was truly amazing and inspiring.  Everything was taught by rote and the five TEGC singers were able to produce more sound than the 50 members of NWRS.  Before they left, they entertained us with a rendition of Steal Away that just rocked!"

Tickets are available online or by calling 253-265-3042. Prices are $18 general admission and $15 for seniors, students and military. Children under 12 are free. Mason United Methodist Church is located at 2710 North Madison Street Tacoma, WA 98407     (253) 759-3539

Please watch the short video below to hear Schultz describe the amazing music you will hear at this concert.

If you didn't have the opportunity to attend the Northwest Repertory Singers' March 10 concert, you can read my review here. 

"You will hear an array of early American and gospel music that will stimulate your curiosity, challenge your ears, touch your hearts," Schultz says, "and fill your souls with an exuberance resulting in the tapping of toes and the clapping of hands. 

"May you also experience an appreciation and understanding of love working through the power of music, transforming our lives for an hour, a year, or a lifetime."

BE INSPIRED - Northwest Repertory Singers Will Host "Best of the Northwest" Concert

When Saturday, March 10, arrives, you will have a choice:

1.) You can dwell on another week’s worth of depressing news— war, crime, destruction, disasters, polution, politics, or the economy—or

 2.) You can attend a live music event that will move, uplift, and inspire you.

  

Dr. Paul Schultz, artistic director and founder of the Northwest Repertory Singers hopes you will choose the live music event, an unforgettable concert called “The Best of the Northwest” and presented at Mason United Methodist Church, 2710 N. Madison St, in Tacoma’s Proctor Business District on March 10. It begins at 7:30 p.m., following a lecture by Schultz one hour before.  A triple treat, this event features the acclaimed Northwest Repertory Singers plus  two guest ensembles: the University of Puget Sound’s Dorian Singers and the Pacific Lutheran's University Chorale. Tacoma should be proud.

Tacoma universities come together for the sake of art

When asked about the theme and how these two schools came to be included, Schultz said, “Knowing that the Northwestern Division of the American Choral Directors Association convention would be in Seattle next week, my goal was to invite two groups who had been invited to perform at that convention. And just coincidentally, groups from Pacific Lutheran and University of Puget Sound were both invited.”

The association’s Northwestern Division represents the states of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. Out of all the groups that apply from all six states, “a couple dozen,” according to Schultz, might be chosen to perform.

The choirs that apply "come from all genres,” he explained,“children’s choirs, church choirs, community choirs, university choirs, high school, and junior high.” Groups must submit samples from the past three years, to show consistency, and then a panel of experts reviews all the submissions.

“So anybody invited to perform at this convention is truly one of the best groups in the Pacific Northwest. It was great that the two Tacoma schools had representatives and they agreed to participate. It adds to the mystique of ‘The Best of the Northwest’, because those groups truly are considered—by a jury of their peers—to be among the best, at least of six states.”

Northwest Repertory Singers' Artistic Director Paul Schultz       photo by Chip Van Gilder

One man's passion for vocal music enriches the lives of many

Schultz came to Tacoma from his native state of Michigan, where he first chose to make vocal music the focus of his life. After decades in his field, this amazing gentleman continues to inspire and be inspired. His impressive career in teaching and conducting began when he earned two degrees from Central Michigan University: Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts. Schultz then went on to receive his doctorate in music education from Michigan State University, and has also traveled to Stuttgart, Germany to study conducting with Helmuth Rilling at the Internationale Bachakademie.

Of the 44 years Schultz spent teaching before his retirement in 2006, approximately half were in Michigan—including serving on the faculty of Michigan State—and half in the Tacoma School District where he taught at both Tacoma School of the Arts and University of Puget Sound. His wife, Donna Gartman Schultz, is a composer and his son, David Schultz, is pursuing a degree in conducting at Michigan State University.

History of  NWRS

The founding of Northwest Repertory Singers resulted from his heart’s true desire. “I founded the Tacoma Symphony chorus and conducted that for about five or six years,” Schultz said, “and I was missing having the opportunity to conduct a chorus with orchestra, which I had done many times in the past. I never got to do that. So it was time to start my own group. People had been after me for many years to do that. In 2001, I decided to leave the symphony chorus, founded Northwest Repertory Singers, and the rest is history.”

 Members show their commitment

Every Monday night, NWRS members deal with traffic, weather, and the demands of busy lives to drive to Tacoma from all over the Puget Sound area, for rehearsals. Out of the group’s current 55 members, Schultz estimates about 25 to be original members.

 “They’ve been with us all of that time,” Schultz said, sounding pleased. “The group represents music teachers, aspiring professional singers, and professional people from all walks of life. We have attorneys, physicians, people who work for the state . . .” Members come from North Seattle, Bellevue, Auburn, Federal Way, Olympia, Fox Island, Belfair, Port Orchard, Gig Harbor, and Puyallup, for example. “There are significantly more people from outside the city limits than there are Tacoma people. A lot of them are my former students that I taught at University of Puget Sound for 20 years,” Schultz added.

Northwest Repertory Singers                  photo courtesy of NWRS

The dedication of all three groups' members and their leaders will become beautifully apparent to those who attend “The Best of the Northwest.” The program will include performances by the individual choirs as well as a combined performance of “Sure on This Shining Night,” text by James Agee (1905-1955) set to music by the acclaimed composer Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943), a native of Washington State. 

“One thing that’s very important to me is the marriage of music and text, the marriage of music and poetry,” he said. “I hate it when choirs stand up and sing and you can’t understand a word they say, or they sing everything in a foreign language and there are no translations in the program. We do have translations in the program."

Schultz is passionate about sending the message that art matters in our lives and should be accessible to everyone. His choir’s mission statement includes the words “enrich and educate.” He offers this concert as an opportunity to hear NWRS perform “some really unique literature.”

“We’re doing everything from what almost sounds like a Renaissance piece—from a very young composer in his twenties—to a piece from Samuel Barber that was originally a solo in one of his operas, to a grand old drinking song by our men, and this Dorothy Parker text by our women, and then finishing with an amazing spiritual, 'The Battle of Jericho' by Moses Hogan. Moses Hogan was just a phenomenal musician, died way too young. I knew Moses personally and he wrote some of the greatest spirituals. He was 46 when he died.

“I try to give our audiences as wide a variety of repertoire as I can. This particular program will be fantastic because first of all, you’re going to hear two mixed choirs, one of college age, one of more mature age, doing an extremely wide variety of pieces. There’s a wide range of every things that are very traditional sounds to things very eclectic.”

 Many reasons to attend

 The purchase of a ticket to "The Best of the Northwest" means treating yourself to an evening full of new musical experiences, new awareness of our region's talented singers, and a new appreciation for the way art can elevate us from everyday worries and discouragment. Although already eager to attend, when I previewed the program and read the discription of "Sure On This Shining Night" as "heartbreakingly beautiful," I knew this was something I did not want to miss.

Schultz pointed out that, families who don’t have students in Tacoma’s two fine universities usually don’t attend their choir concerts, or realize the level of excellence Dr. Brian Galante, Associate Director of Choral Activities, PLU and Dr. Anne Lyman, Director, Dorian Singers at UPS have inspired in these groups. Likewise, many people in our region, including citizens of Tacoma, have yet to hear the Northwest Repertory Singers.

But there is more. NWRS cares about all members of the community, not only in terms of spiritual sustanance but also physical. Those attending the concert are asked to consider bringing donations for the FISH Food Bank, located at the church. (see details here) And three Proctor Business District restaurants—Pour at Four, LaFondita Mexican Restaurant, and Knapp's Restaurant—are participating in this event by offering discounts. You can read about it on the NWRS website, where you can also take a short survey that will put your name in a drawing for two free tickets.

Concert tickets are available online now from Brown Paper Tickets with no service fee, or at 1-800-838-3006. Tickets are $18 general admission, and $15 for senior/student/military.

Children under 12 are free. Call 253-265-3042 for more information.
For this concert only, UPS and PLU students with student IDs will be admitted for $8.50

 Maybe it's to remind yourself that mankind also includes those who strive to reach a higher potential through creativity, cooperation, artistic excellence, and the appreciation of all that is beautiful and soulful.