A Note From the Director

Welcome to Hope, presented by The Summer Singers as our 25th season!

The Summer Singers was founded in 1986 under the direction of Grant Norum with a group of 12 singers who prepared a concert given to family and friends. In the early years the group sang every other summer due to the time and expense it took Grant to organize the ensemble. After not meeting last summer due to COVID-19, I know how exciting and important it must have felt to the singers to get back together and make music again. Therefore, it is not surprising that it was the singers who carried on The Summer Singers tradition following Grant’s passing in 2002. While almost everything has changed within our organization since our first season, the spirit cultivated around the joy of singing
a cappella music at its finest remains at the heart of our mission. 

It feels surreal to be making music together again in the wake of a world-wide pandemic. Technology has allowed our society to make and share music in creative ways during the past 16 months, but there is nothing that can replace the sheer joy of being engulfed by the lush harmonies and textures of a live performance. For many of you as audience members, this could be the first indoor concert that you have attended for more than a year! Therefore, I look forward to sharing the first half of music with you filled with optimism and joy.  

We also acknowledge the grief that our communities have dealt with through this pandemic. The emotional burden has been as challenging as the loss of loved ones or ability to make ends meet financially. These struggles have brought to the surface underlying cultural and racial tension that created awareness for some but more division for others. The progression of music in the second half speaks to this struggle, mourning our loss and recognizing that real change starts from within ourselves. Together we can gain hope for the future of an unclouded day.

I am deeply thankful to the members of The Summer Singers and to those behind the scenes who work to bring a cappella music into our community by taking the music, but not ourselves, too seriously. Whether you are a first time listener or a seasoned sustaining member, I hope that our concert provides a refreshing dose of inspiring music to brighten your summer day.

Sincerely,

Russell Adrian, Artistic Director

HOPE

Light — Enrico Miaroma
Alleluia — Elaine Hagenberg
Sing, my Child — Sarah Quartel
Heavenly Home — arr. Shawn Kirchner
Hallelujah — William Walker
Angel Band — William Bradbury
Unclouded Day — Rev. J.K. Alwood

Intermission

Hymn to the Eternal Flame — Stephen Paulus
Eternal Hope — Stacey V. Gibbs and Richard Burchard 
Rest In Power — Joshua Shank
Let My Love Be Heard — Jake Runestad
Hope — Ysaÿe M. Barnwell
My Soul Is a River — Ben Allaway
Create In Me A Clean Heart, O God — Grant Norum
We Are the Ones We Been Waiting For — Bernice Johnson Reagon
Unclouded Day — arr. Shawn Kirchner