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A CONCERT OFTHANKSGIVINGFOR OUR VETERANSSUNDAY,NOVEMBER 127:00pm | NJ Veteran's Home at Menlo ParkRise Up Chorus is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

From the Artistic Director:It is with sincere pleasure that I welcome you to Rise Up Chorus’ inaugural concert: A Concert of Thanksgiving. Through this concert, we honor those who have served our country in one of the branches of the armed forces. These men and women have risked their lives for our freedoms, and theirs is a debt we will never be able to repay. I hope that this concert, in some small way, shows our gratitude.Rise Up Chorus was created with three tenets in mind: to bring together a community of people using music as our commonality,to fill a need to make ourworld a better place by doing good in our community,and to be an organization for everybody, no matter what.It has been my honor getting to know the members of our new musicalcommunity during the rehearsals and through our social experiences. Each singer brings his or her own life experiences to our community, making it a community filled with the richness of diversity. We’re not just any other community chorus. We are part of Rise Up Chorus because we want the world to be a better place for ourand all future generations. If we can make our community a better place, in even the smallest of ways, then we are living our mission.With all my gratitude,Matthew J. LaPineFounder and Artistic Director, Rise Up ChorusJoin us at our next performancesSunday, June 10, 2018 5:00 pm“Building a Musical Community: Music from Around the World”Venue to be determined.Sunday, February 11, 2018 5:00 pm“Let Freedom Ring”Christ Church, New Brunswickwww.riseupchorus.orgRise Up Chorus' next session beginsFriday, November 17, 2017All are welcome, no auditions necessary!For information and to sign up email or call: mlapine@riseupchorus.org  732-662-4469COME AND SING WITH US!

Rise Up Chorus Board MembersChris M. Bishop -Board PresidentThomas DeLessio - Board AdministratorAngela Dohl - Events ManagerJessica LaPine - Director of Social ProgramsMatthewJ. LaPine - Founder & Artistic DirectorChristina Leslie - Communications Director Michelle Schutz - Director of Publicity & MarketingKathleen Spadafino - Director of Education& OutreachThomas Thomas - Board TreasurerOn the occasion of this Concert of Thanksgiving, we extend our heartfelt gratitudeChris M. BishopPresident, Board of Trustees To our Founders and Music Professionals; Matthew LaPine, Jessica LaPine, and Thomas DeLessio for their vision, and contributions of artistic and technical talent. Our gratitude as well to Kathleen Spadafino and Nick Gatto who have expanded on the contributions of our Founders through their performance and educational talents. To my fellow Board Members for the support they volunteeredoverthese many months of planning, refining and fund-raising for the organization. To our Donors for your generous financial support towards launching RiseUp Chorus. It is difficult to adequately express how much we appreciate your creative approaches and personal sacrifices towards funding all that we do.  To our Chorus Members for your time in practicing and presenting the music we share today. You came to this new organization likely uncertain of what this will be, and together we have shaped the group to this point where we are now beginning to glimpse the potential bright future. ToFr.Zelley and the staff of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church for allowing us access to sorely-needed and much-appreciated rehearsal space.  To Christine Caratazzolo and the staff at the NJ Veterans Home at Menlo Park for helping us to serve this community of veterans through our music. As you look around you, you can clearly see what a wonderful job they are doing in delivering thoughtful care to those who served our nation. www.riseupchorus.org

COMBINED CHORUSESThe Star-Spangled Banner                                 John Stafford SmithYOUTH CHORUSJohnny Has Gone for a Soldier                           arr. Russell RobinsonDanny Boy                                         Traditional Irish Folksong                                                         arr. Philip LawsonIn Flanders Fields                               John Jacobson/Roger Emerson                                                       arr. Roger EmersonWill You Teach Me?                                         Victor C. Johnson                                                        Nicholas Gatto, oboeAshokan Farewell                              Jay Ungar; arr. Carole StephensThe Battle Hymn of the Republic                 Traditional American Melody                                                              arr. Lon BeeryGUEST ARTIST NICHOLASGATTOGabriel's Oboe                                             Ennio MorriconeADULT CHORUSAmerica the Beautiful                        Samuel A. Ward; arr. Robert PageBlades of Grass and Pure White Stones         Lowell Alexander, Phil Naish, and                                           Orrin Hatch; arr. Russell MauldinHomeland                                Gustav Holst; arr. Z. Randall StroopeThis Is My Song                           Jean Sibelius; arr. Douglas E. WagnerWe Honor You                                               Roger EmersonA Tribute to the Armed Services                               arr. Lloyd LarsonFOR OUR VETERANSA C O N C E R T O F T H A N K S G I V I N GMatthewJ. LaPine, directorThomas DeLessio,accompanist

program notesTonight’s concert is offered in honor of America’s veterans, especially those who are hosting us today at the Menlo Park Memorial Home. The Menlo Park Memorial Home, operated by the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, was rebuilt in 1999 on 109 acres in Edison, Middlesex County. The 312-bed facility features a “town square” core with resident living areas located around the perimeter. The Star-Spangled Banner, America’s national anthem since 1931, will be sung bythe Youth and Adult Choruses combined. Francis Scott Key, a lawyer and poet, wrote the lyrics in 1814. He was inspired by the sight of the namesake flag, flying above Fort McHenry in the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. The Star-Spangled Banner is widely performed and represents America at home and abroad. Whenever the piece is performed, it is expected that all in attendance will stand, take off their hats, and sing along with the chorus.The Adult Chorus opens its set with a beautiful (yet challenging) choral setting of America, the Beautiful, singing the first and fourth verses of the 1911 version best known to audiences. A cross-country train trip in 1893 inspired English professor Katherine Lee Bates to write a poem commemorating the nation’s “amber waves of grain [and] purple mountain majesties,” with a plea that “God shed his grace on thee.” Samuel A. Ward, a church choirmaster from Newark, New Jersey, wrote the music in 1882 for another hymn. Bates’ words and Ward’s lyrics were married in 1903. Following this,Blades of Grass and Pure White Stones was composed and originally performed by Orrin Hatch, and itspeaksofthe texture of the earth that lies above those who gave their lives for their country. “Endless rows for all to see” remind the rest of us that “just below the emerald sod are boys who reached the arms of God.”As the title suggests, the song Homeland vows eternal love to one’s country but acknowledges that this lovecomes ata price, sometimes “the ultimate sacrifice.” The singer, though, suggests that the strength of the homeland lies in wisdom, compassion, strength and courage. The melody was composed as part of the orchestral suite, The Planets, by the English composer Gustav Holst between 1914 and 1916. The first verse you hear today was written by Sir Cecil Spring-Rice, Britain’s Ambassador to the U.S. from 1912-1918. In 1921 Holst adapted his music to Spring-Rice’s lyrics. Z. Randall Stroope, an American conductor, composer, and arranger, wrote the second and third stanzas of tonight’s version of the song in dedication to his father who, as a prisoner of war, walked the Bataan death march in World War II.Reminiscent of that idea, This Is My Song tells that “this is my home, the country where my heart is.” Then we’re reminded that those in other lands have the same sunlight and dreams. Thus, “For peace I’ll stand, my true and steadfast cause.”The simply-titled We Honor You invokes vivid images of American sacrifice in the 20th and 21st centuries, from Normandy to Korea, and Vietnam to the Middle East. “Some gave their lives; you gave your souls … We honor you for giving us your all.” Veterans in attendance will find a familiar tune in A Tribute to the Armed Forces, a medley which includes the hymns of the Army, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Navy, and Air Force. The medley ends with the third verse of America, the Beautiful, with lyrics recalling the veterans “who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life!”Program notes by Eric Schwarz

Rise Up Chorus is made possible by the generosity of the following donors:AnonymousJane & Robert BerrySuzanne & Chris BishopCarol & Glenn BrinksKathy & Chris DaltonChristine & Thomas DeLessioDeborah Herman & Jeffrey SteinhornKristina HornSusan JankiewiczStanislav JaraczJessica & Matthew LaPineLinda LaPineThe Morace Family FoundationBarbara & Robert SandermanTrish & Bryon SmithKathleen & Michael SpadafinoMargie & Thomas ThomasThrivent FinancialAnne & John WrightMaryann McGuirePete McKennaDanielle MiyagishimaCarolyn PetoskyLuisa SchoepfEric SchwarzKaren SiegelKathleen SpadafinoKathy StaegerBill TealeTom ThomasAnton YudinSusan HamiltonAsh HeimerlJack HicksBerkeui HungSingchang HungNidhi JoshiSusan KingsleyDavid KirpanTerry KohlValerie KostycChristina LeslieDiane MansmannMary McGuireNancy ConroyIsabel BadilloNancy BelfordNancy BernheimerChris BishopSuzanne BishopMary Jane ConnollyChris DaltonKathy DaltonAnita DaughertyAngela DohlFordFosterShari GarretsonAdult Chorus MembersMartina JaraczovaJakob KrombholzLuke KrombholzAnna LeonLuisa SchoepfAsh HeimerlJack HicksJakub JaraczYouth Chorus Members