shows + events







2009/10 Season
Sneak Preview

A Night at
the Tropicana

Brian Moote:
Stand Up Comedy

Nancy Pearl

"The Many Moods
of Christmas"

Holiday Stories

Beverly Graham

Tingstad and
Rumbel

Firesign
Theatre

SWHS Jazz
Ensemble

The Vagina
Monologues

Simple Gifts:
The Music
of America

Shane Mauss with
Brian Moote

Youth in Arts

The Rural
Characters

"Beauty and
the Beast"

Libana

Simple Gifts - The Songs.

Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning
arr. Philip Kern
A traditional spiritual hymn inspired by the text of Matthew 25.

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Amazing Grace
arr. John Coates, Jr.
“Amazing Grace” is a hymn written by English poet and clergyman John Newton in 1779. Newton drew inspiration for this song from his own experiences. While a sailor in the Royal Navy, Newton found himself participating in the slave trade. One night, during a terrible storm, Newton became so frightened that he called out to God for mercy. He eventually ended his career as a slave trader and turned to theology instead.

Newton was ordained in the Church of England in 1764 and wrote “Amazing Grace” as part of a sermon. The piece was first printed in Olney Hymns in 1779, but did not gain popularity until the early 19th century when it was used extensively in the United States as part of the Second Great Awakening. The piece regained popularity in the 1960s as part of the folk music revival and civil rights movement. Today, the piece is one of the most famous American folk songs.

Stephen Foster Medley
Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair
Camptown Races
My Old Kentucky Home
Beautiful Dreamer
Oh, Susanna

Stephen Foster was the first great American songwriter. His melodies have become so integrated into American history and culture that most people think they're folk tunes. All in all, he composed some 200 songs, including "Oh! Susanna" "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair," and "Camptown Races." Although he lived in Pittsburgh for most of his life, Foster’s music managed to capture the spirit of southern culture. “My Old Kentucky Home” is the state song of Kentucky , while Oh, Susanna references coming to Alabama with a banjo.

Though he virtually invented popular music as we recognize it today, Foster's personal life was tragic and contradiction-riddled. At the time, Foster was writing his songs, there was no legal system in place for composers to reap the profits from the sale of their music. He never made much money from his work, his marriage was largely unhappy, and he died at the age of 37 a nearly penniless alcoholic on in New York .

Old American Songs
"Old American Songs" is a set of songs by Aaron Copland, originally scored for voice and piano and reworked for baritone with orchestral accompaniment. It is divided into two sets composed in 1950 and 1952 respectively. Set I was first performed by Peter Pears (tenor) and Benjamin Britten (piano) on June 17, 1950 at Aldeburgh. The version of Set I for baritone and orchestra was premiered on January 7, 1955, with William Warfield and the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Alfred Wallenstein. Set II was first performed by William Warfield (baritone) and Aaron Copland (piano) on 25 May 1958 in Ipswich, Massachusetts and in the orchestral arrangement in Ojai, California by the Ojai Festival Orchestra, with Grace Bumbry (mezzo-soprano) conducted by the composer. The set was recorded by Warfield and Copland on August 18, 1953, for Columbia Records; however, it may not have been publicly performed until the date in Ipswich.

I Bought Me a Cat
Simple Gifts
At the River
Ching-a-Ring-Chaw

Down by the Riverside
"Down by the Riverside" is a traditional gospel song. It was first published in Sandburg's American Songbag (1927) and there are at least 14 black gospel recordings before World War II. Elvis Presley also had a hit with it. The song has been covered by Van Morrison as well as Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. It was also the basis of an Allan Sherman parody called "Don't Buy the Liverwurst".

Red River Valley
arr. Ruth Elaine Schram
Although its origins are disputed, “ Red River Valley ” is believed to have originated in Canada in the late 1890s. The song refers to the Red River Valley in Manitoba , Canada and tells the story of a young woman who grieves as her lover prepares to return to Ontario . The song gained popularity in the United States in 1929 when it was recorded by Texas cowboy singer Jules Verne Allen. It has become a standard example of American cowboy music.

Moon River
Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini, arr. Steve Zegree
“ Moon River " was composed by in 1961 for the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Mercer and Mancini wrote the song for especially for actress Audrey Hepburn to fit her vocal range. However, Paramount Pictures decided to delete Hepburn’s version of the song from the movie and used a choral version instead. The song was an instant hit, winning the 1961 Oscar for Best Original Song and 1962 Grammy Award for Record of the Year. The success of the song helped to re-launch Mercer’s stalled songwriting career.

Zion's Walls
arr. by Glenn Koponen
The original melody and words of this popular revivalist song are credited to John G. McCurry, compiler of the Social Harp (1855). The song was adapted by Aaron Copland as part of the second set of his "Old American Songs".

Peter Gunn
Henry Mancini, arr. Jeff Funk
"Peter Gunn" was an American private eye television series, which aired from 1958 to 1961. The memorable “Peter Gunn Theme” won an Emmy Award and two Grammys for its composer Henry Mancini and has become a jazz-rock standard.

The Water is Wide
The inherent challenges of love are made apparent in the narrator's imagery: "Love is handsome, love is kind" during the novel honeymoon phase of any relationship. However, as time progresses, "love grows old, and waxes cold". Even true love, the narrator admits, can "fade away like morning dew"

The roots of "The Water Is Wide" (also called "O Waly, Waly") are unclear, with some claiming an English origin and others claiming a Scottish origin, which they support by comparison to the ballad "Lord Jamie Douglas". However, it is also similar to the Northern Irish song "Carrickfergus", which has the lines but the sea is wide/I cannot swim over/And neither have I wings to fly. This song is said to be preceded by an Irish language song whose first line A Bhí Bean Uasal ("It was a noble woman") matches closely the opening line of one known variation of "Lord Jamie Douglas": I was a lady of renown. However, the content of the English-language "Carrickfergus" includes material clearly from the Scots/English songs that is not attested in any known copy of A Bhí Bean Uasal suggesting that there has been considerable interplay between all known traditions.

Shenandoah
arr. Darmon Meader
"Shenandoah" is an American folk song that dates back to the early 19^th century. The song is believed to have originated as a river shanty. There are many different interpretations of the lyrics. Some believe it is the story of a trader in the love with the daughter of an Indian chief. Others claim it is about a pioneer’s nostalgia for the Shenandoah River Valley . Still a third interpretation is that the song is about a Union soldier in the American Civil War dreaming of his home in Shenandoah , Iowa .

Bile Them Cabbage Down
arr. Mack Wilberg
The old folk tune "Bile Dem Cabbage Down" is a classic American folksong with unclear origins. Folklorist and ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax asserts that the song has roots reaching all the way to the African slaves that were brought to the southern part of the United States . According to Lomax, it is a Negro reel tune that has become universally popular among white square dance musicians. Clayton McMichen, a fiddler from Georgia , and the legendary Tennessee banjoist Uncle Dave Macon, performed the first recorded versions of this song in 1924.