SYCAMORE
COMMUNITY SUMMER SINGERS
2015 EUROPEAN TOUR
NICE FLORENCE ROME
june 12-21, 2015
2015 SYCAMORE COMMUNITY SUMMER SINGERS
Linda Gartner, director
Alex Thio, pianist
SACRED REPERTOIRE
Our performance today will feature selected pieces from our repertoire
Adoramus Te ........................................................................................Palestrina (1525-1594)
Cantate Domino ......................................................................................... Croce (1557-1609)
Fuga (Allegro) ...............................................................................................Bach (1685-1750)
Mason Taylor, mandolin
Magnificat ...............................................................................................Pergolesi (1710-1736)
I. Magnificat
II. Et Misericordia - Emma Steward & Mary Wynn Haupt, soloists
III. Deposuit Potentes
IV. Suscepit Israel - Bradley Haupt & Neil Gartner, soloists
V. Sicut Locutus Est
VI. Sicut Erat in Principio
Ave Maria .....................................................................................Bach/Gounod (1818-1893)
Rachel Haupt, soloist
Down in the River to Pray ..................................................................... Traditional, arr. Thio
Allison Rogge & Corinne Gause, soloists
For the Beauty of the Earth .............................................................................................Rutter
Grace ........................................................................................................................... arr. Hayes
Meagan Haupt, soloist
Ride the Chariot ........................................................................................................ arr. Smith
Melissa Campbell, soloist
The Lord Bless You and Keep You ...........................................................Lutkin (1858-1931)
SECULAR REPERTOIRE
You Raise Me Up ...................................................................................................arr. Emerson
Cami DeVille & Kevin Kohmescher, soloists
Somewhere Over the Rainbow ...................................................................................... Harlan
Kayla Kramer, soloist
Rocky Top ..................................................................................................................... arr. Shaw
Sam Jervis & Dean Parker, soloists
Max Poff, clogger
Mason Taylor, mandolin
Homeward Bound ...................................................................................... Keen/arr. Althouse
Leah Ball, Marissa Wyrick,
Rosie Bartlett & Megan Sulfsted
Shenandoah ............................................................................................................. arr. Wilberg
Blue Skies ........................................................................................................................... Berlin
Men’s Ensemble
Disco Fever ............................................................................................................ arr. Althouse
Let There Be Peace on Earth .....................................................................................arr. Rouse
Don Stuart, narrator
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MEMBERS OF THE
2015 SYCAMORE COMMUNITY SUMMER SINGERS
Linda Gartner, Director
Alex Thio, Pianist
SOPRANOS
ALTOS
TENORS
BARITONES
Leah Ball
Melissa Campbell
Cami DeVille
Kate Dunne
Audrey Dybvad
Evelyn Garrett
Elli Gibson
Isabella Gonzalez
Yasmine Guedira
Mary Wynn Haupt
Rachel Haupt
Amanda Jensen
Caroline Karbowski
Kayla Kramer
Katelin LeBlanc
Kate McNamaraMarsland
Alyssa Miller
Maggie Miller
Nathalie Plum
Anu Roy-Chaudhury
Emma Smith
Rachel Smith
Katie Stautberg
Emma Steward
Bridget Sypniewski
Marissa Wyrick
Rosanna Bartlett
Dani Bresnahan
Elizabeth Carl
Nicole Crone
Allie Fanning
Susan Crabill
Josephine Fernandez
Corinne Gause
Avi Goldstein
Meagan Haupt
Isabelle Hoard
Leila Kazemi
Caroline Keeton
Jillian Krynock
Josey Leach
Hanna Leonard
Frannie Levy
Jen Mott
Julie Platz
Lexy Rile
Allison Rogge
Laura Setser
Lorie Stuart
Megan Sulfsted
Emma Sulfsted
Maggie Taulbee
J.J. Taylor
Micayla Veeneman
Sarah Wright
Paul Alexander
Stephen Coleman
Charlie Dewey
Cameron Foy
Nick Frankowski
Neil Gartner
Isaac Goldstein
Keith Haupt
Mike Karbowski
Brett Kissela
Brian Norton
Quinn Rile
Bill Campbell
Clark Crabill
Austin Dick
Dave Evans
Bradley Haupt
Sam Jervis
Kevin Kohmescher
Kevin Kreiner
Hugh McKinnon
Dean Parker
Max Poff
Mitch Radakovich
Andrew Rines
Mitch Singstock
Don Stuart
Mason Taylor
Bob Werner
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ABOUT THE SYCAMORE COMMUNITY SUMMER SINGERS
The Sycamore Community Summer Singers are a group of 83 auditioned singers living in
the Sycamore community of Cincinnati, Ohio. Our performers represent over ten different
suburban high schools* throughout our area. Mrs. Gartner wanted to provide a
European concert tour for students as a result of a very similar tour she experienced
as a college senior with the Collegiate Chorale of Bowling Green State University.
During that tour she performed in Salzburg, Vienna and Venice and vowed to
someday bring a group of students to do the very same thing! The dream came true
in the summers of 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 and one more time in 2015.
The Sycamore Community Summer Singers have performed in Salzburg, Vienna, Melk,
Heidelberg, Rothenburg, Prague, Lucerne, Innsbruck, Venice, Florence, Siena, Rome,
London, Dubrovnik, Bled, Split, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Paris, Normandy, Bruges
and Brussels. Our singers rehearsed 3-4 times each month throughout the school year.
* High schools represented by the SCSS include: Sycamore High School, Kings High School, Loveland
High School, Wyoming High School, Cincinnati Country Day, Summit Country Day, St. Ursula
Academy, Princeton High School, Madeira High School and Mount Notre Dame High School.
ABOUT CINCINNATI, OHIO
Along the banks of the Ohio River and tucked amid rolling hills that are home to
its historic and eclectic neighborhoods, Cincinnati is a major Midwestern hub of
commerce, art, family attractions, and entertainment. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
pronounced it the “Queen City of the West.” Cincinnati today remains a clean,
attractive, and dynamic urban center, where life proceeds at an unhurried pace.
LINDA GARTNER, founder & director
Sycamore Junior High was home to Linda Gartner for the last thirty four years! She
directed the 7th Grade Treble Tones, 8th Grade Treble Tones, Chorale and assisted in the
teaching of Concert Choir. In addition, Mrs. Gartner co-directed the Sycamore Junior
High Boy Choir. Sycamore Junior High enjoys the singing voices of almost 400 students!
Teaching responsibilities also included the bi-annual variety show, Showtime, and
several Broadway musicals. A few of the musicals that have been part of the Sycamore
Junior High stage have included Oklahoma, Meet Me in St. Louis, Bye Bye Birdie, Annie
Get Your Gun, The Boyfriend, Once Upon a Mattress, The Wizard of Oz, Cinderella,
Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid and most recently The Music Man. In addition,
Mrs. Gartner was the former Director of Choristers, a children’s choir of 50 3rd-6th
graders at Sycamore Presbyterian Church where she held this position from 1980-1998.
Mrs. Gartner attended Cottey College and Bowling Green State University, graduating
in 1979 with a Bachelor of Music Education and in 1980 with a Master’s of Music in
Choral Conducting. Mrs. Gartner served as an adjudicator for Solo and Ensemble
Events and co-hosted the OMEA Large Group Adjudicated Event for 14 years where
her choirs continually received Superior ratings. Sycamore JH choirs have performed
at the OMEA Queen City Convention, National Middle School Association Convention
in Cincinnati, Heritage Music Festivals and at Music in the Parks festivals in Nashville,
St. Louis, Chicago, Toronto, Hershey, Sandusky, Atlanta, and most recently Washington
D.C., receiving Superior Ratings. Professional recognition includes an Ohio Arts
Council Grant to study the Alexander Technique using Baroque Repertoire with Mr.
Karl Resnik and the Hixson Teacher of the Year Award. Mrs. Gartner has also been
a four time nominee for the Disney Teaching Award. In 2012, Mrs. Gartner was
nominated for the Hamilton County Educational Services Celebrate Excellence
award. Mrs. Gartner has been a three time nominee for application for the Grammy
Music Teacher of the Year award and most recently was the recipient of the Blue Ash/
Montgomery Rotary Educator of the Year. Mrs. Gartner is a member of the American
Choral Directors Association as well as the Music Educators National Conference.
During the summer of 2003, Mrs. Gartner completed her first European tour of
Prague, Salzburg and Vienna as director and founder of the Sycamore Community
Summer Singers. The summer of 2013 marked the 6th European tour with 90
high school students and parents. Most notable was the first concert in St. Mark’s
Cathedral in Venice, Italy! She resides in Symmes Township, a suburban area
of Cincinnati, with her husband Neil, a financial advisor/tenor, and is the proud
mother of two sons and Sycamore graduates, Mark, working in private equity
in Newport Beach, CA and Matthew, working in finance and compliance in
Chicago, IL. She also LOVES her new “daughter-in-love”, Shannon, wife of Mark.
The end of the 2015 school year marks 34 years of dedicated service by
Mrs. Linda Gartner as a choral director.
The Sycamore Community Summer Singers would like to congratulate
Mrs. Gartner for her inspiring career – and for making a difference in our lives.
ALEX THIO, pianist
Alex Thio received his graduate musical training at the University of
Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (Ohio). He graduated with the
Master’s of Music degree in Piano Performance from the Conservatory.
Mr. Thio serves as choral accompanist to the Sycamore Community
Summer Singers and has accompanied the choir for several Europe tours.
A native of the country of Singapore, Mr. Thio served on the music faculty at the
United World College of Southeast Asia in Singapore (2011-2014), instructing in piano
performance and music theory for students of the International Baccalaureate program.
Mr. Thio is an active adjudicator for piano competitions including those organized by the
American Guild of Music, the Ohio Music Teachers Association and the Kentucky Music
Teachers Association. He is a Founding Teacher of the Music Development Program, a
music examination system organized by the Royal Conservatory of Music (USA/Canada).
As a collaborative pianist, he has collaborated with professional instrumentalists
across the United States. Hailed as a ‘brass-friendly accompanist’, Mr. Thio has
performed in concerts including Jay Hunsberger (Principal Tuba, Sarasota Orchestra),
Dr. Stacy Baker and Dr. Gail Robertson (SymbiosisDuo), Timothy Northcut
(Associate Professor of Tuba and Euphonium, University of Cincinnati CCM)
and Tim Zimmerman & The King’s Brass. His recording in collaboration with the
SymbiosisDuo received the Roger Bobo Award for Recording Excellence in Chamber
Music by the International Tuba Euphonium Association. In 2014, Mr. Thio was
elected official collaborative pianist for the guest artists of Singapore’s first Trombone
Festival. In 2015, he was appointed official collaborative pianist for the South Central
Regional Tuba Euphonium Conference at the University of Central Arkansas.
Currently, Mr. Thio instructs in piano performance/music theory in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Frannie Levy & Nathalie Plum - Choreographers for Disco Fever
Josephine Fernandez & Kayla Kramer - Choreographers for Rocky Top
Kim Kramer, Leslie Singstock & Committee - Welcome Home Reception
Members of the Sycamore Presbyterian Church Family
Sycamore Junior High Custodial Staff
Mrs. Caro Short - Bob Rogers Travel
Ms. Pam Barnett and Mrs. Mary Lou Evans - Concert Attire
Mrs. Deanna Regruth - Queen City Spirit for our ‘blue’ shirts
Mrs. Diane McKinnon - Mrs. Gartner’s Administrative Assistant
Mr. Alexander, Mr. Harris, Mr. Kreiner & Mrs. Pittman - Staff Chaperones
Mr. Alex Thio - SCSS Website and Program Design
Mr. Neil Gartner - Thank you for your unending patience and support!
Website: myscss.com | Facebook: facebook.com/scsschoir