S. Bennerstrom, Skagit Awnings
Saturday, December 2, 2023, 3:00 PM
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
2117 Walnut Street, Bellingham 98225
¡Feliz Navidad!
Whatcom Chorale, Guitar, Marimba, Percussion, Bass, and Piano
Celebrate Feliz Navidad with the rhythmic exuberance and tender devotion that expresses Hispanic holiday tradition. Join Whatcom Chorale for a joyous musical journey south of the border, featuring festive compositions by American Conrad Susa, Argentinian Ariel Ramirez, and more. Selections include the spirited “Shepherds’ Dance” by local composer Scott Henderson, as well as virtuoso performances by Connor Bennion and Eric Morgan, tenors, Eli Schille-Hudson, guitarist, Kay Reilly, percussionist,Thomas Mayes, bassist, and Dongho Lee, Pianist.
M. Leontovich, arr., Carol of the Bells
Robinson, arr., Riu, Riu, Chiu
Bruce Trinkley, Three Venezuelan Carols
Ariel Ramirez, Navidad Nuestra
Larry Shackley, Last One to Bethlehem
Scott Henderson, Shepherd's Dance
Ariel Ramirez, Misa Criolla
Conrad Susa, Fum, Fum, Fum
Program
Guest Artists
Connor Bennion, Tenor
Connor Bennion is a music educator, pianist, and tenor from Seattle, Washington. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Music at Wesleyan University, studying voice with Wayne Rivera. Connor has continued his studies at Western Washington University, where he received his Master of Music in Choral Conducting. He has performed with organizations such as the Seattle Symphony Chorale, Northwest Sinfonia, Vineyard Sound, Northwest Boychoir, Copley Singers, and Whatcom Chorale. Connor currently directs
the Vocal Jazz Ensemble at WWU.
Eric Morgan, Tenor
Eric Morgan, Whatcom Chorale Board President, grew up in Bellingham and graduated from Western Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts in Music. He has sung in the Chorale for over 20 years and has been a soloist in many concerts over the years. Eric works as a Financial Advisor in Bellingham.
Eli Schille-Hudson, Guitar
Eli Schille-Hudson is a guitarist based in Bellingham, Washington where he heads the guitar studio at Western Washington University. At Western, Eli teaches courses in music theory, guitar history, pedagogy, and fretboard harmony; he also teaches applied lessons and conducts and arranges for the WWU Guitar Ensemble.
Eli has appeared as a recitalist for the Northwest Guitar Festival (and served as the Festival Director for the 2023 Northwest Guitar Festival), the Seattle Classic Guitar Society, the Bellingham Music Club, the Bellingham Chamber Music Society, the Bellingham Festival of Music, the Great Spaces Concert Series, and the Lafayette Symphony Guild. A duo performance with bassist DaXun Zhang at the 2019 International Society of Bassists Convention is a recent highlight in Eli’s activities as a chamber musician. He has adjudicated competitions and given masterclasses for Performing Arts B.C. and the Northwest Guitar Festival.
In addition to his work as a teacher and performer, Eli also remains active as a composer and songwriter. His debut release with collaborator Ross Martinie Eiler, Signs & Seasons (2022), can be heard wherever music is streamed. He completed his education at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music where he took Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees under Maestro Ernesto Bitetti.
Kay Reilly, Marimba and Percussion
Kay Reilly, percussionist, has played with Whatcom Chorale on many occasions in the past. She is the band director at Squalicum High School (also since 2006) and is a National Board Certified Teacher. Before moving to Bellingham, Kay taught in Issaquah, WA and at the Hong Kong International School. Kay earned her Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance and Music Education from Northwestern University in Illinois, where she studied with Michael Burritt and James Ross, and won the school's annual concerto competition her senior year. She earned her Master of Music in Percussion Performance from the Ohio State University, where she studied with Susan Powell and Joe Krygier, and won first place in the Women in Music Columbus competition. When not teaching or playing music, Kay loves playing yard-baseball and driveway-badminton with her son, walking on trails, working in her garden, cooking and baking, and playing many a game of Skip-Bo or Phase 10. She is also a lifelong Star Trek fan, though she is year of the Earth Sheep and prefers to keep her feet on the ground.
Thomas Mayes, Bass
Thomas Mayes is a bassist and nonprofit administrator currently based in Tacoma. He received his undergraduate degree in Double Bass Performance from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He has performed with orchestras throughout the Western US, including symphonies in Yakima, WA, Modesto, CA, Reno, NV, Cheyenne, WY, and Colorado Springs, CO. As an administrator he has worked in executive roles for classical music and historic theaters, including serving as Executive Director for the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra 2013–2016. He is currently an instructor in nonprofit arts administration at Seattle University and runs Servus Arts, LLC, a consultancy supporting small nonprofits throughout the Puget Sound region.
Dongho Lee, Piano
Scott Henderson, Bellingham Composer
Scott Henderson studied composition at the Manhattan School of Music and Indiana University. He served as resident composer for the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles and has published several dozen choral and vocal works. After moving to Bellingham in 2010, he served as Executive Director of the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra (BSO) until 2013. Since then, he has composed more than seven major works for the BSO, Bellingham Children’s Choir and Whatcom Chorale. On the lighter side, he and Martin Bray wrote and produced an annual series of cabaret musical comedies under the auspices of the Bellingham Music Club. Scott’s composition Shepherd’s Dance was written for and first performed by Whatcom Chorale in December 2015. Scott sings in the tenor section in Whatcom Chorale.