Column for Dec. '09 Reporter:
Notes from Leonard

This is written in the afterglow of one of the proudest moments I've yet experienced with you at UMCHCSH:
the beautiful Interfaith Thanksgiving Service we hosted Nov. 22nd. Before telling you of the exciting music we've planned for Advent and Epiphany, let me first say how thankful we all should be to Rev. Beaven for having taken on the awesome responsibility of coordinating everything, and to all who responded that evening, from the whole community, but especially from our church: Tiffany Champney, her grandma Lois Cornell, Doug Peden, and Chuck Timson in the bell choir; Chuck again on trumpet; Pat Percy, Melinda McCormack and Chuck again - in the alto section(!); Melinda & Doug (again) singing tenor; Rick Zenn and my dad singing bass; and in the soprano section: Fran Gazza, my wife Helene, and Kathleen Ochiltree keeping her on pitch - bless her heart! Thank you! That morning we were also blessed, in the "Thanksgiving Canticle," with Ward Henry on drums, who plans to join us again in January for an Epiphany Carol his Mom Wardean requested: "The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy." A special pleasure, for which I thank all of you, was the opportunity to share with the whole community my setting of "The Prayer of St. Francis," which I wrote in memory of Rev. Beaven's father, and which we had premiered in church Sunday morning, Nov. 8th.
I'm sad to say that the Nov. 22nd evening recording did not come out as well as we had hoped, but the Nov. 8th recording is quite decent; and Paul Schellack has helped me to transfer it to a digital file, which I shall post on the internet, along with a beautiful performance our choir did of another piece back in June 2008, and will then set up a link from the church website so anyone can click on it and listen to it any time! We're hoping Paul will also be joining us, on guitar, for the Epiphany anthem mentioned above.
The Advent music schedule is nearly complete:
Nov. 29th "An Advent Carol" by Charlotte Lee and Douglas E. Wagner;
Dec. 6th "Hurry, Shepherds, Run!" also by Douglas Wagner;
Dec. 13th the world premiere of "A Carol" by our own Bill Pugsley;
Dec. 20th a new bell choir version of "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," followed by
the cantata Light of the World by Lani Smith and Rev. William H. Privette,
narrated by 8 of the best readers in our congregation(!) - you know who you are:
Please save the date, Thursday evening Dec. 17th for the dress rehearsal!
Christmas Eve we'll welcome Chris Timson back to solo for us again in "O Holy Night,"
we'll reprise part of the cantata, and we'll perform another selection yet to be chosen.
Other dates to save, please: Thurs. nights Dec. 3rd & 10th 10:30-11:30pm Woodbury area Cable Channel 20 will broadcast, in 2 parts, the concert Chuck, Pat, Helene and my dad sang, along with 15 others, at my Bryant Library birthday concert last August 20th. A number of you said you'd have liked to have been there but were out of town. Here's your chance to watch it. I hope some of you will, and that you'll enjoy it as much as we.
Yours faithfully - (Dr.) Leonard J. Lehrman, Music Director/Composer-in-Residence

Excerpts from Previous Columns:

Column for Nov. '09 Reporter: Notes from Leonard

We've had a good October together and look forward to an exciting November. We've been delighted and blessed with the presence of Tiffany Champney (Bette Driver's and Lois Cornell's granddaughter) who joined the Bell Choir for Reformation Sunday. Thanks also to Lois, Wardean, Melinda, Don and Chuck as we all played a special arrangement of Martin Luther's hymn, "A Mighty Fortress," written for the occasion. Later the Chancel Choir sang a setting of "The Nicene Creed." Martin Luther appreciated this ancient confession of faith so much, he wrote several musical settings for it; this was a more contemporary version, with Wardean Henry as soloist and Ward Henry on drums.

Nov. 1st, All Saints Day, we'll honor one of the great composers of 20th century church music, Jean Berger (1909-2002), singing his setting of Psalm 121, "I to the Hills Lift Up Mine Eyes." A native of Alsace, he escaped Hitler and came to the US via South America, building up choral programs in several cities, most recently in Denver, where I heard a gorgeous recital of his works last March. Nov. 8th, we'll remember Rev. Beaven's father, Dr. Sterrett P. Beaven, in a setting of the "Prayer of Saint Francis" which I wrote for our choir this summer. My father will be singing with us on this day. Nov. 15, New Consecration Sunday, Katherine Kacner is to be our flute soloist in Taylor Davis' "For All That Is." On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, Chuck Timson on trumpet will join Ward Henry on drums as we sing Mark Hayes' "Thanksgiving Canticle," a peppy version of "Now Thank We All Our God."

...In closing, I want to thank the Choir for preponing a rehearsal from Thurs. Oct. 22 to Wed. the 21st, enabling me to represent our church in the largest conference in Hofstra's history on a subject important to all of us on Long Island: SUBURBAN DIVERSITY. I was honored to accompany Jeannine Otis in two songs, one by Elie Siegmeister & Langston Hughes, and one of my own: "Long Island Just Isn't Long Enough," based on a text by Nassau Community College Professor Marcia McNair, who was present, along with Rev. Reggie Tuggle and several legislators. Next year I'm hoping to bring the Choir!

Column for Sept. '09 Reporter: Notes from Leonard

This has been quite a musical summer: Congregants described the Beethoven "America" Variations 7/5 as "awesome." I was pleased to accompany my dad & Jennifer LeCara, who soloed impressively on violin in a movement from Schubert's Sonatina #1, and three of Bartok's Roumanian Dances, 7/12 & 19, respectively. The Bell Choir came through with a custom-designed arrangement of "The Summons," assisted by Chuck & Chris Timson - who also treated us to a selection from Godspell 7/26. Charlie Shipe returned to accompany Eleanor Garrett 8/2. Ken Soule returned to sub for me 8/9 & 30 while Helene & I were performing in Canada, upstate NY and Atlanta. And flutist Katherine Kacner & I offered excerpts from Robert Schumann's Scenes from Childhood 8/16 & 23. Thanks also to Pat Percy & Chuck Timson for joining 17 other singers in my Metropolitan Philharmonic Chorus who performed at my 60th birthday concert 8/20 at the Bryant Library in Roslyn, and thanks to Don Weiher for noticing that Newsday had blurbed it with a photo of me that day. Thanks also to Wardean Henry for helping to choose hymns from The Faith We Sing for congregational singalongs opening each service, a practice to be continued, perhaps! And congratulations to Chris Timson for the review praising his "high, clear tenor" and "brilliant ensemble work" in Cortland Repertory Theater's production of Forever Plaid!
Rev. Beaven & I met for several hours 8/10, and 7 members of the chancel choir met with me 8/23. Here is the music we have decided on tentatively for the fall, chosen from our library and from new selections sent by J.W. Pepper, Stanton's, and courtesy of the Parish Resource Center:

9/6 Frederic Chopin's Ballade #3
9/13 Chris Timson will sing "Simple Song" from Leonard Bernstein's Mass
9/20 (guest organist) R. Maines Rauls' "Take My Life, Lead Me, Lord," arr. by John Wilson
9/27 Henry Purcell's "Blessed Be The Lord"
10/4 World Communion Sunday. Hymn: "Welcome Table"
Anthem: "Let All the Beauty We Have Known"
(Dana McLean Greeley, adapted by Edwin Swanborn) by Charles Osborne
10/11 "Shout in Joy Unto the Lord" by Robert Graham
10/18 "Seekers of Your Heart" by Beverly Darnall-Melodie & Dick Tunney
10/25 Reformation Sunday. A Lutheran anthem yet to be determined.
11/1 All Saints Day. "I to the Hills Lift Up Mine Eyes" (Ps. 121) by Jean Berger (1909-2002)
11/8 "Prayer of St. Francis" by Leonard Lehrman, composed for our choir
and dedicated to Warren in memory of his father, Dr. Sterrett P. Beaven....

Column for June '09 Reporter: Notes from Leonard

It was a pleasure sharing some of my Jewish heritage with so many young people and their families at the Church Seder May 17. Special thanks to Deanna Zenn for cooking up a storm--for an army!

On Sunday night June 7, at 8:30, I'll be sharing some more of that heritage in your neighborhood, accompanying two of the great cantors of our time, Moshe Bear and Jacob Mendelson, in a concert at the Dix Hills Jewish Center, 555 Vanderbilt Parkway. Please let me know if you would like to come, so I can arrange for tickets!

During the service earlier that morning (Sun. June 7), our anthem will be Natalie Sleeth's "Feed My Lanbs," featuring Don Sitterley on flute and Diana Peden on clarinet. Diana will also be our featured soloist, together with my father on viola, in Special Music on June 14, in honor of her (and others') graduation. They will be playing the Rondo from the Mozart Clarinet Trio, one of the great treasures of chamber music literature.

The anthem on June 14th will be "Choose Something Like a Star" - a poem by Robert Frost set to music by Randall Thompson. Last year at this time, the choir sang it for the graduates - so beautifully, that I hope we¹ll be able to put it up as a soundfile on the church website soon, along with the "Blessing & Prayer for Healing" that I wrote for our choir, which we first sang this past Mothers¹ Day....

We are looking forward to sharing with you much wonderful music gleaned at the March Denver convention and May 9 Setauket workshop called "Make a Joyful Noise" I attended. I was impressed by the resources offered by the Parish Resource Center, and am grateful that the Administrative Council voted to take out a "trial membership" beginning June 1st.

Members of the congregation and the Choir are invited to join the Metropolitan Philharmonic Chorus in singing my "Conscience" and "Hold Fast to Dreams" at a landmark birthday celebration of mine on Thursday August 20th at the Bryant Library in Roslyn at 7pm. You're also invited, if interested, to house concerts we're giving at our home in Valley Stream Sat. June 27 at 3pm for our students, and Sat. July 18 at 3pm honoring the 100th birthday of Helene's uncle, Walter Gross, composer of the song "Tenderly."

We're pleased to welcome new choir members Maureen Matthews and Cliff Schellack. But I must tell them, and anyone else in the church who might need to call me at home: Please do NOT call the number listed in the directory (516-256-4209) before 10am. If need be, use 516-825-2939.

Column for Apr. '09 Reporter: Notes from Leonard

...Helene & I just returned from a thrilling conference of the Society for American Music in Denver. Since I first did a presentation for them in 1995, the organization has octupled in size: There were 167 presentations, of which we were able to attend 41, sometimes splitting up in order to do so. Our Elie Siegmeister presentation there was quite successful--the 16th of 20 Siegmeister Centennial events, with Mar. 29 at Hofstra, Apr. 19 at Queens College, Aug. 9 at Alfred University, and a date TBA in Oct. at NYU still to come. Of most pertinence to my work at the church were: 2 workshops in Southern Gospel Convention singing and piano accompaniment style; a Shape-Note sing, with many hymns that are familiar or quasi-familiar sung in a slightly archaic harmonic style widely popular thru the 19th century and enjoying a countrywide revival now (I participated both as singer and conductor at the Methodist Trinity Church there, and brought home a book with hundreds of these pieces); and a concert & lecture on the very beautiful & harmonically very traditional choral music of the Alsatian composer who emigrated to the US by way of Brazil and changed the face of church music in Vermont, Illinois, and Colorado: Jean Berger (1909-2002), whose centennial is being celebrated this coming September, and much of whose music is already in our library and/or easily obtained.

Column for Feb. '09 Reporter: Notes from Leonard

This has been quite a month to weather, forcing postponement of at least one anthem - "What Have We Done for the Poor Ones" Jan. 11th - diminishing attendance, but not the spirit of those who have kept the faith and soldiered on. Many, many thanks to Rick Zenn and Pat Percy (aka "my right hand") for joining me and my wife Helene in representing our church choir at the Ecumenical Martin Luther King service at St. Matthews Jan. 18th, where c.200 members of a dozen church choirs sang to about as many in the audience; thanks also to the two of them, along with Melinda McCormack, Doreen Schneider, and Wendell Hannaford, for joining Helene, my dad, and The Metropolitan Philharmonic Chorus, whose members came from Brooklyn, Manhattan, Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk, to sing the Suffolk County premiere of the cantata I HAVE A DREAM at our church Jan. 19th, again for about as many in the audience. [And thanks to Chuck Timson, for singing beside my dad, joining Helene, Pat, Rick, Wendell and the others in the MPC for the Manhattan performance Jan. 25th.] Councilman Stuart Besen and Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy personally read proclamations from the Town of Huntington and the County of Suffolk heralding the 80th birthday of Dr. King and the 100th of my teacher and mentor, the composer Elie Siegmeister. Grants from the Maldeb and Puffin Foundations covered the guest performers' honoraria. A collection from the generous audience members, who'd come from Hempstead, Oceanside, and Huntington, covered the church's photocopying costs. The New York Times, Newsday, and The New Music Connoisseur all published articles on the occasion. Click on the underlined texts to see photos of the presentations and read the full texts of the articles and proclamations.

This will be a short column, to leave room for photos of the Jan. 19th event - click here for a photo of the Metropolitan Philharmonic Chorus in our church that evening....

Yours faithfully -

(Dr.) Leonard J. Lehrman, Music Director/Composer-in-Residence