Pepper Choplin, Director
Susannah Stewart, Soprano
Kirsten Overdahl, Mezzo-soprano
Henry Branson, Tenor
David Mellnik, Bass
Patti Lingafelt, Keyboard

December 3, 2023, 7:30 pm
Westwood Baptist Church
200 Westhigh Street, Cary, NC 27513

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Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God; speak ye comfortably to  Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity  is pardoned. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way  of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill made low, the crooked straight, and the rough places plain.

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

Thus saith the Lord of Hosts: Yet once a little while and I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land; and I will shake all nations; and the desire of all nations shall come. The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in; Behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts.

But who may abide the day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appeareth? For He is like a refiner’s fire

And He shall purify the sons of Levi that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

Behold! A Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Emmanuel, God with us.

O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain; O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee, and the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; and they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

There were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo! The Angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the Angel said untothem, Fear not; for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be toall people; for unto you is born this day in the City of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying…

Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth, goodwill towards men

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, thy King cometh unto thee! He is the righteous Savior, and He shall speak peace unto the heathen.

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing.

He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; and He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. Come unto Him, all ye that labor. Come unto Him, that are heavy laden, and He will give you rest. Take His yoke upon you, and learn of Him, for He is meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Hallelujah: for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Hallelujah!

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain and hath redeemed us to God by His blood to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing… Blessing, and honor… glory, and power be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

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In 1741 Handel’s fortunes were so low that he was considering leaving England. His opera company had collapsed and he had suffered a stroke. Handel accepted the invitation to compose an oratorio, a much more popular style of concert of the time. A text was presented to him by his good friend and patron, Charles Jennens, a wealthy landowner who had helped to finance every one of Handel’s publications since 1725. The text was assembled from the King James Bible and Psalms as printed in the Book of Common Prayer. In a letter to a friend, Charles Jennens wrote that he hoped that Handel will “…lay out his whole genius and skill upon it, that the composition may excel all his former compositions as the subject excels every other subject. The subject is Messiah.”

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Pepper Choplin has served as conductor of Cary Community Choir since 2019. He is a full-time composer, conductor and humorist. With a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, he went on to earn a Master of Music degree in composition from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
His published works includes over 330 anthems for church and school choir plus 24 church cantatas and four books of piano arrangements. Each week, thousands of singers present his music in churches and schools in the United States and around the world. He recently published his first book, A Million Notes, a collection of his best-loved lyrics and the stories behind them.

Pepper has conducted ten New York concerts of his music at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and Julliard with over 250 voices and full orchestra. In Raleigh, he has conducted twelve performances of his cantatas at Meymandi Concert Hall with area church choirs and orchestra. Beyond his choral music, Choplin has produced two humorous CDs and an inspirational solo recording.

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Susannah Stewart, soprano, recently earned her MM degree from the Eastman School of Music (2021), after earning her bachelor’s degree at UNC Chapel Hill in Voice and Political Science (2019). In her years at Eastman, she performed the role of Aveline Mortimer in Elizabeth Cree (Kevin Puts) and The Lady with the Cake Box in Postcard from Morocco (Dominick Argento), both music directed by her primary coach, Professor Timothy Long. In 2020, Susannah was asked by Eastman’s Dean Marie Rolf to perform in her “Debussy Premieres” lecture recital, presented in Hatch Hall at Eastman, and at the J.P. Morgan Library in New York City, alongside Anthony Dean Griffey, tenor, and Randall Scarlata, baritone. This production featured a New York City premiere, a US premiere, and a world premiere.

Throughout high school and college, Susannah was an active competitor in the NATS competitions, often winning state-wide and regionally, and in 2018, she won first place for Junior/Senior College Women at the national competition. Other opera credits include Alcina (Alcina, UNC Opera), Dido (Dido and Aeneas, UNC Opera), and Zerlina (Don Giovanni, International Young Artists’ Project). Future performances will include Il primo amore by Marianna Martines and the role of Euridice from Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, both with the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle.

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Dr. Kirsten E. Overdahl, Mezzo-soprano is a recitalist and ensemble musician based in Durham, North Carolina. As a soloist, recent performance highlights include Haydn’s Missa in Angustiis and Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb at Duke University Chapel, and excerpts from Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito and Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette with Sidewalk Opera Company. Kirsten is also a frequent ensemble member in Duke’s Bach Cantata series. She is currently a staff musician at Duke Chapel, where she serves as a soloist, cantor, and ensemble member for the Chapel Choir (Dr. Zebulon Highben) and Evensong and Vespers ensembles (Dr. Philip Cave). Kirsten holds a degree in music performance from St. Olaf College (2016), where she toured with the St. Olaf Choir (Dr. Anton Armstrong) and studied voice with Margaret Eaves-Smith. Since 2018, she has had the immense pleasure of studying with Grammy award-winning soprano Andrea Edith Moore.
By day, Kirsten is an environmental health research scientist and metabolomics chemist for the National Institutes of Health (PhD Duke University 2021), and is delighted to be able to dedicate her life toward helping others feel seen and heard through her dual passions as a scientist and musician. Originally from Fort Wayne, IN, Kirsten has called Durham home since 2016. She is grateful to share a music-filled life with her husband, musicologist and collaborative pianist Dr. Cole D. Swanson, and their musical cat Isaac.

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Henry Branson, tenor, began his musical training at the age of nine as a chorister with the North Carolina Boys Choir and has been singing ever since. He holds a BM in music education from Furman University and an MM in choral conducting from East Carolina University. His primary interests lie in early music. While at Furman, he directed The Twelve Peers, an ensemble dedicated to the performance of early and contemporary music. At ECU, his master’s project consisted of editing and conducting Charpentier’s Messe pour les trépassés with a period orchestra. When not singing, you can find him editing early music, playing keyboard continuo, or dabbling on the viola da gamba.

Henry currently holds the position of Director of Music & Arts at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Durham. He also serves as a Staff Singer at Duke Chapel, where he sings in two choirs and performs in the popular Bach Cantata Series. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking, running, and watching sports (especially baseball and Tar Heel basketball). Henry is the proud dad of Mack, a 3-year-old hound rescue.

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Bass soloist, David Mellnik, has appeared with the Cary Community Choir as soloist in four previous concerts, and served as Director for 17 years. Under his direction the CCC became incorporated, normalized the use of orchestra, and brought a creative artistic sense to the rehearsals and performances.

Mr. Mellnik began as a singing dishwasher at the Farmhouse in Blowing Rock. In later years he returned as singing kitchen manager and singing waiter. He attended the Manhattan School of Music on a full scholarship, and earned the Masters in Church Music from Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY, where he remains the only Masters level student to earn both the Honors Award Certificate (awarded by the faculty) and the Performer’s Certificate in Voice (voted by the student body).

As a Minister of Music, he developed music programs in churches in Virginia and North Carolina, most notably with Greenwood Forest Baptist Church in Cary. He organized and led concert/mission trips to Cuba, Latvia, Ukraine, Russia, and throughout the east coast of the USA. He continues to appear as soloist with orchestras and choral groups throughout NC, VA, KY and NY.

Audiences in the Triangle will remember him as a member of the NC Master Chorale Chamber Choir, and as baritone soloist with the NC Ballet in their productions of Messiah and Carmina Burana. He has retired to his hometown of Asheville, NC, where he enjoys being close to the mountains, his family, and the girl he took to senior prom.

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Patti Lingafelt, harpsichordist/keyboardist and organist, received the Bachelor of Music degree from James Madison University in Organ Performance and the Master of Divinity with Church Music degree (organ concentration) from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. She and her husband Steven have lived in Durham since 1982. Mrs. Lingafelt, an ordained Baptist minister, has served several churches in the Triangle area as Minister of Music/Organist, retiring from Trinity United Methodist Church in Durham in February 2021. She has accompanied middle school and high school choruses, as well as numerous soloists and instrumentalists and continues to serve as a freelance accompanist. This is her tenth appearance as accompanist for the annual Cary Community Choir performance of Messiah. Mrs. Lingafelt is a member of the American Guild of Organists, Durham-Chapel Hill and Central NC Chapters; American Choral Directors Association; and Choristers Guild. The Lingafelts have two grown children

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We would like to express our deep appreciation to the following businesses, agencies and individuals who have generously given donations in support of tonight’s concert.

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Cary Community Choir is supported in part by grants from the Lazy Daze Arts and Crafts Festival, an annual Cary-based festival supporting local arts and non-profit organizations and activities. Operational and promotional support is also given by the Town of Cary Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources, William Lewis, Cultural Arts Manager.

Thank you to Jack Glasgow, Interim Pastor, and Derrick Arellano, Associate Pastor for Music and Worship, at Westwood Baptist Church for their invitation and support in hosting this concert in their facility.

Following tonight’s presentation, a free-will offering will be taken at the door to help defray the program expenses. Your contribution to the Cary Community Choir is tax deductible and greatly appreciated.

Checks may be made out to Cary Community Choir. You may also contribute online at www.carycommunitychoir.org. Please help to ensure the future of this Cary tradition through your generosity.

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President: Elizabeth Booker
Secretary: Donna Riddel
Treasurer: Jim Bridges

Board Members

Derrick Arellano
Alan Booker
Denise Buckner
Benita Budd
Christi Cook
Sugata Mazumdar
Tim Ritter
Daniel Tsui
Judy White
Chelsea Wilson

Marketing/Communications: Regina Kaiser
Fundraising: Nancy Canterbury
Webmaster: Alan Booker

The date and location of next year’s 54rd performance of Handel’s “Messiah” will be listed on the Cary Community Choir website as soon as those details are confirmed. Find us at
www.carycommunitychoir.org

(Needs to be updated for 2023 after the concert)

Willow Alston-Socha
Michele Bergeron
Diane Beth
Suzanne Brewer
Linda Brown
Karen Calhoun
Nancy Canterbury
Caroline Cimorelli
Bailey Coffer
Susan Davis
Denise Ferrell
Kate Fredrikson
Jessica Gettings
Paula Hansen
Laurel Hills
Virginia Irving
Norma Jones
Virginia Jones
Kazue Kojima
Jennifer Kruchlen-Gurecki
Erin Lipinski
Christine Mailliard
Lisa McFarland
Sue McGee Wind
Sue Milligan
Molly Patton
Kathy Pierce
Donna Riddel
Carol Ridge
Megan Robbins
Hope Rust
Maureen Sanner
Patricia Shackleton
Karin Shank
Bobbie Summers
Kristin Warngren
Judy White
Alice Williams
Liz Wilson

Rebecca Bailey
Susan Birchfield
Anne Birke
Candace Blackley
Alita Bluford
Elizabeth Booker
Hadyn Boyte
Stephanie Brennan
Renee Bridges
Denise Buckner
Sue Buning
Patrice Chapman
Kerry Christian
Dana Coleman
Nannette Collier
Christi Cook
Jean Costa
Rena Courtay
Mary Donny
Elizabeth Dworkin
Leah Fell
Sarah Flores
Khris Ford
Christine Forman
Ellen Fox
Katherine Gillespie
Michele Gilliard
Maria Kunath
Dawn LaRue
Suzanne Letchworth
Janet Liscio
Debra Maas
Margot Mahannah
Kate Marreiros
Toni Miller
Jennifer Mishoe
Julie Mitchell
Lisa Notz
Alix Peters
Sarah Rathbun
Janet Reagan
Terri Ring
Ruth Sappie
Jackie Schmidt
Donna Scott
Jessica Sinha
Marisa Spina
Pam Strug
Bonnie Temple
Jane Tobia
Helen Tsui
Christy Walker
Chelsea Wilson
Nancy Young

Pam Alachi
Derrick Arellano
Reginald Beard
Chrissie Ficken
Wes Ficken
Sally Fox
Jim Heida
James Housman
Kenichi Kojima
Adam Lindgren
Jim Matzko
Chuck McCullen
Ron Mitchell
Debora Murphy
Kiser Norris
Ken Scott
Daniel Tsui
James Wetterau

Rock Angier
Robert Antion
Jim Bridges
Forrest Burris
Roger Ehrlich
Earl Enzor
David Gurecki
Ken Hartman
Jim Heddell
Gary Hunt
Bill King
Larry Kingsley
Mike Law
Girard Lew
Michael Ridge
Kerry Schmidt
Jim Sproat
Tom Stribling
Richard Wilson
Zach Wilson
Jamie Winspear
Dan Young

Version 0.4

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