Program

A Celebration of Freedom, Joy, and Hope

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16, at 7 pm

(Doors open at 6:30 PM) 

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THE REDEEMER WEST SIDE 150 W. 83 St. New York, NY 10024

Program

Songs of freedom:

• This Land is Your Land - by Woodie Guthrie.  One of the greatest protest songs was written in response to the overly simplistic patriotism of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America."

• Once to Every Man and Nation - by James Russell Lowell, arranged by George Mead. The original poem was written as a protest against the Mexican–American War..

• We Rise Again - The song was written by Leon Dubinsky, a songwriter from Sydney, Nova Scotia. It is an anthem of resilience and hope at a time when Cape Breton Island was going through an economic crisis.

• Testament of Freedom, movement 1 - The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time, by Randall Thompson, with words by Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin. This movement is from "A Summary View of the Rights of British America," in which they lay out, for delegates to the First Continental Congress, a set of grievances against King George III, especially for his and the Parliament of Great Britain's response to the Boston Tea Party.

• Make Them Hear You - From Ragtime the Musical - Music by Stephen Flaherty and Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. This song encapsulates the emotional weight of a central character, Coalhouse Walker Jr., realization that violence is not the answer to societal issues.

• Testament of Freedom, movement 4 - I shall not die without a hope that light and liberty are on steady advance, by Randall Thompson, with words by Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin. From a Letter to John Adams

Holiday tunes:

• Go Tell It on the Mountain - arranged by Harry Simone, it is an African-American Christmas carol.

• Christmas Sanctus - by Lee Dangler. This Christmas text combines the tender beauty of the nativity story with the age-old grandeur of the Sanctus, a hymn in Christian liturgy.

• Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind - by J, Sarjeant, with words from Shakespeare’s “As You Like It”. It is very commonly performed in holiday or seasonal concerts for its winter theme and its frequent mention of 'green holly'.

• I Saw Three Ships - also arranged by George Mead, The choir joined by the great voice of our guest soprano, Sofia Gotch. Possibly the ships are actually the camels used by the Magi, as camels are frequently referred to as "ships of the desert".

• Chanukah in Santa Monica - by Tom Lehrer. This song was written as a witty answer to the Christmas standards other Jewish composers had written (White Christmas et al), with the addition of a clarinet playing a klezmer interlude.

• Prayer from “Hansel und Gretel” - by the composer Engelbert Humperdinck in his opera. Lost in the forest, the two children sing their evening prayer.

• Sleigh Ride - by Leroy Anderson, captures the joy and romance of a horse-drawn sleigh ride. with percussion by our own rock star, Albert Bouchard, founder of Blue Öyster Cult.

• O Holy Night - by Adolphe Adam..  The carol’s majestic, wide-ranging melody, with its celebrated high note, will be sung by soprano Sofia Gotch and a flute soloist, along with the entire choir.  It was the first Christmas song ever played live over the radio.

There will also be two sets of selections sung by Sofia Gotch, Lyric Coloratura Soprano

Italian-American soprano, Sofia Gotch Caruana, has been praised for the “brightness and clarity” of her sound and her “command of style and diction.” An engaging performer, Sofia’s range spans the comedic and ethereal roles, such as Titania, to the emotional intensity and humanity of title roles like Juliette and Gilda.

Sofia is a 2026 Adler Fellow with the San Francisco Opera.