The concert was meaningful. It did not just celebrate the historic achievements of the Civil Rights Movement, but made it clear that our society has still much need for improvement. We talked, for example, about the recent attacks on the synagogue Beth-El in Rutherford, NJ and praised the efforts of Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli, who advised not only the synagogues of Bergen County to be on alert, but all religious institutions.

Raíces Cultural Center supported the efforts of the Rainbow Choir with several songs in Spanish language and performed by their own ensemble. This opened our ears to the international relevance of Civil Rights issues.

It was a great concert! Thank you, Ben, for your fine efforts in building a new community choir! And thanks to all the children whose enthusiasm was apparent!

The music featured the cultures of Asia, Europe, North America, South America, and Africa. In our quest for world music, the Rainbow Choir has gone a long way to discover the essence of songs from all over the globe. Kudos to these children who are so dedicated to their music. They will perform again at the Interfaith Earth Day event on April 22.

Finally, we learned one very important thing at the event: that in order for humankind to continue its struggle for peace among nations, we have to educate our heart’s mind, and better embody the virtues of honesty, loving kindness, and justice.

Under the direction of Dr. Sheng-Hwa Yu, the chorus sang beautifully and with such joy that the audience clearly caught the spirit, appreciating both the skill of the singers and their emotion. We at First Reformed Church have been privileged to know the YueYue group for a long time and on this occasion were privileged to receive its gift of music. All of the donations made by audience members are designated for the church’s Historic Preservation Fund and will be used to help complete the replacement of the slate roof.

Our thanks go to every member of the chorus, to Dr. Sheng-Hwa Yu, and to Artistic Director Maestro Sharon Yuan. Also, one of our members, Julius Fekete, used the occasion to sell his spectacular woodcarvings and to donate profits to the Preservation Fund as well. The soon-to-be-completed roof of the sanctuary certainly covered and united a throng of talented and generous-spirited people on this hopeful Advent night.

This is a great time to think about whether your want to join the Bell Choir, we can certainly use a few more players to get us back to playing 3 octaves, which also produces a nice brighter sound. Let me know if you want to join the choir so I can tell you all about it!

The highlight of the event was undoubtedly the music performed by Mrs. Bronstein Barton. From the program we were prepared for Bach, Liszt and Debussy. But other than that, the pieces were particularly difficult ones to play, I had not expected the incredible performance we had. Without a sheet of music in front of her, Mrs. Bronstein Barton turned the piano into a jewel box from which she extracted one treasure
after another.

I explained to the audience that this had reminded me of the cold desert fauna of Mrs. Bronstein Barton’s native Chile when the barren rocks are covered with an incredible plethora of precious flowers. The children, many with roots in South America, related immediately. One boy asked whether I knew the name of these flowers, but I had only seen them on the Internet and could not remember the name. Yet, this did not seem to matter much. The youngsters had clearly understood the preciousness of the music. And so they had one question after another for Mrs. Bronstein Barton. And I realized: We could not have done much better than that!

performing Mozart, Rutter, Praetorius, Holst, Shaw
Saturday, December 10th at 7:00pm
Suggested Donations: $20 general, $16 seniors, $12 students/children

The voices of our children create a rainbow of peace and understanding. How can a child grow in community with other children? There is no greater gift than the gift of song. Help us harness that gift so the children of New Brunswick can sing together once again: in a vast community of children from different faiths, cultures, and ethnicities.

We are looking for singers in grades 3-6 to join the Rainbow Children’s Choir and sing the music of our diverse heritages. Contact Benjamin T. Berman at First Reformed Church, 732-545-1005 or at benjamin.t.berman@gmail.com for more information.

Shea Velloso, who has been so gracious to offer us this marvelous program, is a graduate of Mason Gross School of the Arts where he earned his bachelor’s degree in organ performance. Shea’s teachers have included Antonius Bittmann, Mark Trautman and Paul Hoffman. He has pursued post graduation organ studies with critically acclaimed organists Gordon Turk and Paul-Martin Maki. In 2004, Mr. Velloso was the recipient of The Elizabeth W. Durham Award for Excellence in Performance and Scholarship. He has performed recitals throughout New Jersey and New York City and has appeared in concert on the NPR show Pipedreams and on Metuchen Television.

As Director of Music at United Methodist Church at Milltown, he is the organist, director of the church’s three choirs and is responsible for planning the church’s concert series. He previously served as Director of Music at the Presbyterian Church of Jamesburg. In addition to his job at the Methodist Church, Mr. Velloso serves as the High Holy Day organist at Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple and accompanist for Philomusica Choir. During the summer months, Shea enjoys working as an accompanist and rehearsal leader for the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association.

While this concert, like the others to follow in the series, is free, we are asking for donations of $20 for general audience members, $16 for senior citizens, and $12 for students to benefit the preservation of the historic buildings of the First Reformed Church. The concert will be in the historic sanctuary of First Reformed Church, at the corner of Neilson and Bayard Streets and the building is handicapped accessible.

Call 732-545-1005 for additional information. First Reformed Church, the “town clock church of New Brunswick”, is raising money to support the Historical Preservation fund to renovate its historic buildings. We hope you can join us to continue being a part of our series of concerts. Please bring a
friend, and help us spread the word.

On July 16th, we were privileged to use the Crossroads Theater for a fund-raising concert we called A Spiritual Crossroads. The theater’s own name and philosophy inspired us to think about our congregation’s experience over the years of engaging with people from many origins and faith traditions.

Three of those origins and traditions were represented by the gifts of music at the concert. Raíces Cultural Center Ensemble played music from Afro-Cuban rumba spiritual masses and batá chanting and drumming from the Orishas or forces of nature. Jeanel LeBlanc sang hymns and spirituals originating in or important to the African American experience. And Wind of Anatolia played Turkish folk music in the Anatolian tradition. By evening’s end, audience members were dancing first in the aisles and then, at Pastor Susan’s invitation, on stage with Wind of Anatolia.

We truly experienced a time at a spiritual crossroads. And the historic preservation fund is $2,000 larger, thanks to ticket sales, to ads purchased for the program, and to donations beyond the ticket price.

Many thank-yous to many folks have been expressed, but we thank Ben Berman again for his leadership in planning and organizing the event, and Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission who, through the auspices of Johnson & Johnson, offered us the space and technical staff.

It does not take much to be able to play, as long as you can count and follow two notes (if needed, colored for your part) you can try it. We welcome young and old up in the balcony to come and join us on Sunday mornings

The occasion happened during Sunday worship announcements on June 26th – it was an appreciation for Ben Berman, our Choir Director & Organist and Erie Beemsterboer, our volunteer Bell Choir Director.

Janet and Margaret presented flowers and a card signed by the choir and bell choir. We wanted to thank them so much for their contribution to the musical life and ministry of the church.

Before now, we had done something during choir rehearsal, but for the past two years we have made the presentation before the church. Since we all enjoy the beautiful music during worship, all of us want to express our gratefulness for their gifts and devotion.

But then you look at the details. Vivaldi was a priest and a music director for children. The Gloria was specifically composed for girls and only later arrangements added the men’s voices. Consequently, it was not difficult for our two Sunday School classes to make contributions to Children’s Day based on Vivaldi.

The older class researched his life online. Computer work comes natural to kids; all one has to do is to provide direction: “See what you can find out about a man called Vivaldi”. The class found out that he started a pauper and ended as such. They learned about his emergency baptism during an earthquake, and they took note of his attempts of settling in Vienna after his music had grown out of fashion in Venice where he was born. Following this research, we turned the information into three fun little skits that would interrupt our performance and provide much needed context.

The younger class was intrigued by Vivaldi’s nickname as the “Red Priest”. Apparently his hair color had earned him that name. So the class set out to draw two portraits of the Red Priest. Put on an easel during worship, they gave a sense of Vivaldi’s physical presence as we listened to his music.

But do you know what I liked the most? The incredible beauty of the Gloria; its non-quivering stateliness that persevered so easily despite the interruptions of our fresh skits! We are a small urban congregation, constantly suffering from shortages of all kinds: attendance, volunteers, money, air-conditioned space, etc.

Who would have thought that a place like ours can have a five-piece orchestra, including an oboe and a harpsichord? So we thank especially the musicians who joined us for the day for their selfless service: Julia Fendler (oboe), Beth Maliszewski (viola and violin), Aimee McPeak (cello) and Samantha Tomblin (violin). A great thank you goes also to Ben Berman, not just for conducting and playing the harpsichord, but for organizing this wonderful occasion. And our choir was superb!

I have one closing remark: If it is relatively unlikely that a small inner-city church can organize a rich musical worship like this, think how this corresponds to Vivaldi’s circumstance! It is a well-known euphemism that Vivaldi worked for a Venetian “orphanage”. In reality, it was a place for the “illegitimate” daughters of anonymous Venetian noblemen. In their nobility, these men endowed the institution to such degree that it was able to afford someone like Vivaldi. In summary, this means that his most sacred music was built on one of the great dislocations of the culture of his day. But isn’t that what true Christianity so often does?

Ben Berman

Our last choir rehearsal in June was such a fun experience for all of us. We were joined by four musicians who comprised a chamber orchestra for our Vivaldi performance. Beth Maliszewski, Samantha Tomblin, Julia Fendler, and Aimee McPeak are such fine musicians, and it was a lot of fun juggling instruments, testing tempos, and checking the balance with the choir.

In some ways, rehearsals are more fulfilling and wonderful than performances. With the exception of occasional especial performances, which are rare for anyone, performing is really just a glimpse into the artist’s world. The choir had been working on the Gloria by Antonio Vivaldi since way back in January, and yet the final presentation was only 35 minutes long. Was it worth it? Why put in so much time only for a brief showing? It is my firm belief that rehearsals are where true magic happens: the choir grows together and learns together. We overcome obstacles and challenge our fears more in a rehearsal than ever in a performance. This results in harmony that is more than just musical harmony.

The choir has grown immensely since September, due to their hard work, their perseverance, and by trusting each other. Sure, this makes performing easier, and performing more complicated things more manageable. If it were all just for the performance, then the rehearsals would have no meaning at all. So I challenge you to consider this over the summer: how has preparation changed you in ways that presentation cannot? What is so powerful about a group of people stumbling through a new piece of music and solving problems together? Would I be too bold to say that the end does not always justify the means?

Benefit Concert: A Spiritual Crossroads

Tickets

Child ticket $6.00General ticket $13.50Premium ticket $21.00

While the concert this past Palm Sunday here at the church did not lead the audience into a state of hysteria, it surely created pure admiration for the composer, the pianists and the soloist. Dr. Sohee Lee and Mr. Hong Kiew Kim gave an incredible performance. At times, it almost seemed, as if their incredible talent brought our Steinway to its limits. This was beautifully supplemented by the full voice of mezzo-soprano Barbara Mergelsberg.

In addition to the musical quality, the special part of a concert like this is the opportunity to learn about the historical and political background of the music performed. We mentioned that night the cosmopolitan relationships Liszt entertained with the great musicians and composers of his time: Berlioz, Saint Saëns, Grieg, Wagner, Chopin, Brahms and so forth. We also talked about the Revolution of 1848 and the friendship that Liszt had with authors like Heine and Victor Hugo.

The beneficiary of the concert was, of course, our church family who received the proceeds as yet another contribution to its ambitious preservation project. As most of us know, the project did not come a moment too late, and it is high time for the church roof to be replaced. And so we thank Dr. Sohee Lee, Mr. Hong Kiew Kim, and Ms. Barbara Mergelsberg for their wonderful generosity in offering this benefit concert for us. We also thank Ben Berman, our organist and choir director, for organizing this incredible little series of preservation concerts.

The program consists of songs by Schumann, Massenet, Bellini and Donizetti, operatic scenes from La fille durégiment, Die Fledermaus, and The Magic Flute, and selections from the musicals South Pacific, Man of La Mancha, and Kismet. You will be delighted with the variety of music we intend to present, and I promise that you will leave the church that evening with warm feelings of love, springtime, and new life.

Although this concert is free, we are asking for donations of $20 for general audience members, $16 for senior citizens, and $12 for students. This is to benefit the preservation of the Historic Buildings of the First Reformed Church.

The concert will be in the historic sanctuary of First Reformed Church, at the corner of Neilson and Bayard Streets. Enter at 9 Bayard Street. The building is handicapped accessible. Please bring a friend, and help spread the word. For additional information call 732-545-1005.