Dear friends,

Tomorrow we will begin our first May together. As beautiful a month as May tends to be, it can sometimes be a choir leader's nightmare! Wednesday evenings begin to be crowded with so many extra end-of-the-season activities, spring fever vacations, school projects to complete, gardening adventures, and gorgeous nights that tempt us to sit on the front porch swing...and sometimes we choir leaders wonder, "Where have all the singers gone...?"

I have never known a more devoted, committed choir than this beautiful group I've come to know this year at First-Plymouth. We have made such progress this year because we have consistently spent quality time together. As the May temptations surface, remember the motto: "I can't. I have rehearsal." Even though we've passed Easter and our Brahms, we still have some beautiful music to learn and some amazing worship to sing. Even though we approach 'ordinary time' in the church year, there are still extraordinary opportunities for us to experience. Even though the season is changing, God still deserves our unending song of prayers and praises.

Let's enjoy every single moment we have left in this first season together. Let's continue to learn and grow. Let's continue to support one another in offering our first fruits to the God who makes everything possible. Let's start by gathering at 9:45 a.m. on Sunday to prepare "Hark I hear the harps eternal" and "Christ, Mighty Savior" for worship, followed closely by our assembling at 6:30 p.m. to sing humbly among the congregation as part of the peaceful, prayerful Taize worship.

The First-Plymouth Choir is an incredible ministry-- to those of us who sing and to those who hear. May we continue to be grateful for the opportunities we have to give and to serve, even as we receive.

Grace and peace,
TT

Dear Abendmusik Chorus,

Below is a review from your performance yesterday. The reviewer asks, "Were they really angels?" If angels bring to earth messages from above, I am confident about how I would answer this question. Yesterday, you were really angels. Thank you for devoting yourselves, humbling yourselves, and sharing yourselves so fully in our experiences together this season. We are just beginning to journey together, and yet we already have glimpses of where God wants to lead us and how God wants to sing through us. May God continue to guide us, and may we continue to share in the hope that pain and sighing will flee and that comfort and joy everlasting will come to us all!

Thank you for all you are and all you do.
TT

Review: Abendmusik brings ‘Requiem’ to life

By John Cutler / For the Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Sunday, April 18, 2010 11:45 pm | No Comments Posted

Heroic music came to life Sunday as the Abendmusik series presented Johannes Brahms' revered "A German Requiem" at First-Plymouth Church.

The Abendmusik Chorus and Orchestra collaborated with the University Singers, baritone William Shomos and soprano Jeni Houser, led by Abendmusik Artistic Director Tom Trenney.

"Requiem" is an extremely taxing work for choral forces, whose goal it is to sing strong and hold the musical line in place across wide dynamic ranges for two solid hours. And this goal the singers accomplished admirably well. Diction, so hard to achieve in the First-Plymouth acoustics, was so clear every word could be understood.

Choir men were stalwart with entrances, especially at those second-movement lines from Isaiah, "The redeemed of the Lord shall return with singing unto Zion."

Ensemble women produced glorious lines with little stridency in the highest registers. Were they really angels?

Shomos was the perfect selection to sing the baritone solos. His vocal instrument is powerful enough to soar over fortissimo forces with excellent vocal quality.

And Houser, starlet from several University of Nebraska-Lincoln opera performances, became a bright spot in "Requiem's" dark places. She evoked a warm, clear voice, especially for those reassuring lines in part five, "You now are sorrowful; grieve not."

Orchestra players were on their game, always on pitch and always restrained, coaxing their instruments to continually blend with choir and soloists.

For the 550 in attendance, it was a moving, promising afternoon. The demeanor of the entire ensemble glowed with a quiet confidence.

It's Trenney's first year at Abendmusik, and if the standing, clapping patrons at the work's conclusion were any indication, this young leader has grasped his forces well and led them handsomely forward.