Enterprise correspondent

It was a bit like uttering those classic words, ÒLetÕs put on a show.Ó

The word went out about a very special concert: The Davis Chorale, under the baton of UC Davis Symphony Orchestra conductor emeritus D. Kern Holoman, would perform BachÕs marvelous work, The Mass in B minor, in Jackson Hall.

The concert would be a swan song for Rachel Kessler, longtime artistic director/conductor of the Davis Chorale, who is retiring and handing her baton to the choraleÕs assistant director, Alison Skinner.

To top it off, the concert would be dedicated to the memory of revered Davis High School music teacher Richard Brunelle, who died almost exactly a year ago.

But then the real work began Ñ amassing the community-based Davis Chorale Bach Chorus; making sure there was a rehearsal pianist at all the rehearsals; finding soloists, a guest conductor and orchestra members. What normally would be a very difficult job was made even more challenging by having Kessler permanently shift roles from director to singer.

The fruits of everyoneÕs labors for the past four months will be presented at the concert at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at UCD.

The whole process of putting the concert together began in early February. Kessler, with the help of husband Don, began to recruit singers to add to the chorale to tackle the many multi-part choruses that Bach wrote and included in his mass, a work that is large in scope and takes approximately two hours to perform in its entirety.

Along with the multiple e-mails, phone calls and personal contacting of potential chorus members, the Kesslers went about the task of assembling the rest of the program. They needed to make sure Holoman was available to conduct several rehearsals and the concert as well as find an orchestra. In addition, they had to make sure the choraleÕs keyboardist, Ellen Deffner, was available to take on the role of rehearsal pianist. Then they had to line up soloists, contact publicity people and secure the hall.

ÒI am not getting much sleep at night,Ó Rachel Kessler chuckled.

Bay Area singers Elspeth Franks, soprano; Sonia Gariaeff, mezzo-soprano; Brian Thorsett, tenor; and Jeff Fields, baritone; were contacted with the help of the KesslerÕs daughter, Carol Ann, who will join them as soloists.

Two people were contacted to take care of publicity Ñ UC Davis events manager Phil Daley and Davis Chorale publicist Melissa Kelly.

ÒI am helping out the chorale by taking care of a lot of the behind-the-scenes work,Ó Daley said. ÒWe are wanting this to be truly a community effort because, this is, after all, the community chorus of Davis.Ó

The numerous three-hour choral rehearsals began in late February. Chorus members arrived for rehearsals with score in hand to begin their vocal Òpush-ups,Ó if you will, to build up the stamina to master BachÕs choruses, which test the range and precision of each singer. The ultimate goal was in their minds: the Òputting-on-the-showÓ moment in June.

This performance of the mass for Kessler Ñ as well as several current Davis Chorale members who sang during the choraleÕs first year in 1978 Ñ is of particular significance, because BachÕs B minor Mass was the first work the chorale performed in public during two 1979 concerts. These performances were conducted by Brunelle, who is often referred to as the ÒThe Music Man of Davis.Ó

He taught music at Davis High for many years and founded the schoolÕs Madrigal Choir along with other ensembles and music programs. Many of the performers in this yearÕs concert Ñ both in the chorus and the orchestra Ñ knew Brunelle personally. His widow Edelgard, a soloist in a 1979 performance, will sing in the chorus.

The idea to form the Davis Chorale came after both the Kesslers and Brunelles met about 40 years ago.

ÒIt had been 13 years since I was with the professional chorales (Robert Shaw and Roger Wagner Chorales),Ó Kessler said, Òand I missed it terribly. I said to Dick, ÔIf I hand-picked a choir, would you do the B minor Mass?Õ He said Ôyes.Õ So I started going through my list of contacts and chose a choir that he approved of and we started rehearsing at the Newman Center here in Davis.Ó

In the beginning, Kessler sang in the chorale. She rehearsed the group for its concerts and then brought in a guest conductor for the last two rehearsals and the performances. The hired conductors for past Davis Chorale concerts have included well-known names like Roger Wagner, John Rutter, Mel Olson, Andrew Carter and Jean Berger.

ÒMel Olson (former minister of music at Fremont Presbyterian Church in Sacramento) finally told me I should start doing the conducting and let others do the singing. That hurt a bit; it wasnÕt that my voice was getting older but it was harder to bring in the guest conductors,Ó Kessler said. ÒI do love to conduct, but it was hard to let go of the singing in a group.Ó

Today, after 32 years, the chorale remains the principal community choir in Davis and in this performance of the B minor Mass, Kessler will return to the singing she enjoys.

As for transferring the directing job to someone new, Kessler has been entertaining the notion of letting go for a while. ÒI had been looking for somebody for some time to take over the chorale because they needed to have somebody who is going to be ongoing,Ó she said. ÒI didnÕt know how long I was going to be able to do it.Ó

After some time, the opportunity presented itself while Kessler was chatting with a friend at the grocery store about looking for a new director. The friend said, ÔWell you know, Alison Skinner is back in town.Õ Ó

Skinner had recently returned to Davis due to an illness in her family. She is a former student of KesslerÕs and sang in the public school choirs, including the Madrigals.

ÒI called Alison right away and said, ÔWould you like to come and be a part of the chorale and possibly become assistant conductor?Õ Ó Kessler said. ÒSee how you like it, and maybe you can take over for me.

ÒShe did come and she rather liked it. I had her conduct one of the pieces for the Vespers (Davis Chorale Sunday Vespers services) and the minute she started to conduct, I said, ÔThatÕs it!Õ She was absolutely wonderful.

ÒEverybody loved her; we werenÕt going to lose one person by having Alison there.Ó

Skinner was inspired to pursue conducting by an aunt who was a college choral conductor. She is a seasoned director in her own right with a masterÕs degree in choral conducting from Temple University.

While living in Philadelphia, Skinner taught high school, was artistic director of The Rainbow Chorale of Delaware and was the assistant conductor of Philadelphia Choral Arts Society. She runs a private voice studio and is the music director at Elevation of the Holy Cross Church in Sacramento.

Skinner recalled, ÒIÕd left behind a wonderful community choir and a high school job and all kinds of things,Ó she said, Òso I was sort of missing that piece of my life.Ó

The chorale was a good fit for Skinner.

ÒI had a community choir back east and loved it,Ó she explained. ÒIt was my favorite thing that I did and so I was hoping to sort of Ôfigure outÕ a way to do something here. This É itÕs sort of been perfect, it just dropped in my lap.Ó

Skinner is excited about doing BachÕs mass. ÒFor me itÕs just an honor to sing and work with the B minor Mass. ItÕs on the list of things I wanted to do before I die. Certainly not something I thought I would ever do in my young conducting career,Ó she said.

ÒThatÕs been really fun to see it come together. ItÕs really special. Most community groups canÕt do it; the choruses are big, itÕs complicated and it is just one chorus after another. I am thrilled to be working on it.Ó

As for SkinnerÕs future plans for the chorale, ÒIÕll just be excited to evaluate where we are in the fall and to see who is there,Ó she said. ÒI am hoping I can keep a lot of the chorale and build on it. My main goal is to continue the tradition that Rachel started, which is so great, doing great repertoire and being a local community ensemble, which is hard to do is such a small town.Ó

The Davis Chorale certainly has its roots in this community and perhaps KesslerÕs long list of friends and acquaintances has contributed to her ability to keep a local community ensemble going.

Norma Meyer, an original member of the chorale, said, ÒI started in the chorale when it began. I remember we worked hard on the first performance of the B minor Mass. I have always thought that Rachel was a wonderful director. She is so sensitive to the style of music that we are doing and I have always admired her ability.Ó

Bach chorus member Elizabeth Bradford, who has also been with the chorale off and on since it began, has known Kessler since they met while singing in the Davis Community Church Choir just after the Kesslers moved to town.

ÒOh, her wonderful voice,Ó Bradford said. ÒWe were totally charmed. She became a really good friend.Ó

Bradford comes from a long line of singers and has passed along that musical talent to two more generations of her family, daughter Margaret Aumann and 14-year-old granddaughter Emily, who will join her in this yearÕs Davis Chorale Bach Chorus.

BradfordÕs daughter and granddaughter bring a great deal of choral experience to the table. Margaret has sung in many choirs, including the Davis High Madrigals and the Toronto Symphony Chorus, and Emily currently sings in the Holmes Junior High Choir. She will be a part of Davis HighÕs Advanced Treble Choir in the fall.

Bradford said it will be special to perform with her family members.

All involved believe the program will be a fond and appropriate farewell to Kessler, and her contributions as a founder and artistic director of the Davis Chorale, as well as a fitting way to honor BrunelleÕs memory.

ÒI asked the people that I thought would really enjoy being a part of the B minor,Ó Kessler said thoughtfully. ÒItÕs so rare that a nonprofessional group gets an opportunity to sing a work like this. ItÕs extremely challenging, but once you do it, oh my goodness, you will never forget it.Ó

Details

What: The Davis Chorale performs BachÕs B minor Mass, conducted by D. Kern Holoman with chorale direction by Rachel Kessler

When: 4 p.m. Sunday

Where: Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts

Tickets: $35/$25/$15 general; $17.50/$12.50/$7.50 students and children, available at http://www.mondaviarts.org or (530) 754-ARTS

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