The 80 plus members of Capital Singers of Trenton will perform a concert accompanied by a 19-piece orchestra to conclude the chorus’s ninth season on Sunday, May 17, at Sacred Heart Church in Trenton. The concert will highlight and contrast two settings of the traditional Te Deum, one composed by Franz Joseph Haydn circa 1799 for the Empress Marie Therese, the wife of Franz I of Austria, and one composed by Mark Hayes in 2004 for Wayland Baptist University. The hymn Holy God, We Praise Thy Name is a paraphrase of the Te Deum.
The Capital Singers, conducted by Richard Loatman, will complement the larger works with additional pieces by Haydn, Hayes, Franz Beibl, and Stephen Paulus. The chamber orchestra, featuring harpist Elaine Christy, has been assembled uniquely for this performance. Its members have played with many respected orchestras throughout the region including the Sinfonietta Nova, the New Jersey Capital Philharmonic, the Warminster Symphony, the Riverside Symphonia, the New York Pops, the Orchestra Society of Philadelphia, and Princeton Symphony Orchestra.
Singers from West Windsor include Gina Mastro, Brenda Mihan, Bernie Litzinger, Joe LiPuma, Sally Stillwell, Clay Spence, MarrLa LiPuma, Norm Bergstrom, Suzanne Kazi, Philomena Fischer, and Ernie Rich.
Bernie Litzinger of West Windsor has been a member of the choir for one and one half years. A second tenor, he learned about the choir from member Gina Mastro. He has been singing since elementary school and is also involved with St. David the King Adult Choir.
He works in New York City in the financial services industry for MacKay Shields, a subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Company. “The music is truly challenging, and yet the choir is up to the challenge,” says Litzinger.
Norman Bergstrom of West Windsor sings bass in the choir. He was invited to join the choir by Loatman and has been a member for several years.
“I have sung all my life in college glee club, church choirs, and community choirs,” he says. A participant in many group lessons, he has only taken one formal voice lesson.
Bergstrom has played trumpet in the Blawenburg Band for more than 50 years and has been a choir member at the First Presbyterian Church of Dutch Neck since he was 16 years old. He has also been a volunteer driver at the West Windsor Senior Center for many years.
“I enjoy the excellence of the conductor,” says Bergstrom. “The music selections he makes are extremely good, and the choir members are enthusiastic and talented singers.”
Bergstrom’s wife, Philomena Fischer, sings first soprano. “My husband introduced me to the choir four years ago,” she says. “Since then I have been enjoying singing as a member.”
She has sung in college choir, church choir, and the Princeton Community Choir, and sang with the choir at St. David the King for many years. A participant in many group vocal lessons, she took voice lessons from a graduate student at Westminster Choir College.
“I have enjoyed the diverse music selections made by the conductor,” she says. “The conductor is excellent in guiding us how to sing with humor and wit. The choir members are talented and enthusiastic and the sound of the choir is just gorgeous. I sing as if I am praying.”
Ernie Rich of West Windsor sings second tenor in the choir. Although he began singing in St. David the King church choir 25 years ago, this is his first year with Capital Singers.
He was introduced to the choir by Cantor Gina Mastro at St. David. “She asked me if I was interested,” he says. “I was and still am.” Rich composes classical music for fun and is involved in the creative writing group at the Senior Center of West Windsor.
“I enjoy the music knowledge of Mr. Loatman, his sense of humor, and I am learning a great amount about choir singing from him,” says Rich. “All my life I have loved music, mostly classical, and have taken cello lessons with modest success. I love the choices Mr. Loatman has made for this upcoming concert.”
MarrLa and Joe LiPuma, residents of West Windsor for 19 years, joined the choir two years ago after Mastro invited them to sing. Both board of director members of Capital Singers, she is an alto I and he is a tenor II.
“Our chorus is unique in that we rehearse only every other Sunday so we have time to travel frequently to visit our daughters in college and other family and friends,” says MarrLa. “We also enjoy attending performances and lectures at Westminster Choir College, Rider University, Princeton University, as well as McCarter and Kelsey theaters.”
At St. David the King, they both sing with the choir. Joe is a member of the Knights of Columbus and MarrLa is a member of the Columbiettes.
MarrLa, who began singing in her high school choir, has sung in various church choirs since then. She is retired from Bristol-Myers Squibb, where she worked as an accountant in the payroll department.
“We enjoy singing with the chorus because they are a special group of people, who all volunteer their time because they love singing together,” says MarrLa.
Joe is a retired psychologist. “Richard Loatman selects the most beautiful, interesting, and inspiring music, season after season,” says Joe. “His passion for choral singing is contagious.”
Gina Mastro of West Windsor, who has been singing soprano in the choir for four years, is the cantor at St. David the King. She sang all of her life and studied vocal music in college. “I studied voice with Richard Loatman for 10 years and have sung in all of his ensembles,” says Mastro, who is also involved in the Columbiettes at St. David the King.
“I love the contrast between the Haydn and the Hayes Te Deums,” says Mastro. “One is classical and one is contemporary, and they are both beautifully written.”
Sally Stillwell of West Windsor sang in school and at Rutgers University. She also sings with the Dutch Neck Presbyterian Senior Choir.
“I have been singing on and off with Richard Loatman for many years,” she says. “It is such a pleasure to sing with this large group of dedicated singers, many of whom are very talented.”
Brenda Mihan of West Windsor sings tenor in the choir for close to eight years. She has been singing seriously since high school.
“I have known the director of the choir for more than 40 years,” she says. Mihan volunteers at her church, University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro, West Windsor Senior Center, and in local politics.
“It’s great to sing with such a large and talented group,” says Mihan.
Clay Spence of West Windsor has been singing tenor II in the choir for seven years. Singing seriously since his senior year in college, he has been taking vocal lessons for more than a year.
He works at SRI International on Washington Road, as a computer scientist in the vision technology group. Spence is involved in the community through Plainsboro Presbyterian Church, where he sings in the choir, and PALE ALES (the Princeton And Local Environs Ale and Lager Enthusiast Society).
Spence first heard about the choir through the accompanist at Plainsboro Presbyterian, who invited him to sing with the group.
“Rehearsals and concerts are a deeply social activity, in a way that is quite different from most socializing,” says Spence. “It’s a group of people working together to create something that moves others, and ourselves, in ways we couldn’t have done individually.”
Suzanne Kazi of West Windsor sings alto with the choir. One of the original members, she has been singing with them for 10 years.
Singing in choirs since elementary school, Kazi has studied with Richard Loatman for 15 years. She previously sang with Voices Chorale and the Lawrence Chorale. In college she sang with the Chorale at the Hartt School of Music and has been a choir member and cantor in churches throughout the Diocese of Trenton. At St. Paul’s Church she is in the choir and a cantor.
A teacher of kindergarten at Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart, she was active in PTA organizations in WW-P when her children were in school.
“I love working with other people to create a beautiful sound that can inspire the singers and the audience,” says Kazi. “I particularly enjoy Richard’s sense of humor and his ability to draw out the best sound from the singers.”
Capital Singers of Trenton, Sacred Heart Church, 343 South Broad Street, Trenton. Sunday, May 17, 4 p.m. The singers, joined by Trenton Festival Chamber Orchestra, perform Te Deum versions by Franz Joseph Haydn and Mark Hayes; and works by Biebl and Paulus. Richard M. Loatman conducts. $20. www.capitalsingers.org.
