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[AUDIO LOGO] [CHORAL MUSIC]
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
SPEAKER 1: Good evening, everyone. And welcome to the 2024 Commencement Concert of the Cornell University Chorus and Glee Club. Give it up, folks.
AUDIENCE: [CHEERING]
SPEAKER 1: I will say a little bit more about the amazing, wonderful, passionate senior class that we have later on tonight. But for now, we're just so grateful that you made the trip here to this beautiful hill on this beautiful weekend to celebrate these incredible people. The people that you see on stage are from all kinds of different majors and all kinds of different backgrounds. To give you a flavor, let's see. Raise your hand if you are a music major. Just two. Raise your hand if you are majoring in the social sciences.
Raise your hand if you're majoring in the humanities. What about engineering? Physical sciences? And life sciences? So as you can see, these students come from a wide variety of backgrounds. And we're all celebrating a successful four years, and sometimes more for those of them graduating with PhDs, and master's, and whatnot here at Cornell on this beautiful campus. So thanks again for coming out.
[PLAYING NOTE]
[ANDREA RAMSEY, "REQUIESCAT"]
Tread lightly
She is near under the snow
Under the snow
Speak gently
Speak gently
She can hear the daisies grow
All her bright hair tarnished with rust
She that was so young and fair fallen to dust
Lily-like, white as snow
She hardly knew
She was a woman
So swiftly she grew
Tread lightly
She is near under the snow
Under the snow
Speak gently
Speak gently
She can hear the daisies grow
Coffin-board and heavy stone
Lie on her breast
I vex my heart alone
She is at rest
She is at rest
She is at rest
Peace, she cannot hear lyre or sonnet
Cannot hear lyre or sonnet
All my life is buried here
All my life is buried here
All my life is buried here
All my life is buried here
Heap earth upon it
[HUMMING]
SPEAKER 1: And now, folks, please give a warm round of applause for the Cornell University Hangovers.
AUDIENCE: Whoo.
SPEAKER 2: Hi, guys. Thank you so much for coming out tonight to support our wonderful seniors as they head off into their next chapter. I want to just quickly say-- well, first of all, we're the Cornell Hangovers. We are the official subset of the Cornell University Glee Club. And we are the oldest tenor bass a cappella group on Cornell's campus. Now, I want to quickly recognize our seniors. First up, we have Brett Lowry III, technically--
AUDIENCE: [CHEERING]
SPEAKER 2: I mean, we've got [INAUDIBLE]
And so we're going to solo a song called "Up The Ladder To The Roof". That's one of our classics tonight. And we hope you enjoy. Please listen to our album on Spotify. It's called "Speakeasy". Oh, and Mingdao Gavalda. And anyway, please make sure to listen to our album on Spotify. It's called "Speakeasy". We really appreciate it. And we hope you enjoy.
[THE SUPREMES, "UP THE LADDER TO THE ROOF]
A three, four.
Ba, ba, ba, ba, da, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba
Ba, ba, ba, ba, da, ba, ba
Come with me
Come with me
And we shall run across the sky
Illuminate the night, whoa
I will try and guide you
To better times and brighter days
Don't be afraid to go up the ladder to the roof
Where we can see heaven much better
Go up the ladder to the roof
Where we can be closer to heaven
Stay with me
Stay with me
Stay with me
And we can let expression ringing
With music in our singing
Whoa, memories of broken dreams
So don't you know, don't you know
I'm up and away
When we go up the ladder to the roof
Where we can see heaven much better
Go up the ladder to the roof
Where we can be, be, be, be, ooh, closer to heaven
Try to relax
I'll tell you the story of love
And happiness in it, baby
We'll combine our thoughts
And together, we'll travel through the fountain of loveliness
I will never, never, ever leave you alone
I said I want to hold you
If we let our love go
well, it's going to get much stronger, so much stronger
Don't you want to go
Don't you want to go
Don't you want to go
Don't you want to go up the ladder to the roof
Where we can see heaven much better
Go up the ladder to the roof
Where we can be closer to heaven
Oh, go up the, up the, up the
Go up the, go up the ladder to heaven.
Oh, don't you want to go, go up the ladder to heaven?
Don't you want to go, go up the ladder to heaven?
AUDIENCE: [CHEERING]
[PLAYING NOTES]
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
[MELISSA DUNPHY, "IT ISN'T A DREAM"]
It isn't a dream
It isn't a dream
It isn't a dream
It isn't a dream
It comes again and again
Again and again
It isn't a dream
It comes again and again
Again and again
You hear ivy crying on steeples
The flames haven't caught yet
And images screaming. Screaming
When they see red light on the lilies
On the stained-glass window of Saint Joseph
The girl with the black eyes holds you tight
And you run And you run And you run
The girl with the black eyes holds you tight
The girl with the black eyes
And you run, and run past the wild, wild towers
And trees in their gardens tugging at their feet
And little frightened dolls shut up in the shops
Are crying and crying because no one stops
And you run and you run--
[EACH PART SINGS DIFFERENT WORDS]
Like a penny thrown out in the street
Then the man, then the man clutches her by the hair
He always clutches her by the hair
His eyes stick out like spears
You see her pulled-back face
And her black, and her black eyes
Lit up by the glare
Then everything goes out. Ooh
Please God
Don't let me dream anymore
Of the girl with the black, black eyes.
SPEAKER 1: The piece that you just heard was Melissa Dunphy's "It Isn't a Dream" which sets this vivid text from a poem called "I Celia", or "I Celia" by Lola Ridge, who is a socialist anarchist poet living in New York's Lower East Side at the beginning of the 20th century, and writing about some of the inequities that women face, especially women in the arts as they tried to make a name for themselves. And this was years before Virginia Woolf's "A Room Of One's Own". So we've had some explorations into Lola Ridge's poetry this past year.
Flipping that same image of light and the shadows cast about us, we now turn towards "Illuminata Tenebrae", which is, lighten the darkness of my heart, which is part of a poem, rather a prayer, the prayer of Saint Francis, as seen by the composer Joan Szymko on an inscription in the Umbrian dialect of Italian. So the prayer tells us to grant us the wisdom and the discernment as we go through our lives to do the very best that we can, given the talents that we have, and the challenges that we face. Please enjoy.
[JOAN SZYMKO, "ILLUMINATA TENEBRAE"]
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
SPEAKER 1: And now, please give it up for After Eight.
CLARE WEISLOGEL: Hello, everyone. My name is Clare Weislogel. I'm the president of After Eight. Thank you so much for coming out tonight. We are very honored to be honoring our seniors this night. And we have many. We're losing seven or six. Seven.
SPEAKER 3: Six.
CLARE WEISLOGEL: Six. Our first senior is Stacie Dressel. She was actually our [INAUDIBLE] this past semester. So we'll miss her a lot. We have Julianne Klurfeld. We have Mari Clark. And Priscilla Natawidjaja. And Wynne-Williams Ceci. And [INAUDIBLE]. Thank you so much for coming. And we hope you enjoy our song.
Do, do, do.
[PARAMORE, "STILL INTO YOU"]
Do, do, do, do, ah
Can't count the years on one hand we've been together
Other one to, to make you feel
Make you feel better
Dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, dum
It's not a walk in the park to love each other
But when our fingers interlock, can't deny
Can't deny you're worth it
And after all this time
I'm still into you
I should be over all the butterflie
But I'm into you. But I'm into you
And maybe even on our worst night
I'm into you. I'm into you
Let 'em wonder how we got this far
'Cause I don't really need to wonder at all
After all this time, I'm still into you
Do, do, do, do, ah, do. Do, do, ah, do
Recount the night that I first met your mother
And on the drive back to my house
I told you that, I told you that I loved you
Dum, dum, dum, ah
Dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, ah
You felt the weight of the world fall off your shoulder
And to your favorite song, we sang along
To the start of forever
And after all this time
I'm still into you
I should be over all the butterflies
But I'm into you. I'm into you
And baby, even all the worst nights
I'm into you. I'm into you
Let 'em wonder how we got this far
I don't really need to wonder at all
Yeah, after all this time
I'm still into you. I'm into you
I'm into you.
Still, I'm into you. I'm into you
Well, some things just, some things don't make sense
And one of those things is you and I
And some things just-- some things don't make sense
And even after all this time
I'm into you.
Baby, not a day goes by
That I'm not into you
I should be over all the butterflies
But I'm into you. I'm into you.
And baby, even on our worst nights
I'm into you. I'm into you
Let 'em wonder how we got this far
'Cause I don't really need to wonder at all
After all this time, I'm still into you.
I'm still into you
I'm still into you
SPEAKER 1: So we have one more song for you before we take a quick intermission. And after the intermission, you'll hear the combined chorus and Glee Club do some of our favorites from our amazing successful northeast tour, which we did earlier this year. So if you didn't catch us in Montreal, Boston, New York, Philly, DC, and stops in between, you can hear some of that stuff after the intermission. Thanks for coming out, folks.
[CHARLES H. GABRIEL, "WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN"]
Will the circle be unbroken
By and by, Lord, by and by?
There's a better home awaiting
If we try, Lord, if we try
I was singing
I was singing with my sister, with my sister.
I was singing with my friends
And we all can, and we all can sing together, sing together
As the circle never ends.
Oh, will the circle be unbroken
By and by, Lord, by and by?
There's a better home awaiting
If we try, Lord, if we try.
I was born in the valley
When the sun decides to shine
But I'm climbing to the high land [INAUDIBLE].
Oh, will the circle, will the circle
Be unbroken, be unbroken
By and by, Lord, by and by. By and by.
There's a better, there's a better home awaiting
Home awaiting in the sky, Lord, in the sky
Oh, will the circle, will the circle, be unbroken
By and by, Lord, by and by. By and by.
There's a better, there's a better home awaiting, home awaiting
In the sky, Lord, in the sky
In the sky, Lord, in the sky
[APPLAUSE, CHEERING]
[WILLIAMETTA SPENCER, "AT THE ROUND EARTH'S IMAGINED CORNERS"]
At the round earth's imagin'd corners
Blow your trumpets, angels and arise
Arise from death, you numberless infinities
Of souls and to your scatter'd bodies go
All whom the flood did and fire shall overthrow
All whom war, dearth, or age, agues, tyrannies
Despair, law, chance hath slain
And you whose eyes shall behold God-- shall behold--
Shall behold God shall behold God and never taste death's woe
But let them sleep
Lord, let me mourn a space
For if above all these
My sins abound, abound
'tis late to ask abundance of thy grace
When we are there
Here on this lowly ground
Teach me how to repent
For that's as good
As if thou has healed my pardon
With thy blood
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
[VOCALIZING]
Doo, doo, ah, doo, doo, ah, doo, doo, ah doo, doo, ah. da, da, dee, dee, da, da, dee, dee, da, da, dee, dee, da, da, dee, dee,
[EACH PART SINGS DIFFERENT WORDS]
Doo, doo, ah, doo, doo, ah, doo, doo, ah, doo, doo, ah, da, da, dee, dee, da, da, dee, dee, da, da, dee, dee, de, dee, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo.
[EACH PART SINGS DIFFERENT WORDS]
[LAUGHING]
[EACH PART SINGS DIFFERENT WORDS]
Doo, doo. Doo, doo. Doo, doo, doo.
[LAUGHING]
Doo, doo, La, la, la. La, la, la. La, la, la. La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la. La, la, la, la, la la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la.
[LAUGHING]
[VOCALIZING TOGETHER]
[LAUGHING]
[VOCALIZING]
[LAUGHING]
[VOCALIZING]
[LAUGHING]
[VOCALIZING]
[LAUGHING]
[VOCALIZING]
[LAUGHING]
My heart.
SPEAKER 1: The next three pieces all have something in common. And that is the hymn slash text, abide with me, fast falls the eventide. This text is often used as a funeral rite, talking about the sort of the end of the day as a sort of closing or an end of a chapter. And I thought it's fitting to perform these on commencement weekend because this is the end of a chapter. But as the hymn tune goes, it does not stop there because the people that have helped us along the way, the people that have supported us, that have been there for us, remain with us as we move from one part of our lives until the next.
And so we first have Rheinberger's "Abendlied", then we have Moses Hogan's setting of the hymn tune "Abide With Me". And then we have Isaac Lovedahl's use of an Emily Dickinson poem, but setting that same hymn tune of "Abide With Me". And see if you can hear it. It's kind of hidden. So please enjoy these next three pieces, the first of which will be conducted by our new addition to the Cornell faculty in his final performance this year, Dr. Yen-Hsiang Nieh. Give it up, please.
[JOSEF RHEINBERGER, "ABENDLIED"]
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
[MOSES HOGAN, "ABIDE WITH ME"]
Abide with me
Fast falls the eventide
The darkness deepens
Lord, with me abide
When other helpers
Fail and comforts flee
Help, help all the helpless
O, abide with me
I need thy presence
Every passing hour
What but thy grace
Can foil the tempter's power?
Who like thyself
My guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine
Oh, abide with me
Oh, oh thou who changest not
Abide with me
In, in life, in death
Oh, Lord, abide with me
Amen. Amen
Amen
Amen
[ISAAC LOVDAHL, "THOUGH THE GREAT WATERS SLEEP"]
Though the great waters sleep
That they still are the deep
Though the great waters sleep
[HUMMING]
That they still are the deep
The deep
We cannot doubt
We cannot doubt
We cannot doubt
We cannot doubt
We cannot doubt
We cannot doubt
We cannot doubt
No vacillating God
No vacillating God
No vacillating God
No vacillating God
Ignited
Ignited this abode
To put it out
To put it out
[HUMMING]
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
SARAH COOK: Hello, I'm Sarah Cook. I'm the general manager of the chorus.
CHRISTOPHER HO KIM: Hi, I'm Christopher Ho Kim. And I'm the president of the Glee Club. And can we give another round of applause for our graduating class?
[APPLAUSE]
They all look so wonderful tonight. Just look at how handsome like, Brett, is. Yeah, give us a twirl, Brett. Yeah. But, yeah. We just wanted to thank you all for coming out tonight and spending some time with us this evening. We'd also like to give a special thank you to the-- everyone at the music department, the chorus, advisory council, the Glee Club advisory board, everyone here at Bailey, including Sophia, Kenny, and Bill. And we couldn't have done this all without our directors, Professor Laurentiis and Dr. Nieh. Thank you both so much. And [INAUDIBLE], yes.
CHRISTOPHER HO KIM: So if you guys are here around in the month of June, we'd love for you to all join us for our reunion concert, which is on the 8th, and for Cornelliana Night, which is when we sing a bunch of Cornell songs on the 9th.
SARAH COOK: And at this time, also, if you want to connect with us further, cuchorus.com and gleeclub.com. You can find all of our social media there and everything that we just said to you. So please reach out to us.
CHRISTOPHER HO KIM: And as always, if you would like to take a piece of the Glee Club or chorus home with you, we'll have our merchandise table in the back in the lobby.
SARAH COOK: And at this time, if there are any alums of the Glee Club or chorus, we're going to sing some Cornell songs. And we would love to have you join us. Thank you so much for coming.
SPEAKER 1: Don't you want to pretend? Come and sing.
[WILL A. DILLON, "MY OLD CORNELL"]
I am dreaming tonight of my old college days
My dear alma mater is with me always
Something is calling me back once again
Back where I want to remain
Oh, I want to go back to the old days
The good old days on the hill
Back to my Cornell
For that's where they all yell Cornell
I yell Cornell, Cornell
Far above Cayuga's waters
I hear those chiming bells
I'm longing, and yearning
And always returning
To my old Cornell
I can see the old chapel way up on the hill
I hear the chimes ringing
They're calling me still
Four years are over
Diplomas are in
When will we all meet again?
Oh, I want to go back to the old days
Those good old days on the hill
Back to my good Cornell
For that's where they all yell, Cornell
I yell Cornell, Cornell
Far above Cayuga's waters
I hear the shining bells, ding dong
I'm longing and yearning and always returning
To my old Cornell
[GEORGE M. COHAN, "GIVE MY REGARDS TO DAVY"]
Give my regards to Davy
Remember me to Tee Fee Crane
Tell all the pikers on the hill
That I'll be back again
Tell them just how I busted
Lapping up the high highball
We'll all have drinks at Theodore Zinck's
When I get back next fall
Give my regards to Davy
Remember me to Tee Fee Crane
Tell all the pikers on the hill
That I'll be back again
Tell them just how I busted
Lapping up the high highball
We'll all have drinks at Theodore Zinck's
When I get back next fall
[GEORGE FRANKLIN POND, "THE HILL]
I wake at night and think
I hear remembered chimes
And mem'ry brings in visions clear enchanted times
Beneath green elms with branches
Bowed in springtime suns
Or touching elbows
In a crowd of eager ones
Again, I'm hurrying past the tow'rs
Or with the teams
For spending precious idling hours
In golden dreams.
O, Cornell of the kindly heart
The friendly hand
My love burns clear for you
In distant land
O, fates that shape the lives of men
Vouchsafe that I
Before I die
May tread the hill again
The chimes ring softly
And are still at close of day
The sunset glorifies the hill
The lake grows gray
The sunset fades
And twilight falls and turns to night
The moon above the shadw'y walls
Grows silver bright
In dark'ning skies, the stars come out
And twinkle down on ducky hills
That lie above the twinkling town
O, Cornell of the kindly heart
The friendly hand
My love burns clear for you in distant land
O, fates that shape the lives of men
Vouchsafe that I
Before I die
May tread the hill again
O, Cornell of the kindly heart
The friendly hand
My love burns clear for you
In distant land
O fates that shape the lives of men
Vouchsafe that I
Before I die
May tread the hill again
May tread the hill again
(SINGING) I am thinking tonight
Of my old college town
I am dreaming
Of days that are flown
Of the joys and the strife
Of my old college life
Ah, those days were the best
I have known
Then here is the toast we will drink
A good rousing health to Cornell
Let your glasses clink
A good excuse, I think
Is a toast to her
We all love so well
I'm rejoicing tonight
For the victories again
Though I helped not the triumph to gain
I will shout with my might
For Carnelian and white
And her honor forever maintain
Then here is the toast
We will drink
A good, rousing health to Cornell
Let your glasses clink
A good excuse, I think
Is a toast to her
We all love so well
[FRANK ADDISON ABBOTT, "SONG OF THE CLASSES"]
Oh, I am a freshman
They put me up here
I was nursed by my mommy
But now I drink beer
I miss my old bottle
It's sad for to tell
But soon, I'll be busting it
Out of Cornell
Oh, it's one, two, and three, four
We all fall in line
To the tune of our profs
We must always keep time
And it's work like a jerk
Till your eyes ache like hell
In this grand institution
This school of Cornell
Ooo.
Oh, I am a sophomore
With charms, wit, and looks
The things I can teach you
You won't learn in books
I joined a sorority
The parties are lit
But I think my grades
Are going to--
Oh, it's one, two, and three four
We all fall in line
To the tune of our profs
We must always keep time
And it's work like a jerk
Til your eyes ache like hell
In this great institution
This school of Cornell
Ooo.
Oh, I am a junior
I'm taking my ease
I go to my classes
Whenever I please
I frequent the bars
Bartenders as well
I ain't been a-wasting
My time at Cornell
Oh, it's one, two, and three, four
We all fall in line
To tune of our profs
We must always keep time
And it's work like a jerk
Til your eyes ache like hell
In this grand institution
This school of Cornell
Seniors. Seniors
We are not worthy, seniors.
Oh, I am the senior
Tormented with doubt
My time at Cornell
Has almost run out
The world's situation
Has me quite annoyed
You see, I'm summa cum laude
I'm magna cum laude
I'm almost cum laude
But still unemployed
Oh, it's one, two, and three four
We all fall in line
To the tune of our profs
We must always keep time
And it's work like a jerk
Til your eyes ache like hell
In this grand institution
This school of Cornell
[RICHARD HENRY LEE, "STRIKE UP A SONG TO CORNELL"]
Strike up a song to Cornell
And let the swelling chorus
Rise before us
Strike up a song to Cornell
And set the campus ringing
With our singing
Fill the glasses with a song
And drink the magic music spell
We will sound the joy of life intense
In a rousing toast to Cornell
Strike up a song to Cornell
And let the swelling chorus
Rise before us.
Strike up a song to Cornell
And set the campus
Ringing with our singing
Fill the glasses with a song
And drink the magic music spell
We will sound the joy of life intense
In a rousing toast to Cornell
Strike up a song to Cornell
And let the--
Strike up a song to Cornell
Strike up a song to Cornell
SPEAKER 1: So as you just heard, there are freshmen, then there are sophomores, and then there's juniors, and then those seniors who hopefully have found something to do after they graduate. But we don't want to think that far ahead. Because in our minds, tomorrow hasn't come yet. And it will never come. And they will be with us forever because we love them so dearly.
So I would like to recognize these seniors. When I-- when we go on tour, I talk about that moment as the sun's setting, which you probably saw as you came to this concert, and the bells begin to play, and how generations of Cornellians have heard the chimes play the songs that you just heard day after day as a little pause in their days, in their studies, in their rigor of what we do here at Cornell.
So here are the veterans and the proud, the proud graduates of our wonderful program here. Majoring in animal science, we have Isabella Cervero. Please step forward. Graduating with a major in industrial labor relations, we have Priscilla Natawidjaja. Graduating with a major in biology and society, Danielle Serrao. With a major in classics and a minor in Spanish, we have Mari-Christina Clark.
Majoring in industrial labor relations, we have Parker Lauer. And majoring in college scholar and psychology, also president emerita of the Cornell chorus we have Wynne Williams-Ceci. Graduating with a PhD, that stands for Doctor of Philosophy, in mechanical engineering is Akane Wakai.
And the major in biomedical engineering, we have Stacie Dressel. And in chemical engineering, also from the alto two section, Julianne Klurfeld. With a major in food science, we have Harris Erdman. And graduating with the major that I can never remember, but it's policy, analysis, and management, we have Jason Gordon, president emeritus of the Cornell Glee Club. And with a major in astronomy, Dylan Jacoway.
Somehow double majoring in physics and math with a minor in music, we have Grant Whitman. Graduating with another doctor of philosophy in physics, Jialun Luo. And with a masters in mechanical engineering, Brett Lowry III. Graduating with a major in biology and society, Gabriel Byan. And graduating with a major in comparative literatures, Mingdao Gavalda. Seniors, we are going to miss you--
AUDIENCE: Wyatt.
SPEAKER 1: Oh, Wyatt. I'm so sorry. Majoring in hotel management, hailing all the way from Montana, Wyatt Winters. We're going to miss you guys so, so much. These people started singing on top of garages at Cornell University masked, I believe in quartets or octets, having to stand 6 to 12 feet away from each other.
And the situation for choral singing seemed pretty bleak. But here's to these folks for sticking it out to make it all the way to where they can stand on stage with another 50 or so people and sing their hearts out on a beautiful evening like tonight. So thank you, seniors. We're going to miss you all so, so much.
AUDIENCE: Whoo.
[HENRY TYRRELL, "EVENING SONG"]
When the sun fades far away
In the crimson of the west
And the voices of the day
Murmur low and sink to rest
Music with the twilight falls
O'er the dreaming lake and dell
Tis an echo from the walls
Of our own, our fair Cornell
Welcome, night and welcome rest
Fading music, fare thee well
Joy to all we love the best
Love to thee, our fair Cornell
Music with the twilight falls
O'er the dreaming lake and dell
Tis an echo from the walls
Of our own, our fair Cornell
[H.S. THOMPSON, "ALMA MATER"]
Far above Cayuga's waters
With its waves of blue
Stands our noble alma mater
Glorious to view
Lift the chorus
Speed it onward
Loud her praises tell
Hail to thee, our alma mater
Hail, oh, hail Cornell
Far above the busy humming
Of the bustling town
Reared against the arch of heaven
Looks she proudly down
Lift the chorus
Speed it onward
Loud her praises tell
Hail to thee
Our alma mater
Hail, all hail Cornell
Conducted by Joe Lerangis, Cornell’s internationally renowned choirs present musical highlights from this busy season, featuring our favorite music from each of the year’s concerts plus the beloved Cornell Songs to bid farewell and congratulations to the class of 2024.
