And There Was Light
April 2026
“I was obliged to be industrious. Whoever is equally industrious will succeed equally well.” — Johann Sebastian Bach
“And There Was Light”
(Works By: Bach, Brahms, Handel, & Rachmaninoff)
This performance was a true testament of the hard work and dedication that the GNCA puts into the preparation and delivery of a polished performance, especially in the eye of adversity. Unlike seasons passed, our performance took place on a late Sunday afternoon after Easter on April 26th of 2026, in the elegant and sonorous sanctuary of the First United Methodist Church on the east side of the city of Wausau, Wisconsin. The performance’s central piece was composer David Bobrowitz and Steven Porter’s brilliant rock cantata, “The Creation”, written in 1970, based off of adapted text from the Book of Genesis. The concert began with a couple of organ preludes, performed by George Felty, that included Gilbert M. Martin’s strong piece, “Built on A Rock”, followed by Johann Sebastian Bach’s beautiful “Prelude in C Major”. The choir, then, transitioned to a strong beginning anthem called, “Come to the Music” by 20th century composer, Joseph M. Martin, which featured Ryan Gutsch on djembe, and Margaret Higginbotham on piccolo. An honor to the Blessed Virgin Mary came in the form of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s reflective lyrical, “Ave Maria”, the 6th movement from his All Night Vigil, Op. 37. The ladies of the GNCA, then, performed the Judy Garland classic from the silver-screened ballad of 1939’s Wizard of Oz, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, written by Harold Arlen and Edgar Sung. A spirited, acapella chorus from George Frideric Handel’s oratorio, Judas Maccabaeus’s “Hallelujah, Amen”, followed. Then, the choir performed a beautiful art song before the midway point of the performance called, “If Music Be the Food of Love”, composed by David C. Dickau based on poetry written by Col. Henry Heveningham in the 17th Century. We returned to an instrumental piece, both before and after the Bobrowitz and Porter work, which featured a duet between organ and cello. Michael Allen and George Felty performed the duets, “Morning Light” by Cary John Franklin, and later they performed, “Fairest, Lord Jesus”, by Wilbur Held. Both were 20th century composers. The centerpiece contemporary multi-movement rock cantata of composers David Bobrowitz and Steven Porter’s, The Creation, featured a small, but impactful power rock band with Mara Prausa on the piano, Dan Flees on electric guitar, Andy Flees on bass guitar, and Ryan Gutsch on the drum kit, which drove the choir’s tight vocal harmonies throughout the adapted text of the seven days in the Book of Genesis. The work featured soulful soloist performances by Beyla Fritz, Michelle McKenna, Brian & Cassie Zell. After the Creation cantata was completed, the GNCA choir bounced the performance back in style with a driving South African acapella folk song arranged by Donald Moore entitled, “Siyahamba”, which translated means, “We are marching in the light of God”. This piece featured the return of Mr. Gutsch on the djembe drum. The choir flipped the mood over to a peaceful, freely moving piece in Billy Joel’s iconic 1983 ballad, “And So It Goes”, which had the audience on pins and needles. Then, the GNCA gentlemen featured an unaccompanied, exciting, and spontaneous performance of Alice Parker and Robert Frost’s arrangement of “Vive L’Amour”, which translates as “Love Live Love”. We returned to the brilliance of the 19th century, with a selection from Johannes Brahms song cycle, Vier Quartette, Op. 92, “O Schone Nacht”, from translated means, “O, Lovely Night”. The performance closed with the GNCA staple of a traditional spiritual in Hall Johnson’s, “Ain’ A That Good News!”, which featured Jason Zell as the soloist. This balanced performance featured members of GNCA ranging from the communities of Owen-Withee, Mosinee, Weston, and Wausau. This season, we were graced with the accompaniment talents of organist, George Felty, and pianist, Mara Prausa. Our performance also featured the instrumental expertise of Michael Allen on cello, Ryan Gutsch on percussion, Margaret Higginbotham on piccolo, Dan Flees on guitar, and Andy Flees on bass guitar. This performance was an opportunity to witness strong leadership from GNCA’s head conductors, William Day, Jim Lenslink, Ian Robinson, and Brian Zell.
A New Beginning
April 2025
“This is not the beginning of a new chapter; this is the beginning of a new book!”
“A New Beginning” (Works By: Handel, Mozart, & Thompson)
This was the first solo performance of the GNCA, without any other community group sharing the marquis, and like the year before, it took place in the late afternoon of Palm Sunday on April 13th of 2025, in the beautiful and sonorous sanctuary of the Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church on the west side of the city of Wausau, Wisconsin. This performance’s central piece was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s, “Missa Brevis Spatzenmesse in C, No. 5” (K. 220). The concert began in true traditional processional fashion with George Friedric Handel’s majestic, “Coronation Anthem No. 1”, or as it is also known as “Zadok the Priest”(HMV 258), which is still used in Great Britain’s monarch coronations to this day. The choir, then, transitioned to a lyrical and legato listening of an “Alleluia” by 20th century composer, Randall Thompson. A spirited, acapella, American Folk Song in Alice Parker’s, “Goin’ to Boston”, which featured body percussion, followed. The GNCA gentlemen featured an unaccompanied, awe inspiring, and emotional performance of Kurt Bestor’s, “Prayer of the Children”, in tribute to the children of the Bosnian civil war. After the Mozart work was completed, the GNCA choir bounced the performance back in style with Edwin F. Ferguson’s Shaker Tune rendition of “Ye Followers of the Lamb”. We returned to the brilliance of composer, Randall Thompson, with one of his seven country songs, “Choose Something Like a Star”, from Frostiana. A collection of Robert Frost’s poems set to music in the 1950’s. The performance closed with the GNCA staple of traditional spiritual in, “Ain’ A That Good News!”, by William Dawson. This balanced performance featured members of GNCA ranging from the communities of Plover, Stevens Point, Wausau, and Wisconsin Rapids. Just like a year ago, we were graced with the accompaniment talents of pianist, George Felty. This performance was an opportunity to witness strong leadership from GNCA’s head conductors, Colleen Doucette and Brian Zell.
An Afternoon with the Choral masters
April 2024
“A Picture Paints A Thousand Words…”
“An Afternoon with the Choral Masters” (Works By: Haydn, Mozart, & Vivaldi)
This was the official inaugural performance of the GNCA, along with the Wausau Symphony & Band, which took place in the late afternoon of Palm Sunday on March 24th of 2024, in the beautiful and sonorous sanctuary of the Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church on the west side of the city of Wausau, Wisconsin. This performance’s main pillars featured a Chorus of “The Heavens Are Telling”, from the Oratorio, “The Creation” by Classical composer Franz Josef Haydn, a magnificent Marian antiphon in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s, “Regina Coeli” (K. 276), and a 12-movement pinnacle of choral and symphonic mastery of the traditional mass ordinary in the “Gloria” (RV 589) by Baroque composer, Antonio Vivaldi. The performance also featured selections from a wide spectrum of cultural diversity and language ranging from the driving traditional Hebrew in Julius Chajes’s transcription of “Song of Galilee”, to the swinging Bemba language in the traditional Zambian folk song of “Bonse Aba”, arranged by Victor C. Johnson. The Wausau Symphony & Band, led by Daniel Larson, featured a trio of dances by German composer, Michael Praetorius, from Terpsichore, a compendium of orchestral music from 1612. The performance closed with the GNCA staple of a traditional moving spiritual and field song in, “Soon-ah Will Be Done”, by William Dawson. This balanced performance featured not only the members of GNCA and the WS&B, but talented soloists and instrumentalists, ranging from the Wisconsin Rapids, Wausau, and Owen-Withee areas. We were graced with the accompaniment talents of organist/pianist, George Felty, and percussionist/music educator, Ryan Gutsch. This performance was also an opportunity to witness masterful leadership from conductors; Professor William Day Emeritus and WS&B Leader, Daniel Larson, as well as the first for GNCA chairman, Brian Zell.