Yale Camerata Advent Concert Marks 25th Season

Now celebrating its 25th season, founding conductor Marguerite L. Brooks will lead the Yale Camerata in its annual Advent concert with orchestra on Saturday, December 5 at 8 pm at Battell Chapel in New Haven. The concert, which is free and open to the public, will have as its centerpiece Josef Haydn's Mass in Time of War. Soloists will be Kathryn Aaron, soprano; Debi Wong, mezzo-soprano; Joseph Mikolaj, tenor; and Paul Max Tipton, baritone. 

"Die Geburt Christi" from Mendelssohn's Christus (op. 97) will feature Michael Sansoni, Colin Britt, and Tian Hui Ng as the Magi.

Camerata: then.................

Notes on the Staff

Derek Greten-Harrison is the new Senior Administrative Assistant for ISM Student Affairs.  Derek received his Bachelor of Music in vocal performance from Manhattan School of Music in 2004 and his Master of Music in opera performance from Purchase College, State University of New York, in 2009.  He was previously the ISM Special Projects Assistant and Choral/Vocal Librarian before returning to school for his Master’s degree.  In addition to his time at the ISM, he brings nearly two years of experience working in admissions at Yale School of Management.  Derek has also had twenty years of experience in choral singing, beginning as a treble at Trinity Church on the Green and the Saint Thomas Choir School, continuing as a countertenor at Christ Church Episcopal, New Haven, and then as countertenor section leader at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Fairfield, and the Episcopal Church at Yale.  He also has a lifelong interest in and connection to the Divinity School, being the son of two YDS alumni.  Outside of Yale, Derek teaches voice at Purchase College, directs Etherea Vocal Ensemble (a new all-treble vocal group), and writes CD reviews for Opera News magazine.

Pam Hughes, formerly the Senior Administrative Assistant for Student Affairs, has left Yale to pursue her pastoral mission and to further her studies. She is seeking certification as a substance abuse counselor.

.............and now

Also on the program are the Videntes stellam of Orlando Lassus, the Dona nobis pacem from Bach's Mass in B Minor, and the instrumental Nonet by the 20th century master Bohuslav Martinu performed by instrumental soloists Lisa Rautenberg, Ellen Higham, Ashley Bathgaite, Peter Seymour, Marjorie Shansky, Olav Van Hezewijk, Andrew Grenci, Edward Burns, and Alexander Gusev.

The concert will conclude, in its annual tradition, with the Willcocks arrangement of Goss’s See, amid the Winter’s Snow, with the Camerata joined by the audience.

No tickets are required for the free concert.

Remembering Gale Pollen

Gale Pollen, who was the face of the Institute to so many over the 23 years she worked here, has passed away. At her retirement party in July 2006, Martin Jean remarked “for the Institute, you have become the institutional memory... You have been the line of continuity through massive changes in an enterprise that began its life with 25 students, faculty, and staff, and now comprises almost 100.” She was 59.

A native of New Haven, Gale worked at Yale for nearly 37 years. After retiring, she gave generously of her time, volunteering at Yale-New Haven Hospital two days a week, and two evenings a week at Ten Thousand Villages. She is survived by her parents, Curtis L. and May Pollen of Hamden, three sisters, and a brother, as well as several nieces and nephews. A memorial service was held at Whitneyville United Church of Christ on October 15, 2009.

Donations in Gale's memory may be made to:

• The American Heart Association, 5 Brookside Dr., Po Box 5022, Wallingford CT 06492;
• Whitneyville United Church of Christ, 1253 Whitney Ave., Hamden CT 06517; or
• Parents Foundation for Transitional Living Inc., 100 Broadway, New Haven CT 06511.