Concert Program
Large Ensemble Concert Series
NIU Choral Concert
NIU Concert Choir
NIU Chamber Choir
NIU University Chorus
Eric Johnson, director, NIU Concert Choir and Chamber Choir
Mary Lynn Doherty, director, University Chorus
Thursday, October 15, 2026
7 p.m.
Boutell Memorial Concert Hall
Program
NIU Chamber Choir |
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| Mass in G Minor (1921) | Franz Schubert (1797-1828) |
| Mary Kepplinger, Kayti Miller, Matthew Ellis, Daniel Chukwunyem, Soloists | |
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Translation My soul doth magnify the Lord: and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. And his mercy is on them that fear him: throughout all generations. |
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| Prayer |
Hanna Havrylets (1958-2022) |
| Maia Orlovski, Soloist | |
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Translation Holy Mother of God, hear us. |
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| Waiting on the World to Change |
arr. Deke Sharon (b. 1967) |
| Sondos Hassan, Serge Dulang, Soloists | |
| Citizens of the Neon Republic | Saunder Choi (b. 1988) |
| Brayden Dulin, Vibraphone Brady Jobst, Double Bass |
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University Chorus |
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| Ubi Caritas, Op. 10, No. 1 | Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986) adapted by J. Mark Baker |
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Translation Where there is charity and love, God is there. |
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| Way, Haul Away | arr. by Sid Robinovitch (b.1942) |
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Mvt. 1 from the Choral Sea Trilogy |
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| Al Shlosha D’varim | Allan E. Naplan (b.1972) |
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Gracie Puricelli, Angel Morales, Soloists
Sydney Babcock, Speaker
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Translation The world is sustained by three things: |
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| Salmo 150 | Ernani Aguiar (b.1950) |
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Translation Praise the Lord in his sacred places,
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NIU Concert Choir |
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| We Can Mend the Sky | Jake Runestad (b.1986) |
| Kayla Reisenbichler, Soprano | |
| Justorum Animae | William Byrd (1540-1623) |
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Translation The souls of the just are in the hand of God, |
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| Hard Times | arr. Craig Hella Johnson (b.1962) |
| Maggie Garner, Soloist | |
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Bayanihan |
Arianne Abela (b. 1986) |
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Translation Let’s all be together Come on, come on In hardship or in good times I heard that someone is moving Bayanihan, Bayanihan Eat already Thank you |
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Walk Together Children |
Moses Hogan (1957-2003) |
Personnel
Qingyun Zheng, Accompanist
Isabella Froh
Maggie Garner
Sondos Hassan
Jessica Holtz
Annalee Kalbfleisch
Mary Kepplinger
Kayti Miller
Maia Orlovsky
Thalila Sisou
Daniel Chukwunywm
Joseph Docken
Serge Dulang
Mattew Ellis
Jake Foland
Angel Morales
Lucas Smardo
Erik Vazquez
Qingyun Zheng, Accompanist
| Soprano | Alto | Tenor | Bass |
| Rudo Barnes Ashley Esser Vanna Francone Jasmine Gothard Skyla Johnson Hannah Jorgensen Jocelyn Kuntz Mei Lin McDermott Angelica McDuffie Ash McNamara Gracie Puricelli Shay Schehl |
Sydney Babcock Clare Bauer Samantha Botello Takiya Dixon Noah Funk Laura Gonzalez Abigail Higginson Eva James Asher Ketchum Alessandria Lewis G. Mayotte Gavin Murray |
Jordan Baker Lotus Barnes Duane Bright Bryn Callahan Matt Gilleran Marley Kershaw Jeremy Passini |
Philip Dike Iain Goetz Gabe Greenfield Wolfgang Jones Angel Morales Will Pierce |
Minjung Kim, Accompanist
| Soprano | Tenor | Alto | Bass |
| Mikayla Ahren Alecia Bartolo Jennalee Cox Maggie Garner Julia Hart Lyric Johnson Emily Kmetz Maia Orlovsky Miranda Perez Bethany Polega Chenoa Randolph Kyla Reisenbichler Willow Sabani |
Serge Dulang Matthew Ellis Jake Foland Gabriel Galindo Eduardo Garcia Erik Vazquez A.J. Villa |
Spencer Alvarez Kyra Bradford Talia Grzelak Sondos Hassan Jessica Holtz Madison Kellett Alex Mascorro Kayti Miller Dulce Nepomuceno Lindsey Surdam Niya Teague Chloe Weeks |
Dwayne Brown Zack Corradi Joseph Docken Jacob Lawver Lucas Smardo Nolan Valyou |
Bios
Assistant Director of the School of Music
Professor and Coordinator of Music Education
Dr. Mary Lynn Doherty is the Assistant Director of the School of Music and Professor and Coordinator of Music Education at Northern Illinois University. In this role, she teaches music education methods courses, directs the University Chorus, and works with undergraduate and graduate students.
Dr. Doherty was invited to lead the 2024 Illinois All-State 4th and 5th Grade Honor Choir, and has been honored to conduct elementary, middle, and high school level ILMEA District choirs over the past two decades as well as serving as the guest conductor of festival and honor choirs including the Rockford High School All-City Honor Choir, the Big Northern Conference Honor Choir, the Little Ten High School Choral Festival, the West Suburban Women’s Festival Choir, the North Central Junior Conference Honor Choir, and the U-46 Middle School Honor Choir. In 2020, Dr. Doherty was awarded the Outstanding Mentor Award from the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women. She has also been nominated for NIU’s Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award four times, representing the School of Music and the College of Visual and Performing Arts.
In the summer of 2024, Dr. Doherty was selected to present her research on women conductors at the International Society for Music Education’s World Conference in Helsinki, Finland. Dr. Doherty is on the Illinois Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance Committee and is a proud graduate of Luther College and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her mentors include Judy Hanson, Brett Goad, Gerald Olson, and Weston Noble.
Professor and Coordinator of Choral Activities
Eric A. Johnson, D.M.A., is the director of choral activities at Northern Illinois University and the founding artistic director of Cor Cantiamo. As a 2019 National Endowment for the Arts Artworks grant recipient, he has been recognized for his artistic leadership, whose ensembles represent “choral artistry at its finest” (Lauridsen). He is a committed champion of contemporary choral music and dedicated to addressing social justice issues through interdisciplinary concert events. Johnson is the 2020 recipient of the Harold Decker Award, given by the Illinois American Choral Directors Association to celebrate his career of quality leadership and service to the art of choral music.
Ensembles under his direction have performed at multiple national and division conventions for the National Collegiate Choral Organization, American Choral Directors Association and the Music Educators National Conference. He has served as a guest conductor at Avery Fisher Hall and the David Geffen Hall; Lincoln Center, toured internationally and prepared choruses for collaborations with professional orchestras.
Internationally, Johnson has served as a guest conductor of the Clare College Chapel Choir (Cambridge, England) and the Asian Pacific Activities Conference Choral Festival (Guangzhou, China); taught at Makumira University (Arusha, Tanzania); the Universidade do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte (Natal, Brazil); and directed guest choral residencies at Canterbury and Worcester Cathedrals.
As the artistic director of Cor Cantiamo, Johnson has recorded commercial CDs released on the Divine Arts and Centaur Records labels. He has collaborated with many leading composers of our time including Dominick DiOrio, Stacey Gibbs, Libby Larsen, Morten Lauridsen, Jaakko Mäntyjärvi, Timothy C. Takach, Sir John Tavener and James Whitbourn.
Johnson has published music with Santa Barbara Music Publishing, served as a music editor for Earthsongs Publications and has published articles in the Choral Journal. He is active nationally as a clinician and guest conductor for high school and collegiate honor choirs and regularly conducts choral/orchestral masterworks works with both collegiate and professional ensembles.