Archived Concerts

Holidays in the Hall is a lighthearted program filled with holiday favorites and a carol sing-along. Resounding Achord is the primary choir singing at this event, but a special guest ensemble, Chromatic Convergence, which offers a unique blend of contemporary a cappella and vocal jazz music, also participated

View this concert as our guest on YouTube. 

Pariter is Latin for “equally” or “together.” In August, conductor Albee Mabeza recruited a fine group of tenors and basses from all over the Bay Area, including many singers from the Resounding Achord community, to join this new group.

The Gathering seemed to be an appropriate title for Pariter’s first concert, which will spotlight a variety of repertoire written for tenor-bass ensembles. Pariter’s gathering includes many different genres, from a Renaissance piece by Hans Leo Hassler, to an arrangement of “I Will Go Sailing No More” in the barbershop style from the beloved film Toy Story. They will even tell the story of a legendary Ghanian dance contest, where the fleshiest part of the chicken is the prize.

Date: October 23, 2021 at 3 pm
Location: St. Francis Episcopal Church (Willow Glen), 1205 Pine Ave, San José.
Cost of Admission: Free (a $10 donation would be greatly appreciated)

Resounding Achord is proud to present a program that celebrates our return to in-person singing with music by minority composers of all kinds, including women, immigrants, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ community. Each piece focuses on the pursuits of life that bring us all together. Selections include a new composition by Carlos Cordero, “¡Ayúdame! (Venezuelan Plea for Life),” Tesfa Wondemagegnehu’s beautiful “Love Is,” and the celebratory “On This Road” by Andrea Ramsey.

Together we breathe, we worship, we join, we understand. We persevere, we nurture, we hurt, we heal. We play, and we love. Together.

This concert was performed on Saturday, November 13, 2021 at First Congregational Church in Palo Alto, and Sunday, November 14, 2021 at St. Francis Episcopal Church in San Jose. A video recording of the Sunday performance is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtJVwM_cI2U.

Click here for the full concert program.

Resounding Achord Productions is proud to present enRApture, a new ensemble joining our organization! enRApture is comprised of local music professionals and is conducted by Resounding Achord’s Assistant Conductor Andrew Hathaway. 

enRApture debuts on August 8th with their premiere concert, New Beginnings. This program features reflections on the past year of isolation and distancing, and celebrations of coming together once again. Highlights include:

• Salve Regina by Carlos Cordero, an emotional plea for safety in times of trouble
• The Elements of the Sun Broke Into Song by Melissa Dunphy, an exciting depiction of the inner workings of Heaven
• Wipip!!! by Sydney Guillaume, a celebration of life and community

In compliance with RAP’s safety protocols, we will allow a limited number of in-person audience members at this concert. Please reserve tickets to ensure entrance into the venue. For those who would like to view the concert at home, we will also provide a livestream option on our Facebook page.

Click here to view the concert program.

In the world of COVID-19, we were unable to sing in-person out of respect for the safety of both our audiences and our singers. To remain connected, we producied virtual recordings of the choir. Because “virtual choir” didn’t appropriately describe what we have been doing, we have decided to call this series of virtual performances Resounding Apart. Please read about each piece, and click on the episode title to watch them on YouTube or visit our YouTube channel to see all of our virtual performance offerings.

Resounding Apart: Episode 1

Matthew Culloton’s arrangement of  How Can I Keep From Singing has been an important piece for us since we first performed it in the spring of 2018. Besides Matthew Culloton’s own choir, we are the only group to have access to this particular unaccompanied arrangement. We thought it would be the ideal first episode for Resounding Apart because it expressed how we have all been feeling since quarantine began. We may not be able to sing in person with the people we love, but we can share that same spirit virtually. Please enjoy.

Resounding Apart: Episode 2

“We walk in love, united in purpose. We join our hands and lift up one voice. We speak the truth with strength and compassion, resounding with hope, with courage, and joy.” These are the lyrics from the first verse of We Walk in Love, by Deanna Witkowski.

For this video release, we chose to highlight two organizations that work to promote equality and social justice. We believe that Black Lives Matter, and the ongoing officer-involved shootings and racial injustice in our world cannot go unrecognized. We ask that you consider donating the cost of a concert ticket to one (or both) of these wonderful organizations.

The San Jose African American Community Service Agency (AACSA) is the only multi-service African American Center in Northern California. They take pride in their multi-focused pillars of education, health & wellness, economic development, social services, and family resources.

The Equal Justice Initiative was founded over 30 years ago by Bryan Stevenson, the author of “Just Mercy,” and this organization is committed to changing the narrative about race in America.

Resounding Apart: Episode 3

Love Is, by Tesfa Wondemagegnehu, uses text from 1 Corinthians, paired with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s famous 2016 Tony Awards speech.

To complement this video release, we are proud to amplify the work of the LGBTQ Youth Space. The Youth Space was established in 2008, and is a program of Family & Children Services of Silicon Valley, a division of Caminar. The Youth Space provides a confidential drop-in center and free counseling services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and ally youth and young adults, ages 13-25, who live in Santa Clara County.

Resounding Apart: Episode 4

In 2018, our very own Galt Johnson arranged Phil Collins’ Take Me Home for Resounding Achord’s concert of the same name.

We are proud to honor Galt’s wishes to amplify the work of the Billy deFrank LGBTQ+ Community Center, established in 1981. As Resounding Achord continues to build our community through song, we recognize that there is both beauty and great strength in diversity. “The Billy DeFrank LGBTQ+ Community Center strives to be the community’s premier resource hub and a recognized leader in promoting health, strength, diversity, and inclusiveness.”

Resounding Apart: Comfort & Joy

Resounding Achord produced a 20+ minute virtual concert to help our friends celebrate the holidays from the comfort of their own home. We invite you to enjoy both the full-choir and small-group performances of some of our favorite and most fun holiday repertoire. The performance was released on December 20, 2020 and is still available for your enjoyment.

Resounding Apart: Episode 5

For our spring 2021 Resounding Apart series, created song pairings. Each project includes a song from our February 29, 2020 “Pure Imagination” concert, which was our last live performance, paired with a virtual piece. The first pairing is William Byrd’s “I Have Longed for Thy Saving Health,” arranged by Alfred Whitehead, with Kirke Mechem’s Baroque-style masterpiece, “Satan Hates Music.” Kirke’s piece was one of our favorites from the Pure Imagination concert, complete with lots of laughter and a very irritated Satan, played by tenor Greg Melton.

Resounding Apart: Episode 6

This pairing features Elizabeth Alexander’s “How to Sing Like a Planet,” which opened the Pure Imagination concert in 2020. The text encourages us to “Bloom periodically. Hunker down when you must…Know that annihilation’s possible any time, But expect a bright tomorrow’s coming anyway.” The second piece is “Star Light” by composer Trevor Tran. Trevor received his undergraduate degree at San José State, his masters degree at Temple University, and now teaches high school music in Florida. We had a lovely meeting with Trevor to talk about his piece, and we each found a deep connection to the youthful act of wishing upon stars. In the video you can see some of the singers’ wishes.

Resounding Apart: Episode 7

It has become a tradition for us to feature treble and bass singers separately on our concerts. This pairing honors that tradition. The first piece is Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition,” from the Pure Imagination concert, arranged by the incredibly talented Kevin Redrico. Cody Scott directed the piece and also appears as the lead soloist. The second piece, “Run Away” by Stuart Chapman Hill,  is a collaboration for our sopranos and altos with the Teen Treble Ensemble from Vivace Youth Chorus of San José.

Enjoy Leap Day with Resounding Achord and the West Valley College Concert Choir with this concert that celebrates the whimsy and fun of the extra day of the year.

Highlights include Elizabeth Alexander’s incredible “How to Sing Like a Planet,” Kevin Redrico’s spirited arrangement of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition,” and past-favorite “Banquet Fugue,” by John Rutter.

Resounding Achord may not be able to sing for you in person, but we are still spreading the joy of the holiday season!

Join Resounding Achord to celebrate the holidays from the comfort of your own home. Our singer elves have been busy creating this joyful online performance for you and your loved ones. We hope you will join us when we go live at 2:00 p.m. on December 20 on our YouTube channel. Should you have another engagement at that time, the video will be available for you to enjoy throughout the season. Visit our YouTube channel to see all of our virtual performance offerings.

In lieu of selling tickets for this online event, we would be honored if you would support Resounding Achord with a donation at a level that is meaningful to you. No gift is too small (or too large!), and all donations are fully tax-deductible.

We were ecstatic about the results of our two concert-program with Bay Bells, one of the nation’s longest-running community handbell ensembles. Each ensemble performed individually, and then joined together for a number of exciting works, such as “I Saw Three Ships” arranged by Mack Wilberg and the hauntingly beautiful “Winter Solstice Carol” by William Beckstrand. Also on the program were two premiere compositions by Jeremy Harris and Nicholas Roberto. And, as a special surprise, Director’s Cut quartet performed a delightful pre-concert set. Please click on the links to enjoy our videos of the concert.

Resounding Achord is pleased to present another round of Cheers music after our successful concert two seasons ago. This time, we are “serving” you Broadway favorites from Gershwin to Spamalot. “Consider Yourself” invited — jazz hands optional!