Rejoice Greatly

Ose shalom bimromav
hu ya’ ase shalom aleynu
veh’ al kol Yisrael
veh’ imru, imru amen.

The One who makes peace in the heavens,
(may) He make peace for us,
and for all Israel,
and let us say, let us say Amen.

Brian Krajcik, Conductor, Pianist and Tenor, currently serves as Director of Choral and Vocal Studies at Red Bank Regional HS. Under his direction, choral ensembles have performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kimmel Center, The White House and St. Thomas Kirche in Leipzig, Germany. Mr. Krajcik’s background as a vocalist has propelled aspiring singers into leading Universities and Conservatories including Westminster Choir College, Manhattan School of Music, Mason Gross School of the Arts, University of Miami, New York University Steinhardt’s School of Music and The Peabody Institute of John Hopkins. In addition to his work at RBR, Mr. Krajcik also functions as an Adjunct Professor at Ocean County College where he offers private vocal, piano and organ coaching. Mr. Krajcik earned a Master of Music Degree in Conducting from Westminster Choir College, as well as a Double Bachelors in Music Education and Piano Performance from the University of Delaware. He’s studied conducting with James Jordan, Joseph Flummerfelt, Andrew Megill, and Joe Miller recording with the Westminster Choir on the NAXOS label.

Kristen Babcock, soprano, is proud to be a new member of Monmouth Civic Chorus. She last performed with MCC in their collaboration with Cabaret for Life, an organization dedicated to raising funds for health-related charities, as Evelyn Nesbit in Ragtime. She performed as Leslie Lohan in CFL’s The Housewives of Monmouth County for many years, and has sailed around the world as a lead female vocalist on various cruise ships including Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth II, Crystal Cruises, and Oceania Cruises. Kristen was a featured vocalist in Las Vegas in the mega-production show Jubilee! at Bally’s, and was a featured singer in the U.S. National Tour of The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber starring Petula Clark. Kristen has a Bachelor of Music in Music Theatre from Baldwin Wallace University. In her spare time, Kristen loves traveling and hiking various National Parks with her husband, Darryl, and her children, Hadley and Hudson.

Janet Breslin, alto, retired from the Matawan Aberdeen Regional School District in 2012 after 36 years as an elementary vocal and general music educator. She has performed with the Monmouth Conservatory Opera/Operetta Society, the Shrewsbury Chorale, Masterwork Chorus, The Garden State Singers, Princeton Pro Musica, the five-voice a cappella ensemble MadRegalia, the Philadelphia Orchestra Symphonic Choir, and has been a member of Monmouth Civic Chorus since 2013. She is studying voice with Nora Sirbaugh. Janet is currently serving as Vice-President on the MCC Board of Trustees following her nine years as Music Chairperson. She is particularly proud to continue the musical legacy of her mother, Edythe Kaufman, who sang with Monmouth Civic Chorus in the late 60’s.

Kenneth Budka, bass, has been active in the Monmouth County music community since he and his wife Cindy moved to Marlboro in 1991 and raised their two children.  Ken has performed with the Monmouth Civic Chorus, New Jersey Chamber singers, and is a vocalist/guitarist with the Freehold United Methodist Church’s praise band “Joyful Noise” and choir.  Ken is a recent retiree from Nokia Bell Labs.  He is a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician with the Marlboro First Aid Squad and Music Chairperson of the Monmouth Civic Chorus.

Carolyn Gratzer Cope, mezzo-soprano, has been a member of Monmouth Civic Chorus since 2016 and has served on the Board of Trustees as Marketing Chair since 2019. An enthusiastic singer from a young age, she has performed as a member and soloist with a wide variety of volunteer and professional ensembles over the years, primarily throughout the tri-state area and in London. She is a current member of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Symphonic Choir and makes frequent appearances as a substitute alto section leader and soloist at various churches in Monmouth County. She studies voice with Mark Hoeler. Carolyn is the founder and publisher of Umami Girl, a multi-media company centered around her award-winning recipe website. She lives in Fair Haven with her husband, two surprisingly grown-up children, one large dog, and one small cat. MCC’s holiday concert is one of her favorite days of the year.

Caitlin deBrigard, soprano, has been a member of Monmouth Civic Chorus since 2010.  Throughout the years, she has been a soloist for numerous MCC concerts as well as a soloist on the MCC Ireland Tour.  She had also been a member of New Jersey Chamber Singers for several years. Caitlin is a professional part-time cantor at the Church of St. Catharine in Holmdel.  She attended Moravian University (formerly College) where she studied voice with Patricia Koch Budlong.  Caitlin works at Lakeland Bank as an Assistant Branch Manager.  She is thrilled to be performing with Monmouth Civic Chorus for its 75th Anniversary Season!

Matthew Izzo, tenor, has been a Monmouth Civic Chorus member since 1987 and served on the Executive Board as President and Vice President from 2008 to 2016. Matt is a frequent soloist for MCC and has also performed leading roles in local stage productions over the years, including Titanic, Fiddler on the Roof, The Most Happy Fella, and Pippin. Matt holds a bachelor’s degree in physics and a master’s in electrical engineering. He works at Catchpoint Systems in New York as Executive VP of Product. Matt is married to MCC soprano Claire Harbeck. They met in MCC in 1992 and have been singing together ever since.

Kenneth Wasser, baritone, has been a member of MCC for over 40 years. He has performed leading roles in local productions of Sondheim on Sondheim, Ragtime, South Pacific, Titanic, Damn Yankees, Man of La Mancha (NJ ACT PERRY award for outstanding lead actor in a musical), Fiddler on the Roof, The Secret Garden, Follies, The Magic Flute, The Most Happy Fella, New Moon, Oklahoma!, Carousel, The Merry Widow, Brigadoon, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Kismet, and many of the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. Ken is also a featured vocalist with The Garden State Symphonic Band in Middlesex County and an active partcipant in Cabaret for Life fundraisers. Ken provides the entertainment for various organizations with his one-man show, The Three Baritones. He lives in West Long Branch with his wife, Linda, also an MCC member.

Gerald Metz, baritone, has been a Monmouth Civic Chorus member since 1979 and served as Chorus President from 1996 – 2002. He is a frequent concert soloist, and played Private Willis in our stage production of Iolanthe and the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Westminster Choir College and taught choral music, mathematics, and computer science in the Middletown Township public schools. As a member of the Westminster Choir, he toured the United States and Puerto Rico and participated in choral performances under Leonard Bernstein, Leopold Stokowski, William Steinberg, Robert Shaw, Seiji Ozawa, and other distinguished conductors. He is also a member of Princeton Pro Musica, led by Ryan Brandau, and an alumnus of Cantori New York, led by Mark Shapiro. He lives in Freehold with his wife, Susan, also an MCC member.

Bob Kelly, poet, began distributing his annual “Christmascard poems” in 1981. He earned an M.A. degree in Interpretation from Northwestern University in 1979 and a J.D. from Rutgers in 2006. Bob joined Monmouth Civic Chorus in 1997, after singing with the Oratorio Society of New York and I Cantori di New York. His poems have been featured in MCC concerts since 2015. Bob and his wife, Mary Giblin, live in Old Bridge, occasionally joined by their daughter, Kat Crowe. Bob is a lawyer for the State of New Jersey.

Within each life (1995)

There is a virgin space within each life, 
untouched by any penetrating force, 
that trembles in the resonance of God.  

Angelic rumors, faint annunciations,
disturb your slumber, rouse you from your dreams,
inviting you to bear a Christ alone.  

You realize the seeded soul’s engagement 
will change your life forever, weigh it down, 
turn words to flesh, make angel rumors real. 

You fear the turning, but insistent rhythms 
draw you darkly from your resting place. 
You rise to greet them — here your dance begins.

Time is full (2009)

Some cuddle newly incarnated dreams 
Some lower caskets into hardened earth 
Some follow distant stars to unknown lands 
Some stand stock still surprised in their own fields

The days are shortest now, the time is full 
of work, of gifts to choose, of lights to hang 
Burnt offerings have bakers quite incensed 
and magi grumble in the crowded shops 

Grinning angels wait in pregnant pause 
while weary hands pick up messiah scores 
Our passed seem present now, and old clichés 
passed like presents fill the holiday

Soprano 1

Kristen Babcock
Marina Christopher
Hillary Critelli
Caitlin deBrigard
Christine Elsner
Valerie Guerrero
Gwyneth Hecht
Joan Kinney
Janice Liddy
Teri Lindstrom
Nicole Moran
Peggy Noecker
Jacqueline Reynolds
Janet Rostad
Cheryl Sobolewski Parker
Helen Steblecki
Janice Thomas
Jennifer Weingarten

Soprano 2

Mary Batistick
Linda Boyce
Patti D’Andrea
Heather Daniels
Wendy Davis
Megan Delaney
Lisa Ficarelli-Halpern
Lisa Kirby
Sandra Liddy-Papp
Deborah Macock
Eleanor Mason
Pat Miller
Petrina Picerno
Christine Psolka
Carol Van Kirk
Martie Viets
Hui-Ling Wu
Shelley Ziegler

Alto 1

Carol Andrew
Kathleen Blinn
Jenni Blumenthal
Janet Breslin
Carolyn Gratzer Cope
Patricia Dowens
Sarah Gillis
Becky Gorman
Joanne Kelsey
Kari Martin
Susan Metz
Janine Nehila
Clare Resnick
Christina Stinger
Linda Wasser
Caroline Whittemore
Kathleen Woolston

Alto 2

Lindsay Abbot
Suzanne Costello
Celeste Credle
Ellen Crimi
Alissa Downey
Susan Gorsky
Deb Hoffman
Marcie Horowitz
Kimberley Mitchell
Marlena Najar
Alison Nead
Stephanie Palmer Bates
Mari-Jo Policastro
Erin Radvanski
Jacqueline Schreiber

Tenor 1

Douglas Clark
Daniel Ford
Marshall Gorman
Matthew Izzo

Tenor 2

Wolfgang Elsner
George Liddy
Sean McGinity
Ray Ritchie
James Scavone
David Willis

Baritone

Victor Barbella
Leyland Brenner
Kenneth Budka
William Clingerman
James J. Green
Joseph A. Leen
Gerald Metz
Tim Velardo
Gordon Wu

Bass

Kenneth Almquist
Robert Kelly
Kelly Morgan
Joseph Pisano
Kenneth Wasser

Violin 1

Urara Mogi
Laura Hamilton
Cheng-Chih Kevin Tsai
Erin Benim Mayland
Margaret Banks
Rebecca Nelson

Violin 2

Marina Fragoulis
Erica Dicker
Una Tone
David Steinberg
Mioi Takeda

Viola

Stephen Goist
Kyle Miller
Beth Myers
Mitsuro Kubo

Violincello

David Heiss
Luke Krafka
Carolyn Jeselsohn

Bass

Tony Falanga
Nathaniel Chase

Flute

Jessica Taskov (+Piccolo)
Diva Goodfriend-Koven

Oboe

Pedro Diaz
Karen Birch-Blundell (+English Horn)

Clarinet

Robert Dilutis
Bohdan Hilash (+ContraBass Clarinet)

Bassoon

Gili Sharett
Daniel Shelly

Horn

Eric C. Davis
Nathanael Udell
Nicolee Kuester
Alejandro Gándara

Trumpet

Wayne Dumaine
James De La Garza
Genna Goines

Timpani

William Trigg

Percussion

John Ferrari
Jonathan Berger

Harp

June Han

Keyboards

Kerry Heimann

Fabiana Ancheta-Marin
Georgia Attardi
Sean Busk
Jillian Byrne
Hayden Carton
Damian Castaneda-Chamberlain
Eliza Connelly
Melanie Creen
Alexander Escobar
Gabriella Giamo
Maria Guerrero
Katarzyna Hanulewicz
Daniya Hassan
Claire Humes
Emma Kilbride
Jay Lazen

Helena LeCompte
Donovan Mallen
Mina Miller
Anna Musumeci
Jacqueline Neice
Laura Nijnens
Nico Piesco
Gianna Scaduto
Liam Smith
Peyton Spencer
Kendall Thorner
Jackson Trieste-Gricius
Bodhi Van Lieu
Nina Williams
Lucas Wilson

Angel ($1,200+)

The Cope Family
Steve & Pat Miller
Joseph Pisano & Steven Russell
James Scavone & Paul Chalifour
The Robert and Barbara Quinn Family Foundation — In memory of Dick Costello, who loved and appreciated beautiful music, especially at Christmas time

Donor ($600 – $1,199)

Anonymous
Kathleen Blinn
Jenni & Ralph Blumenthal
Janet & Peter Breslin
Doug & Doris Clark
The Dowens Family – in memory of Dwight Macock
Deborah Macock – in loving memory of Dwight Macock
Gerald & Susan Metz
Warren R. Moe
Smolka Tours – Congratulations and Happy 75^th Anniversary!
Martie Viets & Philip Carter
Huiling & Gordon Wu
Leegen & Thomas Wu

Sponsor ($300 – $599)

Andrew & Stephanie Bates
Richard & Sally Chrisman – Thank you for letting us join your amazing tours. I love singing and traveling with you.
Hillary Critelli
Patti & Steve d’Andrea

Patron ($150 – $299)

Victor Barbella
Mary Batistick
Valerie Brown — in honor of Petrina Picerno
Gilded Lily Florist
Marshall & Becky Gorman
David & Mary Graham
Tom & Deb Hoffman — in memory of John “Flip” Filarowitz
Kathy Horgan
George and Janette Liddy
Ray and Anita Ritchie
Carol Van Kirk
Zynergy Cares

Friend (up to $149)

Anonymous (2)
Steve Blume – Frohe Weihnachten MCC
Toni Brescia
Valerie Guerrero
Victoria & Phil Iannarone
Clare Resnick
Carol Riegler
Nancy-Gail Smith
Ellen Toomey

$20,000 +

Mike Huber, in memoriam
Gerald and Susan Metz

$10,000 +

In memory of Mary Ann Greco
Estate of Eileen McAndrew 

$5,000 +

Leland dePlanque, in memoriam 
A Friend 
Lucent Technologies 
Deborah and Dwight Macock

$1,000 +

Sydney Kindler in memory of Matthew Picerno
In memory of Ivar and Allene Lindstrom

Under $1,000

Amazon Smile
AT&T
Stephen Doyle in honor of Helen Steblecki

MCC Board

President: Hillary Critelli
Vice President: Janet Breslin
Secretary: Claire Harbeck
Treasurer: Marlena Najar
Development: Doris Clark
Financial Operations: Kathleen Blinn
Marketing: Carolyn Gratzer Cope
Music: Kenneth Budka
Membership: Martie Viets
Production: Marcie Horowitz
Registered Agent: Jenni Blumenthal

Concert production crew

Music Manager: Kenneth Budka
Production Manager: Marcie Horowitz
House Manager: Doris Clark
Ticket Manager: Alyssa Downey
Stage Manager: Kathleen Blinn
Database Manager: Kathy Woolston
Marketing Manager: Carolyn Gratzer Cope
Concert Venues Manager: Carol Van Kirk
Health and Safety Manager: Martie Viets
Digital Program Manager: Jacqueline Schreiber