SHORE'S EDGE PHOTOGRAPHY
Members of the Sea Girt-based New Jersey Chamber Singers.
The New Jersey Chamber Singers’ winter concerts will take a little departure from the feasting and fanfare of the holiday season. This year’s theme, “Light in Winter,” is less about the hall-decking and tree-trimming, and more about the shared values that unite us.
Artistic director Matthew Zabiegala wanted to capture the warm emotions we feel from gathering together in song during the Christmas season, “and all those different hues of light we see this time of the year that illuminate the long, dark nights of winter,” he says.
MATTHEW ZABIEGALA
“I was struck by how we all kind of see things differently, especially around the holidays and the colder months. Whatever you celebrate, there’s always these different hues. In these concerts, we’re still talking about Jesus, and we’re still talking about the snow and the cold weather, but it is more about the feeling behind it.”
The music on the program is simple and profound, and covers a wide range of styles from medieval melodies to modern spirituals, encompassing a wide spectrum of tastes.
Concerts will take place at two very different venues: the festive Laurita Winery in New Egypt, Dec. 14, where concertgoers can enjoy a glass of wine as they listen to the music; and the smaller, more intimate Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Manasquan, Dec. 19, with a more sensitive acoustic. Both concerts will be conducted by Zabiegala and feature pianist Karen Hill Miske and the mixed voice choristers of the Sea Girt-based community choir.
(They will also continue their longstanding tradition of “Messiah Sing,” a sing-along of Handel’s iconic oratorio. It will take place Dec. 6 at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Innocents in Beach Haven, led by assistant conductor Maddi Schille. The event is a free-will offering and does not require tickets or reservations.)
At the winter concerts, early and sacred music — including the jubilant Christmas song “Gaudete” from Piae Cantiones, a collection of late medieval Latin songs — will convey the mystery and joy of the season. The program will also include “Stala se jest věc divan” (a 15th century Czech song from a manuscript of sacred chants called Jistebnický kancionál), in an arrangement by Jordan Sramek.
Another piece is “Hanacpachap cussicuinin,” a processional hymn to the Virgin Mary sung in the Quechua language of central Peru, composed in the early 17th century by Franciscan priest Juan Pérez de Bocanegra, in the style of a European motet. “It was the earliest printed music in the Americas, which is pretty neat, and it doesn’t get performed a lot,” Zabiegala says. “It’s very earthy and heavily processional-based so there’s sort of a drum beat, which makes it a really interesting piece.”
Other numbers will include “Betlehems Stjärna,” a Swedish song by Ivar Widéen, a 19th century composer who wrote choir works inspired by native folksongs; and “The Rose,” Joel Thompson’s English translation and arrangement of the popular hymn “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming,” which was originally set to music by Michael Praetorius in 1609 from a 16th century German text.
A big part of Zabiegala’s leadership is centered on platforming underrepresented voices. “That’s one of my philosophies as a choral leader and as someone who is in the arts profession: We need to amplify these diverse talents,” he says. “I mean, yes, Mozart, Beethoven, Bach and Brahms are lovely. But there is also room for folks that are not as represented.”
MARI ESABEL VALVERDE
One of those talents is Mari Esabel Valverde, a transgender Mexican-American composer. The concert will include her “Comfort and Joy” (2021), with text by Charles Anthony Silvestri, in a section of beloved carols and holiday classics presented in new and attractive settings. “With this piece she offers a different perspective on the traditional Christmas carol,” says Zabiegala. “It is written in the style of a carol, but it talks more about the feelings during the holiday season rather than the holiday itself.”
Other selections will include “I Wonder as I Wander,” in Kyle Pederson’s fantasy-inspired arrangement; “Away in the Manger,” arranged in the spirited style of a ’90s R&B gospel tune; and Paul Manz’s 20th century sacred choral anthem, “E’en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come.”
The Chamber Singers were founded in 1978 as a small ensemble devoted to high-quality choral music. Almost 50 years later, they still function in much the same way. “We don’t really go for the big cathedral-type scene or the huge churches or auditoriums,” says Zabiegala. “We’re a chamber group so we’re very agile, and it’s very intimate.”
By definition, a chamber choir is no more than 32 people. But sometimes this groups takes on large-scale works scored for 100 choristers. “We can get around pieces that are fit for a smaller group and even for a larger group sometimes: It’s a nice balance,” Zabiegala says. “Thirty-two people might not seem like a lot, but you’ve actually got eight people singing a voice part — eight sopranos, eight altos, eight tenors, eight basses — and that’s usually plenty, especially if you’ve got voices that are fairly trained, sing classically or have presence to their voices.”
Singers come from all walks of life. Some are music teachers, church musicians and organists, while others are simply music enthusiasts. “Every voice is a valued voice, professional or not,” Zabiegala says.
They serve mainly Monmouth and Ocean counties, and are actively involved in lifting up the local communities through music. A couple of weeks ago, they launched a new partnership with Seawatch Coffee & Market in Manasquan, a community-driven coffee shop that opened in June. The choir sang a pop-up performance of holiday selections called “Carols & Christmas.”
MATTHEW ZABIEGALA
Zabiegala came to singing through a little bit of luck. He started off as a band kid, playing the saxophone at a large high school in Ohio that had multiple choirs “and a huge marching band of like 300 people; it was massive,” he says. “I was the drum major: the person who was conducting the marching band. One day the choir director walked into the band room and said, ‘Mr. Zabiegala, why aren’t you in choir?’ So he put me in choir, in the men’s chorus, and I loved it!”
While Zabiegala was at Ohio State University earning his bachelor’s in music degree, he missed the band scene, so he auditioned for band director on saxophone, but didn’t get it. “The sax professor could tell I was a good musician, so he was like, ‘Do you play anything else, like maybe the trombone or something?’ And at the time I had been taking voice lessons, so I said, ‘Well, I guess I sing a little bit,’ and I sang a little something for him.”
The professor led Zabiegala across the street to the voice faculty and arranged a singing audition on the spot. He passed, and also was offered some scholarship funds. “That was sort of the moment I came to singing, and I’ve never looked back,” he says.
He moved to New Jersey in 2016 and lives in Morris County. While pursuing a master’s degree in choral conducting at Rutgers University (which he earned in 2019), he became friends with Chamber Singers’ then-artistic director Reid Masters, who was getting his doctorate. Masters invited him to sing on a couple of projects with the choir, including a 2018 recording of Mozart’s Requiem on the Affetto Records label.
“Right as Reid graduated in 2019, he said, ‘Hey, I’ve got this great job in Georgia. I’ve got to go but I don’t want to leave the Chamber Singers to just anyone. Would you fill in?’ ” Zabiegala said yes and was made interim conductor that fall. After serving for one year, the ensemble began a national search for the position. Zabiegala auditioned and has been with them ever since.
He has since returned to Rutgers for his doctorate in choral conducting and is about halfway through the program. He is also an active musician with many irons in the fire. “The life of an artist,” he jokes.
He just began as principal organist and choir director (for Sunday morning mass) at St. Mary’s Abbey, a community of Benedictine monks on the campus of Delbarton School in Morristown. And since 2022, he has led The Concord Singers, an all-treble vocal ensemble based in Summit. He is also an adjunct professor at Wagner College in Staten Island.
Even though he works through Christmas Day as a church musician, he always surrounds himself with music during the small window of free time during the holidays. It is usually less of the merry-making variety and more reflective in nature. “As a musician, you’re singing this repertoire since September, so by the time Christmas rolls around, you’re kind of Christmased-out,” he jokes.
New Jersey Chamber Singers will perform at The Episcopal Church of the Holy Innocents in Beach Haven, Dec. 6 at 4 p.m.; Laurita Winery in New Egypt, Dec. 14 at 4 p.m.; and Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Manasquan, Dec. 19 at 7:30 p.m. Visit njchambersingers.org.
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