From the Musical Director, Jennifer Tibben:
Music in the Heart

Music in the Heart Winter Consert Poster You are invited to join the singers in Bella Voce as we share music, both new and familiar for the holiday season with our audiences. The music of this concert will bring you back to memories of the holiday season, and can introduce you to some new favorites as well! You will be able to hum along to Happy Holiday and White Christmas and tap your toe to the jazzy Christmas Reverie. We will also feature music from the Baroque with a composition by Isabella Leonarda, accompanied by violins and string bass. We have also added a piece by Emma Lou Diemer. Emma Lou was the first composer Bella Voce commissioned years ago, who passed away this fall after a rich life of composing and music making. We honor her by singing her composition A Christmas Carol.

Bella Voce is thrilled to have a conducting intern for this concert, Jordan Gotchy, choir and orchestra director atSpanish Spring HS! He has brought a wonderful energy to our group.

We are eager to perform our beautiful music with you and your friends on December 13th at St. John's Presbyterian in Reno at 7:00pm, December 14th at Shepherd of the Sierra Lutheran Church in Carson City at 4:00pm, or on December 15th at Trinity Episcopal Church in Reno at 2:00pm (please note the different time!). We are always excited to share our music with you – and invite you to experience our concert with someone you know who may need a breath of fresh air, a new tune to this season.

Thank you for your ongoing support of Bella Voce! Your generosity helps us to pay our artistic staff, buy music for performances and pay our instrumentalists. We know you appreciate beautiful music – especially beautiful choral music and want to make sure groups like Bella Voce are able to provide wonderful music in our community. Knowing your holiday season would not be the same without the music we share with each other, please consider a tax-deductible gift to Bella Voce. If you have already given us a gift this year, thank you! Your support is truly valued. We would not be able to continue delivering outstanding music in the Truckee Meadows and beyond without your financial assistance. As you probably know, grant money from the City of Reno and State of Nevada has been greatly reduced and your donation dollars will be even more important to our future. If you believe, as we do, music can and does make a difference in our lives; we ask you to help Bella Voce, all donations are greatly appreciated.

We continue to provide free admission at our concerts, given your ongoing support; however a donation at the concert will be cheerfully accepted.

This is not just a concert; it's an invitation into an immersive world where melodies meet tradition through Bella Voce's radiant sound – a perfect way to start your holiday celebrations. Gather your friends and plan to join us! See you on December 13th at St. John's Presbyterian in Reno, December 14th at Shepherd of the Sierra Lutheran Church in Carson City, or on December 15th at Trinity Episcopal Church in Reno! Take a minute to call a friend to invite them to join you in an afternoon or evening that can truly uplift daily life!

Please consider making a donation to Bella Voce. You can use this the QR code below.

Sincerely,
Jennifer Tibben, Artistic Director,
and
the Singers of Bella Voce.
Dawn Brisbane, Karen Bryson, Ruth Buffa, Jody Call, Nicole Choma, Kristina Deeter, Josette Dornoff, Amanda Eddy, Natalie Fuller, Lauren Garza, Sue Goodenow, Irene Heinemeier, Jade Kulwin, Andrea Lenz, Kimberly Li, Katherine McCall, Dani McEathron, Darcy McMillin, Evelyn Mejia Ronquillo, Nikki Murphy, Julye Neel, Nancy Petersen, Megan Pham, Sue Roberts, Diane M Schaub, Kasey Smith, Jasmynne Spence, Sandy Tackett, Grace Tibben-Lembke, Beth Usher, Sarah Wheeler, Amy Willoughby

November 2024

See You at Our December Concerts!

Friday, December 13, 7:00 pm, St. John's Presbyterian Church, Reno
Saturday, December 14, 4:00 pm, Shepherd of the Sierra, Carson City
Sunday, December 15, 2:00 pm, Trinity Cathedral, Reno

Sixth Annual Treble Voice Turnout!

Wednesday, October 23rd, Damonte Ranch High School Auditorium

mugs Bella Voce hosted our sixth annual choral event at Damonte Ranch High School on Wednesday, October 23rd, when we gathered together six treble voice (soprano and alto) choirs from six northern Nevada high schools for a choral festival. Our first gathering was in 2018 (with a year off in 2020) when we wanted to expand Bella Voce's mission "to foster the appreciation, preservation, and performance of women's choral music." We identified educational outreach as a priority area and the Treble Voice Turnout event was born. Our participant numbers have grown from 150 singers from five high schools in 2018 to approximately 250 singers from six high schools this year, coming from Damonte Ranch, McQueen, Reed, Spanish Springs, and Hug High Schools. Singers from North Valleys High school joined us for our final sing, although they did not have a performance piece. We gathered in the auditorium at Damonte Ranch High School to share our music with one another in a noncompetitive, very supportive environment. We ended by singing together, in a combined choir circling the auditorium, the piece "Hope Lingers On," music and lyrics by Lissa Schneckenburger, arranged by Andrea Ramsey. As you can see from the lyrics below, this is a hopeful, enthusiastic call for optimism – complete with body percussion! - in a world that seems to be struggling with hate and misunderstanding.

After time spent warming up and then engaging in some fun "get to know one another" activities, the program opened up with brief talks from three people. The first speaker was Britney May, a music and voice professor from UNR who talked about the choruses at UNR (a couple of which are open to anyone) and the singing opportunities that can be pursued after high school. The second speaker was Jade Kulwin, a recent graduate from Damonte Ranch High School who knew that she wanted to keep singing after she graduated. A singer must be at least 18 years old to sing with Bella Voce, so she joined us as soon as she could with the support of Jennie Tibben, the Bella Voce music director and her former music teacher at Damonte Ranch. She spoke about how much she is enjoying singing with Bella Voce and received a wonderful round of applause from the Damonte Ranch singers in the audience who knew her! The third speaker was Josette Dornoff, a longtime singer with Bella Voce (25+ years) and she talked about the lifelong enjoyment of singing, which also includes the friends and community developed in choral singing.

At the end of the afternoon, Bella Voce distributed our sixth annual commemorative mug. And a very good time was had by all.

View photos from the event.

Hope Lingers On

Words and music by Lissa Schneckenburger
Arranged by Andrea Ramsey

My mother, when love is gone, my mother when love is gone, in our darkest hour, hope lingers on,
My father, when peace is gone, my father, when peace is gone, in our darkest hour, hope lingers on.

I will not hate, and I will not fear,
In our darkest hour, hope lingers here.

My sister, when equality's gone, my sister, when equality's gone in our darkest hour hope lingers on.
My brother, with tolerance gone, my brother, with tolerance gone in our darkest hour hope lingers on.

I will not hate, and I will not fear,
In our darkest hour, hope lingers here

My love, when honor is gone, when honor is gone, in our darkest hour hope lingers on.
My country, when justice is gone, when justice is gone, in our darkest hour hope lingers on.

I will not hate, and I will not fear,
In our darkest hour, hope lingers here,
I will not hate, and I will not fear,
In our darkest hour, hope lingers here.

Vella Voce News

From the Musical Director, Jennifer Tibben:
Music in the Heart

See You at Our December Concerts!

View Photos from Past Concerts

View Images of Our Concert Posters

Vella Voce News

From the Musical Director, Jennifer Tibben: Music in the Heart

See You at Our December Concerts!

From the Musical Director, Jennifer Tibben:
Music in the Heart