LINER NOTES
Back to Music
Celebrate
INTRODUCTORY NOTES
Dr. Timothy Seelig is both performer and educator. He holds the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of North Texas, as well as the Diploma in Lieder and Oratorio from the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. In addition to the Turtle Creek Chorale, he is the Artistic Director of the Women's Chorus of Dallas and his solo CD "Everything's Possible" benefits three local AIDs organizations. He serves on the board of Chorus America and was the recipient of the 1995 President's Citation as Distinguished Alumnus of the University of North Texas. Under his direction, the Turtle Creek Chorale has performed at two national conventions of the American Choral Director's Association, toured Europe and performed in prestigious halls including Carnegie Hall. The chorale is a member of Chorus America, American Choral Director's Association, International Federation of Choral Music and the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses.
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Forward to Recording
Webster's definition of celebrate includes such phrases as "to observe with ceremonies of respect, rejoicing or festivity." The synonyms are extol, commemorate, keep, and observe.
That's exactly what we are doing with this CD. It begins with the most festive, 'gotta-get-out-of-your-chair-and- dance' renditions of the 60's wildest and most memorable songs and dances. It extols groups from Motown to the Beatles. The middle section rejoices in the beauty of the music, from Yesterday to Sacrborough Fair. The end of the disc pays its respects to the upheavals of the decade, namely Vietnam, Civil Rights and Stonewall.
And what a decade it was. This incredible opus will take you from the heights of exhilaration to the turmoil of a people thrusting off chains of oppression. All of this is performed by 150 singers and the band with and eye toward commemorating those days and keeping them alive in our ears and hearts.
This is our gift to you: a memento from the past with the sound of the present and hope for the future.
REPERTOIRE
Musical Selections
1. Curtain Up On the Decade(6:00)
2. Vocal Styles of the 60's (7:04)
3. Dances of the Decade (3:49)
4. Motown (6:36)
5. Aquarius / Let the Sunshine (3:26)
6. Beatles Medley (5:04)
7. Yesterday (2:39)
8. Folk Influence (7:39)
9. Bridge Over Troubled Water (5:23)
10. Abraham, Martin, and John (3:57)
11. Songs of Protest (8:17)
12. Make Your Own Kind of Music / New World Coming (3:09)
PRODUCTION NOTES
Production Notes
RECORDED
July 12 and 13, 1997
Dallas Sound Lab, Las Colinas Communications Complex, Irving, TX
PRODUCERS
Craig Gregory Dallas, Texas
Gregory Grosh Dallas, Texas
ENGINEER
Michael Vazquez Irving, Texas
MASTERING
Toby Sheets Crystal Clear Sound, Dallas Texas
GRAPHICS/LAYOUT
Lois Weaver Dallas, Texas
COVER ART
Richard Curtin Dallas, Texas
INSTRUMENTALIST
Antoine Spencer Piano
Michael Sullivan Flute
Josh Judge Alto Sax
Eric Guerrero Trumpet
Craig Marshall Trombone
Mark Miller Synthesizer
Aaron Kelley Guitar
James Driscoll James Driscoll
Jose Aponte Percussion
Derrick Logozzo Percussion
Bill Shupp Trap Set
THANKS TO THE DREAM MAKERS WHO MADE THIS POSSIBLE
Mr. Gregory Grosh, Uptown Realtors and Shelter Mortgage
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SPECIAL THANKS
Dr. Timothy Seelig for his vision of tomorrow and the power of music
The dedication and musicianship of the men of TCC
The TCC Board of Directors and Staff for their inherent grooviness
The Starck Club, Dallas, Texas, for the Celebrate! premiere
OTHER
The Flower Children
Rusty E. Allen, George Anderson, Gregg Andrews, Marc Atkinson, Ernest Barrens, Ralph Blackburn, Roderick Blake, Lance Boltz, Gary Born, Billy Boughton, Tab Boyles, Michael R. Bradley, Dave Burbee, Michael Carrillo, Bruce Carter, Dwayne Clark, Kent Cochran, Michael Cole, Richard D. Curtin, Daniel DalPoas, Scott Davidson, Erwin DeBord, Gene Dolphus, Rob Dulaney, Don Dureau, Cedric Durham, Robert Emery, Brad Faidley, Rod Faulkner, David Fessenden, Jim Frederick, Richard Galvan, Owen Gibson, Alan Scott Goeringer, Stan Goff, Ralph Thaddeus Gonzales, Mark Goodheart, Craig Gregory, Martin Guerra, Victor Guerrero III, Richard Guy, Robert C. Guy, Vince Hackett, Will Handy, Dean Harberts, Bill M. Herod, Kevin Hodges, Reed R. Hoke, John Horany, Jake Jacobs, J. Jack Jakubowski, Coy James, Fred L. Johnson, Jim Jordan, Kit Kayton, Jason D. Kimmell, Jim Kondysar, Bill Kotch, Michael Lambert, Lonnie Lane, Paul r. LaPierre, Roy Lierman, Alberto Lujan, Bob Lynch, Bert Martin, Kenn McBryde, Kent Mecklenburg, Peter Mena, Joey Miertschin, Jack Mion, Steven C. Mitchell, Frederick E. Moore, Paul Myers, Daniel Oakes, Robert Orndoff, Tom Osborne, Mark Turner Parker, Allen Parks, John Pelletti, Jack Pettit, Rusty Prentice, Jamie Rawson, Randy Ray, Mack Richard, Gary Rifkin, Craig Robinson, Benny Ruiz II, Jeffery A. Sauers, Brent Schafer, Matthew Seckman, Tim Seelig, Rick Shackelford, Michael Sharrett, Daniel L. Shipman, John S. Shore, Evan Randell Smith, Kevin Spivey, Robert Steele, David Sterling, J. Christopher Stinnett, Michael Sullivan, Jason D. Swan, Chuck Sweatt, John Thomas, Bryan Tomes, Will Varner Victor Vidal, Michael Waite, Reggie Walker, Jamey Welch, Brain Willette, Gary R. Williams, Roger M. Wilson, Dorian Woodruff, Ed Young
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Additional Liner Notes
" It was May, 1966. Here I was, standing in my briefs, on a white line, waiting for my induction physical and applying for a "4F" status. This was the status reserved for "clergy, homosexuals and other disorders." I was the clergy. I didn't go to Vietnam, but Vietnam came to me every night for another 6 years on TV. Because of my almost- induction, I have always felt a special compassion for the individual soldier and respect for the valor of those thousands of lives, gone too soon. For what?" - Mike
"I, too, found myself in a line at the Dallas induction center. Unlike Mike, I was one of the chosen ones. I became a bombardier on the B52 with promises of a tour of tropical paradises. I had always dreamed of travel, so this was perfect. My crew flew over 100 bombing missions. One night we visited a city called Hanoi. They called it a party. But is was not a party because one of my best buddies didn't come home. Rosie was a good looking, blonde All American football player, father to two beautiful, young children. He did not get to see them grow up, hear their laughter, or hear them ask: Why?" - Tom
"By the time I was born, the Civil Rights movement had been well underway for many years. Even as a young child, I knew about the tension between the people on the Northside and the Southside. As we watched the destruction on TV, I remember asking my older brothers and sisters if the riots were going to come to our house. They always assured me we would be fine. It was a time of violent change as America faced its challenges of equality among races. In school we read stories, discussed civil rights, recited the speeches and learned the songs of protest and solidarity, One such song, "We Shall Overcome," reminds us never to forget the battles waged for our freedom; and to look ahead to the day when we will live lives of liberty and equality." - Ernest
"Were it not for Stonewall, you would not be listening to this CD. There would be no Turtle Creek Chorale. Friday night, June 17, 1969, began a gay liberation movement led by people who had nothing more to lose. The outcasts, the fringes, the people not only unacceptable to the general public, but unacceptable to other gay people as "not our kind." These were the ones who finally fought back. Three nights of riots followed. Lines of helmeted tactical police moved down streets and clubbed people in their way, just like they were doing in the Vietnam war protests and civil rights riots. Did it change your life? Did it change mine? It was a start. We must never forget." - John
"In May of 1969, I came out - of my Mother! I grew up in a sheltered, Midwestern, suburban home, far away from the gay rights movement, or anything particularly gay at all for that matter. My only exposure to "homosexuals" came with Billy Crystal's cross-dressing character on the sitcom SOAP. The first time I heard of Stonewall was in 1989, twenty years after the fact, when Time magazine published an anniversary issue on the Summer of '69. Reading of the courage of those early Gays of Pride had a profound effect on me at a time when I really needed it. I began to accept myself and take pride in myself, and soon after, I came out - to my Mother!" - Jason
