The modal work displayed Balfour's ear for close harmonies with guest string quartet: Claudine St-Arnauld (violin); Rachel Moody (violin); Anne Elise Lavallée (viola); and Blair Burns (cello) seamlessly interwoven throughout while adding its own sonic texture."Also from the east set, Minnesota-based composer Catherine Dalton's From the State of Emptiness evokes haunting Tibetan chant including otherworldly, whistling vocal overtones led by chorister Alan Schroeder." Ave Maria (West) by New-Brunswick's James Fogarty is an arresting a cappella work that steadily grows in intensity as its melody derives from densely scored harmonies. 

(full review here)

I am so excited for this concert! Aurora Chorus, directed by Joan Szymko, is premiering my piece called "She Rises" about the Celtic sun goddess Brigid and St. Brigid of Kildare. I am flying out Thursday for the dress rehearsal and concerts!

I am very excited to hear Aurora Chorus, directed by Joan Szymko, bring She Rises to life at their 20th Anniversary concert called.... SHE RISES! She Rises was written, in part, by a desire to explore the physics of light and the mystery of illumination through the power of the human voice. I began by imagining the sounds of electrons falling from higher to lower energy levels, emitting light in the process. For a few weeks, I walked around my studio making "sun sounds" and asking other people what they thought the sun "sounded" like.

One day I heard a Celtic melody and wondered if it belonged in the piece I was writing. After a bit of research, I knew I would by creating lyrics about the Celtic sun goddess Brigid and Saint Brigid of Kildare, the Irish saint of, among other things, poetry, the hearth fire, the forge and illumination. A jubilant celebration of energy, She Rises is a reminder of the light that resides without and within all of us.

I hope you can join us!

I am so excited to share Nicole's powerful interpretation of these songs with you. Paired with Clinton Smith on piano and Tim O'Brien on dumbek, Nicole has realized a dream for me - to share these songs with the world. Thanks Nicole!

Listen to Nicole Warner on CD Baby

Mahtomedi High School's Varsity Choir will be performing Today will be warm: A Story Cloth in Sound, as part of their Music in the Schools Concert highlighting Minnesota Composers.

Based upon the poignant memoir of local author, Kao Kailia Yang, Today will be warm is a soundscape inspired by Yang's retelling of the attack on her family group in the mountains of Laos.

Thursday, March 24, Chautaqua Fine Arts Center, Mahtomedi, Minnesota
Kao Kalia Yang's Website