The Master Singers of Eau Claire, WI
Published by Colla Voce Music, Inc.

Adoro te, Devote

In Pace

Text - Amy Lowell
Performed by The Singing Statesmen at UW-Eau Claire
Published by Colla Voce Music, LLC

Fatigue

Performed by the Dallas Chamber Choir (Jon Culpepper, director)

Duo Seraphim

Performed by the Richland HS Varsity TB choir (Andrew Steffen, director)

UIL 2021

In The Silence of the Night

Performed by Cantus (Richland HS Non-Varsity TB choir)

Nada Te Turbe

Spark of Light (SAB)

Performed by the UK Men's Chorus (Will Chandler, conductor)

Alleluia

Performed by the New American Voices (Andrew Steffen, guest conductor)

O Sapientia

Performed by the Richland HS Varsity Treble choir

Spark Of Light (SSA)

Warum?

Western Hills HS V. TB choir
Blake Glass, conductor

One Clear Call for Me

Winner of the 2014 ACDA Raymond W. Brock Student Composition Competition

Performed by Concert Chorale (Oklahoma State University)
Andrew Steffen, conductor/composer
www.apsteffen.com

Spells of Herrick

Rose Ronde (No. 2 from "Mélodies de la Rose")

Performed by the Oklahoma State University Saxophone Octet (Kaylee Christensen, conductor)
Song to the Tide, written and dedicated to the OSU Saxophone Octet, is primarily a study in melody and harmony.  The primary melody (heard first in the Sop. Sax) is a melody of yearning, heightened by the answer (harmony) of the second Sop. Sax.  As waves crash endlessly onto beaches and banks their boundaries are limited by the moon’s control of the tide.  I see the waves desiring to know what exists beyond their highest tide and yearn with curiosity.  The exchange and ebb of parts reflects the lapping on the shore, while the melodies stir the waters and create longing.

Tempo changes and densities in texture mimic the tides various emotional states – reflected in fast tempos and stirring lines, slower tempos and thin textures, and beautiful dissonant intervals that create the yearning felt by the tide.

Midest Clinic 2016

Song for the Tide

"Paradisum" recorded by the men of Lovis Chorum

Andrew Steffen's Album

Paradisum

Home

Persian poet, Rumi understood the ecstasy of love.  The indescribable feeling and electricity of that person.  His writings transcended borders and cultures expressing views on love, religion, politics, and scholarship.  HIs prolific output of poetry and prose have been translated into thousands of languages across the world making him one of the most popular poets of our modern day.  

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In 2016, I was approached by Chris Nelson, an acquaintance at the time I had met through PopUp Choir, who wanted to commission a work for his wife in honor of their 10th wedding anniversary the following year.  Eager to write the piece I was later paralyzed as I tried to figure out how to express the eternity of love and commitment people make to each other.  I searched  and searched for poems that would service the occasion, but every time I tried to write - nothing.   Somehow, I stumbled on a few of Rumi's poems and was immediately captivated by the simplicity of the the poem,

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Your love lifts my soul from the body to the sky

And you lift me up out of the two worlds.

[I want your sun to reach my raindrops,

So your heat can raise my soul upward like a cloud.] - omitted from the work



From "Thief of Sleep"

Translated by Shahram Shiva

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Using the first two lines only in combination with a 'vocalise' for the remaining half, I sought to captivate the ecstasy and speechlessness of eternal love.

PopUp Choir - Chris Aspaas

Your Love Lifts My Soul

Andrew Steffen (b.1990) is an American choral composer and conductor int he Dallas/Fort Worth area.  He earned his Bachelors of Music Education (Choral) from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire (2013) and Masters degree in Choral Conducting from Oklahoma State University with Dr. Z. Randall Stroope. 

From 2011 to 2013, Andrew served as the composer-in-residence for The Master Singers in Eau Claire, WI.  In his time with the ensemble, The Master Singers recorded his works on several CDs.   

Andrew’s works are performed with increasing frequency and featured at reading sessions and conventions across the country.  His compositions have won several prestigious competitions including the Raymond W. Brock Student Composition Competition, sponsored by ACDA.  The winning work, "Spells of Herrick", was premiered at the 2015 national convention in Salt Lake City.  Additionally, in 2013, Andrew’s work "Adoro te, Devote" won the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association Student Composition Contest.

His works are published through Walton Music, Alliance, and Colla Voce.  For more information, visit Andrew’s website at www.apsteffen.com

Andrew Steffen

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