Created July 23, 2009 with Garageband loops only. Ha! 

Synthy Dance

A track created for fun with Garageband loops only, probably in 2009 or 2010.  :)

Oodeeladee

Black Lightning By Vanilla Thunder - Hanna Lisa Stefansson  Chad Powers

I was asked to create a piece for a performance in honor of the Dada Centennial at the Flicker Bar in Athens, GA.  My first thoughts raced to political satire, then to Donald Trump (obviously).  His words speak for themselves, and my performance piece employed the use of a readymade object to represent Mr. Trump -- a mop.  The mop also found its way head-down into a potty training toilet, and then I mopped the floor with it.  It was really quite therapeutic.  Performed 25. February 2016. 

Mr. Mop

When I began gathering ideas for Álfareiðin, I originally wanted to center it on an Icelandic poem about elves or other supernatural entities.  My research led me to poetry by Jónas Hallgrímsson (1807 – 1845), a naturalist and a poet considered to be the founder of romanticism in Iceland.  I happened upon a poem called “Álfareiðin,” or “The Elfin Ride:”  I had found the Icelandic poem I would work with, and the English translation:

Through the forest, in the moonlight,
Late I saw the elfin train
Pass with hunting-horns resounding,
Heard their horse-bells ring again.

Golden antlers, nobly branching,
Crowned each little snow-white steed;
Like a flight of wild swans homing
Through the glades they passed at speed.

Smiled the Fairy Queen upon me—
Smiled, and looked, and passed me by.
Does her smile mean love's renewal?
Does it mean that I must die?

		-translated by M. M. B/ Kate Freiligrath Krocker/ Margaret Armour 					

My father revealed a bit of news during a phone conversation that kind of shocked me:  the poem was originally a German poem by Heinrich Heine (1797 – 1856).  He is well known for his lyric poetry that was set to music by the composers Robert Schumann and Franz Schubert.  I decided to stick with the poem and deal with the challenges presented to me, but I knew in this instant that my project would be different from what I had initially planned.    
	The languages appear in order of my discovery of the translations.  The first verse is spoken in the English and Icelandic languages, while German is introduced in the second verse in a singing voice.  While most of the translations across the three languages are similar in meaning, the main difference lies in the third verse.  The original German poem and the English translation describe the elfin queen as greeting and smiling at the narrator, while the Icelandic version describes the queen as greeting and laughing at him/her.  I contrast this difference by creating a sinister tone with the Icelandic translation.  The elfin queen’s intentions are unknown, and the narrator becomes obsessed over the meaning of her greeting.  This piece also highlights the rhythm inherent in each of the three languages. I have close ties to each of these languages: I am first-generation Icelandic-American and studied German in college. (2014)

Álfareiðin (The Elfin Ride)

Vortex Poles (2013) is a piece for quadraphonic playback that explores a progression of organic sounds into synthesized sounds.  The listener is placed in the center of a strengthening vortex which then splits into dipoles of sound: pulsating high sounds contrasting with sweeping low sounds.  This piece was featured in the Slingshot Festival in Athens, GA (2014) and the SEAMUS National Conference (Statesboro, GA, 2015).

Vortex Poles

Saltarello Variations (2015) for baritone saxophone, euphonium, and tuba explores the characteristics of a medieval saltarello dance.  Each of these instruments plays the role of the drone, percussion, and melodic foreground with various extended techniques including multiphonics, trills, and percussive techniques with the use of the mouth and fingers.

Saltarello Variations

Piece for computer-generated and manipulated sounds, 2009. 

Clock Monster

Electronic interludes for my piece, Unveiling Narcissus.

Unveiling Narcissus - Interlude 1

Electronic interlude #2 for my piece, Unveiling Narcissus (2011).

Unveiling Narcissus - Interlude2

Unveiling Narcissus - Interlude3

Stereo electronic piece using samples of Javanese, Japanese, and various percussion instruments. (2013)

Tin Tingle

" Falling Into and In Front of is a collaborative project by Hanna Lisa Stefansson and Justine Stevens that plays with interpretation and the mistranslations and ambiguities that occur when communicating between visual and acoustic mediums. First, Hanna Lisa created a short piece of music, which Justine interpreted onto a page. The next page was a sort of thematic extension of the first, created without a musical “score” to guide it. Hanna Lisa then translated that image into sound and then extended the music further. Back and forth, and the result is this: a ten-page book and a nine-minute composition, equally a visual interpretation of sound and musical interpretation of image." (For the full experience, visit www.justinestevens.com/auxbook/)

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