Written for piano in 2017.

Performer: Mary Katherine Schober.

Dreams and Memories

I. Dance of Memories

Dreams and Memories - I. Dance of Memories

Composer and pianist Hope A Starr got her start in music at age nine, when her first music teacher told the class about a free notation program and she was the only one who cared enough to try it out. Her compositional work focuses on bringing joy to people and improving her craft. Starr's works range from the energetic to the moody and she has worked with traditional chamber instruments as well as handbells and actors. In 2022 Alice Codieck of the First United Methodist Church (FUMC) in Nacogdoches, TX commissioned Starr to write a solo handbell and piano arrangement of a traditional hymn. The resulting work "The King Shall Come" was performed twice that same year, premiered at FUMC by Codieck and pianist Dr Andrew Par, and then performed at Starr's senior recital, this time performed by Codieck and Starr.

As a pianist, Starr has experience in solo performance, jazz band, and collaborative piano. She has helped to premiere many newly composed chamber and choir works, including as part of a Pierrot ensemble. Starr was the pianist for the Alvin Community College Jazz Band for two and a half years and her band played in both the 2017 and 2018 Gulf Coast Intercollegiate Consortium (GCIC) Jazz Festival. In her role as a collaborative pianist, Starr has played for funeral services of Catholic and Baptist churches and regularly puts on private performances with her husband, composer, and vocalist Brazos Starr, with works ranging from classical to romantic to jazz.

Starr got her BA in Composition at Stephen F Austin State University studying with composers Dr Stephen Lias and Robert J Coe and studied composition independently with Dr Chad Robinson for two years, a composer who founded the non-profit Texas New Music Ensemble (TNME), which Starr also worked for during her studies. She also got her AA in Piano Performance at Alvin Community College studying with composer and jazz pianist Dr. Stephen Termini and pianist Carol Holst.