A collection of choral and vocal music by Jonathan Posthuma.

Choral and Vocal Music

Highlights

PostSecret: The Song Cycle was composed in 2014. Jonathan Poshtuma uses 20 secrets selected from PostSecret, an ongoing community art project founded by Frank Warren in 2005, in which people create anonymous postcards that contain a secret they have never shared before. The instrumentation is for Pierrot Ensemble, a standard contemporary ensemble that uses flute, clarinet, violin, violoncello, piano and voice.

PostSecret: The Song Cycle was premiered as part of the Southern Miss New Music Festival, April 9, 2016 by Stacey Trentaseaux, soprano; Hector Pinzon, piano/conductor; Rainel Joubert, violin; Xochitl Morales, cello; Thiago Bottego, flute; Mike Gruetzner, clarinet.

PostSecret: The Song Cycle LIVE

Recorded by First Readings Project, August 29, 2019
J. David Moore, conductor; Clara Osowski, alto

For more information, visit https://www.jonathanposthuma.com/store/p92/Two_Dickinson_Poems.html

Two Dickinson Poems

In recent years, the seed-saving and heirloom vegetable movement has put thousands of people back in touch with the diverse bounty and beauty of fresh produce. And perhaps the tomato – in all of its myriad colors, shapes, forms, flavors, and textures – is the ultimate show-stopper of the gardening world.  Heirloom Hallelujah! captures the abundance of heirloom tomatoes in a joyful musical mosaic of over 160 heirloom tomato varieties in about 4 minutes of music. Behind these unique (and sometimes hilarious sounding!) names is a tapestry of cultures, traditions, and personal stories that is still growing and evolving. The text itself was assembled from several sources, with thanks to Gary Ibsen, founder of the Carmel TomatoFest and heirloom enthusiast, whose website along with The Heirloom Tomato, a book by Amy Goldman, was consulted to choose which synonym and spelling of each variety was used for the lyrics. By celebrating the wholesome diversity of the tomato in song, perhaps we can begin to encourage and grow gardens of delight in our own lives, prompting more moments where our response should be nothing but “Hallelujah!”
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Heirloom Hallelujah! was composed for VocalEssence Remix 2016 and premiered by mpls (ImPulse), a choir based in Minneapolis.

Score and Lyrics: https://www.jonathanposthuma.com/store/p64/Heirloom_Hallelujah%21.html

Heirloom Hallelujah!

World Premiere by the American Modern Orchestra at the Mostly Modern Festival, June 3, 2018. Martim Sousa Tavares, conductor

A "ricercar" is a Baroque form, often likened to a "fugal fantasia" and is usually improvised as an introduction to a larger work. As the first movement of "Chamber Symphony," broad harmonic and thematic concepts are presented, which will be developed in subsequent movements.

"Ricercar" from Chamber Symphony - Beams of Heaven

World Premiere by the American Modern Orchestra at the Mostly Modern Festival, June 3, 2018.

Martim Sousa Tavares, conductor

The second of four "tone poems" in the full work, "The Flood - clouds may hide tomorrow's sun" creates a watery landscape filled with rising tension and swirling currents of sound. The climax is a cloudburst, when the heavens open, allowing the listener to finally let go and "join the storm."

"II. The Flood - clouds may hide tomorrow's sun" from Chamber Symphony - Beams of Heaven

Premiered by American Modern Ensemble
June 14, 2018, Mostly Modern Festival, Saratoga Springs, NY

"Dream City" (Traum-Stadt, 1921)
Luminescent green, blue, pink, and silver shapes shimmer in the moonlight, creating a city of crystal, like one seen in a dream, which slowly evaporates into the night.

Dream City (Traum-Stadt, 1921) - No. 22 From Paul Klee Painted Songs

Premiered by American Modern Ensemble
June 14, 2018, Mostly Modern Festival, Saratoga Springs, NY

"Carnival in the Mountains" (Karneval im Gebirge, 1924)
Dimly lit but multi-colored figures, some appearing to be vendors, performers, animals, and costumed guests, blend together in a scene both jovial and grotesque beneath the faint blue mountains in the distance, which form a peaceful contrast to the frenzied activity of the foreground.

Carnival in the Mountains (Karvneval im Gebirge, 1924) - No. 17 from Paul Klee : Painted Songs

Premiered by American Modern Ensemble
June 14, 2018, Saratoga Springs, NY

"Rose Garden" (Rosengarten, 1920)
Twenty-seven roses are sprinkled aesthetically throughout a city of pink, orange, and white buildings, criss-crossed by streets and pathways. This use of a recurring symbolic motive keeps the eye moving throughout the community, and observe its structures from various perspectives while exploring the garden.

Rose Garden (Rosengarten, 1920) - No. 13 from Paul Klee Painted Songs

A setting of e. e. cummings' poem for chorus.

Premiered by the International Orange Chorale of San Francisco, December 8 and 15, 2018.

love is a place

A setting of three related poems by William Carlos Williams for chorus (SATB)

Live recording of premiere with Kantorei, Axel Theimer, director -- Gethsemane Lutheran Church, Hopkins, MN -- May 4, 2019

From A Window

Recorded by First Readings Project, August 29, 2019
J. David Moore, conductor

Saints, At Your Heav'nly Father's Word

Collection of recorded compositions of Jonathan Posthuma, composer.

PostSecret: The Song Cycle LIVE

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