“This piece was written for the purpose of examining the question of what, or where, the origins of creativity might be, as prompted by the theme of a vocal composition festival I attended in California in 2019. While I first tried to focus on one possible source of creativity, there were multiple answers swimming around in my mind. Does our creativity come from nature? fear and grief? human relationships? a deity? from nothing? I couldn’t decide. So, back to the drawing board I went: what if, instead of trying to find an answer, I just let the music ask all the questions?” - Nyokabi Kariuki, composer

“Questions on the Origins of Creativity”
by Nyokabi Kariuki

Leandra Ramm, mezzo-soprano
Antonio Romero, piano

Questions on the Origins of Creativity

Questions On The Origins Of Creativity

My Morning Practice Guided Meditation

Broadcast from Home is a new large-scale work in response to the coronavirus crisis featuring contributions from the public.

Composer Lisa Bielawa is collecting testimonies reflecting on the experiences of the coronavirus crisis; and voices singing melodies that she will write using these testimonies. The public's voices will be the building blocks of the new work, which will be released in "Chapters" each Thursday.

Learn more at www.lisabielawa.net/broadcast-from-home

Broadcast from Home – Chapter 10 “The City is Not the Same”

TEXTS: 

London, North Hackney – London is apparently “opening” but the city is not the same. I choose to believe that this is a good thing.
- Anonymous, 39 years old, London, UK, May 23, 2020

I am changing moving seeing sun set here and there and then back here way above the stillness of the city city that was in motion is now in non-motion i am a reflection of my city a reflection of these people one person with these people.
- Anonymous, 15 years old, Brooklyn, NY, June 1, 2020

I like the quiet.
The simple rhythm of trimmed back life.
We are reopening…
- Andrew Purdam, 57 years old, Hall, CT, Australia, May 28, 2020

[plus city names from testimonies and vocal submissions]

CREDITS:

Composed, produced and edited by Lisa Bielawa
Mixed and mastered by Ben Young
Sing Leaders: Lisa Bielawa and Gregory Purnhagen

Fresh Inc. Festival participants:
Sarah Jordan, flute and piccolo
Hunter Duseau, clarinet
Ben Beckman, piano and prepared piano
Nicholas Slaughter, piano
Vizma Zvaignze, mezzo-soprano
Noah Nethery, baritone and percussion

Lisa Bielawa, toy piano

The Concert Singers of Cary
Dr. Nathan Leaf, Artistic Director

Shannon Beall
Marjorie Bender
Christine Bonin
Nancy Canterbury
Kelly Cash
Debi DeAnn
Jared Dodd
Joan Eastwick
Susan Ebbs
Casey Erklin
Dannibeth Farnum

Pamela Hartsfield
Thom Haynes
Kay Kaufman
Sherry Kilgus-Kramer
Emiko Kuroda
Nathan Leaf
Rachael Lubbers
Chuck McCullen
Laura Moore
Sarah Neely
Terri Ring
Paul Stapleton
Dana Thomas
Laura Yurco
Additional Singers:

Anonymous
Cindy Brome
Melissa Bybee
Angelo Andrea di Castro
Barbara di Castro
Charlotte Ensley
Federico Hewson
Jackson Hill
Kathleen Marquardt
Andrew Purdam
Leandra Ramm
Brian Snowden

Broadcast from Home - Chapter 10: “The City is Not the Same”

Broadcast from Home is a new large-scale work in response to the coronavirus crisis featuring contributions from the public.

Composer Lisa Bielawa is collecting testimonies reflecting on the experiences of the coronavirus crisis; and voices singing melodies that she will write using these testimonies. The public's voices will be the building blocks of the new work, which will be released in "Chapters" each Thursday.

Learn more at www.lisabielawa.net/broadcast-from-home

TEXTS:

…I dream about being near people and…I wake up terrified. I can’t imagine hugging or shaking a hand ever again. “is it safe?”…Reopening? Reopening what? or more importantly, when? This isn’t a thing that we can walk away from. I’ve worked all my life to be patient, and now my life depends on that work.”
- Melissa Bybee, 54 years old, New York, NY, June 19, 2020

…Where is everybody? What is happening to our country and our world? Why didn’t we handle this differently? Why didn’t they handle this differently?...
- Anonymous, 35 years old, San Francisco, CA, June 18, 2020

[plus other improvised texts]

CREDITS:

Composed, produced and edited by Lisa Bielawa
Mixed and mastered by Ben Young
Sing Leaders: Lisa Bielawa and Gregory Purnhagen

A collaboration with The Next Festival of Emerging Artists
Peter Askim, Artistic Director
participants: 
 
YoonJung Hwang, violin
Connie Li, violin
Madalyn Navis, violin
Ana Luna Uribe, violin
Rebecca Lester, viola
Rocío Díaz de Cossío, cello
Maggie Hasspacher, double bass and voice
Sam Zagnit, double bass and voice

Special guest: Brian Snowden (Melbourne, Australia), electric guitar

Field audio captured by Lisa Bielawa, June 30, 2020 (Fireworks as heard from inside Washington Heights apartment)

Additional Singers:
 
Cindy Brome
Melissa Bybee
Ana Sofia da Silva Teixeira
Charlotte Ensley
Federico Hewson
Leandra Ramm
Brian Snowden
Claire Solomon
Ellen Stark
Theo Trevisan

Broadcast from Home - Chapter 13: "Where is Everybody?"

Broadcast from Home is a new large-scale work in response to the coronavirus crisis featuring contributions from the public.

Composer Lisa Bielawa is collecting testimonies reflecting on the experiences of the coronavirus crisis; and voices singing melodies that she will write using these testimonies. The public's voices will be the building blocks of the new work, which will be released in "Chapters" each Thursday.

Learn more at www.lisabielawa.net/broadcast-from-home

Broadcast from Home – Chapter 14 “Still”

TEXTS:

In the present moment, things are fine where I am…March seems like both days and years ago.
- Theo Trevisan, 20 years old, Princeton, NJ, June 28, 2020

Be still and know. Be still. Be.
…we don’t know what lies ahead…
- Larissa Fall, 28 years old, San Francisco, CA, June 25, 2020

Breathing in I know my strength.
- Leila Sesmero, age unknown, location unknown, April 10, 2020

There is no room at all for division – …we all realize how intertwined we actually are when things start to unravel.
- Anonymous, 52 years old, location unknown, April 15, 2020

[plus other improvised texts]

CREDITS:

Composed, produced and edited by Lisa Bielawa
Mixed and mastered by Ben Young
Sing Leaders: Lisa Bielawa and Gregory Purnhagen

Fifth House instrumentalist:
Elizandro Garcia-Montoya, clarinet

Fresh Inc. Festival participants:
Vizma Zvaigzne, mezzo-soprano
Sarah Jordan, piccolo
Frejya Zackrison, flute
Eric Aaron, horn
Spencer Aris, melodica
Ari Schwartz, harp
 
Additional Singers:
James J. Coniglio (5 years old)
Siena Coniglio (3 years old)
Charlotte Ensley
Wendy Griffiths
Kathleen Marquardt
Andrew Purdam
Leandra Ramm
Brian Snowden
Ellen Stark
Theo Trevisan

Broadcast from Home - Chapter 14: "Still"

Et Exultavit Spiritus Meus from Magnificat by J.S. Bach

Leandra Ramm, mezzo-soprano
Ragnar Bohlin, piano
David v.R. Bowles, sound engineer

Et Exultavit Spiritus Meus from Magnificat by Bach

Leandra Ramm, mezzo-soprano
Jonathan Keplinger, pianist
Dana Kaufman, composer
Tom Swift, lyrics
Katty Verse, audio mastering

The Kardashians have achieved collective fame through their often scandalous endeavors, a family which is truly “famous for being famous.” Their various achievements include deceased patriarch Robert Kardashian’s questionable involvement in the O.J.
Simpson trial; Kris Jenner’s marriage to, and divorce from, Olympic athlete Caitlyn—then Bruce—Jenner; myriad plastic surgeries and subsequent risqué photo shoots; Kim Kardashian’s all-time best-selling sex tape and marriage to Kanye West; Bruce Jenner’s
 gender transition to Caitlyn Jenner; and their popular show Keeping Up With The Kardashians, along with its multitude of spinoffs. Fame, accumulated.

Kardashian joy (i.e., a collaboration with a fashion designer) and Kardashian tragedy (i.e., the hospitalization and demise of an addict in the family) receive equal airtime and marketing; all is entertainment. But while the Kardashians are known for glitz, glamour, their aggressive social media presence and affinity for plastic surgery, they are much more than their “Botoxiness.”Beyond this “Botoxiness” lie intricately woven narratives and a dark dramedy of divorce, sex, gender dysphoria, betrayal, complex conceptions of femininity and sexuality, the relatively new art form that is reality TV and the benefits and perils of fame.
 
Cycle Kardashian is comprised almost entirely of quotes by three members of the Kardashian clan: Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner and Caitlyn Jenner. The text of “Kim” is taken from interview excerpts regarding the armed robbery of her Paris apartment in October 2016—while also implying that she has a perpetually captivated and trapped audience—and references a racially-charged photograph in which she balances a champagne glass on her behind. “Kris” uses Kris Jenner’s comments on an article about ex-husband 
Caitlyn Jenner in Vogue, referencing a relationship she sees as damaged by Caitlyn’s gender transition and the couple’s divorce. Finally, “Caitlyn” is comprised of quotes by Caitlyn Jenner regarding gender dysphoria and her transition; the movement is composed for a
gender-neutral voice.

Ultimately, I aim to depict one of the world’s most powerful families, which has captured the attention of the general public; the song cycle centers on family, the human condition and the universality of the issues the Kardashians face—or, perhaps, craft.
-Dana Kaufman

Cycle Kardashian - III. Caitlyn

Leandra Ramm is a remarkably versatile mezzo-soprano and actress with an “extraordinary voice” (Anderson Cooper 360), whose “beautiful and quite moving” (Nordstjernan Newspaper) performances have graced prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the United Nations, and Symphony Space.

Cycle Kardashian - III. Caitlyn

LeandraRamm

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