A short excerpt from ACT I of my 8-part choral piece “Aspects vs Things”. The first act was inspired by and completed during the ongoing #WomanLifeFreedom revolution in Iran. The text consists of only one word; “Silence”; deconstructed and broken into shorter syllables, single consonants, and vowels. The movement ends with a symbolic mourning gesture in the form of a dance, as the choir chants “Your Silence is Violence” while gradually moving towards and surrounding the audience.

This excerpt is a performance of all 8-parts by Stephanie Leotsakos. The premiere of this movement is TBD.

Aspects vs Things - ACT I (2022) - for SSSSAAAA choir

Finding Family: Minuet in F Minor

Whispers of Hopeful Winds (Flute Choir in F Major)

A symphonic poem in the spirit of Christmas.

Copyright © Stephanie E. Leotsakos, 2023.

Christmas Ode (for orchestra) by Stephanie E. Leotsakos

The message resounding in this piece is an appeal for equity and inclusivity.

One of the effects of resistance is an attempt to dissolve barriers of discrimination. The goal is to have walls crumble; the fall of the Berlin Wall is such a poignant memory for the commissioners of this piece – the wall’s dissolution provided much needed harmony. This piece serves to remind us that we humans, in our beautiful diversity, are equally one.

The piece begins in the night. The percussionists create a war zone soundscape, and within it, fleeing footsteps are heard. The soprano enters, tenderly crying, “hörst du den Schrei” – do you hear the cry? It is a cry for lost friends and loved ones, one that screams through its tenderness. In war, darkness takes no side; in love, it affirms that we are together.

Text:

TEXT
by Mireille Gansel
[English translation in brackets]

hörst du den schrei in der nacht? [Do you hear the cry in the night?]
the cry in the night

kristal splitter 
und menschen  
die im herzen barfuß gehen
[crystal splinters and humans who walk barefooted in their heart]

mach die tür auf
hörst du die sterne?
listen to the stars
[open the door do you hear the stars?]

light splitter
high in the night
heilt die wunde [cures the wound]

und menschen
die im herzen barfuß gehen
[and humans who walk barefooted in their heart]

nacht splitter [night splinters]
high in the light
verbindet die menschen [connects humans]

Du
tritt ein
durch staub und stern 
[You enter through dust and star]

lass uns gehen
barfuß im herzen
auf diese 
unsere 
erde 
ohne grenzen
[let us walk, barefooted in heart on this, our earth, without limits]

sub specie aeternitatis	[from the perspective of the eternal]

When Apathy is Betrayal

German Text:
Laß uns auf dich sehen,
Laß das Licht
Deines Worts uns heller scheinen 
Und dich jederzeit treu meinen.

-Author: Anonymous, from the tenor aria of J.S. Bach’s Cantata BWV6 (1725). 

Sanskrit Text:
man manā bhava mad-bhaktho 
mad yājī mām namaskuru 
mām evaisyasi yuktvaivam 
ātmānam mat-parāyanah
mām evaisyasi satyam te 
pratijāne priyo ‘si me

-Lines 1-4 (Bhagvad Gita 9.34); lines 5-6 (Bhagvad Gita 18.65). Krishna is addressing the mortal Arjuna.

German Translation:
Let us look upon You, 
Let the light 
of Your word shine brightly upon us
and always bring You faithfully to mind.

Sanskrit Text:
Think of Me always, 
follow the path of devotion,
offer your humble worship to Me 
and you will come to Me. 
Being completely devoted, you will surely come to Me;
I promise you this, for you are My very dear friend.

-Translations by Shruthi Rajasekar


Performers: 
-SSAA ensemble: Meredith Hooper, Paige Kunkle, Maddy Kushan, Rosamond van Wingerden
-Carnatic vocalist: Shruthi Rajasekar

Recorded live by Andrés Villalta in Taplin Auditorium, May 2017

Image captured at the Chapel in Princeton University, New Jersey, USA. Credit to Nick Barberio

Devotee (2017)

Now the Hour Bows Down/Tenebrae from ORATORIO FOR THE EARTH-Kama-River of Stars  commissioned and premiered by bass baritone solo-Nicholas Isherwood and electronics for The Electric Voice 2019 
https://www.newmusicusa.org/projects/oratorio-for-the-earth-kama-river-of-stars/

Now The Hour Bows Down - Tenebrae

bloom, for horn and piano. Available for other instruments + piano; contact Shruthi.

Note: 
blossom is flowery. pun intended. 
bloom carries loom. and gloom.

it takes endless patience, love, and care for bloom.
in the face of overwhelming Life, bloom is a little bud of resilience.

bloma in Old and Middle English: 
1. flower
2. superior
3. lump of metal 
we're sometimes all three. 

bloom was written in Bloomsbury in the spring of 2019.

---
Written for Nivanthi Karunaratne.
Performed by Nivanthi Karunaratne (horn) and Minji Nam (piano), Yale School of Music.

bloom (2019)

Text:
politicians have prohibited women from making decisions.
Here is what transpired: she was reading a letter.
she was warned.
Here is what transpired: she was reciting the words of a great woman.
she was warned to sit down and be silent.

but nevertheless, she
Here is what transpired. She appeared to violate the rule. 
but nevertheless, she continues.
--
All text taken from the U.S. Congressional Record of February 7, 2017, in which Senate Republicans notably interrupted and silenced Senator Warren's speech. 

Commissioned and performed by M. Jennifer Lester and The Seraphim Singers. Recorded live in Cambridge, MA, USA: March 2020. 
--
Program Note:
During the 2017 U.S. Senate hearings of the nomination of Republican Senator Jeff Sessions to the position of U.S. Attorney General by President Trump, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts provided testimony assessing his fitness for the position by quoting an earlier letter to the Senate from civil rights leader Coretta Scott King. But her speech was interrupted by Republican senators who deemed that she had violated a Senate rule in which Senators cannot impugn their colleagues. Tensions between the political parties were already high at this Senate session, which occurred a few weeks after the inauguration of President Trump, and other Democratic senators vehemently opposed this decision, but the ruling remained. For the rest of the hearing, Senator Warren was not permitted to speak.

In his now-infamous words about this prohibition, Republican Majority Leader Senator Mitch McConnell noted that Senator Warren had been given a warning but had “nevertheless persisted" in speaking. Perhaps to his chagrin, these words were subversively transformed into a feminist slogan. "Nevertheless, she persisted" has become a broader statement about womxn continuing despite adversity. 

To understand the roots of this movement, I studied the transcript record of the original incident. In returning to this moment, I was struck by how the various accounts of what occurred were viewed by everyone involved as definitive truths. "Here is what transpired," Senator McConnell intoned, as if his words were indisputable. But what happened on February 7, 2017? Was it the silencing of womxn? Was it a rule needlessly or even recklessly broken? Was it chaos? Was it order? Did it mean nothing? Did it mean... everything? These conflicting truths are all too familiar to us. Yet in spite of our present vitriolic stasis, in which many clamor to be heard but not much is said, I hold this fragile hope: that she, nevertheless, continues.

Nevertheless

Winner of the 2018 Composers Guild of New Jersey Award 
Performed by Musica Vitae, Växjö Konserthus, Sweden, with M. Per Tengstrand

Program Note:
King Pandu had five sons; together, they were known as the Pandavas. The Pandavas' story is told in the ancient Hindu epic poem Mahabhaaratha. "Son of Pandu" explores the character of his third son, Arjuna, the hero of the Mahabhaaratha.

Arjuna was a powerful warrior and was especially known for his skill in archery. At the same time, he was a spiritual devotee of various gods; he would meditate for months and even years. Arjuna's most
important contribution to Hinduism was his conversation with God Krishna during the midst of a war, detailed in the sacred Bhagvat Gita. As related in the Mahabhaaratha, Arjuna was supposed to raise arms against his cousins to secure the greater good; in his moral dilemma, he turned to Krishna. The advice he received has become the core tenet for practitioners of Hinduism: Krishna told him to do his dharma-- his duty.

For many reasons, Arjuna was much more than the 'son of Pandu': in significance, he has surpassed Pandu. Additionally, the king died relatively early on, and so Arjuna relied most on his mother Kunti for parental guidance. Finally, according to some interpretations, Arjuna's father was the God Indra. Nonetheless, Arjuna was the sort to always remember and respect those who loved and supported him; this piece, then, is as much an homage to the vigor and greatness of this mythic figure as it is an acknowledgment of those who have touched us in immeasurable ways.

Son of Pandu (2018)

The opera 'Bessie' follows the true and unlikely story of a seven-year-old English girl in the 1700’s, who survived a shipwreck en route to India from England.  Her ship smashed into the reefs of Lambasi Bay on South African’s Wild Coast. The following morning, she, along with Christian, a young man escaping a dishonourable life in England, were taken in by the Xhosa tribe. We follow Bessie’s  transformation into a young woman, the breaking of tradition with her marriage to Chief Tshomane, her crowning as Queen, and her torrid relationship with Christian. Mamlambo, a mermaid spirit of the African waters, looks over Bessie and follows her throughout her journey.

'Still' is the penultimate scene. Mamlambo tries to console Bessie after the sudden death of her husband, Chief Tshomane.

Music by Angelique Mouyis
Libretto by Mkululi Z. Mabija

Recorded remotely by the Rutgers Helix! Ensemble
Conducted, mixed and mastered by Kraig A. Williams

Singers:
Stephanie Leotsakos (soprano) - Mamlambo
Erin Schwab (soprano) - Bessie

Helix ensemble:
Flute - Adrienne Baker
Clarinet - Sarah Butler
Clarinet - Matthew Charuka
Bassoon - Jonathan  LiVolsi
Trumpet - Samuel Hontz
Horn - Stefan Williams
Trombone - Nathan Levine

Violin - Yong-En Huang
Violin - Ye Ji Kim
Viola - Oh Hyun Kwon
Cello - Juhyeon Kim
Double Bass - Arthur Massi
Piano - Wenting Yu