Ballade to the Moon from Three Nocturnes by Daniel Elder. Copyright 2011 by GIA Publications. All rights Reserved. Used with permission. 

Sung by The Bemidji Choir, conducted by Dwight Jilek. Recorded in 2017 by David Trembley of Soundmaster Productions.

The Bemidji Choir 2016-2017

Ballade to the Moon from Three Nocturnes by Daniel Elder (The Bemidji Choir)

The Bemidji Choir, founded by Carl O. Thompson in 1937, is the premier ensemble at Bemidji State University.

Recordings from our 2016-2017 season are coming soon! Follow us for future updates!

Truth into emotion. Emotion into music. Music into emotion. Emotion into truth. Done perceptively, this cycle never ends. As a writer and lover of both vocal and instrumental idioms, Daniel Elder (b. 1986) delights in crossing the boundaries of these worlds to create music that speaks outside its niche. Asked of his style, Daniel’s goal is simple: “In my writing I seek to avoid the common focus on 'my voice'—rather I attempt to tap the emotions a poet once put into words, or to tell a story with no words at all through the complex feelings of orchestral color. Through the pursuit of emotion I chase truth. The notes are merely the language.” Emerging from rural Georgia Daniel's music quickly attracted the attention of renowned American choral directors and catapulted him to the international stage within three years of writing his first work. His catalogue is printed by Carus Verlag, Edition Peters, GIA Publications, Hal Leonard, Walton Music, Wingert-Jones Publications, and self-published through J.W. Pepper and SMP Press.