In the Roundness of Her Eyes
Daniel McConnell Smith (2015)
SATB, a cappella

Composer’s Note
I started writing the text for “In the Roundness of Her Eyes” a few
years ago when I was up in Duluth for school. It was a time when I
was a lost person. I didn’t know what I was doing with my life and
had fits of insomnia for a few months. Over the years, I have prayed
to my father who passed away when I was 5. I began writing this
text as sort of a personal therapy, getting the thoughts in my head
out onto the page. The rest of the text came later on when I started
writing the piece. I had a melody already figured out, so it became a
game of fitting syllables in a way that served the melody as creating
something coherent. I was thinking about how two people in the
same space can feel completely different inside. This piece isn’t
meant to be a pity party, but more of an introspection about taking
note of how one feels.

I would like to thank VocalEssence, my wonderful mentor,
Timothy C. Takach, and my forever supportive family and friends.

Text
Father, I cannot sleep,
For Time is fleeting,
Far, still close to me,
It flees, I cannot sleep,
In the roundness of her eyes,
Where soft and sweetness lies,
She sleeps in silky sheets,
I gather ’round the thoughts I won’t let go.
– Daniel McConnell Smith

In the Roundness of Her Eyes (SATB) by Daniel McConnell Smith

THE VOYAGE
Bob Chilcott

The poet Charles Bennett and I wrote The Voyage in response
to a request from Age UK Oxfordshire to imagine a piece that might support their ongoing campaign to end loneliness. A highly emotive subject, and one that we decided to set within the span of a voyage at sea, which ultimately depicts the voyage through life and how we come to terms with the challenges it brings. The major protagonists are three choirs, a mixed choir responsible for the major part of the narrative, a choir of young people, and a community choir of older people made up largely of inexperienced singers.
We looked to depict this journey through a cycle of songs which are interspersed by short soliloquies for the instrumentalists. A good deal of the text views a life lived through memories and I looked to re ect this for the community choir in music made up of tuneful refrains, sung both wordless and with text, refrains that I wanted to feel like songs known for a long time or even from youth. These refrains punctuate the narrative which takes us through childhood memories, the hopes and dreams, and the storms of life to a sense of resolution through shared experience. The focal point for this resolution is in the song “Cup and Saucer,” sung by the young and the older choirs. It aims to show us that even with the passing of time our feelings, our hopes and most importantly our needs for others remain the same.

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Bob Chilcott’s The Voyage received its US Premiere on October 16th, 2016 at Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, MN by The VocalEssence Chorus, Minneapolis Youth Chorus, Sabathani Vintage Voices, Voices of Experience and Instrumental Chamber Ensemble conducted by G. Philip Shoultz, III.

Instrumental Chamber Ensemble:
Susan Janda, viola
Teresa Richardson, cello
Christopher Brown, bass
Michele Frisch, flute
Preston Duncan, saxophone
Chuck Hodgson, horn
Kory Andry, timpani
Mary Jo Gothmann, piano

The Voyage

Movement 9: Boatsong

Movement 8: Sailing By

Movement 7: Cup and Saucer

Movement 6: The Fortunate Isles

Movement 5: The Shipping Forecast

Movement 4: Crossing the Equator

Movement 3: What we did on our holiday

Movement 2: My Father's Boat

Movement 1: Setting Sail

VocalEssence ReMix encourages break-out musical artists—whether you sing in a rock band or play classical music—to write for voice.

Four talented, emerging composers/songwriters were selected to have a six-month one-on-one composer mentorship with renowned composers like Libby Larsen, Carol Barnett, J. David Moore or Timothy Takach. These pieces, composed for the 2016-2017 VocalEssence ReMix program, were premiered by the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers at the 2017 National Convention of the American Choral Directors Association.

For more details about VocalEssence ReMix and to learn about applying visit www.vocalessence.org/remix 

This program is made possible through the generous support of the Jerome Foundation.

The Optimist and the Pessimist by Peter Durow

Song Text by Athena Kildegaard

VocalEssence ReMix encourages break-out musical artists—whether you sing in a rock band or play classical music—to write for voice.

Four talented, emerging composers/songwriters were selected to have a six-month one-on-one composer mentorship with renowned composers like Libby Larsen, Carol Barnett, J. David Moore or Timothy Takach. These pieces, composed for the 2016-2017 VocalEssence ReMix program, were premiered by the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers at the 2017 National Convention of the American Choral Directors Association.

For more details about VocalEssence ReMix and to learn about applying visit www.vocalessence.org/remix 

This program is made possible through the generous support of the Jerome Foundation.

Sudden Beauty by Andy Stermer

Manuscript by Laura Caviani

Canto Para un Muchacho Negro Americano del Sur by Andy Stermer

VocalEssence ReMix encourages break-out musical artists—whether you sing in a rock band or play classical music—to write for voice.

Four talented, emerging composers/songwriters were selected to have a six-month one-on-one composer mentorship with renowned composers like Libby Larsen, Carol Barnett, J. David Moore or Timothy Takach. These pieces, composed for the 2016-2017 VocalEssence ReMix program, were premiered by the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers at the 2017 National Convention of the American Choral Directors Association.

For more details about VocalEssence ReMix and to learn about applying visit www.vocalessence.org/remix 

This program is made possible through the generous support of the Jerome Foundation.

These recordings were made in a rehearsal setting.

As The Deer by Jonathan Posthuma

VocalEssence ReMix encourages break-out musical artists—whether you sing in a rock band or play classical music—to write for voice.

Four talented, emerging composers/songwriters were selected to have a nine-month one-on-one composer mentorship with renowned composers like Libby Larsen, Carol Barnett, J. David Moore or Timothy Takach. These pieces, composed for the 2017-2018 VocalEssence ReMix program, were premiered by the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers at the 2017 Fall Convention of the Minnesota American Choral Directors Association.

For more details about VocalEssence ReMix and to learn about applying visit www.vocalessence.org/remix

This program is made possible through the generous support of the Jerome Foundation.

Golī az dast beraft (a flower was lost) by Daniel Sabzghabaei

Sangeetham (Music) by Shruthi Rajasekar

Dances with the Daffodils by Isaac Lovdahl

The Motion of Projectiles by Zack Pentecost

Daniel Sabzghabaei Zemestun

Shruthi Rajasekar Sonetto 17

Zack Pentecost Tesla's Reflections Of Light

Isaac  Lovedahl Sol

Shruthi Rajasekar, Plymouth, Minnesota participated in VocalEssence ReMix in 2017 and as part of the program was awarded a commission. For this, she wrote "Jayjaykar" which was premiered at the VocalEssence Welcome Christmas concerts in December 2018.

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