My Impressions of Lorenzo A. Sanford III and "A Time To Dance"

I'll be the first one to say that I am always ready to give me opinion, so when Paige asked me to write about Lorenzo's piece that we have been preparing for this Saturday's concert, I promised to be honest; I didn't like "A Time To Dance" at first. The first time I practiced it, there were bursts of atonality and difficult rhythm patterns that I simply could not understand how would work together.

HOWEVER

One rehearsal, Lorenzo came in to listen to and advise us on his piece. Whenever a composer comes to listen in on a rehearsal, it's intimidating and this instance was no exception. The thing that struck me the most about Lorenzo was his vision for his music. He knew exactly what he wanted each section to sound like and gave us specific examples to help us understand as well. After several times running over "A Time To Dance" with his suggestions and help, I really enjoyed the piece. It's the perfect balance of traditional and modern, with world influences that truly do make you want to dance. I hope that we continue to work with Lorenzo in the future because not only is he innovative and interesting, but also an AYS parent! It's great to use current composers that have connections with our community to inspire the younger generation of AYS singers in Training Choir and TCC, and I know that it is because of pieces like this that I have been a member for all of these years.

Come hear "A Time To Dance" this Saturday at Druid Hills United Methodist Church at 3pm or 8pm!

- Phoebe Warren, 8th year singer, Youth Chorale

Abbie Betinis, then and now

Abbie Betinis, born in 1980, is in good company with other "80's babies" throughout the centuries: Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625), Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826), and Zoltan Kodaly (1882-1967).

From Behind the Caravan: Songs of Hafez

We're meticulous in AYS about knowing the meaning of a work. When you know why, you can answer the audience's questions in your performance.  On March 23, when we sing From Behind the Caravan: Songs of Hâfez, the choir will sing ancient Persian poetry from a time and place worlds away. From Behind the Caravan: Songs of Hâfez by Abbie Betinis brings to life ancient Persian poetry written by Kwajeh Shams al-Din Muhammed Hafez-e Shirazi, dating back to ca. 1320-1390. His poems reflect Sufism, a tradition of Islam present in both Sunni and Shi'a denominations.
    
My first impressions of this piece led me to believe that the music was traditionally Persian, maybe a sacred Persian piece? Nope, but it is inspired by traditional Persian music. The harmonies really transport the listener to somewhere exotic and steeped in tradition. So what story are we really telling? In the program note, Abbie Betinis says she was inspired by Hâfez's poems, how they depict longing. Now I'm longing to know more! We've successfully worked dynamics and proper pitches, pronunciation and translation. In the final stretch of performance, it's time to find the story behind this work.

As well as translating ancient poems in Farsi into contemporary choral music while keeping the poems' original intonations, she has managed to create a piece that connects modern audiences in one world to an ancient culture in another.

ABBIE-O: http://abbiebetinis.com/wp/biography/
Information on the piece from Abbie's website: Behind the Caravan

-Lydia, five year AYS member, Youth Chorale

New Year reflections

With December in the rear view mirror, it's good to look at Atlanta Young Singers' first installment of kid-managed interactions with very-much-alive composers.As a teacher watching the kids talk with our featured composer Paul Carey in December, it was great to see how they began to change their view of music itself. I think they have greater excitement and healthy curiosity for the notes and rhythms on the page as they relate to a breathing human being--one who has a family and home, and is, for all intents and purposes, a pretty normal guy.

The kids thoroughly enjoyed performing Paul Carey's music and I think they had a greater sense of pride in performing it because they had some sort of connection with the composer. After performing Carey's Unending Flame and Come Christmas the Morn, we heard lots of "Can we do that again next year?" Introducing new music at a holiday concert can be tricky, but this music was inspiring and fresh--especially the treatment of "Now Every Child"  from Silver, Sand and Snow by Eleanor Farjeon (1881-1965), the text used in Come Christmas the Morn.

Speaking of text, the latest entry of Paul Carey's blog has great insight on the texts that he set for 2012-2013 commissions.

Update from Sara

Hello Everyone,

I wrote the paragraph below from the answers that Paul Carey gave to our questions during our Skype conversation (the one in Brianne's photo!).  He was really nice to speak with, and after the interview, we sang his songs for him.

I have never posted anything on a blog before!  I had to figure out how to remember my gmail password and get into gmail first.  When I cracked the code, I had three or four emails from Ashley Hook -- my AYS friend who moved to Italy!  We miss you Ashley!  I told her about our blog so maybe she can keep up with all of us.

Sara

Paul Carey is the wonderful and talented musician who wrote Come Christmas the Morn and Unending Flame.  He has been interested in music since he was ten years old, but he actually started writing music in high school.  His favorite styles of music are classical, renaissance, and 20th century jazz.  He loves music because it is, I quote, "mysterious and it is all around you."  He also loves to work with kids and teach them about his music and other people's music.  He likes to see kids' reactions when singing a piece of music, and he also wants to make sure kids don't think all composers are dead! 

AYS kids Skype with Paul Carey

AYS members Skype with Composer Paul Carey. The Singers are preparing his two pieces Unending Flame and Come Christmas the Morn at their concerts on December 15 and 20.

Composer Next Door Project Introduction

Believe it or not, classical composers aren't all dead. Some are very much alive and living amongst us. The Composer Next Door Project of the ATLANTA YOUNG SINGERS of Callanwolde grew out of the idea that singers can really understand the music they are singing a lot better when they can engage with composers themselves, and organize activities themselves from a kid's perspective.

So here's how it works: For each concert that the AYS choir produces during the 2012-2013 Season, the Music Director selects one living composer to be featured. Singers volunteer to organize how they and their fellow singers will get to know the featured  composer.