On
Saturday, March 9th, the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra held a
concert that will forever hold a special place in my heart. The combined forces
of CUSO, the University of Illinois Oratorio Society (Andrew Megill, conductor),
Central Illinois Children’s Chorus (Andrea Solya, conductor), and soloists
Sarah Gartshore, Betany Coffland, Steven Soph, and David Govertson performed my
oratorio Terra Nostra. This was the
work’s second performance and its Midwest premiere. All of the singers,
choristers, and musicians performed together under the baton of Maestro Stephen
Alltop to give a fantastic, poignant performance that was the highlight of my Music
Alive Program residence activities.
Pre-Concert
Event
We
started the evening with a pre-concert event, featuring CUSO flutist Amanda
Pond playing my Phoenix Rising. This
is one of the pieces we featured in our Gaia-inspired chamber concerts this
past fall (see below), and it was a wonderful tie-in to bring Amanda in to
perform it prior to Terra Nostra. She
sounded magical in Foellinger Great Hall of the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts (Urbana, IL), where the remarkable acoustics of the
space added a beautiful reverberance to her performance.
Next,
Maestro Alltop and I had a conversation in which we introduced the 3-part structure
of Terra Nostra
to the audience. We also highlighted various texts and particular moments of
the piece for which the audience should listen.
The Concert
I
composed my 74-minute oratorio to be performed without intermission. So once
the concert began, the singers, choristers, and musicians dug in, and Maestro
Alltop kept his baton up until the last chord finished reverberating around
Foellinger Great Hall. The performance went so smoothly, and Alltop kept
everything moving right along with minimal breaks between movements, that they
shaved a few minutes off the duration of the oratorio!
The
most common thought that ran through my head throughout the concert was how
much I couldn’t believe my ears – to hear a piece like this for this first time
since its world premiere four years ago, and to hear it performed with such
beauty and power – it was heavenly.
Post-Concert
Talk-Back
Immediately
after the performance, we had a talk-back with the audience. Maestro Alltop,
Maestro Megill, the four soloists, and I answered questions asked by inquisitive
audience members; we also talked about the preparation and rehearsal process of
putting on a work of this size and scope.
Additionally,
CUSO Executive Director Gerri Kirchner and I rounded out the Terra Nostra experience with a few extra
features:
Seed Packets
I
wanted to have a memento of seed packets for audience members to take as they
left the concert. For me, this gesture encompasses the oratorio’s message: as we
came from the earth and will return to it, let’s remember that we are all
stewards of the earth who can help replenish its beauty and resources for
generations to come. An enthusiastic retired gardener kindly donated the seed
packets and wicker baskets; audience members enjoyed selecting from a mix of
flowers, herbs, and vegetables.
“Messages to
Gaia” Art & Poetry Project
Earlier
in the season, CUSO held two Gaia-themed chamber concerts, one at the i-Hotel
and the other at the Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery, in which Amanda Pond and
the CUSO string principals performed a few of my earth-themed chamber works. The
i-Hotel concert also featured two arias from Terra Nostra, sung by soprano Josefien Stoppelenburg and baritone
Ryan de Ryke. At these events, we invited the audience to take part in our “Messages
to Gaia” community project by drawing pictures, penning poetry, and writing
short messages to the planet on pieces of butcher paper.
We
also ran the “Messages to Gaia” project at the Danville Correctional Center (a
medium-security
men’s prison located in Danville, IL). At the DCC, I held a Terra Nostra - themed concert for the
incarcerated participants of the prison’s Education Justice Project. The
concert consisted of participants reading texts taken from the oratorio’s
libretto (Walt Whitman, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Wendell Berry among
others) interspersed with recordings of music from the i-Hotel event, the
sharing of creative projects made by EJP participants, and a group composition
that we wrote on-the-spot and performed together based on the four elements of
nature. Throughout our concert, EJP members were invited to come to a table
where they could leave their artwork, poetry, and messages on large poster
boards.
With
the help of CUSO Guild Board’s Vice President Anne Sharpe and my mother Barbara
Garrop, the three of us cut out the artwork, poetry, and messages from all of the
butcher paper and poster boards, then affixed these on two large display panels
that Anne expertly designed. These beautiful panels were placed right outside
the entrance to Foellinger Great Hall for people to peruse as they entered and
left the concert. Audience members also utilized the panels as a backdrop for
selfies.
A
Mezzo-Soprano Surprise
One
more detail made this concert particularly special: six days prior to the
performance, Maestro Alltop found out that our originally contracted
mezzo-soprano was ill and had to pull out of the concert. What could have been
a very tough situation to find a replacement in such a short time turned out to
be a blessing. When he called me with the news, I immediately gave Alltop the
contact information for Betany Coffland, the mezzo-soprano who sang in the
world premiere performances of the piece in San Francisco back in 2014/15.
Remarkably, Betany was able to rearrange her schedule, get re-acquainted with
the piece, hop on a plane to the Midwest, and join us for all of the rehearsals
and performance. I fell in love with Betany’s rich, exquisite voice at the
oratorio’s world premiere four years ago, and I was so thrilled and touched
that she moved heaven and earth to be with us for our performance. Thank you so
much for joining us, Betany - I am forever grateful.
Thank you
all!
The concert was a deeply moving experience. I'm
so thankful for each and every person who took part in performance and who
worked behind the scenes to carry off the performance and all of its related
events. You all brought such grace, beauty, and passion to my oratorio,
and I'm forever grateful. ❤️ My heartfelt thanks as well to the Music Alive Program, sponsored
by New Music USA and the League of American Orchestras, for funding my
residence and making the performance of
Terra Nostra possible.
The
Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra’s Terra
Nostra concert on March 9th made for a picture-perfect ending to
my 3-year residence with the orchestra. While I’m officially in residence for a
few more months, this was my last on-site trip to the Champaign-Urbana region,
and I will finish up the final details of the residence remotely.
 |
| From left to right: Sarah Gartshore, Stephen Alltop, David Govertson, Stacy Garrop, Steven Soph, Betany Coffland, Andrew Megill. |
men’s prison located in Danville, IL). At the DCC, I held a Terra Nostra - themed concert for the
incarcerated participants of the prison’s Education Justice Project. The
concert consisted of participants reading texts taken from the oratorio’s
libretto (Walt Whitman, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Wendell Berry among
others) interspersed with recordings of music from the i-Hotel event, the
sharing of creative projects made by EJP participants, and a group composition
that we wrote on-the-spot and performed together based on the four elements of
nature. Throughout our concert, EJP members were invited to come to a table
where they could leave their artwork, poetry, and messages on large poster
boards.
