SISTERS FROM ACROSS THE SEA
Two Salon-Style Concerts
Composed and written by Kari Medina
Featuring: Heather Whitney, Soprano , Kari Medina, Piano
Born in the winter of 1830, and separated by five days and the sea, these
two writers--one from New England, the other from Victorian England,
lived parallel lives as devoted daughters, sisters, and writers. They were women whose passion was the language of poetry. Two relaxed, celebratory Salon-style hour-long evenings of music, poetry, and art that show-case the lives of these remarkable nineteenth century female poets.
WINTER HAS COME (But the Spring Will Rise Again)
For TTBB Choir
Directed by Gareth Churcher
Performed by Truro School Barbershop Boys,
October, 2018, Truro, Cornwall, UK
This work was selected as the International winner of the 2018 Cornwall International Male Choir Composition Contest. Composed for TTBB chorus, the setting is an adaptation of the poem "Winter: a Dirge" by Robert Burns.
THE MESSAGE OF THE WIND
SSATB a cappella, based on a poem by Harriet Monroe
International Alliance of Women in Music Annual Concert/ACDA Concert
Directed by William F. Plummer
UL Lafayette Chamber Singers
"The Message of the Wind" was performed by the UL Lafayette Choirs both at the IAWM concert at UL Lafayette, and at the regional American Choral Director's Association concert in New Orleans. The work is a setting of a poem by the remarkable American editor, scholar, literary critic and patron, Harriet Monroe. Monroe is best known as the founding publisher and long-time editor of "Poetry" magazine.
"Wider Than the Sky”
Emily Dickinson in Poetry & Song
SONG OF THE SEERESS - Völuspá,
An Symphonic Poem for Soprano and Orchestra
performed by Northwest Symphony Orchestra,
Directed by Anthony Spain
Featuring Soprano, Alexandra Picard
This piece steps back 1000 years into the medieval sagas of the Vikings. The work sets text from the opening portion of the Icelandic poem, Völuspá, one of the most beautiful and influential of the Eddic poems preserved from the Viking Age. These sagas are the primary sources for the study of Norse mythology. They are the wellspring that inspired J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S Lewis, and they continue to influence modern fantasy genres today.
About the story:
Völuspá tells the story of the creation, destruction, and rebirth of the world. As the poem opens, a Seeress is seated before the Viking God, Odin. She has been summoned to recount her vision of both past and future. Song of the Seeress opens with this scene.
About the music:
This orchestral score is cinematic and programatic in scope, reflecting the commitment to serving a narrative form that dates back to the Viking "Skalds," historic poetic storytellers.
It unfolds in an interweaving pattern between harp and piano that represents the "spinning out" of a story, a nod to the integral role weaving played in the fabric of Viking culture--both in design and in narrative. Horn calls harken to the role of Valhalla as an afterlife where valiant warriors spend their days feasting and fighting. The selective use of horn, harp and flute throughout the piece honor traditional instruments whose predecessors were present in the ancient texts. A solo violin also appears throughout the work, representing the unpredictable nature of fate, and mimicking some of the sounds of the traditional Nordic folk fiddle.
THE TYGER
For TTBB Choir
Performed by virtual ensemble.
November, 2020, Truro, Cornwall, UK
Available on the "Cornwall International Male Choral Festival" YOUTUBE site https://youtu.be/9tdoNPRBV3o
This work was awarded 3rd place in the 2020 Cornwall International Male Choir Composition Contest. chorus, the setting is an adaptation of the poem "The Tyger" by William Blake
WE THANK THEE
For SATB Choir
Performed by the Virtual Choir "Collaboration" concert, including: Graveyard Girls (dir. Lauren Kastanas), Mägi Ensemble (dir. Heather MacLaughlin Garbes), Sound City Singers (dir. Johanna Olson), and Radiance (dir. Markdavin Obenza).
Based on the poem "We Thank Thee" by Ralph Waldo Emerson.
CHRISTMAS REVERIES
A Christmas Orchestral Suite for Chamber Orchestra
Directed by Dr. Leonard Tan
performed by the Ensemble de la Bella Musique (EBM)
"Christmas Reveries" was written for the Ensemble De La Belle Musique's call for lyric, tonal Christmas scores. The music is expressive and melodic, capturing the wonder and joy of the season. It shifts from an explorative theme of anticipation and mystery, to moments of awe and rapture. The work embodies a series of dream-like vignettes that evoke the childlike joy that accompanies this beautiful and meaningful season. Every once and awhile one can hear a reference to a traditional carol woven in.
ONE SNOWY DAY....
Winter Orchestral Suite for Chamber Orchestra
Directed by Dr. Leonard Tan
performed by the Ensemble de la Bella Musique (EBM)
"One Snowy Day...." was written for the Ensemble de la Belle Musique's call for lyric, tonal Christmas scores. The music is playful and cinematic, capturing a scenic winter wonderland that evokes all the child-like joy of a single snowy day in Seattle, Washington. It is an invitation to step inside a living snow-globe and savor the trans-formative magic and beauty of this special season, when all the world invites wonder and play. Performed in the Esplanade Recital Studio in Singapore.
Kari Cruver Medina Composer
"My Heart a Singing Bird”
Christina Rossetti in Poetry & Song
WE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD
For SATB Choir
Performed by Collegium Ancora,
Directed by Vince Edwards
June 2019, Providence, Rhode Island
This work was composed as a part of an ongoing project of writing community-based choral music that communicates a message of hope in a world that sometimes feels overwhelmingly hopeless. It is a simple, expressive, tonal, choral piece that affirms the work of social justice.
It embraces the importance of meeting each day with a spirit of gratitude, and encourages the mindset of approaching each day as a chance to make a difference in the world.
NISSE MISCHIEF
Winter Orchestral Suite for Chamber Orchestra
Directed by Dr. Leonard Tan
performed by the Ensemble de la Bella Musique (EBM)
This piece is a tribute to my Norwegian roots, as the "Nisse" was a part of all of our Jultide celebrations. With a long red hat and bushy white beard, this lively little gnome is a favorite of Scandinavian Folklore. Traditionally the guardian of the farmstead, he's full of fun and capable of much mischief! Norway's dramatic landscape of mountains, fjords, and falls, feels infused with magic, and one can easily imagine these storybook creatures dancing through open fields, bounding over bales of hay, slip-sliding down snow-covered red-barn roofs, swinging farm animals round-and round- in a merry folk dance, then sneaking off to pester sleeping trolls nestled into the mountainside--till they wake and everyone scatters!
CONNEMARA
A Celtic Ballad for Chamber Orchestra
Featured in "Love and Beauty" by Ensemble de la Belle Musique,
Directed by Dr. Leonard Tan
NOW Available on Apple Music, Spotify and KKBox
I have always been deeply moved by the simple lyric beauty and deep pathos of traditional Irish music. It was with great delight that my family and I were able to visit Ireland and experience first- hand the sights and sounds of this beautiful country. This gentle folk ballad was inspired by the stunning vistas of one of the areas we visited, the breathtaking landscapes of Ireland’s West Country, Connemara. We need to be reminded that the world is precious and beautiful, and mindfully savoring the fragile natural beauty of our planet and its people and does just that.