Dear Friends,
Happy New Year! I hope that 2012 is treating you kindly thus far; for my part, it’s certainly begun with a lot of musical excitement. This newsletter has taken a rather prolonged and somewhat unexpected hiatus, but I look forward to being back in touch with you throughout this new year.
Last October I had the privilege to be a guest on the radio show Peace Talks, hosted by Paul Ingles. The resulting effort, The Peace Message in Classical Music, aired on KUNM 89.9 FM Albuquerque on October 28, and was subsequently picked up by several other public radio stations in the United States. You can listen to the show here: prx.org/pieces/68447-the-peace-message-in-classical-music-peace-talks
The choir of Faith Bible Church (Alb, NM), under the direction of Irma Reeder, gave the premiere of the cantata God’s Perfect Love, December 18. This work featured narration and lyrics by long-time collaborator Claire Roth, and was written expressly for the FBC Choir. It was exciting to work with the singers in rehearsal last autumn, as well as to serve as pianist for the performance.
Last year the Albuquerque Civic Chorus (abqchorus.org) commissioned me to write a piece celebrating the centennial of New Mexico statehood. The resulting piece, Enchanted Land, also with lyrics by Claire Roth, was successfully completed in December, and I’ve already received some wonderful comments from choir members. The premiere is scheduled for mid-May, and I will publish dates and locations in advance.
Auditions and rehearsals for Linda Bairstow’s play, The Mystery of the Cold Wet Nose will soon be under way at the First Unitarian Church (Alb, NM). I was asked to write the songs and incidental music and completed them earlier this month. The play is an intergenerational production sponsored by First Unitarian’s Animal Advocates which addresses environmental issues. Performances will take place in April and the show is bound to be a lot of fun!
Last, but certainly not least, the promised piece for Belgian clarinet choir Claribel is finally nearing completion. It has been a remarkable journey, and I can only hope that the result will be well-received. There will be more news about it in next month’s newsletter, along with the possibility of a Canadian premiere of another work.
Recent performances include a re-broadcast of the KUNM Radio Theatre production Christmas Eve at the Mermaid on December 25, (a Shakespearean-themed comedy for which I served as musical arranger and director in 2010); a performance of The First Snowfall (SSA choir and piano) on December 10, by the Moriarity (NM) High School Choir; and a performance of my piano arrangement of Love Divine on November 15, by Wilma Gantz, for the music ministry at La Vida Llena Healthcare.
My lecture schedule will soon be in full swing again, and you can find all of my lectures and appearances listed on my website at janeellen.com, on the activities page. My blog will also be springing back to life at janeellen.net, and I hope you’ll stop by when you get chance.
See you next month!
Follow your heart,
Jane
