Our 8th annual Summer Series 2022 concerts feature brand new choral and chamber music. August 5th (7 PM) and August 7th (3 PM) at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.
The first portion of the program will feature music by Kristopher Magnuson and KC VITAs’Composers-In-Residence, JD Daniel and Kota Hayton. Magnuson, an Ohioan, presents a regional premiere performance of his song cycle “A Necessary Autumn Inside Each” for mezzo-soprano, horn, violin, and piano. With text excerpts by Rumi, this work deals with the struggle of accepting change and having the courage to forge one’s own identity independent of other people, and is a reconciliation of the traditional art song or lieder genre with a modern art/alt-rock aesthetic. Kota Hayton’s composition “Passing trees, far and near” follows. This creative, minimalist-driven piece was inspired by looking out a car window during a long road trip. With the choir singing only on nonsense syllables in alternating textures, this work depicts a captivating landscape with a gradient of tree-speeds slowing into the distance and is presented as a world premiere. The second choral composition of the program, “May I Be At Ease” by JD Daniel describes a captivating moment of stargazing when so many other aspects of life might appear uncertain. James Oppenheim’s poetry comes to life through a mixture of aleatoric techniques, beautiful, expanded harmonies, and a mezzo-soprano soloist, and is presented as a Missouri premiere. The second half of the performance will feature Frances White’s (NJ) epic “The Third Night” for twelve-part choir and singing bowls. As a regional premiere and second performance to date, “The Third Night” centers around sung iterations of five questions: Where are you? How could you leave? How could you stay? What is your song? How does it end? This ever-morphing, ethereal work includes breaks from the texture by several soloists in the choir and will undoubtedly provide a transcendental moment for deep contemplation. This work was originally commissioned by The Crossing, Donald Nally, conductor, and was made possible by support from the Knight Foundation. KC VITAs is excited to welcome in-person audiences to this event, and early bird tickets are available on the organization’s website, www.kcvitas.org.
Tickets are available in advance at kcvitas.org for $15 or at the door for $20.
2022/08/05 - 2022/08/07
St. John’s United Methodist Church
6900 Ward Parkway, Kansas City, MO 64113