Three Songs at the End of Summer
Chelsea Helm, soprano
Nathan Salazar, piano
Poetry by Jane Kenyon
Premiered July 30, 2025 in Santa Fe, NM
Program note:
Kenyon's extraordinary text pushes and pulls between summer and autumn, childhood and adulthood, fear and excitement, the familiar and the unknown. That study of contrasts and contradictions resonates deeply with me, as every day seems to tug me between various extremes of experience and emotion. Every choice we make is colored by our past and motivated by our future. In the end, we choose to both celebrate and mourn the fact that this is "the only life [we have]."
maybe this year (and not) I’m the bird (the winter)
MingHuan Xu, violin
Winston Choi, piano
Premiered May 24, 2026 in Chicago, IL
Program note:
In this piece, the violin and piano material is sliced and spliced together as a study in contrast, change, freedom, and relationship. Seemingly quite different, at their core the respective instruments' content is actually very similar. I think at separate times of our lives we are either the cold but steady winter left behind, or the free-spirited but adaptable bird moving to warmer climates. I've had enough time considering myself the winter; this year I'm trying out what it's like to be the bird.