Hello everyone! It's been a while since I've posted an update, so I thought I would share with you all what I've been up to over the past few months.
September
During September, I returned to the University of Redlands campus to begin my second to last semester of my undergraduate degree. I was very excited to be back in-person, especially to be singing in a choir with real life people! I also began conducting the Chancel Choir of the Lake Arrowhead Community Presbyterian Church on a regular basis. You can visit LACPC's YouTube page to watch the livestream of Sunday services and hear the choir sing.
October
October was filled with rehearsals, late-night composing sessions, and researching graduate programs. I also had a few arrangements of mine premiered at Jamison Stevens' Composition Recital.
Photo copyright by Coco McKown.
November
November was an exciting month of premieres. Fellow composition student Jamison Stevens and I had our piece 12 and Change, with text by Art Svenson, premiered during the fall choir concert. This work was written as a welcome to President Krista L. Newkirk, the twelfth president of the University of Redlands. You can learn more about the piece here. A couple weeks later, the senior recitals of my friends Dora Ridgeway and Olivia Vara took place.
Photo copyright by Coco McKown.
Earlier this year, they had commissioned me to write them a piece for Mezzo-Soprano, Euphonium, and Piano, which ended up being about a 6 minute acoustic work followed immediately by 6 minutes of fixed media titled SERINIRES, with text by James Russell Lowell.
Getting to hear the work in its entirety was an unforgettable experience, and I am so happy to have had it performed three times so far – for both of their recitals and this semester's Green Orange Concert. Additionally, I had a second piece performed on Green Orange – a setting of an excerpt of the Greek Orthodox memorial service. I wrote the work earlier this year in memory and as a celebration of the life of my Yaya, Georgia Anasis. I was also very fortunate to work with the ensemble to do a recording session of the work, En Paradiso. in preparation for college applications, I had another recording session of the chamber ensemble piece I had been working on all semester, Empros ke Piso, recorded and edited by Jake Quijada. I am so grateful to all of the performers of these pieces and everyone involved in making their premieres and recordings possible.
December
While I was excited to finish Graduate School Applications, December also was a bitter-sweet moment in my college career. It marked the end of my second-to-last semester, and it was also my last Feast of Lights he University of Redlands. Feast has been such a special tradition, and I have cherished each and every one of my Feasts – even last year's online one. Luckily, this year was in person albeit outside. While it wasn't quite the same as singing inside, the backdroup of the Memorial Chapel behind the choir and orchestra made for a moving and powerful setting. I had the honor of not only having another "Feast Piece" (check out Hymns of the Nativity from my sophomore year) premeired this year, an arrangement of Nectarios of Aegina's Agni Parthene, but I also had the pleasure of being one of the kings and a candle lighter. Photo copyright by Coco McKown.
Thank you for catching up with me! If you would like to stay in touch, please visit my contact page – I would love to hear from you.
Happy New Year!