Instrumentation youth choir (treble voices) and piano trio (vn/vc/pno)
Timing ca. 24’30”, in six songs
Composed 2015
Commissioned by Northern Arts and Cultural Centre and the Gryphon Trio
World Premiere May 30, 2015, Northern Arts and Cultural Centre, Yellowknife, NWT, Canada. Listen Up! NWT participating students; Gryphon Trio; Rob Kapilow, conductor
Performance Note Midnight Sun Songs is a collection of six songs which may be performed separately or in any combination. The songs are mostly unison, with occasional two-part. Each song has its own page which may be accessed by clicking on the links below.
And Morning Will Have Come
Earth (Winter, Summer)
Water Dance
Air, We Need You
Fire Song
The Elements We’ve Had Since Birth
Programme Notes
For the 2014/15 season, the Gryphon Trio partnered with the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre for a far-reaching instalment of the Trio’s Listen Up! project. Students in six communities throughout Canada’s Northwest Territories wrote poetry around the theme of The Elements, then worked with composers Jeffrey Ryan and Carmen Braden to develop melodies for their poetry. These melodies became the source material for Midnight Sun Songs, a collection of six songs for youth choir and piano trio composed and arranged by Jeffrey Ryan. Midnight Sun Songs received its world premiere in May 2015 at Yellowknife’s Northern Arts and Cultural Centre, performed by a 70-voice youth choir comprised of students from the six participating communities, accompanied by the Gryphon Trio and conducted by Rob Kapilow.
Video
From the world premiere performance at Northern Arts and Cultural Centre in Yellowknife, NWT, Canada.
Courtesy of Studio Action Videos.
Get music
To encourage performance by youth choirs, the sheet music for the six Midnight Sun Songs is available free of charge. If you would like individual movements, the materials can be downloaded from the individual movement pages linked above. If you would like the complete set of six songs, the materials can be downloaded using the links below.
Full score set (legal-size)
Choral part set (letter-size, with piano reduction for rehearsal)
Piano part (10X13)
Violin part (10X13; includes vocal cue; movement #1 must be printed as a foldout)
Violoncello part (10X13; includes vocal cue; movement #1 must be printed as a foldout)
Note that the trio parts are formatted for 10X13 part-size paper. If you choose to print on smaller paper, be sure to adjust your printer margins for maximum image size.
If you prefer to purchase printed scores and/or parts, please contact me.