The Elements We’ve Had Since Birth

Instrumentation youth choir (treble voices) and piano trio (vn/vc/pno)

Timing 5’50”

Composed 2015

Words and melodies by Paige Gillis, Justin Stewart, McKenzy Mullen, Pyper Rehm, and Kelsey Robson

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 The Elements We’ve Had Since Birth may be performed separately, or in combination with any or all of the other Midnight Sun Songs.

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.

The Elements We’ve Had Since Birth is the sixth song of the collection, and expresses how important the elements are in so many aspects of our lives.

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 Elements We’ve Had Since Birth is available free of charge by using the links below.

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.

Full score (legal-size)
Choral score (letter-size, with piano reduction for rehearsal)
Piano part (10X13)
Violin part (10X13; includes vocal cue)
Violoncello part (10X13; includes vocal cue)