musica intima, Canada’s professional 12-voice conductor-less vocal ensemble, is rounding out their 20-21 subscription series with Morning Walks, featuring Jodi Proznick, bass; Miles Black, piano; Bill Coon, guitar; and Craig Scott, drums.
A unique work borne out of continued musical and literary exploration, composer Maria Schneider’s Winter Morning Walks was written for American soprano Dawn Upshaw, on texts by poet Ted Kooser - winning a GRAMMY for Best Classical Composition in 2014.
Working closely with Schneider, Vancouver composer and arranger Réjean Marois has adapted the pieces for vocal ensemble, which musica intima will be recording at The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts and releasing as the final event of our 2020/2021 season.
Kooser’s brief texts come from postcards written to a friend as Kooser battled depression on pre-dawn walks alone and with his wife. Schneider’s settings transcend classification as classical or jazz, and her attention to the emotional power of each miniature makes the pieces an ideal match for musica intima.
“Walking by flashlight at six in the morning, my circle of light on the gravel swinging side to side, coyote, raccoon, field mouse, sparrow, each watching from darkness this man with the moon on a leash.”
Morning Walks will be aired on June 25thh 2021 at 7:30pm via Youtube link.