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Dear Conspirare Friends,
We are just back from our extraordinary Conspirare journey in Norway at the
Olavsfestdagene (St. Olav Festival). We experienced an explosive and heartwarming international response to our ensemble and to our brand of music-making. Words cannot express our immense gratitude to Olavsfestdagene for underwriting Conspirare's appearance. I am excited to share with you a few of the highlights from our three festival performances in Trondheim.
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Euan Tait and Kim Andre Arensen |
The Wound in the Water at the festival's opening concert for 1,100 avid listeners. The composer of the commissioned work,
Kim Andre Arneson, was present with us and even extended his stay in Trondheim to share more time with the choir. The singers sang this premiere with conviction and a depth of warm expression. The librettist of the work,
Euan Tait, joined us on the day of the dress rehearsal and spoke to us all straight from his heart. His libretto asks big and important questions and his presence with us deepened our experience of the work immensely.
The Trondheim Soloists are a vibrant and dynamic group of string players who collaborate regularly with artists including
Ann-Sophie Mutter and Joshua Bell. Our collaborators were world-class musicians and the spirited work in our rehearsals together forged new musical friendships. It was an absolute thrill to work with these superb musicians.
A recording of The Wound in the Water in its entirety is available at NRK Radio. Librettist Euan Tait has generously made the complete libretto available to our Conspirare family for a limited time.
The Norwegian press took notice of this world premiere. Catch a glimpse of their response, along with some footage from our appearance at the festival's opening ceremonies, at Conspirare News.
In addition to the world premiere, Conspirare sang mass at the Nidaros Cathedral on Friday and presented a recital on Saturday night. The recital was a chance to deliver a truly diverse Conspirare program, marked by virtuosity, superb artistry, a wide range of musical styles and SO MUCH HEART and PASSION. Selections included
Walk Together, Children
, Kevin Puts'
If I Were a Swan
and "All of Us" from
Considering Matthew Shepard.
What a thrill this final performance was! And the audience members, whom had been listening with great intensity and laser focus throughout, erupted in their appreciation with rhythmic applause and shouts of acclamation. How I wish you could have been there with us!
Thank you for your continued engagement and support for all of our Conspirare projects. You are with us each and every time we sing. We will be in touch soon with details about upcoming events in the 2016-2017 season.
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