Soforamoment
- shewavered - andwaslove -
atherfeet. f Soforamoment p - shewavered - andwasloveatherfeet. f Soforamoment p - shewavered - andwaslove -
About the Composer:
Duncan Tuomi (b. 1994) is a choral conductor and award-winning composer based in Los Angeles, California. He currently studies choral music in the Doctor of Musical Arts program at the University of Southern California (USC), where he also completed his Master of Music degree. In addition to his choral music degree, he studied composition with Dr. Frank Ticheli and Dr. Chris Rozé. He also holds a Bachelor of Music Degree in Vocal Music Education from St. Olaf College, where he studied under Dr. Anton Armstrong and Dr. Christopher Aspaas, among many others.
As a composer, Tuomi was the winner of the 2023 American Prize in Short Choral Works, College and University Division, as well as the 2021 American Choral Director’s Association’s Raymond W. Brock Memorial Student Composition Competition. He was also a composition fellow in Choral Arts Initiative’s summer 2022 PREMIERE|Project. Tuomi has had works premiered by Choral Arts Initiative under the direction of Brandon Elliott, the USC Thornton Chamber Singers and University Chorus under his own direction and under the direction of Stevie J. Hirner, the Long Beach Youth Chorus under the direction of Stevie J. Hirner, the University of Portland Chamber Singers under the direction of Dr. Michael Connolly, the Pacific University Chamber Singers under the direction of Dr. Scott Tuomi. He has received commissions from the Long Beach Youth Chorus and was commissioned to compose for the 10th annual Brothers, Sing On! Tenor/Bass Choir Festival in 2018.
About the Piece:
My Sister Stood sets the beauty and innocence of Hilda Conkling's poem Elsa in three treble voices. The vast body of Conkling's poetry was written when she was between the ages of four and ten years old. She was known to speak poetically in conversation with her mother, who would write down what she had said. This particular poem focuses on Hilda's older sister, Elsa, who was two years older than Hilda was. I was particularly drawn to this poem because of its portrayal of beauty and adoration between siblings. In many ways, I draw parallels to my relationship with my brother, who is also two years my senior. Especially through the child's voice in the poem, I find myself recalling how much I admired and looked up to my brother in my youth, tumultuous though any sibling relationship may be.
The piece is written to be accessible by a young choir, but equally powerful when performed by a more mature choir. The piano provides stability to the singers by doubling the vocal lines while simultaneously providing sonic illustration of the rolling waves of the sea. The voices themselves grow in maturity throughout the piece, starting with simple static and contrary motion, but eventually growing into brief instances of three-part rounds and chordal harmonies. This, combined with its pervasive, yet delicate modality lends an aura of mystery to the piece that reflects the nature of memory central to the piece.