The Lake Isle of Innisfree | TTBB | Duncan Tuomi

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The Lake Isle of Innisfree

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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:

“I composed the Lake Isle of Innisfree for the 10th annual Brothers, Sing On! Choir Festival in 2018. I had, however, worked on the theme for some time prior to receiving the commission, due to the passing of my grandfather, the year before. Knowing the festival’s emphasis on music for the tenor and bass voice, I found it to be the perfect setting for this piece in honor of my grandfather, and of the role that father and grandfather figures played in the way my worldview was shaped. I chose the William B. Yeats poem for its emphasis on the serenity of living in nature, as some of my fondest memories with my grandfather involved camping and fishing around the beautiful lakes of Oregon. The main melodic motives of the piece are inspired by Celtic musical practices, after the poet’s own origin. This is particularly seen in the quick ornamentations of the solo line and the droning rhythmic pulse of the piano. Throughout the course of writing this piece, I came to view the poet’s cabin on the isle as a parallel to heaven, and the poet’s own readiness to leave the grey world of civilization behind as a calm reassurance of the peace that my grandfather has passed into.

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