Latest News

 

 
Partnering with the National World War II Museum, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus will premiere my Dreams of the Fallen on November 11, 2013 in New Orleans.
 
I am very excited to be a part of this exciting project and to work with such a fine group of artists!

Orchestras Invited to Join Commission

Orchestras and choirs are officially invited to join the consortium for this important new work. Find out more information on the official Dreams of the Fallen website here: Dreams of the Fallen.
 
For more information:

The Grammy-nominated professional choir, Seraphic Fire, has commissioned me for a set of three carols (new works, not arrangements) for their critically-acclaimed Christmas concerts this coming winter.

Commission Open to All Choirs

We have decided to open this commission to a consortium and are currently accepting choirs to be involved in these new works. Please contact me if you are interested in joining this consortium. Note that our goal is to be able to include a variety of ensembles and so the commission fee is very affordable.
 

My teacher and mentor Kevin Puts has been awarded the 2012 Pulitzer Prize in music for his opera “Silent Night,” with libretto by Mark Campbell. “…Commissioned and premiered by the Minnesota Opera in Minneapolis on November 12, 2011, Silent Night is a stirring opera that recounts the true story of a spontaneous cease-fire among Scottish, French and Germans during World War I, displaying versatility of style and cutting straight to the heart.”

While I was studying with Kevin at the Peabody Conservatory, we would often discuss “Silent Night” while he was in the process of writing it and also sing through some of the arias. I also had the opportunity to sit in on rehearsals and attend the premiere in Minneapolis – it was truly an amazing experience.

Congratulations to Kevin on this well-deserved prize – I couldn’t be happier for him!

Find out more here: http://www.pulitzer.org/citation/2012-Music
 
 
 

My new setting of “How Can I Keep From Singing?,” commissioned by soprano Elisabeth Slaten, will premiere tomorrow (April 13) at 8pm in Griswold Hall at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, MD. Watch an interview about the work here:
 

 

The Baltimore-based Lunar Ensemble recently premiered my latest work – The Soul, Like the Moon – a setting of texts by Lalla – a 14th-century sufi-mystic poet from the Kashmir region of India.

Listen to an excerpt:
 

 
Lisa Perry, soprano. Gemma New, conductor.
 

I was recently asked to be a guest blogger on Polyphonic.org – the national forum for orchestral musicians.  Below is my first blog post that you can find on www.polyphonic.org:
 
Composer’s Corner with Jake Runestad

It is a pleasure to be a guest blogger on Polyphonic.org and I am excited to share a behind-the-scenes look at my latest project: Dreams of the Fallen, an exciting new work for orchestra, chorus, and solo piano commissioned by a consortium of orchestras, private sector donors, and acclaimed pianist Jeffrey Biegel – a champion of new music.  With each of my posts, I plan to discuss an aspect of composing a new work: from the planning stages through to the premiere.

Project Beginnings

When Jeffrey approached me about this commission, we immediately began a discussion about a theme for the work.  We explored a few ideas but nothing really stuck with me and so I retreated into my introspective-composer-state (a trait of any self-respecting composer type…) and began to rack my brain to find the perfect answer.  After years of utilizing this brain-racking technique, I have found that a great idea often appears after allowing my subconscious mind to process a question or a topic. Unfortunately, the timing of the epiphany may or may not be in my schedule’s favor.

As I was waiting for the “ah-ha” moment, I went about life as normal: working away on other commissions, catching up on emails, fulfilling score orders, checking Facebook…and while partaking in the highly-academic, latter activity, I came across a video about men and women from the U.S.A. who had served in Iraq and returned home with severe cases of PTSD.  Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), is an anxiety disorder resulting from a psychologically traumatic experience and can be exhibited as “flashback episodes, nightmares, emotional numbing, difficulty concentrating, hyper-vigilance, repeated upsetting memories of the event,” and more.¹ I was incredibly moved by their stories and began to think more deeply about the experience of war and its impact on an individual; not only while one is in the thick of it, but also once one is removed from it and attempts to assimilate back into everyday life. These lasting impacts change a veteran’s (and anyone else who has had an intensely traumatic experience) day-to-day feelings and societal interactions and have for hundreds of years.

NY Times: The Hard Road Back

Click here for videos about returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan:

After hearing these stories, I was hooked.  I could not stop thinking about what life must be like to have seen what some of our soldiers have seen, to come home and constantly be on edge for fear of being killed, and to have flashbacks of explosions and other traumatic experiences. I decided that these are stories that need to be told and I would like to tell them through music.

Instrumentation

The instrumentation of solo piano, large chorus, and orchestra is massive.  The sheer number of performers and musical power that this ensemble can put forth demands a topic to match its weight. While there are very few pieces in the repertoire for this instrumentation (Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy and William Bolcom’s Prometheus being two of them), I found it to be perfect for this theme. The choir provides contextual information through the singing of words while the experiencer of war, represented by the solo piano, provides an emotional response to the sung text. The almost limitless timbral and textural possibilities of the orchestra create the sonic landscape as we are taken through the various stages of the war experience.

Dreams of the Fallen
 

I am both excited and intimidated by this new work.  The topic is heavy, the instrumentation is epic, and it demands great respect from all of the parties involved. However, I already know that it will be one of the most important works that I will write and for that, I know I am fulfilling my duty as an artist.

Stay tuned for my next entry as I begin to discuss the title, “Dreams of the Fallen,” and how and why I selected the texts by acclaimed poet and Iraq War veteran Brian Turner.

Be the change,
 
 
Jake Runestad
 
 

The upcoming Lunar Ensemble concert, featuring the premiere of my “The Soul, Like the Moon,” was featured in an article in the JHU Gazette.

See the article here: Lunar Ensemble Concert
 
 
 
 
 
 

We have officially met (and exceeded) our goal on the Dreams of the Fallen Kickstarter Project!  Thank you to everyone who has helped to make this project possible through your generous donations.  We still have time left to raise more funding – see here to find out more:  Dreams of the Fallen on Kickstarter
 

My Lux Aeterna has been selected as a winner for the Essentially Choral Reading Session with VocalEssence and conductor Philip Brunelle.  In collaboration with the American Composers Forum, this 3-day event includes professional development sessions, mentoring meetings, and a final performance of each composer’s work.

Click here to find out more.
 
 
 

Seraphic Fire’s recent 10th Anniversary performance received a glowing review in the South Florida Classical Review. Included is my work I Will Lift Mine Eyes.

Click here to read the review.