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I had the pleasure of attending several performances of the new works I wrote for the two-time Grammy-nominated vocal ensemble Seraphic Fire this past weekend (read more about the pieces here). This fully-professional group is absolutely stunning and the majority of the singers are hand-picked and flown in from around the country (and London!). Patrick Dupré Quigley, the conductor, has a gift for creating intensely emotional performances with spot-on interpretations of my music.

Miami Herald Concert Review.

Click on the title of each work to learn more (and see scores):
Sleep, Little Baby, Sleep
Fear Not, Dear Friend
Nada Te Turbe

Here are live recordings of the three pieces:

Be sure to check out Seraphic Fire’s new album Silent Night that debuted at number 9 on iTunes!

Virginia Arts Festival Joins Commission

Jake — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 20:31:22 +0000

The renowned Virginia Arts Festival has joined the commission for Dreams of the Fallen – my newest work for solo piano, chorus, and orchestra.

Located in the Norfolk/Williamsburg/Virginia Beach area, the Virginia Arts Festival has a rich history of bringing some of the world’s best musicians and ensembles to their yearly festival. Noted performers include Itzhak Perlman, Renée Fleming, JoAnn Falletta and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, and the American Ballet Theatre. I am honored to welcome the Virginia Arts Festival as a commissioning organization for this important new musical work and know it will have special meaning as Norfolk, VA is home to the U.S. Navy’s Naval Station Norfolk – the largest naval station in the world.

Combining the musical forces of solo piano, chorus, and orchestra with powerful texts written by Iraq War veteran and award-winning poet Brian Turner, Dreams of the Fallen explores a soldier’s emotional response to the experience of war.

Philharmonic of Southern New Jersey Joins Consortium

Jake — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 17:15:17 +0000

The Philharmonic of Southern New Jersey has officially joined the consortium of orchestras for Dreams of the Fallen – a new work for solo piano, choir, and orchestra by composer Jake Runestad. The orchestra, led by conductor Matthew Oberstein, will perform the work during their 2014 concert season.

Click here for more information about Dreams of the Fallen. We are still welcoming orchestras and choruses to commission and perform this exciting new musical work.

Seraphic Fire Commission

Jake — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 17:11:14 +0000

Miami-based professional choral ensemble, Seraphic Fire, has commissioned three new works for their Grammy-nominated Christmas concerts this winter. They will be performing the works during eight concerts in the Miami area beginning December 9.

New Works:

Sleep, Little Baby, Sleep – text by Christina Rossetti
Fear Not, Dear Friend – text by Robert Louis Stevenson
Nada Te Turbe – text by Santa Teresa de Ávila

Click here for concert information.

About the works:

When discussing his vision for the commission, artistic director Patrick Quigley wanted three new works not based on existing carols. Seraphic Fire’s Christmas concerts are candlelit, introspective, and calming events allowing one to take a break from the hectic life surrounding the holiday season. Therefore, I wanted to choose three works that provide a sense of that calm as well as reassurance in times of trouble.

Sleep, Little Baby, Sleep is a setting of a poem (“Holy Innocents”) by Christina Rossetti. In the context of this concert, I found this poem to harken the Christmas story and imagined Mary singing this lullaby to the infant Jesus. I use a rocking 6/8 meter and mostly consonant harmonies to create a peaceful and comforting sound world while low tessituras provide a calming resonance when a child is held close to one’s chest.

Fear Not, Dear Friend is song of reassurance and hope for one who may be struggling in life. Robert Louis Stevenson’s powerful words evoke a sense of pity and selflessness from the choir in hopes of consoling a troubled soul. The music takes us on a journey through the highs and lows of the consoling process and ends with a meditation on the words “Fear not, dear friend.”

Teresa de Ávila, a Carmelite nun and Christian mystic, lived in 16th century Spain and is well known for her writings on mental prayer. This contemplative, spiritual experience occurs in four stages and thus my setting of Nada Te Turbe holds four as an important and influential number. I wondered what Teresa’s beautiful words would have sounded like set to music during her lifetime and in turn, what that music would sound like expressed in a contemporary musical language such as my own. As a response, I have used canonic and imitative counterpoint to harken the style of 16th century composers such as Tómas Luis de Victoria and reverberant textures to mimic the environment of a large, stone cathedral.

If you’re in the Miami area, I hope you will be able to attend one of Seraphic Fire’s wonderful concerts this year. They are one of the nation’s best choral ensembles and it is an honor to write this music for them.

Click here for concert information.

Dayton Phil. and Rockford Symph. Join Commission

Jake — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 23:52:11 +0000

The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and the Rockford Symphony Orchestra have signed on to be performing ensembles for “Dreams of the Fallen,” a new work for solo piano, choir, and orchestra by Jake Runestad.

Click here to learn more about “Dreams of the Fallen.”

Rockord Register Star Interview

Jake — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 16:11:51 +0000

The Rockford Register Star, of Rockford, IL, featured an interview about my current and upcoming projects as well as my experiences living in Perú.

Click here to read the interview.

NY Times Feature on “Dreams of the Fallen”

Jake — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 20:31:49 +0000

CLick here to read an article in the NY Times about my latest project Dreams of the Fallen:

http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/07/a-symphony-for-war/