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Grandmother (Nukumij)—2022 LAMP Composition Cohort
09:24

Grandmother (Nukumij)—2022 LAMP Composition Cohort

Grandmother (Nukumij) for five improvisers Composed by the 2022 LAMP Composition Cohort: Daniel Gardner, Andrew Gosse, Emily Green, Gabrielle Martin, Seán Parker, Hope Salmonson, Ashley Seward Inspired by the poetry of Michelle Sylliboy Premiered April 25, 2022 by Tristan Durie, Caitlin Broms-Jacobs, David Boutin-Bourque, Ryan Garbett and Gabe Azzie This work draws inspiration from Michelle Sylliboy’s poem of the same title and from the improvisatory compositions of Pauline Oliveros. In it, we attempt to evoke or simulate communication between the self and the land. We exist in tandem with the world around us, and we call out to the land to receive guidance, just as we offer back to the land to maintain a connection. It is through this relationship that we feel linked to ourselves, to our community, and to Earth. In our improvisation, the caller in the centre and the responders in the four directions engage in dialogue through music, exchanging roles in which they share knowledge, ask and answer questions, and create something more than the sum of their parts. Performance Note: As this work seeks to respond musically to Michelle Sylliboy’s words, the composers strongly suggest that anyone who wishes to perform this work engages directly with the poem, so as to draw their own interpretations and interact with the art respectfully. The poem, “Grandmother (Nukumij)” can be found in Michelle Sylliboy’s collection Kiskajeyi - I AM READY. More information: https://msylliboy.wixsite.com/website/kiskajeyi-i-am-ready-by-michelle-sy This work can be performed with or without instruments and/or found objects. One person stands or sits in the middle of the performance space; they are the caller. Four responders space themselves out to the left, right, front and back of the caller. Optionally, the responders may be hidden from view depending on the performance space. The improvisation happens in four sections, each separated by a brief pause: 1. The caller improvises, and the responders improvise back, imitating the caller’s musical material. These may happen one at a time, or overlapping with each other. 2. The responders improvise, and the caller responds to the sounds that they hear. 3. The caller sends out again. The responders send back, this time offering different material from what they hear 4. Finally, the responders improvise to the caller, who actively listens to the improvisation. Here, the responders may interact musically with each other. Once the sound ends organically, the piece is complete.
Breathe—Hope Salmonson
08:30

Breathe—Hope Salmonson

Breathe by Hope Salmonson inspired by poetry of Michelle Sylliboy Tyler McDonald, percussion 1 Ethan De Souza, percussion 2 @ethandesouza9132 Madison Keats, percussion 3 Denton Sutherlin, percussion 4 premiered at the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance Participants in the 2022 LAMP Composition Academy were each assigned (at random) one poem from Michelle Sylliboy's Kiskajeyi - I AM READY, and one ensemble to write for. When I was informed that I received "Breathe" and percussion, it struck me funny—coincidental that an ensemble that doesn't use breath would be paired with this text. I decided to incorporate breath into the piece itself by making group breathing a core part of the tempo and metre. In sections of the work, the percussionists will not follow a set tempo, but they will guide the music as they inhale and exhale. This, to me, was the way to do justice to Sylliboy's words in this context. Michelle Sylliboy's poem "Breathe" can be found in her full collection, Kiskajeyi - I AM READY, at bookstores and online. I heartily encourage any listeners and players to engage with her work; while this poem was my primary inspiration, I developed my compositional ideas in conversation with the full text and Michelle herself; the collaborative spirit is key to my experience of this music. Many thanks to the Nova Scotia Talent Trust and the Bragg Women Music Opportunities Fund for supporting my journey to creating this music. #newmusic #chambermusic #percussion
Cat!—Hope Salmonson
03:53

Cat!—Hope Salmonson

"Cat!" by Hope Salmonson Text from John Keats, "To Mrs. Reynolds' Cat" Christina Acton, voice Owen Switzer, clarinet Noah Batten, percussion Caitlin Strong, piano Written for my radiant and perfectly flamboyant friend Christina Acton, this is a silly ode to the grungey, old cat in your neighbourhood with a torn ear or a missing eye. This cat is, by every definition, ugly, but you know that somewhere amid all that ratty fur, there lies stories of joy that this creature has brought to the lives of the local townsfolk. There is beauty in its aged and weathered body, because you know that if he's letting you pet him he doesn't care how you look. This song is lovingly dedicated to Donald, a Sackville cat. While his ears may be intact and he still has two eyes, he embodies the simple joy that an old cat can bring into our lives. To Mrs. Reynolds' Cat John Keats (1795–1821) ​ Cat! who hast passed thy grand climacteric, How many mice and rats hast in thy days Destroyed? How many tit-bits stolen? Gaze With those bright languid segments green, and prick Those velvet ears—but prithee do not stick Thy latent talons in me, and up-raise Thy gentle mew, and tell me all thy frays Of fish and mice, and rats and tender chick. Nay, look not down, nor lick thy dainty wrists— For all thy wheezy asthma, and for all Thy tail's tip is nicked off, and though the fists Of many a maid have given thee many a maul, Still is that fur as soft as when the lists In youth thou enteredst on glass-bottled wall. #Voice #Clarinet #percussion #piano #NewMusic

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Composer-tubist Hope Salmonson is queering her music through a cross-genre voice and an emphasis on establishing musical community. From unceded Mi'kmaq territory (Halifax), she is spreading her wings on Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh lands (Vancouver). To Hope, people always come before music. Her compositions serve and honour her communities.

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