News: 2021-04-24 - She Is Called / Dear Stranger

This wonderful production by Brooklyn Youth Chorus premiered digitally today! After singing with BYc in 2019 - almost to the day 2 years ago ! - in New York I am thrilled to announce that I wrote a piece specifically for and commissioned by the chorus. It is called C-Word and you can listen to it at sheiscalleddearstranger.org !

‘C-Word’ is a reflection and collection of (other) C-Words connected to the self-worth of women. What effects do other C-Words have on me and what structural dynamic hides behind the actual C-Word? By turning my initial reflection on C-Word(s) from a personal notebook artwork into musical form for BYC, I wanted to combine the confusion around societal confines on womanhood, the force of the call for freedom and the sheer joy of sisterhood in one piece of music.

She Is Called is an original choral/theater production being developed for the stage by Brooklyn Youth Chorus under the direction of Founder and Artistic Director, Dianne Berkun Menaker. Over a multi-year artistic development process, the young artists of the Chorus are collaborating with established theater artists to present commissions by contemporary composers that address themes of gender and identity.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chorus is presenting the first phase of the project, She Is Called: Dear Stranger, via a media-rich website experience. The website features newly commissioned choral works, as well as photos, recorded letters, and poetry from the singers, inspired by the songs’ themes and the singers' perspectives/experiences.

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