Tag: composition

The Pitter-Patter

Another original piece premiering at our 2019 A Celtic Summertide concert is a colorful quartet for flute, clarinet, guitar, & harp by our own Laura Hood! Entitled Happy Feet, it’s an up-tempo, spirited rejoinder to her quiet and serene Summer Waltz (which was included… Continue Reading “The Pitter-Patter”

Whoa!

Inspiration can turn up anyplace, whether or not you’re searching for it. It can be found trailside on a walk through a familiar nature preserve, casually absorbed while people watching from your favorite café window, or even scribbled amid the pages of an old… Continue Reading “Whoa!”

Translating A Sunset

As musicians, we translate written music—the composer’s instructions and all the technical demands—into an active, emotional experience for an audience. During our rehearsals, we often discuss where we think a piece is going—the story it’s telling, the images it brings to our minds, or… Continue Reading “Translating A Sunset”

A Celtic Summertide: Thank You!

Thank You to everyone who came out to experience “A Celtic Summertide” with us at the Oliver Art Center in Frankfort! It was a lovely evening of music and art made all the lovelier by the warmth of your company. The gallery became filled… Continue Reading “A Celtic Summertide: Thank You!”

The Old Ash Tree

One of my fondest memories of moving to our home in northern Michigan was waking up on the morning after the move, looking out the window, and seeing the old ash tree at the edge of the front lawn. It was majestic and stately,… Continue Reading “The Old Ash Tree”

O’Carolan Reimagined

When I began studying lever harp in 2010, one of the volumes of harp music I purchased was a collection of tunes by O’Carolan*. Exploring the tunes while also teaching myself to play the harp, I eventually read more and more about the composer,… Continue Reading “O’Carolan Reimagined”

A Celtic Summertide: The Art of Collaboration

If you’ve attended a Manitou Winds concert, recently, you’ve no doubt experienced the wonderful voice of Emily Curtin Culler. Whether singing an aria from a Baroque cantata, a classic German lieder, or a traditional Irish lullaby, Emily’s voice has tremendous dynamic range and is… Continue Reading “A Celtic Summertide: The Art of Collaboration”

Traveling Mercies

Traveling Mercies, written by Manitou Winds founder Jason McKinney, was completed in January 2018. Composing the work became both an adventure and a learning process. To tell you more, here’s Jason in his own words: The idea to write a chamber work for organ… Continue Reading “Traveling Mercies”

What the Stars Saw on the Prairie

“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.” — Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) from The Rest is Noise When my paternal grandmother passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in December 2005, I had recently moved to Chicago and was unable to travel… Continue Reading “What the Stars Saw on the Prairie”

A Manitou Christmas Medley

In our annual winter concert, Manitou Winds presents a program of music, poetry, and prose inspiring you to embrace winter. As creative director of Manitou Winds, I spend a lot of time searching through titles and listening to music, curating the individual pieces that… Continue Reading “A Manitou Christmas Medley”