This May, I am thrilled to be attending the world premiere of my new work Mother Wolf taking place at the Podium Conference and Festival in Victoria, BC, Canada. It will be premiered by the amazing musicians in Ventus Women’s Choir of Lethbridge, Alberta under the direction of Regan Brooks.
Mother Wolf is a strong, powerful, and emotionally charged piece which was inspired by the theme of resilience. It was incredibly special to write. Scored for SSAA & piano, the music features sounds and colours I don’t usually bring out in my modern choral writing — elements of folk and pop, tight harmonies, and a fierce chorus. There are definitely hints of my singer-songwriter past, here!
About the commission
The work was commissioned by Ventus Women’s Choir with the University of Lethbridge Music Conservatory and grew out of exploratory conversations with the choir’s artistic director, Regan Brooks on the topics of love, loss, grief, and shared experiences.
In our discussions, we pondered questions around how one continues to care for self, or their children, or others when a tragic loss in life has occurred. Quite simply, where does one find the strength to carry on?
What emerged from these discussions was the idea of resilience — where does this come from? How do we learn to have resilience in the face of trauma? Who teaches us? We reflected on the fact that often, we learn how to be resilient by seeing it modelled by others, often women, in our lives —mentors, teachers, sisters, mothers.
I decided to ask Regan and her choristers to share their reflections on this theme and invited the musicians to write to me with their thoughts. What they sent me was more profound, touching, and educating than I ever could have hoped for. I felt like I had been gifted a guidebook to life from sisters I’d never met. I studied their responses, reflected on the meaning, and let their words be the inspiration for this text.
Podium world premiere
I am really looking forward to the world premiere performances of Mother Wolf, which will be taking place on
Saturday, May 16th – 1:30pm and again at 4pm at the Farquar Auditorium, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
I am so grateful to Ventus Women’s Choir and to Regan Brooks for commissioning me to write Mother Wolf. It has been a deeply meaningful experience to develop the reflections and thoughts entrusted to me into this final work.
Mother Wolf
I have seen you in the rain
pressing on through cloudy days,
bending with the winds that come,
living under darkened skies
yet flowing with the waves that rise.
Your ship, she will not sink today, she won’t.
I’ve listened to your melodies,
the song you live for all to see
and followed in the sound of your voice.
I’ve gathered all your shooting stars,
your courage, pain, and hope
and held them close so I may shine.
‘Cause you’re the fiercest wolf-mother,
you’re the warmest breeze of summer,
you have a grateful heart and oh,
you are seen.
There’s a quiet strength, you say,
in learning when to walk away
and learning when to fight to overcome.
You stare the storm in the eye
and in your heart you must decide
to resist or to surrender and rise
when the wind blows colder.
‘Cause you’re the fiercest wolf-mother,
you’re the warmest breeze of summer,
you have a grateful heart and oh,
you are seen.
Through the strength of my spirit,
firmly stands my heart.
Steady hands, rooted feet
though cold winds blow.
Be the fiercest wolf-mother,
be the warmest breeze of summer,
have a grateful heart and oh,
be seen.