PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER

The title is taken from a quote on a tea bag—"There is a pleasure in the pathless woods”—an excerpt from Lord Byron’s poem, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, in which a disillusioned world wanderer marvels at the ways in which Nature’s sheer power overwhelms Humankind. Written in December 2020, amidst peak burnout and COVID spike, my piece is a stream-of-consciousness reflection on this critical moment when we have awakened to an opportunity to reimagine the world together. Our priorities have come into focus, new paths forward have been illuminated, a hopeful spirit rises, and as much as action is overdue and necessary, we must also rest and gather strength to navigate difficult times ahead. Many musical choices were inspired by my dear friends for whom it was written, Emma Lee Holmes-Hicks and Piero Guimaraes, who also graciously provided percussion samples.

BIOGRAPHY

Internationally recognized composer Kirsten Volness (she/her) creates sublimely intimate and emotive soundscapes that inspire immersive listening. Through the refined use of electronics and modern composition techniques overlaid with jazz and pop influences, Volness’s music is both groovy and graceful, “irresistible” (San Francisco Chronicle) and “nothing short of gorgeous.” (New York Arts). Each of her compositions reveals “an exquisite sound world” (New Classic LA) with disparate, suggestive musical elements and idioms woven together to create sonic atmospheres that hold listeners in beauty and fascination. Inspired by nature, myth, spirituality, and environmental and sociopolitical issues, Volness’s music is smart, relevant, timeless, and transcendent. 

Volness’s work features around the world, with past performances at The Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS), L’Institut International de Musique Electroacoustique de Bourges, The New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival (NYCEMF), Illuminus Boston, Electronic Music Midwest, Noise Floor, Electroacoustic Barn Dance, Third Practice, Tribeca New Music, American Composers Alliance, LunART, the Montréal and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals, and concerts throughout North America, Europe, and Australia. Her rich commission history includes projects with the World Future Council Foundation, ASCAP/SEAMUS, BMI Foundation, Kansas City Electronic Music and Arts Alliance, Metropolis Ensemble, Hotel Elefant, NOW Ensemble, Transient Canvas, Opera Cowgirls, Experiential Orchestra, Cambridge Philharmonic, and Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra. Volness received the MacColl Johnson Fellowship in 2017, the Fellowship in Music Composition from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts three times (2018, 2014, 2010), and the 2017 Composer-in-Residence position at the Music Mansion. Her first opera, Letters That You Will Not Get: Women's Voices From The Great War, premiered with The American Opera Project in 2022 (with support from OPERA America's Opera Grants for Female Composers program, supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation).

Also an active performer, producer, and a passionate promoter of multimedia, Volness has cultivated and curated numerous festivals and series featuring the work of interdisciplinary artists. Her broad creative practice fosters hybrid genres of performance which explore modes of presenting and experiencing art that generate larger, and more diverse arts communities. A highly sought-after collaborator, she is the Co-Founder, Director and pianist for Verdant Vibes (Providence); multi-instrumentalist for Hotel Elefant (NYC); Co-Director of homeless advocacy group Tenderloin Opera Company (Providence); Composer/Performer in Meridian Project, a multimedia performance/lecture series exploring astrophysics and cosmology (Chicago/Providence); and Affiliated Artist of Sleeping Weazel (Boston). 

Volness has taught composition, electroacousitc music, and theory at Lewis & Clark, Reed College, the University of Rhode Island, Interlochen Arts Camp, and Metropolitan Youth Symphony with guest appearances at numerous U.S. colleges and universities. With composition degrees from the University of Michigan (D.M.A., M.M.) and the University of Minnesota (B.A., summa cum laude), her greatest mentors include Evan Chambers, William Bolcom, Betsy Jolas, Bright Sheng, Michael Daugherty, Karen Tanaka, and Judith Lang Zaimont.