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Inversion Nova presents
Zoology
Inversion Nova presents Zoology
Sunday January 28, 2024 at 4 PM
KMFA 89.5 Classical
41 Navasota St Austin, Texas 78702
Inversion’s youth choir, Nova, presents its second-ever program, Zoology, conducted by co-directors Katrina Saporsantos and Trevor Shaw. We’re singing all about the animal kingdom, performing new music from Inversion co-founders Adrienne Inglis, Robbie LaBanca and Trevor Shaw. Other composers include Suzy Johnson, Douglas E. Wagner, Mary Lynn Lightfoot, and Braeden Ayres. Nova provides young singers with opportunities to sing music written just for them, to work with living composers, to compose their own music, and to sing solo repertoire.
NOVA DIRECTORS
Katrina Saporsantos
Administrative Director & Associate Conductor
Trevor F. Shaw
Artistic Director & Principal Conductor
Benjamin Dia, Piano
David Lewis, Clarinet
Trevor Shaw, Guitar
Abigail Lewis, Intern
Áine Spainhour, Audio Recording
Catherine Spainhour, Audio and Video Recording
Adrienne Inglis, Audio and Video Editing
Program
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Tiger! Tiger! by Mary Lynn Lightfoot
Text
Selected verses from The Tiger, alt. by William Blake (1757-1827)
The Tyger by William Blake
Tiger! Tiger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare seize the fire?
What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
Tiger! Tiger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
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Winter Thrush by Braeden Ayres
Trevor Shaw, guitar
Text by Braeden Ayres
Wintry morn and the flecking of orange the birds are singing,
as they fly I marvel how they’re leaving
cold white and silver they beckon, bewildering words, I’m leaving
from the rush of summer wind to the blush of spring
there is so much you often forget the thrush on winter’s wing.
And so I go wintering.
Pendulum swing ere the coming of spring and a new migration,
and I pray for healing of the nation
somehow they sense it, a world without fences above the nation,
And on I go wintering.
How can I go on like this?
I wish I had the strength of a little bird.
Program note — After a tumultuous year in America and across the world, New Year's Day 2021 was filled with conflicting emotions. We knew that eventually life was going to get better, but we also knew it wouldn't be anytime soon. Personally, when times are tough, I often need help remembering to keep things in perspective. Winter Thrush is about that feeling: knowing that the seasons always turn eventually (here used as a metaphor for knowing things will get better), while also acknowledging the struggles of the present moment. Ultimately, this song is about looking for strength and joy even in the challenging moments of life. In terms of style, consider using a more laid-back, folk-style quality when singing this song; never forgetting the importance of tuning, blend, and diction. Add additional instruments or improvised harmonies as desired. In tricky rhythmic areas, pulse or tap the underlying eighth-note: it remains constant throughout the piece. Feel free to move with the music and use this as an opportunity to express your own feelings.
-
Two-Headed Calf by Robbie LaBanca (world premiere)
Text by Laura Gilpin (1950-2007)
Two-Headed Calf, by Laura Gilpin
Tomorrow when the farm boys find this
freak of nature, they will wrap his body
in newspaper and carry him to the museum.
But tonight he is alive and in the north
field with his mother. It is a perfect
summer evening: the moon rising over
the orchard, the wind in the grass. And
as he stares into the sky, there are
twice as many stars as usual.
Program note — "Two-Headed Calf" is a choral composition that serves as a poignant reflection on the delicate balance between the beauty of life and nature and the inexorable certainty of its destruction. Inspired by Laura Gilpin's evocative poem of the same name, the piece employs the voices as a Greek chorus, providing commentary on the unfolding narrative.
The choir's ethereal harmonies and dynamic expressions become a vessel for the dualism present in the text—the fragile yet vibrant existence of the two-headed calf contrasted with the impending fate awaiting it at the hands of farm boys. The music captures the essence of a perfect summer evening, painting sonic portraits of the moon rising over the orchard and the wind whispering through the grass.
As the narrative unfolds, "Two-Headed Calf" explores the swift integration of this new life into the vast universe, symbolized by the doubled stars in the sky. The choir's voices serve as both witness and participant, embodying the resilience and adaptability of the natural world. The juxtaposition of the calf's intrinsic connection with nature and the human characters' inclination to exploit its novelty through destruction is a central theme in the composition.
The music invites contemplation on the human tendency to commodify and capitalize on the extraordinary, often at the expense of the delicate beauty inherent in life. "Two-Headed Calf" challenges the listener to consider the consequences of such actions, weaving a musical narrative that is at once reflective and cautionary, encapsulating the essence of Gilpin's poem within a hauntingly beautiful choral tapestry.
-
A Jelly-Fish by Abigail Lewis (world premiere)
Text by Marianne Moore (1887 – 1972)
Visible, invisible,
A fluctuating charm,
An amber-colored amethyst
Inhabits it; your arm
Approaches, and
It opens and
It closes;
You have meant
To catch it,
And it shrivels;
You abandon
Your intent—
It opens, and it
Closes and you
Reach for it—
The blue
Surrounding it
Grows cloudy, and
It floats away
From you.
Program note — “A Jelly-Fish” is written in SAB with piano to be more accessible to younger choirs, and is written in 3/4 to give it a dance-y feel, mimicking the motions that a jellyfish makes when swimming. “A Jelly-Fish” by Marianne Moore is a tricky poem to analyze, as there are so many things that the author could be alluding to, however, I like to look at the jellyfish in the poem as a representation of the lives we want to cling to. It is human nature to cling to a life that is now changing, and the poem reminds us that sometimes we must let go of our ambitions and let change take over so that we may move on.
-
Whirligig by Adrienne Inglis (ASCAP) (world premiere)
SAB and piano
Text — from The Story of My Boyhood and Youth by John Muir, Chapter III “Life on a Wisconsin Farm” by John Muir (1838-1914)
We were great admirers of the little black water-bugs. Their whole lives seemed to be play, skimming, swimming, swirling, and waltzing together in little groups on the edge of the lake and in the meadow springs, dancing to music we never could hear
Program note — Commissioned by Inversion Ensemble for Nova’s Zoology concert January 28, 2024, Whirligig for SAB and piano sets a autobiographical passage by John Muir about his childhood experience with curious beetles in Wisconsin. Born in Scotland and immigrating to America as a boy, his fascination with the natural world led to his becoming America's most famous and influential naturalist and conservationist. The beetles he encountered on his family’s pioneer farm ware likely Whirligig beetles (Gyrinus substriatus), whose whimsical movement on the surface of the pond water enchanted him. They move together in groups and then quickly change direction and form new patterns. The busy piano line captures the motion of the whirligig beetles and the vocal parts similarly move in parallel and in canon. So elaborate were the movements that Muir imagined the beetles as dancing to music he couldn’t hear. The lilt of the piece and mostly mixolydian vibe conjure an old Scottish jig. The focus on the nature honors Muir’s legacy as founder of the Sierra Club.
-
Seal Lullaby by Douglas E. Wagner
Text
Seal Lullaby from The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (1865 – 1936)
Oh! hush thee, my baby, the night is behind us,
And black are the waters that sparkled so green.
The moon, o'er the combers, looks downward to find us
At rest in the hollows that rustle between.
Where billow meets billow, there soft be thy pillow;
Ah, weary wee flipperling, curl at thy ease!
The storm shall not wake thee, nor shark overtake thee,
Asleep in the arms of the slow-swinging seas.
Program note — The poem “Seal Lullaby” appears in the story “The White Seal” by Rudyard Kipling from “The Jungle Book”. In the poem, the mother seal sings a lullaby to her baby assuring them of their safety. She describes the night and the sea's darkness, along with the rest of their surroundings. The piano accompaniment provides a constant undercurrent of quiet, calm energy to anchor the lyrical melodies and lush choral harmonies of the mother’s song.
-
Narwhals by Trevor F. Shaw (world premiere)
Text
Narwhals are found in the cold arctic sea, but what else they do is a mystery to me.
They look so unique with their long, pearly horns; A narwhal is just like a sea unicorn.
I imagine how you live since I don't know a lot;
No scientist has told me what's true and what's not.
I'll bet your magic powers let you fly through outer space,
There's purple sugar hidden in that horn upon your face,
Your teeth are made of diamonds and your fins are made of gold,
You spray glitter out your blowhole whenever you say "Hello!"
Their best friends are penguins, they swim and play games,
and love to give each other lots of silly little names.
Narwhals are so great, they fill me with glee;
I wish I could pick one from a big old narwhal tree.
I imagine how you live since I don't know a lot;
No scientist has told me what's true and what's not.
I'll bet your magic powers let you fly through outer space,
There's purple sugar hidden in that horn upon your face,
Your teeth are made of diamonds and your fins are made of gold,
You spray glitter out your blowhole whenever you say "Hello!"
Program note — I wrote the text and melody for "Narwhals" in 2018 when working with a Children's Choir for Austin Arts Academy. I offered to write a song for the kids, based on the animal species of their choice. After choosing Narwhals as our collective subject, they realized that few people in the room knew much of anything about the creatures, aside from their arctic habitat and the magnificent horn at the ends of their faces. Instead of switching to a more familiar animal to sing about, I asked the children to give me a few invented "facts". I adapted those ideas into a silly text and arranged the song for two vocal parts and piano at the start of 2024 for Inversion Nova's "Zoology" concert. The piano accompaniment is mostly based on what I would improvise while singing the song with the aforementioned children's choir several years ago.
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A Respectable Bird by Suzy Johnson
David Lewis, clarinet
Text:
The turkey is a respectable bird.
No kidding, Ben Franklin penned this word. They gobble and putt and bobble and strut, A native American bird.
They cannot smell things well but have an awesome sense of taste.
Their hearing and their eyesight are quite keen.
They run away or fly away escaping you in haste.
But watch out! You’ll get spurred if you are mean!
The turkey is a respectable bird.
No really, you must please take my word. She cackles and purrs, he tackles with spurs, Courageous American bird!
Flocks of them are gathered and are scratching in the dirt. So many of them pecking on the ground.
Gobbling up the bugs and seeds, always on alert, Running willy nilly at a sound!
The turkey is a respectable bird.
Believe me, it’s really not absurd!
With wattles and snood, they have attitude, A quirky American bird.
- Suzy Johnson, inspired by Benjamin Franklin
Program note —
I have been observing wild turkeys for more than 25 years from the windows of my country home. Sometimes we see up to fifty at a time in our yard or field! Many of us only think about turkeys around Thanksgiving Day, but their endearing qualities inspired me to find out more about them. I had heard Benjamin Franklin proposed the turkey as our national bird, but soon discovered this to be a myth. Although he never actually recommended this noble fowl instead of the eagle, he did respect them.
In 1784 he wrote:
“For my own part I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country....” Later he adds that the eagle is a “bird of bad moral character” that “does not get his living honestly.” In a subsequent paragraph he extols the turkey with these words--”For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America... He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on.”
I handpicked these historic words, paired them with personal observations, sprinkled in scientific terms and facts, and drizzled it with a dash of humor to create a year round musical main dish for this underappreciated bird. I hope you enjoy it!
NOVA SINGERS
Abigail Lewis
Edward King
Emmett Wise
Kaleigh Manning
Malachi Lewis
Ruby Manning
Tucker Hymel-Pratt
INVERSION SINGERS
Artha Weaver
Deirdre Spainhour
Gregory Hilliard, Jr.
Juli Orlandini
Nathaniel Fomby III
STAFF
Trevor F. Shaw, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor
Katrina Saporsantos, Administrative Director and Associate Conductor
Adrienne Inglis, Outreach and Artist Manager
Carol Brown, Production Manager
Catherine Spainhour, Grant Writer and Videographer
Abigail Lewis, Intern
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jonathan Riemer, president
Lissa Anderson, secretary
Kim Vitray, treasurer
Ann Hume Wilson
Guillermo Delgado
Kathy Leighton
Meredith Ware Morrow
DONORS
Many thanks to our individual, business, and sustaining donors going into our seventh season! For a current list of donors, visit the donation page on our website. Inversion Ensemble was supported by New Music USA’s Organization Fund in 2023-24
Many Thanks to our Sponsors!
Many thanks to our volunteers for all their help!
Thank you for coming!
Upcoming Inversion Concerts
Inversion is a collection of vocal ensembles dedicated to commissioning and performing timely new works by living composers. Inversion presents themed concerts on myriad topics including LGBTQIA+ rights, racial justice, immigration, climate change, and democratic rights, as well as space exploration, philosophy, natural science, and the ancient elements. Inversion advocates for inclusion through outreach with local public schools, college partners, and annual emerging composer contests.