On Thursday, May 27, at 5:00 PM Pacific Time, composer and pianist Jake Heggie joins OICMF Founder and Artistic Director Aloysia Friedmann for an informative and entertaining livestream discussion about Jake’s career.
A Guggenheim Fellow, Jake is internationally known for his operas and compositions for vocal and instrumental ensembles, both large and small, and his artistic presence is frequently enjoyed by Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival attendees.
Jake Heggie was the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival’s first composer-in-residence in 2006. His works frequently appear on summer festival programs, many of them world premieres commissioned for OICMF. Jake’s compositions often include programmatic elements; in 2017, he composed the haunting and ethereal Earthrise: December 24, 1968 for musical saw and string quartet to honor the iconic NASA photo of Earth rising over the moon, taken during the Apollo 8 mission by astronaut and OICMF patron William Anders. The piece was premiered on the Orcas Center stage by sawyer Anita Orne and the Miró Quartet in front of a multiple-panel tapestry image of the photo, woven by fibre artist Geoffrey Shilling. Jake’s compositions often portray serious and dark themes, but he also creates light and fanciful works. His Orcas Island Ferry: Suite for Violin/Viola and Piano, abundant with the familiar sounds and rhythms of marine travel, was premiered at the 2012 Festival by OICMF Artistic Director, violinist/violist Aloysia Friedmann and OICMF Artistic Advisor and pianist Jon Kimura Parker. Even the notes on the written music for Orcas Island Ferry form rhythmic wave patterns across the page! The Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival’s 25th Season will see the return of Jake Heggie and another world premiere written for the Miró Quartet.
Jake’s first opera, Dead Man Walking, based on the book of the same name by Sister Helen Prejean, premiered in San Francisco with international stars Susan Graham and Frederica (Flicka) von Stade playing lead roles. Both Susan and Flicka have been OICMF guest artists. For the Houston Grand Opera production, OICMF artist Philip Cutlip had a leading role and our own Sophie Parker was in the children’s chorus, sharing the stage with Joyce DiDonato, Philip Cutlip, and Frederica von Stade. New York’s Metropolitan Opera has announced a bold new production of Dead Man Walking for a future season. In addition to his numerous operas, Jake is also known for his many art songs and concerti, along with chamber music, choral, and orchestral works; he recently completed and recorded Songs for Murdered Sisters, a song cycle based on new poems by Margaret Atwood, and INTONATIONS: Songs from the Violins of Hope with texts by Gene Scheer, a dramatic song cycle featuring mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and violinist Daniel Hope. To read more about Jake Heggie and his work, visit his website at jakeheggie.com.
Please join OICMF for this lively and engaging Zoom event. The Festival thanks the Patricia and Christopher Weil Family Foundation for their sponsorship. Tickets are $12 and are available here.
