CAMPFIRE CHANTS (2019)
30'
for treble voices
in collaboration with the San Francisco Girls Chorus
Campfire Chants is a collection of pieces for lots and lots of people making sounds together. Beginning with two weeks of workshops at SFGC's summer camps with vocalists ranging from pre-schoolers to college graduates and continuing throughout the year, these pieces were developed from hours and hours of playing, experimenting, and discovering alongside the amazing, inquisitive members of the Chorus School. The result is a series of wordless, game-like, sometimes improvisatory episodes that take place all around the performance space, including a giant "mirror, 4 rivers, 15 campfires, and a 174-part canon. Performers were given combs, paper lanterns, as well as a series of temporary tattoos with the different movements of the piece.
Read more about the making of Campfire Chants here.
Campfire Chants was premiered in May 2019 at Herbst Theater and the War Memorial Building in San Francisco, CA, with a follow-up performance at the 2019 Kronos Festival.
Performance photos by Melissa Haddick.
Above: Score excerpt.
Below: "Campfire kits" including paper lanterns, combs, music boxes, and temporary tattoos.
