Broken
Choral Music
chorus with piano
work detail
instrumentation: SSAA, piano
completion date: december 2017
duration: 3 minutes
texts: "When a compass is broken" by Megan Levad
events
JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY PRESENTS: STILL I RISE
JMU University Chorus Soprano/Alto Ensemble
James Madison University Concert Hall - Harrisonburg, VA
8:00 pm
The James Madison University UCSA and conductor Dr. Jo-Anne van der Vat-Chromy perform my work Broken as part of their March concert program.
YOUNG NEW YORKERS CHORUS PRESENTS: ALL THE SMALL THINGS
Young New Yorkers' Chorus & Alex Canovas
TBD
7:30 pm
Alex Canovas and the Young New Yorkers' Chorus perform by work Broken as part of their Spring Treble Ensemble concert. More information here.
GVSU
Anima Ensemble
Grand Valley State University
12:00 pm
Grand Valley State University Anima choir performs my work Broken as part of their Spring 2024 concert.
2024 WSMA HIGH SCHOOL STATE HONORS MUSIC PROJECT
Wisconsin All-State Treble Honors Choir - Mary Hopper, conductor
Overture Center - Madison, WI
8:00 pm
Mary Hopper and the Wisconsin All-State Treble Honors Choir perform my work Broken as part of the 2024 WSMA High School State Honors Music Project.
JESSA PERFORMS "THE SUN NEVER SAYS"
JESSA - Jane Edwards, conductor
St. Mary's Cathedral - Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
7:00 pm
Jane Edwards and JESSA perform my work Broken as part of their September concert "The Sun Never Says." Incidentally, this performance in Tasmania, Australia will be the furthest south my music has ever been heard on Earth!
audio
Broken
William Bausano, conductor; Cloie Dobias, piano
World premiere recording
videos
Broken
Wheaton College Women's Chorale
Mary Hopper, director
Family Weekend Choral Showcase Concert
Recorded November 9, 2018 at the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music - Wheaton, IL
performances
Miami University Choraliers
William Bausano, conductor
Hall Auditorium - Miami University - Miami, OH
Family Weekend Concert
Wheaton College Women's Chorale
Mary Hopper, conductor
College Church - Wheaton, IL
UC Choruses Spring Showcase
UC Women's Chorus
Molly Getsinger, conductor
Corbett Auditorium - CCM - Cincinnati, OH
Spring Concert
Wheaton College Women's Chorale
Mary Hopper, conductor
College Church - Wheaton, IL
IU Choral Collage
Voces Caelestes
Dominick DiOrio, conductor
Auer Concert Hall - IU Jacobs School of Music - Bloomington, IN
University of Toledo Rocket Choristers
Brad Pierson, conductor
Doermann Theater - University of Toledo - Toledo, OH
James Madison University Chorus: Soprano/Alto Ensemble * Dr. Jo-Anne van der Vat-Chromy, director * Linlin Uta, collaborative pianist
scores
recordings
Mirabai Ensemble & Sandra Snow, artistic director, released this new album "Home in Me" which includes my work *Broken* with poetry by Megan Levad.
commission and dedication
Commissioned by the Miami University Choraliers, William Bausano, conductor, and supported, in part, by Patty Morrison, Class of 1980 and Choralier member, 1978-1980
published
program note
Broken is simple and repetitive music. My use of repetition is deliberate, as these cyclic patterns of behavior and anxiety are the manifestation of our brokenness. Megan Levad’s poem “When a compass is broken” captures this isolation perfectly. Her words resonate deeply with me, as I hope they will also with those who sing and hear them. Once we recognize our cycles, our awareness expands, and we begin the necessary step of breaking our patterns and being reborn anew.
This music is humbly dedicated to my dear friend William Bausano and the Miami University Choraliers.
-- Dominick DiOrio
December 2017
text
"When a compass is broken"
by Megan Levad
from What Have I to Say to You (2017)
When a compass
is broken
it can be replaced
needle, cork, shallow dish
is all it takes
More difficult
is learning
the compass is broken
That part takes decades
of wandering in the desert
information
events
JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY PRESENTS: STILL I RISE
JMU University Chorus Soprano/Alto Ensemble
James Madison University Concert Hall - Harrisonburg, VA
8:00 pm
The James Madison University UCSA and conductor Dr. Jo-Anne van der Vat-Chromy perform my work Broken as part of their March concert program.
YOUNG NEW YORKERS CHORUS PRESENTS: ALL THE SMALL THINGS
Young New Yorkers' Chorus & Alex Canovas
TBD
7:30 pm
Alex Canovas and the Young New Yorkers' Chorus perform by work Broken as part of their Spring Treble Ensemble concert. More information here.
GVSU
Anima Ensemble
Grand Valley State University
12:00 pm
Grand Valley State University Anima choir performs my work Broken as part of their Spring 2024 concert.
2024 WSMA HIGH SCHOOL STATE HONORS MUSIC PROJECT
Wisconsin All-State Treble Honors Choir - Mary Hopper, conductor
Overture Center - Madison, WI
8:00 pm
Mary Hopper and the Wisconsin All-State Treble Honors Choir perform my work Broken as part of the 2024 WSMA High School State Honors Music Project.
JESSA PERFORMS "THE SUN NEVER SAYS"
JESSA - Jane Edwards, conductor
St. Mary's Cathedral - Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
7:00 pm
Jane Edwards and JESSA perform my work Broken as part of their September concert "The Sun Never Says." Incidentally, this performance in Tasmania, Australia will be the furthest south my music has ever been heard on Earth!
audio
Broken
William Bausano, conductor; Cloie Dobias, piano
World premiere recording
videos
Broken
Wheaton College Women's Chorale
Mary Hopper, director
Family Weekend Choral Showcase Concert
Recorded November 9, 2018 at the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music - Wheaton, IL
performances
Miami University Choraliers
William Bausano, conductor
Hall Auditorium - Miami University - Miami, OH
Family Weekend Concert
Wheaton College Women's Chorale
Mary Hopper, conductor
College Church - Wheaton, IL
UC Choruses Spring Showcase
UC Women's Chorus
Molly Getsinger, conductor
Corbett Auditorium - CCM - Cincinnati, OH
Spring Concert
Wheaton College Women's Chorale
Mary Hopper, conductor
College Church - Wheaton, IL
IU Choral Collage
Voces Caelestes
Dominick DiOrio, conductor
Auer Concert Hall - IU Jacobs School of Music - Bloomington, IN
University of Toledo Rocket Choristers
Brad Pierson, conductor
Doermann Theater - University of Toledo - Toledo, OH
James Madison University Chorus: Soprano/Alto Ensemble * Dr. Jo-Anne van der Vat-Chromy, director * Linlin Uta, collaborative pianist
scores
recordings
Mirabai Ensemble & Sandra Snow, artistic director, released this new album "Home in Me" which includes my work *Broken* with poetry by Megan Levad.
commission and dedication
Commissioned by the Miami University Choraliers, William Bausano, conductor, and supported, in part, by Patty Morrison, Class of 1980 and Choralier member, 1978-1980
published
program note
Broken is simple and repetitive music. My use of repetition is deliberate, as these cyclic patterns of behavior and anxiety are the manifestation of our brokenness. Megan Levad’s poem “When a compass is broken” captures this isolation perfectly. Her words resonate deeply with me, as I hope they will also with those who sing and hear them. Once we recognize our cycles, our awareness expands, and we begin the necessary step of breaking our patterns and being reborn anew.
This music is humbly dedicated to my dear friend William Bausano and the Miami University Choraliers.
-- Dominick DiOrio
December 2017
text
"When a compass is broken"
by Megan Levad
from What Have I to Say to You (2017)
When a compass
is broken
it can be replaced
needle, cork, shallow dish
is all it takes
More difficult
is learning
the compass is broken
That part takes decades
of wandering in the desert
