Compose Like a Girl

Choral Series Bonus: Conversation with Sherry Blevins

Sherry Blevins joins Jocelyn for a conversation on today’s bonus episode! 
 
Sherry is an award-winning composer/lyricist, conductor/clinician, and an award-winning music educator. Her first piece was published in 2018. Since then, more than 17 of her pieces have been published, and she is now with four publishing houses including Hinshaw, Fred Bock, BriLee, and JH Music. Since then, she has enjoyed composing for and with a variety of singers and ensembles across North America. Sherry has a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a master’s degree in music education from Appalachian State University. Her hope is that whether through composing or teaching, that the music she shares will bring hope, life, and light to others. 
 
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Transcript PDF
 
Relevant Links:
 
Sherry Blevins
When I Become An Old Woman, available through Graphite Publishing
Looking for Light, available through Graphite Publishing 
If I Call To You, My Love, available through Graphite Publishing 
Jenny Joseph’s poem “When I Become an Old Woman”
Dr. Iris S. Levine, Vox Femina 

Choral Series Bonus: Conversation with Ritika Bhattacharjee

Ritika Bhattacharjee joins Jocelyn for a conversation on today’s bonus episode! 
Ritika is a composer, pianist, and vocalist who performs in jazz combos and big bands, plays for contemporary dance productions with Ventana Ballet, and underscores fully improvised musicals at Merlin Works, The Hideout, The Fallout, and ColdTowne Theatre. Her multi-media composition portfolio includes the scores for three short films, a video game, an iOS app, a string quartet, a musical, and a symphony commission from Austin Balcones Orchestra. She received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University in 2022, where she founded and served as the president and conductor of Ingeniare, the A&M Student Engineering Chorus, and served as the band leader and pianist for Binomial Rhapsody, an engineering instrumental ensemble that composed music from math equations. During her undergraduate study, she was the lead jazz vocalist for the Corps of Cadets Aggieland Orchestra, performing scores from the big-band era on tour. She currently works as a business consultant in Austin, TX, and will receive her graduate diploma in composition from the European Academy of Film Scoring in 2024.
 
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Learn more: Compose Like a Girl
 
Transcript PDF
 
Relevant Links:
 
Ritika Bhattacharjee
The Infinity of Space available through Graphite Publishing
 
Texas A&M University
Shayla Rivera (Ritika’s Professor at Texas A&M University)
Binomial Rhapsody
Python 
Pivot
Gutenberg! The musical!
Film Scoring Academy of Europe
 
Conspirare
Morten Lauridsen - Lux Aeterna
Orange County Philharmonic
Pepsi R&D
Lewis Carroll’s, “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland”
 
SOUNDDRAW
String Theory
Wormhole Paradoxes
Dr. Michio Kaku

Choral Series Bonus: Conversation with Patti Arntz

Patti Arntz joins Jocelyn for a conversation on today’s bonus episode! 
 
Patti has been a music educator and church musician in the Twin Cities area for over 40 years. She has degrees in music from Hamline University, St. Paul, MN and Drake University, Des Moines, IA and a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN.
She recently retired from teaching elementary music with the Robbinsdale Area Schools in the Twin Cities area. During her 30 years of instructing young children to sing and make music, she also directed the Robbinsdale All-District Elementary Honors Choir for 15 years. Throughout her teaching career, she served as an organist and director of youth/adult choirs in local churches.
In 2003, Patti was contacted by St. Olaf College to see if she would take a student teacher. The answer was yes, of course. That student teacher was Jocelyn Hagen. The favor was returned when Jocelyn served as a mentor for Patti’s compositions and arrangements.
 
In 2010, Patti commissioned Jocelyn to compose a children’s choir piece in memory of Teresa Benjamin, Assistant Director of the Robbinsdale Elementary Honor Choir. Teresa passed away in the spring of 2003. This composition, “I Started Out Singing,” has become very popular in recent years.
 
Keeping in touch with her elementary music roots, she serves as an adjunct professor at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minnesota, instructing elementary education majors on teaching and integrating music into their future classrooms.
 
Patti lives in the Twin Cities area with her husband, Rolland, where she enjoys outdoor activities, traveling and cooking. She sings with Singers in Accord and is a charter member of the choir. Her adult children, Kyle and Melani are both very involved in music in the Twin Cities area.
 
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Learn more: Compose Like a Girl
 
Transcript PDF
 
Relevant Links:
 
Patti Arntz on social media: Instagram @pmarntz, Facebook @Patti Arntz.
A Quilt of Snow (available through Graphite Publishing for 2-part treble, SATB, or SSA choir and C instrument)
A Quilt of Snow Introduction
Performance of A Quilt of Snow by Vox Nova Chorale, Vicki Peters, Artistic Director
Robbinsdale All District Choir, MN
Odd Nordstoga 

Choral Series Bonus: Conversation with Grace Becker

Grace Becker joins Jocelyn for a conversation on today’s bonus episode! 
 
Grace is an amateur composer who is excited to share her passion for spreading joy and writing music with the world. Grace grew up singing in choirs in her hometown Bloomington, MN and began composing in her second year of college. She quickly found purpose in the vulnerable, honest nature of this process. She has since composed a handful of songs, with her debut appearing in the Compose Like A Girl series. She has always had a love for poetry and storytelling, often choosing to make settings of her own poems. Choral music has left a profound mark on her life, and she is honored to be able to share her words with the public, hoping they will find those who need to hear them the most. Grace graduated with a bachelor’s in music education from Wartburg College and is currently teaching K-4th general music in Iowa.
 
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Learn more: Compose Like a Girl
 
Transcript PDF
 
Relevant Links:
 
Grace Becker:Instagram - @grace.becker73Facebook - @GraceBecker
Known, available through Graphite Publishing 
Performance of Known by Voces Solis, conducted by Ryan Keeling
Wartburg College, Dr. Lee Nelson

Rosephanye Powell: Black music, Storytelling, and Music-Making as Service

Rosephanye Powell joins Jocelyn to talk about Black music, storytelling, music-making as service, and much more. Hear the full conversation by becoming a Patreon subscriber. 
Companion playlists: Youtube, Spotify
Support us: Subscribe on Patreon
Follow us: @composelikeagirl on Instagram and Facebook
Learn more: Compose Like a Girl
Music by Cicely Parnas. Additional Music by Blue Dot Sessions.
 
Transcript PDF
 
Relevant Links:
 
Rosephanye Powell
Living Legend Award
African Diaspora Sacred Music Festival 
 
HBCUs
Alabama State University 
Florida State University - Choirs
North Dakota State University - Choral Symposium
 
Fred Boch Music 
Gentry Publications
 
Undine Smith Moore
Dr. Lena McLin
Dr. André J. Thomas
Rodney Eichenberger
Hall Johnson
William L. Dawson
Harry Thacker Burleigh
John Wesley Work III
Martin Luther King Jr. 
Harriet Tubman 
 
I Wanna Be Ready
The Word Was God
Still I Rise 
The Cry of Jeremiah 
Quiet Revolutionary 
He Is Marvelous - ACDA Western Conference 2022 Gospel Honor Choir 
 
My Voice Soars - a Compose Like a Girl partnership with Tucson Girls Chorus 

B.E. Boykin: Finding Mentorship Among Friends

B.E. Boykin joins Jocelyn to talk about curriculum, the collaborative energy between singers and pianists, and finding mentorship among friends. Hear the full conversation by becoming a Patreon subscriber. 
Companion playlists: Youtube, Spotify
Support us: Subscribe on Patreon
Follow us: @composelikeagirl on Instagram and Facebook
Learn more: Compose Like a Girl
 
Transcript PDF
 
Relevant Links:
 
B.E. Boykin
 
Spelman College
Georgia Tech
 
Minnesota Opera New Works Initiative
Song Poet
 
John 3:16 
We Wear the Mask commissioned by the Mirror Visions Ensemble featuring Abi Levis and Grant Wenaus
Holding the Light commissioned by Jordan Shomper
Stuart Kestenbaum, poet
 
William Menefield, Fierce with the Cincinnati Opera 
Darin Atwater, Soulful Symphony
Richard Smallwood
Brandon Waddles
Marques L.A. Garrett
Rosephanye Powell (featured in our upcoming episode!)
 
Compose Like a Girl theme composed by Cicely Parnas. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Cecilia McDowall: Leading with Curiosity and Drawing Inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci

Cecilia McDowall joins Jocelyn to talk about drawing inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci, leading with curiosity, and the truth that it’s never too late to find your compositional path. Hear the full conversation by becoming a Patreon subscriber. 
Companion playlists: Youtube, Spotify
Support us: Subscribe on Patreon
Follow us: @composelikeagirl on Instagram and Facebook
Learn more: Compose Like a Girl
 
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.
 
Transcript PDF
 
Relevant Links:
Cecilia McDowall
 
Leonardo Da Vinci
Da Vinci Requiem (McDowall)
The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci (Hagen)
Wimbledon Choral Society
 
Harriet Quimby 
Night Flight 
The Ivors Classical Awards 2014
Kantorei, Joel Rinsema director
 
BBC SingersRosalind Franklin
Photo 51
Seven Ages of Women 
 
Yehudi Menuhin SchoolTrinity Laban Conservatoire Of Music and Dance London
Concordia Foundation 
Fibonacci Sequence chamber ensemble
 

Reena Esmail - Finding Our Truth

Reena Esmail joins Jocelyn to talk about finding our truth. Hear the full conversation by becoming a Patreon subscriber. 
Companion playlists: Youtube, Spotify
Support us: Subscribe on Patreon
Follow us: @composelikeagirl on Instagram and Facebook
Learn more: Compose Like a Girl
 
Transcript PDF
 
Relevant Links:
 
Reena Esmail 
 
Black Iris (formerly #metoo) performed by Chicago Sinfonietta
Tuttarrana (SATB)
Tuttarrana (Brass Quintet) - Serif Brass 
This Love Between Us
 
The Juilliard School 
Yale School of Music
 
Aaron Kernis, composer
Susan Botti, composer
Sam Adler, composer
Debt: The First 5000 Years 
Georgia O’Keefe, painter
 
Bartók Concerto for Orchestra

Angélica Negrón - The Seriousness of Play

Angélica Negrón joins Jocelyn to talk about the value of play, collaboration, and how classicism shows up in education. Hear the full conversation by becoming a Patreon subscriber. 
Companion playlists: Youtube, Spotify
Support us: Subscribe on Patreon
Follow us: @composelikeagirl on Instagram and Facebook
Learn more: Compose Like a Girl
 
Transcript PDF
 
Relevant Links:
 
Angélica Negrón
 
2022 Hermitage Greenfield Prize 
New York Philharmonic Education 
 
Chorus of the Forest Performance
 
The Blue Hour - (Rachel Grimes, Angélica Negrón, Caroline Shaw, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Shara Nova)
The Blue Hour: No. 3, A Black Map
A Far Cry
Carolyn Forché (Blue Hour)
The Blue Hour is available for hire at WiseMusicClassical.com.
 
Balún - Angélica Negrón, José A. Olivares, Raúl Reymundi, Noraliz Ruiz, with guest performers
Prisma Tropical - La Nueva Ciudad
 
Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Penelope (shared as an anecdote)Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions

Chen Yi: Blending Classical Compositional Styles and a Dedication to Students

Chen Yi joins Jocelyn to share her approaches to blending classical compositional styles and teaching. Hear the full conversation by becoming a Patreon subscriber. 
Companion playlists: Youtube, Spotify
Support us: Subscribe on Patreon
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Learn more: Compose Like a Girl
 
Transcript PDF
 
Relevant Links:
 
Chen Yi 
https://www.presser.com/chen-yi-at-70 https://conservatory.umkc.edu/profiles/faculty-directory/chen-yi.html
 
To learn more about Chinese Cultural Revolution and Chinese Traditional Music, visit: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/15/world/asia/china-cultural-revolution-explainer.html  
https://spice.fsi.stanford.edu/docs/introduction_to_the_cultural_revolution 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_China
https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/media-and-interactives/media/international/music-of-china/ 
Tang Dynasty
 
Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing 
Tianjin Conservatory
National Symphony Orchestra, Taiwan
University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory
Peabody Institute 
 
UMKC Composition Competition Opportunities
Beijing International Composition Workshop
 
Chanticleer
Albums: Colors of Love and The Siren’s Call: Live Concert Highlights 
 
Album: Digital Mist - Works For Violin and Piano; Patrick Yim (violin), Kiu Tung Poon (piano), Sebastian Currier
 
Albany Records
Jennifer Higdon
Niccolò Paganini