About the Piece
“I took on a few projects during the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic for musicians and ensembles that were seeking collaborations during the long months of isolation. The first of these projects was the transcribing of my choral work Lo Yisa Goy for instruments. In April, saxophonist Paul Nolen asked if I might have something that his Illinois State University students could learn and individually record their parts; he would then mix the tracks together and share online. Then, over the summer, conductor Robert Baldwin asked if I might have anything suitable for the string section of the University of Utah Philharmonia, one of the few large groups that can safely gather together if performers are carefully spaced out. Once I had transcribed the piece for saxophone ensemble, I found the music made a compelling string orchestra version as well.” [Program note by the composer]
The text of Lo Yisa Goy is the Jewish prayer for peace:
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks:
nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.
But they shall sit every man under his vine
and under his fig tree;
and none shall make them afraid:
for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.
Instrumentation: String Orchestra
About the Composer
Stacy Garrop’s music is centered on dramatic and lyrical storytelling. The sharing of stories is a defining element of our humanity; we strive to share with others the experiences and concepts that we find compelling. She shares stories by taking audiences on sonic journeys – some simple and beautiful, while others are complicated and dark – depending on the needs and dramatic shape of the story.
Garrop is a full-time freelance composer living in the Chicago area. She served as the first Emerging Opera Composer of Chicago Opera Theater’s Vanguard Program (2018-2020), during which she composed The Transformation of Jane Doe and What Magic Reveals with librettist Jerre Dye. She also held a 3-year composer-in-residence position with the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra (2016-2019), funded by New Music USA and the League of American Orchestras. Theodore Presser Company publishes her chamber and orchestral works; she self-publishes her choral pieces under Inkjar Publishing Company. Garrop is a Cedille Records artist with pieces currently on ten CDs; her works are also commercially available on ten additional labels.
Garrop has received numerous awards and grants including an Arts and Letters Award in Music from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Fromm Music Foundation Grant, Barlow Prize, and three Barlow Endowment commissions, along with prizes from competitions sponsored by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Omaha Symphony, New England Philharmonic, Boston Choral Ensemble, Utah Arts Festival, and Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble. Earlier in her career, she participated in reading session programs sponsored by the American Composers Orchestra and Minnesota Orchestra (the Composers Institute).
Garrop previously served as composer-in-residence with the Albany Symphony (2009/2010) and Skaneateles Festival (2011), and as well as on faculty of the Fresh Inc Festival (2012-2017). She taught composition and orchestration full-time at Roosevelt University (2000-2016) before leaving to launch her freelance career. She earned degrees in music composition at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (B.M.), University of Chicago (M.A.), and Indiana University-Bloomington (D.M.). [from the composer’s website]
Performance Materials
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