Jeremy S. Bakken Blog: CREATION CORNER - what I'm working on currently

Back in the saddle...

Sat, 08 Sep 2012 14:35:11 PST

After three months on the road with Branches Band, I am back to NM for another semester of composition and choral conducting studies. Having recently completed The Fifth Word (part of The Seven Words cycle), attention will certainly shift toward the only remaning Word in the cycle, The First Word. I hope to complete it by late fall so that those interested in using the entire cycle for Good Friday 2013 are able to do so.

I'm also working on the second annual commission in support of the University of New Mexico Concert Choir. This year's commission is of a different sort, the text prose rather than metric, an excerpt from a translated Colombian novel.

Finally, I hope to start in earnest on my thesis composition project, which I intend to be a choral cantata with significant instrumental component.

Additionally, I'm am looking to enter more choral composition competitions, drawing on a stock of already written choral pieces, in the hopes of making more professional connections and getting more music into performers' hands.

A Potpourri of Activity

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:57:06 PST

Recently I have had several projects in the works, or at least on the radar screen, including:

Second annual commission in support of the University of New Mexico Concert Choir
The beginning stages of my master's thesis composition (a large-scale choral work with significant instrumental component)
The setting of H. W. Longfellow poems in the hopes of creating a four-song cycle entitled "Longfellow's Seasons." Winter is completed, summer is nearly completed, spring and fall have yet to be identified (as far as text goes) and set to music
The desire to complete the Seven Words cycle. Words One and Five remain to be written (both text and music). PDF samples of the other words are available in the main catalog, and are available for purchase individually.

In a few weeks I will embark on another summer of non-stop touring with Branches Band. Be sure to visit www.branchesband.com for our complete and most up-to-date schedule.

Fall update

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 16:18:37 PST

The recent weeks have seen work on two major projects: the first is a yet untitled chamber piece for winds and strings (flute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon, two violins, viola, cello and double bass). The other is a commissioned arrangement of "My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less" for SATB, children's choir and piano. I'm hoping to also enter some upcoming competition, if I can find the time to compose pieces suitable for them.

The premiere of "Thou Art My Lute" (SATB divisi and piano), commissioned in support of the University of New Mexico choral program, was a tremedous success! It will soon be made available through the web site, and I plan to submit it to mainline publishers in the hopes of publication and wider distribution.

Updates...and switching gears

Fri, 13 May 2011 08:55:40 PST

For the next three months I'll be touring extensively with Branches Band (www.branchesband.com). The dates are posted on the jsbakken.com calendar, but for full details and the most up-to-date information about Branches Band, be sure to check out the Branches web site. Our schedule includes dozens of concerts and worship opportunities all over the country in the following states: WI, TX, NE, CO, CA, OR, WA, ID, MT, SD, MN, OH, VA, NJ, NY, MI. Be sure to see if we are coming to your area; we'd love to see you!

My work on the festival setting of Psalm 24 is complete. The commissioned version (SATB, brass, organ, timpani) will be premiered at the opening worship service of the WELS National Conference on Music, Worship and the Arts on Wednesday, July 20, at 8:30am. The service will be at Christ Chapel on the campus of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN. Reduced versions of the work will also be available for purchase to accommodate congregations who don't have the extended instrumental or choral resources the commissioned work calls for. Additionally, I will have a booth at the conference where attendees can view and listen to samples of the music found on this web site.

A Busy Time

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 18:08:10 PST

Several projects are moving forward simultaneously at the moment. I am continuing the setting of Shakespeare sonnets and have moved to "That Time of Year Thou Mayst in Me Behold." I am also working on a work for chamber orchestra, yet to be titled. In the next two months I also will be writing a commission for the WELS National Conference on Music, Worship and the Arts; a festival setting of Psalm 24 for SATB, organ, brass, and congregation. Intermittently I continue to short SATB a cappella settings of Verses of the Day for the Liturigical Church Year, and occassionally a hymn introduction or two for piano. And all that while doing a good deal of travel, performing, and continuing studies composition and conducting. 2011 promises to be both busy and, God-willing, fruitful.

Setting Shakespeare poems and sonnets

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 17:53:53 PST

I recently had a musical idea that I was able to flesh out for setting William Shakespeare's "O Mistress Mine." The setting is SSAATTBB a cappella and is about 2:30 in length. I hope to set two or three more short poems or sonnets and offer them as a suite. Stay tuned...

Liturgical Settings

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 09:03:28 PST

As a full-time graduate student with two jobs, as well as coordinating and participating in ministry with Branches Band, it can be difficult to find time to dedicate to composition. A massive project that I've been considering for a while is making several collections setting all the Verse of the Day texts in the Christian pericope to music. The idea would be to create short settings of each Verse for SATB a cappella (for more advanced choirs), SAB with piano (for intermediate choirs) and SB or SA (for beginning choirs or children's choirs). While the entire project is massive, the individual pieces are much more manageable, as each setting is only a dozen or so measures long.

Whether or not such a resource would be useful - at a time when fewer churches use the Christian pericope and fewer rely on the choir to lead litrugical song - remains to be seen. But the project gives me an outlet for composition and a small means to continually generate creativity...

Labor Day...no, Composing Day

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 07:57:01 PST

After several months of touring with Branches Band all over the United States and Canada, I've returned to Albuquerque for another semester of studies in composition and choral conducting. The extended Labor Day weekend afforded me the opportunity to begin work on setting 2 Corinthians 1:9-10 to music. The setting is SSAATTBB a cappella and is a work in progress as I attempt to capture the contrast between the sentence of death and the hope of the resurrection, as well as the trust that God will continue to deliver his people.

The long Labor Day weekend also gave me opportunity to complete transcriptions for several Branches Band arrangements. Check them out at www.branchesband.com by clicking on the Store tab.

Not the typical fare

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:53:42 PST

I am currently studying composition with Prof. Brad Ellingboe, Director of Choral Activities at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. My goal this semester was to write three pieces under Prof. Ellingboe's guidance; that will prove to be a challenge given schedules and the countless other acitivities that take up one's time.

The first piece I've been working on is a setting of Sir Philip Syndey's sonnet "Come Sleep! O Sleep the Certain Knot of Peace" for Baritone, Viola, accompanied by Piano. It's going quite well, though I have not arrived at a final solution/conclusion yet. It has been an exciting experience for me as a composer, asking questions and giving thoughts to aspects of composing in general and this project in particular that I have not asked or considered in the past.

The next piece will likely be SATB divisi a capella. I have zeroed in on a text by Alfred Lord Tennyson entitled "Ask Me No More." Composing for a capella is something I thoroughly enjoy, so I am looking forward to this project.

Eventful Week

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:45:02 PST

This past week involved little new music, but activites that follow the composition thereof:

Three pieces were submitted to GIA Music Publications: Psalm 119:41-48 (SATB w/piano and optional congregation - commissioned for the 2005 WELS Conference on Music, Worship and the Arts), Psalm 13 (SATB w/piano) and Psalm 111 (SATB a cappella). In addition to these, several choral arrangements submitted in the past weeks are being considered by Shawnee Press and Northwestern Publishing House. Finally, eight hymns I have composed, setting texts written by Jaroslav J. Vajda, are currently under review at Concordia Publishing House. Review is a long distance from published, but it is the necessary first step...please check back for updates on these attempts to make worship music readily accessible to larger audiences.

Two new albums featuring the arranging and composing work of Branches Band, of which I am a member, also became available this week. Check out the song samples and place your order for "A Branch Is Growing" (Christmas album) and "Sing My Tongue" (Christian album) by clicking here.

Psalm Settings

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:57:01 PST

Everytime I read or listen to the Psalms, musical ideas come to me. On 10/24-10/25 I conceived an 8 1/2 minute setting of selected verses from Psalm 25 for SATB, string quartet and oboe. I'm not ready to make it publicly available, but will be soon. I've also begun work on an SATB setting of Psalm 111. This piece is still in its infancy, but I plan to give it attention in the days and weeks ahead.