Composing in This Time

By Joan Szymko

I have taken a fragile fire out of my heart

That I might give you light to find a shining

Beyond these luminous shadows

And this disastrous darkness.

I cannot imagine a more compelling description of what it feels like to compose choral music in this current time and space. These lines of poetry are from “Vox Matris”, premiered and recorded this past Spring by the outstanding singers of Prime Voci of the Seattle Girls Choir. At a rehearsal visit, as I shared insights about the piece, I realized that composing almost always feels as if I am taking a fragile fire out of my heart. And more often than not, throughout my 35 years creating choral works, I have elected to set texts that illuminate what Hildegard of Bingen called, “a yearning for good.” 

As a choral composer, I aim to create a visceral arc of discovery for singer and listener, always seeking an emotive clarity that both loves the voice and honors the poet. I approach text setting as if telling a story and so, like a good story, varying textures and tempi keeps the listener alert and engaged. I ensure that all the voice parts, as well as any accompanying instrument, get to carry the “storyline.” Because my music is very much informed by my experience as a choral conductor, I take great care in composing music that is not only “in the voice” but in the conducting gesture as well. I am a capable technician, but I believe my true strength as a composer is my artist’s intuition. The “fragile fire” can easily go out if I do not carefully listen for what comes next— and if I succeed, then the singer will surely “feel the next note.”

I have always believed that as choral directors we are community leaders. We all know the power of song to both embolden and to open hearts…

And if the way grows darker still,

Shadowed by Sorrow’s somber wing,

With glad defiance in my throat,

I pierce the darkness with a note,

And sing, and sing.

How then do we respond to this watershed moment, and pierce the darkness of these extraordinarily divisive times? We can fearlessly plant seeds of civility, courage and of kindness in our rehearsal rooms and our concert venues. 

Be the seed. 

Be the shred of living.

Be the shred of living light 

bedded in the broken world.

Be not afraid, 

no matter how small 

your poor power 

against the powers that be—

no worry, no fear.

With a catalog of over 150 choral works in publication, Joan Szymko is widely regarded as an outstanding composer of choral music in America today. Her music is sung regularly at choral festivals and competitions across North America and abroad and has been programmed on stage or in sessions at every National Conference of the American Choral Director’s Association since 2003. The ACDA recognized Szymko's lasting impact on the choral arts in North America by selecting her as a recipient of the prestigious Raymond W. Brock Memorial Commission (2010).

Joan began her choral career as a conductor, leading community choruses in the Pacific Northwest since 1980. Today, as a visiting artist, Joan workshops her compositions with choirs in a variety of settings across the country and abroad. For more about Joan, visit www.joanszymko.com.