Jennifer Higdon (b. 1962)
Light was commissioned by the Green Bay Symphony as a part of their Meet-the-Composer/League of American Orchestras residency with composer Jennifer Higdon. It’s an overture for orchestra meant to express the idea that orchestras can be a “light” in their respective communities. The work is dedicated to the commissioning conductor, Bridget-Michaele Reischl, and was premiered by the Green Bay Symphony in 2008. (source: jenniferhigdon.com)
The piece was originally written for brass instruments as a fanfare but was reworked by Higdon for full orchestra. Higdon shared in a Wisconsin Public Radio interview that Light also took inspiration from a poem by Wisconsin’s first Poet Laureate, Ellen Kort (1935 – 2015).
Light
Light is a warming fire
breaking
into a thousand pieces
when moon walks
across water
Light hangs for a moment
on the brink of darkness
comes through
the smallest crack
under the door
leans against snow
Light is a weaver
braiding early morning trees
a raindrop shattering grass
candlelight made from stars
Light is the story
of who we are
our long shadow
making the journey home
About Jennifer Higdon
Jennifer Higdon is one of America’s most acclaimed and most frequently performed living composers. She is a major figure in contemporary classical music, receiving the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her Violin Concerto, a 2010 Grammy for her Percussion Concerto, a 2018 Grammy for her Viola Concerto and a 2020 Grammy for her Harp Concerto. In 2018, Higdon received the Nemmers Prize from Northwestern University, which is given to contemporary classical composers of exceptional achievement who have significantly influenced the field of composition. Most recently, the recording of Higdon’s Percussion Concerto was inducted into the Library of Congress National Recording Registry. Higdon enjoys several hundred performances a year of her works, and her blue cathedral is today’s most performed contemporary orchestral work, with more than 600 performances worldwide. Her works have been recorded on more than seventy CDs. Higdon’s first opera, Cold Mountain, won the prestigious International Opera Award for Best World Premiere, and the opera recording was nominated for two Grammy awards. Her music is published exclusively by Lawdon Press. (source: jenniferhigdon.com)