Headwaters: Helena students premiere choral work
More than 130 singers from Helena and Capital High in Helena performed the world premiere of a complex, one-of-a-kind choral piece called “Headwaters” this February in a project commissioned by The Myrna Loy with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.At the premiere at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, the singers flowed throughout the sanctuary, emulating rivers, mountain ranges, wind in the forests. Expanding on the main lyric, “I am headwaters, new above ground,” they became the map of the land they were singing about.
The project is one of several programs at The Myrna Loy to support artists, commission new works, and provide stellar arts education opportunities to people of all ages. “Headwaters” resounded in all three ways: It brought a new piece into the world by acclaimed singer/composer Moira Smiley; she based the lyrics on reflections by young Helena writers on their sense of place; it required the choir students to master 11-note chords and complex dissonances (while in motion); and the project may lead to more and bigger opportunities in the future.
“The choirs did such a beautiful job, it brings tears to my eyes,” composer Smiley said the day after the premiere. “As a composer, you can only work with how you hope it will sound. A piece doesn’t come to life until the singers perform it.”
Roots of this piece go back several years, when Smiley began working with Helena High choir director Molly Steele to teach singing techniques to her choirs. Smiley recognized in Steele the capacity to go beyond a one-day workshop and try something really big.
Smiley spent two full days rehearsing with the combined choirs, practicing choreography and gestures, and making last-minute adjustments to the music. And on the second evening, the students were invited to hear Smiley perform with Jayme Stone’s Folklife, one of the many ensembles that keeps the singer on the road.
“You couldn’t do a project like this with just any choir director,” said Krys Holmes of The Myrna Loy, who wrangled the NEA funds to support the commission. “It takes a skilled and fearless director like Molly to take on this much complexity, in a long-distance project, having just a few days on the ground with the composer. And Thomas Baty of Capital High was game – he just jumped right in. Pretty impressive.”
Smiley and Steele are now talking about future performance opportunities, elsewhere in Montana and beyond. “Headwaters,” it turns out, is just the beginning.
Tags: MAC News