Heart Is A Lamp

Program Notes

Commissioned by the absolutely fabulous Emily Marvosh, this cycle began as a “Michigan” thing (not a surprise, based on my track record.) Both of us being from Michigan, Emily suggested that we find a poet who similarly celebrated our state—which led us to the absolutely fabulous poetry of Susan Blackwell Ramsey, a long-time resident (and lovely person.) What then took shape was a short cycle about the long, grounding stretch of a relationship. While our first concept was to follow a relationship from its very beginning all the way to its well-loved and weathered end, we found some unexpected power in showing only those points: the bright, anticipatory beginning of love, when everything feels strange and new and eager, and the very end, when all of the highs and lows and small moments are remembered bittersweetly in retrospect. The result feels like a little postcard, where an audience might imagine every small and hard-earned step between these bookends.