sustain (v.)
Year Composed
2020
Duration
4:00
Instrumentation
bass-baritone, cello, piano
Program Notes
Sustain (v.) came about as a little message of hope during the beginning of the pandemic (a message of hope to others, but also to myself at a very uncertain time.) Ryan McKinny, the incredible bass-baritone who I met interning at Glimmerglass some years before, had put together a video series during the rocky beginning of 2020, when everyone had questions and no one had answers, when everything seemed like it was growing around our throats. Seeing his video series, meant to any kind of comforting or bright or entertaining, whichever people needed at the time, I reached out and offered to be a part of it, however I could. At the same time, I ran across my friend Jess Janz’s poem, sustain (v.), which begins with the line: “it is written: you will survive this.” This surety, as unguaranteed as all of ours was at the time, felt like a rock, and I needed that rock—I shared this poem with Ryan, and he agreed. What emerged was this song, featuring Ryan, Kathy Kelly on piano, Úna O’Riordan on cello, and absolutely gorgeous visuals by Kevork Mourad.
Additional Information
On a text by Jess Janz. For Ryan McKinny, Kathleen Kelly, John Walz, and Kevork Mourad