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Wow, is it already October? I have been savoring these golden days of autumn, loving the crisp mornings, blue skies and warm afternoons. I hiked last month from Crested Butte to Aspen in Colorado, and the leaf colors were astounding.

There are some exciting things to share with you this month, and first up is a BRAND NEW SATB/PIANO CHORAL SCORE!

With text adapted from poetry by my daughter, “Racing The Moon” addresses the common struggles of proving oneself, getting ahead, and the angst of comparison. Through minor dissonance and regular occurrences of 2 against 3 rhythms, the music expresses the contrast of rigid striving with fluid, more circular movement. As the song gives way to a major key modulation and change to compound meter, it settles into a state of flow. The text invites us to focus on the present moment and participate in the exciting race of life as an ongoing communal dance and song, rather than a competition to be won or lost.

"Racing The Moon" is already scheduled to be included in upcoming All-State choral programs and ACDA reading sessions, and I'm so thrilled and grateful it will be reaching more audiences!

Check out the premiere performance with Oregon Repertory Singers Youth Choir:

And here is a score video with audio:

Interested in "Racing The Moon" for your ensemble? You can now order it directly from my website. Would you like it arranged or adapted somehow? Please reach out and we can get something made! I hope this song and its message can reach as many people as possible.

UPCOMING CONCERTS
"Luigi Sings: Bittersweet"
DATE: October 20 @ 7:30 PM
Luigi Boccia presents a concert inspired by Susan Cain’s book Bittersweet, I am thrilled to be the pianist for the evening! The program is a wide selection of popular music inspired by the book’s premise that sorrow and longing make us whole.
The Old Church
1422 SW 11th Ave, Portland, OR 97201
Get tickets here:
https://www.luigiboccia.com/events

Oregon Repertory Singers Fall Concert: Homegrown
DATES: October 26 & 27 @ 4 PM
ORS Homegrown celebrates works by Portland area composers Joan Szymko, Sydney Guillaume and Stacey Phillipps, and it will be a gorgeous program. I'm thrilled that my latest choral composition Racing the Moon will receive an encore performance. It will be the final piece of the show!
Patricia Reser Center for the Arts
12625 SW Crescent St., Beaverton, OR 97005
Get tickets here:
https://www.orsingers.org/ors/homegrown

Curious what's next for Lucente Skye? It's a collaboration with one of my favorite visual artists, Lindsay Gilmore! She is a painter that lives in central Oregon, and her landscape artwork is simply stunning. I was able to meet her at her art studio the last time I visited Bend.

Her paintings will inspire my next Lucente Skye series called "Oregon Landscapes," and then she will generously allow me to use digital versions of her pieces for each song's artwork on streaming platforms.

To learn more about her art, visit www.lindsaygilmore.com

Lucente Skye is my artist name for solo piano music. If Spotify listeners give a "Follow" over at Lucente Skye on Spotify, they'll get new releases stashed directly into the Release Radar playlist. Songs will start releasing in November!

THANK YOU to everyone that has streamed or purchased my most recent Lucente Skye album, Discovering Peace. It is now at 135,610 streams, 49,244 listeners, and 2,415 playlist adds! What a gift to have these songs reaching so many of you.

You are always invited to join my Patreon community. Patrons hear everything early, receive behind-the-scenes info and all sorts of perks. I just sent them a free Lucente Skye score to enjoy. Join now and you'll get access to over 6 years' worth of posts, with songs, videos, scores.... there's a lot of content!

Now, bring on the soup!

May we be lights for each other in the oncoming darkness of winter, knowing that the light will come back around again. May we care for the most vulnerable among us. May we nourish our spirits with music and nature and laughter and loved ones and long walks in the crisp autumn air.

Thanks for being connected to my work as a composer!

Yours in song,

Naomi

Nay's News October 2024