Dr. Joni Jensen is the Director of Choral Activities at Texas Women¹s University (TWU) in Denton, Texas. She received degrees from Brigham Young University and the University of Arizona and is a sought-after festival and all-state conductor/clinician. She is active as a composer, publishing with Walton and Hal Leonard, and is the editor of a… Read more »
Four Women You Should Know
As a women’s chamber choir, the Canticle Singers strives to regularly perform works by women composers. Here are four composers we are highlighting in honor of National Women’s Day. Originally from St. John’s, Newfoundland, Kathleen Allan is a Canadian conductor, composer, and soprano soloist working in early, contemporary, and symphonic repertoire. Her compositions have been… Read more »
Black History Month
Celebrating African American Composers – Two Composers of Note This spring, The Canticle Singers are looking forward to performing two works by Black composers: Now Let Me Fly by Stacey V. Gibbs, and Wanting Memories by Ysaye M. Barnwell. The joyful Now Let Me Fly incorporates the traditional spiritual I’ll Fly Away and celebrates overcoming… Read more »
A Love Song for Valentine’s Day
Black Is The Color Of My True Love’s Hair is a familiar American folk song with Scottish origins. As with many folk songs, more than one version is known; the tune most well known to us comes from John Jacob Niles (1892-1980), a folk song collector and composer also known for his composition, from traditional… Read more »
Two Women of Note: Minnie Louise Haskins
Minnie Louise Haskins – Poet of The Gate of the Year Minnie Louise Haskins (12 May 1875 – 3 February 1957) was a British poet, educated in sociology, and an American lecturer at the London School of Economics. She taught Sunday school and became a missionary to India. In 1912, Haskins published a small volume… Read more »
Two Women of Note: Eleanor Daley
Eleanor Daley – Composer of The Gate of the Year Eleanor Daley (b. 1955) was born and raised in Parry Sound, Ontario. Her father was a doctor, and her mother was a homemaker, amateur singer, and pianist. Daley’s earliest musical participation was in a rhythm band, followed by piano lessons starting at age five. Through… Read more »
Hildegard von Bingen – Caritas Abundat
Hildegard von Bingen (1098 – 1179) was an abbess, composer, writer, philosopher, and mystic born in Bermersheim vor der Höhe, Germany. She is considered one of the most influential women in medieval music and is sometimes referred to as the “Sibyl of the Rhine” or “The First Woman of Western Music.” At an early age,… Read more »
Sarah Quartel – As You Sing
Sarah Quartel was born and raised in Great Britain in a family of musicians. A typical day would feature mom singing arias in the kitchen while cooking dinner, and dad, a church choir director, practicing his harpsichord in the basement. Sarah recalls “I think I was eight years old before I realized that having a… Read more »
Mari Esabel Valverde – Les Papillons, Le Colibri
Mari Esabel Valverde is a Mexican-American composer based in Forth Worth, Texas. Born and raised in Texas, she began studying music at a young age. All her life, Mari has had a passion for foreign languages. As a child, she wanted to study French, but her parents wanted her to understand the language of her… Read more »
Faith Morgan Zimmer – I Am in Love
Faith Morgan Zimmer is a choral composer, poet, singer, songwriter, illustrator, and pianist based in Minnesota. She has a diverse background in music, having studied both classical and jazz piano as well as voice, choral conducting, and music theory. Faith has childhood memories of sitting down at the piano after dinner and experimenting with musical… Read more »