This work was a collaboration with conductor Graeme Langager, the Director of Choral Activities at the University of British Columbia School of Music and .the director of the UBC University Singers.
Premiere Date: February 2020
Premiere Location: Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, Vancouver BC
Performed by: Kirsten Wicklund & Peter Smida, movement & choreography
University Singers & UBC Choral Union
Graeme Langager, conductor
Corey Hamm, piano
Tiffany Chen, graduate thesis recital
Canadian born Kirsten Wicklund danced with The Washington Ballet Company, Ballet BC (2014-2021 under Emily Molnar C.M. / Medhi Walerski) and Opera Ballet Vlaanderen (2021-2024). She has danced and/or created original roles in works by William Forsythe, Pina Bausch, Johan Inger, Emmanuel Gat, Adi Salant, Aszure Barton, Jorma Elo, Jacopo Godani, Crystal Pite, Ohad Naharin, Sharon Eyal, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Akram Khan, Jan Martens, Richard Siegal, Ella Rothschild and more. Kirsten has choreographed works for Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Ballet Edmonton, The Dutch National Ballet’s Junior Company, The NY Choreographic Institute at NYCB, Ballet BC’s “Take Form” & Ballet Kelowna among others. Kirsten is the Artistic Director of Ballet Edmonton (Canada), a creation-based company focussing on the invention of new work.
Peter is an independent dancer, choreographer, actor and emerging filmmaker based in Vancouver, BC. He is currently an artist in residence and the creative content producer with Ballet BC. Peter danced with Ballet BC 11 seasons where he created, collaborated, and performed works by internationally esteemed choreographers such as Crystal Pite, William Forsythe, Ohad Naharin, Johan Inger, Jorma Elo, Itzik Galili, Sharon Eyal and Medhi Walerski, among several others. In addition to dancing with the company, Peter has choreographed works and produced films for several workshops and labs as part of the company’s outreach.
Peter’s film “Let me leave so that you may continue” was recently featured on the Tanstheater Wuppertal (Pina Bausch Company) Create’s Platform as part of their Digital Stage Series. His passion and underlying mission is to explore new ways to create and tell stories with the physical body through the mediums of dance, theatre and film.
Graeme Langager is Director of Choral Activities at the University of British Columbia School of Music. A passionate and dynamic conductor, Dr. Langager is sought-after as a clinician, adjudicator, educator and guest conductor. He has performed throughout Europe and across North America, appearing in such venues as St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Stefansdom in Vienna, Carnegie Hall in New York, St. Nicholas in Prague, St. Stephen’s in Budapest, as well as in cathedrals and concert halls in Italy, Spain, and France. His choirs have also performed at numerous choral conferences, including: NCCO (National Collegiate Choral Organization), ACDA-AR (American Choral Directors Association Conference, Arkansas), IAJE (International Association of Jazz Educators), MENC/NAfME (National Association for Music Education), and the Montreux and North Sea Jazz Festivals.
He has taught for more than 20 years in universities and colleges across the United States and Canada. Langager received the doctoral degree in choral conducting from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and the master of music degree from California State University, Long Beach.