
This weekend, local chamber choir Voces Novae will perform the Midwest premiere of Perigee, an original choral selection composed by O’Neill alumna Abby Henkel Roman, MAAA’10.
The text of the piece is drawn from a poem by Abby’s friend and fellow soprano Mary Craig, written to honor the memory of Mary’s son, Simon. When Abby first read the poem, she recalls being “so deeply moved that I couldn’t think about anything but Simon and Mary for the rest of the day.”
Abby composed the piece between 2021 and 2022 with support from an Emerging Artists Award from the Bloomington Arts Commission. The award enabled her to take lessons with conductor, composer, and Jacobs School of Music professor Dominick DiOrio.
Perigee received its world premiere in 2023, after it was selected in a competition by the Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra and performed by the VoxO ensemble.
Abby is currently working on setting several other poems to music, including another birthday elegy by Mary Craig and a poem by author and IU English professor Ross Gay. She has previously completed two other works featuring Prof. Gay’s poetry, including “Thank You” and “Sorrow is Not My Name.” The pieces have been performed by Voces Novae and three other choirs in Indiana and are featured on her website.
The upcoming Voces Novae performance is free and open to the public. It will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Bloomington on Sunday, February 2nd at 7 p.m.