Starry Night, by Jenni Brandon, is performed by Stacia Fortune is an online presentation of the “Ears to the Earth Concert”. The concert is scheduled for Thursday, April 29, 2021 At 5:30 Pm PDT. The concert program is:

“Starry Night” – Jenni Brandon (performance notes follow the concert program¹ )

Stacia Fortune, clarinet

“Land” – Takatsugu Muramatsu

Ethan Strickland, marimba

“Grand is the Seen” – Ingrid Stölzel

Sarah Curtis, mezzo-soprano; Neal Long, piano

“Land Electric” – Emma O’Halloran

Nathan Bachta, Luke Jacobs, Blake Nations, Merritt Parsons, percussion

“Inner Space” – Kyong Mee Choi

James Alexander, cello

“Superior (from Land of Cloud-Tinted Waters) – Katherine Bergman

Tom Fabing, Luke Helker, Blake Nations, percussion

“Deep” – Alex Shapiro

Webb Adelsperger, tuba

“They Have Names” (World Premiere) – Frank Nawrot & text by R.E. Rule

Luke Helker, percussion

“Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” (World Premiere) – Daijana Wallace

Luke Helker, percussion; James Alexander, cello

¹Starry Night is a three-movement work for solo B-flat clarinet that tells of the night skies and our fascination with what lies in them. Using poetry and texts from Gerard Manley Hopkins, John Keats, and Van Gogh (whose painting is also the inspiration for the title of this work), these movements tell of the stars as “fire-folk” and how the sight of stars can make us dream.

The Starlight Night
Look at the stars! look, look up at the skies!
O look at all the fire-folk sitting in the air!
Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889)

Bright Star!
Bright Star! Would I were steadfast as thou art-
Not in lone splendor hang aloft the night!
John Keats (1795-1821)

The Sight of Stars
For my part I know nothing with any certainty,
but the sight of stars makes me dream.
Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)

This work was written for Virginia Costa Figueiredo, premiered in February 2013, and receives its premiere recording on her CD, Seule. You can purchase the studio recording from CDBaby.

Starry Night sheet music is on available Jenni’s website at Starry Night – solo B-flat clarinet sheet music (jennibrandon.com)