The Friday Noon Musicales at First Unitarian Society of Madison, Wisconsin are now in the 50th season. Largely dormant during the pandemic, the musicales reemerge to present a special mini-series of recitals in honor of Women’s History Month. For March, Conductor Drew Collins turned the artistic directorship over to Dr. Iva Ugrčić, Founding Artistic Director of LunART, a Madison-based arts organization that champions women composers, performers, and other artists. On Friday, March 26, 2021 Jenni Brandon’s “Breakable” for SA choir and piano is performed.
The work Breakable for SA choir and piano is part of a commissioning consortium sponsored by Graphite Publishing. When looking for a text, Jenni wanted to find something that would speak to young women, something that they could relate to, as well as finding a living female poet’s work. Jenni came across poet Annabelle Moseley and asked her to share a few of her favorite poems that might fit into this theme. Breakable became the perfect poem for this project. Jenni loves the imagery of the sand dollar, carrying its memory of its journeys and life. Through all its journeys it remains strong and beautiful. Jenni thought women could relate to this in that we can remain strong throughout whatever comes our way.
Here is an excerpt from the poem Breakable by Annabelle Mosely:
You,
the sand dollar I have found,
are marked with little holes in your nature, powdered and breakable….
Below is a recording by the Flower Mound women’s choir under the direction of Lindsay Swartwood, performed in Flower Mound, Texas.