The Teasdale Project Expands…..

Two years, ago, soprano Carol Dusdieker and I began a long-term project; to develop a body of song based on the poetry of Sara Teasdale. The first round produced about six songs; the count is now up to eleven and continuing! The original intentions of this project are still in place. Together, we will produce a body of song based on the Teasdale poetry that future performers can draw from for future concerts. Select a single song, a set of three, or present a larger percentage of the whole.

Live performance was missing from this project for many months, partially due to the restrictions of the Covid pandemic. But in January 2021, Carol, joined by collaborative pianist Jeff Manchur, from the Heidelberg SMT faculty presented three Teasdale songs for local audiences at the School of Music and Theatre. The success of these pieces led us to apply for an Aigler grant from the University.

Our new financial resources enable us to avail ourselves of the recording facilities of Stone Soup Recording, based out of Maumee, near Toledo. Retired BG faculty member Mark Bunce was our extraordinary recording engineer; the two of us listened carefully to the recordings made by Carol and Jeff in the studio and made what we hoped were helpful suggestions for retakes. As a foursome, we have now produced quality recordings of the first eleven songs in this growing collection.

The Aigler grant will allow us to produce recordings of the Teasdale songs for use on our professional websites, but also to use for presentations, grants, etc. We are also producing a short video feature that will discuss the project based on the experiences of its collaborators.

As to a professional level CD recording for the public…..yes, that is possibly in the works, too. Stay tuned for more details!

Recent performance: Six of the Teasdale songs were presented on my recent Heidelberg retirement recital, as performed by Carol and Jeff. For the time being, you can hear these wonderful performances on the Heidelberg SMT Facebook site. Simply go to the link below and look for a broadcast from Sunday, October 3rd. The Teasdale songs begin approximately one hour and twenty minutes into the program. Carol will read the poem first, followed by the musical version. Enjoy!

For additional information regarding the Teasdale songs, please consult the Composition tab on this website. Score excerpts for each song appear here; scroll to the bottom of the Voice section for brief program notes.

Link: https://www.facebook.com/HUMusicAndTheatre

Order of Performance:

· A Minuet by Mozart

· In a Cuban Garden

· Faces

· Pierrot

· Broadway

· The Kiss