John McKinnon
EOU professor sets poetry to music with "Songs of Interior Oregon"
By Laura Hancock
Media and Publications Writer
University Advancement
lhancock@eou.edu
La Grande, Oregon – Fields of golden wheat, forest canopies and starlight: these images of rural existence were the inspiration for John McKinnon’s new composition, “Songs of Interior Oregon.”
A crowd of nearly 200 people gathered to hear the composition be performed for the very first time at the annual conference of the Oregon Music Teachers Association (OMTA) in June. McKinnon, a professor of music at Eastern Oregon University, was selected by the OMTA as Oregon’s Composer of the Year for 2004-05.
McKinnon was commissioned to compose one piece during his term. But he didn’t just write one song – he wrote four, melding them together in a “song cycle.” And he’s not finished yet. By the fall, McKinnon hopes to have a total of six songs in the cycle that is “Songs of Interior Oregon.”
Photo/Laura Hancock/University Advancement
Matt Cooper, left, and Peter Wordelman rehearse in
Groth Recital Hall. Both will perform at the EOU
Faculty Recital on Sept. 30.
“A song cycle is often written around a theme,” McKinnon said.
His theme was inspired by four poems written by retired English and writing professors Thomas Madden and George Venn, and current EOU English professor David Axelrod.
“Place and location, isolation and nature … everything that came up in the poems,” he said, is what shaped the piece.
The contributing poets have yet to hear their words set to music. McKinnon is waiting until he feels the composition is a bit more polished, and he hopes to be ready for a second debut performance in La Grande later in the fall.
“All of these poems are beautiful on their own, without music,” he said, “so it’s a delicate process.”
McKinnon discussed that process with other music educators following the performance. Because, how does a composer really begin composing?
“It’s like unveiling a design, and you have one moment to present it and get feedback,” said Peter Wordelman, EOU music professor. “It’s mysterious.”
Wordelman and fellow music professor Matt Cooper performed McKinnon’s work at Oregon State University for the conference. Written for piano and vocals, with Wordelman’s voice in mind, “Songs of Interior Oregon” was well received by the audience.
“The songs are really pictorial, and complicated,” said Cooper, who with Wordelman learned the composition in just two weeks prior to the performance.
“They just did a great job,” said McKinnon of the performance.
The four poems are “Music Against Stone” and “Kneeling Woman In A Dress,” both by Thomas Madden, “From A Forest Soon To Be Logged,” by David Axelrod, and “Star,” by George Venn. McKinnon, Cooper and Wordelman are all looking forward to the reaction of the poets when they hear the music for the first time.
Cooper and Wordelman agree that Axelrod’s poem struck a particularly emotional chord with the audience in Corvallis. The lyrics are rich in the sensory perceptions of walking through an old growth forest, knowing that the trees will be cut down.
“We spend so much time performing music by people who are no longer alive,” Wordelman said. “But when you know the person, their personality really comes through. You hear David.”
McKinnon captures the feeling behind each poem, creating really effective settings, Cooper said. Poetry is music, after all.
“Songs of Interior Oregon” will represent the state at the Music Teachers National Association conference next spring.
McKinnon is also currently working on a violin concerto for EOU Artist-in-Residence Lisa Robertson, to be premiered by the Oregon East Symphony at their concert in Pendleton on Nov. 12. Support for this work comes from the Faculty Scholars Program at EOU.
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