Dancing in the Snow: Compositions by Deborah Kilmer et Alia

A concert of string quartets, wind octets, love duets, madrigals, and tomfoolery
by Deborah Kilmer, Debussy, and other greats Poet laureate Rita Dove says of Deborah's latest CD-R, Turning in the Light, "Although I went first to your settings of my poems, which I found enthralling--I especially liked the way Pithos and Happenstance become sonic bookends for Taking in Wash--I was equally taken by the choral power of Missa Salvator Noster Misericordiae, the lovely 'simplicity' of the folksongs, and the inspired scoring of oboe for Irish Ballad. Brava!"

Program Cover Program Order Texts, Notes, and Biographies

Text is from "The Goops and How to Be Them" by Gelett Burgess. Sound engineer for the music is Christian Punckt, video editor is Matthew Kilmer. Music is performed by Max Kaadel, Deborah Kilmer, Heather Kayan, and Daniel Stipe. Photography by Miriam A. Kilmer, Martin Kilmer, Rosie Hill, and Phil True.

The concert took place on Sunday, October 20, 4:00 PM, at:
   Hillsborough Reformed Church at Millstone
   1 (One) Amwell Road
   Hillsborough NJ 08844-5103

Please visit Deborah's successful Kickstarter campaign page for more information about the concert.

If you have trouble playing the video from Kickstarter, try YouTube.com

So many wonderful images were submitted for the "Table Manners" video that we couldn't use them all. We decided to create a Salon des Refusé!

Deborah writes for many different instrumental and vocal groupings, and several ensembles will be represented in the concert. Repertoire will include a new work entitled Westminster String Quartet; a wind octet; a group of piano solos; and a madrigal for chamber choir. Also featured will be The Goops and How to Be Them, a set of children's songs scored for treble voices. Because of this wide range of musical ensembles, there are many fine performers involved in the concert, and Deborah wishes to compensate them fairly for their excellent work and dedication. Performers will include Akiko Hosaki of Westminster Choir College, Devin and Rebecca Mariman of Fuma Sacra, The Skylark String Quartet of Westminster Conservatory, The Wyncote Wind Octet, and The Composer's Chamber Choir under the direction of Deborah Kilmer. The concert will be held at the Hillsborough Reformed Church at Millstone, a lovely early nineteenth century building with wonderful acoustics.

Because of the great diversity exhibited in this program, and the number of professional musicians involved, this concert is a community effort. The funding we raised through Kickstarter will be used to pay: the performers and the sound engineer; the Hillsborough Reformed Church at Millstone for the use of their beautiful sanctuary; other expenses such as producing a CD-R and giving a much deserved stipend to Miriam Kilmer, who generously gives her time and expertise in copy editing, formatting, and contributing visuals for these projects.

"So What's with All the Videos?" Miriam Kilmer Explains
My sisters Deborah Kilmer and Noelie Angevine got together to make a video, intending to put it on Kickstarter to introduce Deborah's Concert project, Dancing in the Snow. Their interplay is as delightful to watch and hear as it is informative and thought-provoking. They got so much intriguing footage that, despite severe cuts, the video was far too long for a Kickstarter Campaign page. Adding some of Deborah's music made it more appealing but even longer.

Well, Deborah didn't want you to miss all that good stuff that we had worked on so hard, so she's made it available on YouTube, Skydrive, and Rising Dove. But on her Kickstarter Campaign page she reduced the already truncated Kickstarter video to just the most appealing part: the music from Table Manners, which comes from her suite of songs from Goops and How to Be Them: A Manual of Manners for Polite Infants, by Gelett Burgess.

Project Gutenberg version

The song is illustrated with photographs of small children, most of whom are demonstrating their youthful ignorance of how one should behave at a White House banquet.

So now you have three videos to chose from, and we hope you will watch all of them!

"I am not a Goop!"
1. Table Manners at Youtube.com

2. Dancing in the Snow: Expanded Kickstarter Interview

This was actually the original video planned for Kickstarter. Deborah and Noelie discuss: music and plans for the Concert; the Kickstarter campain; and some of the rewards. The Table Manners video is reprised, and it's well worth seeing it again, but if you'd rather not, you can stop the video there without missing anything else. The entire video is only 6 minutes long.

3. An Informal Interview: Noelie Angevine Interviews her Sister Deborah Kilmer
(17 minutes fifty-two seconds)

If you've got seventeen minutes to spare, I recommend that you listen to this more in-depth coverage of Deborah's music and Claude Debussey's influence on her work. One entire piece is included: Moonlight on the Water, expertly played by pianist Christian Punckt. Deborah chose wonderful paintings and photographs to illustrate the music, and our brother Matthew Kilmer has added subtle video effects to enhance the experience. (Deborah adds: "You can find 'Moonlight on the Water' at 8:54.") Deborah and Noelie also discuss manners, Gelett Burgess, and humor. I'm tempted to tell you about our brother Matthew's contribution to that part of the conversation, but it will be much better if you're surprised!

Biography
Deborah Kilmer is a composer of choral, vocal, piano, and chamber music. Her compositions have been performed and recorded extensively in Princeton, NJ. Deborah has organized two concerts; "Spring and Fall: Compositions by Deborah Kilmer" and "Turning in the Light: a Composer's Recital by Deborah Kilmer." She is currently planning her next event, "Dancing in the Snow."

Descriptions of Deborah's compositional style include: "charming and whimsical," "well-crafted, unique and ultimately very appealing" (Eric Plutz, organist at Princeton University Chapel), and "exquisite, meaningful music" (Frank Akers, former pianist for the White House and the US Army Corps). Andrew Megill, associate professor of conducting at Westminster Choir College says; "[Ms. Kilmer's] harmonic language is tonal, but attractively unpredictable. Similarly, her rhythms are memorable and grounded in regularity of meter, but spiced with enough asymmetry to keep the ear engaged." Poet laureate Rita Dove says of Deborah's latest CD-R, "Turning in the Light," "Although I went first to your settings of my poems, which I found enthralling--I especially liked the way 'Pithos' and 'Happenstance' become sonic bookends for 'Taking in Wash'--I was equally taken by the choral power of 'Missa Salvator Noster Misericordiae,' the lovely 'simplicity' of the folksongs, and the inspired scoring of oboe for 'Irish Ballad.' Brava!"

Deborah has worked as a music teacher, church musician, and choir director. She loves choral singing and international folk dancing.

Deborah is married to Tom True, and is proud to be the mother of four wonderful adults and the grandmother of a delightful young lady.

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