Arctic Ice with JD Daniel

By Sascha Groschang,

Published January 7, 2022 at 12:41 PM CST

JD Daniel speaks with Sascha and Laurel in-studio for Sound Currents.

Dive into the depths of winter with guest JD Daniel as we explore ice and snow on this week's Sound Currents.

From the frozen tundra to the quiet and still landscape of the Arctic, how has the cold inspired composers? Embrace the beauty of that cold with the pieces featured in this episode.

This week's guest is composer and musician JD Daniel.

Scroll to the bottom to answer this week's "favorite piece" poll down below and a bonus piece: John Luther Adams' Arctic Dreams: No. 1 - The Place Where You Go to Listen.

Hosts
Sascha Groschang
Laurel Parks

Guest
JD Daniel, composer and musician

Program
Eye of an Ice Storm
by JD Daniel
Tawahum Bige - poet, Robyn Driedger-Klassen - soprano, Karen Lee-Morlang - piano

Petroushskates
by Joan Tower
Eighth Blackbird

Tundra
by Ola Gjeilo
Ola Gjeilo - piano, Thomas Gould, Ciaran McCabe - violin, Jon Thorne - viola, Matthew Sharp - cello

When Icicles Hang
by John Rutter
John Rutter with the Cambridge Singers and City of London Sinfonia

Orion - II. Winter Sky
by Kaija Saariaho
Christoph Eschenbach with Orchestre de paris

Additional music used in this episode:

Like the Hummingbirds
by JD Daniel
JD Daniel, piano

Go, Go Volcano Cannon!
by JD Daniel
Musicians of the 2014 Missouri Creating Original Music Project Summer Composition Institute
Dr. Stefan Freund, conductor

Bonus Piece

Composer John Luther Adams is greatly inspired by the beauty and danger of Alaska's landscape. Listen to his 'Arctic Dreams: No. 1 - The Place Where You Go to Listen' and hear about Sascha and Laurel's own experience with the northernmost state.

President Obama is renaming Alaska's Mount McKinley in an effort to strengthen cooperation between the government and Alaska Native tribes. The peak is returning to its traditional name, Denali.

Did any pieces we included this week stand out to you?
Let us know using the form below!