In this episode, filmed in front of a “live studio audience” in the form of my students, I have the opportunity to sit down with one of our generations finest compositional voices, Jake Runestad. With the help of my students, we have a spirited conversation about the value and genesis of creativity, the special nature of the human voice as an instrument, the central importance of text in choral music as well as Jake’s advice for the next generations of composers and performers. The kids even through some surprise questions in there! I have enjoyed getting to know Jake over the last few years, and I know you will be just as impressed with the PERSON behind the music as I am.
Jake Runestad is an award-winning and frequently-performed composer of “highly imaginative” (Baltimore Sun) and “stirring and uplifting” (Miami Herald) musical works. He has received commissions and performances from leading ensembles and organizations such as Washington National Opera, VOCES8, the Swedish Radio Symphony, the Netherlands Radio Choir, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Seraphic Fire, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philippine Madrigal Singers, and more. “The Hope of Loving,” the first album of Jake’s music, recorded by Craig Hella Johnson and Conspirare, received a 2020 GRAMMY® award nomination, and Jake’s ground-breaking choral symphony “Earth Symphony” garnered a 2022 EMMY® award nomination. Jake’s visceral music and charismatic personality have fostered a busy schedule of commissions, residencies, workshops, and speaking engagements, enabling him to be one of the youngest full-time composers in the world. Considered “one of the best of the younger American composers” (Chicago Tribune), Jake Runestad holds a Master’s degree in composition from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University where he studied with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts, in addition to formative mentoring from acclaimed composer Libby Larsen. A native of Rockford, IL, Mr. Runestad is currently based in Minneapolis, MN. Find out more at: JakeRunestad.com
Episode 200: Expanding the Boundaries of Choral Music with Katerina Gimon
Episode 199: Singing Alone, “The Boogey Man in the Closet”
Episode 198: Beating the Odds Through Choral Music with Steven Hankle
Episode 197: Ripping off the Band-Aid Volume 2
Episode 196: Educating the Anxious Generation
Episode 195: Elementary Choirs-Our Manhattan Project with Bruce Rockwell
Episode 194: A Round Peg Voice in a Square Hole Choir with Timothy Mount
Episode 193: The Aeolian Way with Jeremy Sovoy Jordan
Ep 192: Music Literacy for All: Debunking Myths and Embracing Diversity by Odell Zeigler
Episode 191: Rise Up and Sing with Shanan Estreicher
Episode 190: Girls Voices Change Too! With Dr. Bridget Sweet
Episode 189: Can We Meet Kids Where They Are Without Lowering Standards? With Jonathan Talberg
Episode 188: Why Don’t Boys Want to Sing? With Martin Ashley
Episode 187: Five Years of Changing and Expanding the Conversation and
Episode 186: It’s Time for Anti-Racism with Love, with Chloé Valdary
Episode 185: Bringing the Wisdom of Hebrew Texts into the Choral Canon with Nicholas Weininger
Episode 184: Should We Stop Assessing Sight Reading at All State Choir? With Drs. Marshaun Hymon and Chantae Pittman
Episode 183: At a Crossroads in Higher Ed with Lynn Atkins
Episode 182: Getting off on the Right Foot with a Young Teacher Panel
Episode 181: Finding Equilibrium in the Teacher Life with Jimmy Robertson
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