Transcript:

[:16] Greetings from Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, Washington. My name is Christopher Hanson and I have the honor of serving as the Director of Music, education and orchestral activities here at SBU. This is an introduction to a series of videos and recordings that we have produced. As a part of a project we are calling our Concert of Hope, which features music recorded individually by musicians from around the world, collaboratively with our SPU orchestras. As we continue to battle COVID-19 around the world, and appropriately practice social distancing, our lives have dramatically changed. As a conductor, I’ve put down my baton, and I’ve picked up a mouse. Even though nothing can replace the extraordinary experience of making music together in person, I hope you enjoy the incredible work and products of the musicians that have been a part of this Concert of Hope. What you will hear has been produced by soliciting recordings from individual musicians. What they offered was subject to meticulous critique, and then put together to create the virtual ensemble performing the work you will hear. None of this would have been possible without the amazing talent and dedication of the faculty and students of the SPU music technology program. We are truly blessed to have stayed connected through this tumultuous time and have the opportunity to be together with each other through music and technology. Thank you for watching this video and please share this work and stay connected to us for further opportunities to be engaged with the SPU music community. Before we listen to our first work, I’d like to invite the composer to offer a few words to complete this introduction.

[2:17] Hello, my name is Tormod Tvete Vik and I’m a composer of concert music and field music arranger and orchestrator from Norway living in Sweden. I’m very happy to be part of this virtual concert of hope and would like to thank Seattle Pacific University, and Christopher Hanson for making me part of this project. Suite for Hope consists in three verses and it was originally premiered in Stavanger, Norway in a string orchestra version. Later the same year, a symphonic person was premiered in Gothenburg, Sweden, and I have even published a choir verse with piano in Sweden. Suite for Hope is about unity, diversity, and a unified language or music with the power of making changes. And in these pandemic times, it feels especially meaningful for me that all of you have participated in this project, playing together from your own home in solidarity and across borders. Thank you.

[3:35] Performance of Suite for Hope