This, And My Heart

The 40th Anniversary season of the Verdi Chorus begins with This, and My Heart, A Portrait of Emily Dickinson and Her Worlds Through Text and Song, presented by the Verdi Chorus and the Sahm Family Foundation at the First Presbyterian Church in Santa Monica. In This, and My Heart, rather than looking at Emily Dickinson’s life in a chronological manner, the piece looks at the different areas of her thought in the context of her life - how she saw nature, fame, religion, love and death.

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This, and My Heart: A Portrait of Emily Dickinson And Her Worlds Through Text and Song

A theatre/concert piece celebrating the genius of Emily Dickinson, interspersing spoken readings of her texts with musical settings of her poems by composers Aaron Copland, Lori Laitman, Tom Cipullo and Steve Heitzeg

Anne Marie Ketchum as Emily Dickinson

Victoria Kirsch, Pianist

Alexandra Bass, Tiffany Ho and Megan McDonald, Singers

Bonita Helmer, Artist

Music Director and Founding Artistic Director ANNE MARIE KETCHUM has been the conductor of the Verdi Chorus since its beginning in 1983. Well recognized as a singer, conductor, stage director and educator, she taught on the voice faculty of Pasadena City College for 34 years. During her tenure at Pasadena, she directed a full opera each spring to critical acclaim. As a singer, she has appeared internationally and is well known for her performances of contemporary art music, vocal chamber music, solo recitals, and opera. Her recordings of Morten Lauridsen’s Cuatro Canciones and of Aurelio De La Vega’s Recordatio were both honored with Grammy nominations.

This, And My Heart seems like such a beautifully massive undertaking for you. Where did you get the idea to bring Emily Dickinson's work to life, in this way? How did the creative process originally begin, back when you and your collaborators developed it in 2009? And why does it feel important to reignite interest in the piece, right now?

AMK: A dear friend of mine, pianist Victoria Kirsch and another friend of mine, artist Bonita Helmer were having lunch with actress Linda, Kelsey, who was the redhead on Lou Grant if you remember that television show. Linda is a wonderful actress and had just recently done The Belle of Amhurst, which is a one woman play about Emily Dickinson, so we were all talking about this, and Vicki and I thought there are so many art songs written on Emily Dickinson‘s poetry, what would it be like to collaborate on a project? We thought let’s see what we can find, so Linda and Vicki and I started meeting and putting ideas together. Vicki was acquainted with Dana Gioia, who was the chairman of the NEA at the time, and he offered her a Chairman’s Grant to do a project. She decided to use it for this. We worked on the piece for about a year and a half. Linda was looking for Dickinson’s poetry and letters, and Vicki and I were singing through many, many songs to see what we might like to gather and put together into one performance. In the end we also incorporated Bonita Helmer’s artwork into the scenic design. A true collaboration among good friends.

Emily’s Dickson’s ideas are timeless. We just have been through a pandemic and everybody’s thinking about the meaning of life, what’s important and what does it all mean? These are the things Emily was questioning her entire life, along with finding ways to make sense of it all. She was a woman writing poetry at a time when men dominated the artistic scene. Now we live in a strong time of awakening for women around the world, especially in the arts.

If Emily was alive today and working in the entertainment industry, what kinds of stories do you think she would be telling? What do you think her films, essays and social presence feel like, in 2023?

AMK: Emily wouldn’t be working in the entertainment industry, she would reject it. She wouldn’t be making films either - she was an essentially private person and rejected publication when she was alive, so she would not be looking for a social presence. After Emily’s death, her sister Lavinia found hundreds of poems and letters and became aware of what she had created. Although Emily had requested that everything burned after her death, those close to her decided this was too important, and decided to publish. Many of the greatest creative figures in history have found inspiration in solitude. Hard to do in this now in the age of social media and internet. We are fortunate that in Dickinson’s case, the poetry survived.

I had no idea so many composers had written music based on Emily Dickinson's work. How did you decide on which songs to include? When you read her poems, how do you discover the right musical accompaniment?

AMK: There is a gigantic volume that is simply a listing of all of the songs by the many, many composers that were written on Emily’s poetry. There are so many that it was a difficult job. We ended up choosing pieces that seemed to illuminate Emily’s words in a way that that showed her thinking and personality, where the text was the predominant force and the music served that end. We chose songs by Aaron Copland, Lori Laitman, Tom Cipullo and Steve Heitzeg.

As the lead performer, Verdi Chorus artistic director, and such an experienced teacher with impressive creative accolades, you have many hats to wear. How do you balance your creative work? What has it been like to influence the creative lives of so many students?

AMK: It’s called compartmentalizing - putting full attention on the project at hand. Also, I am fortunate that I can choose only those projects that are very interesting to me, and in which I can become completely immersed. When I’m working on something, I am completely involved in that one thing, until of course, I switch to the next!

It has been just great to influence the lives of so many students, When I first started, I was working with very young and inexperienced singers and I loved seeing them get excited about music. Now, it is so gratifying to see the same wonder and excitement from Alexandra Bass, Tiffany Ho, and Megan McDonald - the extremely experienced singers I am working with on this project. Their commitment is inspiring. Of course I am also incredibly fortunate to be working with Victoria Kirsch, our pianist and musical director, who is a brilliant coach and sensitive musician.

TIFFANY HO has been praised as a “gloriously radiant” (Broadway World) “silvery soprano” (Opera Today) with a “crystalline, pure, powerful voice” (LOL-LA). She was recently seen as Gretel in Hansel and Gretel with Pacific Opera Project and is a frequent soprano soloist with Concerts for Hope performing in facilities such as prisons, drug rehab centers, and homeless shelters throughout the country.

When did you first realize you wanted to become a singer? What were you like as a child growing up, and do you think your upbringing influenced you creatively?

TH: Since always— I can’t even remember a time in my life when singing wasn’t a part of it! I considered music as a career more seriously in high school, though. I actually planned to be a music educator because I was so inspired by my own music teachers and mentors.

I’m a child of immigrants and my family did not have resources at the time to provide for us five children beyond basic physical needs. I really owe it to the resources and support from my public school for fostering my love and skill of singing. SUPPORT THE ARTS PROGRAMS IN SCHOOLS!

I was quite a sensitive child with big emotions, so it’s no wonder I was drawn to the performing arts. I used to think that I turned to music as a child because I could escape and distract from difficulties, but I was actually doing the opposite. Some musicians “lose themselves” in the music, but I find that my music-making is the most electric when I am present, vulnerable, and connected to myself and others.

Were you familiar with Emily Dickinson's work prior to performing in This, And My Heart?

TH: I knew she was a famous poet and that a lot of song and choral composers set her poems to music; but I admittedly knew little about her poetry and even less about her life.

Her poetry and writings proved her to be a great thinker, but she undoubtedly spoke from a place of lived experience and was someone who felt quite deeply. There’s a magic to how she weaved the intellectual with the emotional.

What did it feel like to bring her work to life through song, in such an unconventional way?

TH: Uncomfortable, but there’s been growth on the other side of the discomfort. Because Dickinson’s writing expresses so much of our universal human experience, much of the audience will feel personal connection to the topics. I’m singing songs about heartbreak, loss, death, and the struggles with (having/wanting) fame. For a while, I was struggling to “go there” with the songs because I feared becoming overwhelmed by my own emotions. I’ve had to allow the waves of feelings to come and go as part of the process. This experience has firmly nudged me to pick up a mirror and look back at the times when I’ve taken things for granted, recall my own heartaches, ponder what’s on the other side of death, and question what will really matter to me when I near the end of my time on this earth— not really a walk in the park.

How did you first become involved with Verdi Chorus?

TH: I think I started singing with the Verdi Chorus around 2018. I was relatively new to Los Angeles at the time when my voice teacher told me about a semi-professional ensemble that specializes in opera chorus repertoire. As a young classical singer interested in expanding her knowledge of opera, the concept intrigued me. There happened to be one position available for a professional soprano, so I auditioned for Anne Marie Ketchum, the artistic director. It was a successful audition and I’ve been singing with the Verdi Chorus ever since! I get to sing repertoire I don’t get to sing anywhere else and every rehearsal with Anne Marie is a masterclass in artistry and interpretation.

Do you have a specific dream role or performance that you would love a chance to explore?

TH: I don’t really have a specific dream role or performance anymore. Any performance where I’m getting to really connect with myself and others on a deep level and sing gorgeous music is a kind of dream come true. So you could say I’m living my dream by being a part of “This, and my Heart”!

Photo Credit: Tim Berreth