Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming
by Michael Praetorius

I've always loved the message of this song: that something miraculous can 'spring up' literally anywhere. That there is beauty everywhere--even in the dead of night, even in the coldest months of the year. Although it's traditionally a Christian hymn, its message feels universal and reminds me to look at the world with wonder, with humility, with gratitude.

- Kate Hatmaker, Executive Director

Doublespeak
by Nico Muhly

Having the opportunity to perform Nico Muhly’s Doublespeak with such a wonderful group of new and old musical friends recently at the San Diego Museum of Art for Art of Elan’s first indoor, in person concert since the beginning of 2020 was an energizing and regenerative experience for me. The piece is exhilarating to play, and has influences from one of my favorite American-born music genres; minimalism. To perform this piece with these lovely people felt like a homecoming in a way. It reignited in me the joy of performing, and of musical community both within the ensemble and with the audience.

- Fiona Digney, Managing Director

Feeling Good
by Nina Simone

Nina Simone's "Feeling Good" has always reminded me of joy, beauty and self-expression, but also as an anthem for new beginnings. Originally written during the civil rights era, this song symbolized optimism for those facing adversity. "Feeling Good" has been reimagined a number of times over the decades, but the original version is still my favorite. The official music video for Simone's recording came out this year, 56 years after it's release, and I think this just goes to show the power that Simone's music had before, during, and after her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement.

- Emily Persinko, Marketing Associate & Personal Manager

Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 - 2. Allegretto
Ludwig van Beethoven

This 2nd movement of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony is one of my favorites. I often listen to it alone at home or in the car. It gives me a feeling of hope and life. It is a beautiful movement. Over the years I have performed it many times, and I still have those same feelings each time.

- Elizabeth Brown, Accounting & Donor Relations Coordinator

I know that my redeemer liveth
Handel's Messiah

I find it to be one of the most beautiful, tender moments in the piece, and the music combined with the lyrics always bring to mind renewal and redemption. It immediately follows the iconic Hallelujah chorus, and precedes a much darker chorus ("Since by man came death..."), which I think makes it shine even more.

This video is of a performance I was fortunate enough to be part of from a few years ago (Clara Rottsolk with Bach Collegium San Diego)

- Alex Greenbaum, Young Artists in Harmony Teaching Artist

Tara
by Rodrigo Amarante

I have grown fascinated with Amarante’s album “Drama” and how he explores the many identity layers of what it means to be a musician. Inspired by a coming of age tradition where fathers would shave their sons head to celebrate masculinity and suppress emotional expression, Amarante wrote “Drama” as a protest to this tradition; to quite literally and dramatically channel emotional expression as a musician. 

“Tara” is my favorite song off “Drama” because it reminds me of renewal. Musically, Amarante explores larger arrangements than his usual guitar/percussion form, and the ending result is reminiscent of a beautiful bossa nova. Lyrically, he writes about a failed past relationship in Portuguese to convey “saudade”, a term which refers to how longing and melancholy are actually nourishing for Latin cultures/Brazil because it allows one to “savor the feeling” of longing. I take both his risk taking in composition and his writing through “saudade” to be sources of renewal.

- DeeJay Rich, Young Artists in Harmony Teaching Artist

So What
by Miles Davis

I first heard the Kind of Blue album by Miles Davis in college while settling into SDSU’s art and design program. Kind of Blue, and in particular, “So What”, and it’s reflective tone became my soundtrack during this time of rebirth and discovery. For Davis, Kind of Blue was a result of a desire to grow beyond the bebop movement of the 40’s and renew his approach to music by experimenting with modal theory. Whenever I revisit “So What” today, I’m inspired to continue to embrace new experiences with an open mind and let life unfold in it’s own unique way.

- Vince Martinez, Graphic Design & Social Media Coordinator