Januaries (print)

Description

Januaries

Winter fantasy for piano solo
7′ duration
1993-2001
Dedicated to Jane Van Dyk
Premiere—2005, by Elizabeth Wolff, Winchester, VA.

Jane Van Dyk & DET in the Schubert Club Museum, 2011

Program Note

In a letter some years ago, Jane Van Dyk wrote to me of the winter doldrums: “My mother always called it the ‘januaries’ and tried to think of something fun to do.” Various impressions appear in the fantasy I call Januaries: alphorns I once heard on Lake Louise; bugling elk in Yellowstone, a solitary whistler, gusts of wind and crackling ice. Januaries was written for Jane’s January birthday in 1993.

Januaries was featured by pianist Elizabeth Wolff on her Access to Music Series in 2005.

David Evan Thomas has been honored with two McKnight Foundation Artist Fellowships, an Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and commissions from the Minnesota Orchestra and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Born in Rochester, New York in 1958, Thomas studied at Northwestern University, Eastman School of Music and the University of Minnesota. His music is published by ECS, MorningStar, Augsburg Fortress and several other publishers. While he started as a trumpet player, Thomas has studied the piano through the decades, most recently with Stephanie Wendt and Irina Elkina. In recent years, he has participated in the Bennington Chamber Music Conference. Thomas lives in Minneapolis.