Themes of Social Justice in the Choral Music of Jake Runestad
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THEMES OF SOCIAL JUSTICE IN THE CHORAL MUSIC OF JAKE RUNESTAD Christopher M. Hathaway Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS August 201 8 APPROVED: Allen Hightower, Major Professor Jessica Nápoles, Committee Member Stephen F. Austin, Committee Member Nicholas Williams, Interim Chair of the Division of Conducting and Ensembles Benjamin Brand, Director of Graduate Studies in the College of Music John W. Richmond, Dean of the College of Music Victor Prybutok, Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Hathaway, Christopher M. Themes of Social Justice in the Choral Music of Jake Runestad. Doctor of Musical Arts (Performance), August 2018, 103 pp., 3 tables, 10 musical examples, bibliography, 60 titles. With his thought-provoking and socially relevant music, American composer Jake Runestad has quickly become one of the most performed choral composers of the 21st century. Although music and social justice have been tied together for centuries, there is a new movement bringing social justice to American choral music in a noticeably increased manor, and Jake Runestad is a leading composer in this movement. In this paper, I provide a detailed analysis into the social justice themes employed by Runestad, interviews with him and several well-respected American choral directors programming and commissioning his music, as well as compositional devices employed within his compositions. The purpose of this study is to show Jake Runestad’s place as an American choral composer by offering a historical overview of the social justice themes in American music and Western choral music separately. I will then narrow the scope to Jake Runestad, who since 2013 has been using his choral music to bring awareness to human inequalities within the United States today. Copyright 2018 By Christopher M. Hathaway ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I feel very fortunate to have been involved in a project with such an incredible human being and composer, Jake Runestad. I am indebted for his time and for welcoming me into his life and his socially conscious compositional world. I must also thank Dr. Jonathan Talberg, Dr. Joshua Habermann, and Patrick Quigley for their time and willingness in offering their knowledge. This would not have been possible without the guidance of my mentors at the University of North Texas. Dr. Richard Sparks, Dr. Jessica Nápoles, Dr. Stephen Austin, Dr. Jerry McCoy, and Dr. Allen Hightower, you pushed me to be better than I could have possibly imagined and I am immensely grateful. Thank you. I must also mention Dr. James Bass for his unwavering support and mentorship. A huge thank you to my family and friends who have supported and encouraged me throughout this process and my entire life. To Catherine, Patrick, Luke, John, Wonil and Nathan, thank you for your constant encouragement and support. Finally, to my mom, Greg, Sean, and Lindsey who have encourage never left my side. Thank you for seeing me through this endeavor with love. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. iii LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................... v LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES ................................................................................................ vi CHAPTER 1. THEMES OF SOCIAL JUSTICE IN AMERICAN MUSIC .................................. 1 CHAPTER 2. THEMES OF SOCIAL JUSTICE IN WESTERN CHORAL MUSIC ................... 6 The New American Choral Generation .............................................................................. 9 CHAPTER 3. JAKE RUNESTAD BIOGRAPHY ....................................................................... 15 CHAPTER 4. THEMES OF SOCIAL JUSTICE IN RUNESTAD’S MUSIC ............................ 21 Thematic Material in Runestad’s Music ........................................................................... 24 Theme 1: Bringing Awareness to a Specific Issue ........................................................... 25 Theme 2: Racial and Social Equality ................................................................................ 25 Theme 3: Being an Advocate for Others .......................................................................... 26 Theme 4: Self-Introspection and Self-Improvement ........................................................ 26 Theme 5: The Importance of Love and Compassion for All ............................................ 27 Theme 6: Women’s Rights and Self-Worth...................................................................... 27 Theme 7: Experiencing Internal Peace ............................................................................. 28 Theme 8: Unity through Music ......................................................................................... 29 CHAPTER 5. RUNESTAD’S PROCESS OF COMPOSITION .................................................. 31 Process of Commission for Runestad ............................................................................... 47 CHAPTER 6. CONCLUSION...................................................................................................... 51 APPENDIX A. A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF JAKE RUNESTAD’S CHORAL COMPOSTIONAL OUTPUT THROUGH 2017 ......................................................................... 53 APPENDIX B. INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS ........................................................................... 55 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................... 99 iv LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1: 20th-21st Century Choral Works on Social Justice ............................................................ 8 Table 2: Jake Runestad Pieces with a Social Justice or Humanism theme ................................... 22 Table 3: Description and Text of Please Stay ............................................................................... 38 v LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES Page Example 1: Let My Love be Heard Original Melody ................................................................... 36 Example 2: Let My Love be Heard Expansion of the melody ...................................................... 36 Example 3a: Opening Melodic Line of Please Stay ..................................................................... 38 Example 4: Please Stay Expansion of Melody in the Tenors and Basses .................................... 40 Example 5: We Can Mend the Sky Opening Melodic Line .......................................................... 41 Example 6: We Can Mend the Sky Re-Entrance of the Melodic Line Before Expansion ............ 42 Example 7: We Can Mend the Sky End of the Melodic Line with Harmony. .............................. 43 Example 8: We Can Mend the Sky Memorable Chorus ................................................................ 44 Example 9: We Can Mend the Sky: Initial Expansion of Memorable Chorus .............................. 45 Example 10: We Can Mend the Sky: Full Expansion of Chorus with Choir and Percussion ....... 46 vi CHAPTER 1 THEMES OF SOCIAL JUSTICE IN AMERICAN MUSIC In this chapter, I endeavor to trace to roots of social justice in American music from the 19th century to the present. In Chapter two, I will discuss social justice elements that are particular to Western choral music, and I will conclude with details on Jake Runestad and how he is incorporating social justice in his current American choral compositions. The chapters on Runestad will include a brief biographical chapter (Chapter 3), Runestad’s inclusion of social justice within his choral compositions (Chapter 4), and Runestad’s compositional process (Chapter 5). In an interview with Ryan Guth, Runestad says, “I believe it is my duty as a composer to give a voice to the voiceless or to tell a story of someone whose story isn’t known well in society. It is my opportunity to raise the question or to address a topic that isn’t talked about or needs art in order to come into our social consciousness. 1” As Runestad further said in an interview with Twin Cities Pioneer Press, “I think my art is a way of discovering, trying to understand or question something. I don’t know that I’m blatant with what I believe, but I hope my music supplies some path into that experience. Ultimately, what I want to do is to foster compassion.”2 As social justice can be viewed by many through a differing lens, Runestad’s humanist views of treating others with respect and encouraging people to live a life of 1 Ryan Guth, "A much-needed composer's perspective, with Jake Runestad," Ryan Guth: Step up to the Podium with Purpose, October 05, 2016, accessed November 05, 2016, http://ryanguth.com/much-needed-composers- perspective-jake-runestad/. 2 Chris Hewitt, "Young composer seeks harmony in social justice themes," Twin Cities, October 20, 2016, accessed November 07, 2016, http://www.twincities.com/2016/10/20/young-composer-seeks-harmony-in-social-justice- themes/. 1 compassion towards others will serve as the definition of social justice for purposes of this document. Throughout American music history, social justice and music are seen almost exclusively through popular, mainstream musical outlets. This socially conscious music includes songs of the temperance period3, slave songs in the 19th century,4 movements of the 20th century such as the Freedom Fighters of the 1970’s,5 Rhythm Activism,6 Riot Grrrl,7 the reggae music