Tag: Duderstadt Center

Time of the “Seasons” — OUT Ensemble’s Debut Album Celebrates Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall With LGBTQ+ Composers

The members of OUT Ensemble stand on stage and hold their instruments in an empty auditorium.
Abby Bracken, David Michael, Alan Cook, Jenna Stokes, and Sophie Bracken of OUT Ensemble. Photo – Da Ping Luo.

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on the Ann Arbor District Library’s Pulp blog.

Now that she’s finished graduate school, Sophie Bracken finds herself longing for past springs.

The University of Michigan alum and Ann Arbor clarinetist channels that feeling when she performs “I cannot meet the Spring unmoved” with OUT Ensemble, a wind quintet composed of LGBTQ+ musicians performing and commissioning the works of queer classical composers.

“I know that I myself am kind of nostalgic in spring for my high school days and some of the things we would do together in high school band,” said Bracken, who recently graduated with a master’s degree in chamber music. “I think it’s just a really interesting way to reflect on spring.”

Composed by U-M alum Nora Farley, “I cannot meet the Spring unmoved” is titled after and inspired by the Emily Dickinson poem of the same name.

“I really like Nora’s interpretation of spring,” Bracken said. “The Emily Dickinson poem, as well, that she’s drawing from has a lot of nostalgia and longing, which isn’t necessarily what you associate with spring—it’s usually a season of renewal and hope.”

The piece also serves as the opening track from OUT Ensemble’s debut album, Seasons of Change, which comes out May 22.

Continue reading “Time of the “Seasons” — OUT Ensemble’s Debut Album Celebrates Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall With LGBTQ+ Composers” →

‘Heavy’ Rotation – Cece June’s New EP Paints an Emotional Self-Portrait

cece-june
Cece June chronicles loss, acceptance, and growth on “How Did This Get So Heavy?” Photo – Gabby Mack

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on the Ann Arbor District Library’s Pulp blog.

For Cece June, life is filled with near-misses and unresolved emotions.

The New York City singer-songwriter processes a gamut of feelings—from heartbreak to frustration to hope—about unclosed chapters on her latest indie-folk EP, How Did This Get So Heavy?

“It’s a feeling that emulates the void when something is no longer in your life. It’s that feeling of trying to grapple with not having people around anymore or accepting that you’re going to have to move on,” said June, a University of Michigan alumna from Barcelona, Spain.

“It’s also feeling displaced or feeling frustrated. For instance, on ‘Things Unsaid,’ you’re [ruminating] on why something could have gone wrong and thinking, ‘I could potentially have an idea of what went wrong, but if I wanted to talk to the person for them to tell me and for me to get closure I can’t because they’re no longer in my life.’ There’s no way to answer those questions to let you move forward and move on easier.”

Despite those challenges, June faces her emotions head-on and looks to the future on her sophomore release. She chronicles loss, acceptance, and growth across eight tracks, which feature cathartic lyrics and wistful stripped-down instrumentation.

“I found solace in seeing the songs evolve as I evolved as a person myself. This EP was written and recorded over two-and-a-half to three years,” June said.

“There were songs that would ebb and flow, and there were times when I was recording them in the thick of the pain or times when I was reminiscing … and no longer being in the depths of that feeling or the grief or the heartbreak.”

To learn more, I spoke with June about her EP and the inspiration behind it.

Continue reading “‘Heavy’ Rotation – Cece June’s New EP Paints an Emotional Self-Portrait” →