Interview: Anne Marie Ketchum on THIS, AND MY HEART: A PORTRAIT OF EMILY DICKINSON AND HER WORLDS THROUGH TEXT AND SONG

To celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Verdi Chorus, the group’s Music Director and Founding Artistic Director Anne Marie Ketchum, pianist/vocal coach Victoria Kirsch, and actor Linda Kelsey created This, and My Heart, A Portrait of Emily Dickinson and Her Worlds Through Text and Song, to be presented as a unique theatre/concert piece by the Verdi Chorus and the Sahm Family Foundation at the First Presbyterian Church in Santa Monica on October 15, 2023. I decided to speak with Anne Marie about how she decided to create the event and her plans to represent and honor Emily Dickinson.

Thanks for speaking with me Anne Marie Ketchum (pictured) about the upcoming event celebrating the words of Emily Dickinson. Why did you decide to focus the concert on her?

For me this has been an extremely rich undertaking. Emily Dickinson was a woman who led a life that was hers and hers alone; she didn’t follow all the rules of her time and culture – she was aware of them, but dealt with them in her own way and on her own terms. The poetry of Emily Dickinson moves in so many surprising directions with the change of a single word from what you might expect to hear. She can take a simple thought or concept and bring a profundity to it that cuts to the core.  I am so eager to bring this inspiring piece to a new audience.

What is it about Dickinson’s lifestyle and words that will ring true with audiences today?

Emily Dickinson’s ideas are timeless. We have all just been through a pandemic. Audiences everywhere have been thinking about the meaning of life, what’s important, and what it all means. These are the things Emily was questioning her entire life, along with finding ways to make sense of it all. 

The event is being promoted as a unique theatre/concert piece. What is going to make it so unique?

This is not just a concert or a poetry reading. It is a combination of the two presented in a theatrical setting.  It includes not only her poems but also letters written by Dickinson, and the story of how she lived and thought. This piece intersperses spoken readings of her text with musical settings of her poems by composers Aaron Copland, Lori Laitman, Tom Cipullo and Steve Heitzeg. I will be portraying Emily Dickinson in both text and song, with Fox Singers Alexandra Bass, Tiffany Ho and Megan McDonald expressing Dickinson’s thoughts through the singing of her poetry, with Victoria Kirsch as the pianist.

(L-R) Victoria Kirsch (seated at piano), Tiffany Ho, Megan McDonald, Alexandra Bass, Anne Marie Ketchum in This, and My Heart: A Portrait of Emily Dickinson and Her Worlds Through Text and Song. Photo Credit: Tim Berreth

Will you and the Fox Singers be dressed in time-appropriate costumes?

We will not be wearing period costumes. This, and My Heart is not locked into a particular time or place. Emily was known for wearing white every day.  I will be wearing a white dress and I asked our three singers to wear something in dusty rose, taking the idea from the colors of the wallpaper in Emily Dickinson’s bedroom. 

Will there be multimedia elements?

No, as far as electronics are concerned. The set background however, will be made of four panels of abstract art painted by artist Bonita Helmer. Entitled The Four Worlds, it is based on the Kabbalah and symbolizes The Tree of Life.

Will other members of the Verdi Chorus also be performing?

No, but many members of the chorus are assisting in other ways. 

How did you and your co-creators go about mixing Dickinson’s words with the music selected?

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. There are hundreds of songs written by hundreds of composers using her poetry - by famous and lesser-known composers.  Finding the particular songs to use was a complex process and they were chosen based on what seemed best to fit the essence of Emily.  The readings of her poems and excerpts from her letters amplify the songs, giving them added vibrancy and depth.

(L-R) Victoria Kirsch (seated at piano), Megan McDonald, Tiffany Ho, Anne Marie Ketchum, Alexandra Bass in This, and My Heart: A Portrait of Emily Dickinson and Her Worlds Through Text and Song. Photo Credit: Tim Berreth

We chose songs from the famous set of “Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson” by Aaron Copland which seemed to fit so perfectly with the complexities and directness of her thought. The songs of Lori Laitman have harmonies that twist in unexpected ways but somehow enlighten the text and are extremely singable at the same time. From Tom Cipullo’s set “A Visit with Emily” we chose songs that dealt with the concept of fame - a powerful concept in Emily’s thinking and treated in his music in both simple and extremely complex rhythmic ways.  Steve Heitzeg’s set of three songs called “Three Graces for Hildur” are simple and to the point in a very profound way.

What is the Sahm Family Foundation and how is it involved in presenting this concert?

The Sahm Family Foundation supports nonprofit visual and performing arts organizations and has generously given us a grant to showcase our young professional Fox Singers. This time I’m using three of them – Alexandra Bass, Tiffany Ho, and Megan McDonald.

Anything else you would like to add?

It has been a very rich experience for me to get into Emily’s head. My husband passed away a year and a half ago, and Emily deals so much with questions of love, immortality, and death. This project is very near to my heart and it has been a joy to bring it to life.

This, and My Heart, A Portrait of Emily Dickinson and Her Worlds Through Text and Song is being presented by the Verdi Chorus and the Sahm Family Foundation at the First Presbyterian Church,1220 2nd Street in Santa Monica, CA 90401 on October 15, 2023 at 4:00pm. Tickets are available for purchase at www.verdichorus.org Priority seating is $50, general admission is $40, seniors are $30, and students aged 25 and under with a valid ID are $10.  

The remainder of the Verdi Chorus 2023/2024 Season includes:
  
November 18– 19, 2023
The Verdi Chorus 40th Anniversary Fall Concert – “40!”
This program, which includes some of the most dramatic moments from some of the most powerful operatic works ever written, will feature selections from the operas of Verdi, as well as a host of others – all of which paint a musical portrait of the history of the Verdi Chorus.
 
Saturday Jan 20, 2024 - 7:30 PM
Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana 
In a momentous first for the Verdi Chorus,  Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana will be presented in its entirety, transporting the audience into the thrilling world of verismo opera. Verismo opera is focused not on mythological figures, or kings and queens, but of the much earthier daily struggles and emotions of men and women, and of the emotionally charged, and sometimes violent situations that can result.

April 27 – 28, 2024
The Verdi Chorus 40th Anniversary Spring Concert
This program composed of operatic favorites old and new, will feature an impressive array of Guest Soloists to be announced, and will musically celebrate both the history of the Verdi Chorus and its exciting future which lies ahead.

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