Record Playing Haydn for the Angel of Death!

After the successful premieres of our song cycle ‘Playing Haydn for the Angel of Death’ of 2022 in Minneapolis and Reykjavik-Iceland and the fantastic 2023 Emmy award win for Pioneer PBS’ documentary by the same name. see the full 30 min film here:

This labour of love project now moves onto the next stage- a record album!

Our plan is to record this wonderful piece in the latter half of July 2024 for a projected release date of early summer 2025! We have already raised around half of the funds and as we enter the final 6 month stretch before recording, we’d greatly appreciate your support in making our Minnesota-centric tribute to Midwest America’s own Walt Whitman (the late poet Bill Holm [1943-2009] ) a reality!

Any amount you can contribute goes directly into funding the operational costs of recording and producing this limited pressing album. Thank you in advance for your support!

Should you prefer to donate to the project through our affiliated sponsor, a tax deductible donation can be made through the Southwest Minnesota State University Foundation here.

( https://host.nxt.blackbaud.com/donor-form/?svcid=renxt&formId=756ccfc7-bd84-4381-8486-82ab3e104607&envid=p-PDpG_6gjtUGFjUg2OYPmNQ&zone=usa)

Once on the page, simply select your preferred amount and type ‘Playing Haydn recording’ in the comments section.

Note: All donations above $50.00 US Dollars will receive acknowledgement in the cd booklet!

About Playing Haydn for the Angel of Death:

Bill Holm was the embodiment of the spirit of Minnesota. His love of the windswept prairie, the glacial Fjords of his ancestral Iceland and the power of music are imbued throughout his impressive oeuvre of poetry. Holm’s masterpiece of prose Playing Haydn for the Angel of Death encapsulates his philosophy of music by drawing on musical metaphors while referencing specific compositions to describe the ultimate human condition - death.

Sadly, in 2009 Bill Holm passed away. In 2020, after many years of toying with the idea, long time artistic collaborators- Dr Ryan Hugh Ross (operatic baritone) and Dr Daniel Rieppel (pianist) decided to enact plans to honour their late friend- Minnesota poet Bill Holm- with a musical setting of his masterpiece of prose. The pair reached out to accomplished Minnesota native and Nadia Boulanger trained composer Martha Helen Schmidt who wove their ideas with her own unique compositional voice to create a fitting song cycle tribute to this extraordinary ‘Bard of the Prairie’.

With generous support from the Southwest Minnesota State University Foundation, Milkweed Press and the Gruhot Family, this work has enjoyed considerable international success and was the subject of the Emmy Award winning Pioneer PBS documentary by the same name! Thank you in advance for your interest and generous support of our tribute to this influential Minnesota poet!