Concert Programs

A mere sampling of Jordan Sramek's artistic prowess, here is the inventive and diverse nature of
programs and performances he created for The Rose Ensemble over his distinctive musical career.

GROUNDBREAKING RESEARCH LEADING to MODERN-DAY PREMIERES of ANCIENT MUSIC

Christmas in Baroque Malta: Majesty at Mdina Cathedral (2015)

Jordan's research on the island of Malta paved the way for the North American premiere of 17th-century vocal music preserved for hundreds of years in cathedral archives. In 2015, concerts were performed in the Twin Cities and Duluth, and in 2017 a commerical recording was made with a full band of historical instruments, as well as a new work in the Maltese language by Minnesota composer, Timothy Takach. The concert was later performed in Neuss, Germany (St. Paul's sister city) and featured in a radio broadcast throughout Europe. 

Welcome the Stranger: The Promise of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica (2018)

The result of Jordan's research in Rome and Bologna, this program featured over 500 years of music exploring the life and spirituality of these twin saints, often called the founders of Western monasticism. Produced during Women's History Month and performed in the Twin Cities, Duluth, and Collegeville, the program featured compositions by 17th-century Milanese nuns, hagiographic readings, and medieval plainchant and Renaissance motets newly discovered by Jordan. A new work was also commissioned from Minnesota composer Abbie Betinis (to honor a Benedictine nun who had taught Jordan), and for a week Jordan served as artist-in-residence at the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University. In 2019, the concert (under a new title, "Voices of Angels") was performed in Indiana, North Carolina, and 10 Minnesota cities (along with free outreach programs in each community).

Courtly Pleasures in Baroque Stockholm & Rome: Music for Christina Wasa, Queen of Sweden (2007)

Conducting research in Stockholm and Uppsala, Jordan transcribed from original manuscripts chants for Swedish saints, and he painstakingly reconstructed Swedish-language hymns that had been handwritten into German Renaissance choirbooks. A set of new music was also commissioned from Minnesota composer J. David Moore. Jordan programmed these alongside grand works composed for the court and chapel, with narration from historical accounts of the life of Christina Wasa, known as “the Girl King,” read by Minnesota author Patricia Hampl. Christina Wasa of Sweden was a controversial, intellectual prodigy who succeeded to the throne in 1632, at the age of six. During her 17th-century reign, she enticed musicians and composers from across Europe to Stockholm. Premiering in 2007 in the Twin Cities, the concert was also performed in Duluth, St. Peter, Stillwater, and Center City, Minnesota.

INTERFAITH PROGRAMMING: CHAMPIONING ORAL SOURCES, NON-WESTERN MUSICAL and SPIRITUAL TRADITIONS

Several years of research on Abrahamic cultures has taken Jordan across the U.S. and throughout Jerusalem. His work in libraries and centers for spirituality, along with conversations with musicians, ethnomusicologists, and religious leaders, have helped shape some of Jordan's most popular and ambitious programming.

Jerusalem: Treasures from the Holy Land (2016)

Featuring guest artists Yair Dalal (Iraqi-born, Israeli violinist and oud player), Zafer Tawil (Jerusalem-born, Palestinian multi-instrumentalist), and Dror Sinai (Israeli-born, Middle Eastern percussionist), the final program was the result of days of intensive learning and exchange.

Land of Three Faiths: Voices of Ancient Jews, Christians, and Muslims

At once sacred, secular, folk, and classical, it was an exploration of language, spirituality, and cultural exchange among the Abrahamic faiths. Featuring musical instruments, scales, and rhythms that blur the lines between Arabic and European, it achieved a perfect balance of edgy improvisation, exotic vocal styles, and ancient poetic traditions.

BRINGING to CLASSICAL AUDIENCES FRESH PERSPECTIVES on the HISTORICAL, AMERICAN MUSICAL LANDSCAPE, CIVIL RIGHTS, and NATIVE CULTURES

Singing for Freedom: The Anti-Slavery Campaign of the Hutchinson Family Singers (2015)

Featured at the Minnesota History Center in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War, Jordan created this program in exploration of the music, travels and political actions of a family of pro-Emancipation musicians (and founders of the city Hutchinson, Minnesota). First conducting his research at the Library of Congress, Johns Hopkins University, Trinity College, and historical societies throughout Minnesota, Jordan then worked closely with Minnesota musician Dan Chouinard, Jeff Raz (Cirque du Soleil), and Scott Gac (Associate Professor of History and American Studies at Trinity College in Hartford and author of the definitive biography of the Hutchinson Family Singers). The final product was a fully staged, costumed, and scripted performance (with projections of historical images) featuring Jordan's musicianship and research, along with guest artists T. Mychael Rambo, Maria Jette, and Dan Chouinard.

The Last Queen of Hawai'i: Music from the Soul of the Hawaiian Saga (2006)

Jordan spent almost two years preparing this program, working in state and private archives throughout the Hawaiian Islands, conducting interviews with musicologists, ethnomusicologists, language experts, and cultural practitioners. The performance and commercial recording resulted in the revealing of an unexpected musical heritage--one steeped in tradition, transformed by worldwide influences--and featuring traditional dance, storytelling, ancient chant, Victorian parlor songs, missionary hymns and paniolo ('cowboy') tunes, and the compositions of Lili'uokalani (the last Queen, who wrote the timeless "Aloha 'Oe"), as well as many other former monarchs who were also musicians and composers.

FORGING ARTISTIC COLLABORATIONS FEATURING INVENTIVE, AUDIENCE-ENLIGHTENING PROGRAMMING

The Mourners: Music from the Courts of the Burgundian Dukes (2011)

Jordan was asked to create a programmatic companion to the Minneapolis Institute of Art's exhibit of exquisite alabaster tomb sculptures from the sarcophagus of 15th-century Burgundian duke, John the Fearless. He assembled a large body of highly virtuosic, late-Medieval and early-Renaissance music with specific connections to the Courts of Burgundy, which was further enhanced by a display of "Mourners" sculpture imagery projected on the walls of the Basilica of St. Mary by visual artist Ali Momeni. Guest instrumentalists from Italy, France and Ukraine were integrated into the performance, along with a new commissioned work by Minnesota composer William Beckstrand.

Visitatio Sepulchi: The Dublin Mystery Play (2005)

While conducting Irish-music research for an earlier Celtic-music program, Jordan discovered a 15th-century liturgical drama preserved in the Marsh Library archives (at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin) which would later receive its modern-day premiere at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis. The program was fully choreographed and produced in collaboration with Matt Jenson's New and Slightly Used Dance, and featured a new set of pieces in Gaelic and Latin, commissioned from Minnesota composer Abbie Betinis.