Elaine Klaassen, a Hillsboro, Kansas native who currently lives in Minneapolis, was recently named a winner of Zeitgeist’s 19th annual Eric Stokes Song Contest. 

Elaine is originally from Hillsboro, Kansas and currently lives in Minneapolis, where she is a piano teacher and newspaper journalist. She has written experimental music for dance, theater and performance art events in addition to traditional music for churches and community theater productions.

Elaine’s winning piece, Beat No More, is a structured improvisation. “Beat No More is kind of like a parlor game for really creative musicians,” she said. “Zeitgeist is the perfect group to make such a piece work.”

The Eric Stokes Song Contest is sponsored by new music group Zeitgeist in memory of late composer Eric Stokes; the contest was designed to encourage and celebrate amateur composers throughout the Twin Cities. The winning composers have the opportunity to participate in Zeitgeist’s annual Playing it Close to Home concerts; in addition, they receive a $100 prize and a one-year membership to the American Composers Forum.

“The judges loved Elaine’s work, and we’re delighted to feature terrific local talent,” said Heather Barringer, artistic co-director and percussionist for Zeitgeist. “We always look forward to sharing the best of local music in our Playing it Close to Home concerts.”


Playing it Close to Home

Feb. 21-22, 7:30 p.m., 
Studio Z: 275 E. 4th St., Suite 200, St. Paul

Feb. 23, 2 p.m., 
Roseville High School: 1240 County Road B-2 West, Roseville

With winning songs from our Eric Stokes Song Contest plus music by local composers Nathan Hanson and Viv Corringham, Zeitgeist’s annual Playing it Close to Home concert celebrates the wealth of musical creativity found right here in our own backyard.

Playing it Close to Home and Zeitgeist's Eric Stokes Song Contest is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Riona Ryan, a 17-year-old junior at the Perpich Center for Arts Education, has been named winner of Zeitgeist’s 19th annual Eric Stokes Song Contest in the youth category. Ryan lives in Mankato and plays flute in the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphony's premier auditioned ensemble.

Ryan’s winning composition, Jackal Dance, is her first completed piece. “In the end, the personality that came out of the piece felt mischievous and scrappy, reminding me a lot of jackals,” she explained.

Ryan’s winning composition, Jackal Dance, is her first completed pieceand was written for a composition class taught by Janika Vandervelde in preparation for Zeitgeist’s residency at the Perpich Center for Arts Education. Riona explains: 

“Through this piece, I learned how to write for the ensemble's instrumentation, and even got to attend a reading session with Zeitgeist, which was an amazing opportunity. The piece was built almost entirely off of one measure of inspiration I found while noodling on a piano - in the end, the personality that came out of the piece felt mischievous and scrappy, reminding me a lot of jackals. The quick switch between soft vibraphone rolls and more ominous piano felt like the attack and retreat of the animals hunting.” 

“Riona’s evocative piece will be perfect for the intimate environment of Studio Z during the Playing it Close to Homeconcerts,” said Heather Barringer, artistic co- director and percussionist for Zeitgeist. “We are thrilled to add her to our illustrious list of Eric Stokes contest winners.”

The Eric Stokes Song Contest is sponsored by new music group Zeitgeist in memory of late composer Eric Stokes; the contest was designed to encourage and celebrate amateur composers throughout the Twin Cities. The winning composers have the opportunity to participate in Zeitgeist’s annual Playing it Close to Home concerts in February; in addition, they receive a $100 prize and a one-year membership to the American Composers Forum.


Playing it Close to Home

Feb. 21-22, 7:30 p.m.
Studio Z: 275 E. 4th St., Suite 200, St. Paul

Feb. 23, 2 p.m.
Roseville High School: 1240 County Road B-2 West, Roseville

With winning songs from our Eric Stokes Song Contest plus music by local composers Nathan Hanson and Viv Corringham, Zeitgeist’s annual Playing it Close to Home concert celebrates the wealth of musical creativity found right here in our own backyard.

Playing it Close to Home and Zeitgeist's Eric Stokes Song Contest is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Zeitgiest’s annual Playing it Close to Home concert is a celebration of the wealth of musical creativity found right here in our own backyard. This year we’re featuring Nathan Hanson, a local saxophonist and composer who has been described as “unexpectedly tasteful and dignified” by ImproJazz-France. Over his career, he has performed with such legends as Dizzy Gillespie, Cecil Taylor, Mark Dresser, Carei Thomas and Douglas Ewart, as well as with current stars Chris Potter, Tony Malaby, Liberty Ellman, Elliot Humberto Kavee and Federico Ughi. Hanson is primarily associated with Fantastic Merlins, he has maintained a longstanding duo with bassist Brian Roessler, and is part of the quartet that signaled the triumphant return of legendary French drummer Jacques Thollot. 

Zeitgiest’s annual Playing it Close to Home concert is a celebration of the wealth of musical creativity found right here in our own backyard. This year we’re featuring Viv Corringham, a British vocalist, composer and sound artist who has worked internationally since the early 1980s. After calling Minnesota home for many years, she has recently re-located to New York. Her work includes music performances, audio installations and soundwalks. She is interested in exploring people's special relationship with familiar places and how that links to an interior landscape of personal history, memory and association. Her ongoing project Shadow-walks has been presented in gallery shows from New York to Istanbul to Hong Kong. 

Tell us about the new piece you wrote for Zeitgeist to perform at Playing it Close to Home.  

Actually I've written two new pieces. "Taps & Rattles" is a text score based on the late percussionist Paul Burwell's writings about sound. The other score- "Lookout Trail"- is a map of a walk I did regularly while in residence at Montalvo, California, last year. Both aim to stimulate creative improvisation within certain structures.


What are going to be the highlights of the Playing it Close to Home concerts? 

These performances are always enjoyable and I look forward to hearing what the Eric Stokes Song Contest winners have come up with. Plus it will be great to hear more of Nathan Hanson’s compositions- he's such an asset for the Twin Cities. In terms of my own pieces, a highlight will be hearing what on earth Zeitgeist do with a score that asks them to interpret "tree of the angry squirrel" and "traffic cone"!


When did you start creating music derived from walking, and where did the idea come from? 

I've enjoyed walking all my life, and I love listening to the sounds around me as I go. But walking and music really connected for me about 15 years ago, when I started wandering through London wearing binaural microphones (small and discreet) and singing with the soundscape. Soon after that I began my longstanding project Shadow-walks, where other people take me on their special walks and later I "sing the walk." And now walking seems to pop up in most of my musical activities, including scores and solo performances.


What are some of the projects you are working on now that you’ve moved to New York?

I've been traveling a lot since I moved there- I'm just back from a tour in Australia- so I haven't had much time to really get settled yet. But I've started to make musical connections and have played a few gigs in the city. I hope to do a lot more. At the moment, I'm about to start working with recordings I made in Australia and trying to finish the piece I began in Montalvo. I'm also setting up a small solo tour in eastern US and Canada for March to promote my new Innova CDWalking. 


Playing it Close to Home

Feb. 21-22, 7:30 p.m.
Studio Z: 275 East Fourth Street, Suite 200

Feb. 23, 2 p.m.
Roseville High School: 1240 County Road B-2 West, Roseville

$10 Friday and Sunday
$20 Saturday fundraiser performance

Saturday’s performance includes a special post-concert event with wine, hors d'oeuvres and conversation with Viv Corringham and Nathan Hanson. 

Liam Smith, an 18-year-old senior at the Perpich Center for Arts Education, has been named named winner of Zeitgeist’s 19th annual Eric Stokes Song Contest in the youth category. Liam is originally from Toledo, Ohio and now lives in Minneapolis, where he is a member of the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies and the Minnesota Youth Symphonies.

Liam’s winning composition, Eugene Genesis, explores “the spatial relationship of the stars in the Eugene Cluster [and] represents the creation and origin of the vast Andromeda Galaxy,” he said. This is Liam’s fourth year studying composition; during his first two years he was taught by local composer Ann Millikan, and he now studies with Janika Vandervelde at the Perpich Center for Arts Education. 

“Our contest judges were impressed and delighted by Liam’s piece and talent, and we greatly look forward to collaborating with him for our upcoming Playing it Close to Home concerts,” said Heather Barringer, artistic co-director and percussionist for Zeitgeist.

The Eric Stokes Song Contest is sponsored by Zeitgeist in memory of late composer Eric Stokes; the contest was designed to encourage and celebrate amateur composers throughout the Twin Cities. The winning composers have the opportunity to participate in Zeitgeist’s annual Playing it Close to Home concerts February 21-23; in addition, they receive a $100 prize and a one-year membership to the American Composers Forum.


Playing it Close to Home

Feb. 21-22, 7:30 p.m.
Studio Z, 275 E. 4th St., Suite 200, St. Paul

Feb. 23, 2 p.m.
Roseville High School, 1240 County Road B-2 West, Roseville

With winning songs from our Eric Stokes Song Contest plus music by local composers Nathan Hanson and Viv Corringham, Zeitgeist’s annual Playing it Close to Home concert celebrates the wealth of musical creativity found right here in our own backyard.


Playing it Close to Home and Zeitgeist's Eric Stokes Song Contest is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.