Composer Michael Maiorana is a recent Twin Cities transplant from Detroit. He went to Grinnell College in rural Iowa, gutted some turkeys and built some walls, then moved to Minneapolis. Michael recently returned from studying composition, harmony, conducting and counterpoint in the tradition of Nadia Boulanger in Paris with David Conte and faculty from The Juilliard School. He has received commissions from VocalEssence, newEar Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, the Central Iowa Symphony, and others. Michael has served as assistant conductor of the Grinnell Singers and Grinnell Oratorio Society, and is a member of ASCAP.
Micheal is one three winning composers of Zeitgeist's 22nd annual Eric Stokes Song Contest. Named in memory of late composer Eric Stokes, the contest is designed to encourage and celebrate amateur composers throughout the Twin Cities. Michael's winning composition, 13 Years to Comet 67p, will be performed by Zeitgeist at their annual Playing it Close to Home concert Feb. 17-18 at Studio Z.
13 Years to Comet 67p follows the journey of the ESA spaceprobe Rosetta to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko over the course of 13 years, from a scrubbed launch in 2002 to Rosetta’s lander Philae successfully landing on the comet in 2014, and the nominal end of the mission in 2015. The probe took an interesting route, using Earth and Mars as gravity slingshots to catch the comet.
With one minute of music covering one year of the journey, this 13 minute composition aligns with the major events of Rosetta’s 13 year timeline: scrubbed launch; successful launch; Earth gravity assist; Mars gravity assist; Earth gravity assist; asteroid Steins flyby; Earth gravity assist; asteroid Lutetia flyby; enter deep space hibernation; exit deep space hibernation; Rosetta arrives at comet 67P; Philae lands; nominal end of mission.
Micheal is one three winning composers of Zeitgeist's 22nd annual Eric Stokes Song Contest. Named in memory of late composer Eric Stokes, the contest is designed to encourage and celebrate amateur composers throughout the Twin Cities. Michael's winning composition, 13 Years to Comet 67p, will be performed by Zeitgeist at their annual Playing it Close to Home concert Feb. 17-18 at Studio Z.
13 Years to Comet 67p follows the journey of the ESA spaceprobe Rosetta to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko over the course of 13 years, from a scrubbed launch in 2002 to Rosetta’s lander Philae successfully landing on the comet in 2014, and the nominal end of the mission in 2015. The probe took an interesting route, using Earth and Mars as gravity slingshots to catch the comet.
With one minute of music covering one year of the journey, this 13 minute composition aligns with the major events of Rosetta’s 13 year timeline: scrubbed launch; successful launch; Earth gravity assist; Mars gravity assist; Earth gravity assist; asteroid Steins flyby; Earth gravity assist; asteroid Lutetia flyby; enter deep space hibernation; exit deep space hibernation; Rosetta arrives at comet 67P; Philae lands; nominal end of mission.
Playing it Close to Home
Feb. 17-18, 7:30 p.m.
Studio Z: 275 East Fourth Street, Suite 200, St. Paul
$15 / $10 students & seniors
Tickets/Info
With winning songs from the Eric Stokes Song Contest plus music by local composer Mary Ellen Childs, Zeitgeist's annual Playing it Close to Home concert celebrates the wealth of musical creativity found right here in our own backyard.
The program includes music by Eric Stokes Song Contest winners Michael Maiorana, Katy Vernon, and Seamus Hubbard Flynn, the world premiere of a new work composed by Mary Ellen Childs for Zeitgeist, plus several other works from Childs’ catalog, including excerpts from her opera Propeller, “visual percussion” pieces, and music for prepared piano. The concert will conclude with a multi-sensory sound installation created by Childs that invites audience members to explore three rooms filled with scents and music designed to pair with each aroma.
Studio Z: 275 East Fourth Street, Suite 200, St. Paul
$15 / $10 students & seniors
Tickets/Info
With winning songs from the Eric Stokes Song Contest plus music by local composer Mary Ellen Childs, Zeitgeist's annual Playing it Close to Home concert celebrates the wealth of musical creativity found right here in our own backyard.
The program includes music by Eric Stokes Song Contest winners Michael Maiorana, Katy Vernon, and Seamus Hubbard Flynn, the world premiere of a new work composed by Mary Ellen Childs for Zeitgeist, plus several other works from Childs’ catalog, including excerpts from her opera Propeller, “visual percussion” pieces, and music for prepared piano. The concert will conclude with a multi-sensory sound installation created by Childs that invites audience members to explore three rooms filled with scents and music designed to pair with each aroma.
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