Commission Story: Normal Never Was
Radical collaboration is core to who we are at Resonance Ensemble. This year marks 15 seasons, made possible in part by the deep partnerships we’ve cultivated with living artists across a variety of disciplines. Leading up to our season finale concert (MISSION 15), we go beyond the music to share the stories that brought this work to the concert stage.
Today, we dive deeper into Normal Never Was
(recently featured on our program with Sweet Honey in the Rock!)
”by composer Jasmine Barnes and writer-activist Sonya Renee Taylor.
Composer Jasmine Barnes
Writer/Activist Sonya Renee Taylor
Where were you in 2021?
In the Spring of 2021, as arts organizations everywhere struggled to create within a global pandemic, Resonance Ensemble introduced “Commissions for Now,” a video series that premiered commissioned works from three nationally recognized poets/composers. The videos were produced by local production company, Oh! Creative, and captured by Portland-based filmmaker Kenny Hamlett.
Normal Never Was, written by Emmy-award-winning composer Jasmine Barnes, was the first commission of the series. Setting the words of noted author and social activist Sonya Renee Taylor, the text is taken from the poem that reached thousands of readers in the early pandemic. The words resonated with us so deeply, we adopted Normal Never Was as the season theme for the 2020-21 season with permission by Ms. Taylor.
Filmed on location at the Zidell Yards Barge Building in Portland, OR in 2021
TEXT | Sonya Renee Taylor
We will not go back to normal, normal never was.
Our pre-corona existence was not normal, normal never was.
We will not go back to normal, normal never was.
Our pre-corona existence was not normal, other than we normalized Greed.
Other than we normalized inequity,
other we normalized exhaustion, depletion, extraction,
disconnection, confusion, rage, hoarding, hate, and lack.
We should not long to return, my friends.
We are being given the opportunity to stitch a new garment,
one that fits all of humanity and nature.
“Setting Sonya Renee Taylor’s words to music was my honor. When I read her poem, I heard the music right away. The text speaks to life pre-pandemic — and the opportunity we now have to fix what was wrong. It’s hopeful to me.”
THE LIVE PREMIERE
Several years after this virtual premiere, Resonance had the opportunity to give the piece its in-person world premiere as part of our program Earth’s Protection. The event was a free arts and musical festival hosted on the Lewis and Clark campus, honoring and celebrating our home planet and providing ways for attendees to work together to heal our Earth.
Normal Never Was proved especially timely as the world began to return to in-person events—serving as an important reminder of what work remains as quarantine restrictions eased and we began to gather once more.
From performance of Normal Never Was at Earth’s Protection
WHAT STILL RESONATES
This work recently resurfaced at our concert with Sweet Honey in the Rock, and reactions highlighted how poignant and relevant Normal Never Was remains.
From performance of Normal Never Was at Sweet Honey in the Rock
“Many local Resonance fans know “Normal Never Was” by Jasmine Barnes...but this was new music to most of this audience. From the listeners there was a noticeable flutter, a shifting of gears from neutral to drive. The text in “Normal” was so precisely delivered people were chuckling and “uhmming” as they assimilated the poignant message transported by the beautiful music. ”
We are reviving the performance of this work at MISSION 15 not only to highlight one of our commissioned works, but because of its message. Our mission-based programming seeks to not only acknowledge and highlight stories of injustice in the past, but to provide meaningful ways for listeners to move forward towards a better future together. Normal Never Was beautifully encapsulates this part of our work, and we could not imagine our 15 year anniversary celebration without this work among the featured pieces.
HEAR IT LIVE AT MISSION 15!
Saturday, June 8th | 7:30pm @Winningstad Theatre
Hear this work—along with an evening of other pieces from across our 15 year history—in-person at the Winningstad Theatre on June 8th! This one-night only event is packed with meaningful music, powerful stories, and exciting in-person appearances by the artists we love.
The music of tomorrow is being written by the voices of today.
Dinah Dodds
Find out more about how you can help us support living artists in our community & beyond
The Dinah Dodds Fund for the Creation of New Art memorializes Dinah Dodds, President of the Board of Directors of Resonance Ensemble, who served on the board from 2014 until her death in 2019. Under Dinah’s devoted leadership, the organization developed its social justice focus and commissioned multiple major new choral works.
In tribute to Dinah, contributions to this fund shall support the creation of new art (music, visual art, and poetry), as prioritized by the artistic leadership of Resonance Ensemble. “Creation of New Art” can include commissioning and co-commissioning, premiering, and/or professionally recording (audio/video) works by living artists.