Notes from the composer, Kirk Weed, for "Seasons of the North": Seasons of the North In the northern US, the seasons are extreme. Winters are harsh and long, Summers are comfortable and short. Spring and Autumn are transitional, rushing forward to meet the season ahead. My experience with the seasons of the North was in Vermont: 20 years up near the Canadian border. The first change that marks the beginning of Autumn is a chill in the evening air. The green of summer is intact, days are warm but the nights begin to cool. September brings the start of school. Children wear their coats on the cold mornings but carry them on their way home in the warm afternoons. Days begin to shorten, nights lengthen. As September draws to a close, the leaves of the trees begin to change. When the leaves in the north stop their chlorophyll production the underlying colors that are revealed are brilliant reds, oranges and yellows. The types of hardwood trees found in the North combined with the warm sunny days and cool, crisp nights (not freezing) create the perfect environment for sensational, blazing colors. This splash of color only lasts two or three weeks. By the end of October. the leaves have turned to rust, brown and tarnished gold. And then they are gone. Almost as quickly as they display their beauty, they fall away, leaving the hills colorless heather gray and brown. Even the color of the evergreens is dull gray/green at best. November brings frost, ice and snow. The cold begins. The beauty of summer and the brilliance of Autumn are now gone. Outside all is gray and white, and winter has not yet begun. Winter is cold, hard and dark. The sun sets around 4:30 pm and rises after 7:00 am. In December the temperature hovers around freezing . In later winter, the temperature will often hover around 0 degrees during the day and drop to -20 degrees at night. Winter is long: Cold and snow begin in November and remain until April or May. The leaves don’t return on the trees until June. Winter is silent: No birds singing, no crickets chirping, no animal noises, the snow falls without a sound. When everything is snow covered the silence is incredible. The snow dampens any sound. Springtime in Vermont is when it becomes warm enough so the snow will stick together to build a snowman. The sap in the maple trees begin to flow so maple syrup can be produced. Nights are still below freezing but the days are warm enough that you can play in the snow without a coat. The joy of winter’s ending is almost overwhelming. Then spring snow turns to mud (late spring is called mud season) and almost without notice, the leaves come back and Summer begins. Summer is a needed breath of fresh air. Warm but not humid or uncomfortably hot. Cool refreshing nights. Birds fill the air. Flowers and green grass, green trees, more green trees, more green than one can take in. Relief from the stress of the cold fills the soul. In Summer memories of the turmoil of the Fall, the silence of Winter and the craziness of Spring are all gone. Summer is a season of rest.
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Absolutely beautiful performance!!❤🎉
Make sure the kids know they did a great job. Wonderful work on everything. And, thank you for your performance of Seasons of the North. Well done!!
Nice. Thank you Kirk, Helen, and all the kids!
Fantastic performance, all the musicians did a great job!
Notes from the composer, Kirk Weed, for "Seasons of the North":
Seasons of the North
In the northern US, the seasons are extreme. Winters are harsh and long, Summers are comfortable and short. Spring and Autumn are transitional, rushing forward to meet the season ahead. My experience with the seasons of the North was in Vermont: 20 years up near the Canadian border.
The first change that marks the beginning of Autumn is a chill in the evening air. The green of summer is intact, days are warm but the nights begin to cool. September brings the start of school. Children wear their coats on the cold mornings but carry them on their way home in the warm afternoons. Days begin to shorten, nights lengthen. As September draws to a close, the leaves of the trees begin to change. When the leaves in the north stop their chlorophyll production the underlying colors that are revealed are brilliant reds, oranges and yellows. The types of hardwood trees found in the North combined with the warm sunny days and cool, crisp nights (not freezing) create the perfect environment for sensational, blazing colors. This splash of color only lasts two or three weeks. By the end of October. the leaves have turned to rust, brown and tarnished gold. And then they are gone. Almost as quickly as they display their beauty, they fall away, leaving the hills colorless heather gray and brown. Even the color of the evergreens is dull gray/green at best. November brings frost, ice and snow. The cold begins. The beauty of summer and the brilliance of Autumn are now gone. Outside all is gray and white, and winter has not yet begun.
Winter is cold, hard and dark. The sun sets around 4:30 pm and rises after 7:00 am. In December the temperature hovers around freezing . In later winter, the temperature will often hover around 0 degrees during the day and drop to -20 degrees at night.
Winter is long: Cold and snow begin in November and remain until April or May. The leaves don’t return on the trees until June. Winter is silent: No birds singing, no crickets chirping, no animal noises, the snow falls without a sound. When everything is snow covered the silence is incredible. The snow dampens any sound.
Springtime in Vermont is when it becomes warm enough so the snow will stick together to build a snowman. The sap in the maple trees begin to flow so maple syrup can be produced. Nights are still below freezing but the days are warm enough that you can play in the snow without a coat. The joy of winter’s ending is almost overwhelming. Then spring snow turns to mud (late spring is called mud season) and almost without notice, the leaves come back and Summer begins.
Summer is a needed breath of fresh air. Warm but not humid or uncomfortably hot. Cool refreshing nights. Birds fill the air. Flowers and green grass, green trees, more green trees, more green than one can take in. Relief from the stress of the cold fills the soul. In Summer memories of the turmoil of the Fall, the silence of Winter and the craziness of Spring are all gone. Summer is a season of rest.
Very poetic. Love the composer description of Vermont through the seasons.
We enjoyed listening to your amazing piece performed by the kids.