Alice A. Moerk is a free-lance composer who lives
on Anna Maria Island, FL, where she maintains her
studio. She is an Emeritus Professor of Music at Fairmont
(WV) State College (FSC). In 2000, she was the recipient
of the Music Award from the National League of American
Pen Women. She recently organized and served as artistic
director for the Benefit Concert for Multiple Sclerosis
(MS) in West Virginia, for which Tina's Songs
were written.
Premieres
The MS benefit included the premiere of Tina's
Songs, with mezzo-soprano Carolyn Sheets and the
composer at the piano. At a 2000 FSC SAI Composer
Showcase, works introduced were a song cycle Don Quix,
with mezzo-soprano Sheets; a song cycle Auntie, with
soprano Janet Gilman and pianist Jeriel Gilman; and
Quixotic Fanfare, for two trumpets. The Millennium
Music Series in Bellington, WA included the first
performance of Songs of Emily Dickinson, for
two sopranos, flute, and bass viol. Estelle Schultz
presented Muse, for solo flute, at a 2001 meeting
of the Sarasota/Bradenton (FL) SAI Alumnae Chapter.
Performances
At the MS benefit, another of her works performed
was Eternal Summer, for SATB choir and piano.
In 2001, Jariel Gilman soloed in Ciurlionis,
a concerto for piano and orchestra, at the Lithuanian
Embassy in Washington, DC, as part of their Ciurlionis
Celebration (September); and at the Anna Maria Island
Art Guild (October). Sheets, accompanied by the composer,
sang excerpts from the opera The Wise Woman
at an West Virginia MTNA meeting, in Fairmont. The
Ensemble Rosario (Argentina) presented Crystal
Singers, for orchestra.
