Kendra Harder
Composer | Arranger | Guitarist
UpdatesAugust 2022
It has been a tumultuous few months with the financial realities of trying to work as a freelance artist in an increasingly expensive economy forcing me to restructure my work life to return to my former second job. This, however, does not mean the end of freelance composing - far frome it! It just means that I'll have to divert my attentions elsewhere for a bit, and perhaps lighting a little extra fire under my ass to get more music work done in the hours between my shifts. Time will tell! This spring and summer have still been filled with much music making. One huge highlight thus far has been participating in Fresh Squeezed Opera's Online Vocal Lab 2022, where, with a gaggle of other amazing composers from around the globe, I got to take part in 5 brilliant masterclasses, and collaborate on a new operatic scene. I took my hand to writing my own libretto for "But Réamann," which explores my experience coming out to myself. A digital premiere will happen later this summer, so stay tuned to social medias and the like for updates about that! May 2022
Concert Notice
May 2022
Have you ever been looking up into the night sky completely enamoured by the stars only to realize that the most twinkliest one you're admiring is actually a satellite? This is the concept behind a new Commission Consortium for Big Band being lead by The Footnotes Jazz Collective. "When You Wish Accidentally Wish Upon a Satellite" will experiment with combining 12-tone theory, a contrafact on a beloved Disney tune, and classic jazz band composition. If will feature the double bass, and solos by tenor saxophone and guitar. If you are interested in co-commissioning this new work, please sign-up via this form. If you'd like to learn a little more about what I have to say about the piece, check out the entry in my catalogue. April 2022
At last!! "Sea of Dead White Men" is finally here for your listening pleasure! I've just finished uploading the video to youtube, and the sheet music to my shop. While the composition itself has been finished since 2019 (with minor tweaks here and there over the next two years), a combination of COVID and my own ADHD has kept me from getting the video element of the piece completed. But after a few inquiries into the piece, I said "self! It's time to commit to completing this!" So I set some goals, and here we are! The recording is by no means perfect - and it doesn't need to be. I am not usually a performer, and even full-time performers make mistakes in their playing. So I'm normalizing mistakes, string squeeks, and totally missed frets. The recording and video feel rather punk to me, at least so far as classical music goes, as I've done it all with the resources available to me - a field recorder and a cell phone! So please enjoy my little commentary guitar piece. To read more about the piece, visit here. To view, click below. |
Some fav pieces |
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