Earth Symphony and Into the Light

Nationally recognized composer and conductor Jake Runestad will come to Eugene for a one-week artist residency to guest-conduct three of his outstanding works. The Eugene Concert Choir & Orchestra will perform two large choral-orchestral works, Earth Symphony and Into the Light. High school and college students will be invited to prepare Let My Love Be Heard with the newest ensemble under the ECC umbrella, Evocantus, young adult a cappella chamber choir, providing the core of this student ensemble. Throughout his stay, Mr. Runestad will rehearse all participating ensembles and do workshops in the high schools and the university.

Jake Runestad’s music resonates with global issues. Earth Symphony was the award-winning commissioned work performed at the American Choral Director’s Association National Conference in February of 2025. Its devastatingly beautiful poetry depicts the voice of the Earth speaking of how she rose to glory with the miraculous creation of human beings, who then, like Icarus, flew too close to the sun and allowed themselves to perish. The Earth speaks of its rebirth in the aftermath, with the closing line to the long-departed humans, “You would love it here.”

Let My Love Be Heard was composed in response to the loss of life as a result of terrorist attacks in Paris, France in 2015. Its hauntingly gorgeous sounds send love to the cosmos.

Into the Light, with uplifting texts by Gandhi, Hellen Keller, Frederick Douglas, and others, will raise the spirits to a bombastically magnificent climax of joy and possibilities, concluding with the words: “Come out into the universe of light. Everything in the universe is yours, stretch out your arms and embrace it with love.” (Swami Vivekananda)

This exciting concert performance will live on, as the Eugene Concert Choir and Orchestra tackle another live concert recording to add to their growing discography. This project is so important to Diane Retallack that she will step aside as conductor, prepare the choir as chorus master, and welcome Jake Runestad to take the podium for the performance and recording.

Supported by the Hult Endowment for Jake Runestad’s Artist Residency