Silver Dagger
This arrangement of a traditional Appalachian folk song by Minnesota-based composer, conductor, and singer Linda Kachelmeier has challenged us to find a new voice and connect to an age-old story. It’s a display of empowerment through heartbreak and desperation that we found very moving
The Smell of Rain
I heard VAMP for the first time in the Draylen Mason Studio during the KMFA Unofficial SXSW 2023 concert and was so moved by their sound and artistry that I went home that night and wrote this piece for them. I often stay up very late into the night and on this night snippets of melody kept cycling through my head until I was compelled to form them into a piece of music. The lyrics are a sort of mashup of unconnected verses. I had been reading the poetry of Bulgarian poet Danila Stoianova and rather than set any particular poem of hers, I scanned through the collection and chose individual lines. I even added some lines of my own. The next day I sent VAMP The Smell of Rain, completely unsolicited, and I am so grateful to them for their generosity with their time in giving this music a performance.
–Peter Stopschinski