Pop-rock song for voice, ensemble (Pierrot + 2 perc), and tape
Commissioned by Khemia Ensemble
Featured on Khemia Ensemble’s debut album Intersections, released in December 2022 on Ravello Records (PARMA)
This is not a breakup song.
hush my heart
don’t beat a word
don’t let it burn
still my lung
don’t breathe the bait
don’t let it brown
murmur unheard
a lethal whisper
to your ghostly drum
pounding away
how can I stay
when I’m round
on a flat earth
I peel it off
this dirty shell
rip the threads
hair by hair
bald and bare
the way you want to see
I wash the grit
and bleach the stains
shrink the fit
my color fades
zip my lips
this is who I ought to be
Video and music by Nina Shekhar, performed by Khemia Ensemble
Performed by Khemia Ensemble (track from Intersections)
July 28th, 2021
Missouri International Composers Festival: Khemia Ensemble Concert
Performed by Khemia Ensemble (Amy Petrongelli, voice)
University of Missouri, Columbia, MO (live and streamed concert)
September 27th, 2021
Guest Ensemble Concert: Khemia Ensemble presents Intersections
Performed by Khemia Ensemble (Amy Petrongelli, voice)
Presented by the University of Arkansas (guest artist residency)
Faulkner Performing Arts Center, Fayetteville, AR (tickets available here)
January 21st, 2022
Artist-Faculty Series Concert: Khemia Ensemble presents Intersections
Performed by Khemia Ensemble (Amy Petrongelli, voice)
Presented by Michigan State University (guest artist residency)
Fairchild Theatre (Michigan State University), East Lansing, MI
March 22nd, 2022
UVU Music Presents: Khemia Ensemble (Intersections)
Performed by Khemia Ensemble (Emily Nelson, guest voice)
Presented by Utah Valley University (guest artist residency)
The Noorda Center for the Performing Arts (Utah Valley University), Orem, UT
September 20th, 2022
Guest Artists Concert: Khemia Ensemble presents Intersections
Performed by Khemia Ensemble (Amy Petrongelli, voice)
Presented by Tennessee Tech University (guest artist residency)
Wattenbarger Auditorium (Bryan Fine Arts Building), Tennessee Tech University
Cookeville, TN
March 21st, 2023
Tuesdays at Monk Space Presents: Nina Shekhar & Friends
Performed by Brightwork newmusic
Monk Space, Los Angeles, CA
