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Upcoming & Recent Events
1 September 2025
New Album Release!
Visit 'Playing Haydn' Page
For More Details
14 - 18 May 2025
Featuring Viktor Ullmann's
One Act Opera
Der Kaiser von Atlantis!
w/ Ryan Hugh Ross
as
Kaiser Überall
for More Information
6 May 2025
Playing Haydn for the Angel of Death
Album Launch Event
6 May 2025 at 7PM
Milkweed Editions, Inc.
1011 Washington Ave S,
Minneapolis, MN 55415
United States
Join friends and colleagues of the late acclaimed poet Bill Holm as they launch their record album of Playing Haydn for the Angel of Death, a musical setting of his namesake poem composed by Minnesota native Martha Helen Schmidt.
The event will feature a screening of the Pioneer PBS documentary about the song cycle which received a 2023 Regional Emmy® Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences - Upper Midwest Chapter. The evening will also include select readings from Holm’s literary oeuvre by friends and acclaimed colleagues and will conclude with a performance of selections of the album by internationally recognized musicians: Pianist Dr, Daniel Rieppel and Lyric Baritone, Dr. Ryan Hugh Ross.
for more Information
About the piece: Poet Bill Holm was the embodiment of the spirit of Minnesota. His love of the windswept prairie, the glacial Fjords of his ancestral Iceland and the power of music are imbued throughout his impressive oeuvre of poetry. Holm’s masterpiece of prose Playing Haydn for the Angel of Death encapsulates his philosophy of music by drawing on musical metaphors while referencing specific compositions to describe the ultimate human condition - death.
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Playing Haydn for the Angel of Death
2023
Pioneer PBS Documentary
Recipient of Regional Emmy® Award
from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences - Upper Midwest Chapter
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Documentary Film Premiere
10 May 2023 at 5PM (US Central)
Southwest Minnesota State University
Marshall, MN USA
A Musical Tribute to Minnesota’s Documentary Film!
‘Bard of the Prairie’
(1943 – 2009)
Bill Holm was the embodiment of the spirit of Minnesota. His love of the windswept prairie, the glacial Fjords of his ancestral Iceland and the power of music are imbued throughout his impressive oeuvre of poetry. Holm’s masterpiece of prose Playing Haydn for the Angel of Death encapsulates his philosophy of music by drawing on musical metaphors while referencing specific compositions to describe the ultimate human condition - death. This has now been set to music in a 15 part song cycle by Minnesota composer Martha Helen Schmidt. It was conceived by two of the late poet's friends - Ryan Hugh Ross- Baritone & Dr. Daniel Rieppel - SMSU Professor of Piano Studies.
Broadcast Schedule
Thursday, May 11 at 7p.m.
Sunday, May 14 at 7 p.m.
Monday, May 15 at 1:30 p.m.
OR
view online at: www.pioneer.org/postcards
and on Postcards’ YouTube page at www.youtube.com/@PostcardsOnPioneerPBS
About the film:
This EMMY NOMINATED Film follows my colleagues Dr. Daniel Rieppel, composer Martha Helen Schmidt and I as we prepare for the Icelandic Premiere of our recent song cycle project. The song cycle is a beautiful setting of prose by our late friend and extraordinary poet, Bill Holm.
The full version of this film can now be viewed on Pioneer PBS's website or via the
Youtube link Here::
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEmqbrYKGmE
Dr. Daniel Rieppel Ms. Martha Helen Schmidt Mr. Ryan Hugh Ross
Pianist Composer Baritone
Playing Haydn for the Angel of Death documentary was created by
the talented film team at Pioneer PBS in Granite Falls, MN
Playing Haydn for the Angel of Death song cycle
was made possible with the generous support from
the Gruhot Family of Marshall, MN
and
Southwest Minnesota State University
Foundation
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