2012 About Our Choral Music

What I love about Zak Mortensen's music is its optimism. A lot of the songs we've had in the past have been written in minor keys. Most of Zak's songs are in major keys and are uplifting to both singer and audience. His harmonies and modulations are beautiful and interesting, and his melodies are touching and memorable. He's also one of the best at setting the Bahá'í writings to music, something that is not easy to do, making sure the music provides the right emphasis on the right syllables, and somehow he even makes them rhyme! He's also quite sensitive about making sure the words can be heard and understood-he doesn't let the music overwhelm the text, which is important for religious music.

I encourage you to try one of his pieces for your choir. It's important to give new composers exposure. Having their music sung helps them become even better composers since often they can't know if something works unless people actually sing it and audiences hear it. I hope you'll enjoy Zak's choral pieces as much as I have. He adds immeasurably to the quantity and quality of serious spiritually-oriented musical compositions, something we have sorely needed for a long time. - Wendy Scott, 2010