Here on the UN’s World Day of Social Justice, I can’t believe today is the day to finally share Haiku with you!!! Please let me know how this finds you? I’m so proud of this collaboration with my musical heroes, Craig and Shara (@conspirareatx & @mybrightestdiamond ) and animation hero, Christine Banna (@christineabanna ). ‘Haiku’ underscores, to me in this moment, the cognitive dissonance of being a human amongst the world’s astonishing beauty and the injustice and suffering we create.
Find all info & listening links in my bio.
Credits:
Composed and arranged by Moira Smiley
Directed and animated by Christine Banna
Additional Compositing and Animation by Katelyn Park
Moira Smiley: voice, piano, percussion, electronics
Craig Hella Johnson: voice
Shara Nova: voice
Lysander Jaffe: violin, viola
John Dunlop: cello
Edited and mixed by John Anthony
Mastered by Tom Volpicelli
#WorldDayOfSocialJustice #moirasmiley #newsingle #AnimatedMusicVideo #haiku
Milestone News!
For the past few years, I’ve been working towards creating a concrete, ongoing way to honor and carry the legacy of ‘Bring Me Little Water, Silvy’ forward. I decided I could do that best by setting aside a fund to support future work by BIPOC musical artists out of earnings from the harmony / body percussion arrangement that caught fire in the choral world. Carefully carrying forward the energy of this song can help keep us telling the essential, painful, ordinary and extraordinary stories that Black American music artists share - against ongoing odds. Creating this award is a small way to keep planting the seeds of music & understanding in new soil.
I am so grateful to @newmusicusa for making the ‘Bringing The Water’ Award a dream-come-true, and to announce @leylacello as the inaugural recipient of the Award!
#bringmelittlewatersilvy #bodypercussion #artsgrants #leylamccalla #newmusicusa
PRIDE PRIDE PRIDE PRIDE...so important to stand for the ancestral and present power of queerness. Shouting this from the rooftops! ‘We Are Timeless! Find the full video on YouTube and the single on Bandcamp + all streaming platforms (link in bio).
Music:
We Are Timeless
words and music by Moira Smiley
featuring Shruti Ramani, voice &
verse 2 co-lyricist with Kiarah O’Kane
Kai Fukuda, piano
Seamus Egan & Moira Smiley, percussion & bass
Kristina Stykos & Moira Smiley, edit/mix/master
Video filmed + edited by Fiona Small. Co-directed by Fiona Small + Moira Smiley
Movers:
(in order of appearance)
Filmed in Bristol, VT usa
Moira Smiley, Kai Fukuda, Leonore Tjia, Jacqueleen Bordjadze, Laurel Jenkins, Sonnie May Jenkins-Kent, Sophia Calvi, Leila Hon, Marek Zajac, Jenesis Artis, Fiona Small
#wearetimeless #prideanthem #pride2025 #lgbtqiapride #moirasmiley #newrelease #pridemonth #newmusicvideo #madeinvermont #vermonting #vermontqueer #vtarts #queercommunity #queerjoy
Thank you so much to everyone who has donated and to so many of you who shared 💚💚💚 we’re 25% to our base goal of $1000! Campaign is up through June 12th
/projects/christinebanna/haiku-an-animated-music-video
A Northern Flicker is a beloved bird of Oregon, and seemed the perfect character to center in the lava-formed, high desert landscape of Bend, Oregon...
Stay tuned for the official video and score release on Monday, 5/18!
Performed by @centraloregonmastersingers and captured by @jonthomsonphotography
Come sing with me in Bucks County, PA! We’ve planned a beautiful outdoor afternoon of singing & percussion in a big, welcoming park in the middle of Doylestown, and I wrote a new piece to celebrate called ‘Stand Firm’!
Details: Thurs, 5.30 @ 4pm EST @ Broad Commons Park (Doylestown, PA) @buckschoral
Ticket link in story!
#communitysinging #bigsing #buckscountypa #singingtogether #choralsinging
I love writing commissions, and these lyrics flew out like a little birdsong flurry. I’m so honored that ‘Northern Flicker’ has become a central part of COM’s performing repertoire, and enjoyed playing piano for its premiere! Thanks to @centraloregonmastersingers and @jonthomsonphotography for capturing the moment.
#choralcomposer #choralmusic #centraloregonmastersingers #northernflicker #choraleducation
LINK IN BIO ✨✨✨
Thank you for any sharing and support! Any additional funds will support attending festivals and starting my next film 🎞️
#Independentfilm #musicvideo #kickstarter #kickstarterlaunch #moirasmiley
In 3 weeks time, on Thu, 5.28 at 6pm, I will join Bethlehem-native Celtic singer and community music leader Fiona Gillespie (@gillespiefi ) for an evening of songs centered on welcome and the search for belonging at Godfrey Daniels (@godfrey_daniels ) (Bethlehem, PA). Drawing from Anglo-Celtic and original folksong, the program highlights spare vocal textures and minimalist accompaniment. We’ll begin the evening with a workshop where audience members can learn and sing along to two songs before joining the concert, which also features Mosaic Youth Chorus. Find tickets at
#communitysinging #folksongs #angloceltic #songsofbelonging #folkconcert
It is somatic delight to watch Laurel (@laureljenkinsdance ) move and bring absurdity, beauty, humor, ferocity to life with my music threading it together. ‘now-how-HOWL’ is about being alive, tender in amongst each other today, in this news climate, this heating climate, the madness and beauty of early 21C. Honored that Town Hall Theater (@thtmidd ) in Middlebury has made this a part of their stellar New England Theater Festival. Join us next Tuesday, 5.12 @ 4:30pm EST and find tickets on my website: moirasmiley.com
#newenglandtheater #middleburyvt #musicdance #somaticmovement #interdisciplinaryperformance
I’m delighted to share the first excerpt of “Northern Flicker”, commissioned and performed by the @centraloregonmastersingers (directed by Christian Clark) in honor of their 20th anniversary. “Northern Flicker” draws inspiration from the volcanic landscape, fluttering aspens, and singing birds of Central Oregon. The piece moves from shadow to light — from eerie, Ukrainian folk-inspired verses to a soaring, rhythmic chorus that celebrates the human gifts of harmony, community, and joyful song. Stay tuned for the official premier of the live performance on YouTube and the sheet music release on my website on May 18th!
Video footage captured/edited by Jon Anthony Thomson (@jonthomsonphotography ).
#choralcomposer #choralmusic #centraloregonmastersingers #northernflicker #moirasmiley
