SOTN Commission Corner

Gifts of the Magi: A Conversation with composer Ralph Johnson and poet Laurie Richardson Johnson

By Kim Bowman
Director of Development for Magnum Chorum

“It was supposed to be a simple carol,” says composer Ralph Johnson of his recently composed Gifts of the Magi, a work commissioned by the Twin Cities choir, Magnum Chorum.  “But I could not find a text that I liked.”  So Ralph approached his wife and muse, Laurie Richardson Johnson, an artist and writer who had collaborated with him twice before, and asked her to create something new.  Laurie came up with the Tree of Frankincense, deeply inspired by a Somalian exhibit at the Minnesota History Center.

In the exhibit, Laurie was struck by a mesmerizing image of a gnarled Frankincense tree that spoke to her.  “Frankincense was so precious for rituals for thousands of years.  I wondered how long the tree had been twisting its branches into the blue heated sky.” And even more poignant, she wondered “if the tree knew that its precious perfume did not go to a palace or temple, but to a lonely, rough stable?”

Recalls Ralph, “Laurie gave me this beautiful poem in free verse that was very spare. It was definitely not a carol, but it was evocative and I was excited about it.  And I said to Laurie,” he chuckles, “well, you can’t just do Frankincense. There’s Gold and Myrrh as well.”

Modest about his work, Ralph describes the process for composing a new piece of music. “Most creative people will tell you that they don’t know where their ideas come from,” he reveals. “When I first receive a text, my thought is, what in the world am I going to do with this?  I don’t really hear things in my head, but I have learned to wait and keep coming back to it.  I play the keyboard and sing a little, then I land on something.  It’s fussy work.  In the end I think, wow, who wrote this?  Because it doesn’t feel like it is me, but it also does feel like it’s me.”

As the Richfield couple collaborated on three movements entitled Tree of Frankincense, Treasure of Myrrh and Song of Gold, the work took on a life of its own.  Muses Laurie, “It was cool. The piece really didn’t want to be a carol; it wanted to be something else, and it took time and listening for it to become a three-part work, Gifts of the Magi.  We didn’t set out to do that, but there is something “other” about the creative process that happens and we channel it as best as we can.”  She adds, “As I heard the pieces coming together, it was like Ralph was hearing something from somewhere else.  And it’s exactly what I felt.”

“If there’s a moment where the music lifts and illuminates the texts, that’s what I’m going for,” says Ralph. He adds playfully, “These pieces were maybe as much fun as I’ve had writing anything.  They kind of spilled out for me.  And it’s not a carol, because nobody could sing the tune from front to back, and you’d probably need an oxygen tank to get through the whole thing,” he jokes, and then apologizes to Dwight Jilek, Artistic Director of Magnum Chorum, for the complexities of the work, which the 55-voice choir premiered in December 2024 at its Light Divine Christmas Concerts.

Appreciating the depth and brilliance of the Johnsons’ work, Dwight reassures Ralph and Laurie that Magnum Chorum enjoys the opportunity to stretch itself in learning and presenting moving and impactful new works for audiences.  Remarks Jilek, “Immediately when I heard the pieces, it was like the story of the three gifts was being told directly to my heart.  It’s just so salient.  And I can hear the trees, almost see the branches, in some of the movements.  Gifts of the Magi is magical.”

Enjoy the world premiere of Gifts of the Magi at Westwood Lutheran Church here.

About Magnum Chorum

Recognized for expressive singing and inspired sacred choral programming, Magnum Chorum brings transforming artistry and spirit to a cappella choral music.  Founded in the choral tradition of St. Olaf College in 1991, the 55-voice choir presents a full concert season in soaring spaces, commissions and premieres new sacred works, and provides music for worship, offering a message of hope and faith and building community through fellowship and choral music.  Magnum Chorum has championed emerging composers and is honored to serve as Choir in Residence at Westwood Lutheran Church in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.

Dr. Dwight Jilek was named Artistic Director of Magnum Chorum in 2018. Under his direction, Magnum Chorum was invited to perform at the MN ACDA Convention in 2018, the Chorus America Virtual Convention in 2020, and was the featured choral ensemble from Minneapolis-St. Paul for the 2022 Latvian Song and Dance Festival featuring Eriks Ešenvalds and the Latvian choir Anima. In the summer of 2023, the choir embarked on the first international tour in the choir’s history to Sweden and Norway.

Their name Magnum Chorum is intended to convey the importance of the choir in expressing the divine and the infinite through voice, music, and text.

Learn more about Magnum Chorum’s 2024-2025 concert season here.

About Dr. Dwight Jilek
Artistic Director, Magnum Chorum

In 2024 Dr. Dwight Jilek was appointed Associate Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at North Dakota State University where he conducts the NDSU Concert Choir, and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in conducting, literature, and pedagogy. Prior to NDSU, he was the Director of Choral Activities and Chair of the Music Department at Bemidji State University where he conducted The Bemidji Choir and the Bemidji Chamber Singers, and taught choral conducting, choral literature, and choral methods. Dwight led The Bemidji Choir in multiple regional, national, and international performances; dedicated the Bemidji Chamber Singers to early music performance with featured collaborations with the Bach Society of Minnesota; and served as opera conductor for Speed Dating Tonight and Pirates of Penzance.

Dwight served as the Northwest District Chair and Collegiate Repertoire and Resources Coordinator for the Minnesota chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. He has also been active as a festival conductor, most recently at the 2024 Kenai Peninsula High School Choral Festival in Alaska, 2022-2023 MN All-State Tenor-Bass Choir and Big 9 Festival in southern Minnesota.

Dwight earned his D.M.A. in Choral Conducting at University of North Texas with studies in Vocal Pedagogy, where he conducted the Concert Choir and received the Outstanding Graduate Conductor award in 2016. He earned his Masters in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University and Bachelor of Music in Vocal Music Education from Concordia College.

Dwight and his wife Alyssa and their children reside in Fargo, North Dakota.

About Kim Bowman
Director of Development, Magnum Chorum

Kim Bowman is Director of Development for Magnum Chorum, and a member of the Alto section since the choir’s founding in 1991.  Her love of music was rooted in childhood through singing and playing guitar, alto saxophone and piano, and bloomed as a member of the St. Olaf Choir from 1985-1988 under the direction of Dr. Kenneth Jennings.  Kim loves philanthropy and is a professional fundraiser focusing on capital campaigns and endowment building through securing major gifts and estate gifts.  She has served Way to Grow, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minnesota Zoo, St. Olaf College and Lutheran Social Services.  Kim has served on the Board of Directors of Minneapolis Rotary Club 9 and Century College Foundation.  She holds a BA from St. Olaf College and an MBA from University of St. Thomas.