Jessica Meyer: Because I Will Not Despair Program Note

Posted on May 9, 2023

It was on a plane ride home from Portland in 2013 when I wrote my 3rd looper piece, and after that the flood gates swung open and I knew I was supposed to be a composer. On that very trip I met Alicia Jo Rabins, a cool violinist/poet/ singer/songwriter that I somehow knew would be part of my life down the line. Fast forward five years and I was using some of her poetry, alongside other fierce female living poets, to create my first evening length show And She. Fast forward another five years, and her words are the basis of this work.

I really resonate with the perspective Alicia writes from: being a woman, a mother, a wife, a community builder, a spiritual being, and a creator. Her imagery is already visceral, so it made my job easy to set her words to music. Interestingly, I have been in the midst of my own active healing since last summer, so setting this particular text at this juncture was quite timely and indeed…very cathartic. Many thanks to Alicia for being herself and writing great poetry, and to David Hattner of the Portland Youth Philharmonic and Anna Song of the vocal ensemble In Mulieribus for making [Because I Will Not Despair] happen. In a time that women are still being questioned and devalued on a daily basis, I dedicate this work to anyone who needs to hear these words right now.

Jessica Meyer

Experience the world premiere of Because I Will Not Despair this weekend in Portland! Join us on May 12 at St. Philip Neri Church or on May 13 at Lewis & Clark College. Learn more and purchase tickets at portlandyouthphil.org/cameratapyp.