Jocelyn Hagen - Here I Am (Eric Holtan)

Information

Composer: Jocelyn Hagen

• The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci
• Here I Am

Susanna Phillips, soprano

Tucson Girls Chorus

True Concord Voices & Orchestra

Eric Holtan, conductor

Date: 2026

Label: Reference Recordings

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Here I Am, the latest album from True Concord, highlights two world-premiere compositions by acclaimed composer Jocelyn Hagen. The release features The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, a globally celebrated multimedia work performed over 50 times since 2019, alongside the title piece, Here I Am. Conceived following a proposal by conductor Eric Holtan to honor the 2020 centennial of the 19th Amendment, the title work sets libretto from the words of 47 influential global women across history. Designed for live concerts with synchronized portrait projections, the album captures Hagen’s innovative approach to combining choral performance with immersive visual elements.

American composer Jocelyn Hagen (born 1980) is widely celebrated for her evocative, rhythmically driven vocal and multimedia compositions. Blending elements of songwriting with complex textures and rich color, her work spans opera, electro-acoustic pieces, and large-scale choral productions. Her acclaimed portfolio includes the sold-out Minnesota Opera premiere of The Song Poet and the internationally performed multimedia symphony The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, which integrates synchronized video projections. Self-published through JH Music and represented by major houses like G. Schirmer, Hagen routinely receives high-profile commissions from premier ensembles, including Voces8, Conspirare, and the Minnesota Orchestra.

Eric Holtan is a versatile conductor and church musician whose career began at age 12 as an organist. A Minnesota native, he earned degrees from Gustavus Adolphus College and the University of Iowa before completing his Doctor of Musical Arts in choral and orchestral conducting at the University of Arizona, where his doctoral research explored Felix Mendelssohn’s use of the chorale form. Holtan’s professional experience spans positions across secondary, higher education, and community contexts, including roles as Associate Conductor of the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra and Assistant Director of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra Chorus. He continues to serve actively as Minister of Music, Art, and Liturgy at Dove of Peace Lutheran Church.

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