Tim Tai

Even Brock ’25 seeks to capture the beauty and the tragedy hidden in the depths of the ocean in their senior choral conducting recital, “Though the Great Waters Sleep.” The performance will take place on Nov. 21 at 8 p.m. in Battell Chapel. 

Choir has been a significant part of Brock’s time at Yale and in high school. Their fascination with conducting stemmed from singing Christmas carols and being the one who would rally everyone together to sing. 

“I realized that I want to be the one to initiate projects that have everyone come together and sing,” said Brock. 

Brock cites their high school choir director Erika Schroth as one of the reasons for applying to Yale. Schroth’s husband is Jeffrey Douma –– director of the Yale Glee Club and a choral conducting instructor at the Yale School of Music. 

Douma would eventually become Brock’s senior thesis advisor, who would give Brock “a lot of conducting instruction” not only on this particular project, but others in the past.

Brock also co-founded the Yale Undergraduate Chamber Choir — or YUCC — to provide students with more opportunities to sing choral music and learn how to conduct outside of structured courses. YUCC recently partnered up with the Yale Ballet Company for a performance of “Alice in Wonderland” at the Dome in Schwartzman Center last week. 

“We were seeking to make a few more conducting opportunities and also create a non-audition choir because those are actually pretty rare here,” said Brock. 

During Brock’s junior year, they discovered the composer Jaakko Mäntyjärvi for their junior conducting recital. Inspired to conduct a piece by Mäntyjärvi, they landed on his work, “Canticum Calamitatis Maritimae.” 

“Canticum Calamitatis Maritimae” tells the musical story of the 1994 shipwreck of the MS Estonia. The piece features text from a Latin requiem, as well as a Latin translation of a newscast describing the tragedy. 

“I play the role of the newscaster, chanting the news in the style of a Catholic priest infused with journalistic detachment,” wrote Ava Dadvand ’25, the bass soloist of the piece, in an email to the News. 

“Canticum Calamitatis Maritimae” was the jumping off point that inspired Brock’s oceanic-themed recital. Wanting to channel the piece’s themes into their own project, Brock  deliberated between creating a recital on tragedy and grief or on the ocean. Brock chose the latter, but they sought to capture elements of tragedy — and beauty — of the ocean through a multifaceted narrative. 

“I tried to construct a narrative of different angles on the ocean through each of the pieces — both positive and negative, ominous and joyful,” said Brock. 

Brock’s program also includes “The Prow” by Matthew Hazzard, which they dub “the most joyful piece” in their repertoire. According to Brock, the piece evokes dolphins jumping in and out of the water, waves crashing against the sand and being on a fast-moving ship. 

Other pieces in the repertoire references literary depictions of the ocean – such as “Full Fathom Five” by Ralph Vaughan Williams, a piece based on William Shakespeare’s play “The Tempest.” It also features Isaac Lovdahl’s “Though the Great Waters Sleep,” which contains text from a poem by Emily Dickinson. 

“Though the Great Waters Sleep” is the final and titular piece of Brock’s recital. Premiered by the Yale Glee Club during Brock’s first year at Yale, they chose this piece to represent their entire program because of the word ‘though’ in the title. 

“The word ‘though’ gives the sense that the ocean represents so many different, opposing things,” said Brock. 

Dadvand said that Brock’s program speaks to the complicated feelings evoked by the sea: terror, wonder, comfort. 

Brock has enjoyed assembling their program — working with their fellow friends, singers and conductors with whom they exchange ideas. 

“It is a joy to watch Even work, drawing on their deep experience as a singer to inform a nuanced approach to choral expression, and to see their energetic and colorful personality come through in their leadership and rehearsal technique,” said Kevin Vondrak MUS ’30, Brock’s conducting coach for their recital. 

Battell Chapel is located at 400 College St.