Julian

Crowd-Sourcing Proposal

June 11, 2026

MY STORY

The enthusiasm of the applause often surprised me.

I am an American who spent 20 years in Germany having an operatic career. Now I teach voice at Millikin University and am a Choirmaster at my local Episcopal Church. One take-away from my experience on stage is that music is powerful . It has the almost otherworldly ability to free up even the most calcified of human emotions festering in the heart. It is this freeing up of emotion that makes the audiences’ reactions so boisterous at the end; it’s what makes the applause so fervent—many have come to the opera in the hopes of feeling ANY emotion at all. When a musical performance does move them, they make their gratitude known, in decibels, at the curtain call(s).

Opera has been moving people for hundreds of years. But its origins were in the church. Between the 10 th and 13 th -Centuries, Liturgical Dramas were composed to illustrate Biblical stories and the lives of the saints. That tradition gave rise to the first operas. Its sacred form, the oratorio, is the surviving version of Liturgical Dramas still done in churches.

Somehow, the more visceral, more emotional version of the Liturgical Drama, the opera, came to be associated almost completely with the secular world, while the more staid, often dryer version, the oratorio, came to be associated with the church.

I have dreamed for many years about reviving the “Liturgical Drama”. A semi-staged, very lightly costumed work, accompanied by the organ (or any other instruments common in the church setting) could become a powerful force to heighten the worship experience, as well as to educate Christians on their own history. The “Sacred Opera” could become a new form of expression for our churches, one more alive and pertinent than the older models.

After the death of my husband of 20 years, God called me to write him a Requiem. That work is very near completion, which leaves me imagining what I would like to do next. I have been composing sacred music for a while now. This year alone, I have composed a Kyrie, a Gloria, a Sanctus, a Fraction Anthem, 2 Sacred Solos and assorted Psalm Tones.

JULIAN

For my next “big” project, I would like to compose an approximately 40 to 50 minute work based on the life of Julian of Norwich. She was an anchoress of the 14 th -Century (she elected to be walled in to a small cell attached to the church in Norwich.) She lived in her cell, with one small window to the outside, and another into the church for more than 40 years. She would celebrate Mass from her cell, but would also counsel those who came to her outside window. What we know of her today is derived almost entirely from her writings, which she purportedly kept in her cell her lifelong.

It is in those writings that one finds a tremendously forward-thinking theology, one speaking of God being both a father and a mother. As well, Julian’s God could easily be mistaken for the God we know in 2026—that God is pure love and only wants the best for us—a somewhat exotic stance for the Middle Ages.

Hence my fascination with her. Living in such isolation for more than 40 years would most certainly produce any number of psychological disorders in a normal person. Instead, the confinement of the 4 walls surrounding her inspired an interpretation of a God with great expansiveness and benevolence, a God intent upon showering us with His love. Julian seems to have found more freedom within the “confines” of her own consciousness than one would in a normal life replete with freedoms of all kinds. Her outer world may have diminished, but her inner one expanded manyfold through her prayer and devotion.

THE WORK

40-50 minutes in duration

For Organ and 4 soloists (S,A,T,B). One Treble Soloist (Soprano or Mezzo) from the quartet will sing the role of Julian.

Characters:

Julian (Treble Voice)

The eVoice of God (Bass)

Vorax (“Glutonous”), her cat (Tenor)

Alice, her maid (Treble Voice)

In the spirit of “accessibility”, if a soprano choir soloist sings the role of Julian, the alto soloist will sing the part of Alice.

Accessibility is very important to me as a composer, and the work itself will be composed using the typical resources of The Episcopal Church in mind: many churches have a professional organist, and 4 professional soloists/section leaders in their choirs. The soloists tend to have far too little opportunities to sing solo works both within the church and without. This work will not only give them the chance to perform, it will also allow for the congregation to benefit fully from the many years of training that the typical episcopal choirs’ soloists have had.

Four scenes of equal length represent both the important milestones of her life, as well as the four walls that surround her.

Each scene is approximately 10 minutes in length.

Scene I: The scene begins at the procession into the church where Julian’s dedication ceremony is held—a funeral mass. The quartet uses medieval traditional chant, including quotes from the Office of the Dead, realized in a modern way, which is thought to have been used at the service. The scene ends with Julian being walled in to her cell.

Scene II: Julian’s extended solo scene, where she tells of her sickness at age 30 and the “showings” that will make up the bulk of her work Revelations of Divine Love . Much of her writing consists of graphic descriptions of the Crucifixion, vision experienced during her ailment and subsequent healing. It is a chance at “character development”, where we glean from how she continues to work through her visions, what sort of woman Julian was.

Scene III: This scene pertains to the period between the “Short Text” and the “Long Text”. The Short Text was written around the time of her visions (1373). The Long Text was written decades later (~1410), and are meant as a further clarification of and expounding upon the Short Text. In this scene, Julian has extended conversations with God. This God is different, though, from the typical God of the Dark Ages. He has a sense of humor, calls Julian “Jules” and is full of wonder, brightness, and, most important of all: love.

Scene IV: This is the scene where we remember the dramatic nature of the second word in this new genre “Sacred Opera”. The most dramatic scene musically and theatrically, Scene IV portrays the end of Julian’s life. Presumably singing from her deathbed, we hear Julian, but do not see her. In between bouts of discomforting sounds from within, we hear also some of the highlights of Julian’s life in her own words. The scene is meant to unsettle one, to not forget the often ugly aspects physically involved with passing from this world. It is a reminder, like a memento mori . The scene ends with a dramatic sequence of silences, where worshipers outside her cell occasionally grow silent to listen for signs of life within. Each of the 3 pauses are punctuated by a very soft, almost inaudible “Tell them He is love” from within. After the 4 th such silence, no answer comes. The scene is meant to end contemplatively, much like the opening procession was subdued. The somber treatment at the end is meant to emphasize the often anti-climactic nature of death (“not with a bang, but with a whimper”). The worshipers just get up and leave at the end, leaving the audience confronted with a blank canvas as the organ decrescendos to the sounds of the nearby bubbling brook and occasional birdcalls.

FINANCES

There are very few expenses for this project. That is to say, I anticipate the work being premiered in my own church, with our own soloists, organ, etc. As I am the choirmaster, the performance would be funded by the church itself.

The costs are really incurred by taking the time to actually compose the Sacred Opera. I anticipate that it will take about 2-3 months to complete. I hope to be given (by you!) the time and space to allow my Summer to be 100% Julian 24/7. I have both proven that I can compose works suitable for the church, as well as understanding the pitfalls of more monumental works such as this. As I live relatively frugally, and have a relatively small mortgage, I anticipate the financial backing so as to complete the opera to be no more than $6000.

I will communicate with patrons the progress of this project. I envision a small but dedicated community who feels, as I do, that the world needs to know about Julian and her message. The next step for me is beginning the libretto. All patrons will be included in decisions about the libretto.

Patrons who give $500 or more will be a part of a smaller group which will give input in compositional questions. (Listening to portions and giving feedback)

For now, as a teaser, and to ensure you that I will need your help creatively: there will be no sets built for this production. This means that the “wall” that separates Julian from he outside world must be something simple that churches could easily acquire. What are your thoughts on this? How could we get the dramatic effect without a single screw? I am thinking a collapsible paravent, perhaps?