Melissa Dunphy

Related Works

Four Poems of Nikita Gill (solo soprano(s), piano)

Four Poems of Nikita Gill (solo mezzo-soprano(s), piano)

The song cycle Four Poems of Nikita Gill sets poetry by British-Indian Sikh author Nikita Gill, who first drew attention for her works by publishing them on Instagram and Tumblr. Her writing often draws on her experiences as a woman of color, exploring themes such as trauma recovery, mental illness, feminism, and identity. Four Poems of Nikita Gill was first commissioned in 2018 by Dr. Carol Lines at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana, for a premiere performance by three of her voice students. Each singer chose one of Nikita’s poems to be set to music, but the three students then put forward a joint proposal to add a fourth poem to the cycle, “Me Too,” as all of them connected strongly with the words and theme—this song is written for three a cappella voices so the singers could perform it together. Text by poet Nikita Gill is woven into a canon, representing women’s individual voices joined together in solidarity and mutual empowerment.

Song cycle originally commissioned by Dr. Carol Lines through a Juliet Hardtner Endowed Professorship, McNeese State University.

Me Too
By Nikita Gill

This is our riot act,
our manifesto,
our revolution:
because the ones
who did this know
we are talking about
their monstrous actions.
It’s time for them
to have the nightmares,
for them to suffer
for what happened,
for them to fear being
named by the same
voices they silenced.
I hope they are
forever haunted
by these two words:
“Me too”

Artwork by Abby Markov

Performances

• 18 Nov, 2023: Trio Eos at First & Central Presbyterian, Wilmington, DE
• 17 Nov, 2023: Trio Eos at Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, PA
• 06 Oct, 2022: Haley Burgh, Frances Wycoff, Molly Murphy at Thompson Recital Hall, Greencastle, IN
• 23 Jun, 2022: Felicia Zangari, Virginia Douglas, Sarah Stevenson at Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall, Saratoga Springs, NY
• 12 Jun, 2022: Jessica Zamek, Danielle Hager, Lauren Mian at Church of the Highlands, White Plains, NY
• 12 May, 2022: Cailin Smith, Shea Brown, Dagny von Mering Crowley at Longy School of Music, Room N1, Cambridge, MA
• 01 Jun, 2019: IAMIAMIAM at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Troy, NY
• 11 Oct, 2018: Acalanes High School Bella Voce at Lafayette Presbyterian Church, Lafayette, CA
• 20 Apr, 2018: Lindsey Bower, Lara Connally, Emily Lancon at First United Methodist Church, Lake Charles, LA