LULIE THE ICEBERG
A SYMPHONIC STORY
COMPOSED AND ORCHESTRATED
BY JEFFREY STOCK
BASED ON THE CHILDREN’S BOOK BY HER IMPERIAL HIGHNESS
PRINCESS HISAKO OF TAKAMADO
Illustrations by Warabé Aska
LULIE THE ICEBERG is a unique hour-long family-friendly composition that combines a symphonic tone-poem, choral writing on a grand scale, three virtuosic solo parts, art projections, and narrative story-telling. To prepare for the composition, Jeffrey Stock spent weeks in the Arctic tundra of northern Greenland studying the music of the natives, as well as the rich soundscape of the natural environment.
The work premiered in 1998 at New York’s Carnegie Hall featuring the world’s most renowned cellist, Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Pamela Frank and saxophonist Paul Winter. The Orchestra of St. Luke’s was conducted by Derrick Inouye and the evening was narrated by Academy Award-nominated actor Sam Waterston.
Inspired by the children’s book of the same name, it explores the consequences of global warming through a winning, colorful tale of an iceberg called Lulie. When Lulie breaks off the Arctic ice sheet near the North Pole, he pursues his dream of traversing the globe and meeting the ancient ice of Antarctica.
Along the way, Lulie makes many friends, including dolphins, puffins, whales, and especially Kiki, the Arctic tern who follows overhead. Lulie also faces danger and almost melts before he can realize his dream.
Against the odds, Lulie finally arrives at the bottom of the world. The chorus represents the Elders of the Antarctic, singing a poem, written by the composer, in the incantatory Inuit language of Greenland.
In 2005 LULIE THE ICEBERG was translated into Polish and given its European premiere by the Baltic Philharmonic in Gdansk, Poland. Some of the most noted performers in Eastern Europe participated in this televised event, including conductor Michal Nesterowicz, cellist Andrzej Bauer, violinist Robert Kabara, saxophonist Henryk Miśkiewicz and famed actor Zbigniew Zamachowski.
LISTEN
“THE STORM” performed in Gdansk by the Polish Baltic Philharmonic. Lulie the Iceberg is caught in a massive storm near the equator. A young girl and her father are trapped on a boat and Lulie begs the wind to spare their lives.
“THE AFTERMATH” performed in Gdansk by the Polish Baltic Philharmonic. The storm has subsided and in the stillness of the starlight on the sea, Lulie feels at peace.
Backstage at Carnegie Hall, the composer flanked by Yo-Yo Ma (left) and Sam Waterston.
The composer reseraching the sounds of the Arctic in northern Greenland.
At the world premiere of LULIE THE ICEBERG with Prince Takamado of Japan and his wife, the author Princess Hisako.
Antarctic penguins as imagined by Japanese artist Warabé Aska.