In January 2027, Divine Art is delighted to present The Upper Chain: Organ Music by Olivia Kieffer, a hugely enjoyable collection of works performed by the acclaimed organist and composer Carson Cooman. Olivia Kieffer is a US composer, percussionist and educator who creates energetic, life-affirming music blending fantasy and reality, heard here through the vivid, colorful world of the pipe organ. With a background in both the classical and rock worlds, Kieffer's musical language has rhythmic vitality and direct expression, offering something distinctive to the organ repertoire.Kieffer's experience as a percussionist led to extensive work with the toy piano, and her compositions for this instrument are some of her most widely played music. She has always embraced the potential that her music has for new instrumental guises - several of the works on the album are expanded versions of toy piano miniatures. The gorgeous, hypnotic Nobility of Homophones came from a conversation about poetry after a church service. In the original piece the soloist plays two toy pianos simultaneously, thus creating a homophonic texture when they share pitches; in the organ version, multiple manuals create this same overlapping effect. Playing the Changes is the composer's second book of toy piano solos, containing 72 short pieces written between 2016 and 2019, from which seven varied pieces were chosen for realization on the organ. Each was originally dedicated to a different friend, their whimsical titles connected to memories or conversations. Down the Hatch, She Wrote is an expanded version of a short piece from The Texture of Activity, Kieffer's first collection of toy piano miniatures.The remaining pieces bring a variety of inspiration and mood to the world of organ music. The mesmerizing A Singing Planet in four movements responds to lines by the Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke, and The Upper Chain is an extended chaconne inspired by to the 'Chain O' Lakes' near Waupaca, Wisconsin. Contemporary Clavical Music is a vibrant romp in Mixolydian mode with continuous joyful energy from beginning to end. In contrast, two short canonic works, Still and In Unison or at the Octave are tranquil and atmospheric.Olivia Kieffer (b. 1980) is a native of Wisconsin and completed her DMA in composition at the University of Miami. Kieffer is a member of smol ensemble, and was previously a member of the Chix with Stix Percussion Group and the bandleader and drummer for Clibber Jones Ensemble. Her catalog of more than 200 pieces includes music for orchestra, band, chamber ensembles of both unusual and traditional scoring, and solo music for various instruments. Carson Cooman is an American composer and organist. He holds degrees in music from Harvard University and Carnegie Mellon University and is Composer in Residence at the Memorial Church, Harvard University. As an organ recitalist, Cooman specializes in the performance of contemporary music. Over 1,500 new compositions by more than 400 international composers have been written for him, many of which he has recorded.As a composer, Cooman has created a catalog of works in many forms - ranging from solo instrumental pieces to operas, and from orchestral works to hymn tunes. His own music for organ has been recorded on 14 albums by organist Erik Simmons.