Carol (Kia) Sams studied with Darius Milhaud at Mills College, and received a DMA from the University of Washington in 1975, making her one of the first American women to receive a doctorate in composition. She has composed numerous operas and oratorios, as well as hundreds of choral works.

The composer writes:

“Sunflower is from The Earthmakers, a full-length oratorio about the beginnings of the world, which premiered in 1986. In lieu of the Biblical tradition story, this oratorio presents different cultures’ versions of creation, together with poems that reflect something of each idea, and purely instrumental works. The poems bring together the universal ideas of creation and the personal experience of creation: each one dealing with something of what it is to create. These are the most personal works of the oratorio; certainly, they were for me the centers of the work.”

Website: northwestartists.org/cs.html