Shoua and the Northern Lights Dragon

Premiered in 2022 by wind quintet Chione, this piece is a musical story based on Twin Cities author Ka Vang’s Shoua and the Northern Lights Dragon. The short chapter book, published by the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans (CAPM) and the Minnesota Humanities Center in 2012, tells the story of Shoua, a Hmong American girl who discovers her voice as she saves an injured dragon while camping in the north woods of Minnesota. The story was set to beautiful and evocative music composed by fellow Minnesotan, Jocelyn Hagen, with narration by Ka Vang. Chione Quintet combined musical character themes with American Sign Language and shared the stories of each of their instruments and the ensemble they create–the wind quintet.