Joyce and Karen: A Unique Mother-Daughter collaborative Team

Collaborative Works (with Joyce’s Text and Karen’s Music)

Karen and Joyce have completed numerous works that explore family stories and the intersections of Indigenous -Settler relations and philosophies. The following is a list of works, beginning with the most recent. (UPDATED DEC. 2024)

2025

• pisimwak-Moons II: Budding Moon, Heart-berry Moon, Egg-Hatching Moon, Flying-up Moon - for SATB choir, violin and piano. Commissioned by the Grand Philharmonic Choir in Kitchener Waterloo. Will be premiered in March 2025. The text is in Swampy Cree and English, and explores four of the 13 Indigenous moons as experienced by some Swampy Cree communities in Manitoba.

2024

• The Great Flood - There are TWO versions of the piece. The original is for Wind Ensemble and SATB Choir, the second versions is for Chamber Ensemble and SATB soloists. Original version was premiered in September 2024, the chamber ensemble version is to be premiered in January 2025. Commissioned by the University of Manitoba Desautels Facutly of Music.

2023

• Enbroidered with Jagged Patterns - for violin, cello, and piano. Commissioned by the Women’s Musical Club, Winnipeg. Karen used a line for Joyce’s poem for the title of this piece, otherwise there is no text in this piece.

• pisimwak-Moons: Eagle Moon, Goose Moon, Frog Moon - for SSA children’s choir. Commissioned by Classical Movements. Premiered by the Medicine Hat Girls’ choir. The text is in Swampy Cree and English, and explores three of the 13 Indigenous moons as experienced by some Swampy Cree communities in Manitoba.

• Jack the Fiddler - for violin, piano and narrator. Commissioned by Elation Pauls with the support of SOCAN, WAC, MAC, and private donations. Premiered by Elation Pauls (violin), Will Bonness (piano), and Karen Sunabacka (narrator). This piece explores the life of Joyce’s Father (Karen’s grandfather), Jack and the ways the fiddle helped him survive a difficult childhood, WW2 and illness. And the ways the Métis community supported him through his life.

• Lives Entwined - for SATB choir. Commissioned by Ensemble Art Choral. Recorded for an album, but has not yet been premiered. Text explores the relationship between Joyce and her sister Beverley.

2021

• …our inner lives were entwined…embroidered with the same pattern - for solo piano. Commissioned by Naomi Woo and Virtuosi Concerts. Premiered ONLINE by Naomi Woo in March 2021. Karen used text by Joyce as the pieces’ titled.

2019

• I Wasn’t Meant for This - for viola d’amore, percussion and spoken voice (viola d’amore player speaks the text!) Commissioned by Park Sounds and premiered in October 2019

2015

• Mama’s Painting: Louis Riel’s Dream - for piano quintet (2 vlns, vla, vc, pno) and Narrator. Commissioned by the Agassiz Chamber Music Festival. Premiere in June 2015. The text is taken from a collection of poems/prose that Joyce wrote in the late 1980’s. Karen chose 5 poems from that collection and used that as the narrator part, that begins each of the 5 movements. This was the first collaboration between Karen and Joyce.