Dancing in the Palm of God’s Hand

Stacey Zisook Robinson

The five poems written for DANCING IN THE PALM OF GOD’S HAND were composed by Stacey Zisook Robinson. The poems come from a powerful collection of poetry that focuses on the author’s search for meaning and connection in a frenetic and ever-changing world. Robinson grapples with her faith, wrestles with God, and ultimately finds meaning — and even joy — in the midst of all the gray that life has to offer. Throughout the poems, the author shows us a vast and troubling wilderness — one of fear and doubt, loneliness, and despair — but she does not leave us there to wander. Rather, she uses her writing to shine a light on the dark and narrow path stretching out before us. “If we’re lucky,” she writes, “we realize, in our fear, there is hope. In our loneliness, we are surrounded by love. In our doubt, we dance — with infinite grace — in the palm of God’s hand.” Stacey died on March 8, 2021 from COVID-19.

Ricardo Castañeda

Ricardo Castañeda received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in music performance from Northwestern University where he was a winner of the Northwestern University Concerto Competition and recipient of the Wade Fetzer award for excellence in performance. He was a student of Ray Still, former principal oboist of The Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Jonathan Helton

Jonathan Helton is an active solo recitalist and chamber musician who has appeared in concerts worldwide, in Beijing, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo, Bangkok, Sydney, Melbourne, London, Paris, Bordeaux, Marseilles, Athens, Johannesburg, Bogota, Brasilia, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Montreal, Vancouver, Chicago, Washington DC, and New York. He has been featured on programs of the North American Saxophone Alliance, the Panama Cello Festival, the Mendoza International SaxFest, the World Saxophone Congress, the College Music Society, Wisconsin Composers’ Alliance, Chicago Consortium of Composers, and the New Music Chicago Festival. His performances have been heard on North Carolina Public Radio, on WFMT in Chicago, and in national and international radio syndication. He is featured on compact discs from Centaur, Navona, Elf, Innova, Windlass, Mark Records, and Music from Northwestern. From 1992 to 1999, Helton served on the faculty at Northwestern University. He is currently Professor of Saxophone at the University of Florida School of Music. Helton is a Selmer Artist/Clinician, and a former President of the North American Saxophone Alliance.

Jillian Krempasky

Jillian Krempasky is a lyric mezzo-soprano based in Houston TX. She received her Master of Music degree in Voice Performance from Rice University, and her Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance from Westminster Choir College of Rider University.

As a classical soloist, Krempasky was a Houston District Competitor in the 2022 Laffont Competition. In 2020, she was a Semi-Finalist in the University Division of the American Prize’s Women in Art Song and Oratorio Competition. Her recent career highlights include the roles of Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni (Shepherd School Opera), Cendrillon in Massenet’s Cendrillon (Westminster Opera Theatre), Hansel in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel (Opera Steamboat OAI), and Dinah in Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti (Westminster Opera Theatre).

Last fall, Krempasky performed the mezzo-soprano solo in the Mozart Requiem as part of Tom Jaber’s annual 9/11 Memorial Concert at St. Anne’s Catholic Church and the First Presbyterian Church of Kingwood TX. In March, she performed in the U.S. premiere of Sam Wu’s Songs Across the Aeons.