“More striking was…Daughter Ecstatic by Joshua Shank, based on the soprano aria ‘Rejoice greatly’ from Messiah. His contemporary harmonies brought Handel’s florid writing into the twenty-first century.”
-Minneapolis Star Tribune
“...Shank’s Flocking Music opened the program’s second half. Pensive and pastoral, the cinematic piece floated in the hall, ultimately casting a sweet spell over the audience.”
-Austin Chronicle
“…Magnificat for the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo emphasizes the political nature of the Magnificat… Shank takes his texts from various interviews, poetry and speeches written in response to or by victims of Argentina’s period of state terrorism lasting approximately from 1976 to 1983. The work is difficult to listen to for the right reasons—the incredibly difficult texts set to music that exposes the brutal reality behind the words.”
-Boston Musical Intelligencer
“Two Boys Kissing is a strong story, and Shank’s setting serves it well, employing musical motifs that correspond to each of the central characters and taking audiences into a sound world with elements of Philip Glass, the Upper Midwest Lutheran choral tradition and a bit of the folk-rock singer-songwriter set. [David] Levithan’s book has a lot to say about the struggles of gay teens as they come out, find love and move on from families that have rejected them. And Shank’s score gives voice to the wounds and the salve, the sorrow and sweetness.”
-St. Paul Pioneer Press
“…Shank’s Saro [is] a traditional song about being kept from one’s love. While the opening and closing verses were sung as a solo/duet with violin, the inner stanzas employed drones and canonic entrances to the point of melodic obfuscation, which very effectively set the tone of a distant memory. The return to clarity at the end made the story of estrangement all the more poignant.”
-Boston Classical Review
“…Shank’s winter…is evocative and atmospheric, the 28-year-old composer distilling a sustained mood most impressively…”
-Gramophone
“…peace [is a] powerful centerpiece…”
-Boston Globe
On To My Parents: “The anthem’s move from haunting dissonance to full-throated major tonality became a powerful evocation of forgiveness.”
-Minneapolis Star Tribune
Podcast appearances
Composer Happy Hour (2021)
No Baton Needed (2020)
Choralosophy (2019)
Choir Chat (2017 )