Anúna

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Anúna is an Irish choral ensemble. Founded in 1987 by Michael McGlynn under the name An Uaithne, the group has recorded 17 albums, and achieved a high level of international success. Almost all of their repertoire is composed or arranged by McGlynn.

History

An Uaithne 1987 to 1991

McGlynn formed the choir An Uaithne in 1987, with their earliest concerts featuring medieval Irish and European music, contemporary choral pieces by Irish composers and Irish folk arrangements. He has stated "My interest in traditional song stemmed from my schooldays in Ring College in Dungarvan, and I also felt a need to explore and communicate my enthusiasm for medieval music, most particularly Irish medieval music, to the general public. The eclectic repertoire that characterises the music of Anúna was born in this way". McGlynn re-set and rearranged historical texts and reconstructions of medieval Irish music. These included the 12th century pieces "Dicant Nunc" and "Cormacus Scripsit", both of which come from Irish manuscripts and featured in the repertoire of An Uaithne. Other reconstructions including "Miserere Miseris" from the Dublin Troper and "Quem Queritis" from The Dublin Play continue to feature in the repertoire of Anúna. McGlynn has said "I think that one of the purposes of Anúna has been to open the door of obscurity to some of the many medieval pieces that we've recorded".

An Na

An Na (born 1972) is a South Korea-bornAmerican children's book author. Starting her career as a middle school English and History teacher, Na turned to writing novels after taking a young adult literature class while enrolled in an M.F.A. program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She gained success with her very first novel A Step From Heaven, published by Front Street Press in 2001, which won the annual Michael L. Printz Award from the American Library Association recognizing the year's "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit". It was also a finalist for the National Book Award, Young People's Literature, and later found its way onto numerous "best book" lists. Na still makes frequent visits to middle schools to talk about her works and encourages young Asian-American students to become artists and harness their creativity. She cites Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes and Sandra Cisneros's The House on Mango Street among the influences on her writing and also admires the work of Madeleine L'Engle and of her first writing teacher, Jacqueline Woodson. She divides her time between Oakland, California and Warren, Vermont.