Composer’s Note:

Dakota January is based on a poem of the same name by Denise Lajimodiere. Within the poem, Lajimodiere describes some the many sights and sounds that occur in the depths of winter in North Dakota: from the most still, delicate, serene landscapes of a moon over freshly fallen snow, to hostile, brutal winds that punish any skin that is left exposed.

This composition aims to musically capture some of these images. The end of the poem was the most intriguing in the formation of the piece where Lajimodiere describes the north winds roaring and being warmed by the breath of a circle of ghost buffalo.