DEREK M. JENKINS – COMPOSER​

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Consortium Leader: Dr. Jennifer Oliverio, Missouri Western State University

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Through the Apollo missions, 24 humans have visited the Moon. 12 walked on its surface. All were impacted by the experience. Some lavished in the fame, and others preferred anonymity or at least solitude. While a few of them continued on with careers at NASA, a good number retired to find new meaning elsewhere. As a way to rectify their incredible experience, a few turned to religion and mysticism. Others ventured into painting. One turned to poetry.

 

Alfred M. Worden flew on Apollo 15 as the Command Module Pilot. He was tasked with maintaining the command module and gathering scientific data, while his crew mates explored the lunar surface near Hadley Rille in 1971. On their return to Earth, Worden conducted the first deep space EVA as he moved down the side of the spacecraft to retrieve the data packages he collected from lunar orbit. While he never flew in space again, his journey left a lasting impression, and he ultimately found that writing poetry aided in telling his story and in processing the momentousness of Project Apollo.

 

Imagine Without Bound is a set of four of Worden's poems from his 1974 collection Hello Earth: Greetings from Endeavour. I was drawn to these four in particular for their narrative depiction of a lunar mission, but more importantly for his insistence that while humankind went to the Moon, the most notable accomplishment was the new perspective we gained of our home, Earth.

 

Read the four poems selected for this set here: Imagine Without Bound 

 

The consortium is in two tiers: General ($80) and Student ($60). There is also the option to be added to a group Zoom session (+$10) on Monday, November 3, 2025 at 8:00PM CST to meet with Derek and Jennifer as they discuss the development of the piece.

 

Included with either tier are the following:

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• Name included in list of consortium members in the cover pages of Imagine Without Bound

• Name included in list of consortium members on Derek's website

• Exclusive access to program the piece until November 1, 2026

• Digital copy of the score and flugelhorn part delivered November 3, 2025

 

If you are interested in joining this consortium, please fill out this form: 

 

Imagine Without Bound Consortium Form

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To join the consortium, make sure to have completed the above form and submit your payment before Monday, November 3, 2025.

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