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Heggie’s 23/24 Season is Packed with Premieres

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Dead Man Walking Opens Metropolitan Opera Season

Simulcast Worldwide to Cinemas Live in HD

September 26 – October 21, 2023

World Premiere Intelligence Opens Houston Grand Opera Season

October 20 – November 3, 2023

World Premiere & Global Tour of Joshua Bell Commission The Elements

Hamburg, Hong Kong, New York in September 2023
Chicago, Seattle in June 2024

World Premiere & U.S. Tour of Before It All Goes Dark

Music of Remembrance in Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago in May 2024

DEAD MAN WALKING

Recognized by the Wall Street Journal as “arguably the world’s most popular 21st-century opera and art song composer,” Jake Heggie is set to deliver a 2023/24 season filled with high-profile premieres and top-tier artistic collaborations. From a pair of opening night galas at the Metropolitan Opera and Houston Grand Opera to orchestral premieres with superstar violinist Joshua Bell in Hamburg, Hong Kong, and New York, Heggie’s works will offer audiences a wide range of perspectives and possibilities.

INTELLIGENCE

Created with director/choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and librettist Gene Scheer, Intelligence is based on the little-known true story of two women who infiltrated the Confederate White House during the American Civil War. The work receives its world premiere on opening night of Houston Grand Opera’s 23/24 season, conducted by Kwamé Ryan and starring Jamie Barton, Janai Brugger, and J’Nai Bridges. Brooklyn-based dance troupe Urban Bush Women infuses African ancestral dance, an art form rarely experienced in grand opera, in five performances through November 3, 2023.

THE ELEMENTS

Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell commissioned five renowned American composers – Jake Heggie, Jennifer Higdon, Edgar Meyer, Jessie Montgomery,and Kevin Puts – to dedicate themselves to the five Elements that form the basis of Aristotle’s Greek philosophy and traditional Chinese medicine: Fire, Air, Water, Ether, and Earth, respectively. Each composer has contributed one movement to this suite, which will tour major orchestras around the globe. The Elements receives its world premiere with Alan Gilbert conducting the opening night of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra season in Hamburg on September 1-2, 2023; the Asian premiere takes place September 8-9, 2023, with opening night of the Hong Kong Philharmonic season conducted by Jaap van Zweden; and the U.S. premiere will be given by the New York Philharmonic, also led by van Zweden. Subsequent performances include the Midwest premiere with Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Juraj Valčuha, June 13-15, 2024, and the West Coast premiere with Seattle Symphony, led by Marin Alsop on June 20 and 22, 2024.

BEFORE IT ALL GOES DARK

Based on a compelling true story first reported by Howard Reich in the Chicago Tribune, this one-act opera follows Mac, a disabled Vietnam veteran who learns that he is the heir to a priceless art collection, stolen by the Nazis from an ancestor he didn’t know he had. Before It All Goes Dark is Music of Remembrance’s fifth commission of Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer. The duo’s artistic partnership with MOR began in 2007 with For a Look or a Touch, believed to be the first major musical work to explore the Third Reich’s persecution of gay people. Before It All Goes Dark receives its world premiere at Seattle’s Benaroya Hall on May 19, 2024, starring bass-baritone Ryan McKinny and mezzo Megan Marino, with members of the Seattle Symphony under the baton of Joseph Mechavich. The Erich Parce production travels to San Francisco’s Presidio Theatre on May 22, 2024, and concludes with two performances at Chicago’s Studebaker Theater, presented in collaboration with Chicago Opera Theater May 25-26, 2024.

“I’m overjoyed – and a bit overwhelmed – by the extraordinary convergence of so many special projects this season,” said composer Jake Heggie. “These works feature some of my favorite colleagues, as well as remarkable new collaborators. I’m especially moved that my first opera, Dead Man Walking, will open the Metropolitan Opera season, while my most recent opera, Intelligence, will open the Houston Grand Opera season. It’s genuinely beyond what I could’ve imagined, and I’m so grateful to be able to share these important stories with audiences around the world.”

“My Life Online” debuts at Edinburgh Fringe

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Scott Eyerly’s tour-de-force one-woman show was featured at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. A unique comedic musical/opera starring Sarah Minns, directed by Oliver Platt, with Lana Bode piano, My Life Online tells the story of Kay, who hasn’t left her apartment for a year. She sees her shrink on Skype, does the cardio carioca workout virtually, and orders everything online. Yet she was once a dynamic immigration lawyer. What happened? Is it agoraphobia? Or something else? This all-sung, one-woman comedy reveals why Kay’s shut herself in… and what it’ll take to get her out.

The reviews are stellar:

The Scotsman “Smart, witty one-woman contemporary opera!”

The Telegraph on Sarah Minns: “It’s hard to imagine anyone doing it better!”

EdinburghFringeGuide

The Edinburgh Reporter

Rating: 3 out of 5.

You can purchase the score here.

Peter Boyer commissioned to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III

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Peter Boyer has been commissioned to compose a new work to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III. The commission is from ORA Singers and their Artistic Director and founder, Suzi Digby OBE. The premiere will be part of a Coronation Celebration at St. Paul’s Church, Covent Garden (“The Actors’ Church”), London, on May 3, 2023, three days before the Coronation.

Boyer’s new work, titled Today We Ask, sets text written specially for the occasion by Welsh poet Grahame Davies, known for his collaborations with composers such as Karl Jenkins and Paul Mealor. In addition to ORA Singers, Boyer’s new work calls for brass quintet and timpani.

The concert will feature music from Coronations and Royal occasions through four centuries, including works by Byrd, Purcell, Handel, and Vaughan Williams, and such contemporary masters as John Rutter, Judith Weir, James MacMillan, and Bob Chilcott. ORA Singers will be joined by the renowned actor Simon Callow CBE (Amadeus, Shakespeare in Love), reading first-hand accounts of Coronations across the centuries.

More information is available from St. Paul’s, Covent Garden and ORA Singers.

2023 Grammy Nominations

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We are delighted to announce Carlos Simon and Kevin Puts have been honored with 3 Grammy nominations for their recent work.

Best Classical Instrumental Solo

Puts Contact (Time for Three, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Letters for the Future)

Best Contemporary Classical Composition–WINNER

Puts Contact (Time for Three, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Letters for the Future)

Simon/Pave Requiem for the Enslaved (Hub New Music)

Order the CD here.

The Grammy Awards will take place on Feb. 5 in Los Angeles.

New Boyer CD instantly hits the top of the charts

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Naxos Releases Recording of Composer Peter Boyer with the London Symphony Orchestra

Boyer’s fourth album features Balance of Power, commissioned by the Kennedy Center; Fanfare for Tomorrow, commissioned for President Biden’s inauguration; and other premiere recordings, conducted by the composer.

On July 8, 2022, Naxos releases American composer/conductor Peter Boyer’s newest recording, with the London Symphony Orchestra under his direction. The album includes eight of Boyer’s works, with six world premiere recordings.

The centerpiece of the album is Balance of Power, a three-movement, 19-minute work commissioned by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in honor of the 95th birthday of Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State. The National Symphony Orchestra premiered Balance of Power at the Kennedy Center in September 2021. The recording also features Fanfare for Tomorrow, commissioned and premiered by the U.S. Marine Band at the inauguration of President Joseph Biden, in a new orchestral version.

The album includes two works originally commissioned and recorded by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as the Cincinnati Pops: Rolling River (Sketches on “Shenandoah”), a setting of the American folk tune, and In the Cause of the Free, on the theme of Veterans Day. Additional works include Curtain Raiser, an exuberant opener; Elegy for English horn, harp and strings; Fanfare, Hymn and Finale, originally commissioned for the 220th anniversary of the U.S. Marine Band; and Radiance, a string orchestra work composed especially for this recording.

“It was truly a thrill to record this new album of my music with the London Symphony Orchestra, one of the world’s greatest orchestras,” said Boyer. “Speaking as both a composer and conductor, one could not ask for a finer or more versatile ensemble. The glorious sound of the LSO has been part of my life since I was young, both through their work on iconic film scores including Star Wars and so many others, and through their incredible legacy of recordings.”

This is Boyer’s third album in the Naxos American Classics Series, following his GRAMMY-nominated Ellis Island: The Dream of America with the Philharmonia Orchestra, and his Symphony No. 1 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Boyer stated: “I’m delighted to have my work included again in a series which features many of the greatest American composers—from Copland, Gershwin, Barber, Bernstein, Ellington, and Ives to contemporary giants such as Adams and Corigliano. It’s certainly meaningful to be in such musical company.”

Recorded at London’s Henry Wood Hall with more than 90 musicians, the album was produced by Simon Rhodes, Senior Engineer at Abbey Road Studios and four-time GRAMMY winner, whose credits include some 200 film scores for composers including John Williams, James Horner, and Thomas Newman.

Boyer’s debut recording as composer/conductor was with the LSO at Abbey Road Studios in 2001, for The Music of Peter Boyer, originally released by Koch International Classics. After more than twenty years, tracks from that recording continue to be broadcast widely on American classical radio.

Photos by Benjamin Ealovega

Order the CD here.

Boyer’s ELLIS ISLAND 20th Anniversary

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20 years after its premiere performance, Peter Boyer’s Ellis Island: The Dream of America has established itself as an enduring tribute to the foundation of America and its multi-national roots. With text compiled by Boyer from the Ellis Island Oral History Project, Ellis Island is a 45 minute work for 7 actors and orchestra, with stunning visual projections that are used in conjunction with performances. The work has had over 250 performances by more than 100 orchestras throughout the country, has been recorded with the composer conducting, was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2006, and has featured some of our country’s greatest actors.

In 2017, the Pacific Symphony gave a unique performance, conducted by Carl St. Clair, that was broadcast on PBS’ Great Performances.

For further information about the work, please click here.

To request a rental quote, please click here.

To purchase a score, please click here.

Fuchs Receives Ellis-Beauregard Foundation Composer Award

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Ellis-Beauregard Foundation Announces Kenneth Fuchs As Recipient of 3rd Annual Composer Award

Rockland, ME – The Ellis-Beauregard Foundation is pleased to announce Kenneth Fuchs is the recipient of its 3rd annual $20,000 Composer Award.  With the Award, Fuchs will create a new work to be performed in 2023 by the Bangor Symphony Orchestra. Fuchs, a Grammy Award-winning composer and professor of composition at the University of Connecticut, was selected through a juried national competition and chosen from over 225 applicants.

Fuchs says, “The Ellis-Beauregard Foundation’s support for my music touches me deeply. I admire the Foundation’s mission of promoting community engagement and inclusivity through musical expression and look forward to creating a meaningful work that exemplifies these values in collaboration with my colleagues of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra.”

The jury was comprised of composers Augusta Read Thomas and Adam Schoenberg, and conductor Mei-Ann Chen. Reflecting on the jury’s decision, Thomas said, “Kenneth Fuchs has an exceptional ear for pitch, harmony, rhythm, and timbre which, allied to his vivid and flexible imagination, results in lyrical, elegant, compelling, and personal compositions.” Schoenberg echoed Thomas’s thoughts: “Kenneth is a gifted composer who writes deeply personal and expressive works. His level of craftsmanship, meticulously detailed scores, and gorgeous orchestrations made his music stand out.” Looking ahead to the premiere, Chen noted, “Captivating and engaging, Mr. Fuchs’ music will be an exciting culmination of the wonderful Ellis-Beauregard Foundation Composer Award and a highly anticipated spotlight in the Bangor Symphony’s next season!”

The Ellis-Beauregard Foundation Composer Award has seen nearly 900 submissions over the course of its first three application cycles. In October, the Bangor Symphony Orchestra premiered inaugural award recipient Reinaldo Moya’s Concerto for Piano, Strings, and Percussion with Joyce Yang as soloist. The Orchestra is slated to premiere Jessica Meyer’s The Air of New Places on March 6th, 2022; Meyer was the 2nd annual award recipient.

Composer Augusta Read Thomas went on to say, “The Ellis Beauregard Foundation Composer Award in partnership with the Bangor Symphony and Lucas Richman offers a tour-de-force musical opportunity that allows a fortunate composer and performing artists to do the important work of collaborating together to further music’s flexible, diverse capacity and innate power.”

The Foundation intends to announce details of the 2022 application cycle in May.

About Kenneth Fuchs

Kenneth Fuchs has recorded for Naxos five albums with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by JoAnn Falletta; the latest won the 2018 GRAMMY® Award for “Best Classical Compendium.” He has composed music for orchestra, band, voice, chorus, soloists, and various chamber ensembles. With Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lanford Wilson, Fuchs created three chamber musicals. The National September 11 Memorial & Museum presented Fuchs’s operatic monodrama Falling Man (text by Don DeLillo, adapted by J. D. McClatchy) in commemoration of the 15th anniversary of 9/11. His music has achieved significant global recognition through performances, media exposure, and digital streaming and downloading.

In August 2020, Naxos released Point of Tranquility (Seven Works for Symphonic Winds), recorded by the United States Coast Guard Band. Naxos also published an album of chamber music including Falling Canons, Falling Trio and String Quartet No. 5 “American.” Albany Records published String Quartets 2, 3, 4 in definitive performances by the American String Quartet.

Fuchs serves as Professor of Music Composition at the University of Connecticut. He is a graduate of the University of Miami and received master of music and doctor of musical arts degrees from The Juilliard School. His composition teachers include Milton Babbitt, David Diamond, and Vincent Persichetti. His music is published by Bill Holab Music, Hal Leonard LLC, Edward B. Marks Music Company, and Theodore Presser Company, and it has been recorded by Albany and Naxos Records.

About the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation

The Ellis-Beauregard Foundation provides resources for artists, engages with community and promotes the legacy of its founding artists, Joan Beauregard and John David Ellis. The vision of the Foundation is to encourage, expand and sustain the courageous and imaginative dialogue that is fundamental to the arts. The Ellis-Beauregard Foundation celebrates the value of art to transcend cultures and engage with diverse communities. Through its programs, the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation supports the exploration of the common ground that art occupies, the way it engages people, and its ability to reveal our shared human experience.

About the Bangor Symphony Orchestra

Founded in 1896, the Bangor Symphony Orchestra’s mission is to provide powerful, enriching and diverse musical experiences through live concert performances and education programs of the highest quality. Led by Grammy Award-winning Music Director and Conductor Lucas Richman, the BSO today performs a robust mainstage season and offers a variety of educational and community-focused programs, including the Bangor Symphony Youth Orchestras and a Music & Wellness Program. The BSO is a founding member of the Bangor Arts Exchange in downtown Bangor. Current concert and streaming details can be found at bangorsymphony.org.

New Bunch work about the Japanese Internment Camps

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America’s great reckonings continue. The late-blooming LGBTQ activist and Trekkie icon George Takei (a/k/a Ikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS Enterprise) bears witness to a legacy of national shame in Lost History: A Memory, drawn from his personal recollections as a Japanese-American “enemy alien” in World War II under Executive Order 9066. Though Takei’s family was held in Arkansas and California, the theme has local resonance: the Department of Justice ran a detention camp for designated Japanese-American “troublemakers” at Dalton Wells, 14 miles outside Moab. The narrative coexists with a commissioned score by Kenji Bunch, one of three Japanese-American composers on the program. The festival’s longstanding sales pitch “music in concert with the landscape” hereby takes on a whole new meaning. —M.G.

George Takei will narrate the work at its premiere performance at Moab. For further information, visit the Moab website.

The Takei family. Courtesy of Moab Music Festival.