Portsmouth Pro Musica will perform a commissioned work by Greg Brown that celebrates Priscilla French’s 40 years of choral conducting. Based on poetry by Mimi White, it is called “Where the Owl Lives.”

Details about the full program will be coming soon.

Portsmouth Pro Musica will perform a commissioned work by Greg Brown that celebrates Priscilla French’s 40 years of choral conducting. Based on poetry by Mimi White, it is called “Where the Owl Lives.”

Details about the full program will be coming soon.

​Nightingale Vocal Ensemble presents the New England premiere of Gregory Brown's 2017 cantata un/bodying/s in Boston and Amherst, MA on Oct 19/20, 2024. The piece, scored for 24 voices and set to text by local New England poet Todd Hearon, explores the history and future of the four 'drowned towns' that were 'disincorporated' to make way for the Quabbin Reservoir and provide water for Greater Boston. In providing water for our cities the difficult choices of the past ripple into the future as we confront our shared climate crisis. Also on the program will be Land-locked for double-choir, along with historic and modern works from the shape-note tradition. Project produced by Ben Perry and Greg Brown.

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/blue-sun-tickets-991484997317?aff=oddtdtcreator

​Nightingale Vocal Ensemble presents the New England premiere of Gregory Brown's 2017 cantata un/bodying/s in Boston and Amherst, MA on Oct 19/20, 2024. The piece, scored for 24 voices and set to text by local New England poet Todd Hearon, explores the history and future of the four 'drowned towns' that were 'disincorporated' to make way for the Quabbin Reservoir and provide water for Greater Boston. In providing water for our cities the difficult choices of the past ripple into the future as we confront our shared climate crisis. Also on the program will be Land-locked for double-choir, along with historic and modern works from the shape-note tradition. Project produced by Ben Perry and Greg Brown.

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/blue-sun-tickets-991483201947?aff=oddtdtcreator

Mezzo-soprano Megan Ihnen employs her formidable talents as a 21st-century vocalist to shine a light on a varied array of contemporary composers with CURRENTS IN TIME. This program showcases the profundity of the human voice in a prime selection of modern compositions from the 2022 Navona Records release, whose lyrical foundations are as diverse as the emotional states transported: from grief to joy, modesty to hubris, and self-doubt to unshakable faith and valor.

Baylor website: https://music.baylor.edu/event/2024/1534470

Mezzo-soprano Megan Ihnen employs her formidable talents as a 21st-century vocalist to shine a light on a varied array of contemporary composers with CURRENTS IN TIME. This program showcases the profundity of the human voice in a prime selection of modern compositions from the 2022 Navona Records release, whose lyrical foundations are as diverse as the emotional states transported: from grief to joy, modesty to hubris, and self-doubt to unshakable faith and valor.

UNT website: https://calendar.unt.edu/event/faculty-recital-darrel-hale-bassoon-megan-ihnen-voice?utm_campaign=widget&utm_medium=widget&utm_source=University+of+North+Texas

Feathers will be a part of this extraordinary event:

“Join us for a dynamic, participatory journey, co-presented by the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and Sound Mind Live.

Immerse yourself in a symphony of sound & excitement, where the convergence of community, immersive sound, music, and movement unite in electrifying harmony. In celebration of World Understanding & Peace Day, the Cathedral transforms into a haven for an exploration of music, sound, healing, and the celebration of deeper human connection.

The experience unfolds with a collective improvisational vibrant harmony that emerges as people come together in community. The Cathedral will come alive with a sonic dance between audience and musician - infusing the space with melodic magic that reflects the full range of human emotion and culminating in an ethereal sound bath. All of which will take place under Divine Pathways, Anne Patterson’s breathtaking textile installation.

Sound Mind Live is a nonprofit dedicated to fostering community, dialogue, and action on mental health through the power of music.

Crafted by visionary artist and composer Ricardo Romaneiro. Co-created and guided by the acclaimed Nick Demaris, also known as Human Instruments, as well as Bloom Sound Collective. Special closing communal sing by Gaia Music Collective led by Matt Goldstein and Kenter Davies.”

My new adaptation of the shape-note tune How Splendid Shines the Morning Star will be part of Voices of Concinitty’s upcoming “Candlelight: A Choral Tapestry to Illuminate the Season”.

“Music for Humanity Concerts presents Voices of Concinnity in concert, "Candlelight: A Choral Tapestry to Illuminate the Season." Celebrate the season with Concinnity’s candlelight holiday concert, full of luminous choral music, holiday favorites, and an audience sing-along. No Admission Charge – all donations support Hands on Hartford.”

Details on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/665943555673603?ref=newsfeed

The New Consort presents: Begotten, Not Made explores what the words and music of the Christian Mass have to say to the 21st century, and how future generations might respond to those ideas. The New Consort has paired movements from William Byrd’s landmark Masses (honoring the 400th anniversary of his passing) with settings of texts from other faith traditions and from scientists & philosophers, including works by Shireen Abu Khader, Salamone Rossi, David Shapiro, Judith Weir, and Gregory Brown. At the heart of this program is a world premiere by Hope Littwin, a current PhD student in composition at Princeton: Stations of the Credo, a staged work exploring a core belief held by each singer of the ensemble.

The New Consort presents: Begotten, Not Made explores what the words and music of the Christian Mass have to say to the 21st century, and how future generations might respond to those ideas. The New Consort has paired movements from William Byrd’s landmark Masses (honoring the 400th anniversary of his passing) with settings of texts from other faith traditions and from scientists & philosophers, including works by Shireen Abu Khader, Salamone Rossi, David Shapiro, Judith Weir, and Gregory Brown. At the heart of this program is a world premiere by Hope Littwin, a current PhD student in composition at Princeton: Stations of the Credo, a staged work exploring a core belief held by each singer of the ensemble.

The New Consort presents: Begotten, Not Made explores what the words and music of the Christian Mass have to say to the 21st century, and how future generations might respond to those ideas. The New Consort has paired movements from William Byrd’s landmark Masses (honoring the 400th anniversary of his passing) with settings of texts from other faith traditions and from scientists & philosophers, including works by Shireen Abu Khader, Salamone Rossi, David Shapiro, Judith Weir, and Gregory Brown. At the heart of this program is a world premiere by Hope Littwin, a current PhD student in composition at Princeton: Stations of the Credo, a staged work exploring a core belief held by each singer of the ensemble.

The Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra’s opening concert will bring Portsmouth’s 400th anniversary celebrations to a pinnacle with the world premiere of At This Point. This commemorative commissioned piece delves into the full range of Portsmouth’s history by exploring the streets and stories of our time, while also reaching back to what Portsmouth may have looked and felt like before it was Portsmouth, before it was the homelands of the Abenaki people, or before man walked on this earth. Composed by Gregory Brown with words by Todd Hearon, this extensive work will feature Portsmouth Pro Musica, a soprano soloist, and a narrator. The program will also feature the Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman by Joan Tower, a work that is dedicated to one of the most inspiring conductors of our age, Marin Alsop, who helped push boundaries for women in music. Also featured is William Grant Still’s Afro-American Symphony, a true piece of musical Americana deserving of a place among the great American symphonies.

Found in the Storm :: chamber music of Gregory W. Brown

Bowld Recital Hall at Phillips Exeter Academy

An afternoon of new music for piano, strings, and voice by composer Gregory W. Brown. Featuring world premieres of art songs with texts by poet Dorianne Laux, Exeter poet Todd Hearon, and a new String Quartet. The concert will feature performances by Calliope's Call artists Megan Roth and Evangelia Leontis, soprano Mary Hubbell, pianist Christina Wright-Ivanova, and the Apple Hill String Quartet.

Mary Hubbell and Alice Jones perform 20th and 21st century music for soprano and flute, including a world premiere by Gregory W. Brown

NB — this event is at a private residence

Fabric of Streams and Then will be performed by Voices Tallin at a plenary session of the College Music Society’s international conference in Tallin, Estonia, under the direction of American conductor David Puderbaugh.

Soprano Jamie-Rose Guarrine presents an eclectic program of 19th/20th/21st century music, including my soprano/cello duo — Moonlight is Very White.

Jamie-Rose Guarrine and Karl Knapp will present Moonlight is Very White as part of this year’s Five College Music Festival at UMass-Amherst. All concerts are in Bezanson Hall in the Fine Arts Center on the Amherst, MA, campus. Admission is free.

Art song and piano music, including a new song for Sop, Mezzo, and Piano 4-hand.

https://woods-hole.squarespace.com/events/celebrating-the-challenger-expedition

From their website: “The HMS Challenger expedition was a groundbreaking exploration of the world’s ocean and the first to systematically explore its deepest regions. It is recognized globally as the event that created oceanography as a discipline and gave a tremendous push to the advancement of marine biology. The expedition, funded by the Royal Society, left England on 21 December 1872 with both scientists and naval crew on board. It sailed the world for three and a half years, collecting data from remote places and conducting research on hundreds of samples and thousands of marine creatures retrieved from the deep ocean. The Challenger expedition resulted in an extraordinary and ambitious chronicling of its science research in the form of 50 volumes which include among the most extensive and important images of marine organisms ever created. They continue to provide research material and inspire artists and scientists alike. One hundred and fifty years hence, we have new extraordinary kinds of instrumentation and techniques for imaging marine organisms, including an array of specialized microscopes, sensors, and even artificial intelligence-driven image processing that enable remarkable new discoveries in the ocean. The proposed exhibit will highlight the extraordinary marine biological illustrations stemming from the Challenger expedition and provide opportunities for visitors to compare and contrast them to the cutting edge of biological visualization as practiced today at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, which is on the forefront of this method of inquiry.

Plus an exhibit of images featuring the drawings of master illustrator Ernst Haeckel and cutting-edge digital microscopy images from MBL scientists.”

The Morning Trumpet will be part of Tony Thornton’s farewell concert with Illuminati Vocal Arts Ensemble. All ticket information available on their site: http://illuminatiensemble.org

“The Boston Cecilia joins forces with Convivium Musicum (Latin for "musical banquet") in a wide-ranging program of ancient and modern a cappella music for forces large and small. Our concert will feature Land-Locked, a world-premiere piece for double chorus, composed especially for Cecilia and Convivium, by Gregory W. Brown, alongside polychoral works by Joby Talbot and Mikołaj Zieleński. In addition, each ensemble will perform its own set of musical selections.

The performance will be live-streamed for those unable to attend in person, but we certainly hope most of you will join us in person for this exciting evening of musical collaboration.”

http://www.bostoncecilia.org/spring-concert-2022

James Reese, tenor
Daniel Overly, piano

2019 Musical Fund Society Award Winner James Reese has been praised for the “intensity and sensitivity…spirituality and eloquence” (Chestnut Hill Local) of his singing. His PCMS recital debut program culminates in Hugo Wolf’s masterly Mörike-Lieder, a cycle that encompasses the full range of human experience and includes some of Wolf’s most popular and enduring songs.

Britten: On This Island, Op. 11
L. Boulanger: Clairières dans le ciel [Sel.]
Stephan: Ich will dir singen ein Hohelied
G. Brown: TBA  World Premiere
Wolf: Mörike-Lieder

https://www.pcmsconcerts.org/concerts/james-reese-tenor/

New art song as part of Lyric Fest. Details forthcoming.

From the Lyric Fest site:

“Appreciated for its direct expression and narrative quality, the folk song both honors world culture and speaks to our shared humanity. This concert looks to the long tradition of composers who have used the folk song as a touchstone for their creativity. Hear the new folk song-inspired works of Melissa Dunphy, Robert Maggio, Jennifer Higdon, Michael Djupstrom, Allen Krantz, Jeffrey Scott, Gregory Brown, Gilda Lyons, John Conahan, and Benjamin P. Wenzelberg. New songs sitting alongside extant folk song settings, all partnered with dramatic story-telling by Charlotte Blake Alston. With Cree Carrico, Devony Smith, Nicholas Davis, Steven Brennfleck, Laura Ward, piano, and instrumentalists from Orchestra 2001.”

https://lyricfest.org/concerts/the-song-catcher/

New art song as part of Lyric Fest. Details forthcoming.

From the Lyric Fest site:

“Appreciated for its direct expression and narrative quality, the folk song both honors world culture and speaks to our shared humanity. This concert looks to the long tradition of composers who have used the folk song as a touchstone for their creativity. Hear the new folk song-inspired works of Melissa Dunphy, Robert Maggio, Jennifer Higdon, Michael Djupstrom, Allen Krantz, Jeffrey Scott, Gregory Brown, Gilda Lyons, John Conahan, and Benjamin P. Wenzelberg. New songs sitting alongside extant folk song settings, all partnered with dramatic story-telling by Charlotte Blake Alston. With Cree Carrico, Devony Smith, Nicholas Davis, Steven Brennfleck, Laura Ward, piano, and instrumentalists from Orchestra 2001.”

https://lyricfest.org/concerts/the-song-catcher/

This upcoming season is still up in the air due to ongoing concerns about Covid-19.

With any luck, some of the following things will happen at some point in 2021-22…

• recording with a major orchestra

• recording of art song + bassoon with Megan Ihnen

• art song premiere at Lyric Fest

• rescheduled Sub Rosa with Skylark Ensemble (April 2022)

• release of Fall and Decline on digital and vinyl (late 2021)

• recording oboe solo work

• recording of new art song disc

• string quartet and art song premieres

• music for planetarium show

• & live events as we are able…

A brand new work (straight out of the pandemic…) for choir written for individual singers, recording separately, and compiled later.

Complete info from Skylark:

“It’s a Long Way explores our collective experience of living through the 19 months since our last Skylark concert. It has been a time of great disruption, of isolation, of fear, and of loss, but also a time for reflection, for hope, for growth, and for action. While not arranged in a strictly chronological sense, the album explores a range of emotions we have experienced in 2020 and 2021. In addition to pieces arranged for choir, more than half a dozen Skylark singers are featured as soloists on an album that was recorded in a range of formats and formations over four months. Several extensive pieces were recorded by 24 individual Skylarks in isolation (at home, or alone in a studio), reflecting the impossibility of assembling our full nationwide roster during a pandemic. Like many of our programs, this album includes a variety of musical styles. Sometimes the mood swings between pieces are wide and jarring. We think of each piece as a window into an experience that one or more of us had in the last 19 months. Interspersed through the program are three sections of the Nunc Dimittis by Arvo Pärt, a foreboding but beautiful piece that seems to capture the emotions I have had related to the pandemic. It’s a Long Way includes four world premiere recordings: three were commissions by Skylark for the year 2020, and one is a re-discovered gem composed by Georges Dupuy de Mèry in the fall of 1942, during another time of global fear and upheaval. The album joyously culminates in a large group performance of a stunning setting of Psalm 91, titled My Soul Hath Found Refuge in Thee by American composer Evelyn Simpson Curenton.”

New album release! Digital EP of Fall and Decline, a new work for six solo voices and electronics.

Variant 6

https://www.navonarecords.com/catalog/nv6359/