Commissioned Music
Music using poems
from Otherwise
Composer: Kenneth Fuchs Poems of Life
for Countertenor, Violoncello, and Orchestra.
Conductor: JoAnn Fallette
Virginia Symphony Orchestra (VSO)
Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, countertenor
Michael Daniels, cello
VSO: Well known to Virginia Symphony Orchestra’s audiences, composer Kenneth Fuchs brings us a world premiere. This is a continuation of more than 30 years of collaboration between Kenneth Fuchs and Music Director JoAnn Falletta, which began in 1985 when they were students at Juilliard. Written specifically for VSO Principal Cello Michael Daniels and his brother David, this new work is based on the poems of Judith G. Wolf, a well-known artist and writer.
Premiere, April 7, 2017, Norfolk, Virginia
Music using poems
from Otherwise, Tid Bits
and Weeping Shadows
Composer: Clint Borzoni, Tid Bits
Musica Marin: Renowned Merola alumni baritone Mark Diamond, mezzo-soprano Laura Krumm, pianist Ronny Michael Greenberg, Musica Marin violist Ruth Ellen Kahn and cellist Jennifer Culp present the world premiere songs and song cycles of Musica Marin’s composer-in-residence Clint Borzoni and four living American poets: John Grimmett, Sally M. Gall, Gavin Geoffrey Dillard, and Judith G. Wolf. (13 of her poems are used.) In this song cycle, Borzoni encapsulates love, humor, mystery, passion, and coming of age through poetry.
Premiere, February 4, 2017, Belvedere, California
Music using poems
from Weeping Shadows
Composer: Mason Bates Afterlife
for Mezzo, Orchestra & Electronics
Conductor: Michael Christie
Phoenix Symphony
Jennifer Johnson Cano, mezzo-soprano
Mason Bates, electronics
Mason Bates, electronics
Premiere January 10 2013, Phoenix, Arizona
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Composer: Persis Vehar Life, Love, Timelessness
for tenor, clarinet, and piano (later rescored for soprano)
for the Professional Music Teachers of New Mexico
for the Professional Music Teachers of New Mexico
Premiere, November 2, 2012
Persis described it: “Life, Love, timelessness, a song cycle for tenor, clarinet and piano, consists of six musical settings of poems by Judith Wolf. The cycle is written in three groups of two songs each that are distinctly related. “The Meaning of Life — I” depicts dealy life and the anticipation of spending each night at “Marcella’s” for drinks and conversation. “The Meaning of Life — II” portrays an unsatisfactory love relationship, and “The Concert” draws an ironic conclusion. Loss and the timelessness of being are illustrated in “The Meaning of Life—III” and “Love One.’ The music and poetry are at times witty, sad, clever, beautiful and express everyday human experience.”