Chicago Opera Theater Vanguard Emerging Opera Composer Program
PORTFOLIO
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This portfolio is intended to offer as much variety as possible. If I were to prioritize it further, I would suggest the Audubon excerpts and Most Sacred Body excerpts, as they seem the most appropriate, but please feel free to click around to get at least a brief sample. All excerpts are appropriate insofar as they show singers and instruments in a dramatic context.
Antigone: oratorio for nine female singers (Lorelei Ensemble) and four cellos – 2017
Act III: Lorelei Ensemble; Beth Willer, conductor
This work interpolated scenes from Antigone with writings of Sophie Scholl and the White Rose resistance movement during WWII. In this act, Antigone bravely meets her fate. The next "chorus" (in the Greek drama sense) is from a pamphlet distributed by the student-led White Rose movement in Munich. The final scene juxtaposes Scholl's recounting of a dream she had of her brother with the motet "Ecce quomodo moritur" (Behold the righteous die and no one perceives it... and their memory shall be in peace.). Both Scholl and her brother were executed for treason on February 22, 1943.
Act III: Lorelei Ensemble; Beth Willer, conductor
This work interpolated scenes from Antigone with writings of Sophie Scholl and the White Rose resistance movement during WWII. In this act, Antigone bravely meets her fate. The next "chorus" (in the Greek drama sense) is from a pamphlet distributed by the student-led White Rose movement in Munich. The final scene juxtaposes Scholl's recounting of a dream she had of her brother with the motet "Ecce quomodo moritur" (Behold the righteous die and no one perceives it... and their memory shall be in peace.). Both Scholl and her brother were executed for treason on February 22, 1943.
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Audubon: multimedia oratorio for chorus, orchestra, and baritone – 2018
Excerpt 1
Finale "The Silver Band": Chorus pro Musica; Sumner Thompson, baritone; Jamie Kirsch, conductor; Kathy Wittman, videographer
The second act of Audubon finds him entertaining a wealthy British household in his rather ridiculous "American Woodsman" persona he adopts to sell subscriptions for his "Birds of America" in Europe. In the final movement Audubon returns to the letter from his wife Lucy he received at the top of the act. Reading it, he knows he must return home to his family after his three years of separation or face permanent estrangement. He sings of "the silver band" that he, over a decade ago, placed on the legs of a pair of Phoebes– which marked the first bird he truly studied, perhaps the first instance of bird banding in history, and the beginning of his courtship of Lucy. He is reminded of the silver bands that "mark us and guide us and lead us home." The libretto for Audubon is adapted from Audubon's own writings in journals and books.
Excerpt 2
"The Eccentric Naturalist": Chorus pro Musica; Sumner Thompson, baritone; Jamie Kirsch, conductor; Kathy Wittman, videographer
Also from the second act (see above), this aria relates a story from Audubon's journals and writings. The French naturalist Constantine Rafinesque was duped into accepting Audubon's phony drawings and descriptions of American wildlife, which Rafinesque published as fact upon his return to France. The libretto for Audubon is adapted from Audubon's own writings in journals and books.
Excerpt 3
"The Wood Thrush": Chorus pro Musica; Sumner Thompson, baritone; Jamie Kirsch, conductor; Kathy Wittman, videographer
The first act of Audubon finds him lamenting his recent bankruptcy before boarding a skiff on the Mississippi river. With only "the shirt on his back, his drawings of birds, and his gun" left, he resolves to leave his family behind and float down to Louisiana where he can more easily pursue his study of birds. He sings of the the Wood Thrush, the "harbinger of day." The libretto for Audubon is adapted from Audubon's own writings in journals and books.
Excerpt 1
Finale "The Silver Band": Chorus pro Musica; Sumner Thompson, baritone; Jamie Kirsch, conductor; Kathy Wittman, videographer
The second act of Audubon finds him entertaining a wealthy British household in his rather ridiculous "American Woodsman" persona he adopts to sell subscriptions for his "Birds of America" in Europe. In the final movement Audubon returns to the letter from his wife Lucy he received at the top of the act. Reading it, he knows he must return home to his family after his three years of separation or face permanent estrangement. He sings of "the silver band" that he, over a decade ago, placed on the legs of a pair of Phoebes– which marked the first bird he truly studied, perhaps the first instance of bird banding in history, and the beginning of his courtship of Lucy. He is reminded of the silver bands that "mark us and guide us and lead us home." The libretto for Audubon is adapted from Audubon's own writings in journals and books.
Excerpt 2
"The Eccentric Naturalist": Chorus pro Musica; Sumner Thompson, baritone; Jamie Kirsch, conductor; Kathy Wittman, videographer
Also from the second act (see above), this aria relates a story from Audubon's journals and writings. The French naturalist Constantine Rafinesque was duped into accepting Audubon's phony drawings and descriptions of American wildlife, which Rafinesque published as fact upon his return to France. The libretto for Audubon is adapted from Audubon's own writings in journals and books.
Excerpt 3
"The Wood Thrush": Chorus pro Musica; Sumner Thompson, baritone; Jamie Kirsch, conductor; Kathy Wittman, videographer
The first act of Audubon finds him lamenting his recent bankruptcy before boarding a skiff on the Mississippi river. With only "the shirt on his back, his drawings of birds, and his gun" left, he resolves to leave his family behind and float down to Louisiana where he can more easily pursue his study of birds. He sings of the the Wood Thrush, the "harbinger of day." The libretto for Audubon is adapted from Audubon's own writings in journals and books.
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Audubon, No. 13, The Silver Band
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Audubon, No. 11, The Eccentric Naturalist
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Audubon, No. 3, The Wood Thrush
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Most Sacred Body: oratorio for SATB soloists, choir, and string orchestra – 2016
Excerpt 1: Marsh Chapel Choir and Collegium; Scott Allen Jarrett, conductor; Jacquelyn Stucker, soprano
Part II "The Knees", no. 6 "Salve Jesu"
Most Sacred Body is an oratorio after Buxtehude's Membra Jesu Nostri with interpolations of Milton's Paradise Lost. This text is from the Buxtehude–an aria for soprano.
Excerpt 2: Marsh Chapel Choir and Collegium; Scott Allen Jarrett, conductor; Jacquelyn Stucker, soprano; Doug Dodson, countertenor; Ethan DePuy, tenor; David Tinervia, baritone
Part III "The Hands", no. 8 "From Paradise Lost: Adam beholds human warfare. Adam's Lament."
Most Sacred Body is an oratorio after Buxtehude's Membra Jesu Nostri with interpolations of Milton's Paradise Lost. In this text from Paradise Lost the angel takes Adam to a mountain so he can behold the future fate of humankind. Upon seeing this, Adam laments.
Excerpt 1: Marsh Chapel Choir and Collegium; Scott Allen Jarrett, conductor; Jacquelyn Stucker, soprano
Part II "The Knees", no. 6 "Salve Jesu"
Most Sacred Body is an oratorio after Buxtehude's Membra Jesu Nostri with interpolations of Milton's Paradise Lost. This text is from the Buxtehude–an aria for soprano.
Excerpt 2: Marsh Chapel Choir and Collegium; Scott Allen Jarrett, conductor; Jacquelyn Stucker, soprano; Doug Dodson, countertenor; Ethan DePuy, tenor; David Tinervia, baritone
Part III "The Hands", no. 8 "From Paradise Lost: Adam beholds human warfare. Adam's Lament."
Most Sacred Body is an oratorio after Buxtehude's Membra Jesu Nostri with interpolations of Milton's Paradise Lost. In this text from Paradise Lost the angel takes Adam to a mountain so he can behold the future fate of humankind. Upon seeing this, Adam laments.
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St. John Passion: for eight or more singers, string quartet, and tingsha bells – 2015
No. 8 From Macbeth (Shakespeare): Act I, Scene 5: Rockefeller Decani and String Quartet; Clara Osowski, mezzo soprano
My Passion interpolates the traditional divisions of the English text from the bible with classic secular texts on the nature of evil. This is Lady Macbeth's famous speech from Act I.
No. 8 From Macbeth (Shakespeare): Act I, Scene 5: Rockefeller Decani and String Quartet; Clara Osowski, mezzo soprano
My Passion interpolates the traditional divisions of the English text from the bible with classic secular texts on the nature of evil. This is Lady Macbeth's famous speech from Act I.
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Easter Oratorio: for chorus, orchestra (Baroque or modern), and SATB soloists – 2017
Excerpt 1
No. 3 Duet: Es war ein wunderlicher Krieg: Seraphic Fire; Sarah Moyer, soprano; Clara Osowski, mezzo soprano; Patrick Dupré Quigley, conductor
My Easter Oratorio interpolates words from Bach's Christ lag in Todesbanden with scenes from Goethe's Faust. This duet is from the chorale text.
Excerpt 2
No. 4 Finale – Die Tod niemand zwingen kunnt _ From Faust _ Christus resurrexit: Faust, in despair, hears the first music of Easter morning.
Seraphic Fire; James Bass, baritone; Patrick Dupré Quigley, conductor
In this scene the Bach chorale text is overlaid against Faust's contemplation of suicide. Faust sees the shimmering cup and almost drinks the poison, but is stopped by the sounds of Easter morning. The chorus then sings joyfully of the resurrection while Faust, only superficially taken away from his angst, puts down the cup and exits to begin his dark journey as the rest of the world sings "hallelujah." Faust is followed out by a person in a red cloak.
Excerpt 1
No. 3 Duet: Es war ein wunderlicher Krieg: Seraphic Fire; Sarah Moyer, soprano; Clara Osowski, mezzo soprano; Patrick Dupré Quigley, conductor
My Easter Oratorio interpolates words from Bach's Christ lag in Todesbanden with scenes from Goethe's Faust. This duet is from the chorale text.
Excerpt 2
No. 4 Finale – Die Tod niemand zwingen kunnt _ From Faust _ Christus resurrexit: Faust, in despair, hears the first music of Easter morning.
Seraphic Fire; James Bass, baritone; Patrick Dupré Quigley, conductor
In this scene the Bach chorale text is overlaid against Faust's contemplation of suicide. Faust sees the shimmering cup and almost drinks the poison, but is stopped by the sounds of Easter morning. The chorus then sings joyfully of the resurrection while Faust, only superficially taken away from his angst, puts down the cup and exits to begin his dark journey as the rest of the world sings "hallelujah." Faust is followed out by a person in a red cloak.
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