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INSTRUMENTS/VOICES: 2 flutes (flute + flute/piccolo), 2 oboes (oboe + oboe/English horn), 2 clarinets (clarinet + bass clarinet), 2 bassoons (bassoon + bassoon/contrabassoon), 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones (2 tenor + 1 bass), tuba, timpani, percussion (snare drum, triangle, gong), piano, celesta, harp, and string orchestra (violin I, violin II, viola, cello, double bass).
DESCRIPTION: “Oh, the OF It All!” is a new, as-yet-unpremiered “mini” orchestral ballet work by composer Mary Bichner and librettist John J King, celebrating American illustrator Edward Gorey’s fondness for the New York City Ballet and its legendary choreographer, George Balanchine.
PREMIERE: TBA
PERFORMED BY: The Budapest Scoring Orchestra
INSTRUMENTS/VOICES: The Stepmother (alto/mezzo soloist), 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 3 French horns, 2 trombones (1 bass trombone), harp, celesta, timpani, and string orchestra (violin I, violin II, viola, cello, double bass)
DESCRIPTION: Aria from the forthcoming one-act opera “The Almond Tree”, based on the Grimm’s fairytale of the same name, by composer Mary Bichner and librettist Maureen Fitzgerald. Married to a man still grieving his first wife, the Stepmother dreads the thought of her daughter, Marjorie, growing up without the security of an inheritance. In “You Will Have the Moon”, the Stepmother promises Marjorie that no matter the sacrifice, she will find a way to provide for her.
PREMIERE: TBA
PERFORMED BY: Xiao’an Li (conductor), Mali Sastri (The Stepmother), and the East Coast Scoring Orchestra
INSTRUMENTS/VOICES: viola soloist, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and double-viola string orchestra (violin, viola I, viola II, cello, double bass)
DESCRIPTION: Viola concerto inspired by Mount Auburn Cemetery’s Auburn Lake during a rainy September afternoon. The key of Gm was selected to match the many shades of green found near the lake, as well as the many dried, rust-colored leaves that appeared over summer and early fall of 2016, due to the drought. Commissioned by the Friends of Mount Auburn as part of Mary’s two-year composer residency at Mount Auburn Cemetery.
PREMIERE: June 3rd, 2017 at Mount Auburn Cemetery [Cambridge, MA, USA]
PERFORMED BY: Kristo Kondakçi (conductor), Christopher McClain (viola soloist), Katharina Giegling (concertmaster), Sonia Deng (violin), Abby Swidler (viola I), Minjung Chun (viola I), Carrol Lee (viola II), Foxman James (viola II), Aron Zelkowicz (cello), Nash Tomey (contrabass), Arielle Burke (flute), Elizabeth England (oboe), David Angelo (clarinet), and Susannah Telsey (bassoon)
INSTRUMENTS/VOICES: piano soloist, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and double-viola string orchestra (violin, viola I, viola II, cello, double bass)
DESCRIPTION: Inspired by Mount Auburn Cemetery in the first days of spring. The key of C Major was selected to represent the colors of early spring (daffodils, sunny skies, newly-grown grass and plants, etc.). Commissioned by the Friends of Mount Auburn as part of Mary’s two-year composer residency at Mount Auburn Cemetery.
PREMIERE: June 3rd, 2017 at Mount Auburn Cemetery [Cambridge, MA, USA]
PERFORMED BY: Kristo Kondakçi (conductor), Paul Jacobs (piano soloist), Katharina Giegling (concertmaster), Sonia Deng (violin), Abby Swidler (violin), Christopher McClain (viola I principal), Minjung Chun (viola I), Carrol Lee (viola II principal), Foxman James (viola II), Aron Zelkowicz (cello principal), Nash Tomey (contrabass principal), Arielle Burke (flute), Elizabeth England (oboe), David Angelo (clarinet), and Susannah Telsey (bassoon)
INSTRUMENTS/VOICES: soprano soloist, alto soloist, mezzo soloist, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and double-viola string orchestra (violin, viola I, viola II, cello, double bass)
DESCRIPTION: Musical setting of the Frances Sargent Osgood poem, “Garden Gossip”. The key of D major was selected to match the colors found near Mount Auburn Cemetery’s Consecration Dell in the spring. Commissioned by the Friends of Mount Auburn as part of Mary’s two-year composer residency at Mount Auburn Cemetery.
PREMIERE: June 3rd, 2017 at Mount Auburn Cemetery [Cambridge, MA, USA]
PERFORMED BY: Kristo Kondakçi (conductor), Evangelia Leontis (soprano soloist), Mali Sastri (mezzo soloist), Mary Bichner (alto soloist), Katharina Giegling (concertmaster), Sonia Deng (violin), Abby Swidler (violin), Christopher McClain (viola I principal), Minjung Chun (viola I), Carrol Lee (viola II principal), Foxman James (viola II), Aron Zelkowicz (cello principal), and Nash Tomey (contrabass principal)
INSTRUMENTS/VOICES: alto soloist and double-viola string orchestra (violin, viola I, viola II, cello, double bass)
DESCRIPTION: Inspired by a bright autumn day in Mount Auburn Cemetery, in which sudden and frequent gusts of wind carried swirls of colorful leaves across the landscape. Commissioned by the Friends of Mount Auburn as part of Mary’s two-year composer residency at Mount Auburn Cemetery.
PREMIERE: November 4th, 2017 at Mount Auburn Cemetery [Cambridge, MA, USA]
PERFORMED BY: Kristo Kondakçi (conductor), Katharina Giegling (concertmaster), Sonia Deng (violin), Abby Swidler (violin), Christopher McClain (viola I principal), Minjung Chun (viola I), Carrol Lee (viola II principal), Foxman James (viola II), Aron Zelkowicz (cello principal), Nash Tomey (contrabass principal), Arielle Burke (flute), Elizabeth England (oboe), David Angelo (clarinet), and Susannah Telsey (bassoon)
INSTRUMENTS/VOICES: alto soloist, and double-viola string orchestra (violin, viola I, viola II, cello, double bass)
DESCRIPTION: Musical setting of the untitled Emily Dickinson poem referred to as “996” in “The Poems of Emily Dickinson” [Belknap Harvard]. Inspired by watching a beautiful orange sunset over orange-leafed trees while atop Mount Auburn’s Washington Tower. Commissioned by the Friends of Mount Auburn as part of Mary’s two-year composer residency at Mount Auburn Cemetery.
PREMIERE: November 4th, 2017 at Mount Auburn Cemetery [Cambridge, MA, USA]
PERFORMED BY: Kristo Kondakçi (conductor), Mary Bichner (alto soloist), Katharina Giegling (concertmaster), Sonia Deng (violin), Abby Swidler (violin), Christopher McClain (viola I principal), Minjung Chun (viola I), Carrol Lee (viola II principal), Foxman James (viola II), Aron Zelkowicz (cello principal), and Nash Tomey (contrabass principal)
INSTRUMENTS/VOICES: SATB choir, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and double-viola string orchestra (violin, viola I, viola II, cello, double bass)
DESCRIPTION: Musical setting of excerpts from the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem “Footsteps of Angels”. The key of Eb was selected to invoke a serene evening in autumn, with green grass and orange leaves nestled beneath a clear evening sky. Commissioned by the Friends of Mount Auburn as part of Mary’s two-year composer residency at Mount Auburn Cemetery.
PREMIERE: November 4th, 2017 at Mount Auburn Cemetery
PERFORMED BY: Kristo Kondakçi (conductor), Evanangelia Leontis (soprano), Mary Bichner (alto), Mali Sastri (tenor), Seth Grondin (bass [vocals]), Katharina Giegling (concertmaster), Sonia Deng (violin), Abby Swidler (violin), Christopher McClain (viola I principal, viola soloist), Minjung Chun (viola I), Carrol Lee (viola II principal), Foxman James (viola II), Aron Zelkowicz (cello principal), Nash Tomey (contrabass principal), Arielle Burke (flute), Elizabeth England (oboe), David Angelo (clarinet), and Susannah Telsey (bassoon)
INSTRUMENTS/VOICES: alto soloist, and double-viola string orchestra (violin, viola I, viola II, cello, double bass)
DESCRIPTION: Musical setting of the James Russell Lowell poem, “Love-Song”. The key of B minor was selected to match the colors of the flowers that bloom near Lowell’s gravesite in the spring. Commissioned by the Friends of Mount Auburn as part of Mary’s two-year composer residency at Mount Auburn Cemetery.
PREMIERE: June 3rd, 2017 at Mount Auburn Cemetery [Cambridge, MA, USA]
PERFORMED BY: Kristo Kondakçi (conductor), Mary Bichner (alto soloist), Katharina Giegling (concertmaster), Sonia Deng (violin), Abby Swidler (violin), Christopher McClain (viola I principal), Minjung Chun (viola I), Carrol Lee (viola II principal), Foxman James (viola II), Aron Zelkowicz (cello principal), and Nash Tomey (contrabass principal)