Catalog

Robert Ward's The Crucible was commissioned by the New York City Opera in 1961 and is based directly on the Arthur Miller play, with the libretto by Bernard Stambler. The play, written in 1953, was inspired by the McCarthy witch-hunt of the 50s. The opera won the Pulitzer Prize and a New York Music Critics Circle Citation. A recording of the opera was released in 1961 and this has been the only existing recording of the work until now. Ward himself expressed his desire to have a modern recording of the work to producer John Ostendorf. Purchase Opera, with its deep roster of fine young professional singers and its collaboration with the Purchase Symphony and conductor Hugh Murphy, proved the right fit for this new recording. Ward systematically employs idiosyncratic harmonic language and melodic motifs to create distinct musical landscapes for each of the opera's characters. These landscapes reveal much about each character, sometimes even more than their words do.

Saxophonist Adam Estes is on the faculty at the University of Mississippi, where he teaches saxophone and bassoon, coaches woodwind chamber ensembles, and teaches woodwinds methods courses. He is a founding member of the Assembly Quartet and maintains an active performance schedule as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician. His performing career has taken him to venues in Scotland, Ireland, Austria, Switzerland, France, and Belgium. His colleague, Stacy Rodgers is professor of music at the University of Mississippi where he is head of keyboard studies. Estes and Rodgers perform a program of contemporary works for saxophone and piano. The oldest work on the recording is Paul Creston's Sonata, written in 1939. Baljinder Sekhon's Sonata of Puzzles was commissioned by more than 50 saxophonists from 16 countries as part of the inaugural Global Premiere Consortium Commissioning Project and written in 2015. John Leszczynski's Almost Out of the Sky is also a commissioned work, which was written in 2011 at the behest of a consortium of 30 saxophonists. John Anthony Lennon's Distances Within Me was composed in 1979, while Lawson Lunde's Sonata, Op. 12 was written in 1959.

Pianist Thomas Stumpf is fascinated with the concept of time and how it is utilized to make sense of the human condition. We have language and symbols for time and music is one of the most powerful of those symbols. Stumpf has used this 2-CD recording to reveal composers' concepts of time as it appears in their composition. Time as a straight line — time as a circle — time as the tolling of bells — the totality of time. Music exists in the dimension of time, and is one of the deepest and most genuine expressions of the unity of time. Music offers a deeper satisfaction with its inevitability of beginning, middle, and end that unpredictable real life can't. Moments of deep satisfaction can be found in the works chosen for this recording, especially when listened to again and again. Born in Shanghai and raised in Hong Kong, Thomas Stumpf studied at the Mozarteum and the New England Conservatory. His career as a solo and collaborative pianist has spanned four continents and his discography consists of seven compact discs. He was co-founder and Artistic Director of Prism Opera and is the recipient of numerous awards. He has taught at the New England Conservatory, Boston University and UMassLowell and is currently on the faculty of Tufts University.

Acclaimed as an artist of unusual sensitivity and virtuosity, pianist Steven Masi has concertized extensively throughout North America, Europe and Asia. As a recitalist and chamber musician he has appeared at the Aspen Music Festival, Casals Festival, Chattauqua Festival and Music Festival of the Hamptons, and as a guest soloist with orchestras such as the Atlanta Symphony and New Symphony Orchestra of London. Critic Colin Clarke has written about his Beethoven performances: "It is not exaggerating to suggest that Masi belongs with the elite in the late sonatas, providing as satisfying an experience as the likes of Solomon, Kempff, and Pollini, for example." Producer Joseph Patrych comments that "When Mr. Masi approached me with the idea of tackling this set, I was compelled by the maturity and thoughtfulness of his playing in the ones I heard. What you have before you represents the fruit of five years of labor, consideration, discussion and a shared passion for this seminal body of work in the piano literature."

Violinist and composer Michelle Ross is unique as both a solo artist and collaborative visionary. In 2013, she had her Carnegie Hall debut with Maestro Harry Bicket, and her European debut as both soloist and conductor with the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris as part of Play/Direct, in Cité de la Musique. She is the recipient of the 2012 Leonore Annenberg Fellowship Fund for the Performing and Visual Arts. A noted soloist and chamber musician, Ross is also in demand as guest concertmaster around the world with recent highlights including appearances with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre National du Capitol de Toulouse and the Orchestre d'Auvergne. Ross is the Artistic Director and Founder of Music in the Mountains. A graduate of Juilliard and Columbia, her teachers include Dorothy DeLay and Itzhak Perlman. Ross says that "As a performer, my moments of greatest joy occur when I play Bach. I love to bring this music into unusual settings, allowing an intersection between countless strangers and this infinite plane of beauty Every moment with this music, I learn something new about myself as an artist. One must be completely honest in front of Bach, and bring courage and love to this music."

Louise Toppin has received critical acclaim for her operatic, orchestral, and oratorio performances throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, New Zealand, and the Caribbean. She has appeared in recital on many concert series including Carnegie Recital Hall, Merkin Hall, Kennedy Center, and Lincoln Center. Her discography includes 16 recordings of American music. In addition to her concert career, she serves on the faculty at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.She is joined by fortepianist John O'Brien. They began their collaboration as colleagues at East Carolina University and have performed throughout the country on concert series. This recording gives listeners the opportunity to hear songs—by lesser known and canonic composers alike—as they might have sounded with their original fortepiano accompaniment. La saison des fleurs lets us experience the many-shaded efflorescence of the art song genre anew, when poetry, voice, and piano joined together to create a higher artistic whole.

All of the composers on this recording are associated with the Second New England School of composition centered around Boston in the last few decades of the 19th century and the first few decades of the 20th. Each joined the emerging trend at that time to present classical-style music, steeped in European technique and training that nevertheless demonstrated an American spirit in terms of text and use of folk or local flavor. Edward MacDowell, the first of this wave of composers, inspired the rest and his contemporary George Chadwick co-led the Second New England movement and taught several of the other composers heard here. The performers include baritone Tod Fitzpatrick, who leads an active and distinguished career as a singer, teacher, and researcher; mezzo Kimberly James, who has performed with the Opera Theater of St. Louis and Santa Fe Opera, among many other credits; soprano Rebecca Sherburn, who is on the faculty at Chapman University and known for her championing of contemporary composers; and pianist Louise Thomas, who is an associate dean at Chapman University.

Heather Gilligan's music has been described as honest, direct, and compassionate while exploring emotions from humor to anguish. Her music has been performed to critical acclaim at the New York Choral Festival, the Washington D.C. International Music Festival, and by the American Modern Ensemble, Lorelei Ensemble, and Arneis String Quartet, among many others. She is on the faculty at Keene State College and a member of the Boston Composers Coalition. She received her DMA in Composition from Boston University and her MM from the Longy School of Music. She also holds a BS in Chemistry from Lehigh University. This recording contains six song cycles -- each set for soprano -- but the instrumentation is varied. Living in Light is scored for soprano and cello; Garden Songs for soprano, trumpet, and piano; Mixed Metaphors for soprano and piano; Winged Reflections for soprano, saxophone, and piano; Battlegrounds for soprano and string quartet; and Finer Points for soprano and percussion.

Women of Valor, an oratorio, is a celebration of women from the Old Testament, inspired by a midrash (biblical commentary) on Proverbs, where each line of the biblical text from Proverbs 31 represents a strong, resourceful woman. Texts for Women of Valor are drawn both from the Bible and from modern poems and prose. Women of Valor highlights the stories of Sarah, Leah, Rachel, Jocheved, Miriam, Hannah, Jael, Michal, Ruth, and Esther. The work was premiered in 2000 by the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony conducted by Noreen Green. Composer Andrea Clearfield's music has been praised by the New York Times for its "graceful tracery and lively, rhythmically vital writing" and the Los Angeles Times for its "fluid and glistening orchestration." Her awards include a Pew Fellowship in the Arts as well as fellowships at the American Academy in Rome, the MacDowell Colony, and the Rockefeller foundation's Bellagio Center, among many others. The Los Angeles Jewish Symphony is the only orchestra outside of Israel dedicated to the performance and preservation of orchestral works of distinction that explore the Jewish experience. Founded in 1994 by Noreen Green the LAJS has presented more than 20 world premieres of works by contemporary Jewish composers.

Don Walker's second recording for Albany Records features some of his chamber works for mixed ensembles -- ranging from a work for flute, violin, and piano to a piano quartet to larger ensembles such as the last work on the program for flute, bassoon, trumpet, horn, violin, and cello. These compositions also display a range of style with Soul Music containing 12-tone elements combined with a traditional Blues melodic style; to the Piano Quartet where Walker's sense of humor led him to imagine Arnold Schoenberg compositing a twelve-tone piece in honor of John Cage's 100th birthday; to the Divertimento which features a second movement that borrows material from Schubert. Now retired, Don Walker had a distinguished career as a composer, teacher, organist, and archivist.

Dubbed "The Commissioners" by Chamber Music America magazine, Palisades Virtuosi (Margaret Swinchoski, flute; Donald Mokrynski, clarinet; Ron Levy, piano) has established an enviable presence in the chamber music world since its inception 14 years ago. To date, the ensemble has commissioned and performed more than 75 new works and has now released six recordings of some of the best of these commissions. All the music on these recordings are world premieres and all are American composers. Palisades Virtuosi has been named Visiting Artists at Bergen Community College and are in residence at The Ridgewood Conservatory. Established to promote music for their ensemble of flute, clarinet, and piano, Palisades Virtuosi is to be commended for their work on enhancing the repertoire.

A listener new to Amy Williams' world should not expect to need help entering it. Long an active pianist, Williams has internalized the work of Boulez, Nancarrow, Cage, Ligeti, Kurtág and Feldman, but confidently occupies the present. In fact her work combines attributes often considered opposites: it is rigorous, yet playful; abstract yet personal; stylish but as bracingly frank as a cold shower. With her music, one encounters a radiant intelligence and clear sense of musical purpose that vaults past many of the issues customarily associated with discussion of new music. This recording consists of duos as well as her Cineshape series, which is a group of striking stand-alone chamber works that together form an impressive sequence on a symphonic scale. Amy Williams' compositions have been presented at important contemporary music venues worldwide and have been performed by the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the JACK Quartet and many of the major new music ensembles. She has received numerous awards and commissions and is a U.S. Fulbright Scholar. A graduate of the University at Buffalo, she is on the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh and artistic director of the New Music On The Point Festival.

Internationally acclaimed and award-winning flutist, composer, and producer Burak Beşir was born in Cyprus. He graduated with distinction from the Ankara State Conservatory, then attended The Royal Scottlish Academy where he received his master's degree. He was the recipient of a 2003 United Kingdom Young Concert Artist Award, which gave him the opportunity to perform at concerts and festivals, including a concert at Wigmore Hall. He has performed as principal flutist of the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet. Beşir came to the U.S. in 2008 to study at the Berklee College of Music, where he received the Arif Mardin Achievement and Best Concerto Performer Awards. He is a frequent performer at the National Flute Association Conventions, where he has performed his own compositions and arrangements. Beşir wished for his debut album to reflect his playing, his music and his passions in life. The recording showcases rich and diverse masterpieces from the flute repertoire, as well as Beşir's virtuosic playing.

The focal work on this recording of chamber works by David Patterson is #Ferguson. Patterson lived in Ferguson, attending high school there. #Ferguson is a suite of seven scenes contrasting the innocence of his boyhood with a city that has been changed forever. Other compositions on the recording include a work for solo harp, two works for Native American flute; a work for solo piano; and a choral work. Petterson is a professor and former department chair at the University of Massachusetts Boston. He was the recipient of a Fulbright Scholars Award and the Chancellors Distinguished Teaching Award. A student of Nadia Boulanger and Olivier Messiaen in Paris, he received his PhD from Harvard. His music appears on the Vienna Modern Masters and Albany Records labels.

Born in Kharkov, USSR, Alexander Meshibovsky began violin lessons at the age of five. He studied at the Special School of Music for Gifted Children and graduated from the Kharkov Conservatory. After graduation, he was invited to be represented by te Russian Concert Agency, later becoming represented by the Moscow Concert Agency, under whose auspices he toured the USSR performing as a recitalist and soloist. He has studied with both renowned violinists Adolph Lestchinsky, Boris Goldstein and Jascha Heifitz. Since leaving Russia, he has continued his careeer performing with major European and American orchestras and has performed as a recitalist in Germany, Austria, France, and Norway. As a composer he has concentrated on works for violin and this debut recording of his music receives virtuoso performances from him and his colleague, pianist Raisa Kagramanova.

Born out of a 2015 music festival at Rice University focusing on classical, contemporary, and cross-cultural music, this recording offers an interesting set of compositions, performed by the Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra, that embody 21st century interculturality in distinctive ways. Crossings: Contemporary Music for Chinese Instruments features works by six composers who came into contact with Chinese cultural traditions and responded compositionally to that contact in different ways. Two composers (Shih-Hui Chen and Lei Liang) were born in Taiwan and China. The remaining four composers are American-born and non-Chinese, yet each has had varying degrees of engagement with traditional Chinese music. Thus, the recording offers a glimpse into what has become a global network of composers. The Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra is a group from Taiwan whose members perform new music on Chinese instruments. However, in almost every work, the silk and bamboo instruments of the ensemble are joined by additional sonority offering a rich and varied new expression, which is the essence of this recording.

Reflections On The Firebird contains four commissioned works that celebrate the fifth anniversary of The Firebird sculpture, a 17 foot sculpture by Niki De Saint Phalle that is in front of the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art in Charlotte, North Carolina. The world premiere of these works took place at a concert at the Bechtler Museum in 2015, performed by the Bechtler Ensemble, a group of musicians who present multi-disciplinary programs to concert halls, museums and educational institutions. The ensemble's focus is the connection between the visual arts and music and typically they pair music and art from the same period. The contrasting styles of each of the four works emphasize each composer's reaction to The Firebird sculpture.

Assem3ly is a dynamic trio championing chamber music of our time for flute, piano, and percussion. Comprised of flutist Lindsey Goodman, pianist Anne Waltner, and percussionist Scott Christian, Assem3ly commissions and performs new works from established and emerging composers and this recording is typical of their programming. Distinguished composer Joseph Schwantner's Taking Charge opens the recording, followed by Bolamkin, a work by John Allemeier. Ty Alan Emerson's Caliban Ascendent precedes the final work on the recording by Randall Woolf: Between Me, Myself, And The Lamp Post. The performances sparkle with intensity and commitment. A recording of music for an unusual, but very effective grouping of instruments.

The Jano Duo (Naomi Seidman, flute and Jonathan Dexter, cello) was formed in 2012 to play works written or arranged for flute and cello. The duo has performed across the country and continues to commission and perform new works for their instruments. This recording reflects their commitment to music of our time with works by Efrain Amaya, Cherise Leiter, Lonnie Hevia, Matt Doran, Ángel Villoldo, and a commissioned work by Stephen Hopkins. Naomi Seidman is recognized as an accomplished solo performer, chamber musician, and educator. On the faculty at Pennsylvania State University School of Music, she has participated in numerous festivals and has presented master classes around the country, appeared as soloist with orchestras; and is actively involved with the National Flute Association. She is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and Yale. Cellist, composer, and sound engineer Jonathan Dexter has been featured on SONY Masterworks & Columbia Records recorings with singer Megan Hilty; film sountracks; and tv series. He composed, performed, and recorded the original score to short film Recess, an official selection of the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. A graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory, Franz Liszt Academy and University of Texas at Austin, he conducts the Central Pennsylvania Youth Chamber Orchestra.

Jacques Offenbach's mini opéra bouffe L'île de Tulipatan was premiered in September 1868 in Paris and was wildly successful. The hilarious plot, set on a South Seas island, involves cross-dressing and gender confusions, and features a tuneful score. It travelled to Germany and Austria the year following its premier and to the U.K. three seasons later. This charming operetta was recorded live at Radio France in the late 1950s and again in the 1980s, both French-language. The present English translation by Gregg Opelka and Jack Helbig was created in 2003. This recording, from the Light Opera of New York's Spring 2017 live New York City production, is the first for the work in English. The entire Offenbach score is heard with Opelka's lyrics, along with a slightly truncated version of Helbig's snappy spoken dialogue.

Baritone Randall Scarlata and pianist Laura Ward pored over dozens of scores in planning this recording. Central to their project was a focus on American composers, and they wanted a personal connection with both the texts and their musical interpretations. Two cycles kept rising to the top: Benjamin Boyle's Le passage des rêves, and Robert Maggio's Forgiving Our Fathers. While the styles of these two compositions were markedly different, the performers were drawn to the gift for narrative the works share and their color palettes that evoke other times and places. The other works, by Charles Ives, Samuel Barber, and Elliott Carter, were chosen to complement these two cycles. Known for his versatility and consummate musicianship, Randall Scarlata's repertoire spans five centuries and 16 languages. A sought-after interpreter of new music, he has given world premieres of works by many well-known composers including George Crumb, Ned Rorem, Lori Laitman, and Samuel Adler, among many others. His extensive discography includes recordings on the Chandos, Naxos, CRI, Gasparo, Arabesque, Bridge, Albany, and Sono Luminus labels. Pianist Laura Ward is Artistic Director of Lyric Fest, a unique vocal recital series in Philadelphia. As a distinguished collaborative pianist she is known for both her technical ability and vast knowledge of repertoire and styles.

Distinguished composer Adolphus Hailstork studied at Michigan State University, the Manhattan School of Music, Howard University, and the American Institute at Fontainebleau. He has written numerous works for chorus, solo voice, piano, organ, chamber ensembles, band, and orchestra. His music has been performed by orchestras around the country and he has received commissions from performing organizations such as the Cincinnati Opera, the Houston Choral Society, and the Atlanta Festival, among many others. He is on the faculty at Old Dominion University. This recording, his fifth for Albany Records, concentrates on music for strings and includes a trio as well as works for string quartet. The Ambrosia Quartet (Simlon Lapointe and Mayu Cipriano, violin; Beverly Kane Baker, viola; and Rebecca Gilmore, cello) are all members of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and have been performing as a quartet for more than a decade both in Virginia and around the United States.

The title of this recording explains what it is: West Meets East—clarinet music by Western composers influenced by Chinese culture. Clarinetist Jun Qian, himself Chinese-American, has long been fascinated with cross-culturalinfluences, as this CD of world premiere recordings so aptly demonstrates. He established the East Meets West Project in 2010 to commission and record new compositions for clarinet that are inspired by Asian cultures and that combine Chinese musical elements with Western art music. This is Qian's third recording for Albany Records, the first two concentrating on Chinese composers influenced by Western culture. A member of the faculty at Baylor University, Jun Qian enjoys an international career as a soloist, recitalist and educator. He studied at Baylor University and the Eastman School of Music.

Cuban born composer Ileana Pérez Velázquez has had her music heard in concerts and international festivals all over the world. Awarded a commission from the Fromm Music Foundation, she has written works for numerous performers and ensembles that include a Who's Who of musicians in the field of new music. Ms. Velázquez studied in Havana as well as at Dartmouth and Indiana University. She is on the faculty at Williams College. Her music appears on the Albany, Innova, and Urlicht AV labels. There are four works on this recording, which show a creator's posture facing innovation, and the relationship between humans and the totality of creation. Velázquez's music invites us to meditate on the universal problem of existence. Her music is frequently imbued with natural phenomena, culture, and the relationship established by humans with their environment. Nunc, a new music ensemble founded in 2007, performs on two of these works -- joined on the first by Nunc's director violinist Miranda Cuckson. The renowned Momenta Quartet is heard on the string quartet Alma de Guije.

Supremely lyrical, the vocal compositions of Michael Rickelton flow organically in careful counterpoint with the texts upon which they are based. The three cycles featured on this disc generate the emotion, tone, and discourse that make each work unique, calling to mind the tradition of Lieder and art song. An experienced composer of solo, chamber, and orchestral works, Michael Rickelton has a particularaly strong and critically acclaimed affinity for the voice as this recording so beautifully demonstrates. Rickelton studied at Lipscomb University, the École Normale de Musique, and Peabody Conservatory. He is on the faculty of the Peabody Conservatory, the Johns Hopkins University, and Towson University.

This recording presents but a sampling of the wealth of jazz-inspired character pieces. It is not surprising that many American composers draw on this native language of jazz for inspiration in their art music, but in the first decades of the 20th century many European composers found ways to incorporate this exciting American art form into their music. The works performed by Jonathan Sokasits explore the variety of ways that composers integrate elements of jazz into their writing. On the faculty at Hastings College, Jonathan Sokasits has previously taught at Ithaca College and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He studied at Ithaca College and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was a student of Howard Karp. Sokasits regularly performs as a recitalist and with numerous chamber ensembles. His recordings appear on the Mark and Albany Records labels.

A major new release of David Del Tredici's chamber works. One of the most admired and acclaimed composers of his generation, Del Tredici's music is impossible to describe without superlatives. His work is a brilliant splash of emotional color in a contemporary music landscape where monochromaticism is common. This 2-CD set includes five works composed between 2001 and 2013-- a piano trio, string quartet, variations for bass trombone, a duo for violin and bass trombone and Bullycide, a major work for chamber ensemble, inspired by the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998. The performers are the elite of the new music world and include Del Tredici's nephew, the phenomenal bass trombonist Felix Del Tredici.

The virtuoso pianist Eunbi Kim performs concert music by the exploratory artist Fred Hersch on this recording. Kim's recital and recording projects are frequently sparked by a fresh artistic obsession, and often present the audience with intimate and challenging subject matter. Her genre-defying, often interdisciplinary recitals have been presented in prestigious venues across the United States. Kim is a perfect match for Fred Hersch's music, which is known for its personal and expressive pianistic style. While this is a recording of his concert music, Hersch is also well known as an innovative pianist in jazz, being credited with more than 40 albums. He is the author of Good Things Happen Slowly: A Life In and Out of Jazz.

Volkmar Zimmermann and Kristian Gantriis are both members of the internationally acclaimed Corona Guitar Kvartet and now they have joined forces as an independent ensemble, the Gantriis-Zimmermann Guitar Duo and this recording is the result of their collaboration. The Duo has assembled an enticingly eclectic collection of brief pieces from around the world — Argentine tangos; Danish songs; Spanish dances; and two works of new music. The recording is packed with infectious new sounds from an ageless and age-old instrumental ensemble, and the results are contagious listening experiences that make us as ask for more.

Composer Bernard Hoffer first heard jazz pianist Takaaki Otomo at a restaurant in New York and was impressed by his musicality, dynamic sensitivity, and beautiful harmonic sense. With bass player Noriko Ueda and drummer Jared Schonig, Takaaki selected five originals, four jazz standards plus one Broadway show tune and two novelties from Gustav Holst's The Planets for this recording. Beginning his training as a classical pianist Takaaki switched to jazz when he was a teenager and won first prize in a jazz competition in Japan in 2007. He moved to New York City in 2014. Originally from Japan Noriko Ueda began playing the electric bass, then switching to upright bass at age 18. She is a graduation of the Berklee College of Music where she majored in jazz composition. She has her own trio and quartet and has performed at the Blue Note Jazz Club. She won the Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize in 2002. Hailing from Los Angeles, drummer Jared Schonig studied at Eastman where he won seven Downbeat Student Music Awards. A favorite among vocalists, Schonig tours with Grammy Award-winners Kurt Ellling and The New York Voices. He is in demand as a drummer for studio recordings and session work.

World premiere recordings by the renowned composer Aaron Jay Kernis, performed by the stunning soprano Talise Trevigne with the Albany Symphony conducted by David Alan Miller, make this one of 2017's most distinctive releases. Winner of the 2002 Grawemeyer Award, the 1998 Pulitzer Prize, and the 2011 Nemmers Award, Aaron Jay Kernis is one of America's most performed and honored composers. His music appears on concert programs worldwide and he has been commissioned by America's preeminent performing organizations and artists. Vocal music and singing have been profoundly important to Kernis and breath, lyricism and line have held primacy for him as a composer. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the three song cycles on this recording that span 20 years of his writing. Talise Trevigne and the Albany Symphony are at the center of these premiere recordings.

This tribute to the American composer-percussionist Michael Manion (1952-2012) captures a live 2009 concert held in his honor at the University of Illinois. Presented by the University of Illinois Percussion Ensemble–conducted by its director, William Moersch, and student conductors Adam Walton and Mark Eichenberger—the concert also featured the premiere of Stephen Lett’s Junta–and of Robert Fleisher’s Maniondala, originally composed for Michael Manion. 

This broad spectrum of music written between 1927 and 2009 includes some of the earliest percussion ensemble compositions—by Alexander Tcherepnin, Amadeo Roldán, Henry Cowell, Dmitri Shostakovich, and John Cage & Lou Harrison. Three 21st-century works receiving their first commercially-released recordings here include Fleisher’s Maniondala (for solo malletKAT), Stephen Lett’s Junta (for three percussionists), and Michael Manion’s Long Roll II (for percussion quartet). 

The University of Illinois Percussion Ensemble was established in 1950 and specializes in the performance of traditional and contemporary repertoire for small and large groups. Soloist Gregory Beyer is a Fulbright Scholar, composer, educator, and “prodigiously talented percussionist” (Chicago Classical Review).