Premiered in Antwerp, Belgium by the Collegium Musicum Carinthia conducted by Alexei Kornienko at the Festival of Flanders.

March Swale is a musical collage of sections beginning with wind and including party music to describe the month. A swale is a meadow or a marsh where a diversity of wild plants grow due to good soil and water.  The composer uses the word swale to mean a kind of musical collage of newly composed swatches. The piece opens with music reminiscent of Kentucky fiddle music. 

Each of the Three Swales may be performed individually, but if they're performed together, the preferred order is Kentucky Swale, Blue Bell Swale and March Swale. 

Beth Anderson’s music has been described as having “a refreshing simplicity without naiveté” and as “deeply felt, direct, and yes, beautiful” and “charming and deeply felt to the point of romanticism.” MSR Classics has issued The Praying Mantis and the Bluebird – Flute Music of Beth Anderson (MS1434) - World Premiere recordings of 11 works and New World Records released Swales and Angels - World Premiere recordings of 7 works.

Read Just Dropping In, a fascinating interview with the composer on NewMusicBox at nmbx.newmusicusa.org/beth-anderson-…t-dropping-in/ and hear a Listening to Ladies podcast with her at listeningtoladies.com/episode10/.

For more information about Ms. Anderson, including a bio, other videos, list of works, discography and much more, please visit www.beand.com.

If you'd like to have a score of March Swale for consideration, contact Beth Anderson at beth@beand.com.

Unknown album (5/27/2021 3:04:00 PM)

Beth Anderson's March Swale from Three Swales for String Orchestra

This is the finale from Variations on Lo Lanu Ha-Shem for cello and piano, performed by the Cracow Duo (Jan Kalinowski, cello and Marek Szlezer, piano)in Kraków, Poland on September 13, 2020, sponsored by the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust.
To see a video of the complete Variations on Lo Lanu Ha-Shem, please visit the page on my website: https://aaronalter.com/chamber-variations-on-lo-lanu-hashem

Variations on Lo Lanu Ha-Shem are based on my "Lo Lanu Ha-Shem" (a setting of Psalm 115) for Women's Chorus, Flute, Harp, Two Horns, Double-Bass and Tambourine. To hear the original choral work, please visit the page on my website: https://aaronalter.com/choral-lolanuhashem

Finale from Variations on Lo Lanu Ha-Shem for cello and piano

Vival-departures for string orchestra is inspired by the music of Antonio Vivaldi. Although there are no direct quotes of Vivaldi's music in Vival-departures, there is a Vivaldi-like interlude that appears in different forms and becomes a point of departure for musical development. In addition to the influences of Vivaldi's music, you'll hear influences of blues and rock music also.

This track is from the commercial recording "LVIV 1" by the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine on the Phasma-Music label. 

Vival-departures (inspired by the music of Antonio Vivaldi) for String Orchestra is published by Universal Edition. For scores and parts, please visit:
https://www.universaledition.com/en/Works/Vival-departures-inspired-by-the-music-of-Antonio/P0207088

For more information on Vival-departures and other works by Aaron Alter, please visit https://aaronalter.com/compositions .

Vival-departures (inspired by the music of Antonio Vivaldi) for String Orchestra

Sunset on the Spire (Introspective Blues #2) is an Art Song for Soprano Voice that is in the tradition of Art Songs by Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms, but with a more modern instrumental accompaniment of a Jazz Quintet of Trumpet, Tenor Saxophone, Piano, Double-Bass and Drum Set. The text is by the early 20th century American poet, Elinor Wylie. The beginning and end of the song are in a Blues style, while the middle section is in a style that is more Brahms-inspired.

The performers were:
Ljiljana Winkler, Soprano (to whom the song was dedicated)
Peter Oswald, Trumpet
Dennis Brandner, Tenor Saxophone
Jai Jeffryes, Piano
Troy Rinker, Jr., Double-Bass
Lee Jeffryes, Drum Set
Gene Pritsker, Conductor

Sunset on the Spire was premiered by Ljiljana Winkler and the CompCord Ensemble as part of Composers Concordance Presents "Art of the Art Song" November 29, 2023 at DROM, New York City.
This audio recording was by James Lane (Hot Indie Media.)

Sunset on the Spire was awarded a National Finalist Honorable Mention in the 2025 Charles Ives Award for Vocal Chamber Music Composition from The American Prize.

Sunset on the Spire by Elinor Wylie (abridged by Aaron Alter)
All that I dream
By day or night
Lives in that stream
Of lovely light.

Here is the earth,
And there is the spire;
This is my hearth,
And that is my fire.

From the sun's dome
I am shouted proof
That this is my home,
And that is my roof.

And I am wooed
From the moon's brink.

And the days go over,
And the nights end;
Here is my lover,
Here is my friend.

Sunset on the Spire (Introspective Blues #2) is published by Universal Edition. For scores and parts, please visit:
https://www.universaledition.com/en/Works/Sunset-on-the-Spire-Introspective-Blues-2-for-S/P0261476

For more information on Sunset on the Spire and other works by Aaron Alter, please visit https://aaronalter.com/compositions .

Sunset On The Spire (Introspective Blues #2) for Soprano voice and Jazz Quintet-Premiere in New York

Lament for Theodore Antoniou for solo alto flute was written in memory of the brilliant composer, conductor and educator, Theodore Antoniou. Aaron Alter had the honor and pleasure of studying with him when Aaron was on a fellowship in Composition at Tanglewood in the summer of 1976 and remembered his impeccable musicianship and high standards. The recording of Lament for Theodore Antoniou by the flutist Iwona Glinka (to whom the work was dedicated) was released in 2021 on the Phasma Music Label (Distributed by Naxos) in a monumental three-volume project with Laments from composers all over the world. The recording received the award of "Best Classical Album" at the 2021 Akademia Music Awards.

Lament for Theodore Antonio is published by Universal Edition. For scores, please visit:
https://www.universaledition.com/en/Works/Lament-for-Antoniou-for-solo-Alto-Flute/P0261646

Lament for Antoniou Vol. 1

Lament For Theodore Antoniou for solo Alto Flute

This is a recording of the world premiere performance of the sixth movement (Chant for Bass) of Aaron Alter's "Cantata of Praise" for chorus and chamber orchestra on March 23, 2025 by The New Mexico Bach Society Chorale and Orchestra at the Hope in the Desert Episcopal Church, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Cantata of Praise is a setting of the poetic interpretation of Psalms 118 and 150 by the Elizabethan poet Mary Sidney Herbert, from her book "The Sidney Psalter" from around the year 1599, with some added text from Psalm 118 in the original Hebrew and from The King James Bible.

The music in Cantata of Praise displays a wide range of influences. As the title suggests, the sixth movement is influenced by Gregorian Chant and Jewish Chant.

Cantata of Praise was commissioned by the New Mexico Performing Arts Society.

The performers were:
New Mexico Bach Society Chorale and Orchestra
Franz Vote, Artistic Director and Conductor

Javier Ortiz, bass soloist

New Mexico Bach Society Orchestra
Linda Marianiello, flute
Joshua Petersen, clarinet
Lisa Grodin, concertmaster
Carla Kountoupes, violin 2
Lisa Di Carlo, viola
Joel Becktell, cello
Bob Barney, double bass
Joshua Pielemeier, piano

Text: 6th Movement (Chant for Bass:)
(from Psalm 118)
For be assured I shall not die;
But live God's works to testify:
Who though he sore did scourging pain me
He hath but scourged, he hath not slain me.
Who opens to me Justice gate?
I ent'ring may God's praise relate.
This gate unto Ha-Shem showeth
By this to him the righteous goeth.

Text is from The Sidney Psalter, The Psalms of Sir Philip and Mary Sidney
Published by the Oxford University Press (2009)
Copyright Hannibal Hamlin, Michael G. Brennan, Margaret P. Hannay and
Noel J. Kinnamon, 2009
Reproduced with permission of the Licensor through PLSclear.

Cantata of Praise - 6th movement (Chant) for Bass soloist and Chamber Orchestra

B-Free from Addiction (Faith- Based) Transitional Housing Programs
 A-Vector corp. Cedar House, Maple House  San Bernardino County
 Housing Programs Thank You .

12  Steps Ahead sobriety token

Lost Daughters - An Opera in One Act
Music by Ross Crean
Libretto by Katherine Arathoon

Recorded live at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Oberlin, OH
Performed by the Oberlin Mozart Players
May 7th, 2017

Conducted by JP Jennings

The Queen of the Night - Katherine Bruton, Soprano
Clytemnestra - Jessica Hiltabidle, Mezzo-Soprano
Mrs. Darling - Marysa Abbas, Mezzo-Soprano

The Queen of the Night, Mrs. Darling, and Clytemnestra reconvene repeatedly to a desolate wasteland, where they return each time someone is done reading their stories. They then discuss the losses of each of their daughters, one by death, one by estrangement, and one by intervalic disappearance.
It's also about how these three very different women come together to express their grief and eventually, with the discovery that they relive this story and these feelings on repeat, decide to try and end the cycle.

Lost Daughters (An Opera in One Act)- Scene 4 (Excerpt)

© Michael Calabris Music (ASCAP), 2024. All rights reserved. 

"Prelude & Fugue" was composed in February 2017. The piece was realized using Logic Pro X; specifically, Logic's Retro Synth feature. I used Retro Synth to create the twenty "analog" synth patches heard in this track.

Prelude & Fugue (for Synthesizer)

La Joie de Vivre was inspired by the painting by Picasso of the same name. That painting shows a Mediterranean scene with mythological figures, such as satyrs and a centaur and a nude woman playing music and dancing. The music goes through several transformations. It begins in a modal jazz style, but later evolves into folk-rock, blues-rock and finally ends with a folk dance, all of which evoke the spirit of the Picasso painting.

This track is from the recording, "Zayin," by the flutist Iwona Glinka and the pianist Vicky Stylianou that was released on the Phasma Music label (distributed by Naxos.)

La Joie de Vivre (inspired by the painting of Picasso) is published by Universal Edition. For scores and parts, please visit:
https://www.universaledition.com/en/Works/La-Joie-de-Vivre-inspired-by-the-painting-by-Pica/P0207092

For more information on "La Joie de Vivre" and other works by Aaron Alter, please visit https://aaronalter.com/compositions

La Joie De Vivre For Flute And Piano

Alban Berg's Piano Sonata in a single movement, Opus 1, was published in 1910.

Berg, Piano Sonata

Aaron Alter is a composer from Carlsbad, California.  His new music, which he calls his "New Beginning" is an exploration of a new style and energy that defies categorization.    

A native of Chicago, Aaron Alter's musical background was a product of the rich musical life that he found growing up in the Windy City.  While a high-school student, Aaron studied Jazz Piano with Alan Swain and Classical Piano with Helen Engler at the Chicago Conservatory of Music. For two years, while in high school, Aaron played piano in a band led by the legendary Chicago-based saxophonist Fred Anderson (Aaron's work for violin and piano, “For Fred” was written in memory of Fred Anderson.) Aaron received his Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University, where he studied piano with Frances Larimer and Gui Mombaerts, and composition with Lynden DeYoung and David Noon. He received his Master of Fine Arts Degree from Princeton University, where he studied with Milton Babbitt and James K. Randall.  

After a long hiatus, Aaron re-emerged in 2012 with a new style and energy to his compositions, which he calls his “New Beginning.” Aaron's new music was first performed in 2015, with the performance of “Homage to Josquin” for two flutes, piano, electric bass and drum set by The New Mexico Performing Arts Society in Santa Fe, New Mexico. “Homage to Josquin” received an Honorable Mention in the 2016 American Prize competition for Chamber Music Composition.

Aaron Alter's music is published by Universal Edition and SilverWinds Publishing.

Works such as "Solar Rays" and "Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry" defy genres and exist in Classical ensemble and Jazz Big Band versions. Both the classical piano trio (piano, violin and ‘cello) and Jazz Big Band versions of “Solar Rays” have received Silver medals at the Global Music Awards. Solar Rays for piano, violin and 'cello is published by Universal Edition. Aaron’s Introspective Blues #1 for Flute and Harp has become his most popular work, with over 53,000 plays on Jango Internet Radio and over 27,000 plays on SoundCloud.  Aaron’s music has been featured on the albums “One Minute”, “Two Minutes”, “Gimel” and “Daleth”, by the flutist Iwona Glinka on the Sarton and Phasma Music labels, all of which have won Silver Medals at the Global Music Awards.  In 2019, two albums containing Aaron's music were released by Iwona Glinka on the Phasma Music label, "Four Minutes" and "Zayin." The world premiere recording of Aaron's Piano Sonata (inspired by Beethoven), was released by the pianist and Steinway Artist, Susan Merdinger on her album, "American Melting Pot" in 2020 (the 250th anniversary year of Beethoven's birth.) "American Melting Pot" received a Gold Medal at the 2020 Global Music Awards.  Aaron Alter's Piano Sonata (inspired by Beethoven) is published by Universal Edition. In 2021, Phasma Music released five new albums containing Aaron's music, "New Music for String Quartet", "Lamedh",  "Kaph", "Teth" and "Lament for Theodore Antoniou." Also in 2021, Composers Concordance released an album called "The Process Sessions #1 with Aaron's "Lament, Prayer and Renewal" for tenor saxophone and electric guitar, which was inspired by the COVID pandemic.

In 2023, Phasma Music released a recording of Aaron's Vival-departures for String Orchestra (inspired by the music of Antonio Vivaldi) on an album entitled "LVIV 1" by the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine. “LVIV 1” won the “Best Classical Recording” award from the 2023 Clouzine International Music Awards. Vival-departures fuses the influences of Vivaldi's music with Blues and Rock music and is published by Universal Edition. In March, 2023, Aaron Alter's Earth Cantata (inspired by the Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach) for Chorus and Chamber Orchestra was premiered by The New Mexico Bach Society Chorale and Orchestra to wide acclaim. Earth Cantata was commissioned by The New Mexico Performing Arts Society and is published by Universal Edition. Earth Cantata was named as a National Finalist Honorable Mention in the 2024 American Prize, Major Choral Works Composition division and a Silver Medalist (for Outstanding Achievement in Composition) at the 2023 Global Music Awards.

On October 4, 2024, Composers Concordance Records released a new album called "Spontaneous" by the CompCord Quartet containing Aaron Alter's First Time Meeting for Clarinet, Violin, ‘Cello and Piano. First Time Meeting is published by Universal Edition.  On December 12, 2024, Phasma Music released a recording of Aaron’s Trio of Jade for Tuba, Cello and Piano as part of a new album, entitled Visions d'Athènes on all streaming platforms.The Steinway artist, Susan Merdinger, will give the premiere of a new solo piano work that Aaron wrote for her in a series of many concerts throughout the U.S. in 2026.

Aaron is a regular contributor of compositions to the repertoire of the flutist Iwona Glinka, the pianist and Steinway Artist, Susan Merdinger, the Cracow Duo, the ÉxQuartet, the pianist Vania Pimentel, The New Mexico Performing Arts Society and Composers Concordance in New York. 

Aaron also serves as an Executive Board Member of the Carlsbad Friends of the Arts and is the former Chair of the Carlsbad Arts Commission.

Cantata of Praise - 6th movement (Chant) for Bass soloist and Chamber Orchestra

AaronAlterComposer

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