This recording is the West Coast premiere performance of "Lo Lanu Ha-Shem" (a setting of Psalm 115) for Women's Chorus, Flute, Harp, Two Horns, Double-Bass and Tambourine by composer Aaron Alter, recorded live in concert on March 1, 2020 by Sorelle San Diego at St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church in Carlsbad, California.  The performers were:

Sally Dean, Conductor and Director

Sopranos: Patricia Collins, Cassandra DeBellis, Melissa Dennis, Lynelle Hee, Chris Hornback, Anita Ip, Hima Joshi, Kathryn Kinslow, Sue Lievers, Elisabeth Marti, Dori Patterson, Danielle Post and Erin Reid.

Altos: Jill Ballard, Laura Basanese, Marina Brunson, Elizabeth Cooper, Cindy Dankberg, Tess Frame, Agnes Lee, Tarina Lee, Natalie Pasqueralli, Rebecca Ramirez, Zoe Thompkins, Adrienne Valencia and Carrie White

Harp: Naomi Alter; Flute: Erica Gamble; Horns: Warren Gref and Douglas Hall; Double-Bass: Gunnar Biggs; Tambourine: Jill Ballard

Rehearsal Pianist: Anna Juliar
Recording Engineer: Steve Shields
"Lo Lanu Ha-Shem" has received three awards.  It received a Silver Medal at the March 2019 Global Music Awards, an Honorable Mention in the 2019-2020 American Prize in the Major Choral Works division and won 3rd Prize in the 2020-2021 American Prize in the Pops Composition division. 

La Lanu Ha-Shem is published by Universal Edition. For scores and parts, please visit:
https://www.universaledition.com/en/Works/Lo-Lanu-Ha-Shem-A-Setting-of-Psalm-115-for-Women-s-Chorus-and-Instrumental-Ensemble/P0282653

The text is reproduced from “Large-Type Tehillim" by Rabbi Hillel Danziger, Rabbi Nosson Scherman and Rabbi Sheah Brander; with permission of the copyright holders, ArtScroll / Mesorah Publications, Ltd.

For more information on "Lo Lanu Ha-Shem" and other works by Aaron Alter, please visit https://aaronalter.com/compositions .

Lo Lanu HaShem Psalm 115 for women's chorus and instrumental ensemble  West Coast Premiere 2020

Aaron Alter is a composer from Carlsbad, California. His music is published by Universal Edition and Silverwinds Publishing. Aaron calls his new music his "New Beginning" because it 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. 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.  

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.  

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. Aaron’s Introspective Blues #1 for Flute and Harp has become his most popular work, with over 16,100 plays on SoundCloud and over 5,200 plays on Jango Internet Radio. 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.  

Aaron has received two commissions in the past two years for choral works with an instrumental ensemble from The New Mexico Performing Arts Society.  The first commission, “Together We Create and Sing! (inspired by the music of Franz Joseph Haydn”) was a semi-finalist at the 2018 American Prize competition for Choral Music Composition and received a Silver Medal at the August 2019 Global Music Awards.  The latest commission, “Lo Lanu Ha-Shem” (a setting of Psalm 115) received a Silver Medal from the March 2019 Global Music Awards.  

Aaron is a regular contributor of compositions to the repertoire of the flutist Iwona Glinka, the pianist and Steinway Artist, Susan Merdinger, 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.

Lo Lanu HaShem Psalm 115 for women's chorus and instrumental ensemble West Coast Premiere 2020

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