Trees are much more similar to us than we realize——they are able to communicate with each other, care for their young, and even have distinct personalities. Yet, we often regard them with a dangerous indifference that has often threatened their short and long-term survival. Eulogy for a Fallen Tree (2023) is a concerto for two bassoons and contrabassoon that traces the life of one of these majestic, human-like beings. We see it grow from humble seed to mighty tree, celebrate its joy as it blooms and finds love, watch helplessly as it ages, and mourn when it eventually collapses in a thunderous roar.

Skyglow was written for Kahlan Yenney, Asha Kline, Luis Márquez Teruel, and the Curtis Symphony Orchestra.

Eulogy For A Fallen Tree

This is a live performance of my setting of Deep River for women's choir and piano. The Wheaton College Women's Chorale (for whom the piece was written) is performing the work under the direction of Dr. Mary Hopper.  I hope you enjoy this truly inspired performance.  

Deep River (for Women's Choir / Treble Voices)

World Premiere Performance
MusicaNova Orchestra
Warren Cohen, Conductor

photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29502713@N05/

Stand In The Center And Extend Outward

Fragments From The Middle Of Something

"Ascent" by Jake Runestad. Performed by the Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony. Dr. Scott Stewart, conductor. More info and purchase scores and parts: jakerunestad.com/store/ascent

12 2 19 concert (unedited)

Ascent (wind ensemble)

"Love After Love" by Jake Runestad, poem by Derek Walcott. Performed by the Macalester College Concert Choir, Dr. Mike McGaghie, conductor. More info and purchase scores: https://jakerunestad.com/store/love-after-love/

Love After Love

Two Poems by Robert Frost, II. Canis Major

"The Harvest of the Amulet of the Deer" (2019-20) for mezzo-soprano and sinfonietta
by Patrick Holcomb
Text by Soleil Davíd

Liz Culpepper, mezzo-soprano
Indiana University New Music Ensemble
David Dzubay, conductor

Premiere performance on March 5, 2020
Auer Hall, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music

"The Harvest of the Amulet of the Deer" © 2020 by N. Patrick Holcomb. All rights reserved.

Program Note:

The Harvest of the Amulet of the Deer (2019-20) is my setting of Soleil Davíd’s “Harvest of a Deer Amulet” and my second setting of her poetry. My first collaboration with Soleil, the art song Superbloom that I wrote on her “Seeing the Superbloom in Death Valley, California,” earned me the 2019 Georgina Joshi Composition Commission Award to write a new piece for solo voice and the Indiana University New Music Ensemble. The group would perform the piece as a part of their “Indiana Remixed” program, which would feature works by Indiana-based composers in a celebration of the school at its bicentennial. Since Soleil is also a graduate student at IU, it seemed fitting to ask her to write another poem for me to set.

In Soleil’s own words, “Harvest of a Deer Amulet” “takes elements of Philippine folklore and makes up rituals and is also maybe about domesticity and being a woman.” The mezzo-soprano soloist becomes the speaker of the poem: a shamaness who alone must undergo an intense and intricate ritual for protection from the oncoming global catastrophe. The piece begins with the instrumental Invocation (Prologue), in which our heroine calls upon her matrilineal line of those who toiled before her, and a chorus of voices responds. The First Incantation follows the Invocation; here, we are introduced to the shamaness as she frantically prepares for the ceremony. Next, in the Second Incantation, we follow the speaker as she “swim[s] seal-skinned in the company of whale sharks” amid the sounds of waves and seagulls. In a moment of darkness, she contemplates the stress of the weight on her shoulders and wonders if her actions are futile. Afterwards, the Third Incantation finds our heroine in her home, painting and cooking. Although she is able to distract herself at first, the increasingly prominent sounds coming in through the open windows call her back outside. Finally, in the Ritual (Epilogue), the speaker reveals in a dissociative trance the violent and horrifying act that culminates the ritual in a moonlit field amid the rustling of wind in the bushes.

At its heart, Soleil’s poem is a story about the search for protection on a suffering Earth. In his program notes for the thematically similar piece, An Idyll for the Misbegotten (Images III), George Crumb describes flute and percussion as “those instruments which most powerfully evoke the voice of nature.” Following suit, Harvest features the flutist and the two percussionists (with the addition of the only instrument older to the human species: the voice). The work begins and ends with alto flute solos (derived from a vocal melody in the middle of the piece); and the First, Second, and Third Incantations feature “skin” (membrane), metallic, and earthen (wood and clay) percussion, respectively. In this way, I hope to pay homage to Crumb, who has had a profound influence on me and my music.

The Harvest of the Amulet of the Deer was premiered by the IU New Music Ensemble on my last concert as Assistant Director of the group. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to David Dzubay for his support throughout my time at IU, to the musicians for their unending dedication, to Liz Culpepper for her hard work and enthusiasm, to the Georgina Joshi Foundation for giving me the opportunity to work with the group beyond my assistantship duties, and to Soleil Davíd for her flexibility and eagerness to collaborate.

The Harvest of the Amulet of the Deer (2019-20) for mezzo-soprano and sinfonietta

Commissioned by Volti
Text contributed by ensemble members and the composer
Premiered Feb. 28-29, 2020

Starting Places (2019) for 16 voices

Performed by Noteperformer
Composed by Kyle Valorose

Essay For Orchestra

Milky Way

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Adrian Wong (b.1999) strives to create music that is engaging to perform and listen to, and he aims to create an emotional connection with his audience through imagery, drama, and unapologetic conviction. Adrian’s music takes inspiration from a wide array of subjects, ranging from the natural world, intersections of Chinese and Western culture, to the personal, day-to-day occurrences in life. His pieces have been performed at the Brevard Music Center,  Midwest Composers Symposium,  University of Michigan – Ann Arbor,  University of North Texas, Bard College, the Hong Kong Schools Music Festival, Radio Television Hong Kong, Ko Shan Theatre, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Tokyo Daiichi Seimei Hall, Kobe Bunka Hall and other esteemed venues and concerts. Adrian has also been commissioned by notable ensembles and musicians, including the award-winning Diocesan Boys’ School and Diocesan Girls’ School Senior Mixed Choir, the Diocesan Choral Society, the Hong Kong Composers’ Guild, and the Aurora Winds. Adrian was selected to participate in the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra’s Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Composers Scheme, and he also won first prize in the Hong Kong New Generation 2019 Composition Competition, held by the Hong Kong Composers’ Guild.

Adrian is currently pursuing a B.M. in music composition at the University of Michigan, studying with Bright Sheng, having previously studied with Kristin Kuster. He has also studied with Robert Aldridge, David Dzubay, and Ng Wah-hei. Adrian is also studying piano with Matthew Bengtson and conducting with Courtney Snyder, with previous teachers including Mark Stover, Julie Skadsem and Felix Shuen.

黃子峻（1999-）是香港土生土長的作曲家，而他希望能夠透過充滿魅力及戲劇性的音樂感動聽眾。黃氏的音樂從多處取材 – 除了日常生活的經歷之外，他亦曾經探討過有關大自然以及中西文化等題材。黃氏的作品曾在Midwest Composers Symposium，Brevard Music Center，University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, University of North Texas, Bard College, 香港校際音樂節，RTHK Studio One，高山劇場，香港中文大學，東京第一生命音樂廳及神戶文化中心等音樂會及演奏廳中上演。他曾被拔萃男女書院混聲合唱團，香港作曲家聯會，以及Aurora Winds 等優秀的表演團體委約作品。黃氏最近被香港管弦樂團的「何鴻毅家族基金作曲家計劃」揀選為該樂團譜寫新作，亦於香港作曲家聯會舉辦的2019 New Generation 作曲比賽中贏得冠軍。

黃氏現正於密西根大學修讀作曲系學士，師隨盛宗亮博士及Kristin Kuster博士，而他曾師隨Robert Aldridge博士，David Dzubay博士及伍華晞博士。黃氏亦跟Matthew Bengtson博士學習鋼琴及跟Courtney Snyder博士，Adrian Slywotzky博士，Mark Stover博士，Julie Skadsem博士，和孫子承先生學習指揮。

Eulogy For A Fallen Tree

Adrian Wong

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