fEARnoMUSIC's inspired recording of a work they commissioned and released in 2016. Featuring Inés Voglar and Paloma Griffin Hébert, violins, Joël Belgique, viola; Nancy Ives, cello, Joel Bluestone, percussion, and Jeffrey Payne, piano. 

Somewhere I have never travelled was commissioned by Fearnomusic.  Scored for string quartet, percussion, and piano, it is a piece inspired by my journeys beyond the physical dimension. The music chronicles five experiences beginning with the excitement of In a state of vibration, moving to the ominous Dweller on the threshold. In a body of blue stars the music becomes more spacious, honoring the inner emotional landscape of the solitary traveller. Sexploration is a flirtatious and libidinous dance, and the final movement, In a field of golden light represents the highest level of emotional fulfillment, love, attainable by us all.

Special Thanks to Ronni LaCroute for her support to create this recording.

Somewhere I Have Never Traveled, the Music of Bonnie Miksch

Somewhere I Have Never Traveled: V. In a Field of Golden Light

Somewhere I Have Never Traveled: IV. Sexploration

Somewhere I Have Never Traveled: III. In a Body of Blue Stars

Somewhere I Have Never Traveled: II. Dweller on the Threshold

Somewhere I Have Never Traveled: I. In a State of Vibration

Inés Voglar, violin
Jeffrey Payne, piano

This piece is a sonic rendering of the following celebrated quote by a Taoist philosopher who lived over two thousand years ago: 

"Once upon a time, I, Chuang Chou dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was Chou. Soon I awoke and there I was, veritably myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man. "

Chuang Tzu
Chou Dynasty

Man Dreaming Butterfly Dreaming Man

"I found this flower" for string quartet
Pyxis Quartet Premiere - February 2019

“I found this flower”  is based on the strength of love and resilience that Micah Fletcher speaks about in his poem “Silence.” “Beneath all of the agony,” he finds a flower. In my reading of this poem, the flower represents the inner core of love and strength that people find in troubling times. When tragedies happen in the world, there is always evidence of love, generosity, compassion, and resilience. It seems that these human gifts respond to the darkness, but if we look a little closer, we see that they are always there within us waiting for the right moments to bloom. The musical journey of the string quartet is one of blossoming and an exploration of unabashed beauty. Continuity is created by connection between moments which blossom forth into new moments. There is no resolution to the piece, much as there is no resolution to tragedy. Rather the constant of love within each of us flows forth, and with each new blossoming of our hearts, we return to ourselves. This is the gift of the flower.

I found this flower

Somewhere like you, my darling

Inés Voglar, violin
Joël Belgique, viola

Somewhere like you, my darling was commissioned by Joël Belgique for his wife Inés Voglar on the occasion of her birthday. I wanted to write a piece which would showcase their brilliance and musicality as performers, and allow them plenty of interpretive liberty. I decided to let the piece be wildly romantic, passionate, intense, flirtatious, and lighthearted, all within the span of ten minutes. The title of the work
suggests the transportive nature of our deepest intimate relationships, the way the other enables a way of being that changes our very relationship with ourselves and our sense of what is possible in this world.

Somewhere like you, my darling

Song of Sanshin uses the traditional Korean piece, sang-ryung-san, as its point of departure and point of return.  In addition to these clear statements of the melody, several expressive elements derived from sang-ryung-san are explored throughout the piece.  These elements include:  a strong sense of rhythmic freedom and fluidity, phrase endings on long notes punctuated by short eighths, abundant use of grace notes, trills, and other embellishments, and the use of the pentatonic scale as a harmonic skeleton.

The work is symmetrical in structure, projecting an approximate arch form, as inspired by symmetry in Korean art and the contour of mountains.  There is a strong use of heterophony present in this work, where the three instruments play an embellished and out of sync unison, thus realizing the Korean principle of variety within unity.  The sensual complexity of the interior sections seek to complement the simplicity of the opening and closing meditations.

Because sang-ryung-san was a prayer to the Buddha on the spiritual mountain, I was also inspired by the idea of the spirit of the mountain, as embodied by Sanshin, who was a traditional figure in Korean shamanism.  My intent was to instill in the music a reverence for mountains, mysticism, and the inner longing of the soul.  Mountains suggest journey, perhaps solitary, but with a sense of connection to all who have traveled the same still path.

Song Of Sanshin

This aria comes from Scene 1 of the opera, Utopia House, currently under development.  The text of the area comes from a flyer advertising Utopia House, an intentional community looking for a sixth member.

Laura, sung by soprano Maeve Stier
Instrumentation: Violin, Tomas Cotik; Cello, Hamilton Cheifetz, and Piano, Chuck Dillard

"Five Eccentric Optimists..." from Scene 1 of Utopia House

Bonnie Miksch is a composer who writes both acoustic and electroacoustic works. Her music explores the distinctly human realms of emotions, dreams, and states of consciousness, combining diverse elements with an ear for coherence. Her music has been performed in Asia, Europe, Canada, and throughout the U.S. She has received commissions from 45th Parallel Universe, fEARnoMUSIC, Fireworks Ensemble, and Beta Collide. Her music has been performed by the Claremont Trio, Pyxis Quartet, newEar, and the Portland Vocal Consort, and presented at international, national, and regional music festivals. She is a founding member of Cascadia Composers which supports creative music making in and around Portland, OR. Her music is available on North Pacific Music, Aca Digital, and fEARnoMUSIC labels. With degrees from CCM at the University of Cincinnati and Syracuse University, she serves as Composition Program Coordinator at Portland State University, where she has taught composition and music theory since 2004.

Bonnie Miksch

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