Commissioned by Seattle Pro Musica's TTBB chorus, Karen Thomas, conductor. The text is from a Shakespeare sonnet celebrating the transforming, edifying power of the intimate bonds of love. This recording is from the live premiere in Seattle in 2018. Cover art: John Munns.

Sonnet 29 (When in Disgrace)

Amata (2015)by Alexander Johnson 

Performed October 1, 2017
Inversion Ensemble
Trevor F. Shaw, artistic director
Austin, Texas

Text: Alexander Johnson

Though we are apart, love spans our divided hearts.  It will surround us until our two souls may be whole once more.

Amata — Latin, (adj.) meaning loved or beloved
In this simple musical statement of unrelenting love, what begins as anguish at being apart from a loved one transforms into optimism for an eventual reunion. This piece was composed for Amy, with love. — Alexander Johnson

Amata by Alexander Johnson October 1, 2017

"Darkness" from Beyond by Trevor F. Shaw
performed by Inversion Ensemble
Trevor F. Shaw, artistic director
October 1, 2017
Pflugerville, Texas

"Beyond" is a tribute to three of my favorite astrophysicists, Carolyn Porco, Amy Mainzer, and the late Vera Rubin. While I’ve directly set their respective words to music, my primary objective was to capture each woman’s noted individual scientific focus. I didn’t initially
intend to exclusively quote female scientists, but once I realized I had done so, I added the work title, Beyond . The name conveys not only the obvious notion of space travel, but it is a token of my reverence for the many women who went “beyond” societal barriers to make
space exploration possible.

Vera Rubin ( Darkness ) is famous for her work concerning the existence and properties of dark matter, a substance which is both invisible and abundant. The mechanical repetition of the melodic line, simply based on the natural minor scale, is followed by light,
conversational rhythms over Major harmonies. Rubin’s way of explaining mysterious, seemingly incomprehensible theories about an insidious invisible force to the general public was delightfully matter-of-fact and that, to me, was exceptionally appealing.

"Darkness" from Beyond by Trevor F. Shaw October 1, 2017

White Moon by Luke Flynn
Inversion Ensemble
Trevor F. Shaw, artistic director
Cina Crisara, guest conductor
February 25, 2018
Austin, Texas

White Moon (2017)
Program Note:
The birth of Luke Flynn's daughter happened just after he received the commission to write a new piece for Choral Arts Initiative's fifth anniversary. This new presence in the lives of Luke and his wife informed the kind of choral work he would write. When asked by Choral Artists during a visit to one of our rehearsals how and why he decided to write a piece that was relatively short and simple, he responded: "I just wanted to write a little lullaby, and I didn't want it to become this big monster. When you get a commission, you kind of have three choices: you could do something big and grand, you could do something small and light, or you could do something kinda crazy. I just wanted to do something small and light. It's a piece for a baby. If it keeps going and going, it defeats the purpose." - Choral Arts Initiative

Text:
White moon comes in on a baby face. 
The shafts across her bed are flimmering. 
Out on the land White Moon shines, 
Shines and glimmers against gnarled shadows, 
All silver to slow twisted shadows 

Falling across the long road that runs from the house.
Keep a little of your beauty
And some of your flimmering silver
For her by the window to-night
Where you come in, White Moon.

from Baby Face by Carl Sandburg (1878-1967)

White Moon by Luke Flynn February 25, 2018

Demon by Matthew Brown 
performed June 2, 2019
Inversion Ensemble
Trevor F. Shaw, artistic director

DEMON by Matthew Brown
performed June 2, 2019
Inversion Ensemble
Trevor F. Shaw, artistic director

Text: Marcus 5:9
Legio nomen mihi [Our name is Legion]
Est multi sumus [For we are many]

DEMON was written and premiered on Saturday, October 15, 2015, presented to an audience of film and video game composers as a
demonstration of novel vocal techniques. My challenge to myself was to write a piece with zero specific pitches or texts; previously, I had
experimented with such techniques only within the context of more “traditional” choral pieces, such as Pacem. As the piece began to take
shape, I realized that the addition of an appropriately spine-tingling text would complement the sound world which was emerging. The
Latin included in the piece is taken from a biblical story of demon possession. Asked for a name, the response is: “Our name is Legion, for we are many.” Although this piece may be performed with smaller choirs—perhaps even as few as eight or twelve—I imagine it becoming
increasingly effective (and impactful) with greater numbers, given the techniques employed. (A Roman legion consisted of about five
thousand men at the time of the story, for what it’s worth!)

Demon by Matthew Brown June 2, 2019

Sonnet by David Harris 
performed June 3, 2018
PerplexedMusic
Inversion Ensemble 
Trevor F. Shaw, artistic director

Sonnet
This gorgeous ode to Shakespeare was created by combining a number of different love sonnets. It combines beautiful harmonies and recitation. Recited text by Shakespeare from Sonnets 12, 18, 29, 56, 105, 109, 128 sung text from Merchant of Venice, Act V, Scene 1.

Text:
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate….. — Sonnet 18
When I do count the clock that tells the time, And see the brave day sunk in hideous night… — Sonnet 12
When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes, I all alone beweep my outcast state… — Sonnet 29
Sweet love, renew thy force; be it not said Thy edge should blunter be than appetite…. — Sonnet 56
Let not my love be called idolatry, Nor my beloved as an idol show… — Sonnet 105
O! never say that I was false of heart, Though absence seemed my flame to qualify… — Sonnet 109
How oft when thou, my music, music play'st, Upon that blessed wood whose motion sounds — Sonnet 126
How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank!
Here will we sit and let the sounds of music
Creep in our ears. Soft stillness and the night
Become the touches of sweet harmony.
- Merchant of Venice, Act V, Scene 1
- William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Inversion Ensemble

Sonnet by David Harris June 3, 2018

Thy Eternal Summer composed collaboratively by 
Adrienne Inglis, Alexander Johnson, Robbie LaBanca, Trevor F. Shaw 
performed June 3, 2018
Austin, Texas
Perplexed Music
Inversion Ensemble
Trevor F. Shaw, artistic director

Thy Eternal Summer
When planning this concert of music based on sonnets Trevor and I agreed that we wanted to make sure a setting of one of the most beloved and well-known sonnets by Shakespeare, Sonnet 18, was part of the program. Since many of the composers were already contributing their own works I had the idea of writing a piece together. We divided up the poem and each took a section of text, set it to music and then passed it along to the next composer without any
information about what we were doing musically and left it to them to interpret. The final product is a lush, beautiful setting of this glorious text. This musical version of a relay race resulted in a lovely, seamless piece of true collaborative music making. — Robbie LaBanca

Text:
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? 
Thou art more lovely and more temperate. 
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, 
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date. 
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, 
And often is his gold complexion dimmed; 
And every fair from fair sometime declines, 
By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,
Nor shall death brag thou wand’rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to Time thou grow’st.
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
— William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

Thy Eternal Summer by Inglis/Johnson/LaBanca/Shaw June 3, 2018

On Resistance by Stephanie K. Andrews
I, Too, Sing America: songs of our shared history
Inversion Ensemble
Trevor F. Shaw, Artistic Director
Adrienne Inglis, Flute
October 7, 2018
Redeemer Presbyterian Church
Austin, Texas

Text: Matthew 5:9/Saint Teresa of Calcutta/Isaiah 2:4
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.
If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
For they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not rise against
nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

Note:
On Resistance: A Prayer for Those Who Protest Peacefully was composed, as the title suggests, to speak words of encouragement to those who engage or wish to engage in nonviolent protest. As daunting as it may seem to speak out against the global war machine, it is becoming increasingly imperative that we do so, as the horrors of war seem to multiply day after day. It seems that the most vulnerable of humanity are the ones who suffer the most in the face of unending war, and it is on their behalf that we must speak out. To do so in any other way than the way of peaceful protest in the tradition of Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, and Jesus of Nazareth simply escalates violence and pours fuel on the flames of war. On the
other hand, when we engage in nonviolent protest, we promote peace and become, as Jesus said, 'children of God.' Blessed are the peacemakers indeed.

On Resistance by Stephanie K. Andrews October 7, 2018

Two Palimpsests on Athena by Trevor Villwock
Inversion Ensemble
Heroes/Monsters: songs of legends & beasts
June 2, 2019
Redeemer Presbyterian Church
Austin, Texas
Trevor F. Shaw, Artistic Director / Rachel Davis, Guest Conductor

Text: Homer, Hymn IX ("To Athena") from the Homeric Hymns (translated by H.G. Evelyn White)
Dread is she...
It is she who saves the people as they go out to war and come back.

Note: While writing this piece, I was thinking a lot about early vocal music and the way our conception of the past is distorted through filters of conflicting historical narratives. When I was super into Greek mythology as a kid, Athena was always one of my favorite deities—it's
awesome to get to pay tribute to her in this way.

Two Palimpsests on Athena by Trevor Villwock

¡Ayúdame! (Venezuelan Plea for Life) by Carlos Cordero
World première performance by 
Inversion Ensemble Da Capo
July 13, 2019
Austin, Texas
Trevor F. Shaw, artistic director
Adrienne Pedrotti Bingamon, Da Capo director
Adrienne Inglis, bombo

Text:
Mírame, [Look at me,]
Escúchame. [Listen to me.]
Estoy sufriendo. [I am suffering]
No puedo ver, [I cannot see,]
tengo hambre, [I am hungry,]
tengo sed, [I am thirsty,]
Estoy enfermo. [I am sick.]
¡Ayúdame! [Help me!]

When was the last time you were hungry and could not immediately eat? or thirsty and could not find water for hours? This is heartbreaking: to see my country, my family, suffering. I come from Venezuela and I did go through difficult times. Since I could not do much from where I was to help, I decided to fight my pain. I asked myself all the questions and cried while working on my desk, so comfortable yet feeling so guilty and helpless. When was the last time you were sick and could not find the medicine to feel better or even to keep living? — Carlos Cordero

¡Ayúdame! (Venezuelan Plea for Life) by Carlos Cordero, July 13, 2019

Inversion Ensemble
Aether: Fire - passion/psyche
March 1, 2020
Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Austin, Texas
Trevor F. Shaw, Artistic Director / Clinton Bray, Guest Conductor
Austin Haller, piano

The Heart Asks by Trevor Villwock
Text: Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
The Heart asks Pleasure – first – 
And then – Excuse from Pain – 
And then – those little Anodynes 
That deaden suffering – 
And then – to go to sleep –
And then – if it should be
The will of its Inquisitor
The liberty to die –

Upon reading this Emily Dickinson text for the first time, my mind was immediately drawn to the current opioid epidemic in the U.S., and then to the broader theme of addiction in all its manifestations. At many times our conscious thoughts, motivations, and actions are driven only by our base animal desires even if we tell ourselves another story. In my piece I tried to capture our fraught relationship with our reptilian brain and the way this relationship intersects with a modern world where quick satisfaction is a very easy thing to find.

The Heart Asks by Trevor Villwock

Inversion is a collection of vocal ensembles dedicated to commissioning and performing timely new works by living composers. Inversion presents themed concerts on myriad topics, including LGBTQIA+ rights, racial justice, immigration, climate change, and democratic rights as well as space exploration, philosophy, natural science, and the ancient elements. Inversion advocates for inclusion through outreach with local public schools, college partners, and annual emerging composer contests.