Composed 2021 by Amelia Horney for The Rhythm Method Quartet

In Our Forest (2021) for string quartet is an exploration of the raw, intimate colors of string instruments, which, to me, are just as visceral as the human voice. Through breath, hums, and strained voices, I intend to build a soulful, shimmering forest for these sounds to bloom as they please.

In Our Forest

Marvin's Temple

Commissioned by The Sheldon Concert Hall| St. Louis, God of Doors is my "COVID piece". Janus being the two-headed god of beginnings, endings, gates, and doors was my inspiration for a piece combating my grief of many "endings" and excitement for new beginnings. The piece unfolds in sections: A Lament to the Past, Intermission, and an Ode to the Future.

Performed by:
Roger Kaza - French Horn
Peter Henderson - Piano

God Of Doors

Crime n' Grime

Crime N' Grime

for orchestra

Written in 2008, revised in 2010, Adieu is an elegy to Igor Loch (1917 - 2008). The work comments on the beauty and fragility of life, yet also the calm and relief of death. The piece contains three core harmonies, which are orchestrated, re-orchestrated, and juxtaposed to shift our perspective on their sonic and emotional implications.

Adieu (2009) for orchestra

for mixed choir, solo viola, and piano
Text by Stevie Smith
Michal Novotny, conductor; Marcin Swobod, viola; Thomas Carr, piano

Not Waving But Drowning:

Nobody heard him, the dead man.
But still he lay moaning;
I was much further our than you thought
And not waving but drowning.

Poor chap, he always loved larking
And now he's dead.
It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way,
They said.

Oh, no no no, it was too cold always
(Still the dead one lay moaning)
I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning.

Not Waving But Drowning (2009) for viola, piano, and mixed choir

Live performance at Oberlin 2.26.19
Oberlin New Music Ensemble
Conducted by Tim Weiss at the Oberlin Conservatory Warner Hall

Lyric Rivera, fulte/alto flute/piccolo
T. Colton Potter, oboe/English horn
Caleb Rose, clarinet I
Alex Abreu, clarinet II
Brian Geise, bassoon/contrabassoon
Nicholas Ginsburg, horn
Sam Friedman, trumpet
Evelyn Proffit, trombone
Carson Fratus, percussion I
Eli Geruschat, percussion  II
Amanda Lubin, piano
Esther Roestan, violin I
Simone Hammet-Lynch, violin II
Corley Friesen-Johnson, viola
Luka Stefanovic, cello
Matthew Frerck, contrabass

About the work:

In Spanish there are two verbs for the English verb “to be”, one is ser (to be) and the other one is estar (to be). The difference between the two is the quality of permanence: estar is a transitory state, an accidental element of being, while ser is permanent, ex. I am (ser) a human being, I am (estar) tired. The Spanish word esencia (essence) is descriptive of the ser verb form, the true nature of anything, not accidental or illusory (Merrian-Webster).

I find myself thinking about this a lot in times of change. Living in another country demands an immense effort for adaptation, in which one of the dangers -and almost unavoidable stage- is the feeling of losing oneself. Being at a distance with all the elements that made me myself: my culture, my family, my mother language, made me value all the small-things, those moments, places, persons that have now became lucid memories that I jealously treasure. And, aren’t we all just memories? Those instants that we chose to keep at the surface, and even the ones that remain deep inside, hidden, they shape our being, our feelings, our responses, they become our essence.

Esencia - Oberlin New Music Ensemble, conducted by Tim Weiss

Instrumentation: two pianos, electronics 
Performers: Yuxi Qin, Wensi Yan
Year: 2010

Kolokol (2010) for two pianos and electronics

the in-between : a series of moods (2019)
I. Echoes of a Fonder Time
II. Grit, Grime, Grunge
III. Dopamine

To describe how we feel as a mood puts a leash on a fickle, restless thing.  Being in a "bad mood" is flat, ambiguous. It says nothing of the dread, fear, defeat that grips us. And what of moods that are composed of oxymora? How do you describe a mood that feels equal parts happy and sad? 

in-be·tween  
           adjective

situated somewhere between two extremes or recognized categories; intermediate.

the in-between : a series of moods(2019) for 2 Trombones and Euphonium

A wip hip-hop/rap track. Lyrics/rapping have not yet been added nor has bass. Mix is rough.

Sentimientos [Work in Progress] v0.9

lightBox
mvt I. Glisten, Listen

composed 2020 by Amelia Horney

vln 1: Elizabeth Wei
vln 2: Olena Kapersky 
cello: Quenton Blache
flute: Amelia Horney
 
Copyright © 2020 by Amelia Horney. All Rights Reserved.

the in-between : a series of moods(2019) for 2 Trombones and Euphonium

Irene Music

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