Music of the Baroque Chorus (William Jon Gray, conductor and chorus director)
Recorded live in December 2017. 

Text: 
The day is done, and the darkness
Falls from the wings of Night,
As a feather is wafted downward
From an eagle in his flight.

I see the lights of the village
Gleam through the rain and the mist,
And a feeling of sadness comes over me
That my soul cannot resist:

A feeling of sadness and longing,
That is not akin to pain,
And resembles sorrow only
As the mist resembles the rain.

Come, come read to me some poem,
Some simple and heartfelt lay,
That shall soothe this restless feeling,
And banish the thoughts of day.

Read from some humble poet,
Whose songs gushed from his heart,
As showers from the clouds of summer,
Or tears from the eyelids start;

Then read from some treasured volume
The poem of thy choice,
And lend to the rhyme of the poet
The beauty of thy voice.

And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares, that infest the day,
Shall be banished like restless feelings
And silently steal away.

Stephen Paulus, "The Day Is Done" (Live)

This is the fifth movement of the string quartet Anacostia Journal, by Lauren Bernofsky.

Anacostia Journal is a tribute to the endangered nature in the Anacostia River region in Washington, D. C. and the efforts of the Earth Conservation Corps to restore the natural environment to its original state. The piece is the result of a composer residency I did with the Earth Conservation Corps' Eagle Corps; I interviewed the members about their most memorable experiences, and I based the movements of this string quartet on the stories they told me.

A Tree Grows
One of the favorite activities of the Eagle Corps members is tree planting. A number of them are involved with beautification projects, adding trees, flowers, and other plants to the surrounding area. Trees provide natural beauty, shade, a means of cleaning the air, a means of holding the ground in place, food for certain insects and animals, and, of course, a home to birds. Toward the end of this movement, one can hear bird calls from four species of birds that inhabit the Anacostia River region: the Tufted Titmouse, the White-throated Sparrow, the Northern Mockingbird, and the Mourning Dove.

Performed by Lauren Benofsky and Kit Boulding, violins; Kathy Hershberger, viola; and Cara Elise Colón, cello. Engineered by Jar.

This piece is available from Theodore Presser.

A Tree Grows

He’s been called a "post-millennial Schubert": Mohammed Fairouz has composed four symphonies and an opera while still in his 20s. He invokes John F. Kennedy and Anwar Sadat, Seamus Heaney, and Yehuda Amichai in his compositions — seeing "illustrious language" as a form of music too — and a way, just maybe, to shift the world on its axis.

See more at www.onbeing.org/program/mohammed-fairouz-the-world-in-counterpoint/7511

Mohammed Fairouz — The World in Counterpoint

'Freedmen' for Alto Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano is a musical hybrid of Native American and African cultures that honor the legacy of the Freedmen. They were former African slaves adopted into tribal membership through emancipation or marriage. They were later cast out of the government’s National Registry of those tribes that would have entitled them to land and other benefits. Still, they fight for their rights even today. The history of what the early US colonial Government labeled as the “Five Civilized Tribes” (the Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek, Seminole and Choctaw nations) and their relationship with the Freedmen resonates within me as it is a true merging of cultures, sometimes clashing with aggression, but more than often melding into a soulful exchange.

Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes by Valerie Coleman, performed live by DaCapo Chamber Players

there are no words - by James M. Stephenson
This is the version for concert band (or wind ensemble)
http://stephensonmusic.com/product/there-are-no-words-band/
VIEW SCORE here:
http://stephensonmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/there-are-no-words-concert-band-score-FINAL.pdf

Program notes can be found at the link above.
Please look at the score to see how the last section of the work (starting at 9:20) uses the names of the victims as inspiration for the melody.
Jim Stephenson; 
August 7, 2015 (original version premiere; Nathan Tucker and Chamber Music Charleston)
February 20, 2016 (concert band premiere; Scott Weiss and Palmetto Concert Band) 


there are no words - for concert band

Patrick Owen, cello
Sarah Bob, piano

Composed in the autumn of 2010, originally as the second movement of my sonata for violin and piano (from 2011, commissioned by violinist Erik Rohde). I adapted the movement as a standalone work for cello and piano in 2013. The title says all there needs to be said about the music and the meaning behind the music -- it is a letter, in music, of love, loss, and letting go.

Recorded on April 24, 2016.

A Letter To Say I Love You, And Goodbye (2010)

"And the Nightwatchers Awake" (for concert band) by Carrie Magin. Commissioned by Jason Decker and the Letchworth Junior High Band with a grant from the Arts Council for Wyoming County. Premiered in 2017 (recorded by the Houghton College Wind Ensemble).

And the Nightwatchers Awake (for concert band)

In ancient cultures, the solar eclipse was often taken as an omen foretelling some sort of cataclysm. Obsidian Moon begins by painting the creeping crescent of darkness at the edge of the sun. As the shadow grows, the music becomes more frantic, possibly painting attempts to bring back the sun. An ethereal middle section portrays an eery calm as the corona comes into view along the edges of the black moon. As the darkness retreats, the music picks up again, but faster than before. With the sun fully visible once more, the piece closes with a sense of relief mixed with apprehension.

Obsidian Moon

performed by Jay Julio, viola, and Edward Forstman, piano

Love Letters And Other Mysteries - 2. Dive Beneath The Surface, for Viola and Piano

A billion thanks to the many people who helped me create this piece: Balint Karosi, who asked me to write it, the Saint Peter's Church Choir, who premiered it, and Ken Dake and the Marble Church Choir, who created the recording you are listening to now!

As a Hart Longs - for SATB Choir Unaccompanied

Live Performance: Volti, San Francisco, March 11, 2016

Program Notes: The Sanskrit Mantra “So ham ham sa” has been called the universal breath mantra. Its vibration resembles the sound of the breath during inhalation (so ham) and exhalation (ham sa). I was drawn to this mantra because it is the breath that connects us all and brings everything into being. Breath is our first act of life as we enter this world, and our last as we depart it. In between, we take on average a staggering 17,000 breaths a day, mostly unaware of our breathing, while a barely audible mantra continuously flows through our bodies as we inhale and exhale. It is the awareness of our breath that lies at the heart of “Into Being.”

“Into Being” was commissioned by Octarium for the Art Local Project .

A Tree Grows

Lauren Bernofsky

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