Music by Oliver Caplan
Performed by Juventas New Music Ensemble
Ryan Shannon, violin; Olga Patramanska-Bell, violin; Lu Yu, viola; Minjin Chung, cello;
www.olivercaplan.com

In December 2019, I journeyed to Monteverde, Costa Rica, one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. After a long day traveling from Boston, I woke before sunrise to meet a local naturalist. Over the next five hours, binoculars in hand, we saw over 50 species of birds. Birdwatching revealed that a rainbow was hiding in plain sight. I was in awe of the naturalist’s talent to notice the slightest movement or flash of color. Of course, not all birds were looking to camouflage. For those looking to strut their stuff, nothing was more recognizable then their signature songs, weaving in and out of the cloud forest symphony.

Canciones de Monteverde is built on musical interpretations of seven calls, a small sample from five hours in one of nature’s most melodious halls. The birds represented are the Collared Trogan, Lessons Mot Mot, Green-crowned Brilliant, Black Faced Solitaire, Golden-browed Chlorophonia, Red-billed Pidgeon and Grey-breasted Wren.

Writing this music in spring 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, was a bittersweet endeavor. An avid traveler, I find unending joy meeting new people, learning about their cultures, and exploring diverse ecosystems. Staying at home for months on end has been an exercise of memory and anticipation. This piece recalls one perfect morning. I hope that it reminds you of your own grand adventures.

Oliver Caplan: Canciones de Monteverde

Canciones de Monteverde - String Quartet

Music by Oliver Caplan
Performed by Juventas New Music Ensemble
Nick Southwick, flute; Wolcott Humphrey, clarinet; Anne Howarth, horn; Minjin Chung, cello; Julia Scott Carey, piano
www.olivercaplan.com

Watershed was inspired by a favorite walk along the Mystic River. From the boat launch in Medford Square, just a few blocks from my house, I meander for miles upriver, eventually reaching a series of gleaming lakes.

While this urban oasis has provided solace and inspiration for years, in 2020 it became something more: a lifeline. Amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic and the claustrophobia of staying home for extended periods, this green corridor quiets my mind and fills my soul with light. I return over and over again, finding hope in the enduring beauty of the natural world.

Watershed, Movement II. Calm - Flute, Clarinet, Horn, Cello, Piano

Music by Oliver Caplan
Performed by Juventas New Music Ensemble
Wolcott Humphrey, clarinet; Minjin Chung, cello; Julia Scott Carey, piano
www.olivercaplan.com

n the Direction of Dreams commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the United States Wild & Scenic Rivers Act. Nature has always been the place where I feel most myself, a font for peace and creativity. In the Directions of Dreams unfolds in three movements inspired by one of my favorite walks alongside Walden Pond, through Adams Woods, and down to Fairhaven Bay. This sojourn traverses the historic setting of Thoreau’s Life in the Woods, a landscape of idyllic swimming holes, pine forests, stone walls, and a shimmering river. This serenely beautiful landscape has continued to be a source of inspiration and reflection for generations of community members thanks to its protected status.

While this urban oasis has provided solace and inspiration for years, in 2020 it became something more: a lifeline. Amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic and the claustrophobia of staying home for extended periods, this green corridor quiets my mind and fills my soul with light. I return over and over again, finding hope in the enduring beauty of the natural world.

In the Direction of Dreams, Movement III. Fairhaven Bay - Clarinet, Cello, Piano

Music by Oliver Caplan
www.olivercaplan.com

Performed by Kalliope Reed Quintet
https://kalliopereedquintet.com/

Bonne Année pays homage to the City of Light. For centuries, Paris has been a beacon for artists and intellectuals from around the world, who travel to the city’s hallowed grounds to partake in its culture and learn from leading voices of their days. I feel incredibly grateful to have studied in Paris myself during the summers of 2007 and 2008, a formative period in my musical development as a young composer. But this piece recalls two leisure trips, in 1999 and 2017, to ring in the new year. The city was blanketed with an air of conviviality. Streets overflowed with a patchwork of vibrant revelry, and quieter moments tucked in nooks and crannies.

This work is the second installment in my “One World” project, celebrating places that beat in my heart. I started this series in 2020, during a period when travel was limited. Through music, I am revisiting journeys past to honor our global community.

Oliver Caplan:  Bonne Année!

Bonne Année! - Reed Quintet

Music by Oliver Caplan
Poetry by Richard Blanco
New Hampshire Master Chorale & Juventas New Music Ensemble
Recorded Live October 29, 2022, Medford, MA

Diversity is the backbone of our nation. Yet to be different does not necessitate being divided.
Just as seemingly disparate swaths of fabric can be enjoined in the most beautiful patchwork quilt, so too can our hearts form a vibrant community fabric. And what is the alternative? To be scraps, littered separately on acutting room floor?

Every once in a while, I read a poem that resonates so deeply, it makes my entire body quiver. Cloud Anthem by Richard Blanco, President Obama’s second inaugural poet, is one of those works. I’m incredibly grateful for his permission to set this poem to music and share its profound message. May we each follow its call to soften our hard edges and abide as one together in one single sky.

www.olivercaplan.com
https://richard-blanco.com/
www.nhmasterchorale.org

Cloud Anthem (excerpt) - Chorus & Orchestra

Music by Oliver Caplan
Performed by Juventas New Music Ensemble
Grant Houston, violin; Julia Scott Carey, piano
www.olivercaplan.com

I wrote Prayer for Peace in early 2025, holding onto dreams for a better tomorrow. Across our nation—and around the world—we find ourselves at a critical crossroads. Democracies are being tested, autocrats are flexing their power, and innocent people are facing unprecedented hardships

When I began writing, in February, the piece centered on a more solemn tone. I’ve always been an optimist, but in times like these, it’s hard not to feel a flicker of doubt. As winter turned the corner to spring, I found rays of light creeping in. Writing this music helped me process the pain in my heart and center on a guiding belief: that we will indeed come together and rise above. I hope this music offers a moment of solace for those who need

Prayer for Peace (excerpt) - Violin & Piano

Music by Oliver Caplan
www.olivercaplan.com

Recorded Live by the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra
Matthew Scinto, Music Director
April 28, 2024

Asked to commemorate President John F. Kennedy for a collaboration between the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra and the John F. Kennedy Museum in Hyannis, I immediately said yes. American hero, civil rights icon, and one of the most popular American presidents of all time!

The concert was to be entitled “J.F.K. Remembered,” but as I began reflecting, I realized I couldn’t honestly claim to remember anything about a man who was horrifically assassinated nearly 20 years before I was born. The history I did know was superficial, at best.

And so, I began to explore this celebrated man. At first, I became a little unsure. Not everything about J.F.K. holds up to today’s values. For one thing, he was widely known to be somewhat of a womanizer. And his early stances on civil rights were a mixed bag, sometimes falling to the whims of political interest. However, as I learned more and began to see a fuller picture, I found
a public servant driven by his deep desire to make our world a better place. He held a moral clarity on democracy—versus tyranny—that is deeply needed in today’s world. He understood that freedom requires sacrifice, crystalized in his iconic call to action. And he worked to learn from his mistakes, continually striving to be a better, more unifying leader.

In my home state of Massachusetts, J.F.K. held deep ties to Cape Cod, a place where he found restorative peace. I too have walked these dunes, visiting this ethereal coastline nearly my entire life. President Kennedy created Cape Cod National Seashore, ensuring this beautiful and ecologically important habitat would remain for future generations to enjoy. All these years later, it is because of him that I can return again and again, seeking solace and inspiration. 

And he did, finally, lay the groundwork for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which—passed shortly after his death--provided important legal protections to advance equality.

Yes, I do not remember J.F.K. But his life’s work echoes through today’s world. For generation of Americans, he represented hope for what could be. In this, I find light.

J.F.K. Found (excerpt) - Orchestra

Music by Oliver Caplan
www.olivercaplan.com

Poetry by Richard Blanco
https://richard-blanco.com/

Recorded Live by the New Hampshire Master Chorale
Dan Perkins, Music Director
November 22, 2025

Richard Blanco, President Barack Obama’s inaugural poet, wrote Until We Could in 2014 for the Freedom to Marry coalition. He frames the poem with a tender letter to his husband, Mark, and within those intimate bookends, he places their personal story in the wider arc of the marriage equality movement. At its heart, this is what sustains all social movements: real people, real lives.

I was first drawn to set Until We Could to music in honor of the tenth anniversary of Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark Supreme Court decision that affirmed the nationwide right of same-sex couples to marry. That milestone is deeply personal for me as well—it came just three weeks after my own wedding, to my husband, Chris.

What began as a celebratory project has taken on a more sober tone in light of today’s climate. We are witnessing a painful rollback of gay rights—and civil rights more broadly. National Park sites, including Stonewall, have been ordered to censor their educational materials, erasing the “T” from LGBTQ+. Businesses have secured the right to refuse service to same-sex couples. Many states, including New Hampshire—where this piece is being premiered—have banned gender-affirming care for minors.

Now, more than ever, we must redouble our efforts for freedom and equality. We must retell history so that it is not forgotten, and we must carry forward the simplest and most enduring truth: Love is love.

Until We Could

Love Letters (excerpt) - Flute, Clarinet, String Quartet

Fairsted: A Brookline Overture is a tribute to Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903), widely considered the father of American landscape architecture. Olmsted designed his parks to be refuges where people of all backgrounds could come together to find solace amidst the hustle and bustle of the country's burgeoning cities. Olmsted’s crown jewels include designs for national treasures such as Central Park, the grounds of the United States Capitol, and the trails at Niagara Falls.

www.olivercaplan.com

Fairsted: A Brookline Overture (excerpt) - Orchestra

Are we individual actors, alone together? Or are we bound by our common humanity? Connect All. We All Connect. explores the interconnectedness of people in today’s world. At times fragile and questioning, at times confident and affirming, the piece ultimately sounds a message that we are our best selves when we embrace heartfelt connection.

Oliver Caplan: Connect All. We All Connect.

Connect All. We All Connect. (excerpt) - Soprano, Horn, Piano

Storytime is the last part of a four-movement suite for solo cello, inspired by the folk music of Appalachia.  It can also be performed as a standalone piece.  The work was inspired by the folk music of Appalachia. It’s an enchanting musical tradition full of lyrical melodies, foot-tapping rhythms, heart-wrenching lullabies, and above all, a spirit of American people and their landscape.

Performance by David Russell

www.olivercaplan.com

Oliver Caplan: Moon Over Appalachia

Storytime (from Moon Over Appalachia)

Oliver Caplan: You Are Not Alone

Love Letters, Movement III. Two Penguins In Love - Flute, Clarinet, String Quartet

Journey to the West is a double concerto for orchestra with flute and erhu (Chinese violin) soloists, inspired by the epic Chinese novel by Wu Cheng’en (1506-1582). It was co- commissioned by the Bronx Arts Ensemble and Chinese Symphonic Masterpieces at Harvard University.

The novel relates the story of a monkey’s great personal growth. To reflect this transformation, the music casts a simple melody in four different ways, mirroring the stages of Monkey’s maturation. The flute and erhu represent Monkey’s yang (mischievous, active, aggressive ways) and yin (soft, feminine, community-minded ways) respectively, starting as divided entities and ending in balance.

Journey To The West (2011) - Orchestra w/ Solo Flute and Erhu

The melodies for this piece were sketched amidst the heat of August in New England.  Summer affords many vantage points from which to pursue the wondrous sport of cloud watching:  the tranquil waters of Walden Pond, alpine meadows of the White Mountains, and soft sands of Crane Beach.  Here is some music from those lazy days.

My Elephant Cloud (2011) - Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello, Piano

Annual ritual brings heightened awareness of the empty chairs at our tables. Holiday traditions can be bittersweet for the memories they conjure. Meghan Guidry’s elegiac text “Is There a Word That Means Return?” mourns the loss of her father, juxtaposing memories of their holiday traditions with loneliness left by his absence.

The music pairs father and daughter in a wistful duet across space and time, child speaking prose, parent calling back through song. Each has a theme – the father’s slow and lyrical, the daughter’s twinkling and mystical – with a melody reminiscent of a music-box to represent their shared past.

olivercaplan

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