New art songs

Batter’s Box for Soprano and Piano
Duration: 18’
Text by Kenny Berkowitz and Bridget Meeds
Performers: American Modern Ensemble: Dmitri Pittas, tenor; Blair McMillen, piano
Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=103_137&products_id=914
Online Perusal Score: https://issuu.com/robertpaterson/docs/batter_s_box_fs_bound
For More Information: https://robertpaterson.com/batters-box

PROGRAM NOTES
Batter's Box is my second song cycle written in collaboration with Bridget Meeds, a poet, and Kenny Berkowitz, a journalist. The first project we worked on together was Thursday, a song cycle for soprano and piano in which the text consists of fictitious answering machine messages. This time, we specifically decided to tackle a subject that we thought might entice people into the concert hall who might not normally attend classical concerts. The text is loosely based on the life of baseball giant Mike Piazza of the New York Mets. Each movement represents a different phase of the game, and Piazza’s thoughts of his father tie everything together. However, overall, I interpret this cycle as being less about Piazza the individual and more about the all-American baseball player.

Winter Songs

Batter's Box - 3. Rain Delay

Bells In The Rain

Duration: ca. 21'
Music by Robert Paterson • Lyrics by David Cote

Instrumentation: soprano and chamber ensemble (wind doubler [flute, B-flat clarinet, oboe], violin, cello, percussion, piano)
Performed by American Modern Ensemble, Marnie Breckenridge, Soprano
Formerly titled "In Real Life."

Purchase Sheet Music: (Version for Soprano and Chamber Ensemble): http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=103_137&products_id=2778

Purchase Sheet Music: (Version for Soprano and Piano): http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=103_137&products_id=2777

For more information:
Version for Soprano and Chamber Ensemble: https://robertpaterson.com/in-real-life-version-for-soprano-and-chamber-ensemble
Version for Soprano and Piano: https://robertpaterson.com/in-real-life-version-for-soprano-and-piano

In Real Life II for baritone and chamber ensemble and baritone and piano also available. (In Real Life II consists of different songs than In Real Life.)

PROGRAM NOTE
Forty million Americans do it: join a dating site hoping to find true love in digital space. In Real Life is a song cycle for soprano and piano that explores the humor and heartbreak of this modern ritual. Five women fill out their dating-site profiles, opening a window into their worlds. The first song is “A Regular Woman,” in which a lady outlines the exact sort of man she’s looking for with comical specificity, perfect for today’s on-demand culture. “Late Bloomer” is a sweet and wistful portrait of a woman who learns in her 40s that her romantic tastes have changed radically. Next, in “Anastasia,” we hear from a Russian looking for a husband—with all the broken English that entails. With “Collateral,” the mood turns dark, as a war widow contemplates returning to the dating pool. Finally, “Rewind” is a nostalgic anthem by a 35-year-old whose divorce has made her feel like an awkward teen again. Can she learn something from her younger self? Funny and sad yet full of hope, In Real Life is about reality, fantasy and second chances. In Real Life was commissioned by Austin Chamber Ensemble Artistic Director Martha Mortensen Ahern, in honor of its 35th season.

American Modern Ensemble: In Real Life

July 14, 2022

In Real Life I - I. A Regular Woman

In Real Life I - II. Late Bloomer

In Real Life I - III. Anastasia

In Real Life I - IV. Collateral

American composer Robert Paterson is a true New Yorker—born and bred in Buffalo, he lived in Rochester and Ithaca for over ten years, in New York City for over twenty years, and now lives in Saratoga Springs, near the Adirondacks. Paterson’s colorful music embraces a wide variety of themes, everything from goddesses and online dating to mathematics and the environment. His music is filled with emotion and fierce rhythmic energy, marked by elegance, wit, and meticulous craftsmanship. Named Composer of The Year by the Classical Recording Foundation at Carnegie Hall, Paterson is the winner of the Alfred I. DuPont Award, and his opera Three Way won the Grammy® under Best Classical Producer of the Year. His music is often a Best of the Year pick on National Public Radio. His orchestral tone poem, Dark Mountains, regularly airs on NPR’s Performance Today. Three Way premiered with Nashville Opera, then BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), and across the United States. Minnesota Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, The Oratorio Society of New York, Buffalo Philharmonic, Albany Pro Musica, Albany Symphony, Musica Sacra, Austin Symphony, Vermont Symphony, and ensembles worldwide perform his works. Paterson gives masterclasses at the Curtis Institute of Music, New York University, the Aspen Music Festival, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and more. He is the Artistic Director and house composer for Mostly Modern Projects. Robert is a lifelong vegan and advocates for animals and the environment, celebrating the natural world with ground-breaking works such as his Triple Concerto, A New Eaarth, Listen, and I Go Among Trees.

Batter's Box - 3. Rain Delay

Robert Paterson Composer