My entry for the SFCM 9th Biennial Art Song Competition. Text by Emily Dickinson. Performance by Lindsay Martin and myself at the piano.

Come Slowly — Eden 

Come slowly — Eden 
Lips unused to Thee —
Bashful — sip thy Jessamines
As the fainting Bee.

Reaching late his flower, 
Round her chamber hums —
Counts his nectars —
Enters — and is lost in Balms.

Come Slowly – Eden

From the "Veil Waltz" EP (HWY-022)
Learn more about "Veil Waltz": http://www.brassland.org/album.php?catno=022

Clogs are a mostly instrumental project led by Bryce Dessner and Australia's Padma Newsome, both men familiar from their membership in the acclaimed rock band, The National. But don't call Clogs a side project. Their existence predates The National, and Clogs have released five widely acclaimed albums -- a highly melodic debut THOM'S NIGHT OUT (2001), then the experimental polyphonies of LULLABY FOR SUE (2003), the minimalist explorations of STICK MUSIC (2004), the post-classical beauty of LANTERN (2006) and finally THE CREATURES IN THE GARDEN OF LADY WALTON (2010), a progressive song-cycle featuring performances by Sufjan Stevens, Matt Berninger of The National &amp; Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond.


Clogs - "Turn the River: Mandola Theme"

for Orchestra 
Performed at the Manhattan School of Music 
Conducted by Jose Juan Marla Fernandez

Gökotta

Three Etudes for Solo Piano. Live recording by Dale Tsang, San Francisco, 2013

03 Three Etudes 3 Dodecahedron

A stretched version of Arsonist's Prayer.

Arsonist's Prayer (2 hour version)

ambient track I made a several months ago

Lie Low

Sample:
Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto - "Corcovado"

I Don't Pop Xan

"Persephone" (2019) for orchestra
by Patrick Holcomb

Indiana University Concert Orchestra
David Dzubay, conductor

Recorded November 19-20, 2019
Musical Arts Center, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music

"Persephone" © 2019 by N. Patrick Holcomb. All rights reserved.

Program Note:

Persephone (2019) is a reinterpretation of the Greek myth of Persephone, the goddess who was abducted by Hades and subsequently forced to spend a portion of each year with him in the underworld. The work was born out of my attempt to imagine Persephone seeing her reflection in each of the six rivers visible from the underworld on her annual journey into Hades.

The piece begins on the shore of the Oceanus, the river-sea that separates the worlds of the living and the dead. Persephone (represented here by the alto flute and the bassoon) cries out in anguish as she awaits her return to the underworld for the coming months. The towering but distant voice of her mother, the powerful goddess Demeter (represented here by the oboe and the bass clarinet), echoes Persephone’s distress back to her. As the goddesses’ voices become increasingly hysterical, Hades (represented here by the horn and the trombone) emerges from the earth, seizing Persephone and taking her in his chariot over the Oceanus and into the underworld. As they fly over the Acheron, the river of pain that marks the entrance of the underworld, Persephone sees the reflections of her and her captor distorted by the ripples caused by the oars of the ferryman Charon. The Phlegethon, the river of fire, is patrolled on both sides by centaurs who prevent the shades of the wicked from escaping the water; Persephone’s reflection stands alongside the ghosts imprisoned in the river. She sees her face contorted by rage in the turbulent waters of the Styx, the river of hatred that wraps around the underworld seven times. The dead who do not receive a proper burial spend eternity on the banks of the Cocytus, the river of wailing; similarly trapped, Persephone sees her reflection mingled with these ghosts and hears her voice echoed in their cries. The Lethe, the river of forgetfulness, passes by the cave of the sleep god Hypnos; in this river, Persephone watches herself surrender to sleep, accepting that she can do nothing to change her fate.

Persephone (2019) for orchestra

Tamara McLeod was born in Denver, Colorado, to a Ukrainian mother and an American father in 1999. She spent years of her childhood in Crimea wandering through the ancient greek ruins of Chersonese and swimming in the Black Sea. Tamara began composing in her late teens, and is also a pianist/singer. Her music is dedicated to illuminating the experience of the human condition and exploring the multi-faceted world of emotion.
 
    Tamara’s body of work includes a wide array of music, ranging from vocal, orchestral, smaller ensembles, to solo piano works and beyond that. She has a particular fondness for electroacoustic music. Tamara has written an aleatoric piece for trumpet, voice, electronics, and tape, “Granules”; a passionate and fruitful exploration with trumpeter/composer/performer Sam Friedman. Above all, Tamara has a special place in her heart for writing for the voice. 
Her art song "Dirge for a Joker” placed third in the SFCM 9th Biennial art song competition, and her choral piece "De Profundis” placed second in the SFCM 14th Biennial a cappella choral competition. 
 
    McLeod has been commissioned by a diverse range of entities, including the Ensemble for These Times (“Spent”, for piano trio), the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola (“For God Alone…” for accompanied SATB choir), and opera singer Susanne Mentzer (“She Could…(For Mary)”, for mezzo and piano quintet). 
 
    With a tremendous interest in exploring the works of and connecting with other composers, Tamara has attended many music festivals and programs such as the Arts Letters and Numbers Creative Music Intensive (Averill Park NY, USA), the Zodiac Music Festival (Nice, France), the Bowdoin International Music Festival (Brunswick ME, USA), the Fresh Inc Festival (Virtual), and the European American Music Alliance Program (Paris, France). 
 
    Tamara holds a Master of Music in composition from the Manhattan School of Music where she studied with Reiko Fueting, Susan Botti, and David Adamcyk. She began her journey in music composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she studied with her mentor, David Garner, and received her Bachelor of Music in composition. She has also studied with wonderful composers/pedagogues including Michael Harrison, Aleksandra Vrebalov, and Derek Bermel. 
 
    Tamara McLeod believes in engaging with art holistically. She loves poetry, visual art, film, architecture, dance: all of which enriches her sense of humanity. These engagements bring about an ever-changing perspective in her, of creation and expression as a human being.

Gökotta

Tamara.McLeod

Related tracks