Initially a zoomed brainchild collaboration between composer John Wineglass, Maestra Barbara Day Turner (San Jose Chamber Orchestra) and Maestra Rei Hotoda (Fresno Philharmonic) - this work was ultimately co-commissioned by two more additional California orchestras as well - Monterey Symphony upon which Wineglass is in residency and with great support of the subject matter from Maestro Carl St. Claire of Pacific Symphony - all coming together to express a shared interest of new music that responds to the extraordinary nature of life during the 2020 pandemic and the catastrophic circumstances accompanying this global crisis.

In a joint-statement from Wineglass and Fresno Philharmonic conductor Rei Hotoda in the San Francisco Classical Voice, Alone Together addresses the social issues we are all facing during this pandemic — from not being able to perform together to even the systemic racial disparities given a world stage due to shelter-in-place. Despite all the setbacks of our present limitations, we are moving forward. This work is allowing us to continue our work as performers — to never lose sight of just how important the arts are and have always been. By creating this work, we are providing a way to connect to one another which is so valuable and something most of us probably once took for granted. We may feel alone at this moment but we as four performing arts organizations are coming to move forward together as one.

Virtually premiered on the 1st anniversary of the death of George Floyd and dedicated to ALL the lives lost during the COVID-19 global pandemic, this  work is in two movements: 

I. Strange Pandemic Times
II. A Ray of Hope

ALONE TOGETHER for Percussion, Harp and Strings (2021)

As a brainchild collaboration between Maestro Jung-Ho Pak, violin sensation Randall Goosby and composer John Wineglass, this work commissioned by the Cape Symphony serves as a direct tribute to not only the life of Elijah Jovan McClain - a 23-year old African-American massage therapist and amateur violinist from Aurora, Colorado who died six days after a violent encounter with police and paramedics on August 30th, 2019 but to the lost lives of many people of color at the hands of those who are entrusted 'to serve and protect'.

#elijah for Solo Violin and Orchestra (2021)

Premiered by the Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera during their 2022-2023 opening season conducted by Maestra Lidiya Yankovskaya

FACES OF HUMANITY Fanfare Fantastique for Symphony Orchestra (2022)

The natural beauty of Big Sur is sacred to many.  This sanctity was shared by Wineglass, who formed many of the themes for his tone-poem 'Big Sur: The Night Sun' while in residence on the grounds of the Glen Deven Ranch and other areas such as Pfeiffer Beach.  The beautiful impressions and warm enlightenments that affected him while on retreat became the root - and soul - of this magnificent work.  The first of four total movements sets the mood for the tone-poem as a whole: the 'Mystery of the Night Sun' is divided into three distinct sections, opening with two talking drums, a native flute player, and an Ohlone-Chumash vocalist all contributing in an improvisational manner.  The second section (sub-titled 'Path to the Night Sun') begins with the pulse of the timpani and talking drums, and reflects the spiritual experience that Wineglass had while taking a walk during the night at Glen Deven Ranch, where he was transformed by the deep power of a risen full moon.  The third section ('Rise of the Night Sun') is marked by an intensifying brass chorale, with winds and strings joining in a climactic revealing of the full glory of the risen moon ('The Night Sun Revealed'). 

The second movement, appropriately named 'Rushing Waters', opens the listener to the loveliness of the crashing waves along the California coastline.  The motivic ideas from this section were derived from student examples: children from the BSLT children's camp with Bach Festival violinist Edwin Huizinga contributed their ideas, which Wineglass then included some into the completed work.  This stemmed from a compositional component at the camp for local YOSAL students, who were challenged to go into the woods and create musical ideas on their own instruments... the very concept that Wineglass subjugated himself to in order to compose this tone-poem.  The second movement pairs well with the third, 'Pfeiffer Beach - A Secret Revealed', where a path through the trees opens to an unexpected view of the Pacific Ocean, revealing the overwhelming beauty of this hidden creation by God.  The presence of God and the admiration of beauty are central themes not only to this tone-poem, but to Wineglass himself, and as such his music offers praise and celebration to both.  The fourth movement, titled 'The Return', was inspired directly by the brilliant writings of Robinson Jeffers, in particular from the poem of the same name, which Wineglass discovered while on retreat down at Big Sur that year.  The movement begins and opens with the Ohlone-Chumash vocalist, reflecting the peoples who once preserved and cared for this great land.

Dr. Todd Samra

(c) COPYTRIGHT 2016 JWP Music Publishing (ASCAP) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Big Sur: The Night Sun (Promo Excerpt)(2016)

FANTASIA No. 4 for Electronic Tape: Spheres (2nd mvt.)(1997)

It was August 31st, 1997.  I had just settled into my New York City apartment to start my graduate composition studies w/Justin Dello-Joio of the Juilliard School when the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales, was announced to the world. The grief of her demise came to me immediately in the form of a dark, ascending, angular 7-note tone row programmatically indicative of her sudden and mystical departure.  This series of notes begins to perpetuate unified motion in the first movement, "A Mystery", which contrastingly starts in a mystic fog of sound appropriately marked 'Grave' in tempo and explores extended techniques reminiscent of avant-garde composer George Crumb.  Some of these techniques include, in this first movement, plucking with fingertips and striking with palms the strings of the piano. 

The second movement, which recently came to me in a dream sequence of that fateful car crash is entitled 'The Chase' and is a rapid 'Agitato con fuoco' in 4/8 and then 7/8 mirroring the tone row in time only with constant interplay between instruments.  This movement culminates into a sudden, roaring halt into what came to me that tragic day as the news reports poured in - the theme of the third movement, 'Diana's Lament'.  This final movement in an 'ABA' structure and very tonal in nature, is a deliberately slow 'Poco adagio'- a 'funeral' procession as she is finally laid to rest in my mind.  This 'quasi passacaglia' explores the theme in different variations eventually shared amongst each instrument. 

Copyright 2011 JWP Music Publishing (ASCAP) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

DEATH OF A PRINCESS Piano Trio No. 1  'Diana's Lament' (3rd mvt.)(2011)

FANTASIA No. 4 for Electronic Tape: 'The Abyss' (3rd mvt.) (1997)

Predicated on a theme that I wrote for the WB show, “Smallville” under the tutelage of the original composer and friend Mark Snow, this theme which is indicative of the young early rocky life of the superhero Superman is full of twists and turns as different aspects of the theme are explore in mini ‘portraits’. The inversion and retrograde inversions of the thematic material are intersperse throughout this work with intricate counter-rhythms that play off of one another in the winds. In true ABA fashion, I was impressed to extend this original cue for the show into this overture.

PORTRAITS OF A THEME  for Symphony Orchestra @Kennedy Center (2010)

PIANO SUITE No. 2 in E-Flat Major 'A Midsummer Waltz' (1st mvt.)(1994)

PIANO SUITE No. 2 in E-Flat Major 'Distant Memories'  (3rd mvt.) (1994)

FANTASIA No. 5 for Piano "Ascending Towards Heaven" (1996)

SOMEONE ELSE'S CHILD for Narrator and Symphony Orchestra w/Maestra Marin Alsop  (2012)

This 3rd movement is inspired by the Santa Fe and many California railways of the 1850's that populated and helped established Southern California where San Bernardino was once a railway hub.  I simulate the appropriately titled movement 'Sprawling California Railways' that once all permeated and infiltrated the West bringing goods, mail delivery, etc. from as far away as NYC ultimately landing in LA. This short third movement thus springs into a 4th movement called 'The Wild Wild West Pioneers and The Spanish Rancheros inspired by these early settlers and of course the stories of Wyatt Earp whose father actually settled with the family in Colton, CA. It's a very playful fast-pace movement describing the glee of the great California Gold Rush an the historic angst of these two settler groups - especially after Spain finally relinquished Alta California to Mexico in 1821 and then Americans gained control of California from the Mexicans during the Mexican-American War - which ended in 1848 in Texas.

VOICES OF THE WEST for Symphony Orchestra and SATB Chorus (Excerpts)(2019)

Commissioned by Maestro Daniel Stewart for the Santa Cruz Symphony for their 2018-2019 Enlightenment Concert Series.  From the 'slow misty haze and mystic air' of one of my brisk morning walks in the redwoods to the might crashing waves of the Santa Cruz County beaches of the majestic Pacific Ocean, this work marks such a flight path through the eyes of endothermic vertebrates - the scientific word for the many 'birds' like the snowy egret, red tail hawk, blue jays, ravens, woodpeckers and even golden eagles that populate and are indigenous to this region. 

During this flight path, the birds eventually swirl high in the air around my own original 'Scottish' theme and in the middle of that 'jig' I quote the Scottish folk song by Robert Burns, "Ye Banks and Braes O' Bonnie Doon' where John Burns, a Scotsman living in Santa Cruz in the 1900's originally derived the name of the city - referring back to a river that flows from Loch Doon to the Firth of Clyde in Ayrshire, Scotland.  Enjoy the ride!

BONNY DOON: From the Misty Redwoods Down to The Might Pacific for Symphony Orchestra (2019)

Commissioned by the Pittsburgh Foundation, The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, The Benjamin Harris Memorial Fund and the NIcky Horvitz Gordon Memorial Fund, The Heinz Endowments Small Arts Initiative and The Opportunity Fund dedicated to the lives of millions and numerous contributions of African and African-American forced laborers who cultivated the immense, expansive, and particularly wealthy rice economy in the Lowcountry.  The physical labor of the aforementioned is often forsaken - their physical remains to this day... unburied, and unnoticed.  Their lives... unmourned and where 'watery graves have no markings' - left unmarked (Fields-Black).  It seems that the ramifications of this mindset and practice still remain in even the dynamics of modern-day culture.  With a libretto written by Dr. Edda-Fields Black, the work makes a musical journey from the shores of West Africa to the slave shores of the colonial United States.  From the 'white ships with black cargo' of the Middle Passage (Tom Feelings) of the first movement to the malaria-infested 100 degree working conditions of the swamp lands tiled by free labor of the 2nd movement this work at it's present stage culminates into a 3rd movement entitled 'A Lament For Souls Lost'.  It mourns the passing of those who helped create our American economy, industry and culture as we know it today.  This is a preview for a longer in-progress dramatic work for symphony orchestra, mezzo-soprano, baritone and SATB Chorus.

UNBURIED, UNMOURNED, UNMARKED: Requiem for Rice for Symphony Orchestra  (Excerpts) (2019)

Commissioned during COVID-19 in 2020 by The Portland Symphony Orchestra as an offering to their annual holiday pops concerts titled "The Magic of Christmas" conducted by Maestro Eckart Preu.

In the requested fashion of a four minute wind ensemble virtuosic work with mystery of sorts even quoting some Christmas hymns as well - The Toy Factory: Little Elves, Fairies and Snowmen sheds a
musical light on the plight of Christmas elves on the Eve of Christmas building toys and helping Santa deliver these toys before Christmas morning. The work gleefully interweaves and explores several tonal key centers with varying amounts of solos, duets, trios and the such throughout the ensemble.

THE TOY FACTORY: Little Elves, Fairies and Snowmen (2020)

DEATH OF A PRINCESS Piano Trio No. 2 for Violin, Violincello and Piano (2011)

Commissioned originally by the Stockton Symphony conducted by Maestro Peter Jaffe. Cityscapes is a one movement symphonic work in essentially two programmatic tableaus. The first entitled "Morning Dawn" is a serene description in the classical music sensibility while in contrast, the second entitled, "City People, City LIghts" gives a sonorous vibrancy to the same exact thematic material in a fast-pace jazz score to synergistic lights and action of city life - essentially applicable to any city in America today. This work is meant to be accompanied by visuals by a local artist in a city near you.

Cityscapes is meant to be a visual experience.  The opening theme was inspired by this opening picture of morning dawn on the outskirts of Stockton, CA by student artist and photographer Dawn LeAnn Lewis from Delta College.

CITYSCAPES for Symphony Orchestra (2019)

Commissioned by the Monterey Symphony for Concertmaster Christina Mok dedicated to all the victims of the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic for their Balcony Sessions live from the beautiful city of Carmel-by-the-Sea. This was a COVID-guideline friendly offering of concerts by symphony players to the community via live-stream during the pandemic. 

ALONE is comprised of two starkly contrasted movements. The first entitled "Frenzied Lives" explodes at a very rapid 144 bpm (beats per minute) pace indicative of humanity across the globe pre-COVID and then into the perils of a global pandemic all voiced by a single violin with live electronics intermittently.  There would be glimmers of hope - times of possible brilliance - yet brought back to a current dismal reality of isolation, loss, loneliness, suffering even racial injustice.  A longing for common ground but finding no footing... no continuity.  Abrupt silences... alone. And while it is important to rise up again to survive, we must codify through art and music these moments - less we forget the lessons learned. 

With the advent of COVID-19, the second movement entitled, "Realms of Rest" exposes 'alone' time that most of the global community had not experienced in 100 years or so. It was a time to slow down, reconnect with family, losing time - not just in hours but in weeks and months. At one point, I personally couldn't even keep track of days with oftentimes it's repetitive motion of just existing - my calendar remaining blank for months. Time during the pandemic for me was an odd ethereal feeling, hanging in the balance in this new normal.  While in the first movement, you feel the rushed anguish of being alone in some pretty uncertain times, the second movement in contrast essentially has no tempo again voiced by a single violin accompanied by ethereal electronic tape and live electronics throughout. I equate this feeling of 'alone' to being in a mother's womb - connected but far away. Close but until birth - an uncertain reality into a new world changed hopefully for the better. 

And while it was a beautiful time to reflect on humanity for some,  there was a realm of rest experienced by millions who ultimately died 'alone' intubated and eventually meeting their Maker.  We all 'go'... we all die.  And we all make that journey... alone.

ALONE for Solo Violin, Live EFX and Electronica (2021)

(®Emmy Award-Winning Composer) has performed on five continents, before every U.S. president since Ronald Reagan and with several ®Oscar and ®Grammy-Award Winning artists, including Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston and Jamie Foxx to name a few. With commissions from the likes of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music w/Maestra Marin Alsop to the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, The Washington Post describes his concert-hall work as having ‘iridescent colors in the world premiere of a beautifully crafted suite’ while Marvin Hamlisch congratulates the occasion by commenting ‘… with a name like Wineglass, it had to be good.’
 
John received his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Composition with a minor in Viola Performance at The American University and later received his master’s degree in Music Composition: Film Scoring for Motion Pictures, Television and Multi-Media at New York University, studying with Justin Dello-Joio of the Juilliard School. 
 
As a recipient of three (two consecutive) ®Emmy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition for a Drama Series, and three ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards, Mr. Wineglass holds seven ®EMMY nominations.
 
In 2014, John arranged all of the string arrangements and performed w/the electric-acoustic violin on the ©GRAMMY-nominated gospel album and DVD Withholding Nothing (LIVE) by William McDowell.  He also finished string arrangements on MOTOWN’s latest Christmas album in 25 years which won a 2015 ©DOVE Award featuring award-wining artists like Indie Arie, Neyo, Babyface, Toni Braxton, The Temptations, Smokie Robinson and Gregory Porter.

John Wineglass - Award Winning Composer

Popular tracks