Two Anna Clyne Orchestral Premieres at US Summer Festivals
This summer sees two major Anna Clyne world premieres: This Moment at Bravo! Vail and Wild Geese at Cabrillo Music Festival.
Anna Clyne unveils two new orchestral works this summer in the US: This Moment and Wild Geese.
On July 14, Anna Clyne’s new orchestral work This Moment receives its world premiere at Bravo! Vail Music Festival with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The orchestra also performs the work in Philadelphia on October 6-8.
This Moment was commissioned by the League of American Orchestras’ Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Orchestral Commissions Program, which brings newly written works by women composers to multiple orchestral seasons in the next few years. Clyne’s work will also be performed by the Orlando Philharmonic and National Symphony Orchestra in the 2023-2024 season.
Clyne states: “This Moment is inspired by the writing of Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Zen Master, and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh, who passed away in January 2022 at the age of 95. It is a reflection on his words ‘this moment is full of wonders.’”
The work borrows two moments from Mozart’s Requiem, which is also featured on the July 14 program at Bravo! Vail: “The first moment is an ascending chromatic line in the sopranos and the fugal subject that is introduced with this line in the basses. The second moment is the instrumental introduction from the seventh movement, ‘Lacrymosa,’” says Clyne.
Following the premiere of This Moment, Clyne’s Wild Geese is unveiled as the “grand finale” of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music on August 13. Cristian Macelaru conducts the festival-commissioned work, which serves as a tribute to longtime Executive Director Ellen Primack, who steps down from her role after 33 seasons. Wild Geese takes its inspiration from a poem by Mary Oliver of the same title.
Clyne is a Cabrillo Festival favorite, having had many of her works performed there over the years, including the 2019 world premiere of DANCE with cellist Inbal Segev and the 2016 premiere of RIFT, led by Marin Alsop.
The new five-minute work marks the first implementation of Clyne’s Augmented Orchestra (AO), a new creative exploration that combines the sounds of a live orchestra with computer-controlled processes, developed by Clyne in collaboration with sound designer Jody Elff. With AO, the augmented sonic information is seamlessly integrated with the physical orchestra such that it is perceived as a natural extension of the source, and a fundamental component of the composition itself. In Wild Geese, the pitches, resonance and gestures from the live orchestra will be electronically enhanced and distributed throughout the venue.
Concert Information
Friday, July 14 at 6pm MDT
Bravo! Vail Music Festival
Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater | Vail, CO
More info
Philadelphia Orchestra
Colorado Symphony Chorus, Duain Wolfe, director
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor
Rosa Feola, soprano
Jennifer Johnson Cano, mezzo-soprano
Issachah Savage, tenor
Kyle Ketelsen, bass-baritone
ANNA CLYNE This Moment (World Premiere)
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Requiem
Sunday, August 13 at 7pm PDT
Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music
Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium | Santa Cruz, CA
More info
Cabrillo Festival Orchestra
Cristian Macelaru, conductor
Eunice Kim, violin
Xavier Foley, double bass
DAN CAPUTO Liminal
XAVIER FOLEY Double Concerto for Violin & Bass (World Premiere)
ROBERT HUGHES Estampie
KEVIN PUTS Concerto for Orchestra
ANNA CLYNE Wild Geese (World Premiere)
> Further information on Work: This Moment
Photo: Christina Kernohan
