Dear Friends,

Big news: The Year of Silence starts rolling out today! The first single is live — stream it here — with a second single May 29 and the full album arriving June 26 on PENTATONE. The piece was written for the Louisville Orchestra under Teddy Abrams, with Dashon Burton as vocalist and narrator. It’s based on a short story by Kevin Brockmeier — I first encountered it in 2010; I didn’t find my way back to it until the early months of the pandemic, when the streets went quiet and the story suddenly felt less like fiction.

Score-follow: “The Year of Silence, I” — Louisville Orchestra, Teddy Abrams, Dashon Burton

Also today: the Stuttgart Philharmonic performs Will There Be Singing? under Ryan McAdams. More Info

Coming to Los Angeles

Two things are happening in LA next week. On May 14–17, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra gives the world premiere of Selah, my new double concerto for violin and cello, with Anthony Marwood and Coleman Itzkoff — three performances across Costa Mesa (More Info), Los Angeles, and Beverly Hills (More Info).

On May 15, The Industry and I are hosting a listening party at Monk Space — an informal evening of vocal works. Come if you’re in town. More Info

New York: Pieces that Fall to the Earth

On May 28, the Orchestra of the League of Composers performs Pieces that Fall to the Earth at the DiMenna Center, with soprano Kaileigh Riess and conductor David Fulmer. More Info

Choral Works on the Horizon

June brings two premieres of choral music. On June 20, Yale Choral Artists give the premiere of a new chamber arrangement of The Last Message Received in New Haven. More Info

The Last Message Received — Northwestern University, Donald Nally

Then in July, Sandbox Percussion and the Young People’s Chorus of New York City give the world premiere of The Only Way Is Through — a concert-length work for percussion quartet and choir — at Caramoor on July 19, free and open to the public! More Info The West Coast premiere follows at Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara on July 31 and August 1. More Info

Thanks for reading,
Chris