Tag: choral music

Posted on

Two World Premieres and a Winning Score

Sunday, March 16: Mercy On Ourselves (World Premiere)

Edvard Munch, “Mystical Shore,” 1897.

Emmanuel Music (Ryan Turner, Artistic Director), a “living laboratory for the music of J. S. Bach,” performs the World Premiere of Mercy On Ourselves on Sunday, March 16 at 10:00am ET at Emmanuel Church, Boston, MA and on livestream.

This motet for SATB choir was commissioned to pair with Bach’s Cantata BWV 46 (“Schauet doch und sehet”). My work, which features an original text, offers a musical meditation on the climate change crisis that takes its cues from Bach’s moving evocations of human sorrow and divine wrath. For more about this project, read my program note.

Event Information
Free livestream

Thursday, March 6: Street Haunting (Voices of NEC)

Camille Pissarro, The Boulevard Montmartre on a Winter Morning” (1897).

New England Conservatory Chamber Singers (Erica J. Washburn, Director) will perform Street Haunting, a winning score of the “Voices of NEC” alumni choral composition competition, on Thursday, March 6, 2025 at 7:30pm ET in Jordan Hall, Boston, MA and on livestream.

The competition’s winners were selected by a panel consisting of James Burton, Boston Symphony Orchestra Choral Director and Conductor of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus; Anthony Trecek-King, Resident Conductor (chorus) with the Handel and Haydn Society; Anthony Maglione, composer and Director of Choral Studies at William Jewell College; and Erica J. Washburn, Director of Choral Activities at New England Conservatory.

Event Information
Free livestream

Thursday, March 6: I Would Like (World Premiere)

Agnes Lawrence Pelton, “Room Decoration in Purple and Gray” (Detail), 1917.

Arkansas State University Concert Choir (Ryan W. Sullivan, Director) will perform the World Premiere of I Would Like for SATB choir at the ninth annual Music by Women Festival at the Mississippi University for Women on Thursday, March 6 at 3:00PM CT in Columbus, MS and on livestream.

I Would Like was commissioned by the Arkansas State University Concert Choir for inclusion on a program of choral works by women. Director Ryan W. Sullivan invited me to set a poem by Kathryn I. W. Sparks in which the speaker paints a vision of the contentment they wish to feel at the end of their life. I sought to honor the emotional nuances of this reflective text through moments of madrigal-esque word painting and the gentle tension of harmonic suspensions.

Event Information
Free livestream

Posted on

Holiday Performances of Nell’s Music & More

Choral Concerts in Philadelphia & Boston

This Sunday, Singing City (Rollo Dilworth, Artistic Director)—Philadelphia’s premier avocational chorus, founded in 1948—will perform my winter choral cycle Blue Shadows, Silver Sunlight.

Their holiday program, A Season of Song, features songs of the season representing many religious and secular traditions. A Season of Song will be performed on Sunday, December 15 at 3:00pm at Tindley Temple in Philadelphia, PA. Tickets and more information here.

Logo for Emmanuel MusicThe following weekend Emmanuel Music (Ryan Turner, Artistic Director) will perform my choral work It’s a Long Way during their Blue Christmas service at Boston’s Emmanuel Church, presented on the evening of the Winter Solstice.

The service will be held on Saturday, December 21 at 6:00pm in the Lindsey Chapel at Emmanuel Church, Boston, MA. More information here.

Nell Receives 2024 ASCAP Plus Award

Many thanks to ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) for awarding me an ASCAP Plus Award for the second year in a row!

This award recognizes ASCAP writer members whose works are substantially performed in media not surveyed by ASCAP, or whose works have a unique prestige value for which adequate compensation would not otherwise be received.

Current & Recent Art Exhibitions in Woodstock

I’ve recently had the honor of exhibiting my watercolor paintings in four different art shows at the historic Woodstock Artists Association & Museum in Woodstock, NY.

My work will be on display as part of the following exhibitions, both through December 29:

This Fall my works were also featured in Small Works A-F, an annual members’ exhibition; and Water: Source of Life, juried by Kathleen Vance and Daniel Aycock of Front Room Gallery, NY.

A current list of exhibitions, as well as an online gallery and list of works available for sale, are posted to my visual art portfolio page.

(Above: Fresh Snow on the Peterskill, 2024. Watercolor and gouache on paper. 9×12 in.)

Posted on

Arkansas State University Concert Choir Commission for 2024-25

New choral work to feature poetry by Kathryn I. W. Sparks

Logo for Arkansas State UniversityIt’s my pleasure to be embarking on a wonderful collaboration with the Arkansas State University Concert Choir (Ryan W. Sullivan, Director). The ensemble has commissioned me to write a choral setting of a stirring text by contemporary poet Kathryn I. W. Sparks for their 2024-25 season.

The World Premiere will take place in Spring 2025 (date TBA). Watch this space for updates!

Posted on

The American Prize Selects Nell as Finalist for “Sauntering Songs”

The American Prize sealIt’s a huge honor to have been selected as a Finalist in the Major Choral Works division of The American Prize, the national non-profit competitions in the performing arts, for my work Sauntering Songs!

Winners will be announced later this year. See the complete list of finalists.

Commissioned and premiered by Skylark Vocal Ensemble (Matthew Guard, Artistic Director) with guest performances by Juventas New Music Ensemble and James Moore, Sauntering Songs is probably my favorite project to date. So recognition for this work is especially meaningful to me.

Sauntering Songs emerged through my engagement of an array of authors, advocates, and activists who have deeply explored walking as a personal, cultural, and political practice. The work’s musical language encompasses choral music, chamber music, musical theater, and progressive rock, among many other influences, carrying my early background as a rock musician forward into my present practice as a composer.

Album cover for "Sauntering Songs"Engaging with themes of gender, age, race, class, and disability through an intersectional feminist lens—and traversing stories ranging from trespassing in the British countryside to thru-hiking on the Appalachian trail—Sauntering Songs asks the question: “If walking is an essential way of being […] Then who may claim the right to be in this world?”

Skylark’s World Premiere live recording of Sauntering Songs (paired with Transform the World with Beauty) is available on all major streaming music platforms (including Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, Pandora, and Tidal). The physical CD is available for purchase from Skylark. Check out the liner notes for my libretto and introductory essay to accompany your listening.

Posted on

Looking back on “Sauntering Songs” World Premiere concerts

Nell reaches out to shake the hand of conductor Matthew Guard in front of the performing ensemble, standing for applause after their performance inside a historic church.
“Sauntering Songs” at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Newburyport, MA.

Nell poses with conductor Matthew Guard and an ensemble of 16 singers and instrumentalists, wearing casual clothes, during a recording session in a church venue.

Last week I had the unreal experience of watching my vision for concert-length cantata “Sauntering Songs,” a project many years in the making, come to life through the phenomenal voices of Skylark (Matthew Guard, Artistic Director; Sophie Amelkin, Fotina Naumenko, Carrie Cheron, Doug Dodson, Megan Roth, Paul D’Arcy, Erik Gustafson, Nathan Hodgson, Matthew Goinz, Enrico Lagasca, and Dana Whiteside) and an all-star instrumental quartet (guitarist James Moore with Thomas Barth, cello, Julia Scott Carey, piano, and Stacey Chou, flute, of Juventas New Music Ensemble).

I’m grateful for this project, these collaborators, and this week, for so, so many reasons… not least of which that I was able to join the artists for their rehearsals and three World Premiere performances, and to meet the audiences and hear their response to this work.

The final concert was recorded, and I look forward to being able to share it with all of you someday soon!

Posted on

Announcing “Sauntering Songs,” a cantata for Skylark Vocal Ensemble

Title reads "Sauntering Songs" with photo of a distant figure walking on a footpath in grass-covered hills
World Premiere Performances in April 2023

I am thrilled to share a once-in-a-lifetime, dream-come-true project, and my third collaboration with the world class Skylark Vocal Ensemble: Sauntering Songs.

A love letter to wanderlust, this World Premiere commission weaves together art songs, choral music, and literature into an expansive cantata on the theme of walking. Influences from rock, folk, and musical theater feature prominently in this score marrying Skylark’s voices with an instrumental quartet. From Walt Whitman to the present day, Sauntering Songs celebrates diverse characters who search for freedom and fulfillment through subversive journeys on foot.

This work is an expression of so much that I’m passionate about, in music and in life. I look forward to sharing this work with audiences in Massachusetts next spring!

Subscription tickets are available now for the three World Premiere concerts as part of Skylark’s 2022-23 season, “a tour de force of innovative programs that re-define the choral experience for singers and audiences alike.” Single tickets go on sale August 25. Learn more here.

THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2023 | 7 pm
(6:15 pm pre-concert talk)
Simon Center for the Arts
at Falmouth Academy
Falmouth, MA

FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2023 | 7 pm
(6:15 pm pre-concert talk)
Church of the Redeemer
Chestnut Hill, MA

SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2023 | 7 pm
(6:15 pm pre-concert talk)​
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
Newburyport, MA

Posted on

Skylark Receives GRAMMY Award Nomination for “It’s a Long Way”

List of Nominees for Best Choral Performance, including "It's a Long Way" by Skylark Vocal Ensemble
Skylark Vocal Ensemble’s It’s a Long Way has received a 2022 GRAMMY Award nomination for Best Choral Performance!

I’m continually grateful and honored that Skylark featured this piece I wrote for them as the title track of their beautiful album, which gives expression to experiences of the pandemic through a musical program of courageous stylistic and emotional range.

The album is available for listening on all major streaming platforms and can be ordered directly from the ensemble here.

Posted on

Skylark Releases Album “It’s a Long Way”

Album cover with black and white photograph of feather, by recording artist Skylark Vocal Ensemble, album title It's a Long Way
I’m deeply honored that one of my dearest collaborators, multiple GRAMMY-nominated vocal ensemble Skylark, is featuring my choral work It’s a Long Way as the title track of their new album! The album includes a varied selection of contemporary and historical music exploring Skylark’s collective experience of living through the 19 months since their last concert.

The album was released today, September 24, 2021 and is available for purchase directly from Skylark and streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.

Commissioned by Skylark and originally recorded by a virtual quartet for educational use, my piece has been given further life in this stunning new studio recording by the full Skylark chamber choir.

It’s a Long Way will also be featured on Skylark’s album release tour next month in Massachusetts! Concert dates include Friday, October 8, 7:00pm @ the Simon Center for the Arts at Falmouth Academy, Falmouth MA; Saturday, October 9, 7:00pm @ Belleville Church, Newburyport, MA;  and Sunday, October 10, 3:00pm @ First Parish Church in Weston, Weston, MA. Subscribe to Skylark’s season to purchase tickets.

About the Music
“William Stanley Braithwaite’s poem “It’s a Long Way,” although published in 1904, speaks powerfully to me in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic…I’ve sought to honor Braithwaite’s bittersweet words of hope and determination with a choral setting for all of us striving to safely arrive at our journeys’ shore.” Continue reading & peruse the score.

Posted on

Virtual Choir Performance of “It’s a Long Way” by SEMMEA Festival Choir

It’s rare privilege to receive a commission and premiere performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even rarer: receiving  two performances of a new work within a short time!

I was deeply moved by the virtual choir performance of my choral score, It’s a Long Way, given by the Massachusetts Music Educators Association Southeastern District (SEMMEA) Senior Festival Choir.

In early January 2021, nearly 200 high school students remotely rehearsed and recorded their parts with guidance from conductor Dr. Christopher Jackson. Their individual performances were then assembled into this beautiful performance documentation.

I also had the pleasure of participating in a virtual visit with the choir and a Q&A led by Dr. Felicia Barber, alongside fellow composer Joel Thompson.

Commissioned by Skylark Vocal Ensemble for their New Voices for Education project, this work was composed primarily for study by high school and college choirs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The score and a professional recording of this work may be found on Skylark’s website.

Posted on

World Premiere Recording of “It’s a Long Way” by Skylark Vocal Ensemble

Painting of ocean, sky, and horizon with bright, pale light
“Seascape” (1901), watercolor, William Trost Richards (1833”“1905). Public domain.

The World Premiere recording of my newest choral work, It’s a Long Way, commissioned by GRAMMY-nominated vocal ensemble Skylark, has just been released!

Check out Skylark’s website for free access to the recording, score, and oodles of supplementary videos and study materials that their team of artist-educators has put together to make my score visible, accessible, and approachable for high school and college-level virtual choirs.

I’m honored to be featured in this project alongside Jonathan Woody, whose new work I Conquer the World with Words is a gorgeous and dynamic expression of the impact of language.

I applaud Skylark’s support of us living composers and encouragement of young singers’ engagement with new music, as well as providing students and educators with world-class choral study materials.