 Melissa in the Henry Charles Lea Library, a transplanted room from a Center City mansion on the 6th floor of Penn's Van Pelt library |
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It's Not Even Remotely June!Hi Folks! Claris here! I spent the past couple months in Boise, Idaho working on a production of Sarah DeLappe's The Wolves. The whole time, I was thinking of how, if you noticed the discrepancy in the previous newsletter's title, we miraculously had two months of June this year. But we are back, it is November, and we have more updates on Melissa's work!! |
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Latest News!
NCCO Session: Innovation with a Social Conscience in the Music of Melissa Dunphy
A few months ago, the artistic director of Resonance Ensemble, Katherine FitzGibbon, approached Melissa about giving a presentation at the National Collegiate Choral Organization conference on themes of social justice in her music. The conference and interest session took place at the University of Maryland last week, and it went so well!
- From Melissa: "It was thrilling to look out into the audience to see the familiar faces of many conductors I have already worked with, as well as new faces being introduced to my music for the first time in a lightning-speed jam-packed session."
Kathy wrote a blog entry about the presentation and their work together, which you can read here!
 Melissa with Resonance Ensemble Artistic Director, Katherine FitzGibbon
West Chester University Wells School of Music Distinguished Alum of the Year
Melissa recently received this honor at the Scholarship Brunch at her alma mater!!
It was a great opportunity for her to meet students currently studying at West Chester and to catch up with old friends. She is also serving on the Wells School of Music Advisory Board, and she is excited about the direction of the music programs!
 Melissa with current West Chester students!
Choirs: ACT FAST and join this commission consortium for a new work celebrating the 19th Amendment!
Innovative choir Chorosynthesis is celebrating the centenary of the 19th Amendment with a new multi-movement work composed by Kala Pierson and Melissa Dunphy, and your choir can be a part of the creation! Click here to learn more about how to co-commission the piece and take part in the premiere!
American DREAMers is being performed all over the country!
After being commissioned by PhilHarmonia last year, American DREAMers has been taken up by choirs all over the country.
- The Singers performed it in St. Paul and Minnesota last month!
- LA choir Tonality performed excerpts at a concert titled “Borderline” on October 27th. You can view the livestream here (DREAMers starts at 38:10)
- Santa Monica College is performing it on December 14th as part of their concert "Home for the Holidays?" Click here for more info!
- Mid-Columbia Mastersingers is performing it January 10-12 in Washington state!
 Mid-Columbia Mastersingers, starting to work on American DREAMers!
- Simon Carrington (Melissa's earlier work Omaha Beach won the Simon Carrington Chamber Singers Composition Competition in 2010) will be conducting it at the University of North Florida on March 31, 2020. |
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 | | Recording of The Singers performing American DREAMers as part of their JOURNEY HOME concert, October 19th & October 20th. |
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Come, My Tan-Faced Children performed by MaKayla McDonald!
This setting of Walt Whitman that we mentioned in the June newsletter was performed by MaKayla McDonald three times this month: twice with the art song collective Calliope’s Call in Boston, and again, in a special Walt Whitman themed concert at the University of Pennsylvania. Here’s audio from the Penn concert on SoundCloud!
 Kayla McDonald performing Come, My Tan-Faced Children at Van Pelt-Dietrich Library |
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What do you think I fought for at Omaha Beach? continues to be performed all over as well!
- Melissa is not sure if she ever announced via newsletter that she is on faculty at Rutgers University now, teaching composition to undergrads. So if you didn't know, now you know! Year 2 is well underway, and the Rutgers Kirkpatrick Chorus performed Omaha Beach last week in Kirkpatrick Chapel. They will also be recording it with John Baker of Affetto Records.
- Coro Allegro, Boston’s LGBTQ+ and allied chorus, performed Omaha Beach in a special Veteran’s Day concert “We Will Not Be Erased” on November 10. This is the first time a major LGBTQ chorus has performed this technically challenging work.
- It was also performed by PhilHarmonia in Philadelphia and Virginia this month, and Te Deum in Kansas City in October. |
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UPCOMING CONCERTS
There are so many! Maybe even one near you. Go to Melissa's website to see all upcoming events on the right, and click through for details! |
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NEW RELEASES / COMING SOON
- A Survival Plan of Sorts
A new commission for Susquehanna University Chamber Singers. Scores are available to download in two arrangements here, SSATB, SSAA! The text for this piece is by poet Amanda Lovelace! Support her awesome work and buy her books here or at your local bookstore!
- Waves of Gallipoli was performed by the Saint Louis Chamber Chorus and is being published by EC Schirmer in 2020! Go here to learn more about the piece!
- If Thou Wilt Be Perfect was commissioned by the St. Peter’s Choir in St. Louis last year, and will also be published by EC Schirmer shortly. It sets text from Matthew 19 including the well-known, but, for some reason, very rarely sung verse: “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.” The full text is available here!
- The Apotheosis of Apollo is a new commission for the Thirteen in Washington DC about the Apollo 11 moon landing, and it will be premiered in December, from the 20th-22nd. Go here for more information on performances. Look out for it on melissadunphy.com afterward. |
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UPCOMING PROJECTS There are a lot of commissions coming up in the next few months, including works for Amuse Singers, Choir Matrix, National Concerts, and Experiments in Opera.
Speaking of opera, stay tuned to the next edition of this newsletter for a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT that we can’t say anything about right now because the contracts haven’t been signed yet. But it’s BIG. And also semi-related to the Boghouse. Opera + Boghouse = !!!! |
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One last thing... Matt Dunphy released an album, check it out! Accelerationist is available on Bandcamp as well a bunch of other popular music platforms!
And always, if you haven't checked it out yet, check out The Boghouse, Melissa and Matt's podcast about their magic theater/treasure/accidental descent (haha) into amateur archaeology. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or Google Play. The Boghouse is already several episodes into SEASON 2, and from interviews with real archaelogists, to talk of Matt's adventure at an art gala in the World Trade Center, and the first travel show in Boghouse history, it's already proving to be very very exciting! Thank you to everyone who is already listening! |
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