Seattle, Portland, Kansas City, Brooklyn: I can't be four places at once this weekend, so I need you!

 

Do you live on the East Coast?  Or the Pacific North-West?  Or NYC? Come hear some music! Click to listen to the premiere of Come, My Tan-Faced Children (lyrics by Walt Whitman), commissioned by Lyric Fest and performed brilliantly by Raehann Bryce-Davis, Laura Ward, Min-Young Kim and Tim Ressler at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia last month. This month has been, frankly, bananas. Good bananas. In addition to designing sound for Hansol Jung's Among the Dead at Theatre Exile in Philadelphia (runs though May 26), my compositions have been racking up so many performances I can barely keep track. May I brag at you? Let me brag at you. Special shout-out to O Oriens, which received three (!) performances in the Philadelphia area just last week from three very different ensembles: Wissahickon High School Chamber Singers, Philadelphia Voices of Pride, and Ensemble Companio. So proud! It's not even Advent season! A work I wrote for the Saint Louis Chamber Chorus, Alpha and Omega, was sung across the pond by the St. Pancras Church choir as part of the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music. American DREAMers was performed in full by both the Temple University Singers (click here to watch the video) and the Southern Connecticut State University Choir, and excerpts were performed by several church choirs. It's strange about stars... was given its Australian premiere by the Melbourne Women's Chorus, which of course is a huge deal for me because although I'm from Australia, I didn't start composing seriously until I came to America, and having my music make it all the way back home is the kind of thing that could really go to my head if I'm not careful. But this coming weekend takes the cake: seven (!) performances of four different works in four different cities spread out over the continental USA. Tomorrow I'm flying to Kansas City, and if you're nearby I'd love to see you this Sunday. But I'm heartbroken to be simultaneously missing performances in Seattle, Portland, and Brooklyn (the first time my work has been performed at BAM). This is where you come in. If you can make it to any of these concerts to hear my music and support these amazing organizations, or you can help me get the word out to friends who live in these cities, I will love you forever! (I already do, but for the purpose of this e-mail, let's pretend my undying love is something you have yet to earn.) Links to all of this weekend's performances below: BROOKLYN: Mezzo Linda Collazo will perform my song cycle Hervararkviða (The Incantation of Hervor) with the Brooklyn Metro Chamber Orchestra at BAM on Saturday, May 18. SEATTLE: The Esoterics will be performing a program which includes my choral work Together in the Seattle area in three concerts over the weekend. PORTLAND:  Resonance Ensemble commissioned LISTEN from me earlier this year; the work sets testimony from Anita Hill and Christine Blasey Ford, and it enjoyed a sold-out premiere in February. This is the repeat performance of that program and ... well look at that, it is sold out again. WOW. I'm told that if you show up at the venue on the day, you might be able to grab a seat if there are any no-shows or cancellations, but no guarantees. You could also throw some bucks at the Kickstarter they recently launched for the album recording. KANSAS CITY: And last but not least, Musica Vocale are performing American DREAMers this weekend in Kansas City, and I'll be in attendance to give a pre-concert talk on Sunday. There's also a performance of the same program on Monday night in Lawrence, KS. Oh yeah, I'm still doing amateur archaeology and a podcast. Have you listened to The Boghouse yet? The story is ongoing; as of this e-mail, my home is once again covered in privy dirt from a new dig. Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or Google Play. We are averaging 6,000 to 8,000 downloads per episode at the moment and regularly charting on Apple Podcasts, which is pretty amazing for such an indie production (it's literally just Matt and I doing everything in our home). All credit to our listeners and fans who have been spreading the word. Next month, Matt and I will be at the National Puppetry Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Connecticut, and after that I'll be attending Dish Camp (an archaeology workshop) in Historic Eastfield, and I am splitting a booth with fellow composer Kala Pierson at the Chorus America National Conference in Philadelphia, so it's going to be somehow even busier? Do not ask me how that's possible, I'm trying not to think about it. Did I mention I'm slightly exhausted? But this is the most fortunate problem for a freelancer to have, so I'm not complaining. Well OK, that is a lie, I am complaining some, but not too much. Thanks for following along with this wild ride and for all of your support! Melissa Dunphy

Copyright © 2019 Mormolyke Press, All rights reserved.

Lyric Fest premieres a new Walt Whitman setting by Melissa Dunphy | The Boghouse is featured on ABC's Localish

 

So much news! Good lord, 2019 is already turning out to be an incredibly busy year. Some of the highlights so far:             A new commission for the women of Resonance Ensemble (Portland), LISTEN is a two-movement SSAA work that sets testimony from Anita Hill and Christine Blasey Ford. The sold-out premiere was one of the most emotional performances I've ever attended and was so popular, they are repeating the program on May 18. Keep your eyes peeled also for a studio recording Resonance are releasing later this year. (Know any game SSAA choirs who might want to sing this work? Connect me to them!)             Work is an SATB choral work I wrote for the Bradley Hills Presbyterian Chancel Choir via the Donald Sinclair Sutherland Endowment, and sets text from Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet.              American DREAMers, which includes lyrics from five Americans who were brought to this country as children, has been sung by choirs all over the country. Next month, look for a performance by Kansas City's Musica Vocale, and later this year the commissioning choir PhilHarmonia will release a studio recording              The last work I wrote during my residency at the Saint Louis Chamber Chorus, Suite Remembrance, has just been published by EC Schirmer, and a studio recording for Regent Records is currently being mixed and mastered. If you're local to Philadelphia or New York City, come out this week for a premiere I could not be more excited about! I was commissioned for the first time to write an art song for Lyric Fest, and I am thrilled with what I've heard in rehearsal. Come, My Tan-Faced Children recontextualizes some of Walt Whitman's Civil War poetry to create a call to arms that is extremely relevant to social issues of the 21st Century, and it will be performed by the incredible mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis (honestly, I can't stress enough how much you need to hear this voice in person) at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia on Saturday April 6, and the Church of St. Matthew & St. Timothy in NYC on Tuesday April 9. I had the opportunity to sit down in my apartment with Lyric Fest co-artistic director Suzanne Duplantis a couple of weeks ago to talk about writing this work, and if you're interested particularly in how political and social justice concerns informed my composition process when dealing with this text, I think you'll find this audio interview interesting: Meet Composer Melissa Dunphy (and hear about her setting of Walt Whitman) LYRIC FEST CONCERT DETAILS PHILADELPHIA Saturday, April 4, 4:00PM Academy of Vocal Arts, 1920 Spruce St, Philadelphia, PA 19103 Tickets $25 online / $30 at the door / $10 students NEW YORK CITY Tuesday, April 9, 7:00PM Church of St. Matthew & St. Timothy, 26 W 84th St, New York, NY 10024 Tickets $10 at the door / free for students with ID THE BOGHOUSE GETS NATIONAL PRESS COVERAGE In addition to all this music news, the Dunphys have continued their amateur archaeology adventures with their new podcast The Boghouse. We've been charting in the top 200 on the Apple Podcasts in the Arts category, and we caught the eye of producers at 6ABC news, who created this great feature for the program Localish. Click to watch the full segment on ABC. There's so much more coming down the pike! But you'll have to listen to the podcast for all the gory and fascinating historical details. The Boghouse is available for free on all podcasting platforms now—subscribe to it on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify. Find out more

Copyright © 2019 Mormolyke Press, All rights reserved.

A magic theater, pedophiles, archaeology, and American history

 

Can you dig it? Against their better judgment, the Dunphys have become podcasters, and it's a hit. The Boghouse tells a wild true story: in 2015, Matt and Melissa Dunphy spent their life savings buying a magic theater in Philadelphia ... owned by a pedophile. The next year, they discovered treasure underground on the site, and accidentally became amateur archaeologists. Download the first episodes now on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify. The Future Hannah Callowhill Stage One day, 103 Callowhill Street will become a small multi-disciplinary performing arts venue called the Hannah Callowhill Stage, but the Dunphys soon discovered there was more to this adventure than simply real estate (although the real estate deal was exciting enough). After telling this gobsmacking story in person literally hundreds of times, they've recorded a podcast with all the sordid, gory, historically fascinating details. "Funny, engrossing, a wild ride ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆" The Boghouse is already winning rave reviews and 5-star ratings, and the top 100 charts on iTunes. Listen now and help support an independent podcast about the creation of an independent theater, by two crazy thirty-somethings trying to balance all of this chaos with careers in e-commerce and music composition. Learn more Episode 1: Introduction Melissa and Matt consider investing in a live/work space and discover a real estate listing for a theater with a sordid past. Listen on iTunes... Episode 2: Money Melissa and Matt are frustrated by architects and banks. Will they prevail? Listen on iTunes... Episode 3: Demolition Melissa and Matt tear down walls and make surprising discoveries. Listen on iTunes... Episode 4: Dig Melissa and Matt unearth old pottery, and make a strong effort to stop unearthing old pottery. Listen on iTunes... New episodes of The Boghouse are recorded every Sunday. Like and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for updates, pictures, and extras, and don't forget to review and subscribe to us on your favorite podcast platform!

Copyright © 2019 Mormolyke Press, All rights reserved.

Podcasting is the new blogging: Announcing The Boghouse

Yes, it's true, I rarely blog anymore. However, this past week, Matt and I decided to launch a podcast instead: The Boghouse, which follows our adventures buying a magic theater from a pedophile, discovering treasure, and becoming amateur archaeologists (in between being a composer and working in e-commerce, respectively). If you've ever read this blog (or the sister blog at www.thehannah.org), you know some of the story, but this is more fun because we're telling it together. Plus we swear a lot more.

Go check it out on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play, etc. Rate/review/subscribe if you like what you hear (you should!) and tell all your friends.

 

Watch the latest performance of the Gonzales Cantata Last month, the Gonzales Cantata was given its West Coast premiere by the Mid-Columbia Mastersingers, conducted by Justin Raffa, in Richland, Washington. Click below to watch the entire performance now: The Mid-Columbia Mastersingers present Melissa Dunphy's The Gonzales Cantata Bonus: pre-concert talk with former US Attorney John McKay Also available on YouTube is a pre-concert discussion between composer Melissa Dunphy, conductor Justin Raffa, and former US Attorney John McKay, who was fired by US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in 2006. His dismissal, which is referenced in the Cantata ("What is One to Think?") was one of the catalysts for the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings which led to Gonzales's eventual resignation.  The Gonzales Cantata: pre-concert discussion Find Out More Coming soon Melissa's latest choral work, American DREAMers, commissioned by PhilHarmonia, sets poetry and texts by Americans who came to this country as children. Thanks to the generosity of supporters, American DREAMers will be premiered at a free concert at Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral on June 2; you can support this work by donating at YouCaring.

Copyright © 2018 Mormolyke Press, All rights reserved.