Slaving over hot staves

 

Today I am exactly 15,000 days old, so happy birthday to me! A much cooler milestone than my 41st birthday last month. Last week, I got my second Pfizer vaccination, so in one more week, I will theoretically have a decent level of immunity against the pandemic that has been ravaging the world, and particularly the nation where I live. Getting vaccinated at this point is not only the smartest choice, but an act of patriotism, a whole new way of getting shot for your country, so to speak. I hope you got yours! Before I begin on the laundry list of things I've done since my last newsletter, a note to everyone who has been trying to contact me lately: I am ***overwhelmed*** with work and struggling to keep my breathing holes above water, so thank you for being patient with me! I have hundreds of e-mails in my inbox that require replies, and if I replied to all of them in a timely fashion, I wouldn't have any time left over to write music, which is a problem because writing music is my actual job and I am over deadline on several projects. The good news for my mental health is that I have deliberately scaled back my work commitments after the summer to give my brain some time to recover, because I am teetering on the brink of burn-out—ach, who am I kidding, I am totally already burned out but I am pushing through it, which is not the healthiest choice, but the only thing I can do to meet my current contractual obligations. How did this happen? Welp, even though I had reached a point in my career where I had gotten much better about saying no, when the pandemic hit last year, I panicked and said yes to pretty much every paid opportunity that came along. They are all great and exciting opportunities! But under different circumstances, I would have looked ahead and realized my schedule of cascading deadlines was psychologically unfeasible. I've been loath to say too much about this situation because even though it's hellish, it feels insensitive to discuss openly; I know plenty of colleagues who have no work, or not enough work, and who are dropping out of our industry in droves. Seems kinda gauche to complain about being overwhelmed with work while they struggle. But even though my bank account is surprisingly healthy (after all, it's not as though I can spend any of my earnings travelling or eating out, and I don't even have time or mental space to organize construction on the Hannah Callowhill Stage right now, which is another problem), it's not much fun to be composing for literally 18 hours a day. Yes, literally 18 hours a day. I get six hours' sleep a night because I'm slaving over hot staves constantly, and I barely even have time to talk to my husband. And I'm still behind because creativity has been a much slower process than usual. Anyway, I know several of you are sending follow-up e-mails and leaving voicemail messages, and I will get to them as I am able, but gosh, it's a lot right now, and UGHGHGHGH I WANT A VACATION. I'm sure we all do! Here, in no particular order is, a round-up of some of the results of this flurry of career activity: REAL ULTIMATE POWERRRRRR Totally out of the blue, this month I found myself on a list of Philly Power Women, curated by the editors of Metro Philadelphia. Please imagine the expression of disbelief on my face! There are some amazing people on that list, like councilmembers Helen Gym and Kendra Brooks (who helped to lead several protests I attended last year). Also some people with whom I have absolutely nothing in common. But it's a list of "power women," and remember, power is not necessarily always a good thing, hahaha. (I don't feel particularly powerful, except when I am using a circular saw.)   I KNOW BUT...: BOLÉRO What did I do for fun this month? I wrote an article for VAN magazine. Please enjoy my impassioned defense of Ravel's Boléro, which is a very good piece of music, actually. Non-musicians sometimes find it hard to believe, but among classical musicians, this is a controversial view. However, I'm pleased to report that I have not heard a PEEP from the Boléro-haters since this was published, so I assume that my arguments are unimpeachable and shut them all up.   VIDEOS GALORE Some of these are new, some are back-accouncements from the previous newsletter which have now premiered and are available for you to watch: I am such a huge fan of the LA-based choir Tonality, and they've created yet another stunning video—but this time, I'm extra thrilled because it's my song #UnitedWeDream from American DREAMers, with text by Claudia D. Hernández (btw, you should buy her book Knitting the Fog, which is gorgeous.) Did you miss the premiere of Remember the Ladies last month? Never fear! See the video above, or settle in and watch the whole event with fascinating guest speakers on Vimeo. The Broad Street Review gave it a glowing review! P.S. When you're done, I encourage you to take this survey to encourage the museum to engage in more of this creative programming. The DIVINE Raehann Bryce-Davis put together this heartbreakingly beautiful and powerful recital for the Schubert Club, and included Come My Tan-Faced Children on the program! If you missed the premiere of Amendment: Righting Our Wrongs last year, the recording of Chorosynthesis performing it is now available on YouTube. The fourth movement is the weeper, if you're looking to get your eyes wet. Choir Matrix's premiere of Witch-Wife is also now available on their YouTube channel. This is a treble-chorus setting of a text by Edna St. Vincent Millay, and I'm so proud of how it turned out! The score will be available once Choir Matrix have had a chance to premiere it in person. Here too is the Seattle Pro Musica performance of another of my treble favorites Wild Embers. Includes an interview with yours truly for their Choral Tapas series.  This was a surprise for me, and what a delightful surprise! Legendary conductor Philip Brunelle chose to highlight my music for this Musical Moment YouTube series. I screamed when I saw this! Such an honor. He plays my choral works on the piano straight from the score! *I* can't even do that, hahahaha! Yes, I suck at the piano. The Parish Choir of Christ Episcopal Church, Los Altos, under the direction of Eric Tuan, put together a virtual performance of A New Heart. I know how much effort goes into all these virtual choir projects (it's so much more than you think), and it's amazing to see church choirs connecting to the music and going to the trouble even when they can't rehearse in person. NOW WATCH ME TALK Even though I've been too busy to do my own podcast this past year, I've been talking more than ever in interviews and other people's podcasts. So if, for some reason, you need to hear my voice and I'm not returning your phone calls because I'm chained to my mouse in agony over the next double barline, try one of these lol             -   An interview with Alexander Lloyd Blake of Tonality, in which I discuss music that engages with issues of social justice             -   An interview with Toni Marie Palmertree of Berks Youth Chorus about my experiences as a female composer             -   An Irish-coffee soaked interview with Brad Pierson of the podcast Composer Happy Hour  (you can also watch the video version on YouTube)             -   An interview with Keturah Stickann of Words First podcast about creating my own libretto for the Gonzales Cantata, and opera composing in general             -   An interview with Zane Fiala and Giacomo DiGrigoli of In Unison podcast, along with the always kickass Zanaida S. Robles and Christie McKinney, about the Black Voices Matter pledge and our work in choral music. NEW RELEASES A work I wrote a couple of years ago, confusingly called Work, has been released by Galaxy/ECSchirmer and is now available through them! I wrote this initially for the Bradley Hills Presbyterian Chancel Choir,  and the text is adapted from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. The score for Remember the Ladies is also now available on my website. It's self-published, so you can download the PDF right away! Spread the word to your SATB choir directors and friends...   UPCOMING I've been putting the finishing touches on the first draft of my score for episode six of Everything for Dawn, a huge collaborative project for the NYC-based company Experiments in Opera. The first workshop will be later this year, and I can't wait to see it up on its feet. Everything for Dawn explores the complicated relationship between a daughter and her mentally ill father, a story which resonated intensely with me as someone who also grew up with a mentally ill parent. Although I didn't choose the story, I was surprised at all the coincidental similarities between Dawn's life and my own. My episode is set in 1995, when 16-year-old Dawn visits her father in a psychiatric hospital for the first time; I was 15 in 1995, and although I was a practiced old hand at psych hospital visits by that age, so many of the conversations Dawn has with her father in the libretto echo actual conversations and emotions I experienced back then. I think (hope) it's going to be a really meaningful work (with some surprising humor too). Oh, and without really intending to at the outset, I think I injected some of my love of nineties rock/punk into the mix? You'll see ;) I'm writing a song for soprano Laura Strickling's 40@40 project, setting a wonderful poem by my regular collaborator Jacqueline Goldfinger. Stay tuned!   A final note, and a sad one, I'm afraid: last week, one of my teachers at Penn, James Primosch, passed away. This has been such a cruel and bitter year for so many, and I was particularly heartbroken last year when I heard Jim was sick—I found out when I was tapped to take over one of his classes. You can read his obituary in the Inquirer, and I posted some of my remembrances on Twitter, and I also encourage you to donate in his name to the neighborhood charity he supported, Face to Face. Please be well, and be safe, and get your vaccination if you can, and I hope to see you in person sometime soon... Till next month-ish, Melissa Dunphy

Copyright © 2021 Mormolyke Press, All rights reserved.

This spring is popping with premieres and performances

Greetings from St. Luke's Episcopal on Germantown Road in Philadelphia, where tonight for the first time in OVER A YEAR I am in a room with a group of other people as they sing through some of my music. Last night I endured a very long Q-tip swabbed up both nostrils, as did everyone else here, to establish we don't have COVID, we are all masked and distanced, there are two large air purifiers running, we're taking frequent breaks, and the doors are wide open (thankfully spring weather has arrived). I don't think I can announce this project officially yet, but keep your eyes peeled for the announcement in a future newsletter; I am extremely excited.  I am a little surprised to report that my schedule is still packed? I honestly thought that the pandemic would cause a career slowdown by now, but it feels like things are only heating up. I am working on several commissions, and I have several performances coming up, including two (virtual) premieres, and some videos from this past month to show you.   PREMIERE: REMEMBER THE LADIES I teased this in my last newsletter: I set Abigail Adams's famous "Remember the Ladies" letter from 1776 for a new choral work commissioned by our favorite museum, the Museum of the American Revolution. Remember the Ladies is being recorded and virtually premiered on March 25 by one of my favorite choirs, PhilHarmonia, who commissioned American DREAMers back in 2018. This was such a joy to write (Matt claims he has it stuck in his head just from hearing me bang out the chord changes on the Clavinova), and I can't wait to get it out into the world! There's also a panel discussion at 6:30PM EST where I'll be talking more about the letter and the composition with historians from the museum, the conductor and executive director of PhilHarmonia, and the audio editor who put the recording together. (Huge shout-out to all the audio and video editors out there; truly the heroes of the music ensemble world these days.) Remember the Ladies was written to compliment the museum's current exhibit, When Women Lost the Vote: A Revolutionary Story, 1776-1807, where the actual letter in Abigail's hand is currently housed; if you're in town, you should check it out if you can. Attendance at the virtual premiere on March 25 is pay-what-you-can; please spread the word, and register online ahead of time.   PREMIERE: WITCH-WIFE On March 28, a work whose premiere was postponed by the pandemic is also being given a recorded premiere. Witch-Wife sets poetry by Edna St. Vincent Millay and was commissioned by Choir Matrix, and I have found myself singing it randomly all year, heartbroken that I couldn't yet make it public. But soon! Tune into their website and YouTube channel on the 28th to hear it at last!   COME, MY TAN-FACED CHILDREN The same night, but after the Choir Matrix premiere, my art song for mezzo, Come My Tan-Faced Children, will be performed by Vanessa Isiguen and pianist Anthony Kalil in a livestream from the Seasons Performance Hall in Yakima, WA. Tune in on Facebook live.   JUNE On April 13, watch this virtual concert to see Amy Petrongelli of Khemia Ensemble perform my voice-and-looper piece, June. The videos she created for this performance are so gorgeous.   WILD EMBERS Looking for a musical snack this Saturday, March 13? Join Seattle Pro Musica for Choral Tapas, a bite-size virtual concert in which they'll share two choral works (one of them will be Wild Embers, with text by Nikita Gill), a cocktail recipe, and an appetizer demo by Seattle Cucina Cooking School. Free, open to all; donations gratefully accepted.   NOW WATCH ME TALK I've been doing a lot of talking in front of a camera lately, and some of that talking has been immortalized on platforms where the public can watch:             -   I tossed some radical "Why charge *anything* for sheet music?" hand grenades during this American Composers Orchestra panel about the business of music publishing.             -   Terrific feedback has been coming in for these two panels from Opera Philadelphia, Reimagine the Opera Canon, in which Veronica Chapman-Smith, Dr. Michael Mohammed, Emily Sung, Tanyaradzwa Tawengwa and I critique and examine the genre of opera through an antiracist and feminist lens. I'm also tickled that this means I have an official "cast" listing on Opera Philadelphia's new channel.              -   Dialogues with Dominick: The new Music Scene in Philadelphia: this one is not available yet, but will take place on March 31. It's a ticketed event, but I'm thrilled to be on this panel with rockstars Rollo Dilworth, Alysia Lee, and Andrea Clearfield; it'll be worth the $12 admission. Plus, you'll be supporting the Mendelssohn Chorus. NEW RELEASE By request, I created a new mezzo arrangement of my song cycle Four Poems of Nikita Gill. Tell all your mezzo friends, and let me know if anyone records themselves performing it so I can feature it on my website. As always for my self-published works, the sheet music is free to download (see the above ACO panel if you're curious to learn the reasons behind my policy).   SUPPORT YOUNG WOMEN COMPOSERS I'm proud and delighted to announce I was recently voted president of the board of Young Women Composers, the newly minted non-profit in charge of running the Young Women Composers Camp, where I was on faculty last summer. I know not everyone can afford to offer financial support to worthy arts causes during these times, but if you can, or you know someone who can, and you care deeply about the future of new music and are committed to creating a more diverse, multi-faceted contemporary music sector, please get in touch! We are seeking sponsors to finance scholarships for students for our 2021 virtual program. You can read more about our 2021 season, faculty, and guests here.   Many of our students qualify for financial aid each summer. This number is sure to be even greater this year, due to the many job losses and other complications resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Sponsorship could make an enormous difference in the life of an aspiring young composer - not only would your gift allow them to receive a high-quality education and recording of a new composition, but you would also enable them to become part of the YWCC network, a vibrant and supportive community that connects like-minded peers and mentors from the program. YWCC alums from previous years have continued to stay connected, to support one another’s achievements, and have even collaborated on new creative projects together. A scholarship would allow a future YWCC student to see their identity and experience reflected in the lives of other young composers from across the nation, giving them a sense of belonging and purpose that many other composition programs unfortunately cannot offer.   “I'm so grateful I got to attend this camp! It really changed how I think about composing, and how I believe in myself. I never realized how valuable it was even just to know there are other girls and folks out there who are my age, and who compose! Before YWCC, I think I grew up subconsciously believing that I could not become a "real" composer, because I'm not a white male. I can't express how priceless this opportunity was to me.” —2020 YWCC student   Tuition this year is $400, which provides each student with two weeks of composition seminars led by world-class composers, two 45-minute private lessons with our core faculty, and a world premiere of a new work by one of our three resident ensembles. If you're interested, I would be happy to speak with you further about the program and the difference your donation would make. Please reach out!   I've left this news for last, and it's bittersweet: I'm so sorry to report that our oldest cat Moonlight passed away a couple of weeks ago at the age of 17. She died at home of a sudden (but not unexpected) heart attack, which was a little traumatizing for Matt and me, but probably the easiest death for her. Although of course her passing is tragic, we're confident we gave her the best possible life (for those who listen to the Boghouse, yes, this is the cat who has never in her life figured out how to use the litterbox). She is survived by Inky and Nairobi, who are getting even more hugs and scritches than usual—although most of the hugs go to Nairobi, since Inky hates hugs. As one might expect, we buried Moonlight at the bottom of our deepest privy pit, so she'll be preserved for future archaeologists, and we plan to dedicate a seat at the Hannah Callowhill Stage to her memory. I should skedaddle; the singers are back to working on my song in rehearsal. And I have a deadline tomorrow, and several more in the next few weeks. I'm busy, but I'm not complaining! (OK, I'm complaining a little. But I have some schedule time off from commissions in the fall to hopefully prevent creative burn-out!) Till next month-ish, Melissa Dunphy

Copyright © 2021 Mormolyke Press, All rights reserved.

Catch it quick: Cantus concert "Alone Together" available until Jan 31

 

This has been a distracting month. Well, I guess all the months since the pandemic began have been unusually stressful and distracting, but January 2021 was over the top. It turns out it's difficult to work on creative projects during or in the aftermath of an anti-democratic right-wing insurrection. Add in a few personal whirlwinds (we put our little Downingtown house on the market and received 30 offers in one weekend, our beloved Dodge Magnum gave up the ghost, necessitating a quick hunt for a new (used) car, and Matt accidentally tripped over our dopey elderly cat Moonlight and broke her leg), and getting anything at all done recently has been a struggle. But to be frank, I force myself to dig down and find the motivation to put dots on parallel lines every day because I know how lucky I am to have work. COVID-19 has devastated the lives and careers of so many, and at some level, I feel my good fortune comes packaged with the responsibility to keep going, even when it's hard to focus. So here's a quick update on the music front, beginning with an urgent alert: Cantus (ahhh I love them so much!) performed a TTBB arrangement of my Lola Ridge setting "It's strange about stars..." in a concert this week, and you have until January 31, which is today or tomorrow depending on your time zone, to watch it! The concert is called 'Alone Together' and was performed live—yes, LIVE!—at the Ordway Center in St. Paul. The singers quarantined for two weeks and were rigorously tested so they could sing together on the same stage. Here's their copy: Cantus’ newly reimagined program Alone Together draws inspiration from their American Public Media special of the same name as well as their hugely popular ‘COVID-19 Sessions’—an online series with nearly two million views released in the early days of the pandemic. What does it mean to ‘stay connected’ in our digital age and how can we build and maintain healthy community and relationships within the context of social media and social-distance? Cantus seeks to meditate on this unique moment in history and offer music and reflections that allow us to laugh, cry, and imagine a brighter future for ourselves, our communities, and our world. Cantus shows off their trademark stylistic range with an impressive breadth of repertoire from Libby Larsen and David Lang all the way to Ingrid Michaelson and Simon & Garfunkel. This program is not to be missed. Go check it out by clicking here! Tickets are $20, but of course it's worth it—it's Cantus. By the way, if you're looking for the score, I've put it up on my website: It's strange about stars... (TTBB).   Speaking of January 31, I will also be appearing in a meet-the-composer series for the LA-based Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra in under 24 hours. You can watch it here on Facebook: I'm currently writing KCO a piece: a viola concerto called Treason. Yeah. It's actually a project I'd been planning since 2018, but I'm making some revisions, thanks to recent events.     June #2 video from Amy Petrongelli The wonderful soprano Amy Petrongelli, who recorded June #1 last year, is back with another gorgeous video performance of the follow-up. This work will form part of a program with Khemia Emsemble later this spring. June #2 by Melissa Dunphy, poem by Lauren Rile Smith. Amy Petrongelli, voice & looper pedal Audio/Video by Eric Dluzniewski   Gonzales Cantata organ score now available Did you catch the Invision In Series performance of the Gonzales Cantata yet? It's still up (and it's free!), so you have a little more time. But also, I'm releasing the score of the organ arrangement I created for this show, and like most of my self-published scores, it's freely available. Find it on my website here.     A Slice of Pie score is also ready to eat If you enjoyed the Mendelssohn Club's premiere of A Slice of Pie above, you can now download that score on my website too. Incidentally, I often get confused inquiries about how much my sheet music costs / hey, the copy protection doesn't appear to be working on your PDFs / wait wait wait, you can't possibly be giving this sheet music away for free, can you? Last year I discussed this issue in an article by fellow composer Lisa Neher for New Music Box, so if you're curious, scroll down to the last section and check it out. In Lisa's words: "Because I love to rock the boat, I asked composer Melissa Dunphy to share her “radical” (as she puts it) approach to score distribution with me. Dunphy, best known for her social justice-inspired choral music, makes all of her self-published scores free to download on her website..." I'll be expanding on this a little in a panel on music publishing for American Composers Orchestra on February 10. I'll try not to rant too hard, but this is an issue about which I have some strong opinions! Register to watch the panel here: ACO Professional Development Panel: Publishing, Self-Publishing, and Management for Composers    Miss the premiere of Amendment last month? Never fear! You can still hear the Chorosynthesis Singers premiere of my multi-movement work about voting rights, Amendment: Righting Our Wrongs, at the Facebook live link below, along with performances by the choirs of Santa Monica College: There's also a little interview appearance beforehand! Things are not exactly slowing down for me this spring. I have three commission premieres coming up: Grown Wild for Concord Women's Chorus (poetry by Melissa Apperson), Sailing Away for the University of Missouri University Singers (poetry by the pioneering 19th-century poet Isabel Grimes Richey, btw yes I did watch a lot of TikTok sea shanties before writing this song), and Remember the Ladies, a special commission by the Museum of the American Revolution, which sets part of the famous 1776 letter by Abigail Adams that is being exhibited there right now! That last one will be premiered virtually by my friends at PhilHarmonia in March. Stay tuned for details on all of these. I'm excited! Abigail Adams: "Remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors." Meanwhile, I still have a few thousand dots to put on parallel lines, because the deadlines aren't letting up until the summer at least ... and then there's the opera. And the other opera. It's a lot. Wish me luck! Here are some photos of poor peg-legged Moonlight getting all the attention around here. Cheers, Melissa

Copyright © 2021 Mormolyke Press, All rights reserved.