NEW NEWS!
Borrowing a phrase from the Kelce brothers, here are some new and interesting developments….
Come, Beloved of the Maker has been accepted for publication by Augsburg-Fortress Press and is a part of my ongoing interest in creating new pieces that are suitable for worship. The piece is dedicated to Dr. Kevin Seal and the outstanding members of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Chancel Choir who have already performed the piece on several occasions.
Based on a text by Susan Cherwein, this anthem also makes use of the Jefferson hymn tune from Southern Harmony. Written for SATB Choir with organ accompaniment, Come, Beloved of the Maker would be appropriate for use during the Advent or Epiphany seasons, including Transfiguration Sunday.
Don’t look for this publication right away; these things take time! If all goes well, it will be released in the spring of 2025, along with other new publications from Augsburg-Fortress Press.
Claude Lorrain: The Trojan Women Setting Fire to their Fleet. CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Trojan Women: Heidelberg University Theater director Karla Kash and I have agreed to collaborate on a new production of The Trojan Women, to premiere in February of 2025.
Written by the Greek dramatist Euripides, (418-406 BC), The Trojan Women, is set in Athens after the fall of Troy. The Greeks have won the war and the Trojan population is decimated. The victors are dividing the spoils, including the women and children of the fallen nation. The surviving women of some of Troy’s leaders are contemplating a life that will be totally different from what they have known before, one that is filled with humiliation and disgrace. The play explores the results of war and the devastation that it brings to innocent lives.
This will be another opportunity for me to work with classic Greek theater. Several years back, I provided incidental music for two Greek plays, presented in one evening: Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, and Lysistrata, by Aristophanes. For examples of my work on these plays, please see the Recording tab on this website (scroll down until you see The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time; the two Greek plays appear beneath this album).
Years ago, I also composed incidental music for a production of Antigone, a special event that presented the classic story in two versions on the same evening, the classic version by the Sophocles and a modern retelling by Jean Anouilh. This project was expanded into my doctoral dissertation, for orchestra and male chorus.
What will the music for The Trojan Women be like? Stay tuned for later developments….
