Present Activity:
UPDATE on my opera in progress:
I rejoice in having completed my two-hour opera, Polly, Pretty Polly, based on the 300-year old murder-ballad of Pretty Polly. It has been labor intensive and is spread out over 500 score pages. It will be interesting to see what direction this creation takes in the world of opera.
The libretto, by Sena Jeter Naslund, is precise, evocative, and engaging in its handling of the flow of the narrative. The larger picture: Act 1, The woodland introduction of five very different characters, each with blossoming hopes or stealthy plans, Act 2, The convergence of the characters and villagers at a dance; Polly’s disappearance; [Intermission] Act 3, In the nighttime woods, the searching for, seduction, and murder of Polly, Act 4, The court in the woods where Willie is tried for the murder of Pretty Polly, plus a Coda.
___________________________
My scores are on view at the Music and Dance Library; School of Music; Ohio State University; Columbus, Ohio
LISTEN
THE
SOUND
FLOWS
OBJECTIVE
I have been using folk materials in my compositions since 1969 and my objective has always been to artfully fuse these elements into a modern sound fabric.
My Performance Conductors:
Gianluigi Gelmetti, Massimo Pradella, Oleg Kovalenko, Gerhard Samuel, Lukas Foss, Lawrence Foster, Michael Morgan, Kenneth Jean, Paul Polivnick, Gunther Schuller, Steven Smith, Sydney Hodkinson, Stewart Robertson, Andrew Davis, Edwin London, John McL. Williams
PROFESSIONAL ORCHESTRAS
Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Richmond (VA) Symphony, Atlantic Classical Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Long Beach Symphony, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Radiotelevisione Italiana Orchestra of Rome, Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, Philharmonic Orchestra of Monte Carlo.