Author: John Beeman

I am excited about a NACUSAsf concert on June 9, 2018, 8:00 pm with the Serenade Vocal Ensemble directed by Dr. Bryan Baker.  NACUSAsf is a composers’ group that I am a member of and also serving as current president.  One of my recent choral compositions, Fiat Lux, about the Arab Spring democracy movement will be performed.  It premiered in London in 2015.  The text uses Latin from Genesis, my own English words, and also includes some Arabic text.  Also, on the concert will be seven other new choral works by NACUSAsf composers.  The performance takes place at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Palo Alto, CA.  Here is a recording by the First Readings Project.

My composition, Introduction and Dance, for flute, oboe and strings will be performed by the San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra on Saturday, May 5, 8 pm at St. Mark’s Church in San Francisco.  Here is a recording of the Divisa Ensemble playing it in 2015.

My composer’s group, NACUSAsf (the National Association of Composers, U.S.A), is presenting a concert on Sunday, Feb. 11, 3 pm at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Belmont, California. It features some wonderful compositions by seven NACUSAsf composers performed on strings, piano, alto sax, clarinet and double bass.  I will be the bass player.  My composition, “Elegy for Cello” will be performed by Doug Machiz.  I am looking forward to it.  Tickets will be available at the door for $15-$20.  Hope to see you there!

I am excited that my composers’ group, NACUSAsf, is presenting two concerts this weekend, Nov. 11-12, 2017. One of my compositions, “Sometimes It’s Quiet in the Woods” for soprano and ensemble will premiere. The soprano, Amy Foote, has a beautiful voice.  The inspiration from this piece came from a hiking trip I took in the Caribou Wilderness near Mt. Lassen. California.  I was walking in the forest and at first it seemed so quiet.  At one point, I stopped to rest and began to notice all the sounds of the woods, the insects, small animals and the wind.  Song words and melodic phrases started to come to me.  That was the beginning of the composition.

Originally, I wrote it for choir and piano. This past summer I created this version for soprano and string trio.

I am really thrilled that two scenes from my opera, Ishi, will be performed by the San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra on Nov. 4, 2017, 8 pm at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 1111 O’Farrell St., San Francisco.  John Kendall Bailey will be conducting.  Some wonderful singers are performing, Robert Vann as Ishi, and Jacqueline Goldgorin, as his Mother.  Scene 6 will feature Nikolas Nackley as Waterman and Carley Neill as his wife, Grace.  Waterman’s daughter, Helen, will be performed by Victoria Ko from the SF Girls Chorus. Here are the program notes:

Ishi, the last survivor of the Yahi tribe, lived alone for three years in the wilderness near Mt. Lassen following the massacre of his people. In 1911, he was discovered by a sheriff, trembling with starvation, and soon taken to the Oroville prison. The news of Ishi’s discovery reached anthropologists T.T Waterman and Alfred Kroeber who were curating the museum of anthropology in San Francisco.

In this excerpt from Scene 4 of the opera, Ishi is fearful as he travels by train to San Francisco. Train sounds segue into a mythical encounter with his mother. Ishi arrives in San Francisco with an expression of wonder, wearing a suit and barefoot.

In Scene 6, Ishi is invited to Waterman’s home to share dinner with his wife and daughter. This scene serves as a close up look at the intimate friendship that has developed outside museum walls.

 

Thank you for visiting.  I have completely redone my ancient website.  I hope it will be easier to find your way around.  Here I will discuss what I have been working on recently.  I welcome your comments.