“Retrace” reprised, a new opera, & CD release!

Juventas Plays Retrace This Saturday

Saturday, 11/11 at 8:00pm ET
East Cambridge, MA
& Streaming Live on YouTube

Juventas New Music Ensemble presents encore performances of audience favorites from their recent seasons—including my piece Retrace!

Get tickets, read the program, and watch the livestream here.


New Opera in Workshop Staging: The Fire Tower

A black and white photo taken at the base of a staircase, looking up at a fire tower atop a mountain summitFriday, 11/17 at 7:30pm
Sunday, 11/19 at 3:00pm
San Antonio, TX

The University of Texas at San Antonio presents a fully-staged workshop production of my new short opera, The Fire Tower, on their program “Epigrams”! Directed by Jourdan Laine Howell. Tickets are available here and at the UTSA Recital Hall.

Set against a backdrop of climate crisis in the American West, this 24-minute opera for soprano, mezzo-soprano, and piano is an intimate portrait of two intrepid women who develop a bond of friendship during a trek deep into the wilderness. Learn more about The Fire Tower.


Sauntering Songs Now Available on CD

Album cover for "Sauntering Songs"My album Sauntering Songs is now available on physical CD from Skylark Vocal Ensemble! Please consider supporting my wonderful collaborators by purchasing a copy.

The album is also available on all streaming music platforms.

Extended liner notes for Sauntering Songs are available here.


Autumn Art Prints Added to Shop

This Fall I released giclée prints of two new watercolor paintings depicting autumn foliage and rock cliffs here in the Shawangunk Mountains. Check them out, along with my Spring/Summer series, at my Etsy shop!

“Sauntering Songs” Album Released by Skylark Vocal Ensemble

Album cover for "Sauntering Songs"

Sauntering Songs
Skylark Vocal Ensemble | Matthew Guard
Juventas New Music Ensemble | James Moore

Watch the trailer:

I’m thrilled to share that the first full-length album of my concert music was released today by three-time GRAMMY nominee Skylark Vocal Ensemble!

Sauntering Songs is available now on all major streaming music platforms (including Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, Pandora, and Tidal). The CD will be available in October, and may be pre-ordered from Skylark. Visit my website for digital liner notes with essays and lyrics.

Skylark’s 75-minute live album features the title work—a concert-length cantata with guest performances by Juventas New Music Ensemble and guitarist James Moore—alongside choral cycle Transform the World with Beauty. Both were commissioned by Skylark and recorded live in concert.

Sauntering Songs (tracks 1-17) is my love letter to wanderlust: weaving together art songs, choral music, and literature into an expansive cantata on the theme of walking. From Walt Whitman to the present day, Sauntering Songs celebrates diverse characters who search for freedom and fulfillment through subversive journeys on foot. Transform the World with Beauty (tracks 18-20) was inspired by the flowering of visual art and poetry in Victorian Britain.

I’m incredibly honored to have participated in this stunning recording that Skylark and our collaborators have created, and now to be able to share our work with you. I sincerely hope you enjoy Sauntering Songs!

—Nell

The scores of Sauntering Songs and Transform the World with Beauty are both available for performance, in full or excerpts. Please contact me for purchasing information.

Live Recordings from Juventas at The Clark

Nell with Juventas New Music Ensemble (Oliver Caplan, Artistic Director; Nicholas Southwick, flute; Matthew Smith, cello; and Ryan Shannon, violin) at The Clark.

Earlier this summer, Juventas New Music Ensemble gave brilliant renditions of my works for flute, violin, and cello at The Clark Art Institute‘s Community Day. Live recordings from these performances are now available to stream!

Visit my Soundcloud playlist to hear all of these pieces, and click the titles below to read my program notes and peruse the scores:

SUNBEAMS (2023) – World Premiere
A miniature inspired by Edvard Munch’s 1912 painting “The Sun.”

RETRACE (2018)
This work evokes juxtapositions of past and present in California along the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail.

HORIZON (2013)
A cello solo reflecting landscapes of the East End of Long Island.

LAMENT FOR THE LAND (2023) – World Premiere
A lament expressing grief for humanity’s broken relationship with our environment, and hopeful yearning for a healed Earth.

WHERE THE BUFFALO ROAM (2016/arr. 2023)
This selection from my wildlife conservation suite Refuge dramatizes the story of the American Bison in Yellowstone National Park.

All of these works are available for performance. Please contact me for purchasing information.

New scores, concerts, and album release this summer!

Photograph of turtleSummer has arrived!

Here in the Hudson Valley, fragrant milkweed are blooming. Fireflies are flashing. And turtles are digging their nests (a favorite, the endangered wood turtle, pictured here).

And with the season, a few fun announcements from my composing activities—including free outdoor performances, a new album featuring my music, and the release of 10 (!) new works of my vocal music. Read on for more!

Juventas Performs Nell’s Music in July

Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, MA (July 16)
Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site in Brookline, MA (July 23)
Edvard Munch's painting "The Sun"
Edvard Munch, The Sun (1912). Munchmuseet, Oslo, Norway.

My perennial collaboration with Boston’s wonderful Juventas New Music Ensemble continues with these free, outdoor performances in July:

On Sunday, July 16, as part of their Community Day, the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, MA presents Juventas in two performances (11:00am and 2:00pm) of a full 45-minute program of my music!

This program will include FOUR World Premiere works and arrangements, exploring themes represented in the Clark’s special exhibitions: landscapes, ecology, and visual art. Highlights will include my miniature inspired by Edvard Munch’s The Sun (on exhibit at The Clark). Featuring Nick Southwick, flute; Ryan Shannon, violin; and Matthew Smith, cello. More information here.

A week later, Juventas will reprise their performance of my work Retrace in a performance at the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site on Sunday, July 23 at 2:00pm in Brookline, MA, also featuring music by Christina Rusnak, Oliver Caplan, Gwenyth Walker, and Stacey Garrop. More information here.

Woman Walking on Laura Strickling’s Upcoming Album

Album cover for Laura Strickling's "40@40"

I am thrilled for phenomenal GRAMMY-nominated soprano Laura Strickling‘s upcoming album of 20 World Premiere art songs, which she has commissioned and recorded with pianist Daniel Schlosberg—including my song Woman Walking with lyrics by Megan Cohen!

40@40 will be released by the Bright Shiny Things label on August 18. Pre-order here before August 17th with code LAURA20 for 20% off.

Selections from Sauntering Songs

Cover of the score of "Street Haunting" for choir

Looking for new music for choir or solo voice to perform? I’ve just released the scores of 10 (!) selections from my cantata Sauntering Songs, which may be programmed as standalone pieces.

Each song explores themes of walking and wanderlust, celebrating diverse characters who search for freedom and fulfillment through subversive journeys on foot.

Explore these titles and view free perusal scores on my website:

Interesting in performing any of this music? Please contact me for purchasing information.

 

Looking back on “Sauntering Songs” World Premiere concerts

Nell reaches out to shake the hand of conductor Matthew Guard in front of the performing ensemble, standing for applause after their performance inside a historic church.
“Sauntering Songs” at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Newburyport, MA.

Nell poses with conductor Matthew Guard and an ensemble of 16 singers and instrumentalists, wearing casual clothes, during a recording session in a church venue.

Last week I had the unreal experience of watching my vision for concert-length cantata “Sauntering Songs,” a project many years in the making, come to life through the phenomenal voices of Skylark (Matthew Guard, Artistic Director; Sophie Amelkin, Fotina Naumenko, Carrie Cheron, Doug Dodson, Megan Roth, Paul D’Arcy, Erik Gustafson, Nathan Hodgson, Matthew Goinz, Enrico Lagasca, and Dana Whiteside) and an all-star instrumental quartet (guitarist James Moore with Thomas Barth, cello, Julia Scott Carey, piano, and Stacey Chou, flute, of Juventas New Music Ensemble).

I’m grateful for this project, these collaborators, and this week, for so, so many reasons… not least of which that I was able to join the artists for their rehearsals and three World Premiere performances, and to meet the audiences and hear their response to this work.

The final concert was recorded, and I look forward to being able to share it with all of you someday soon!

Interviews for Skylark, Reflections on Music and Nature, and Houston Grand Opera

Sklyark Plus poster with portrait of Nell
As composers, musicians, organizations, and our audiences work to stay connected during this extended hiatus from live performances, many are turning to online video interviews as a way to continue engaging with the motivating ideas and individuals behind the music of our moment.

Last month, I was honored to be invited by three different interview series for public conversations about my work as a composer writing opera, choral music, and music inspired by nature, respectively.

In early June, librettist Megan Cohen and I were interviewed by Patrick Summers, Artistic Director of Houston Grand Opera, in a private Zoom event for friends of HGO that explored our upcoming opera, Turn and Burn, commissioned by the company for a World Premiere production next year.

My next interview was with Matthew Guard, Artistic Director of vocal ensemble Skylark. Our conversation centered on my choral cycle inspired by Victorian art, Transform the World with Beauty, which Skylark commissioned and toured last year. To watch my interview and lots of great content, please consider subscribing to Skylark+, a special platform to support the ensemble’s artists during this pandemic.

Most recently, I spoke with a composer colleague, Ryan Suleiman, for his weekly interview series Reflections on Music and Nature. We discussed my approach and motivations in composing music inspired by landscape, nature, and place; artists as activists of the imagination; and Landscape Music, the international composers’ network I direct and which Ryan is a member of. Our conversation is available for viewing anytime on YouTube (see below).

Landscape Music’s Earth Year 2020 initiative

Landscape Music Earth Year 2020 logo

I founded Landscape Music five years ago (how time flies!) to create an online platform for stylistically diverse composers and composer-performers whose music engages with landscape, nature, and place. I’ve watched this project grow to include 25 members, and to serve as a catalyst for wonderful collaborations with performers and organizations around the country.

This year, I’m coordinating an exciting new Landscape Music initiative:  Earth Year 2020. Our composers are commemorating Earth Day’s 50th Anniversary with activities taking place throughout the year 2020, including new works, performances, music videos, and community events showcasing new music that reflects environmental themes at the forefront of our global consciousness.

Learn more and view all of the participating projects at LandscapeMusic.org!

Additional projects will be announced throughout the year on our website, and on our Facebook and Twitter pages. To be notified of major announcements, including the release of free streaming music and video, consider joining our Landscape Music mailing list.

World Premiere of “Blue Shadows, Silver Sunlight” by Boston Choral Ensemble

Snow-covered field with tree shadows
Photograph: Nell Shaw Cohen, Taos, New Mexico, 2019

Saturday, December 14, 3:00pm
Boston Choral Ensemble Holiday Concert
Old South Church
645 Boylston St, Boston, MA
Purchase Tickets

Boston Choral Ensemble will give the World Premiere of Blue Shadows, Silver Sunlight,commissioned through their 12th Annual Commission Competition, on the choir’s annual winter holiday concert!

Blue Shadows, Silver Sunlight (ca. 9 minutes) features settings of three poems on the theme of winter: “Winter Branches” by Margaret Widdemer, “A Winter Blue Jay” by Sara Teasdale, and “A Winter Ride” by Amy Lowell, all written in the early 20th century by American women.

Each of these poets used vivid descriptions of winter phenomena to convey moments of profound connection to the natural world. I’ve grouped these poems together because I feel they form an aesthetically cohesive set, providing the basis for a musical narrative arc that moves from quiet contemplation (“Winter Branches”) to joyful exuberance (“A Winter Ride”).

I hope you may be able to join me at this very special performance!

New Recording! “Transforming Forest” for Piano Trio

My work Transforming Forest (2018), commissioned by Montage Music Society for World Premiere at SITE Santa Fe this past spring, is now available for online streaming!

In the following video, I pair the ensemble’s gorgeous studio recording with my photography of the music’s inspiration: four site-specific land art installations by Andy Goldsworthy in the Presidio of San Francisco, CA. Video of a live performance of Transforming Forest on Montage Music Society’s Altazano Salon Series is also available for viewing.

Watch both versions below (or on YouTube here and here), and continue reading for my notes about this work.


studio video credits

Performed by Montage Music Society (Elizabeth Baker, violin; Sally Guenther, cello; Debra Ayers, piano). Audio Recording, Mixing, Editing, and Mastering: Rick Bolton (Rick_Bolton@iCloud.com). Photography and Video Editing by Nell Shaw Cohen.


Live Video credits

Performed by Montage Music Society (Elizabeth Baker, violin; Sally Guenther, cello; Debra Ayers, piano). Video by Vincent Stenerson. Photography by Nell Shaw Cohen.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Transforming Forest was commissioned by Montage Music Society for World Premiere at SITE Santa Fe in March 2019. In this work for violin, cello, and piano, each short movement is inspired by one of four site-specific installations created by British artist Andy Goldsworthy in the Presidio of San Francisco: a park and former U.S. Army military fort in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. These remarkable installations were created by Goldsworthy between 2008 and 2014 using organic, on-site materials such as tree branches and soil.

Sites of urban wilderness in the Bay Area have frequently served as points of reference in my creative process. The Presidio’s landscape of eucalyptus and cypress was formative: my childhood home was steps from the sites where these installations were later created. Having made countless pilgrimages to these works by Goldsworthy, I felt impelled to formulate a musical response to these powerful places.

Goldsworthy’s four Presidio installations are transformed through the growth of surrounding vegetation, the elements, the passage of time, and visitor interactions. In my response, I sought to evoke different kinds of transformation connected to each of the four installations.

Wood Line

Wood Line is a long, curving line of eucalyptus branches (1,200 feet) placed along the forest floor. Many times, I’ve traced this path with my own feet,walking alongside it, or balancing on top of the branches themselves, the surfaces of which have become smooth from the wear of footsteps over the years. In my response, “Tracing,” a musical motif is continually “traced” through heterophony: picked up by each of the instruments in different tempi and registers.

Andy Goldsworthy's "Tree Fall"

Tree Fall is a tree trunk suspended from the roof of a small, disused military building. The trunk and roof were covered in wet clay, which developed intricate, cracking patterns on its surface while drying. In “Cracking,” a dark, chorale-like music, conveying the womb-like interior of the building, “cracks” open into a rhythmically dynamic middle section.

Photo of Earth Wall installation

Goldsworthy created Earth Wall by burying and then excavating a sculpture made of eucalyptus branches from within a rammed earth wall at the Presidio Officers’ Club. A lively third movement, “Excavating,” evokes the spherical tangle of branches at the core of the wall through a building contrapuntal texture.

Photo of "Spire"

In the final movement, “Obscuring,” climbing gestures in the piano are juxtaposed with sustained notes in the strings to capture the spatial quality of Spire: a 100-foot structure made from Monterey cypress trunks thrusting dramatically into the open sky. Contrasting material in triple meter, tender at first, becoming increasingly robust, gradually takes over. This music reflects the stand of young trees surrounding Spire, which will eventually obscure it in years to come as these cypresses grow and mature.

Nell’s “Retrace” Wins Toronto Messiaen Ensemble’s International Call for Scores

Toronto Messiaen Ensemble announcement placard

Canadian Music Centre and Toronto Messiaen Ensemble recently selected my work Retrace (2018) for flute, violin, cello, for inclusion on their Spring 2020 season! My piece was one of five selected from roughly 450 submissions to their international Call for Scores.

This will be the first performance of my music in Canada! I’ll announce the concert date and further details soon.