The Upcoming Concerts page on my website was blank for a long time. But I'm pleased to announce that the International Orange Chorale of San Francisco, with whom I have been composer-in-residence since before Covid was a thing (you might remember them as the Zoom choir), will be premiering my newest piece, Come to Us in Water, in two concerts this December:
Saturday, December 4, 7:30pm at Christ Church in Berkeley, CA
Saturday, December 18, 7:30pm at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in San Francisco, CA
Saturday, December 4, 7:30pm at Christ Church in Berkeley, CA
Saturday, December 18, 7:30pm at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in San Francisco, CA
Admission is free, donations gratefully accepted, no tickets necessary. This will be one of IOC's "Freshly Squeezed" concerts, which means every work will be a premiere of some kind, and they always manage to find a high-quality crop of really interesting and different music. (Not just saying that because they chose one of mine for their 2018 concert, really.)
Good news for out-of-towners, and those not quite ready to hit a public concert: the December 18 concert will be live-streamed! Details have not yet been released; I will let you know when I learn them (and they should eventually be available on the International Orange website).
Come to Us in Water is a humble prayer to Mother Earth to bless us here in California (or anywhere, but especially here) with some of that sweet, wet stuff known as rain. After a long dry season and a drought, sometimes we forget what that is. Thankfully, Mother Earth has been generous so far this rainy season. It was really a trip to attend an International Orange rehearsal a few weeks ago and, after working on this piece for 30-40 minutes, emerge to our first substantial rain of the season. "Thanks for the rain!" several different singers said to me as I exited, and we all had a good laugh. However that rain arrived, I could have not been happier to see it.
I also wrote the text for this piece—you can read it here. I've also included the performance notes I wrote for the choir, which includes an explanation of the Druid origins and symbolism behind the piece.
I am so excited to share this with you. All hail the return of live music!
Mike
P.S. ICYMI, here's International Orange Chorale virtually performing "Zoom":
Good news for out-of-towners, and those not quite ready to hit a public concert: the December 18 concert will be live-streamed! Details have not yet been released; I will let you know when I learn them (and they should eventually be available on the International Orange website).
Come to Us in Water is a humble prayer to Mother Earth to bless us here in California (or anywhere, but especially here) with some of that sweet, wet stuff known as rain. After a long dry season and a drought, sometimes we forget what that is. Thankfully, Mother Earth has been generous so far this rainy season. It was really a trip to attend an International Orange rehearsal a few weeks ago and, after working on this piece for 30-40 minutes, emerge to our first substantial rain of the season. "Thanks for the rain!" several different singers said to me as I exited, and we all had a good laugh. However that rain arrived, I could have not been happier to see it.
I also wrote the text for this piece—you can read it here. I've also included the performance notes I wrote for the choir, which includes an explanation of the Druid origins and symbolism behind the piece.
I am so excited to share this with you. All hail the return of live music!
Mike
P.S. ICYMI, here's International Orange Chorale virtually performing "Zoom":
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