it's true - much of this past couple of weeks in boston have been much more like winter than spring. so - in keeping with the chilly air, we spent some wonderful time re-mounting an historical concert performance of John Harbison's earliest opera, "A Winter's Tale," which featured many of the area's finest voices, john's own libretto (in retro-collaboration with The Bard, of course), and the fearless BMOP players. it was a very intense week for all of us, since the piece features some jaw-dropping singing responsibilities (especially from baritone David Kravitz, who keeps leaping into falsetto as his Leontes grapples with paranoia about his own cuckoldry), some truly virtuoso playing in the orchestra (especially in the winds and brass!), and an especially emotional week for all of us as we saw this very early piece by a cherished established composer come to life in front of us.

here are a couple of pix from the dress rehearsal, featuring the full chorus of shepherds and shepherdesses:





and a couple of pix from the huge ovation as the composer took the stage:






and some very happy people afterwards, like john and david kravitz, backstage just moments after the curtain call:



and john with gil and myself, plus mezzo janna baty, whose performance was also such a daunting and dazzling part of the evening:



then we all got to spend some more time with the piece at mechanics hall in worcester to record it! this process is always my favorite - a real opportunity to get inside a piece, listen intensely and closely and watch the performers hone their performances even further. here is a happy composer-conductor shot:



>john and gil still smiling in the midst of an incredibly detail-filled recording day...

and in the midst of it all (ah how appropriate, since the piece is called 'In medias res' !), my concerto for orchestra arrives from the printer !!



i can't believe that the next time we all come together it will be for this last big piece, which is basically a huge Thank You-Farewell gift to everyone in and around BMOP - that's you too, if you are reading this !!!

that's it for today but i'll log in again soon to catch you up on some other things that are brewing in the boston composer community...  let's just say, it takes a village to make new music, and i've been spending an increasing amount of time these last few months finding some great colleagues to build a village with!