Victory at Arnot, for chamber group and narrator, 40″ (2016); additional arrangements 2018
In 1899, Mary “Mother” Jones led a small coal mining town to union victory… with some very creative tactics. The story also features union leader William Wilson, who later became the nation’s first Secretary of Labor. Text by Eleanor Aversa and Kristen Wall, using newspaper accounts, biographies, and the autobiography of Mother Jones.
Three versions:
- flute, violin, piano + narrator
- clarinet, violin, cello + narrator
- flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion + narrator
Here: Elivi Varga (flute), Andreia Torain (violin), Eleanor Aversa (piano), Megan Hicks (narrator)
Performances by members of the Settlement Music School faculty with Megan Hicks, What is Noise with Maureen Brennan, and Unheard-of//Ensemble with Amber Evans
A Conversation with the Gravel Pit: Three Musical Landscapes for flute and guitar, 7’00” (2012)
I. Reverence: The Pine Bluffs
II. Wandering: The Gravel Pit
III. Solace: The Meadow
- Commissioned by installation artist Mie Preckler and the I-Park Foundation and premiered in East Haddam, CT by Amanda Baker (flute) and Daniel Corr (guitar) 10/13/12
Sonora: 6 Desert Songs for clarinet and unpitched percussion, 11’00” (2009)
- Winner, 2010 University of Pennsylvania David Halstead Music Prize for best original musical composition, vocal or instrumental
- Performances by Astral Artists (Allison Herz and Gabe Globus-Hoenich) and June in Buffalo faculty (Jean Kopperud and Tom Kolor)
- Recording by Bill Kalinkos (clarinet) and Gabe Globus-Hoenich (percussion)
1. Desert at Noon (excerpt)-Eleanor Aversa (turn down speakers)
2. Saguaro and Mesquite (excerpt)-Eleanor Aversa
3. Mirage (excerpt)-Eleanor Aversa
4. Lizards (excerpt)-Eleanor Aversa
5. Desert at 4am (excerpt)-Eleanor Aversa
6. Rain (excerpt)-Eleanor Aversa
Something Gleamed Like Electrum for flute, clarinet, piano, violin, and cello, 8’00” (2008)
The piece is inspired by Ezekiel’s vision of the four cherubim: “As I looked, a stormwind came from the North, a huge cloud with flashing fire enveloped in brightness, from the midst of which something gleamed like electrum. . . They sparkled with a gleam like burnished bronze” (Ezekiel 1:4-7). Electrum is an alloy of gold and silver.
Here: Juventas, Ian Garvie (conductor)
Performances by the Boston New Music Initiative, the Discovery Players, Juventas, neoLIT, and Second Instrumental Unit