Here, on the second release from the American Modern Ensemble's Powerhouse Pianists series, American Modern Ensemble members Stephen Gosling and Blair McMillen team up once again on a program of works for two pianos by esteemed living composers including John Adams, John Corigliano, Rob Paterson.

Winter Songs is the first album dedicated entirely to the vocal music of award-winning composer Robert Paterson. All works on the album are performed by the New York City based American Modern Ensemble and produced by multi-Grammy winning producer Adam Abeshouse. Each work features combinations of voice, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and percussion. The featured vocalists are some of the finest in North America, including Jesse Blumberg, Robert Gardner, Nancy Allen Lundy, David Neal and Dimitri Pittas. The works on this album are inspired by a variety of diverse subjects, and in many cases, use unconventional texts. CAPTCHA, the first work on the album for tenor and piano, uses reCAPTCHA texts for each movement. CAPTCHA stands for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart, and CAPTCHAs (or in this case, reCAPTCHAs) consist of combinations or real words and gibberish words. Selected reCAPTCHA texts were used for all of the movements. WInter Songs for bass-baritone and chamber ensemble consists of settings of winter-themed poems by A. R. Ammons, Billy Collins, Robert Creeley, Wallace Stevens and Richard Wilbur. Eating Variations for baritone and chamber ensemble is a setting of poems by New York City-based poet Ron Singer, and is a sendup on food faddism. The texts for Thursday for soprano and piano consist of fictitious answering machine messages, and Batter's Box for tenor and piano is a series of texts inspired by legendary New York Mets baseball catcher Mike Piazza. American Modern Ensemble (AME) joyfully celebrates and showcases American music, performing the widest possible repertoire, particularly by living composers. Our goal is to grow our audience base as far as possible beyond the music community. AME includes on-stage chats with featured composers, presents premieres, and conducts three annual competitions for young, emerging and professional composers. Receptions after each concert enable audience members to mingle with both composers and performers in an intimate, relaxed setting. Founded in New York City in 2005, AME has been a dynamic, creative force in the American new music scene. With a world-class ensemble made up of NYC's finest musicians, AME is 'simply 'first-rate' (The New York Times). AME has performed and premiered over 135 works by over 120 living American composers in venues ranging from Lincoln Center to Galapagos Arts Space, and has 'consistently demonstrated a flair for inventive programming' (Steve Smith, Time Out New York). AME programs both cutting edge and traditional works, presenting unique, engaging events that encourage dialogue between artists and audineces. AME is committed to that connection: over 90% of the composers whose works have been programmed by AME have attended our concerts. Sold out crowds at Merkin Hall, Dimenna Center, the Rubin Museum, The TimesCenter and many other venues are a winning testament to AME's tremendous fan base and ever expanding popularity. In 2012-13 AME was the ensemble-in-residence at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City, and AME tours and offers educational outreach programs. Recent collaborations include the Dance Theater of Harlem and Talujon percussion ensemble.

Robert Paterson continues to gain attention in the U.S. and abroad for writing "vibrantly scored and well-crafted" music that "often seems to shimmer" (NewMusicBox). Containing a program of the composer's latest choral works as realized by Musica Sacra under the direction of Kent Tritle, Eternal Reflections stands tall in sustaining Paterson's distinct artistic identity.

Makoto Nakura is one of the world's greatest marimbists, and he is on a mission on a mission to expand the marimba repertoire. For many years, Nakura has been producing a recital series under the theme of "Wood and Forest." Makoto created this series because he thought it would only be natural to let the marimba play pieces about wood and forest. Each composer he commissions takes inspiration from different ideas centered on this theme; for instance, a Mayan mythology, paintings of forest by French and German painters and Whitman's poem about the trees in the South, so on. For Bunch's duo, the composer wrote for the world biggest vibraphone which is only available in Japan. This is the first recording of the instrument. This world premiere recording is a collection of the works he commissioned from five of the finest American composers. The pieces were recorded at the beautiful St. Viator Kitashirakawa Church in Kyoto, Japan and at the world-famous American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York City. A FEW NOTES ON THE PIECES: Winik/Te' (wood/men) for Solo Marimba by Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez is inspired by the Mayan gods Hurricane and Heart-of-Sky who carved men out of wood, hoping that their new creation would "... walk about, multiply and live a purposeful life." The Trees Where I was Born for Solo Marimba by Jacob Bancks and is a meditation on the poetic imagery in Walt Whitman's ode to the American South, O Magnet-South. Duo for Viola and Vibraphone by Kenji Bunch, the only work on the album for vibraphone, is a three movement work with the titles Night, Dawn and Birds. Forest Shadows for Solo Marimba by Robert Paterson, a composer and percussionist, is inspired by nature scenes by nineteenth-century French painters such as Theodore Rousseau and landscape painters like Caspar David Friedrich. Arbor Una Nobilis ("Noblest of trees") for Marimba and Violin, also by Jacob Bancks, is based on the chant Crux fiddles, an ancient hymn for Good Friday. After the Forest Fire for Marimba, Flute and Cello by Michael Torke is inspired by the title's theme, and is the only trio on the album. PERFORMERS: Makoto Nakura, marimba, vibraphone and percussion Jesse Mills, violin Kenji Bunch, viola Wilhelmina Smith, cello David Fedele, flute All of the pieces on this album are world premiere recordings commissioned by the ISGM New Music Commissioning Fund for Makoto Nakura. MORE ABOUT MAKOTO NAKURA In 1994, I moved from my native Japan to New York City, becoming the first marimbist to win first prize in the prestigious Young Concert Artists International Auditions. My critically acclaimed performances around the world have included venues in London, Berlin, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires. In the U.S., I have performed for audiences in 41 of the 50 states, with orchestras such as the New York Chamber Symphony, the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and, as a recital soloist, my list of appearances includes Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall, New York's 92nd Street Y, and Washington's Kennedy Center. I have performed numerous times with the American Ballet Theater in New York City and have appeared as a guest artist with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. I am a dedicated champion of the music of our time and many leading young composers have written pieces for me. It is my mission to explore and expand the possibilities of the marimba and to demonstrate what an exciting and provocative vehicle it offers to composers. Born in Kobe, Japan, I began to play the marimba at the age of eight. I earned both Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Musashino College in Tokyo and continued my studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where I was named an Associate. I have been featured on CBS News Sunday Morning and my recitals have been widely televised by KBS (Korea) and NHK (Japan), as well as on many radio stations. My recent honors include a National Arts Festival New Artist Award from the Japanese Agency of Cultural Affairs, the Barocksaal Award from the Aoyama Music Foundation in Kyoto and the BMI/Carlos Surinach Fund Marimba Commission.

Scorpion Tales is Duo Scorpio's debut release. It contains a unique selection of modern masterpieces and new works for harp duo, including Le Jardin Des Paons and Parvis by Bernard Andres, Raga by Caroline Lizotte, and world premiere recordings of Crossfade by Sebastian Currier, Scorpion Tales by Robert Paterson (commissioned by Duo Scorpio and the American Harp Society) and Unfurl by Stephen Andrew Taylor. Each work explores the rich sound world created by two harps, and the entire album was produced by Grammy winning recording engineer Adam Abeshouse. The formation of Duo Scorpio is as fascinating as the album: harpists Kathryn Andrews and Kristi Shade were born on exactly the same day, November 5, 1982, making them both Scorpios; they both moved to New York City after undergraduate school, completed their Master's Degrees at The Manhattan School of Music and studied with harp legend Susan Jolles. Scorpios are known for their determination, hard work and love of a challenge, which is definitely exemplified in this stunning debut album.

Robert Paterson's The Four Seasons consists of four song cycles, with a total of twenty-one songs, for four different voice types: soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, and bass-baritone. Each voice type represents a different season: Summer Songs (soprano), Autumn Songs (mezzo-soprano), Winter Songs (bass-baritone), and Spring Songs (tenor). The four critically-acclaimed singers on this album, soprano, Marnie Breckenridge, mezzo-soprano, Blythe Gaissert, tenor Alok Kumar, and bass-baritone David Neal have worked closely with Paterson, and gave the world premieres of these works with American Modern Ensemble, one of America's most beloved new music ensembles. The songs on this album are all settings of poems by various poets (listed below in the track listings), and each cycle is for voice and chamber ensemble consisting of flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin and cello. This ensemble is commonly called a Pierrot ensemble, named after the ensemble that Arnold Schoenberg used for his work Pierrot Lunaire. To date, Paterson has composed more works for this type of ensemble than anyone in the world. The Four Seasons was produced by Grammy� winning producer and engineer Adam Abeshouse, and recorded at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music's Mary Flagler Cary Hall (Summer Songs and Autumn Songs), the American Academy of Arts and Letters (Winter Songs), and in the Ladd Concert Hall Skidmore College's Arthur Zankel Music Center (Spring Songs).

Although it is fairly common to see percussionists holding four mallets, those who use six are still somewhat rare. Award-winning composer and percussionist Robert Paterson has spent his entire career developing this technique and writing pieces that utilize this technique. To date, he has written more works using this technique than anyone else in the world. This is the world's first all six mallet marimba album, and it pays tribute to his roots as a percussionist, and specifically, the marimba. Paterson sets out to prove that this innovative, groundbreaking technique opens the door for creating new timbres and colors, richer harmonies, and a more varied sound palette on his instrument. All of the works on this album feature the marimba and are performed by Paterson and members of the critically-acclaimed American Modern Ensemble. Works Include Komodo and Piranha for solo marimba, Stillness for oboe and marimba (featuring Sarah Schram, oboe), Clarinatrix for bass clarinet and marimba (Meighan Stoops, bass clarinet), the three movement Duo for Flute and Marimba (Sato Moughalian, flute and alto flute), the six mallet version of Tongue and Groove (there's also a four-mallet version) for alto saxophone and marimba (Jeremy Justeson, alto saxophone)Braids for violin and marimba (Victoria Paterson, violin), Links & Chains for violin and marimba (Robin Zeh, violin) and Fantasia for tuba and marimba (Dan Peck, tuba). MORE ON ROBERT PATERSON Cited by the press as "one of the major contenders in American music" and for writing "exuberant and rhythmically vital music marked by energy and a wonderful sense of color," Robert Paterson's music continues to be in demand by audiences and musicians alike. His music has been played by many orchestras, including the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Austin Symphony, Albany Symphony, and the American Composers Orchestra. Chamber ensembles and choirs who have commissioned and performed his music include the New York New Music Ensemble, Bargemusic, California EAR Unit, Da Capo Chamber Players, Ensemble Aleph, Locrian Chamber Players, Aureole, and the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble. In 2011, Paterson was named Composer of the Year by the Classical Recording Foundation at Carnegie's Weill Hall. Other honors include the Copland Award, Brian Israel Prize, and numerous grants from American Composers Forum, ASCAP, and the American Music Center. Fellowships include the MacDowell Colony, Atlantic Music Center, Yaddo, and the Aspen Music Festival. From 2009-12, Paterson held a Music Alive! Residency, sponsored by New Music USA and the League of American Orchestras. Paterson has given master classes at many other colleges and universities, including the Curtis Institute of Music, New York University, Ithaca College, Sarah Lawrence College, Middlebury College, the University of Vermont and the Eastman School of Music. Paterson is the founder and Artistic Director of the American Modern Ensemble and resides in New York City with his wife Victoria, a violinist, and their son Dylan. MORE ON THE AMERICAN MODERN ENSEMBLE Hailed by The New York Times as having 'a strong fan base" and being composed of "performers of high-quality,' and for it's 'exceptional energy and thoughtful programming' (MusicWeb International), American Modern Ensemble is a dynamic, creative force in the new music scene. Founded in New York City in 2005, AME performs and records the widest possible repertoire written by American composers. Incorporating the traditional and the cutting edge, stretching from the bawdy to the brilliant, TimeOut New York's Steve Smith says AME has "consistently demonstrated a flair for inventive programming." With a world-class ensemble made up of many of New York's finest musicians, AME has performed and premiered hundreds of works by living composers. AME is committed to connecting audiences with composers: 95% of composers whose works have been programmed by AME have attended the concerts, and connect with audiences via interviews, discussions and the receptions held after each concert. AME has been generously supported by grants from a variety of organizations, including the Aaron Copland Fund, NYSCA, Hegardt Foundation, Doctorow Foundation, New Music USA (formerly Meet The Composer and American Music Center), Wise Family Charitable Foundation, BMI, ASCAP, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and various private foundations and generous patrons.

Aur�ole is widely considered to be one of the world's most revered flute, viola, and harp trios. The trio has commissioned and premiered more works and released more albums for their instrumentation than any other similar trio in the world. Embracing The Wind is Aur�ole's fifteenth album, and their debut recording on the AMR label. The first work on the album, by Israeli composer Paul Ben-Haim, fittingly titled 'Chamber Music,' is regarded as one of his most intimate in instrumentation and content. It explores a colorful dialogue between the three instruments that moves from playful to meditative and prayerlike. The title work on the album, 'Embracing The Wind,' is by award-winning American composer Robert Paterson and is one of his most-performed works. According to Paterson, his "muse" ensemble when composing this work was Aur�ole, so he is thrilled to be included on this album. The third piece on the album is the three-movement work 'Veiled Echoes' by Lior Navok. In the composer's words, 'Veiled Echoes' "was written during a one month stay at Aspen, Colorado. While being surrounded by wild nature at it's best, writing a trio for flute, viola and harp seemed to me as the most natural thing..." The final work on the album, 'Thamar y Amnon' by Ian Krouse, is a chamber tone poem based on one of Federico Garc�a Lorca's Tres Romances Historicos (Three Historical Ballads) from Romancero Gitano (Gypsy Ballads). This work is embedded with deep, extra-musical meaning and has deep ties to Lorca's paean to illicit eroticism.

An Il trittico for the Tinder generation, THREE WAY is a new opera on the present and future of sex and love with music by Robert Paterson (The Whole Truth) and a libretto by David Cote (The Scarlet Ibis). In three playful one-acts, average heroes explore the worlds of android lovers, BDSM and multiple partners in their searches for the emotional connections that are ever-elusive in today’s romantic world. This release is the original cast recording, featuring the Nashville Opera conducted by Dean Williamson. “Nashville Opera has secured for itself a place among important regional companies.” (American Record Guide-Opera Everywhere) The Nashville Opera Association is a professional opera company in Nashville, Tennessee and is a member of OPERA America. The company currently offers four fully staged opera productions and the On Tour educational outreach program during an annual season which runs from October through April. Performances are offered at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Downtown Nashville and the award-winning Noah Liff Opera Center in the Sylvan Heights section of West Nashville.

This release is violinist Linya Su's debut album, featuring works by four living American composers. Su has received critial acclaim in the Taipei newspaper China Post and the Herald-Times. "New Music's Torchbearer...Black McMillen plays with flair, intelligence, and Julliard-honed virtuosity...When played by the formidable Mr. McMillen, any piece sounds terrific." - Anthony Tommasini, New York Times "All the musical works contained in this album reflect the spirit of the Empire State Building. Whether you choose to catch the view from the top of the building or from the ground level, you are part of an energy that comes from something larger than yourself. Even though each work is a unique representation of the individual composer's artistic voice, the pieces themselves share some distinctive qualities. Each one is characterized by vitality, diversity, positivity and is unquestionably colorful." - Linya Su

Jeremy Justeson is one of America's finest saxophonists, and this is his debut recording on the American Modern Recordings (AMR) label. This recording contains seven contemporary works, all of which feature the saxophone, and most include at least one other musician. All of the pieces in this album are world premiere recordings, and a few feature the composers performing their own works. Works include: Pistol Packin' Mamma for alto sax, violin and piano; Walimai for also sax and piano; Sultana for soprano sax and piano; schizo 'squito for solo alto sax; Tongue and Groove for alto sax and five-octave marimba (four mallet version); Spirit for alto sax and piano, and Pimpin' for baritone sax and recording. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EACH TRACK � Pistol Packin' Mamma is about three conflicting personalities that are very rarely in harmony with each other ��Walimai is inspired by a character in Isabel Allende's fascinating collection "Cuentos de Eva Luna" � Sultana takes it's name from a female sultan � schizo 'squito is inspired by the schizophrenic life of a mosquito ��Tongue and Groove is inspired by carpentry, rhythmic interplay, fast tonguing and oral sex � The title Spirit refers to raising one's spirits and the general tone is one of warmth and positive emotion ��Pimpin', the title track, is the only work on the album not by an American composer, and is based on original speech by American pimps and prostitutes JEREMY JUSTESON BIO Jeremy Justeson has performed as an orchestral soloist and recitalist across the United States, Europe and Asia. Dr. Justeson currently serves as Professor of Saxophone and Director of the Wind Ensemble at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. Active regionally, nationally, and internationally as a soloist, chamber musician, clinician, and conductor, Dr. Justeson has appeared in venues such as New York's Carnegie Hall Stern Auditorium and Lincoln Center Avery Fisher Hall, Dallas' Meyerson Center, San Antonio Symphony Hall, Allentown Symphony Hall and San Diego's Copley Symphony Hall. A proponent of new music, Jeremy Justeson has premiered numerous pieces, worked with many of the day's leading composers and performs as a member of the New York City based, American Modern Ensemble. He also serves as the Executive Director of the CASE Arts Group, Inc. a non-profit arts organization supporting performances and commissions of new music. Current CASE projects include a consortium commission of composer Joan Tower for her first original work for solo saxophone. Jeremy Justeson's celebrated debut CD Juggernaut is available nationally on the Equilibrium label. A native of San Diego, Jeremy Justeson received the Bachelor of Music degree from California State University, Fullerton, the Master of Music degree from Northwestern University, and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The University of Texas at Austin. Jeremy Justeson's primary saxophone teachers have included James R�tter, Harvey Pittel and Dr. Frederick L. Hemke. Jeremy Justeson is a Selmer Performing Artist and Clinician.

This is the American Modern Ensemble's second release and features the music of American composer Robert Paterson. This album contains seven of his award-winning chamber works and are all world premiere recordings. The sessions were recorded at the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York City, and produced by multi-Grammy winner Adam Abeshouse. Here are a few words about each track... 1. The track begins with police whistles and is inspired by a criminal running scared from the police, and traveling on old Route 66. 2. The track is icy and cold-sounding, but also inspired by Arcosanti, a prototype 'arcology' in the middle of the Arizona desert. 3. Star Crossing evokes the feeling of what it would feel like to travel across the galaxy. 4. Embracing the Wind evokes the image of an Olympic athlete running against the wind. 5. Elegy is inspired by J. S. Bach's cello suites, and contains embedded quotes of Bach's music. 6. Skylights is inspired by the skylights at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida, and is a study in contrast between light and dark. 7. Quintus, is a rock-and-roll inspired, groove-oriented, hyper-intense joy ride for instrumental quintet. All of the tracks are for various combinations of flute, clarinet, violin, cello, percussion and piano, with the exception of one of the tracks, Embracing the Wind, for flute, viola and harp, and Elegy for two bassoons and piano. Info. On Robert Paterson... Cited by the press as "one of the major contenders in American music" and writing "exuberant and rhythmically vital music marked by energy and a wonderful sense of color," his music continues to be in demand by audiences and musicians alike. Paterson's music has been played by numerous ensembles, including the Louisville Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, New York New Music Ensemble, Da Capo Chamber Players, California EAR Unit, and at the June in Buffalo festival. Recent performances include Embracing the Wind by the Aureole Trio and New York Harp Trio, Wind Quintet by the Philharmonia Quintet (Cracow), The Essence of Gravity, commissioned for the San Francisco-based Volti choir, and the world premiere of Crimson Earth with the University of Connecticut Wind Ensemble conducted by Jeffrey Renshaw. Upcoming projects include scenes and workshops with librettist David Cote for their new opera A Child Possessed (achildpossessed. Com) and a collaboration with the MAYA ensemble and a dance company on a nine-movement, thirty-minute commissioned work entitled The Book of Goddesses. He was also commissioned to write a new choral work for conductor Nicol Matt and the European Amadeus-Chor. For the next three years, Paterson is the Music Alive composer-in-residence with the Vermont Youth Orchestra Association, sponsored by Meet The Composer and the League of American Orchestras. This residency will culminate in a major commission for a twenty-minute work for orchestra and chorus. Awards include the Brian Israel Prize, Louisville Orchestra Composition Competition, ASCAP Young Composer Awards and grants from Meet The Composer, the American Music Center, the American Composers Forum and ASCAP, as well as fellowships to Yaddo, MacDowell Colony, Aspen Music Festival, and Atlantic Center for the Arts. He received degrees from Cornell University (DMA), Indiana University (MM) and the Eastman School of Music (BM). He resides in New York City with his wife, Victoria, a violinist, and their son, Dylan.

Powerhouse Pianists is the American Modern Ensemble's first recording on the AMR label and highlights two of it's members, pianists Blair McMillen and Stephen Gosling. Hailed by critics as 'Brilliant young stars... The dynamic duo of contemporary pianists' (The New York Times), this recording contains a selection of contemporary masterpieces by a few of America's greatest composers. Of special note on this recording is a work by Annie Gosfield in which Mr. McMillen plays the piano with a baseball mitt and baseballs. REVIEW FROM THE JUILLIARD JOURNAL: An eclectic program... McMillen offers a rarity right off the bat, with Chester Biscardi's softly glittering Piano Sonata, then completely changes direction with Lee Hyla's stark Basic Training and Eric Moe's Where Branched Thoughts Murmur in the Wind, a brief, delicate essay. He ends with Brooklyn, October 5, 1941, Annie Gosfield's striking tribute to the Brooklyn Dodgers (played with baseballs and a mitt), in an unusual set delivered with tautness and finesse. Gosling begins with George Tsontakis's enigmatic Bagatelle, which at one point hovers over some very Brahmsian chords, followed by the darkly mysterious Episodes for Piano by Perry Townsend. Then Conlon Nancarrow bubbles into the mix with Tango?, brimming with wit. The cascade of notes continues with Joan Tower's Or Like a... an Engine, it's stammering title from a John Ashbery poem, and Gosling really floors the gas pedal for E-Machines, a hyperactive jolt by David Rakowski. Finally comes Five �tudes for Piano by Mischa Zupko, clearly influenced by Ligeti, and Gosling gives them a scientific accuracy, as if surveying their intricacies with a microscope. Engineer John Yannelli, capturing both pianists in the hall at Sarah Lawrence College, has given these dynamic artists a clear soundstage against which even the minutest details register in sharp focus. ��� The American Modern Ensemble (AME) is based in New York City and was formed in 2005 with the goal of premiering, performing and recording and commissioning the widest possible repertoire written by American composers. The focus is to celebrate and showcase American music and especially works written by living composers. Each season, we choose one American composer to feature on a program devoted to his or her music. AME is also dedicated to education and outreach programs that expose communities to American music, and particularly to new music written by living composers.

Duo Scorpio, the world's finest harp duo, continues to set the standard for harp duo repertoire now and into the future with Two Bridges, their groundbreaking second release on the American Modern Recordings (AMR) label. This album follows their highly successful first album, Scorpion Tales, a "diverse mix of new and recent compositions that push the limits of what can be done with the instrument" (Lucid Culture), and an album described as "likely to leave music makers and fans inspired to seek out more" (NewMusicBox). Two Bridges includes a diverse collection of brand new works for two harps by an exciting and diverse group of composers, including Andy Akiho, Ferdinando DeSena, Christopher Dietz, Nico Muhly, Paul Patterson and Giovanni Piacentini. The entire album was produced from start to finish by Grammy winning producer and recording engineer Adam Abeshouse. The formation of Duo Scorpio is as fascinating as the album: harpists Kathryn Andrews and Kristi Shade were born on exactly the same day, November 5, 1982, making them both Scorpios; they both moved to New York City after undergraduate school, completed their Master's Degrees at The Manhattan School of Music and studied with harp legend Susan Jolles. Scorpios are known for their determination, hard work and love of a challenge, which is definitely exemplified in this exciting second release.

Spheres

In Real Life is a new album that combines three witty, contemporary pieces for solo singer and ensemble: In Real Life I (for soprano), In Real Life II (for baritone), and Extraordinary, an operatic scene for soprano and baritone. The beloved musicians on this album are Marnie Breckenridge, soprano, Jorell Williams, baritone, and American Modern Ensemble, one of America’s most admired new music ensembles, conducted by Steven Osgood. In Real Life was originally conceived by composer Robert Paterson and lyricist and librettist David Cote as a set of dating app songs for a soprano and piano called In Real Life (retitled In Real Life I), commissioned by Austin Chamber Ensemble Artistic Director Martha Mortensen Ahern, in honor of its 35th season. Getting into the heads (and hearts) of five different women looking for romance was so fun, Paterson and Cote wondered, what would a similar cycle for baritone sound like? The result was In Real Life II, songs that dramatize the romantic quests of five different men. As a full program, In Real Life consists of these two song cycles (interwoven for variety) and Extraordinary, an operatic “date” for soprano and baritone. Mingling comedy with pathos through a lively range of character types, In Real Life is a chance for a soprano and a baritone to show off their versatility, and for an audience to enjoy a delicious, theatrical revue about love, romance, and second chances. In Real Life was produced by Grammy® winning producer and engineer Adam Abeshouse, and recorded live at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music’s Mary Flagler Cary Hall in NYC.

Tracks

In Real Life I
Marnie Breckenridge, Soprano
1. 1. A Regular Woman
2. 2. Late Bloomer
3. 3. Anastasia
4. 4. Collateral
5. 5. Rewind

In Real Life II
Jorell Williams, Baritone
6. 1. Ain’t No Frog
7. 2. Sola Fide
8. 3. Die With Me
9. 4. Still Vamping
10 5. Nice-Plus

11. Extraordinary
Marnie Breckenridge, Soprano; Jorell Williams, Baritone

TOTAL TIME: 60’30”