A Delectable Selection

This weekend, New Wave Opera will present our inaugural event: Summer Splash! This week, our artists shared what works they are most excited about and what listeners can expect to hear.

Today we hear from NWO composer-in-residence, Kimberly R. Osberg!​

NWO Composer-in-Residence, Kimberly R. Osberg | Photo by Mauricio Herrera

"While vocal music is definitely at the center of this program, I was also excited New Wave Opera decided to program my short piano solo Mango Salad for this summertime outdoor concert! The piece was originally written as part of a project, New Music Cookbook, in which I wrote solo works based on recipes submitted by composers, musicians, and food enthusiasts alike. The idea was to end up with a whole "cookbook" of recipes and pieces that could pair with the pieces, and the proceeds from the book being donated to local food banks.
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"While the project was halted due to illness, several works were completed - including this short piano solo, originally premiered by composer-pianist Monica Chew; her work, COVID Bake-Off ​(libretto by Sandra Flores-Strand) is also appearing on this program, so it's a really lovely connection!"

Pianist Stephen Lewis will perform the short solo at the start of the program this weekend.

"I am also SO thrilled we're presenting music by composer Gwyneth Walker on this program. I really didn't know much about her music, but listening in rehearsals this week I have fallen in love with her writing. It's energetic, lush, dramatic, hilarious, gorgeous - she writes such an eclectic array of music. She kept writing even as she lived on a dairy farm in Vermont (as a Wisconsinite, especially, I felt kinship with her there!), producing over 400 works - and counting! I really hope I get the chance to meet her some day and talk about her music, but in the meantime I'm just thrilled we're sharing it with our audiences this weekend."

Composer Gwyneth Walker on her dairy farm in Vermont

New Wave Opera is presenting three Gwyneth Walker pieces this weekend: lily has a rose (text by E.E. Cummings), The Sunrise Ruby (text by Rumi), and Still (text by composer).

Cover Art for "If You Cheese"

"We also were planning to premiere another food-themed work for this performance - a new trio, IF YOU CHEESE. The trio follows a woman named Bonnie trying to put together a last-minute order of a cheese board with her two friends - though her friends start to offer a lot more puns than help. All three vocalists - Lisa Neher, Lindsey Rae Johnson, and Allison Kim-Yok Knotts - sound lovely on it, and Stephen really impressed me with how fast he was able to pick up the dramatic runs and jumpy clusters of the piece. However, it needed just a little more time to 'mature,' so I'm really looking forward to the premiere on our August show at Raven's Manor instead! It will brie even feta than I imagined!"

New Wave Opera presents its inaugural concert TOMORROW! Read more about the event, or RSVP to secure your seats today at the links below:

FULL EVENT INFO

RSVP FOR SUMMER SPLASH!