Anna Clyne’s Shorthand for Solo Cello and Strings
Live performance with The Knights on November 6th, 2022 at Die Glocke in Bremen, Germany. It was a joy to premiere this work written for me and The Knights, and to tour it widely throughout Germany, Denmark and the U.S. in venues including Carnegie Hall, Tonhalle Düsseldorf, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Berlin Konzerthaus, Kölner Philharmonie, NDR Sendesaal (Hannover), Alte Oper Frankfurt, Prinzregententheater (München), Musikkens hus (Aalborg) and Musikhuset Aarhus.
Dear Mountains Trailer
Excerpts from the world premiere of Dear Mountains, a 42-minute work I co-composed with Lembit Beecher for SATB chorus, solo cello, oud and percussion. The work was commissioned by Cantori New York and premiered in New York City on November 22nd and 23rd, 2024, featuring Cantori New York, Ara Dinkjian (oud), Philip Mayer (percussion), Mark Shapiro (conductor) and myself on cello. Full video now available!
Mayrig Trailer
A preview of Mayrig, a 60-minute show created by Karen Ouzounian and Lembit Beecher for cello with electronics, piano and vocals, premiering in Summer 2025. Performed without pause and featuring several new compositions and arrangements, the voices of Karen’s mother and grandmother are interwoven with the music of Gusan Ashot, Charles Aznavour, Lembit Beecher, Layale Chaker, Kemany Minas & Harry Hasekian, Nathalie Joachim, Marin Marais and Niloufar Nourbakhsh.
Before Bloom by Layale Chaker
Before Bloom is a work for solo cello composed by Layale Chaker in 2021, written during a time of upheaval in Palestine and offering an alternative reading of Boticelli's Primavera. I will be performing it as part of Mayrig, a concert program premiering in Summer 2025.
A Year to the Day by Lembit Beecher
World premiere of the 50-minute dramatic song cycle A Year to the Day for tenor, violin, cello and piano by composer Lembit Beecher and librettist Mark Campbell. Featuring tenor Nicholas Phan, violinist Augustin Hadelich, pianist Orion Weiss, and myself on cello, A Year to the Day was filmed for the Violin Channel for a digital premiere on October 7th, 2022. Details about the work here.
Veiled by Niloufar Nourbakhsh
Niloufar Nourbakhsh’s Veiled for solo cello and live electronics with fixed media was composed in 2019 as a tribute to the Iranian women who have made possible the transformation of anger into a collective force that is both resilient and beautiful. Live performance at the 77th Ojai Music Festival on June 10th, 2023.
Sophia’s Wide Awake Dreams by Lembit Beecher
I. Dream Nr. 1
II. Dream Nr. 2
Sophia’s Wide Awake Dreams for string quartet and nine custom-built, electronically-controlled sound sculptures was written for the Aizuri Quartet and adapted from Lembit Beecher’s 2017 chamber opera Sophia’s Forest. The work is featured on the Aizuri Quartet’s 2019 GRAMMY-nominated album Blueprinting (New Amsterdam Records).
Freight Train by Elizabeth Cotten
Written in the early years of the 20th century, Freight Train is one of Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten's most beloved and well-known songs. This is my arrangement of the song for string quartet + voice/singing cellist, which is accompanied by animation artist Lembit Beecher’s stop-motion film in which a paper train comes to life and rolls through a suddenly magical world of clay, paper and household objects.