Dawn Chorus

Artists are hardly strangers to working in the wilderness but this project made that a requirement. Student performers from Allendale, Michigan – home to the ever-enterprising Grand Valley State University (GVSU) New Music Ensemble – and fearless composers from across the nation, went back-a-bush to listen, explore, and respond to some of our great environmental treasures.

“In 2014 we started an ongoing project in which we commissioned composers to respond to our national parks. We then travelled to these parks and performed the music in the lands that inspired it. To date we have commissioned twenty composers and performed in fourteen national parks. This album is a collection of eleven of those works, as diverse and engaging as the parks they were based on: Arches, Badlands, Capitol Reef, Grand Teton, Wind Cave, and Yellowstone. The music is deeply personal to the composers, who were each commissioned because of their strong connections to our natural environment. With performances in amphitheaters, visitor centers, lodges, and even deep in the wilderness, this music has reached thousands of park visitors and illustrated how incredible landscapes can impact creative artists.”—Bill Ryan, Director

The intrepid artists on this album responded in various ways to their park experiences; from being awestruck by the silence and grandeur, to the geological transformations, misty rivers, bird song, “perfect mountainousness,” stargazing through rock formations, the resonance of caves, a “sonic time-lapse of the history of this land,” and a close encounter with a bear. The range of accomplished composers also includes two former ensemble members, demonstrating the fertile breeding ground of Michigan as well as the wealth of creative resources across the land.

Based in Allendale, Michigan, the New Music Ensemble at Grand Valley State University promotes the music of our time through commissions, tours, recordings, educational events, workshops, and videos. Founded in 2006 by their director Bill Ryan, the ensemble not only prepares students for careers that include contemporary music, but also help them become exceptional educators, advocates, and leaders in the music field. Their recording of Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians (innova 865) was named one of the top five classical recordings of the decade by WNYC. This release, Dawn Chorus, is their fifth to date.

The ensemble has completed five tours and performed at major venues throughout the country. With awards from New Music U.S.A. and the National Endowment of the Arts, the ensemble has commissioned over 70 compositions from such notable composers as Sarah Kirkland Snider, Zoe Keating, Nico Muhly, Marc Mellits, Anna Clyne, and David Lang.