Jennifer Bellor

I recently revised 898 Hildegard for SATB and Orchestra, and very excited about this new version! The premiere of the original version for the Genesee Valley Orchestra June 3-4, 2016 was a success, and thrilled with their performance. I realized after hearing it that I still wanted to re-visit a couple sections: the climactic point and the ending of the piece. Knowing that I could have the opportunity to incorporate harp for the Las Vegas Philharmonic premiere April 1, 2017, this opened up many more creative possibilities for me, and decided to completely re-write the ending to feature the harp, clarinet, and flute.

Audio recording at this time is not available. For an idea of the piece, here is a MIDI realization:

898 Hildegard was commissioned by the Genesee Valley Community Orchestra to honor their founder, Sister Virginia Hogan, through the verse and melody of Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179). The title is borrowed from the name of a planetoid in our solar system, 898 Hildegard, thus connecting civilization’s ancient cosmos with the one that it continues to discover. I used excerpts from her chants “O Vis Eternitatis” and “O Gloriosissimi Lux Vivens Angeli,” in which the text is about eternity and angels. Then, I listened to the recordings of these chants on the Hildegard Society website (www.hildegard-society.org), and transcribed the performances in order to learn how these chants are presented rhythmically. After studying the intricate details of both chants, I then intertwined the original chant material with my own variations throughout, melding it together into a through-composed composition that not only displays my compositional style, but also highlights these beautiful chants by Hildegard von Bingen.

898 Hildegard was first premiered in Rochester, NY June 3-4, 2-16, and later revised for premiere by the Las Vegas Philharmonic April 1, 2017 at the Smith Center. http://lvphil.org/concert_schedule/performance.php?ID=69

http://lasvegasweekly.com/ae/2016/apr/05/las-vegas-philharmonic-2016-2017-season-star-wars/

I wrote Afterglow for Mark Boseman to perform and incorporate in his new marimba methods book he is currently in the process of producing. The miniature composition focuses on one-handed rolls. Here is a Facebook video of him performing the piece: https://www.facebook.com/mark.boseman.3/videos/10102178551901527/

The A/tonal Ensemble performed my composition Stay today on the program THE UNHEARD at 12:30pm EST on WUOL Classical 90.5, http://wuol.org/streaming-audio-on-classical-905/

Carrie RavenStem, clarinet
Tanner Leonardo, vibraphone
Jessica Dorman, piano

Here is a link to a 1-minute video clip that was posted on their Facebook page: video excerpt from performance

Congrats to them on a beautiful performance!

The UNLV Wind Orchestra under the direction of Tom Leslie premiered the 8-minute version of my composition “Bordello Nights” for wind orchestra and jazz band at Le Festival des Anches d’Azur in La Croix-Valmer Sunday evening, June 26. It was an honor having the opportunity to work with Tom and the amazing guest artists who were featured in the jazz band: Eric Marienthal (alto sax); Colin Gordon (soprano sax); Mitch Forman (piano); Kevin Axt (electric bass); and Bernie Dresel (drums). Here are some photos from the premiere:

I had a wonderful time hanging out with the musicians in La Croix-Valmer! When the musicians weren’t rehearsing, we spent time exploring the nearby villages, and enjoyed having dinner together each night. Here are some photos:

I recently revised my song Air and Angels with text by John Donne (1572-1631) that existed in two of my earlier song cycles (Songs of Ethereality and Between Realities). There are two versions available: for voice & piano or for voice, piano, synth and electric bass. I will be premiering the ensemble version of this piece August 21, 2016 on my showcase at the Bop Shop in Rochester, NY.

Since an audio recording isn’t available yet, here is a MIDI realization of the version for voice, piano, synth, and electric bass:

On Sunday, May 22nd, I performed a few of my compositions scored for voice, clarinet, piano, electric bass, and drums for a concert in Ham Hall at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. I consider these versions remixes, since the original versions were written for a different instrumentation, and also modified in various ways in order to create versions suitable for this instrumentation in a live show context. It meant a lot to me to have this opportunity to showcase a 15-minute set, and grateful to the musicians I asked for joining me to make this happen: Cory Tiffin (clarinet), Jason Corpuz (piano), Summer Kodama (electric bass), and Jeremy Klewicki (drums).

Excerpt from Burning Light (remix); Video recording by Joshua Sjoen

Excerpt from Familiar Stranger (remix); Video recording by Joshua Sjoen

Excerpt from Moments Shared, Moments Lost (remix); Video recording by Joshua Sjoen

Here are some photos from the dress rehearsal:

Saturday April 23rd and Sunday April 24th, I worked with people of all ages to create music on the spot in reaction to the historical Las Vegas Signs in the Neon Museum. I began with an interactive composition I wrote that involved teaching rhythms to separate groups, giving people percussion instruments to beat out the rhythms, and then groove with the parts I wrote out for piano, clarinet, and voice. Following that exercise, they broke out into small groups and chose a sign in the gallery. Their task was to create a composition together in reaction to the visual elements. Many of the groups used words and set them to a rhythm, and some people even added choreography and song. Closing each session, pianist Jae Ahn-Benton, clarinetist Ivan-Ivanov and percussionist Manny Gamazo played the shortened remix version of my composition Moments Shared, Moments Lost. It was such a fun event, and was a pleasure to engage with so many people (both locals and tourists) in the area! I hope to have the opportunity to do many more programs like this in the future!

Fox5 News:http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/share/22337701?token=7168c7d8-06e1-4ee3-b826-8150841096b6

Las Vegas Weekly:http://lasvegasweekly.com/as-we-see-it/2016/apr/27/neon-museum-jennifer-bellor/#/0

My composition “Moments Shared, Moments Lost” (2016) was premiered by clarinetist Ivan Ivanov and Jae Ahn-Benton on organ at Doc Rando Hall, University of Nevada, Las Vegas on April 18th, 2016. Here are some photos from the premiere! Composers Augusta Read Thomas and Bernard Rands were in residence at UNLV that weekend, and it was a fun and inspiring few days!