Jennifer Bellor

I uploaded the audio recording of the premiere of my new big band piece to SoundCloud this morning and wanted to share! This piece is titled Chase the Stars and has two versions. The original version was written for the ensemble ShoutHouse (for soprano, MC, flute, clarinet, string quartet, vibes/glock, piano, electric guitar, bass, and drums). Then I wrote this version for big band that features Jorge Machain on trumpet, and conducted the premiere of it with the UNLV Jazz Ensemble 1 at Ham Hall, University of Nevada, Las Vegas:

Finally completed the finished draft of Bordello Nights (2015) for wind orchestra and jazz band! I heard a condensed version of the rough draft at the UNLV wind orchestra readings in early May, which was a great opportunity for me to figure out what worked and what didn’t when writing for a large ensemble that features a small jazz band. I learned a lot, and the piece is now expanded into a 17 minute composition that features three themes throughout. I’m very excited to hear the next reading of the piece, especially with the jazz players!

Here are some score excerpts:

For my first album project this year, I decided to not only compose new pieces for the album, but also revise older ones. This piece Midnight Swim (2012) had multiple versions, but I was only really happy with the one that I had written for big band featuring soprano saxophone. I decided to create a new version of the piece with the instrumentation, and cannot wait to hear a premiere of this! This chamber version is for soprano saxophone, piano, electric guitar, electric bass, and drums. The sax and drums part both require improvisation, and the other three parts are optional improv. The sax part can also be performed by another player, such as clarinet or even violin if the player enjoys improvising.

Here are a few score excerpts:

Finished a new piece recently, and wanted to share! Burning Light is written for soprano, piano, electric guitar, electric bass and drums. The music is a revised version of my older piece titled The Distant, and the text is from Emily Bronte’s Poem “Ah! Why, Because the Dazzling Sun.” I love this poem, and used a few stanzas from this same poem before in an earlier piece I composed in 2009 titled Stars. I used the two final stanzas for this piece:

“O Stars and Dreams and Gentle Night;
O Night and Stars return!
And hide me from the hostile light
That does not warm, but burn—

That drains the blood of suffering men;
Drinks tears, instead of dew:
Let me sleep through his blinding reign,
And only wake with you!”

I hope to premiere the piece this fall. In the meantime, here are a few score excerpts: