New music! Reviravoltas Sonoras for violin, vibraphone, and double bass

Premiere May 5, 2022 at the University of Nevada Las Vegas featuring Lucas Martins (violin), Gabriela Ordoñez-Villalobos (vibraphone), and Molly Redfield (double bass)

Reviravoltas Sonoras was commissioned by bassist Molly Redfield and premiered May 5, 2022 at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with Lucas Martins (violin) and Grabriela Ordoñez-Villalobos (vibraphone). The trio came up with the title of the piece after their first rehearsal. A note from the violinist: “The title is from Portuguese and aptly describes the playful soundscape full of twists and turns, creating the juxtapositon of percussive sounds and soaring melodies. The etymological root of the word “Reviravolta” comes from the junction of “revira” and “volta,” which both express some sort of turning, twisting, or dancing. “Sonora” is an adjective that can be translated to express resonance, reverberance, or singing.” – Lucas H.T. Martins (violin)

Recording will be available fall 2020.

Click HERE for more information about the piece.

This We Have Now (2020) – percussion quartet

This We Have Now (2020)

percussion quartet

  • Percussion 1: *MalletKAT
  • Percussion 2: Glockenspiel, Crotales, Xylophone, Drum set, Wind Chimes
  • Percussion 3: Vibraphone, Suspended Cymbal
  • Percussion 4: Marimba, Suspended Cymbal

Duration: 9:30

Click HERE to view the score.

MIDI realization

This We Have Now was commissioned by Clocks in Motion as a part of the Clock Shop Composer Residency, and was premiered at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas on the Nextet series March 2020. The title is from a quote by Rumi:

“This We Have Now is not imagination. This is not grief or joy. Not a judging state, or an elation, or sadness. Those comes and go. This is the presence that doesn’t.” – Rumi

This We Have Now, featuring the electronic MalletKAT, will be featured on their new album and released by Aerocade Music Fall 2021. 

Clocks in Motion – new recording project!

Clocks in Motion percussion quartet and I will be producing a new album in 2021, and we need your support! The album will feature all original music I composed for Clocks in Motion as their resident composer.

HERE is a link to the campaign if you would like to support our recording project!

Clocks in Motion Percussion quartet and I are producing an album in 2021 and we’d love your support! 🎶🥰 The album will…

Posted by Jennifer Bellor on Sunday, December 13, 2020

Nextet new music Podcast Episodes – Composer Spotlight and Cross-Genre music

The Nextet New Music series at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, released a podcast episode : Composer Spotlight featuring Jennifer Bellor:

On this episode co-hosted by Diego Vega and Zoe Conrad, I’m asked about my musical background and talk about current projects. Check it out! Zoe and I are also wearing Halloween costumes, since this episode was released the week of Halloween.

Another Nextet new music podcast episode released early November featured various Nextet team members in discussions related to Cross-genre music. Micaela Nielson (violist) and I are featured in the first conversation on this episode:

Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute Readings, June 2-4

My experience having a reading of my new orchestra piece “Crystal Skies” by the American Composers Orchestra, June 2-4 at Miller Theatre, Columbia University.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/americancomposers/9009635004/
Listening to the performance of “Crystal Skies” for the first time! (Composer Tania J. Leon is sitting behind me.)
P1080204 - Bellor applause
Congratulating conductor Delta David Gier and the orchestra after such an amazing performance!!!

Being a JCOI participant in the readings was a special experience for me because even though I received my degree in classical composition, I love working with both classical and jazz musicians, and writing music that incorporates both elements, whether it be involving jazz musicians in my pieces where I want improvisation, or writing a piece for classical musicians where I write out the improvisation that I’m hearing in addition to having a prominent rhythm section.

It was interesting for me to learn how the other JCOI composers approached composing the orchestra pieces, since they came from a jazz background. From conversing with many of them, they saw this as an opportunity to learn about all of these orchestration techniques and compositions that I was taught in music classes I took for my degree. Some of the composers also aimed to write something different stylistically from what they are used to composing for their own ensembles. When working with the orchestra, it was interesting to see how their use of terminology was different from classical musicians with regards to the use of articulation markings, such as how the ‘accent’ and the ‘staccato’ marking are approached differently between jazz and classical musicians. I hope my colleagues continue to use their own voice and write more compositions for the orchestra to create more repertoire that is new, exciting, and fresh.

P1080376 - Laubrock, Bryan, Sussman, Bellor, Tonooka, Milne
Composers, left to right: Ingrid Laubrock, Courtney Bryan, Richard Sussman, me, Sumi Tonooka, and Andy Milne.

I saw this reading as an opportunity to write an orchestra piece for musicians who were interested in being involved in an orchestra project that crossed stylistic boundaries. I’m so grateful to the American Composers Orchestra for giving me the opportunity to write this piece. It was such a liberating and positive experience for me, and I cannot wait to write more repertoire that incorporates these elements.

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Group photo of the composers, conductors, and mentors
Front left to right: Courtney Bryan, José Bevia, Sumi Tonooka, me, conductor Oliver Hagen, and mentor Anne LeBaron.
Back left to right: mentor Paul Chihara, mentor George Lewis, Ingrid Laubrock, Andy Milne, Richard Sussman, and conductor Delta David Gier.

Check out some excerpts!

Recorded live at American Composers Orchestra’s 2013 Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute New Music Readings. Please visit: www.americancomposers.org

Crystal Skies (2013) was inspired by my experience skydiving for the first time in upstate New York. It was a chilly November day, and as the airplane ascended into the air, it became even more freezing thousands of feet above the ground. When the door of the plane opened and I stepped out onto the ledge, I couldn’t wait to fall backwards and sink into the clouds. The freefall lasted approximately one minute, and then I felt like was just floating in the air. In my piece, I wanted to capture that feeling of being suspended in the chilly sky, as if I was flying. The string textures reflect the icy sky, portrayed by the artificial harmonics and ornamented lines that weave in and out of each other. The woodwinds represent birds gliding in the sky, and for a moment, I felt like a bird as I was slowly descending down to the ground.

The first excerpt showcases the first 48 seconds of the piece, and the second excerpt showcases 2 minutes and 11 seconds of the middle section. Please contact me for more information on the piece.

Here are some additional photos taken:
P1080559 - Bellor
The last day: Post-reading discussion – I was very happy!!!
P1070956 - Chihara & Bellor
My composition mentor Paul Chihara during the rehearsal
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Post-rehearsal discussion
P1080153 - discussion with Mandel & Oteri
Lunch with the composers, Frank Oteri, and Howard Mandel
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Discussing drum set notation with percussionist Jonathan Haas