The brilliant Macedonian pianist based in Chicago and Santa Fe, NM, has begun her project of recording works by Eastern European women composers Grażyna Bacewicz, Bojana Petrovic Aleksova, Zara Levina, Maria Szymanowska, Dora Pejačević and her own two Phantasies No.1 and No.2. The project will be engineered by the outstanding Dan Nichols of Aphorism Studio, and produced by Carmen-Helena Tellez of Aquava New Music. (Photo courtesy of Howard Eckdahl)
The independent critic Grego Applegate Edwards has issued a wonderful review of John Eaton-The Sor Juana Project! He has praised its “precision and flair” of the ensemble, as well as the “presence and poise” of the vocalists Kate Maroney, Hyona Kim, Tony Boutté and Bridget Parker. It was indeed a privilege for Aquava New Music Studio to be commissioned by the John Eaton Foundation to bring this project into fruition. John Eaton (1934-2015) was a visionary and influential figure in the world of microtonal American music, and considered “the most interesting opera composer working in America today” by Andrew Porter and the Financial Times. For more information on John Eaton’s work and legacy, please visit his biographical page at the John Eaton Foundation’s website. The the two-CD album John Eaton-The Sor Juana Project is available at CDBaby, Amazon.com, and digital outlets everywhere.
AQUAVA NEW MUSIC STUDIO has completed the production of THE SOR JUANA PROJECT, a recording of MacArthur Award composer John Eaton’s compositions on poems by Mexican Baroque poet Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. Eaton, who died suddenly in 2015, considered these complex microtonal works for voices and instrumental ensemble some of the best in his output. The CD was released on March 30, 2019, to coincide with a concert in New York City’s Symphony Space celebrating the legacy of the composer.
The project involves some of the best performers working in new music today, including mezzo-soprano Kate Maroney, tenor Tony Boutté, guitarist Dieter Hennings Yeomans, pianist Christopher Oldfather, mezzo-soprano Hyona Kim, soprano Bridget Parker, flutist Roberta Michel, cellist Peter Sachon, and percussionists Karolyn Stonefelt, and Jamie Sunshine, with electronics by Sascha von Oertzen, all under the musical direction of Carmen-Helena Téllez, with assistant director Gregory Geehern.
