Composer Victoria Bond
April 2-3 in California: Stockton Symphony premieres "Ruth Bader Ginsburg: In Tune with Justice"
May 13 in NYC: Mostly Modern Ensemble performs staged scenes from Bond's puppet operetta based on Gulliver's Travels, directed by Doug Fitch
Ruth Bader Ginsburg: In Tune with Justice
Stockton, CA
On April 2 and 3, Stockton Symphony in California presents the world premiere of a new work by Ms. Bond, drawn by the life and legacy of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg: In Tune with Justice was commissioned by Stockton Symphony. It features narrative text by Jane Vial Jaffe, drawn from biographies of Ginsburg and from Ginsburg's interviews, speeches, and court cases. Victoria Bond says, "The late Justice Ginsberg was an inspiration to me, and I wanted to write a work that added music to her forceful words."
Justice Ginsburg was a passionate music lover. “If I could choose the talent I would most like to have, it would be a glorious voice,” she was known to say. “I grew up with a passion for opera...My all-time favorite is The Marriage of Figaro.”
With this tidbit of knowledge, Victoria Bond chose the overture to The Marriage of Figaro as the jumping off point for her composition. RBG's own boundless energy is mirrored by the energetic pulse of the music. Bond cleverly incorporates melodic fragments of America the Beautiful and The Star Spangled Banner, giving the composition a uniquely American flavor.
Stockton Symphony music director Peter Jaffe leads the ensemble, along with narrator Tama Brisbane, Inaugural Poet Laureate of the City of Stockton, in these world premiere performances on April 2 and 3. Tickets and details available at this link.
Puppet operetta in New York City
On May 13 in New York City, staged scenes from Victoria Bond's puppet operetta How Gulliver Returned Home in a Manner that was Very Not Direct will feature puppets created by Doug Fitch, the renowned visual artist, designer and director, and libretto by Stephen Greco. Fitch also directs the production.
The work is a journey of the imagination based on the classic 17th century satirical novel by Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels. Told through music and animated objects, the story follows the title character as he travels to a series of strange lands.
Ms. Bond said, "Doug Fitch’s puppet creations and stage direction brings the first scene of our puppet operetta to life. I am thrilled that both he and librettist Stephen Greco are part of the creative team.
Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival (Victoria Bond, founder and artistic director) partners with Mostly Modern Projects for this presentation. The performance features soprano Ariadne Greif, tenor Glen Seven Allen, and baritone Peter Van Derick as soloists with the American Modern Ensemble conducted by Geoffrey Andrew McDonald. Also on the program are Herschel Garfein's King of the River and Robert Paterson's The Companion.
The performance takes place at the Sheen Center for Thought & Culture (18 Bleecker St, New York, NY) on May 13, 2022 at 8:00 pm. Tickets available here.
Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival 25th Anniversary Season
April 6, 4:30 pm: Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival in partnership with Percussia presents the world premiere of Victoria Bond's From the Atlas of Imaginary Places. The work features music inspired by Danzibar, Circe's Island and Shangri-La – all fictional places.
The program also includes music by Alexis Lamb and Dennis Tobenski. St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Jackson Heights, New York. Admission is free.
Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival continues its 25th anniversary season with performances through October. Further details are on the festival's website.
June 12, the festival partners with Kyo-Shin An Arts in a performance at Tenri Cultural Center.
October 22, baritone Michael Kelly performs Victoria Bond's "From an Antique Land" alongside songs by Dalit Warshaw and David Del Tredici. Co-presentation with All Keyed Up.
In honor of International Women's Day, Theodore Presser Company and Carl Fischer Music Presser updated The Power of Women, their easy-to-browse catalog of repertoire featuring a multitude of works by a diverse group of women composers featuring Victoria Bond.
Victoria Bond's album Illumination was released in fall 2021 on Albany Records. It includes world premiere recordings of her works for solo piano and piano and orchestra. Pianist Paul Barnes, one of Bond's longtime collaborators, delivers stunning performances. Buy/listen here.
Biography
A major force in 21st century music, composer Victoria Bond is known for her melodic gift and dramatic flair. Her works for orchestra, chamber ensemble and opera have been lauded by The New York Times as "powerful, stylistically varied and technically demanding."
In addition to Illumination (2021), Victoria Bond's discography includes The Voices of Air (Albany, 2020), Soul of a Nation (Albany, 2018), Instruments of Revelation (Naxos, 2019), Peculiar Plants (Albany, 2010) and a recording of chamber and vocal music (Albany, 2022). Victoria Bond’s compositions have been performed by the New York City Opera, Shanghai, Dallas and Houston Symphonies, members of the Chicago Symphony and New York Philharmonic, American Ballet Theater and the Cassatt and Audubon Quartets.
The New York Times praised Victoria Bond's conducting as "full of energy and fervor." She is principal guest conductor of Chamber Opera Chicago, and has held conducting positions with Pittsburgh Symphony, New York City Opera, Roanoke Symphony, and Bel Canto and Harrisburg Operas. Ms. Bond is Artistic Director of Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival in New York, which she founded in 1998, and is a frequent lecturer at the Metropolitan Opera Guild.