Janice MacDonald, flute; Zachary Good, bass clarinet; Bill Helmers, clarinet; Carl Storniolo, percussion; Alex Wier, percussion; Marty Butorac, electronics; John Orfe, organ; Jeanyi Kim-Mandel, violin; Alex Ayers, violin; Erin Pipal. viola; Adrien Zitoun, cello; Christian Dillingham, bass; David Bloom, conductor
Ariadne Greif, voice; Janice MacDonald, alto flute; Margaret Butler Padilla, English horn; Bill Helmers, clarinet; Catherine Van Handel, bassoon; Don Sipe, trumpet; Dietrich Hemann, French horn; Megumi Kanda, trombone; Alex Weir, percussion;
Jeanyi Kim-Mandl, violin; Alex Ayers, violin; Erin Pipal, viola; Adrien Zitoun, cello; Christian Dillingham, bass; David Bloom, conductor
Listening to Silence and Hearing History:
The Shapeshifting Music of Raven Chacon
Li m m e d i a t e l y a u d i b l e . 1 Fr o m h i s e a r l i e s t w o r k s , C h a c o n h a s b e e n d e d i c a t e d t o
a m p l i f y i n g t h e u n h e a rd , c a l l i n g a t t e n t i o n t o w h a t i s a b s e n t o r u n k n ow n . In Fi e l d
Re c o rd i n g s ( 1 9 9 9 ) , f o r e x a m p l e , h e re c o rd e d q u i e t o u t d o o r s p a c e s t h a t h e l d m e a n i n g f o r h i m , t h e n h e a m p l i f i e d t h e p l a y b a c k . “ In t h e s t u d i o , I t u r n e d t h e vo l u m e u p t o
t h e m a x . It’s n o t a b o u t t h e p r i s t i n e a n t h ro p o l o g i c a l c a p t u r i n g o r l i s t e n i n g t o t h i s
p l a c e . It’s a b o u t l e t t i n g t h i s p l a c e s p e a k a n d s c re a m . ” 2 Mo re re c e n t l y, i n o n e o f h i s
m o s t p owe r f u l s o u n d i n s t a l l a t i o n s , Si l e n t C h o i r ( 2 0 1 6 / 2 0 2 2 ) , C h a c o n re c o rd e d t h e
m o m e n t o f s i l e n t p ro t e s t a t t h e Oc e t i Sa k ow i n c a m p, n e a r t h e St a n d i n g Ro c k In d i a n
Re s e r va t i o n i n No r t h Da k o t a , d u r i n g t h e No Da k o t a Ac c e s s Pi p e l i n e Re s i s t a n c e i n
2 0 1 6 – 2 0 1 7 . “ T h e s o n i c t r a c e n o t o n l y d e s c r i b e s w h a t c a n b e s e n s e d , ” C h a c o n i n d i c a t e s , “b u t a l s o w h a t m a y b e i m a g i n e d , a n d a m p l i f i e s t h e e c h o o f a m ove m e n t
t h a t s t o o d u n s h a k a b l e . ” 3
1 R a v e n C h a c o n , “A r t i s t St a t e m e n t , ” Fo u n d a t i o n f o r C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t s ( 2 0 2 1 ) ,
h t t p s : / / w w w. f o u n d a t i o n f o r c o n t e m p o r a r y a r t s . o r g / r e c i p i e n t s / r a v e n - c h a c o n .
2 We n d a l y n B a r t l e y, “ T h e Mu s i c o f R a v e n C h a c o n , ” T h e W h o l e No t e ( 2 0 1 9 ) , h t t p s : / /
c h a c o n [ o r i g i n a l s o u r c e e d i t e d b y C h a c o n ] .
Affirming the multidimensional nature of listening, Chacon embraces physical and metaphysical aspects of sound that surround and permeate us. Since music unfolds over time, past, present, and possible futures are in constant dialog within the listener. There
p a y i n g close attention not just to the sounds and oneself, but also to the environment and to those sharing our time, our physical space, and our histor y, many of whom do not have the privilege of being heard. “My belief is that sound work cannot be made in isolation,” Chacon states. “ These are acoustic, conceptual responses to land; they seek to acknowledge the people who have histor y in those places.” 4 This confluence of
n e t w o rk that situates, shapes, and guides us. For Chacon, the most important musical parameter reflecting this network is counterpoint, not in traditional terms of melodic polyphony, but on a much grander scale.
I am speaking about the contrar y motion of navigating a world that assumes where you are going because of where you come from. Before that contrar y motion is discovered, the switching of course, running parallel with whatever is chasing you or whatever you are chasing, at a dissonant inter val and distance. It is the zigzagging into crevices where you are not allowed, maybe you bring a friend with you, another species, and you zigzag together. And you gather more, changing forms and formations, mimicking each other’s voices to confuse the listeners who want to trap you in your position.5
Chacon’s expansive concept of counterpoint is relational, subversive, and transformational, taking on a shapeshifting quality that is evident throughout his work, which seems to “zigzag” across different media platforms.
Chacon categorizes his work according to three distinct genres: experimental noise studies, sound installations, and instrumental chamber music. “ Those three modes are all ver y separate parts of my practice,” Chacon explains, “and they rarely overlap, but I think, at the end of the day, they’re all some form of music.” 6 At a young age, Chacon took piano lessons and learned the fundamentals of Western music notation. Thinking that writing notes on paper was the proper way to create music, he gravitated toward chamber music as his first medium for composition, but he soon realized that there were other modes of expression. “I think it’s [about] tr ying to find the best vehicle for relaying the concept or topic or narrative that I want to speak about, and the truth is, instrumental music isn’t always good at doing that.” 7
Chacon’s involvement with noise as an artistic practice began as a teenager, when he played bass and guitar in various bands. Over time, he grew dissatisfied with the limited palette of conventional rock instrumentation, prompting him to invent and construct his own instruments. These experiments “eventually deteriorated into making noise,” Chacon recalls, “ or at least gave me an appreciation for a lack of fidelity.” 8 His “lo-fi”
by
6 M a t t Mo m e n t , “ C o m p o s e r R a v e n C h a c o n o n ‘ t h e m y s t e r y o f w h a t m u s i c c a n b e , ” Ti m e s Un i o n ( 2 0 2 3 ) , h t t p s : / / w w w. t i m e s u n i o n . c o m / h u d s o n v a l l e y / c u l t u r e / a r t i c l e / r a v e n - c h a c o n - c o m p o s e r - i n t e r v i e w -
m a c a r t h u r - 1 8 4 3 6 5 0 9 . p h p .
7 Tr i s t a n Mc K a y, “ R a ve n C h a c o n o n For Zitkála-Šá , Gr a p h i c No t a t i o n , a n d Id e n t i t y, ” I Care If You Listen
( 2 0 2 2 ) , h t t p s : / / i c a re i f yo u l i s t e n . c o m / 2 0 2 2 / 0 8 / r a ve n - c h a c o n - f o r - z i t k a l a - s a - g r a p h i c - n o t a t i o n - i d e n t i t y..
8 R a v e n C h a c o n , t e l e p h o n e i n t e r v i e w w i t h t h e a u t h o r ( 2 0 2 5 ) .
s c r i b e d structures or sound sources, Chacon’s foray into making noise with makeshift b a n d s p rove d t o b e m u s i c a l l y a n d s o
i m p rov i s a t i o n , that you could ver y crudely play with other people you ’ ve never met and spontaneously make music together.” 9
Most of Chacon’s sound installations are site-specific works, immersive environments designed to engage attendees in sociopolitical issues. “I had a desire to make works with sound that were conceptually or narratively responding to histories,”
C h a c o n e x p l a i n s , “ a n d i t w a s n ’ t g o i n g
re c o rd i n g o r e ve n a d u r a t i o n . . . i t n e e d e d
” 10 A
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c feature of many of his sound installations is his use of graphics, symbols, and texts to provide directions for the production or performance. 1 1 Extending beyond
c o n ve n t i o n s o f We s t e r n m u s i c n o t a t i o n , C h a c o n f a s h i o n s c
o n l y s h a p e t h e i n t e r p re t a t i o n a n d p e r f o r m a n c e o f h i s w o rk s , b u
a r t w o rk s i n t h e i r ow n r i g h t . In d e e d , C h a c o n o f t e n d i s p l a y s h i s g r a p h i c s c o re s a s p a r t
o f t h e i n s t a l l a t i o n o r p e r f o r m a n c e , a n d m a n y o f t h e s e a r t i f a c t s h a ve b e e n e x h i b i t e d i n
m u s e u m s e t t i n g s .
Chacon’s instrumental chamber music originated with his early experiences studying piano, and developed during his formal studies at the University of New Mexico and the California Institute of the Arts. Although he has apprehensions about the culture of “classical music,” he has deep appreciation for the instruments and their players. “I’ve
a l w a y s b e e n s k e p t i c a l a n d c y n i c a l o f t h e a c a d e m y, ” C h a c o n a d m i t s , “ I ’ ve a l w a y s f e l t
9 I b i d .
10 I b i d . 11 C h a c o n p u b l i s h e d a l e x i c o n o f s e v e r a l o f h i s n o t a t i o n a l s y m b o l s w i t h d e s c r i p t i o n s o f t h e i r m u s i c a l f u n c t i o n i n A Wo r m ’ s Ey e V i e w f r o m a B i r d ’ s B e a k , 1 6 9 – 8 4 .
o u t s i d e of it, but I have tremendous respect for the tools. I want to spend my whole life with those instruments, and I’ll never figure them out. ” 1 2 Unlike his work with noise a n d s o u n d
, C
p re f e r n o
- t r a d i t i o n a l venues, alternative spaces where the performance might reveal hidden narratives embedded in the environment. “I tr y not to limit the idea of the composition as something to be performed exclusively in a concert hall or on a stage, ” he says. “I’m interested in placing instrumentalists elsewhere, where the sounds can interact with the space or architecture, and not just for sonic reasons. Maybe there’s an opportunity to talk about the histor y of a place.” 1 3
Although Chacon classifies the compositions on this recording as chamber music, all three of these works “zigzag” through his noise studies and sound installations by integrating electronic sounds, extended instr umental techniques, evocations of sociopolitical themes, and, in the case of Voiceless Mass, the condition of site-specificity. Biyán (2011) for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and percussion, was commissioned in Albuquerque by Ensemble Music New Mexico (now known as “Chatter”). Derived from the Navajo word for “ song, ” the title denotes Chacon’s reflection on the function of singing in Navajo ceremonies, where repetition can continue throughout the night. The work’s three movements, played without pause, are organized in a block structure of repeating patterns, allowing listeners time to dwell in the mesmerizing soundscape and focus on the constantly changing micro-acoustic details. Chacon’s sophisticated ear for instrumentation and orchestration often renders the acoustic reality so ambiguous that the listener may occasionally have difficulty distinguishing natural overtones from
articulated pitches. Even when composing for a mixed ensemble of traditional classical instruments, Chacon continues his DIY practice by inventing new sonorities. One of the most striking elements in Biyán is the use of friction-based sounds, a method he frequently utilizes in his noise music. The percussionist, for instance, is asked to rub the tip of a wooden drumstick on a pane of glass, guided by graphic notation indicating the motion of the gesture. This produces a chilling effect initially inspired by Chacon’s fear of colliding with a deer while driving at night, with antlers screeching across the windshield. The string players respond to a variety of notation asking them to play col legno (striking the strings with the wood of the bow), wide vibrato, glissando, their highest possible pitch, as well as an innovative circular bowing technique. Because the hair of the bow cannot grip the string with as much friction as standard (up/down) bowing, the circular motion produces a dr y timbral effect that sounds like the string or bow is continuously breathing or wheezing. Circular bowing, which Chacon continues to use in almost all his music for string instr uments, was derived from patterns discovered in ancient petroglyphs car ved into volcanic rock, offering a visual link between contemporar y performance practices and Indigenous histor y.
Owl Song (2021), for sinfonietta and voice, was commissioned by the Bit20 Ensemble, which is based in Bergen, Nor way. “Owl Song is an acknowledgment of the nocturnal hunting bird, considered by some to have the ability of shapeshifting,” Chacon writes. “Owl Song asks its instrumentalists to cycle through a variety of timbres on their instr uments, often with individual speeds to traverse the composition. They are sometimes guided by a voice, her distance unmeasurable from themselves, and must call out not to locate her position, but to see if she is still with them.” 1 4 Like Biyán,
Owl Song is a sectional form with segments designated to be repeated variable times Chacon even welcomes the infinite repetition of certain sections. The large heterogenous ensemble of winds, brass, percussion, harp, celesta, and strings rotates through different timbres on fixed pitches, sometimes independently and sometimes together. This creates a dreamlike atmosphere of overlapping patterns, mirroring Chacon’s contemplation of Navajo ceremonial songs. To notate the timbral changes, Chacon adopts symbols that previously appeared in one of the graphic scores of his compendium For Zitkála-Šá (2017–2020). Many of the scores in that series are about “finding yourself in different places, in different contexts as an Indigenous person, ” Chacon relates. “ The best way for me to explain that situation was just through playing the same pitch. You’re just shapeshifting the tone. ” 1 5 The exploration of timbre in Owl Song extends beyond the standard use of traditional instruments, incorporating objects like drinking glasses on tile and a superball on a tom drum to create a rich array of overtones. At one point in the piece, the score calls for “drumming on a crumpled blanket” to mimic the sound of flapping wings (on this recording, the percussionist ended up putting his winter jacket on a table and striking it with yardsticks). Among the instruments, the solo voice emerges as a sort of protagonist or a guiding presence. Unlike a traditional soloist, the voice does not dominate the texture, but blends, withdraws, and interacts with the instrumentalists. “ There are times when the voice is asked to mimic instruments in the ensemble,” Chacon indicates. “ The vocalist is asked to listen to other things that are
p
r h a p s hunting.” 1 6 The shapeshifting quality of the ensemble is electronically
a c t i va t e d by one of the performers.
Voiceless Mass (2021), for pipe organ and large ensemble, was commissioned by WI Conference of the United Church of Christ, Plymouth Church UCC, and Present Music, and composed specifically for the Nichols & Simpson organ at The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. One of the options for the premiere of the new piece was Present Music’s annual Thanksgiving concert, but Chacon was initially reluctant to commemorate such an occasion. “As an Indigenous artist, I make a point not to present my work on this holiday, but in this case I made an exception.” 1 7 Several factors persuaded Chacon to proceed, including the prospect of writing music for a pipe organ, a magnificent instrument housed in a highly resonant space built for sacred community gatherings. The commission also offered Chacon a valuable opportunity to address critical issues concerning the legacy of the Catholic Church and the atrocities committed against Indigenous peoples—particularly the residential schools, forced assimilation, and abuse of Indigenous youth and Chacon was eager to evoke this histor y directly within the walls of the sanctified institution. “ This work,” he writes, “considers the spaces in which we gather, the histor y of access of these spaces, and the land upon which these buildings sit.” Though the title refers to a “Mass,” the liturgical rite and choral genre common to many Christian denominations, there are no vocal parts and no audible singing. “In exploiting the architecture of the cathedral,” Chacon explains, “Voiceless Mass considers the futility of giving voice to the voiceless, when ceding space is never an option for those in power. ” 1 8
T h e p l a c e m e n t o f p e r f o r m e r s w i t h i n t h e s p a c e i s a c r u c i a l a s p e c t o f Vo i c e l e s s Ma s s .
T h e s c o re a s k s i n s t r u m e n t a l i s t s t o s u r ro u n d t h e a u d i e n c e , w h i l e o n l y t h e c o n d u c t o r
a n d o r g a n i s t re m a i n o n s t a g e . T h i s s t a g i n g c h o i c e i s s y m b o l i c : T h e c o n d u c t o r
a s s u m e s t h e ro l e o f a p r i e s t o r o f f i c i a n t , w h i l e t h e o r g a n i s t , w h o s e i n s t r u m e n t h i s -
t o r i c a l l y re p l a c e d c h o i r m e m b e r s , e m b o d i e s t h e p e r va s i ve p re s e n c e o f t h e c h u rc h .
T h e o r g a n m o s t l y b l e n d s w i t h t h e f r a g m e n t e d e n s e m b l e a s a n u n d e r l y i n g d ro n e
u n t i l t h e m i d d l e o f t h e w o rk , w h e n a d i s t o r t e d c h o r a l e s u r f a c e s a s a d o m i n a n t f o rc e .
T h e s u r r o u n d i n g i n s t r u m e n t a l i s t s a re i n d i v i d u a l l y p o s i t i o n e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e
c h u rc h , s i m u l t a n e o u s l y re p re s e n t i n g a n d e n a c t i n g d i s p l a c e d a n d m a r g i n a l i ze d vo i c e s .
T h e y e a c h p l a y f r a g m e n t e d p a s s a g e s w i t h i n re s t r i c t e d s e t s o f i n t e r va l s , e m e r g i n g a n d
s u b m e r g i n g a s f l e e t i n g a p p a r i t i o n s . In s t r u c t i o n s i n t h e s c o re h i g h l i g h t t h e m e s o f
c o m p e l l e d s i l e n c e , l o s t l a n g u a g e , a n d f o r g o t t e n c u l t u re : T h e v i o l i s t p l a y s a n o t e o n l y
t h e y c a n h e a r, t h e c l a r i n e t i s t a l t e r s t h e t i m b re by s h a p i n g t h e i r m o u t h i n t o d i f f e re n t
v o w e l s , t h e f l u t i s t f a i n t l y r e c a l l s m a t e r i a l f r o m e a r l i e r i n t h e p i e c e , a n d t h e p e r c u s -
s i o n i s t mutters under their breath. The integration of electronic sound reinforces t h e
re s o n a n c e o f t h e s p a c e a n d u n d e r s c o re s t h e i n s i d i o u s c o n n e c t i o n b e t we e n a u t h o r i t y
a n d p e r m a n e n c e . “A s a n e l e c t ro n i c c o u n t e r p a r t t o t h e t o n e s o f t h e o r g a n , t h e s i n e
t o n e i s i m p l y i n g t h a t t h e c h u rc h i s g o i n g t o l a s t f o re ve r, ” h e s a y s . “ It’s s o s u b t l e t h a t
s o m e t i m e s yo u c a n ’ t t e l l i f yo u ’ re h e a r i n g t h e h i g h e s t k e y o n t h e o r g a n o r a 7 0 0 0 - H z s i n e t o n e . ” 1 9 By n a v i g a t i n g t h e i n t e r s e c t i o n o f s o u n d , s i l e n c e , a n d p owe r, Vo i c e l e s s
Ma s s i n v i t e s l i s t e n e r s t o b e a r w i t n e s s n o t o n l y t o w h a t c a n b e h e a rd , b u t m o re
i m p o r t a n t l y to what is being silenced, offering a power ful testimony on the enduring
i n j u s t i c e s o f c o l o n i a l i s m . Up o n a w a rd i n g C h a c o n w i t h t h e Pu l i t ze r Pr i ze f o r Mu s i c
i n 2 0 2 2 , t h e c o m m i t t e e c a l l e d Vo i c e l e s s Ma s s a “ m e s m e r i z i n g , o r i g i n a l w o rk . . . t h a t
e vo k e s t h e we i g h t o f h i s t o r y i n a c h u rc h s e t t i n
e x p re s s i o n w i t h a h a u n t i n g , v i s c e r a l impact.” 2 0
T h e Na va j o w o rd h o z h o , w h i c h d o
e n c a p s u l a t e s principles of balance, beauty, harmony, and peace. For Chacon, hozho informs his vision of music as a contrapuntal coordination of events within a cosmic temporal framework: “ That idea of hozho means maybe things lining up with other
t h i n g s . Ma y b e i t ’ s o u r s e l ve
s e l ve s inside of all of this and realizing that we are in a timeline of other occurrences that happen. And, for me, that’s what music is.” 2 1 He suggests that music guides us through experiences or states of being we may have forgotten, whether from before birth or beyond life. “I think music is not so much a timbral phenomenon,” Chacon remarks, “but a temporal reference, a reminder of where we ’ re supposed to be or where we have been.” 2 2 This kind of realignment or reorientation extends beyond sound C h a c o n ’ s m u s i c p re
e n c e remains tangible and consequential in our collective memor y, even if we don’t always understand. “ We should embrace incomplete knowledge,” Chacon entreats us. “ We should spend time with the myster y of what music can be, of not knowing what it is, of not knowing where it’s going, of hearing things we ’ ve never heard before.” 2 3 Chacon’s shapeshifting art transforms silence into music, and music into wonder,
i t ze r. o r g / w i n n e r s / r a ve n - c h a c o n
21 Je f f r e y B r o w n , “ Fi r s t Na t i v e A m e r i c a n c o m p o s e r t o w i n Pu l i t z e r Pr i z e o n h i s e x p e r i m e n t a l p r o c e s s , ”
P B S Ne w s H o u r ( 2 0 2 3 ) , h t t p s : / / w w w. p b s . o r g / n e w s h o u r / s h o w / f i r s t - n a t i v e - a m e r i c a n - c o m p o s e r - t o - w i n -
p u l i t z e r - p r i z e - o n - h i s - e x p e r i m e n t a l - p r o c e s s
22 R a v e n C h a c o n , t e l e p h o n e i n t e r v i e w w i t h t h e a u t h o r ( 2 0 2 5 ) .
23
M a t t Mo m e n t , “ C o m p o s e r R a v e n C h a c o n ” ( 2 0 2 3 ) .
reminding us that we do not listen to histor y from afar, but from where we are when we begin to hear each other.
Eric Smigel
Eric Smigel is Professor of Music and Coordinator of the Music Histor y and Musicology Program at San Diego State University.
Raven Chacon (born 1977) is a composer, performer, and installation artist born at Fort Defiance, Navajo Nation. A recording artist over the span of twenty-four years, Chacon has appeared on more than eighty releases on national and international labels. He has exhibited, performed, or had works performed at LACMA, the Whitney Biennial, Borealis Festival, SITE Santa Fe, and Swiss Institute Contemporar y Art New York, among others. As an educator, Chacon is the senior composer mentor for the Native American Composer Apprentice Project (NACAP). In 2022, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his composition Voiceless Mass, and in 2023 was awarded the MacArthur Fellowship.
His solo artworks are in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum and National Museum of the American Indian, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Getty Research Institute, the University of New Mexico Art Museum, and various private collections. https://spiderwebsinthesky.com
Present Music is one of the nation’s leading ensembles specializing in the commissioning and performance of new music. Founded by Kevin Stalheim in 1982 and based in Milwaukee, Present Music engages artists and audiences in imaginative and provocative experiences through ensemble performance and education. Led by Artistic Director Eric Segnitz, the ensemble has worked closely with many of the nation’s most exciting and important composers and has firmly established one of the largest audiences for new music in the country.
Present Music has made a significant contribution to contemporar y classical music, commissioning and premiering more than 90 major works from composers around the world, and recording seventeen CDs for the Argo, Albany, Aoede, Northeastern, Naxos, Innova, Capstone, Kairos, Cantaloupe Music and Ne w World Records labels. Composers who have worked in residence or been commissioned by Present Music include Pulitzer Prize winners John Adams, Henr y Brant, David Lang, Caroline Shaw, Du Yun, and Raven Chacon, whose Voiceless Mass, commissioned and premiered by Present Music, won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Music.
Present Music’s programming embraces diverse repertoire, innovative concert formats, and performances in unexpected spaces. The ensemble ranges from a core group of seven musicians to an ensemble of twenty or more, adapting to a broad spectrum of musical styles and settings. Demonstrating Milwaukee’s role as a center for creativity, Present Music has toured extensively across the United States and participated in major international music festivals in Japan, New York City, Turkey, and China. The ensemble is also the unprecedented six-time winner of ASCAP/Chamber Music America’s Adventurous Programming Award.
David Bloom is a conductor equally at home in orchestral repertoire, opera, and new music. Along with Eric Segnitz, his tenure as Co-Artistic Director of Present Music (2019-2024) was lauded for its innovative programming, including the premiere of Raven Chacon’s Voiceless Mass, which won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize. Bloom remains the ensemble’s Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor and also leads Contemporaneous, Queer Urban Orchestra, and the orchestras at New York University, and has guest conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Washington National Opera, Opera Omaha, and American Composers Orchestra, among others.
Ariadne Greif has starred in operas ranging from Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore with the Orlando Philharmonic to Georg Friedrich Haas’s acclaimed Atthis. Recent collaborations include William Kentridge, Caroline Shaw, Kate Soper, Sofia Jernberg, Gabe Kahane, Brooklyn Rider, the American Symphony Orchestra, The Knights, and AMOC, with performances at the Ojai Festival, Helsinki’s Meidän Festival, Long Beach Opera, Opera Philadelphia, and the Oslo Opera House. Ms. Greif has premiered more than thirty new operas and 150 new chamber works.
SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY
An Anthology of Chants Operations. Ouidah O (2). [LP]
Overheard Songs. Innova Recordings innova 216.
w/ Death Convention Singers
A Thread, A Braid. Sicksicksick Distro SSSK #71. [cassette]
w/ Endlings (duo with John Dieterich)
Human Form. Whited Sepulchre WSR030.
w/ Postcommodity
We Lost Half the Forest and the Rest Will Burn This Summer. Sicksicksick Distro SSSK #64. [LP]
w/ White People Killed Them (trio with Marshall Trammell and John Dieterich)
White People Killed Them. SIGE Records SIGE 100. [LP]
Producer: Eric Segnitz
Engineered and mixed by Ric Probst, Remote Planet
Voiceless Mass was recorded November 21, 2023 at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Milwaukee, WI
Owl Song was recorded November 20, 2023 at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.
Biyán was recorded October 16, 2024 at Tanner/Monagle Studios, Milwaukee, WI.
Digital mastering: Paul Zinman, SoundByte Productions Inc., NYC
Cover art: Raven Chacon and Mihio Manus
Design: Jim Fox
All compositions published by Dineyazhe (ASCAP).
The following have generously donated to this recording:
Ellen and Joe Checota, Anonymous, Richard and Suzanne Pieper, Pieper Electronic, Heil
Family foundation, Connie Tresch, Sheila Faey-Shaw and Steve Shaw, Jan Serr and John Shannon, Reed and Nancy Groethe, Daniel Ellicson Petr y, Herb Zein and Elizabeth Levins, Plymouth Church, UW Electa Quinney Institute, Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.
FOR NEW WORLD RECORDS:
Lisa Kahlden, President; Paul M. Tai, Vice-President, Director of Artists and Repertor y
ANTHOLOGY OF RECORDED MUSIC, INC., BOARD OF TRUSTEES:
Amy Beal, Robert Clarida, Emanuel Gerard (Emeritus), Lisa Kahlden, Herman Krawitz (Emeritus), Fred Lerdahl, Larr y Polansky (Emeritus), Paul M. Tai.
Francis Goelet (1926–1998), In Memoriam
For a complete catalog, including liner notes, visit our Web site: www.newworldrecords.org.
New World Records, 915 Broadway, Suite 101A, Albany, NY 12207
Tel (212) 290-1680 Fax (646) 224-9638 E-mail: info@newworldrecords.org
9 & © 2025 Anthology of Recorded Music, Inc. All rights reser ved. Made in U.S.A.