PANIC: an evening-length song cycle by Andy Vores and Todd Boss for baritone, piano, and electronic playback. Based on the novel Pan by Nobel-winning Norwegian author Knut Hamsun.
Set to a new libretto by Minneapolis poet Todd Boss, PANIC explores themes of solitude, longing and madness. Vores’s music combines a vivid contemporary soundscape with a pillar of classical music tradition, the narrative solo song cycle.
Florestan premiered PANIC in Minneapolis in May 2014 with baritone Aaron Engebreth and pianist Alison d'Amato. Upcoming performances in the Boston area are planned for the 2015-16 season.
The Academy for Collaborative Performance, July 2015
In collaboration with Portland Conservatory of Music (Portland, ME), Florestan presents the 2015 Academy focus: “Playing well with others”: a 5-day festival of concerts, classes, and conversations with Florestan Recital Project and friends
Music has long been called “the universal language,” and it has been a vital part of our performance, education, and social traditions. For 5 days in July, Florestan Recital Project offers a chance for young artists and their families to enjoy examining those traditions, as well as imagining new ways to experience them.
The 5 day program is open to all instrumentalists, singers, and composers. Tuition is $300 per student, or $450 for a family up to 3 people. Program details will be released in Spring 2015 on Florestan’s website and at www.portlandconservatoryofmusic.org.
The Peculiar Case of Dr. H. H. Holmes: A new collaboration between Florestan Recital Project and UBC's Department of Theatre and Film (expected debut, spring 2015):
Florestan is working with director Tom Scholte (University of British Columbia’s Department of Theatre and Film) to develop a theatrical staging of composer Libby Larsen’s song cycle The Peculiar Case of Dr. H.H. Holmes (Florestan commission, 2010). Initially funded by a Hampton Partnership Development grant, Larsen's song cycle will be combined with an original script written by Scholte, and performed with staging, dance, and Digital Video Illumination technology (developed by UBC Professor Robert Gardiner).
The Complete Songs of Virgil Thomson (beginning Fall 2014)
With pending assistance from the Virgil Thomson Foundation, Florestan will oversee the first-ever compilation of Thomson’s complete songs. Details for the release, including artists and schedule, will be set in close collaboration with the Foundation in Fall 2014.
