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GREDOS (STARSHIP I)
Have you ever been told you don't know what love is?
GREDOS (Starship I) is a science fiction cantata in six movements for soprano and large ensemble, written for the Composers Conference 2023 in Avaloch Farm, New Hampshire (USA).
The cantata is structured into the following movements:
I feel like I’ve spent most of my adult life trying to avoid thinking about my teenage years, to the point where my memory of that time in my life feels hazy at best, and nonexistent at worst. If you were a troubled kid, it’s painful to look back at a time filled with emotional outbursts, angst, bad decisions, “cringe”, and a whole manner of things one might prefer to leave in the past.
GREDOS (Starship I) was conceived through the process of (mis)remembering a particular school trip I took when I was 14, recontextualising small fragments of text from (mis)remembered scrap journals and deleted messages as a science-fiction adventure. The cantata’s six movements are full of contradictions and juxtapositions, oscillations between intimacy and intensity, the sci-fi story broken up by (mis)remembered anecdotes about a past you can’t quite comprehend outside of how it made you feel.
In essence, GREDOS (Starship I) is a piece about healing your inner child. I’m hoping that this small step to that end may help others do the same.
Voyage on, Starship I: explore planets and galaxies.
My favourite aliens are the ones who look just like me.
Love is...
The Origin Story (Exposition)
...because the internet
The Voyage (Aria)
GREDOS
The Spacefaring Colony (Finale)
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
'GREDOS (Starship I)' was written for the Composers Conference 2023, and premiered on 26 July 2023 at Avaloch Farm, New Hampshire (USA). The piece was performed by the Conference Ensemble, conducted by Vimbayi Kaziboni, and featuring soprano Sharon Harms.
A live performance of 'GREDOS (Starship I)' can be watched above. A professional recording was also made at the Composers Conference.
Performers:
Soprano - Sharon Harms
Flute - Barry Crawford
Oboe - Mekhi Gladden
Bass clarinet - Ben Fingland
Contrabassoon - Adrian Morejon
French horn - Leander Star
Trumpet - Sam Jones
Trombone - Mike Lormand
Piano - Christopher Oldfather
Violin I - Leah Asher
Violin II - Emilie-Anne Gendron
Viola - Louise Schulman
Cello - Joshua Gordon
Double bass - Greg Chudzik
Conductor - Vimbayi Kaziboni
The composition and premiere of 'GREDOS (Starship I)', and participation in the Composers Conference, is made possible due to the generous support of the Fromm Foundation of Harvard University.
Interested in performing this work or perusing a score? Get in touch!
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