News


‘Carnelian’ is a New York Times Critic’s Pick

Lex Brown’s 3-channel musical film installation Carnelian, co-composed by Samuel Beebe, was reviewed by Kim Córdova of the New York Times.


Video-Opera Commission, Strange Trace’s Stencils Festival 2024

Strange Trace has commissioned composer Samuel Beebe and librettist Susan Bywaters to compose a short video-opera. The work will appear as part of Strange Trace’s Stencils Festival in the spring of 2024.


‘Carnelian’ Opens at List Center; Soundtrack is streaming; Plans for live performances

Lex Brown’s 3-channel musical film installation Carnelian, co-composed by Samuel Beebe, is showing from April 2-July 18 at the List Center for Visual Arts at MIT in Cambridge.

The original film soundtrack is available wherever you stream your music.

Additionally, this summer and fall, the project will be performed live in various forms, beginning with an intimate rendering of the complete musical by the works’ creators, Brown and Beebe, at 8th House Residency in Vermont. Then the project will move on to a set of full cast and pit band performances at the Celebration Barn in S. Paris, Maine in late August (see Events for details).


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‘Biophilia’ In-Person Screening and Virtual Premiere

After many years of work, I’m excited to announce the in-person screening and virtual premiere of Biophilia, presented by Stony Brook Opera, on September 17, 2021 at 7:00pm.

With libretto by Sara Costantino, Biophilia is a dystopian chamber opera in two acts. Set in the near future, against a backdrop of the current climate crisis, Biophilia is a dialectic exploration of the cyclic nature of human growth and destruction. When an imminent storm threatens to crush the last remaining town in America, a deep-rooted farmer and his Citadel-born partner are forced to make irrevocable decisions while an invisible voice makes conflicting demands.


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Guerilla Lab: Libretto Writing Workshop

I’m glad to be a participant in Guerilla Opera’s Libretto Writing Workshop for six weeks this July and August. In addition to workshopping original libretti, we will be diving into online conversations with composers/librettists of operas written for the Boston-based fringe company, including Ken Ueno, Hannah Lash, Curtis Hughes, and Anthony R. Green.


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"Pretty Saro Orbital" at 2020 Network Music Festival

SynthBeats will perform “Pretty Saro Orbital,” live over Zoom, with members contributing their parts from locations across the US, as well as Switzerland and Armenia.

About the NMF: Exploring innovative digital music, art and research which investigates the impact of networking technology on musical creation and performance practice, Network Music Festival presents cutting edge musical performances, workshops and discussions.


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"Pretty Saro Orbital" on NYCEMF Virtual Concert

A video of my new telematic piece “Pretty Saro Orbital” is part of an online concert curated as part of the 2020 New York Electronic Music Festival. The piece was developed for the electronic music collective SynthBeats, and is performed live over Zoom.


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Featured on Niloufar Nourbahksh’s ListN Up Playlist

My friend Niloufar Nourbahksh has graciously included my song “We Were Warned About This” on her ListN Up Playlist, curated for I Care If You Listen, which also features a host of super talented and diverse contributors.


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Performance at NYC songSLAM with Natasha Nelson

Premiere of my song “We Were Warned About This,” at NYC songSLAM, hosted by Sparks and Wiry Cries at the Dimenna Center. I played piano, performing with mezzo-soprano Natasha Nelson.


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The Glade’ included on Unheard-of Ensemble’s latest release

This album features The Glade, for clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and electronics, as well as other pieces composed for Unheard-of Ensemble’s Collaborative Composers Initiative in August, 2019.


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Composer Resident at 2019 Source Song Festival

A 5-day composer residency in Minneapolis with Libby Larsen. As part of the MNSong composer workshop, the Source Song Festival will feature a performance of The Die was Already Cast by local performers.


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Composer Resident with Unheard-of Ensemble at CCI

Unheard-of Ensemble, Erin Rogers, and Reiko Fueting host resident composers for the 2019 Collaborative Composer Initiative, at Stony Brook University. Unheard-of will workshop and premiere the new work The Glade, for clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and electronics.


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The Rest is Silence’ wins 4th Annual Chelsea Symphony Composition Competition.

The orchestral work ‘The Rest is Silence’ has been selected by the Chelsea Symphony as the winner of their 4th annual Composition Competition, and will be performed on June 1st and 2nd in New York City.


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The Woods’ is a finalist for the 2017 American Prize

Premiered by the Boston-based group Calliope’s Call, the song cycle for soprano, mezzo, tenor, and piano has been selected as a finalist for the 2017 American Prize in Vocal Chamber Music (professional division).


Events

The King’s Boat: A Funeral Elegy
Recital Hall, Salem State University
April 27, 2024
8:00PM ET

Premiere performance of a new work for seven treble voices, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and electric organ. Performed by Lilith Vocal Ensemble (dir. Laura Nevitt), Lisa Putukian, Michelle Markus, Shu Satoh, and Samuel Beebe. Presented by North Shore Chamber Music Society. [71 Loring Ave., Salem, MA.]

Strange Trace Stencils Festival
Cinema Tour, Multiple Cities
Fall, 2024
[more info to come]

Premiere video production of “an ending,” a new short opera with a libretto by Susan Bywaters, presented by Strange Trace.

ARCHIVED

Carnelian (Full Cast, Live Band)
Icebox Project Space, Philadelphia, PA
September 5 and 9, 2023

Lex Brown’s satirical musical play presented with the cast and live band as part of Cannonball Festival, an experimental hub of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival.

Lex Brown, Samuel Beebe, Kayla Byrd, Maya Drew Flood, Najee Duwon, Keenan Zack, John Ling.

Carnelian (Full Cast, Live Band)
The Celebration Barn, S. Paris, Maine
August 25 and 26, 2023

Lex Brown’s satirical musical play presented with the cast and live band after a week-long residency at The Celebration Barn.

Lex Brown, Samuel Beebe, Kayla Byrd, Maya Drew Flood, Najee Duwon, Keenan Zack, John Ling.

Lex and Sam perform Carnelian
8th House Residency, Vermont
July 1, 2023
7:00pm EDT [link to event]

A tour-de-force duo performance of Lex Brown’s satirical musical play presented by the work’s creators following a week-long residency at 8th House.

Lex Brown, Samuel Beebe.

songSLAM NYC
January 13, 2023
7:00pm EDT

Sparks and Wiry Cries’ unique competition for composer/performer teams to premiere an art song.

Natasha Nelson and Katherine Miller perform premiere “Let it hurt you then let it heal you.”

POW POW POWER UP: Someday is Now Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.
May 01, 2022
7:00pm EDT

Artifice chamber chorus performs “greenfingers, 1969”, the first public showing of POW POW, an-going collaboration with interdisciplinary artist Liss Lafleur, at the 2022 Arts Summit.

Stony Brook Opera: Biophilia
In-Person Screening / Virtual Premiere
September 17, 2021
7:00pm EDT [link to event]

Stony Brook Opera presents a video production of “Biophilia,” a 75-minute chamber opera in two acts. Music by Samuel Beebe. Libretto by Sara Costantino. Directed by Brenda A. Harris.

Featuring Natasha Nelson, Alex Guerrero, Yesul Yeon, and Catherine Sandstedt. With Blair Hamrick, Nicholas Suminski, Samuel Beebe, Stephanie Liu, Eric Adamshick, and Keenan Zack.

Network Music Festival
July 15, 2020
3:30pm EDT [link to live stream]

A global festival hosted on online streaming platforms.

SynthBeats performs “Pretty Saro Orbital”, as well as works by Lemmon and Nourbakhsh.

NYC songSLAM
January 17, 2020
7-9pm [tickets]

Sparks and Wiry Cries’ unique competition for composer/performer teams to premiere an art song.

“We Were Warned About This,” with Natasha Nelson.

Collaborative Composer Initiative
August 14, 2019
8pm

The Collaborative Composer Initiative is a 5-day workshop with Unheard-of Ensemble, culminating in a public performance.

The Glade. (world premiere)

Unheard-of Ensemble: Ford Fourqurean, clarinet; Matheus Souza, violin; Issei Herr, cello; Daniel Anastasio, piano; electronics.

MNSong Composer Showcase
August 9, 2019
8pm

Works by emerging composers from the sixth annual MNSong composer workshop with Libby Larsen

“The Die was Already Cast,” from Ashland.

SBU: Opera Scenes
November 16, 2018
8pm

The Stony Brook University Vocal Department presents a gala of scenes from French, Czech, and American operas.

Scene from Ashland.

Natasha Nelson, mezzo; Alina Tambourini, soprano; Corinne Penner, piano; Brenda Harris, stage direction; Daniel Beckwith, music direction.

SBU: Composers Concert #2
Oct 30, 2018
7:30pm

Works by Ackley, Beebe, Bohigian, and Voss.

Current Location.

Samuel Beebe, electric guitar, electronics, projection; Niloufar Nourbakshk, prepared-piano; John Ling, percussion.

Auxiliary Transmissions
Oct 19, 2018
7:30pm

Interdisciplinary works by Beebe, Bohigian, Kenty, Ling, Nourbakhsk.

Current Location.

Samuel Beebe, electric guitar, electronics, projection.