As of February 14, 2026, I completed a new song cycle, Glitter, commissioned by the Moores School of Music, University of Houston, for baritone Daniel Belcher. The cycle is about parenthood with poetry by Joyce Sutphen and A.E. Stallings and Danny will premiere and record the cycle in spring of 2027.
I have now begun a new cycle about human decency, commissioned by the Chiarina Chamber Players. The poetry is by Joseph Fasano, and the centerpiece is his moving poem “For Alex Pretti”. The cycle will premiere either in December 2026.
Soon I will begin a new commission from Music of Remembrance — setting poems from Bonaco, a girls’ magazine written in secret at Terezin Concentration Camp during WW II. Translations are by Timothy Cheek.
Prior to that: 2025 was a busy year. I completed Maya and The Magic Ring, a children’s opera with Dana Gioia. It was commissioned by Lyric Opera of Kansas City and premiered in March 2025. I also completed a new choral work —a setting of Mary Oliver’s “You Are Standing at the Edge of the Woods” — commissioned by The Washington National Opera Chorus, which also premiered in March 2025.
During the summer of 2025, I completed Act II of Ludlow, my opera with David Mason, a decade after I completed Act I. Ludlow is the story of immigrants fighting for their lives, their blood part of the blood of America. This epic opera weaves from the present day back and forth through time, climaxing at the 1914 Ludlow Massacre, where innocent people died in a pitched battle with the Colorado National Guard. Soon I will tackle the final Act. The theme of this opera couldn’t be more timely — and it is available for commissioning. Please see my Opera Catalog (link on homepage) for more details.
I try to keep this website’s News section up to date and recently posted excerpts from Music of Remembrance’s Jan 26, 2026 performance of Vedem.