For String Quartet and Electronics
Duration: 10:00

Inspired by the Greater Sage-Grouse and Sharp-Tailed Grouse

Commissioned for the Fry Street Quartet by NOVA Chamber Music Series and the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music

for Mezzo-Soprano and String Quartet or Mezzo-Soprano and Piano

Duration: 16 minutes

Written for Melinda Martinez Becker & Anne Rainwater with support from InterMusicSF

Canto Caló (I sing Caló / Caló songs) was originally commissioned by New Moon Duo and conceived at Avaloch Farm in New Hampshire and has since been arranged for Melinda and Friction Quartet. Caló is the language created by Pachucos in the Southwest through California, commonly associated with mambo dancing, zoot suit wearing Chicanos from El Paso to California, but it’s become a national movement with language, fashion, food, and art still taking inspiration from it decades later.

for Violin Soloist and String Orchestra

Duration: 9:00

Commissioned by New Century Chamber Orchestra and Music Director Daniel Hope as part of the California Festival: A Celebration of New Music

for Tenor, Oboe, and String Quartet

Duration: 28:00

Commissioned by Elizabeth and Justus Schlichting in honor of Mike Pandolfi.

When we promise to care for loved ones in sickness and in health as part of marriage, many of us assume that those vows will not be tested for many decades. What if a new and exciting romance was tested at its very inception? How do we best cherish precious moments together?

Sueño en mi sueño(dream in my dream) is a collection of six love sonnets by Pablo Neruda that explore the depth of love in times of sickness, inspired by a true story. These iconic poems use symbols of loneliness, dreams, and death to describe the feeling of being away from your lover, even for a moment.

For solo piano. Commissioned by Mark Stevens and South Dakota State University.

Duration: 12:00

Opera. Drama. Libretto: Marella Martin Koch

Premieres August 2, 10, and 16 with West Edge Opera

The story of activist Dolores Huerta’s bold commitment to civil and workers rights movements, against great odds, the pressure of US politics, and the tragedy of assassination. libretto: Marella Martin Koch

(photo credit Chris Lee)

for orchestra. 3/3/3/3/4/3/3/timp/4 perc/hp/strings

OR orchestra side by side w/youth orchestra

Duration: 8:00

Commissioned by The Juilliard School Preparatory Division, in partnership with American Composers Forum and the New York Philharmonic, powered by the Sphinx Venture Fund

for orchestra. 3/3/3/3/4/3/3/timp/3 perc/hp/strings

Duration: 9:30

Commissioned by the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music for the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Orchestra with gracious support from Justus and Elizabeth Schlichting.

For soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion. ~9:00

Commissioned by Khemia Ensemble for the sophomore album, Intersections

Opera. Drama. 45:00. Libretto: Marella Martin Koch

Tres Minutos is a chamber opera by composer Nicolas Lell Benavides and librettist Marella Martin Koch. Inspired by a real program that reunites families separated by immigration policies at the U.S. - Mexico Border, but only for three minutes, Tres Minutos imagines the story of Diego and Nila, a brother and sister who share DNA but not citizenship. When Diego is deported, leaving Nila behind, questions of identity, duty, and belonging threaten to consume them. The opera will be approximately 45 minutes long and explore the consequences of separation in intimate, human terms.

Electronics and dance. 15:00

On Trac|< is a short film that looks at the intersection of human existence and machine acceleration in rural America. The film is choreographed and performed, by Amanda Castro, composed by Nicolas Lell Benavides, and co-directed by Amanda Castro and Lucas Godlewski. Benavides, a former Young Artist Composer with the Festival, has worked with Washington National Opera, West Edge Opera, Nashville Opera, Shreveport Opera, Left Coast Chamber Ensemble and more. Castro is a multidisciplinary artist with her storytelling rooted in rhythm, who has performed across the United States and abroad. She was most recently seen at Glimmerglass in 2021 the Fate in Il Trovatore, and in 2018 as Anita in West Side Story, a role she also performed at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Godlewski is a Brooklyn-based director of photography, prop stylist, and production designer. Godlewski heads The Glimmerglass Festival’s video department of one.

On Trac|< is generously supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, and Kara Unterberg.

Viola and electronics. 9:00-11:00

Commissioned by Calvin Green

Opera. Comedy.

Libretto: Laura Barati

A new evening length comic opera looking for co-commissioners and co-producers. Existing support from MassOpera and Opera America Repertoire Development Grant.

Opera, comedy. 22:00. Libretto: Marella Martin Koch

Pepito, a lonely shelter dog, misses his old family and his old life. Camila and David, young married professionals, are searching for the perfect dog. As the cracks in Camila and David's marriage deepen, Camila and and Pepito form an unshakeable bond.

Featured on the first and last tracks: “Where Everything is Music” and “For Max and Hannah.” Available on all major streaming services.

Documentary score.

Documentary. Trailer only, film must be purchased to view

Jazz, written for Maggie for our wedding day

Poem by Rumi, translation by Coleman Barks

Played

For two violins. 6:00

Commissioned and premiered by Lucia Lin as part of her In Tandem series with thanks to the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music

For electric guitar. 6:30

Written for Alex Anest through the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music