Kenji Bunch
The Snow Queen
Orchestra Next, dir. Brian McWhorter
Innova 977
NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
When Brian McWhorter first approached me with the idea of working on a ballet for The Snow Queen, I immediately said ÒyesÓ and then realized just as quickly that I had very little idea of what I was getting myself into. Helping to tell this hauntingly beautiful but entirely wordless story for close to two hours was, simply put, the largest undertaking of my career to date, by a longshot.
Eugene Ballet Artistic Director and Choreographer Toni Pimble and I were_drawn to the same aspects of the story, particularly the loyal, pure friendship_of Gerda and Kay, and the strong, self-reliant heroine Gerda becomes through_her many trials. Musically, my first and most important task was to de ne the two diametrically opposed musical characters for the Snow QueenÕs cold, clinical, icy realm and the warmth of Gerda and KayÕs friendship. Essentially, the entire work became a struggle between those two forces.
Along the way, there are of course some fun excursions: the quirky Conjure WomanÕs Garden, the incessantly cawing Crows, the madcap antics of the Gypsy Camp. But at its heart, this is a story of love and friendship, and the indomitable will of the human spirit. My musical inspirations were the masters of the orchestral ballet form: Prokofiev, Ravel, Stravinsky, and the greatest of them all, Tchaikovsky.
Now IÕve come full circle. Just as I had no idea how monumental the task was that I was taking on, I now listen back to this beautiful recording and look at our score with a similar sense of bewilderment. How did we do that? I donÕt really know, but am beyond grateful to Eugene Ballet and Orchestra Next to have been a part of this wonderful project!
Ñ Kenji Bunch
THE SNOW QUEEN: Ballet in Two
Acts ACT 1
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1 Prologue (4:12) _
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2 The Snow QueenÕs Palace (7:06) _
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3 The Snow QueenÕs Dance (2:32) _
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4 The Mirror (4:05) _
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5 Kay and Gerda (4:55) _
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6 Arrival of the Snow Queen (4:37) _
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7 KayÕs Heart Turns to Ice (7:52) _
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8 Gerda Mourns (2:05) _
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9 The Conjure Woman (3:46) _
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10 Dance of the Flowers (4:52) _
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11 The Rose Briar Returns to Life (3:33) _
ACT 2
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1 The Fields (2:08) _
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2 Arrival of the Crows (6:36) _
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3 Gerda Awakes (1:38) _
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4 The PrinceÕs Palace (3:06) _
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5 The Palace Bedroom (10:19) _
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6 Gerda Flies with the Crows (2:24) _
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7 Gypsy Camp (4:13) _
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8 The Robber Girl (4:47) _
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9 Return to the Snow QueenÕs Palace (3:32) _
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10 Song of the Ice Captives (5:52) _
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11 Gerda Finds Kay (2:58) _
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12 Gerda Thaws KayÕs Heart (5:31) _
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Producers Brian McWhorter, Sarah Viens, Bob Ponto, Kenji Bunch_Engineer and
Mastering Lance Miller_General Manager
Sarah Viens_Recorded at Aasen-Hull Hall, School of Music and Dance, University of Oregon CD
Design Jerril Nilson/JLN
Design
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Photography Jeremy Bronson, Kylie Keppler, Bob Keefer, Sarah Viens,
Erica Lyn The Snow Queen ©2017 Kenji Bunch Music Publishing (ASCAP)
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT
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Orchestra NextÕs Board of
Directors: John Reynolds, Ray Morse, Phyllis Helland,
Riley Grannan, Mark Gould
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University of Oregon Humanities Center Endowment for Public
Outreach for the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities
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Toni Pimble, Eugene Ballet Company
Artistic Director and The Snow Queen Choreographer, for creative concept
and direction
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The Snow Queen score was commissioned by Eugene Ballet
Company with support from The Hult Endowment Fund of
The Oregon Community Foundation
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© Orchestra Next. All Rights Reserved,
2017._innova¨ Recordings
is the label of the American Composers Forum. www.innova.mu
www.orchestranext.com
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VIOLIN 1
ORCHESTRA NEXT
Brian McWhorter, conductor
Sarah Viens, everything else
FLUTE/ALTO FLUTE
Molly Barth
OBOE/ENGLISH HORN
Melissa Pe–a
BASSOON
Steve Vacchi
CLARINET
Mark Dubac
TRUMPET
Sarah Viens
HORN
Lydia Van Dreel
TROMBONE
Carson Keeble
PIANO
Hung-Yun Chu
HARP
Jane Allen
TIMPANI
Pius Cheung
PERCUSSION
Eriko Daimo
Jade Hails
Kathie Hsieh
VIOLIN
Ron Blessinger, concertmaster
Julia Frantz, principal
Mary Evans_
Bashar Matti
Christopher Stark
VIOLIN 2
Matthew Fuller, principal
Sasha Chandler, principal
Izabel Austin
Paige Buursma
VIOLA
Holland Phillips, principal
Lauren Elledge, principal
Hyrum Kohler
Karlie Roberts
CELLO
Heather Blackburn, principal
Noah Seitz, principal
Kathryn Brunhaver
BASS
Tyler Abbott, principal
Milo ÒThe RockÓ Fultz