QUINTETS AND SMALL MIXED ENSEMBLES

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Heron. Rain. Blossom. (2020)
for flute, clarinet, viola, and cello

Heron. Rain. Blossom. for flute, clarinet, viola, and cello commissioned by Chamber Music Society at Lincoln Center was premiered during CMS' 50th Anniversary season by Adam Walker, flute, Sebastian Manz, clarinet, Richard O'Neill, viola, and Mihai Marcia, cello on 12 March 2020 at Lincoln Center, New York, New York. Written, after time spent at the Bread Loaf Mountain Zen and, in part, while composer-in-residence at Harrison House Music, Arts,...Read more

quintet: quiescence (2018)
for bass clarinet, piano, and strings

Institut Curie, Paris, in coordination with the MUSE-IC Project and Université Paris Sciences & Lettres (PSL) will present the world premiere of the new work by Alexandra du Bois at Salle Cortot in Paris.

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The quintet for bass clarinet, piano and strings was commissioned by the Curie Institute in Paris and is inspired by current scientific research in...Read more

Indlovu: Piano Quintet “The Elephant” (2013)
for piano, violin, viola, cello and double bass

Commissioned by the Savannah Music Festival World premiere: March 2013, Simon Crawford-Phillips, piano, Benny Kim, violin, Carla Maria Rodrigues, viola, Camden Shaw, cello, Joseph Conyers, double bass, Lucas Theatre, Savannah, Georgia. Dedicated to family friend Timothy O’Brien (1957-2012) and elephant whisperer Lawrence Anthony (1950-2012) I. Altocumulus lacunosus: Boundaries (Adagio) II. Cumulus humilis: Interlude (Andante) III. Cumulonimbus: Journeys (Allegro) IV. Altocumulus castellanus - cirrus castellanus: Memories (Larghetto) V. Cirrostratus fibratus: Sunshowers and cumulonimbus (Andante) VI. Altocumulus lenticularis: Memorials...Read more

Photo ©Alexandra du Bois; Kamp Westerbork, the Netherlands (2004)
Night Songs (Nachtliederen) (2005 original) (2007 arrangement)
arranged for woodwind quintet (2007)

Original version for string quartet commissioned and premiered by Kronos Quartet. Arrangement for woodwind quintet commissioned by the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, New York City
World premiere: May 2007 throughout public schools in New York, Brooklyn and the Bronx Score/parts available Night Songs (Nachtliederen), String Quartet No. 3 (2005) I. Ontvouwen (Unfolding) II. Lente en Zomer (Spring and Summer) III. Stacheldraht (Barbed wire) IV. Het Denkende Hart (The Thinking Heart) V. Niet Verzonden Brieven (Unsent Letters) VI. Zoeklicht...Read more

Bruciare Distante (Burning Distant) (2006)
for piano, violin, two cellos and double bass

Commissioned by The Juilliard School’s ChoreoComp, choreographed for eight dancers by Collin Baja
World premiere: December 2006, Vassilis Varvaresos, piano, Elissa Cassini, violin, Victoria Bass, Dane Johansen, cello, Andrew Roitstein, double bass, Vince Lee, conductor and eight members of The Juilliard School’s Dance Division at Peter Jay Sharp Theater, New York, New York
Score/parts available ...Read more

String Quintet, A Requiem for the Living (2001)
for two violins, viola, and two double basses

World premiere: March 2002, Boris Kupesic and Sarah Hill, violin, Luis Enrique Casal, viola, Colin Corner, Corey Watson, double bass, Darko Butorac, conductor, Auer Hall at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Bloomington, Indiana
Dedicated to the victims of 9/11 in the United States and the victims of the United States’ invasion of Iraq
Score/parts available
Program note
...Read more

Hope Dies Last (2015)
Nonet (for chamber ensemble)

Commissioned by the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings for trombonist David Jackson
Original photography and video mapping by photojournalist and artist Michelle Andonian
In creative preparation for writing Hope Dies Last, Alexandra du Bois traveled throughout Armenia with artist Michelle Andonian. The work honors the 100th commemoration of the Armenian Genocide in 2015. Du Bois collaborated with University of Michigan trombonist David Jackson and Detroit-based artist Michelle Andonian (a recent...Read more