19 Aug Oh Monarch, How Beautiful You Are (2019) for solo piano
Pianist Anastasia Antonacos commissioned and presented the world premiere of du Bois’ new Thich Nhat Hanh-inspired work ‘Oh Monarch, How Beautiful You Are’ for solo piano. The piece was commissioned jointly by Maine and New Hampshire Music Teachers Association and Music Teachers National Association and was written, in part, while du Bois was composer-in-residence at Harrison House Music, Arts & Ecology, Joshua Tree, California and at Avaloch Farm Music Institute, Boscawen, New Hampshire (with Parhelion Trio for their collaboration with du Bois on their Vera Rubin: Dark Matter project) in 2019.
Oh Monarch, How Beautiful You Are invites sonic meditation on evidence of climate change in the Northeastern United States and simultaneously with internal recitation of gathas from peace activist, writer, poet, teacher, and Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. Antonacos premiered the work at Rose Performance Hall at the Manninen Center for the Arts during the 2019 Quad State Conference.