Greetings from the east coast (I’m on the road!) Excited to share several updates with you:
album art for Canon in D Harp Trio single release
I released a new single! Stream or purchase my Pachelbel’s Canon in DHarp Trio via AmazonMusic, Spotify, AppleMusic, iHeartRadio, Pandora, YouTubeMusic, and many more platforms… (*If you cannot find the track on your platform at your storefront of choice, please check back again soon! Often it takes several days or weeks for new releases to publish across all sites.)
For those seeking copies of my earlier albums (songwriting EPs Ophelia’s Song and Puzzle Pieces plus film-scoring and concert music EP Overture to an Adventure), visit the same platforms listed above for streaming and digital downloads, or order physical copies of CDs here.
photo by Julie Smith
Photo by Sarah Van Sciver
Image by Ashley Becker and Alyssa Brode
Photo by Sarah Van Sciver
Photo by Julie Smith
Photo by Julie Smith
Photo by Julie Smith
photo by Julie Smith
photo by Kirsten C. Kunkle
Photo by Raffaella Lo Castro
photo by Raffaella Lo Castro
Girondines production photos by Julie Smith
On Friday October 21st, Girondines began its premiere weekend run with Wilmington Concert Opera (WCO). Girondines, based on historical fact, is a new opera in English which focuses on the story of French Revolutionaries who presumably knew one another, met in secret before the Reign of Terror, and supported one another during the political upheaval. All six of the revolutionaries are women, and of these, three are guillotined and three live. I composed the opera’s score and crafted electronic soundscapes to intertwine with the music; for this concert opera premiere production, I am the pianist, music director, and technical director. Our stellar cast includes Girondines librettist and WCO Artistic Director and co-founder, Kirsten C. Kunkle as well as WCO Executive Director and Co-founder Marisa Robinson. Kirsten and Marisa originated the roles of Charlotte Corday and Marie Anne Pierrette Paulze Lavoisier, respectively; a full Cast list is included below.
To get a preview of the music itself, you can watch short clips from rehearsals on Instagram in the music section of my channel highlights or on my Facebook page. I expect you will particularly enjoy this video from when our librettist (and amazing soprano!) Kirsten rehearsed one of her arias in the role of Charlotte Corday with piano, violin, and cello earlier this week. Finally, Kirsten and I are so grateful that OperaWire interviewed us earlier this week about writing a feminist opera – hope you enjoy reading the interview! For any folks involved with voice, opera, theater, musical theater, or other performing arts venues, companies, festivals, or university programs, please let me know if you are interested in exploring opportunities to have your own reading, concert, or staging of Girondines.
Our final performance is TODAY at 2pm EST (11am PST)! If you will be attending in person, I look forward to seeing you at Presbyterian Church of the Covenant located at 503 Duncan Road, Wilmington, DE 19809. The performance is free and open to the public (no tickets required). Due to historical content, we recommend the opera for ages 13 and up. If you are unable to see attend this opera concert in person today, our production team will have a live stream option for today’s performance which you can watch via YouTube. Shortly before the show begins, you can tune in to watch from any laptop, tablet, or smartphone.Please be advised that livestream disruptions are possible, but it is our team’s hope and expectation that today’s digital presentation will run smoothly.
*Who’s Who in our WCO Premiere Cast*
Evening Cast: On Friday, October 21st + Saturday, October 22nd at 8pm:
Charlotte Corday……………………………….Kirsten C. Kunkle : instagram * web
Olympe de Gouges…………………………………Ashley Becker : instagram * web
Marie Anne Pierrette Paulze Lavoisier…Marisa Robinson : instagram * web
Madame Manon Roland………………Alyssa Maria Lehman : website
Madame Germaine de Staël……………Raffaella Lo Castro : instagram * web
Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun……………….Tracy Sturgis : instagram * web
Matinee Cast: On Sunday, October 23rd at 2pm:
Charlotte Corday………………………Suzannah Waddington : instagram * web
Olympe de Gouges………………..Laurice Simmons Kennel : instagram * web
Marie Anne Pierrette Paulze Lavoisier………Alyssa Brode : instagram * web
Madame Manon Roland…………………………..Allison Deady : instagram * web
Madame Germaine de Staël…………..Kaitlyn Beth Tierney : instagram * web
Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun…………………….. Annie Gill : instagram * web
*WCO Premiere Also Features*
Pianist/Music Director/TD……………………Sarah Van Sciver : instagram * web
Piano understudy……………………………………..Tom Fosnocht : instagram
Cellist………………………………………………………..MelissaBrun : instagram * web
Wilmington Concert Opera, an exclusively woman- and minority-run company, was founded on principles of diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility.
For anyone seeking a creative collaborator for music, audio, video, web/graphic design, sound, songs, jingles, film, theatre, piano, harp, ukulele, voice, a cappella, mentorship, lessons, etc., I look forward to connecting with you to learn more about how I can help!
THE ALBUM will become available on Amazon, eMusic, and more in the weeks to come! Physical copies are available to order at CDBaby.
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Special thanks to the band – Jay Edelman (bass), Steve Kuzmicki (guitar), and Harry Van Sciver (drums); to Scott Herzog and Winthrop Stevens (Third Story Recording); to Michael Harmon and Kosta Johnson (Studio Crash); to DiscMakers (manufacturing); to Will Murdoch for Graphic Design.
THE ALBUM will become available on Amazon, eMusic, and more in the weeks to come! Physical copies are available to order at CDBaby.
~
Special thanks to the band – Jay Edelman (bass), Steve Kuzmicki (guitar), and Harry Van Sciver (drums); to Scott Herzog and Winthrop Stevens (Third Story Recording); to Michael Harmon and Kosta Johnson (Studio Crash); to DiscMakers (manufacturing); to Will Murdoch for Graphic Design.
THE ALBUM will become available on Amazon, eMusic, and more in the weeks to come! Physical copies are available to order at CDBaby.
~
Special thanks to the band – Jay Edelman (bass), Steve Kuzmicki (guitar), and Harry Van Sciver (drums); to Scott Herzog and Winthrop Stevens (Third Story Recording); to Michael Harmon and Kosta Johnson (Studio Crash); to DiscMakers (manufacturing); to Will Murdoch for Graphic Design.
The album is featured on CDBaby’s new arrivals page:
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PREVIEW VIDEO:
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THE ALBUM will become available on iTunes, Amazon, eMusic, and more in the weeks to come! Physical copies and digital downloads will become available soon at several of these stores, including CDBaby.
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Special thanks to the band – Jay Edelman (bass), Steve Kuzmicki (guitar), and Harry Van Sciver (drums); to Scott Herzog and Winthrop Stevens (Third Story Recording); to Michael Harmon and Kosta Johnson (Studio Crash); and to Sean Smith and the team at DiscMakers (manufacturing).
It’s like trying to shake down leaves off of springtime trees
You say something clever, cleverer than it had to be
You and me together, I picked your lock but was not the key
And then you picked me, and you set me free
Even though I didn’t want to be
We didn’t fit, like pieces of a puzzle that fool you for a second I reckoned
We’d work out together, but forevers turned to nevers
You ruined it, you showed me when you told me our edges didn’t match up quite right
In the shadows at night it wasn’t plain to see that you were never cut out for me
Can’t resist to think of you, I don’t even pretend to try (no I don’t)
I still find myself saying good, we didn’t finish saying goodbye (goodbye)
Unrequited and unsaid, there are so many things we didn’t do (never ever ever ever)
I deny it and hide it but instead, I’d rather tell you the truth (never ever ever ever)
That I think we had a shot, I feel bitter and not
That if we found ourselves in the same plot, I’d be caught
We didn’t fit, like pieces of a puzzle that fool you for a second I reckoned
We’d work out together, but forevers turned to nevers
You ruined it, you showed me when you told me our edges didn’t match up quite right
In the shadows at night it wasn’t plain to see that you were never cut out for me
Please don’t mistake me or take me for one of the common fools
Know I’d never intentionally break any hearts or any rules
You meant more to me, you kept more of me than I can express or admit
It’s such a shame you give yourself all the blame when we both made such a mess of it
Baby don’t go, I’ll fall apart
You’ve still got pieces of my heart
I’m begging you, just think this through, please don’t go
Baby don’t go, I’ll fall apart
You’ve still got puzzle pieces of my heart
I’m begging you, just think this through, don’t go
We didn’t fit, like pieces of a puzzle that fool you for a second I reckoned
We’d work out together, but forevers turned to nevers
You ruined it, you showed me when you told me our edges didn’t match up quite right
In the shadows at night it wasn’t plain to see that you were never cut out for me
Cut it out, cut it out, no no you were never cut out for me
2. OAK LEAF
Seasons are changing, I can taste it in the rain
And the wind that whispers down your autumn sky
Bringing cold and bleak of night and warmer light to say goodbye
Real love is natural like the phases of the moon
And the tide running to the open sea
So I stand tall and long and still
Knowing you will come back to me
When the last oak leaf falls, that’s when I’ll leave you
When the last oak leaf falls, that’s when we’ll fade away
You say it’s over, sonata rondo so to speak
And your song it echoes down the stormy shore
But tides will rip and sunbeams burn ‘til you return to me once more
My roots run deeper, far below to waters pure
And springs that murmur songs as old as life
Seasons change and I’ll still be here
Waiting near to be your wife
When the last oak leaf falls, that’s when I’ll leave you
When the last oak leaf falls, that’s when we’ll fade away
I’ll fade away, but baby not today
We’ll fade away, but baby not today
No baby, not today
When the last oak leaf falls, that’s when I’ll leave you
When the last oak leaf falls, that’s when we’ll fade away
When the last oak leaf falls, that’s when I’ll leave you
When the last oak leaf falls, that’s when we’ll fade away
But baby, not today
3. REVERB RADIO
Every day we’re twisting up the volume
My little hum is building to a buzz
Solo nights all I do is dream a song of you
Where we swing upon the chord that ever was
Our amplifier, let’s drive it ’til we sing
I echo you, your loving radio
Soul station in the night
I echo you, the highest frequency you know
Dashboard dial bright
Audience is missing what we’re playing
Only we know there is no perfect third
Don’t listen to our vetted verse they’re slaying
Our poetry is writ in wet not word
Our desire, let’s drive it ‘til we sing
I echo you, your loving radio
Soul station in the night
I echo you, the highest frequency you know
Dashboard dial bright tonight
We can’t explain it, contain it or
Modulate a thing
I never fake it, please don’t break it
Evermore, nevermore, ever, ever, nevermore
Nevermore was spoken by the raven
Lust that lingered longing for Lenore
But I mean never more to be without your
Scatenato riven to my core
Not a lyre, let’s drive it ‘til we sing
I echo you, your loving radio
Soul station in the night
I echo you, the highest frequency you know
Dashboard dial bright, dashboard dial bright …
4. EVER AFTER
After the fall I couldn’t stand to be alone anymore
After it all I wanted something different from before
I started out feeling free, but I ended up feeling trapped in me
After the fall I wanted someone to love me for me
After the winter I still hadn’t found you, yet
Still a beginner, I learned to forgive but not to forget
I started out looking in my past, but it caught up with me pretty fast
After the winter I wanted someone to love me for me
After the snow I wanted to know there was somebody for me
When we met, I felt like I remembered you already
Like we were lovers before in a classic film, going steady
Things just clicked, a diamond in the rough I picked you out
From the crowd, and you picked me
After the spring I was a cynic but still convinced
You kiss a lot of frogs before you lock lips with your charming prince
I started out an epic fail, but ended up living in a fairytale
After the spring I found someone who loved me for me
When we met, I felt like I remembered you already
Like we were lovers before in a classic film, going steady
Things just clicked, a diamond in the rough I picked you out
From the crowd, and you picked me
Never ever, ever, ever after
Never ever, ever, ever after
After fall, after winter, after spring
Never knew I’d fall, after winter, after spring
When we met, I felt like I remembered you already
Like we were lovers before in a classic film, going steady
Things just clicked, a diamond in the rough I picked you out
From the crowd, and you picked me
5. BURN
You were always a quick chat, never a sit-down-and-talk
With no warning you left me at the corner of walk-don’t-walk
And now I don’t know where to turn
And now I don’t know how to feel, all I can do is burn, burn, burn
Burn, burn, burn
You were always making trouble, never could sit still
Maybe the saddest part of all is I think you never will, I know you never will
And now I don’t know where to turn
And now I don’t know how to feel, all I can do is burn, burn
Burn every picture, burn every ticket stub
Burn every reminder we were ever in love
It’d be easier to say it was nothing, but the ashes tell the truth
I can’t burn away the scraps of love I’m still clinging to
In another time zone, in another place you’re charming some other girl like me
She’s intoxicated by the smile on your face, but she’ll sober up you’ll see
And then she won’t know where to turn
And then she won’t know how to feel, all she can do is burn, burn
Burn every picture, burn every ticket stub
Burn every reminder we were ever in love
It’d be easier to say it was nothing, but the ashes tell the truth
I can’t burn away the scraps of love I’m still clinging to
If not by fire, maybe by rain
If at first I don’t succeed I’ll try, try again
If I can’t drown desire, I’ll bury it alive
I gotta let it all out from where it’s buried deep inside
If I can’t drown desire, I’ll bury it alive
I gotta let it all out, I gotta burn it all down, burn, burn
Burn every picture, burn every ticket stub
Burn every reminder we were ever in love
It’d be easier to say it was nothing, but the ashes tell the truth
I can’t burn away the scraps of love I’m still clinging to
I’m still clinging to you
6. ELEANOR (LIVE)
Eleanor you’ve been through this all before
Even more it seems like you’re lying
You know you’re not even trying, and I’m not buying it
Yesterday you said you’d throw them all away
Then today I found it all in your bottom drawer
Eleanor you’ve been through this all before
Eleanor you’ve been through this all before
He’s not coming back you’ve been betrayed and
You know that you’ve been played
There’s so much more to you than him
Don’t let him win this war Eleanor
Eleanor why are you still keeping score
At your core I thought you wanted a new chapter
Unhappy-ever-after suits you less than your lost laughter
On the phone you said that you were all alone
I should have known you let him in again back for more
Eleanor you’ve been through this all before
Eleanor you’ve been through this all before
He’s not coming back you’ve been betrayed and
You know that you’ve been played
There’s so much more to you than him
Don’t let him win this war Eleanor
You’re letting him in you’re letting him win
You’re letting him spin you back around in circles
You’re letting him break you’re letting him take
You’re letting him waste your heart Eleanor
Eleanor you’ve been through this all before
Eleanor change the locks on all your doors
Eleanor, Eleanor
Eleanor you’ve been through this all before
Eleanor why are you still keeping score
Eleanor, Eleanor
Eleanor, Eleanor
PREVIEW VIDEO:
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TRACK LISTING:
1. Puzzle Pieces
2. Oak Leaf
3. Reverb Radio
4. Ever After
5. Burn
6. Eleanor (Live)
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CHECK OUT THESE PHOTOS FROM THE STUDIO SESSIONS:
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COVER ART:
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FEATURING…
Jay Edelman … bass,
Steve Kuzmicki … guitars,
Harry Van Sciver … drums, &
Sarah Van Sciver … piano, keyboards, and vocals.
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STAY TUNED for SNEAK PEEKS:
* ALBUM ART
* AND MORE !
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THE ALBUM will be available on iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby, eMusic, and more!
~
Special thanks to the band; to Scott Herzog and Winthrop Stevens (Third Story Recording); to Michael Harmon and Kosta Johnson (Studio Crash); to DiscMakers (manufacturing); to Will Murdoch for Graphic Design.
THE ALBUM will be available on iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby, eMusic, and more!
~
Special thanks to the band; to Scott Herzog and Winthrop Stevens (Third Story Recording); to Michael Harmon and Kosta Johnson (Studio Crash); to DiscMakers (manufacturing); to Will Murdoch for Graphic Design.
THE ALBUM will be available at HERE as well as on iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby, eMusic, and more!
~
Special thanks to the band; to Scott Herzog and Winthrop Stevens (Third Story Recording); to Michael Harmon and Kosta Johnson (Studio Crash); to DiscMakers (manufacturing); to Will Murdoch for Graphic Design.
THE ALBUM will be available at HERE as well as on iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby, eMusic, and more!
~
Special thanks to the band; to Scott Herzog and Winthrop Stevens (Third Story Recording); to Michael Harmon and Kosta Johnson (Studio Crash); to DiscMakers (manufacturing); to Will Murdoch for Graphic Design.
Last week, the music of “Ophelia’s Song” was extremely popular with Jango Internet Radio listeners. As a result, I received a PopScore of 99 on RadioAirplay and made it to their top ten list of Jango artists.
Thank you to all of the internet radio users out there who made this happen! Very excited to see my music reach people all around the world through internet radio and glad that so many are enjoying it.
Start off the new year by giving the gift of music to schools and community organizations – across the United States – that need your help!
When you purchase any of my music at REVERB NATION, 50% of proceeds go directly to the Fender Music Foundation.
About Fender Music Foundation
The Fender Music Foundation believes that music participation is an essential element in the fabric of an enduring society. The public charity provides musical instruments to schools and community organizations nationally. Founded in 2005, this nonprofit has reached over 187,000 people through its grants. With the support of manufacturers, retailers and the public, the organization is aiming to donate 15,000 instruments to music programs in need — this year alone. Learn More.
Sarah Van Sciver 