Jonathan Slade
creative projects
composition
Last year, I had to chance to introduce my 2017 composition, The Passage of Time, to my brilliant friends and colleagues Elisabeth Parry and John Alley. To my surprise and delight, they liked it so much that they offered to publish it.
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UPDATE (April 2021): I am delighted to announce that The Passage of Time has won a composition prize from the National Flute Association in the US - details here
Elisabeth and John run AureaCapra Editions, a superbly high quality publishing house and subsidiary of Universal Editions, and have published newly discovered works, arrangements and collections for a range of ensembles featuring the flute. The Passage of Time is the first to published as part of their 'Art' series, featuring new music alongside original artwork from leading artists. I was thrilled to collaborate on this project with Aimee Birnbaum, Member of the Royal Institute of Watercolour Artists. Aimee captured the spirit of my piece with incredible vision and sensitivity, and I'm incredibly proud of the final result.
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For further information, or to order a copy, please use the contact form at the bottom of this page.
Full Circle & New World Cantata
I've always enjoyed subjecting audiences to something new in recitals. As a student I always had a lot of flexibility with programming, so have had great fun with arrangements and compositions. The Passage of Time was written for my graduation recital at Yale, and a flute and bassoon duet, Full Circle, came out of a fruitful composition course with David Lang. I played both with the incredibly versatile bassoonist/pianist Cornelia Sommer, joined in TPOT by the radiant Canadian mezzo Evanna Lai.
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At Juillard, I put my most ambitious project together: a cantata with alternating movements of Bach arias (featuring the flute) and original compositions. New World Cantata tells a story that starts with conflict and displacement, before finding refuge in a final chorus that sets Emma Lazarus' famous words, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free!" It was my love letter to New York City, a place I was proud to call home for two years. I can still hardly believe the assembled talent of everyone who kindly donated their time and energy to participate, and I will always be grateful to them.