Two World Premieres for Hannah Lash

by Ted Gordon on July 14, 2016, 2:54 p.m.

The summer festival circuit in America can trace one of its largest roots back to the Chautauqua movement in the late 19th century: centered around education in natural settings, these "chautauqua" meetings were held not only at the Chautauqua Institution in New York, but across the country. The Chautauqua Institution recently hosted a performance of Hannah Lash's Eating Flowers on July 11th, performed by the Chautauqua Music School Festival Orchestra, and conducted by Timothy Muffitt.

Following the Festivals, Lash will also see another performance at the Colorado Music Festival's Chautauqua Theater in Boulder, CO. Lash will perform alongside the CMF Orchestra in the world premiere of her Concerto No. 2 for Harp and Orchestra, which was commissiond by the CMF through audience contributions as a part of their Click! Commission Program. After the concert, Lash and conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni will offer a post-concert conversation. To get a sense of her writing for harp and orchestra, check out her earlier Concerto No. 1 for Harp and Chamber Orchestra (in an arrangement for harp and ensemble) below. 

Back on the east coast, Lash also receives the world premiere of her string quartet Pulse-space, performed by the Cassatt Quartet at the Seal Bay Festival on July 20th and 21st. 

Hannah Lash at the New York Philharmonic Biennial

by Ted Gordon on May 31, 2016, 10:58 a.m.

(photo © Bob Handelman)

The New York Philharmonic's second Biennial festival is well underway, with exciting concerts popping up all over the city. Fresh on the heels of the premiere of her chamber opera "Beowulf" in Boston, Hannah Lash returns to New York to see two performances of her works, in venues both intimate and grand. On May 25th, Lash's Leaves, Space, a work for double bass and harp, was performed at New York Public Radio's Jerome L. Greene Space, in a program featuring composers from the Yale School of Music. This New York Premiere was live-streamed on WQXR's Q2, which regularly live-streams concerts in the New Music New Haven series. 

On June 5th, Lash's music will again be heard in the newly-named David Geffen Hall. The Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra has programmed a concert entitled Young Americans, referring both to the youth of their performers and the youth of the composers they've programmed. In addition to works by Jennifer Higdon, Ashley Fure, and Nico Muhly, the Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra will perform the World Premiere of Hannah Lash's Chaconnes, commissioned by Interlochen. Don't miss this chance to hear Lash's intimate writing expanded to an entire orchestra! 

Hannah Lash's "Beowulf" Premiered by Guerilla Opera

by Ted Gordon on May 19, 2016, 4:49 p.m.

Hannah Lash's latest operatic project, Beowulf, will be premiered on May 20th by  Guerilla Opera in Boston. Though it's title references the great Anglo-Saxon epic, Lash's opera—for which she wrote both the socre and the libretto—tells her own unique story. In an interview with Guerilla Opera's Board Director Susan Larson, Lash writes: "I wanted to make a story about a hero who was suffering, a monster who was a situation, and a situation which was tragic, beautiful, full of love and loss." Lash picks up on the long tradition of "total works of art", crafting nearly every aspect of this deeply personal narrative: its characters, scenario, dialogue, and music. 

Already highly anticipated by such media outlets as the Boston Globe, Beowulf—directed by Andrew Eggert—will run for two weekends on May 20/21 and 26/27, including a talk-back session with the composer on May 22nd. Guerilla Opera is one of the most highly regarded opera companies in Boston, and is not afraid to take on powerful, adventurous new works, such as Ken Ueno's Gallo, which premiered in 2014. 

Check out OPERA America's exclusive interview with Lash on her compositional process below.