Department of Music professor and composer Dr. Michael Murray will be showcasing a selection of chamber music through an upcoming livestream concert. This concert will feature the world premiere of Butterfly Days (2020) for mezzo-soprano and piano, The Darkening Green (2018) for string quartet, and Genevieve’s Cats (2017) for soprano and piano. The livestream is being held in collaboration with Parma Recordings as part of Parma Live Stage; a series of streamed concerts featuring composers and performers from all around the world. Murray has been a Parma Recordings artist since 2012 and has had seven of his compositions released on their label. Parma Recordings is offering this series as an opportunity for artist to get their music out there while traditional concerts are not possible.

“It is an absolute honor to have my music featured in this series.”—Michael Murray

Butterfly Days was written in June of this year during Murray’s creative residency at Hambidge Center for Creative Arts & Sciences. This four-song piece is based on Robert Frost’s New Hampshire collection and represents nature and human interactions with it. The mezzo-soprano part was written for Dr. Ann Marie Daehn, who will deliver the premiere performance. The Darkening Green is a single-movement piece that reflects “differing perceptions of the passage of time on small and large scales”—Michael Murray. The title and theme are a reference to William Blake’s poem “The Echoing Green” from Songs of Innocence. Genevieve’s Cats was written for soprano Genevieve Fulks and is a three-movement piece based on cats in different points of their lives. The text comes from the poetry “The Kitten” by William Wordsworth, “The Cat and the Moon” by W.B. Yeats and “To Mrs. Reynolds’s Cat” by John Keats.

This concert will premiere online on November 12 at 7:30 p.m. through Parma Recordings event page.