Some volunteers are charmed. In May 2012, I composed something of a volunteer. William Curry, the Durham Symphony’s conductor came in at the end of the month, just as I was playing it through, and said “I want that piece”. To make a long story short, in 2013, Still Life With Blue became the first movement of a three read more
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Yellow Barn
December 24, 2020 – 11:26 am
In June 2020 I was invited to speak about the late Mario Davidovsky’s series of Synchronisms for instruments or instrumental ensembles with electronics. Together with Seth Knopp, Director of Yellow Barn, and Curtis Macomber, violinist and faculty member, my presentation and the conversation that followed introduced a new generation of performers about the background which read more
Diane Moser
December 20, 2020 – 10:05 pm
I was very sad to hear of the passing of our colleague Diane Moser. What a superb, courageous, musical intelligence she brought to everything she put her hands to. And with such courage and friendship for fellow musicians and students. Diane was a colleague at the Vermont College of the Fine Arts. One of her read more
Immigration Policy
July 8, 2020 – 11:26 am
This morning I added my signature to the following letter. Open Letter Against the Student Ban We, faculty at institutions across the United States, condemn the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) decision, announced Monday July 6th, that stipulates that International Students with F-1 and M-1 visas, “attending schools operating entirely online may not take a read more
Reviews of LIGHT DANCES Bridge recording by Da Capo Chamber Players
May 14, 2019 – 11:18 am
Jaffe: Light Dances “Chamber Concerto No. 2” MP3 Music Bridge Records Stephen Jaffe’s Light Dances has the capacity, rare in contemporary music, to bring a delighted smile to the listener. In a sense, everything else a reviewer can say follows from that. One imagines that the composer has become accustomed to taking his bows before audiences who read more
“Culture Opens Us Up” – a Conversation With Robert Carl on LIGHT DANCES and Other Works
March 18, 2019 – 10:24 am
An interview by composer Robert Carl on Bridge’s new release of Light Dances (Chamber Concerto No. 2) to appear in Fanfare Magazine’s May Issue. Bridge 4001. To login via Fanfare Magazine: Light Dances Interview: Feature Article by Robert Carl “Culture Opens Us Up, With Luck”: An Interview with Stephen Jaffe Buy Jaffe: Light Dances Jaffe: read more
Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia’s 200th Anniversary Announced + 2020 Update: THREE ARCS
December 17, 2018 – 9:15 pm
Stephen Jaffe, Augusta Read Thomas, Tania Léon and Roberto Sierra were commissioned to create new works for the Musical Fund Society’s 200th Anniversary in 2020. We all anticipate hearing our new works! Three Arcs was scheduled for April 2020 performance at the Kimmel Center, Philadelphia, with Network for New Music and the Pennsylvania Girlchoir, conducted read more
LIGHT DANCES Recording: Da Capo Chamber Players Bridge 4001
December 17, 2018 – 9:06 pm
Stephen Jaffe’s LIGHT DANCES (Chamber Concerto No. 2) was released on December 7, 2018. The very sympathetic performance features the Da Capo Chamber Players and Michael Lipsey, percussion. Click the blue link above to sample on Spotify, iTunes, HD Tracks, etc. The cover photo and the art inside the booklet is by Brian H. Peterson.
A Symphony of Spiral and Light (PARADES)
November 5, 2018 – 10:03 pm
My newest ensemble work is A Symphony of Spiral and Light (PARADES), for orchestral winds, brass and percussion (41 musicians!). The work was commissioned by the University of Maryland who will give the first performance in May, 2019 under the leadership of Michael Votta, and ten other co-commissioners who will present premiere performances during 2020. read more
A FOREST UNFOLDING Premiere in New Hampshire and Maine
August 2, 2018 – 10:55 am
Premiere Performances: Sunday August 12 at 5 PM (Peterborough, New Hampshire) by Electric Earth Concerts Sunday August 18 at 7:30 (Portland Chamber Music Festival, Portland, Maine) A FOREST UNFOLDING (Collaborative Cantata by Eric Moe, Stephen Jaffe, David Kirkland Garner and Melinda Wagner) with texts by W.S. Merwin, Anne LaBastille, Richard Powers, Henry David Thoreau and read more