AURORA BOREALIS: A New American Songbook

Aurora Borealis, a duo featuring soprano Tiffany Du Mouchelle and percussionistStephen Solook, will perform selections from its A New American Songbook, a concert of tunes that challenge the irony of The Great American Songbook. 

The Great American Songbook is the canon of the most important and influential American popular songs and jazz standards from the early 20th century. It includes the most popular and enduring songs from the 1920s to the 1950s that were created for Broadway theatre, musical theatre, and Hollywood musical film. The music of this genre is also often referred to as ‘American standards’. Many critics argue that many more talented artists and cultures are equally deserving of inclusion. 

 “A New American Songbook is centered on defining the term ‘American’ and a satire of The Great American Songbook. Geographically, America consists of North, South and Central America and the Caribbean Islands,” said musician Stephen Solook. “The United States owns territories in the South Pacific and Asia, which may also be considered ‘American’, even though they are not located in the Americas. What then is American?  At what point does something become American?  This question can be applied not only to land ownership, but to cultural identity.  When a person immigrates to any part of the Americas, at what point do they become American?” Program selections include:

 John Cage  (1912-1992)

                A Flower (1950)                                                                                                                

                Forever and Sunsmell (1942)                                                                      

  Milton Babbit  (1916 – 2011)

                A Waltzer in the House (2003)                                                                    

  Lewis Nielson  (b.1950)

                Tres Canciones de la Otra America (2016) *                         

                                I. Alta Hora de la Noche

                                II. de Somos Cinco Mil

                                III. Fábula de la Sirena y los Borrachos

  Stephen Lewis (b.1983)

                A Woman in Paris: Settings of Mina Loy's "Three Moments in Paris" (2017) *

                                I. One O'Clock at Night

                                II. Café du Néant

                                III. Magasins du Louvre

 Tania Leon (b.1943)

                Love after Love (2002)                                                                                   

  Roberto Sierra (b.1953)

                Invocaciones (1986)                                                                                       

                                Al guardian de los caminos

                                Al hacedor de nubes

                                Al que habita en las tinieblas

                                Al que guarda las aguas

                                Al que escupe fuego y hace temblar la tierra

 * = World Premiere

 Selections from A New American Songbook feature six composers and lyricists American-born, or have lived in the Americas. “It begins with two born in the United States and expands to two born here that use text by authors from South and Central America, and one who immigrated to the United States,”

said Solook. “We complete our journey with two composers born outside the United States that use a lyricist from the United States and one traditional folk setting.  Each explores text setting and “song” in a unique way, exhibiting the wide variety of musical influences inhabiting contemporary ‘American’ culture, something much more complicated and rich than it is often regarded. This is our initial attempt to begin to understand for ourselves.”

 About Aurora Borealis

Aurora Borealis was founded in 2004 when percussionist Stephen Solook and soprano Tiffany Du Mouchelle were asked to collaborate in a performance of Roberto Sierra's Invocationes for voice and percussion at the Mannes College in New York City. Since that time, their performances have taken them from New York to Los Angeles, Egypt, Cameroon, and even the remote villages of Papua, New Guinea. As a duo, Aurora Borealis has premiered over 30 duo and chamber works for voice and percussion by composers from around the world. The works commissioned by Aurora Borealis focus on expanding the repertoire of voice and percussion composition, specifically in exploring new dimensions within the relationship between these two instruments. When the duo first began to work together, much of their repertoire came from neo-classical and neo-romantic musical traditions. It soon became clear that these traditions tend to favor the voice as a melodic instrument and percussion more in as accompaniment. The duo realized that for Aurora Borealis to be a true "duo" that the nature of their repertoire must then support each instrument equally. This realization has led Du Mouchelle and Solook into close relationships with many American composers, primarily through commissioning new works.  This season includes premiers of works by Chen-Hui Chen, Stephen Lewis, Lewis Nielson, Stuart Saunders Smith, and Jacob David Sudol.   

Soprano, Tiffany Du Mouchelle is praised for her musical versatility, an electric stage presence and exceptional dramatic sensibilities. Most recognized for her fearlessness in exploring new and challenging repertoire, she ushers the voice into new realms of expressivity, including a vast array of musical styles and languages, featuring 35 different languages (including: Arabic, Japanese, Miani, Russian, and Swedish), and exploring the genres of classical, world, contemporary, cabaret, and theatrical works. Recipient of the prestigious Richard F. Gold Career Grant for American Opera Singers, Du Mouchelle has performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Center for Contemporary Opera, Yellow Barn Music Festival, Skålholt Summer Music Series in Iceland, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and American Composers Alliance, and in such prestigious venues as Lincoln Center, Disney Hall, The Consulate of the Republic of Poland, The New York Historical Society, The Ukrainian Institute, the residence of the United States Ambassador in Cairo, and the Acropolium in Carthage. Recent collaborations include the AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE of Stockhausen’s Sirius with Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music, the WEST COAST PREMIERE of Roger Reynolds’ Justice (Clytemnestra), the WEST COAST PREMIERE of Pasqual Dusapin’s To Be Sung (Voice Two), along with residencies at Yellow Barn and Songfest.  An active chamber musician, she is the co-founder of Aurora Borealis, a voice and percussion duo with Stephen Solook.  They frequently commission and perform new works, expanding the repertoire  for this unusual combination. A frequent collaborator with the cultural diplomacy organization Cultures in Harmony, she has served as an instructor of voice, musical outreach specialist, and performer for projects in Cameroon, Tunisia, Egypt and Papua New Guinea. In fall 2015, Du Mouchelle moved to Buffalo, NY, joining the faculty at University at Buffalo, where she serves as the director of the vocal performance program.  

For more information about Tiffany Du Mouchelle, please visit: www.tiffanydumouchelle.com.

Critically acclaimed percussionist Stephen Solook currently resides in Buffalo, NY. As a vivacious interpreter of contemporary music Steve has worked with such composers as Pulitzer Prize winners Paul Moravec and Roger Reynolds, as well as John Luther Adams, Bruce Adolphe, Michael Pisaro, Steve Reich, Stuart Saunders Smith, Chinary Ung, and others. With co-founder, Tiffany Du Mouchelle, of the Aurora Borealis duo (for soprano and percussion) they have performed together more then any other duo of its kind. Venturously they encourage the development and performance of equally composed works for this primal combination. Solook has performed as a soloist throughout the United States, Egypt, Mexico, Papua New Guinea. As an orchestral musician, he has served as principal percussionist/timpanist with multiple New York City ensembles, was a member of the La Jolla Symphony in San Diego, California, and performs as a substitute percussionist with the Buffalo Philharmonic. As a member of the non-profit organization Cultures in Harmony, Solook has performed, taught, and lead workshops in Cameroon, Egypt, Mexico, and Papua New Guinea. Ethnomusicological research and conservation work with Pacific Blue Foundation brought Solook to Fiji in a search to locate and document pre-colonial music. Solook has performed with Bang on a Can All-Stars, Eighth Black Bird, the International Contemporary Ensemble, red fish blue fish, San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Joseph Alessi, Bob Becker, David Krakauer, Steven Schick, Lucy Shelton, Socalled, Gordon Stout, Glen Velez, and the Jose Limon Dance Company.  He has had the privilege to work under such conductors as John Rutter, JoAnn Falletta, Paul Nadler, and Edwin Outwater, and in venues ranging from Los Angeles's Disney Hall and New York City's Lincoln Center to the legendary nightclub CBGB’s. Steve can be seen on QPTV and heard on Bridge, Vortex, and Mode labels, as well as additional forthcoming productions with Mode records. Solook received his Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from the University of California at San Diego, after attending Mannes College and Ithaca College. 

 The performance is free with gallery admission