Anne LeBaron

“Princess and Gardener” from This Lingering Life 

Two scenes from my opera, This Lingering Life, were selected for the Snapshot program, a collaboration with West Edge Opera and Earplay. The characters from the scenes include a haughty princess, an old gardener, and a young gardener, derived from the Noh play Aya no Tsuzumi. In the story, an old Gardener falls in love with his master’s young daughter. She is offended and plays a trick to give him hope for her affection. A performance and recording are scheduled for May 15-16, 2021 at an outdoor location in the Bay Area. (See more about the opera below, under Works-in-Progress.) 

“Double Helix” from LSD: Huxley's Last Trip

“The Double Helix Scene” from LSD: Huxley’s Last Trip will be premiered by the Partch Ensemble, performing at REDCAT in downtown Los Angeles, on June 4-5. The opera is being scored for chamber ensemble combined with a collection of microtonal instruments built by Harry Partch. In this scene, set at the Eagle Pub in Cambridge, Francis Crick and James Watson celebrate their discovery of DNA, the Secret of Life. Crick reveals that while under the influence of LSD, he visualized the Double Helix for the first time. Scroll below to read more.

This is Not a Carol

This is Not a Carol was commissioned for a Bandcamp release, “Seasonal Séance: Winter Solstice,” to celebrate the 2020 winter solstice on December 21. It was composed and performed on the Chromelodeon, a microtonal pump organ invented by Harry Partch. The title, an oblique reference to “This is Not a Pipe” (the famous painting by René Magritte), seems to be fitting for the seasonal festivities surrounding the winter solstice.

Sachamama performed by Margaret Lancaster in Miami

My composition for flute and electronic tape, Sachamama, was performed by Margaret Lancaster, outdoors at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden, on December 3 - 5, 2020.

Lorenzo Marasso’s Invention Project

Pianist Lorenzo Marasso performed all of J.S. Bach’s Two- and Three-Part Inventions, plus fifteen newly commissioned works responding to each, in a livestream performance on July 26, 2020. My composition, Kaleidoscopic Bach, is a centrifugal redo of Bach’s Invention and Sinfonia No. 9. The concert may be streamed here (timings for each work are included in a comment on the site).

Ana Cervantes performs Los Murmullos from her home

Ana’s performance begins streaming on Jan. 28 on the Music of the Americas concert series. She commissioned Los Murmullos for her “Rumores” project, and has recorded and performed it in Mexico, the U.S., South America, and Europe. Whisperings and murmurs emanating from the ghost town of Comala in Juan Rulfo’s Pedro Paramo are embedded in this composition for solo piano.