NEWS
Winter-Spring 2024
On February 27, the Thornton Edge at USC conducted by Donald Crockett performed “Hard Cells” which has become something of a staple in their repertory!
On March 25, Bassoon virtuoso Kim Walker and 16 of her “friends” from the DC area played my “Life of the Party — Concerto for Bassoon and 16 Friends” last Tuesday in Alexandria. One of the audience members caught it on a video that’s surprisingly good — and the performance was spirited! The performance was followed by a 2-day recording session — watch for the upcoming CD release.
Fall 2023
Three YouTube postings highlight Don Freund fall performances!
IUBallet staged a stunning production of choreographer Christian Claessens’ Autumnsongs Ballet to Don Freund’s piano trio (instrumentalists onstage, but off camera — but it’s a glorious video!)
IU NME showcased Freund’s ‘Soul Chaconne, with tsunami‘ during the premiere conducted by Freund himself.
Freund spent a weekend in residency at the University of Indianapolis, ending a with a recital of six of his works performed by University of Indianapolis faculty and members of the Indianapolis Symphony.
July 2023
New YouTube videos posted:
Alarm Will Sound celebrates Freund’s 75th birthday with a performance of “Test of Time” at the 2022 Mizzou International Composers Festival.
The premiere performance of Freund’s “Kaleidoscope Eyes” by the Canone String Quartet.
January 2023
Don Freund’s faculty recital on January 13th, 2023, is performed in IU’s Auer Hall and live-streamed on IUMusicLive!. The performance includes the first four of his annual piano preludes and the premiere of his 33rd, Piano Prelude 2022 (…raggedy…). Don Freund’s Piano Preludes are an ongoing series of annual short piano pieces begun in 1990.
December 2022
If you are in need of some Holiday music, see Don Freund’s Holiday Playlist 2022 to hear 4 of my short, sweet, exuberant Christmas and New Year’s vocal pieces to put you in the mood!
Celebrating Don’s 75th birthday (11/15/22) with this playlist of edited videos of all the sensational performances from his October 9, 2022, IU Auer Hall Faculty Composition Recital.
October 2022
Don’s Stacked Dectet is premiered by the Jacobs School Faculty All-Stars in IU’s Auer Hall on October 9th, 2022.
July 2022
On Wednesday, July 27th Triomusic is performed by the Mizzou Faculty Trio.
On Thursday, July 28th Alarm Will Sound performed Test of Time as a part of the Mizzou International Composers Festival.
A new recording of Don Freund’s Cascades, Clouds, Crevice featuring Kathleen McLean, Lauren Hallonquist, and Chanelle Junio is available now on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.
March–April 2022
The music of Don Freund is featured in several concerts:
Cascades, Clouds, Crevice for bassoon trio is premiered in a Bassoon Faculty Recital by Kathleen McLean,Lauren Hallonquist, and Chanelle Junio in Auer Hall.
Exotic Particles and the Confinement of Quarks is performed by the IU Symphonic Band in Auer Hall, conducted by Eric Smedley.
“Holy, Holy, Holy” from the Vonnegut Requiem is performed by NOTUS: the Contemporary Vocal Ensemble in Auer Hall, conducted by Nicholas Sienkiewicz.
Don Freund’s Urban Pastorale is premiered by the IU Symphony Orchestra in the Musical Arts Center, conducted by Thomas Wilkins! From the composer:
Urban Pastorale mixes the bucolic, hearty, open-air warmth of rustic music in the country with the edgy unpredictable energy of the inner city. It borrows its five-movement structure from Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique, and Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra.
September–December 2021
Don Freund presents 4 of his recent Piano Preludes in his September “Music for Heavy Listening” (Bach and Freund) Auer Hall piano recital, including the premiere of his Prelude 2021 constituent contusions (insurrection echoes). Just posted on YouTube is Freund’s Piano Preludes Scrolling Score Playlist.
February 2021
Don Freund releases his new work Sing for Joy! for Unison Chorus and Piano, with Descant and Recorder! A note from the composer:
Sing for Joy was composed as a theme song for Sandra Freund’s “Sing for Joy!” senior community choir. The song, complete with descant and flute obbligato, travelled with us to Kenya, where Sandra conducted the Kabarak University Choir in a chapel service with close to 2,000 in attendance.
Don’s lyrics:
So much love in our hearts, we just have to sing for joy!
When this glorious feeling starts we just have to sing for joy!
When our voices join together it’s a sound that’s sweet and strong —
That’s living, that’s loving, let’s celebrate and sing for joy!
(The concert was March 11, 2020– we hustled back to the US the next day…)
Check out a video of the Kenyan Premiere:
In addition, in July, Celebrated Australian composer Brenton Broadstock released Don Freund: A Composer’s Life and Thoughts, a
multi-faceted documentary portrait of the life and philosophies of Freund, one his teachers and friends.
January–February 2020
Don Freund is taking advantage of his Spring 2020 sabbatical to bring masterclasses and performances of his music to spots around the world, beginning with a three-weekend intensive composition seminar with graduate composers at the Universidad de Bellas Artes in Guayaquil, Ecuador in January.
At the beginning February, Freund visited Hawaii, meeting up with Jacobs School composition alums Thomas Osborne at the University of Hawaii (where Freund gave a presentation and lecture recital of Bach and Freund and masterclass lessons) and Dan Bradshaw at Brigham Young University Hawaii (including a recital of compositions by Bradshaw and Freund and master class lessons with BYUH student composers).
Later in February, Freund travelled to India where gave a recital of Bach/Freund at the Mehli Mehta Foundation in Mumbai, working with students and faculty of this institution where Jacobs School composition sophomore Kahan Taraporevala developed his musicianship.
The Freunds with graduate student composers at Universidad de Bellas Artes, Guayaquil, Ecuador.
Freund and UHawaii Composition Faculty Don Womack and Jacobs School alum Tom Osborne.
Freund with his BYUHawaii performers: Jennifer Duerden (piano), Daniel Henderson (trumpet): Arioso und Splat
Scottt and Stacy McCarry (piano duo): Prelude, Chorale and a Few Other Things
BYUH Recital Flyer
NEWS
Don Freund Spring 2019 Performances
06/27/2018
I hope you’ll take a look/listen to a 2-way video (scrolling score and live performance) of my Amen: Quintet Fantasy on the Plagal Cadence, now on YouTube:
06/14/2018
Or one big super-video: