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Gerald Cohen, composer

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Steal a Pencil for Me

  • Steal a Pencil for Me
  • Sea of Reeds

  • Act II, Scene 2 – Jaap/Ina duet: “An Ordinary Breakfast”

  • Act II, Scene 3 – Lisette’s Aria: “Your letters gave me courage”

  • Act II, Scene 4 – The Nazis taunt Ina: “They closed the camp at Auschwitz”

  • Act II, Scene 10 – Final quartet: “There’s the girl that I will marry”

Featured Article

  • “Steal a Pencil for Me”—feature article in NewMusicBox (online magazine of New Music USA)

    July 11, 2018
    As a composer of vocal music—opera, choral, solo—I am always on the prowl for texts for vocal works and for stories which have potential as operas. Very often, as I read a novel or hear some fascinating true tale, my “operatic mind” starts imagining what the story would be like on stage with music, thinking about both the creative aspects (what opportunities are there for cool vocal ensembles in this story?) and practical ones (would this need too huge a cast to make it work as an opera?). There are such a variety of types of stories that could conceivably be transformed by composers and librettists when creating an opera; many recent operas have been based on well-known movies or novels, or on recent events in history. But sometimes a riveting plot for a dramatic work can be found in the stories of the people in one’s own life—and the close personal connections in such stories can be significant in generating the emotional energy needed to create and present a new opera...

Listen

  1. Adonai Ro’i (Psalm 23) (excerpt) (from Generations CD) Gerald Cohen, Marija Stroke 1:13
  2. Ordinary Breakfast (excerpt)—Duet from opera "Steal a Pencil for Me" Ilana Davidson, Robert Balonek, Ari Pelto 2:53
  3. Could it Be—Trio from opera "Sarah and Hagar" E. Shammash, I. Davidson, R. Gardner, M. Adelson 2:49
  4. L’fichach from V’higad’ta L'vincha (excerpt) (from Generations CD) Syracuse Children's Chorus, Barbara Tagg 1:21
  5. Lo Lanu (Psalm 115) (excerpt) Canticum Novum Singers, Harold Rosenbaum 1:17
  6. Slow, calm (excerpt) from Trio for Viola, Cello, and Piano (from Generations CD) Maria Lambros, Michael Kannen, Marija Stroke 1:12
  7. Grneta Variations (excerpt) (from Sea of Reeds CD) V. Dukovski, I. Lumanovski, A. Joan 1:05
  8. Dayeinu, from Sea of Reeds (from Sea of Reeds CD) V. Dukovski, I. Lumanovski, A. Joan 2:58
  9. Beyond the Heliosphere, final movement from "Voyagers" Vasko Dukovski, Cassatt String Quartet 7:30

Explore

Quick links to items of interest:

Steal a Pencil for Me feature article—NewMusicBox, July 2018

Playing for our lives feature article—Berkshire Eagle, July 2019

Steal a Pencil for Me (info, score sample, audio/video, etc.)

Voyagers (info, score sample, audio, etc.)

Adonai Ro’i (Psalm 23) [Choral] [Solo] (info, score sample, audio/video, etc.)

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©2018 Gerald Cohen
  1. Adonai Ro’i (Psalm 23) (excerpt) (from Generations CD) Gerald Cohen, Marija Stroke 1:13
  2. Ordinary Breakfast (excerpt)—Duet from opera "Steal a Pencil for Me" Ilana Davidson, Robert Balonek, Ari Pelto 2:53
  3. Could it Be—Trio from opera "Sarah and Hagar" E. Shammash, I. Davidson, R. Gardner, M. Adelson 2:49
  4. L’fichach from V’higad’ta L'vincha (excerpt) (from Generations CD) Syracuse Children's Chorus, Barbara Tagg 1:21
  5. Lo Lanu (Psalm 115) (excerpt) Canticum Novum Singers, Harold Rosenbaum 1:17
  6. Slow, calm (excerpt) from Trio for Viola, Cello, and Piano (from Generations CD) Maria Lambros, Michael Kannen, Marija Stroke 1:12
  7. Grneta Variations (excerpt) (from Sea of Reeds CD) V. Dukovski, I. Lumanovski, A. Joan 1:05
  8. Dayeinu, from Sea of Reeds (from Sea of Reeds CD) V. Dukovski, I. Lumanovski, A. Joan 2:58
  9. Beyond the Heliosphere, final movement from "Voyagers" Vasko Dukovski, Cassatt String Quartet 7:30