Melia Watras

PLAY/WRITE

Planet M Records (2024)

Planet M Records presents Melia Watras’s Play/Write, a showcase for the violist as both performer and composer and celebration of creative friendships, with all but one of the works marking a world premiere recording. In addition to Watras’s performances and compositions, the album highlights the poems of Herbert Woodward Martin, and features compositions by Frances White and Pulitzer Prize finalist Leilehua Lanzilotti. Performers include violinists Rachel Lee Priday and Michael Jinsoo Lim, harpist Valérie Muzzolini, narrator/vocalists Sheila Daniels and Carrie Henneman Shaw, and the Brazen butterfly ensemble conducted by David Alexander Rahbee.

Melia Watras, viola/composer ● Sheila Daniels, narrator ● Leilehua Lanzilotti, composer ● Rachel Lee Priday, violin ● Michael Jinsoo Lim, violin ● Herbert Woodward Martin, voice/poet ● Valérie Muzzolini, harp ● James Pritchett, writer ● David Alexander Rahbee, conductor ● Carrie Henneman Shaw, voice ● Frances White, composer ● Brazen butterfly ensemble: Violin I: Michael Jinsoo Lim (concertmaster), Jennifer Caine Provine (assistant concertmaster), Annika Kounts; Violin II: Sol Im (principal), Heewon Park, Liza Zurlinden; Viola: Erin Wight (principal), Kayleigh Miller, Daniel Stone; Cello: Eric Han (principal), Olga Ruvinov, Christopher Young

Producer: Judith Sherman ●  Engineer: David Sabee ● Assistant engineer: Dave West ● Editing assistant: Jeanne Velonis ● Mastering: Judith Sherman and Jeanne Velonis

Melia Watras (b. 1969)
5 Poems of Herbert Woodward Martin for narrator, violin and viola (2021)*
① Fragment for Emily Dickinson 2:54
② Prima volta 0:43
③ Normal Desires 2:25
④ Seconda volta 0:50
⑤ Mystery 4:15
⑥ In Pandemic Times 1:56
⑦ Terza volta 0:35
⑧ Song: An Endless Flight 2:57
Carrie Henneman Shaw, voice; Michael Jinsoo Lim, violin; Melia Watras, viola

Melia Watras
⑨ A brazen butterfly alights for violin solo, harp and strings (2021)* 6:46
Melia Watras, viola; Valérie Muzzolini, harp; David Alexander Rahbee, conductor; Brazen butterfly ensemble

Melia Watras
⑩ Echo for violin solo (2020)* 5:21
Rachel Lee Priday, violin

Frances White (b. 1960)
⑪ As night falls for violin, viola narrator and electronic sound (2012)* 18:23
Michael Jinsoo Lim, violin; Melia Watras, viola; Sheila Daniels, narrator

Leilehua Lanzilotti (b. 1983)
⑫ ko’u inoa for solo viola (2017) 6:38
Melia Watras, viola

Melia Watras
⑬ Hertabuise for narrator and violin (2021)* 3:03
Herbert Woodward Martin, narrator; Michael Jinsoo Lim, violin

Melia Watras
⑭ Weeping Pendula for voice and loop pedal (2021)* 6:37
Carrie Henneman Shaw, voice

Leilehua Lanzilotti
⑮ to be two for violin and viola (2021)* 5:29
Michael Jinsoo Lim, violin; Melia Watras, viola

*World premiere recording