Jonathan Russell

Composer, Clarinetist, Bass Clarinetist

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ELEVEN

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ELEVEN was written for the San Francisco Conservatory clarinet studio as a companion piece to Steve Reich’s New York Counterpoint (both are scored for 9 Bb and 2 bass clarinets). I am a great admirer of Reich’s unique combination of intricately interlocking patterns, jazzy harmony, and propulsive rhythms, and I have been greatly influenced by […]

Sqwonkzoforus Rex

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Sqwonkzoforus Rex was composed for my bass clarinet duo, Sqwonk, and the piano duo ZOFO. It came about when Sqwonk and ZOFO decided to split a concert program at Old First Church in San Francisco, and I couldn’t resist the opportunity to combine the two groups together in a new composition. As I thought about […]

Sonata for Bass Clarinet and Piano

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The Sonata for Bass Clarinet and Piano was composed for my good friend, pianist Kate Campbell. She asked me to write something for a piano recital she was giving, but rather than writing a solo piano piece, I thought it would be fun to write something we could play together. The resulting piece contrasts jazzy […]

Supra: saxophone choir version

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Supra is inspired by the folk music of the Republic of Georgia. In fall 2011, I started singing in a Georgian choir, and became increasingly fascinated by Georgian music and culture. A Supra is a traditional Georgian feast, used to celebrate a wide variety of occasions, from birthdays to weddings to holidays, featuring a constant […]

Supra: Low sax version

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Supra is inspired by the folk music of the Republic of Georgia. In fall 2011, I started singing in a Georgian choir, and became increasingly fascinated by Georgian music and culture. A Supra is a traditional Georgian feast, used to celebrate a wide variety of occasions, from birthdays to weddings to holidays, featuring a constant […]

Supra: B-flat clarinet and bass clarinet version

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(video is of nine bass clarinet version) Supra is inspired by the folk music of the Republic of Georgia. In fall 2011, I started singing in a Georgian choir, and became increasingly fascinated by Georgian music and culture. A Supra is a traditional Georgian feast, used to celebrate a wide variety of occasions, from birthdays […]

Supra: bass clarinet version

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Supra is inspired by the folk music of the Republic of Georgia. In fall 2011, I started singing in a Georgian choir, and became increasingly fascinated by Georgian music and culture. A Supra is a traditional Georgian feast, used to celebrate a wide variety of occasions, from birthdays to weddings to holidays, featuring a constant […]

Lord, Grant Us Thy Peace

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Lord, Grant Us Thy Peace is a plea for God’s presence and peace in the world. Beginning with a chant-like setting of St. Francis’ prayer “Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace,” it moves into a rhythmically driving, bluesy section based on texts from several psalms, all pleading and yearning for God’s presence: “Lord, […]

Three Joyce Songs

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Three Joyce Songs is a setting of three poems from James Joyce’s Chamber Music set of poetry. Each of the songs reflects on love in a different way, from the tenderness of the first song to the bitterness of the second, to the dreaminess of the third. The first and third songs were recorded by […]

The Cocktail Party

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The
 Cocktail 
Party 
takes
 as 
its 
text
 snippets 
of 
the 
sort 
of 
somewhat
 inane
 conversation 
you
 might
 overhear
 (or
 engage 
in) 
at 
a 
cocktail 
party.
 This
 text
 is
 set 
in
 a

 saccharine-yet-slightly-creepy 
barbershop 
quartet style.
 The
 result
 is
 meant 
to 
occupy
 an
 uncomfortable 
space
 in
 between 
mock‐
 and
 genuine 
beauty.

Essay

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Essay is a dark and brash piece. The title comes from the formal layout of the piece – the whole thing grows out of the opening material, and it has a very tight and logical developmental flow, like a well-structured argument. The title is potentially misleading however, in that it could imply a certain cerebral […]

Concertino

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Concertino begins with a gentle melody unfolding over simple sustained triads. To me, it evokes some sort of celestial object or glimmering crystal, seen at a distance against a backdrop of emptiness and silence; a luminous object in the void. This is followed by an interplay of three different types of music – a sharp, […]

Unhinged Carnival Fanfare Machine

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Unhinged Carnival Fanfare Machine is a boisterous, brash, concert-opener sort of a piece. It is built out of repeating bits of twisted fanfares, odd arpeggios, and off-kilter grooves that are layered, juxtaposed, and re-arranged in different ways, forming an ever-shifting kaleidoscope of riffs and colors. After a climactic build-up, the clarinets introduce a more lyrical, […]

You Are Here

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“…you are given just one momentary glimpse of the entire unimaginable infinity of creation, and somewhere in it a tiny little mark, a microscopic dot on a microscopic dot, which says, ‘You are here.’ ”  — Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe “…But you are here. You have always been here. […]

From the Stars in the Firmament to the Depths of the Sea

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From the Stars in the Firmament to the Depths of the Sea explores different types of resonances, from starry high-register clusters through lush mid-register seventh chords, to low, primordial triads. It animates these resonances in a variety of ways, from tolling bells to sweet melodies to bare half notes. The work has a certain lonely […]

Expanding and Contracting

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Expanding and Contracting is a meditative work that happens to have intricate mathematical processes underlying it. The piece is in three parts and the instrumentation is open; one part is for any keyboard, strummed, or mallet instrument(s); another part is for any treble melodic instrument(s); and the third part is for any two drums of […]

Night Dance (flute version)

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Night Dance is a brief, evocative work for flute (or clarinet) and guitar. It has no specific program, but its circling melodic cells, subtly shifting rhythmic grooves, and undulating harmonies evoke, for me, mysterious nocturnal creatures scurrying and dancing through an enchanted night forest. The seamless integration of improvisation and notated music in the piece […]

Night Dance (clarinet version)

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Night Dance is a brief, evocative work for clarinet (or flute) and guitar. It has no specific program, but its circling melodic cells, subtly shifting rhythmic grooves, and undulating harmonies evoke, for me, mysterious nocturnal creatures scurrying and dancing through an enchanted night forest. The seamless integration of improvisation and notated music in the piece […]

Lucid Dream

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The main melody and sonic image for Lucid Dream came to my mind quite suddenly while I was bicycling through San Francisco on a quiet night with a beautiful moon glowing on the horizon. I imagined a slow, quietly unfolding melody, with a halo of other pitches emanating out from it, like shards of crystal. […]

Full Faith and Credit

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Full Faith and Credit was inspired by the economic crisis that struck in 2008. Well before the crisis actually hit, I had become obsessed with the unsustainable nature of our economy, and with the huge housing bubble and endless sea of debt that seemed to be engulfing everything. When it all came crashing down, writing […]