WATCH

Songs for the People

Performed by Shannon Cochran (soprano) and Christina Lalog Seal (piano)

May 16th, 2021- Cincinnatti Song Initiative Season Finale, "Let It Be New", in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) 

Nebula

Composed, Mixed and Produced by Mason Bynes 

Performed by Nightingale Vocal Ensemble

STARDUST: Songs of the Cosmos Concert- October 16th, 2020

For Rosa 

Performed by The Westerlies 

Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT) 2020

The [Wreck]oning 

Performed by bassist  Samuel Zagnit and Daniel Murray 

Series presented by: Bass Players for Black Composers 

DRY

Director/Cinematographer: Claire Dejarnett

Original Song and Sound Design: Mason Bynes 

Pleiades 

an audio-visual "entrance" piece

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Seeking Persephone (2019) with poetry and voice over by Kathryn I.W. Sparks 

Following Orpheus (2019) with poetry and voice over by Kathryn I. W. Sparks 

Somebody Else  (opb: The 1975) - Green Tones/ arranged by Mason Bynes

Incipient Sonority 

poetry by Kathryn I. W. Sparks

Performed by: UpriSING Women's Chamber Choir 

The House

poetry by Gertrude Stein 

performed by Nick Alessi, tenor and Yukiko Nishimura, piano

Prayer to Persephone 

poetry by Edna St. Vincent, accompanied by the Seiklos  Epitaph  

Performed by: Hilary Grace Taylor, soprano | Kathleen Crabtree, viola | Jing Xu, piano 

LISTEN 

ZEUS

This piece is written for chamber ensemble- consisting of three electric guitars, electric bass and drum set. Zeus was the king of the Greek gods who lived on Mount Olympus. He is the father of Persephone and lover of Demeter. This piece serves to express Zeus's superiority and electric strength as the olympian god of the sky and thunder.

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Performed by: 

Mills Chaiken, electric guitar  

Roger Hunt, electric guitar 

Ethan Ditthardt, electric guitar 

Tyler Kysar, electric bass 

Alex Souris, drumset 

LOOKOUTS 

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Film directed by Claire Dejarnett. A man and woman seek refuge from the struggles of life in an abandoned watch tower. 

PERSEPHONE

Persephone, goddess of spring, is the daughter of Zeus and the harvest goddess Demeter. She was described by Homer as “the formidable venerable majestic princess of the underworld who carries into effect the curses of men upon the souls of the dead.” While in a garden, Persephone was stolen by Hades and taken to the underworld, where she became queen. The myth of her abduction is personified through vegetation. The growth of a new flower in spring and its death and retraction back into the earth during fall and winter serves as a symbol. This piece expresses both the beauty and harshness of Persephone’s life.

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Performed by cellist, Kourtney Newton