Hello friends,

Here is an excerpt from a stunning piece by Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin, The Sealed Angel for Chorus, Soloists, and Solo Flute. The chorus is The Bucks County Choral Society, conducted by Thomas Lloyd, who also had dancers Tim Early and Carrie Ellmore-Tallisch perform a dance Tim created. It is natural to have dance with Shchedrin’s music because he wrote several ballets for his wife, Maya Plisetskaya, former prima ballerina of the Bolshoi. I was fortunate to work with Shchedrin on his Three Shepherds, a piece for flute, oboe, and clarinet which incorporates movement, at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland years ago. Maya Plisetskaya was there and coached us on the movement – it was a memorable experience!