Matthew will open the Oberlin Composition Department’s fall recital with the premiere of “The Breath of Bear.” This work for SSAATTBB chorus sets a poem by Matthew’s friend Patricia Lee Lewis.

“In August of 2024 I was sitting in the audience for an open rehearsal of Beethoven’s Triple‬‭ Concerto at Tanglewood Music Center. A woman seated next to me noticed me following along with the orchestral score, and we struck up a conversation about the music and the travels that brought us there. We hit it off fast and shared our thoughts throughout the rehearsal. I learned that she is an accomplished poet and‬ literary instructor, and we were soon pen pals, exchanging our work, ideas, and experiences. Collaborating on a choir piece seemed to be a natural step for this composer-poet friendship.

In her poem“The Breath of Bear”, Patricia Lee Lewis describes a peaceful burial. The speaker views their return to the land with a sense of tranquility. Their voice will live on in the sounds and the silence of the natural world, and their example will lead others to understanding. They recognize that all beings and all things are made of the same‬ dust. We are connected to the Earth from the beginning, no worldly accomplishments or investments required. I hope that by setting this text, I can help listeners feel this fundamental connection among all beings and between all beings and the Earth. We all belong in this shared space. Perhaps this is‬‭ the same connection which facilitates a friendship between a composer and poet separated by‬ hundreds of miles and nearly 70 years.‬”

-Matthew

The concert will be presented in Stull Recital Hall at the Oberlin Conservatory.