listen to my work
Here you can find my work as a composer and performer. Rather than separating them into distinct pages, on this page I've mixed them together so that you can get a complete taste of my musical life.
Berenbaum - Untitled (after Beksinski)
for Orchestra (2024)
Premiered by the Eastman Philharmonia under the direction of Tito Muñoz, this piece is an homage to the work of Polish dystopian surrealist painter ZdzisÅ‚aw BeksiÅ„ski. This work explores in particular the use way BeksiÅ„ski portrays the familiar in a way where it becomes completely alien.
Berenbaum - Little Funny Things Ceaselessly Happening
for Soprano and Fixed Media Electronics (2022/23)
Performed by the wonderful Mary Fetterman, this gigantic piece is a setting of the 19 page poem "Paris: A Poem" by Hope Mirrless. It takes the listener on a journey through post-WWI Paris, with the speaker taking the Line 12 north to the Concord Station then walking around observing the various French landmarks in the area.
Berenbaum - A Bass Trombonist's Homage to Cathy Berberian (2023)
for Amplified Bass Trombone
Another piece from my degree recital, this piece was composed to honor the great singer and composer Cathy Berberian, to whom I owe much as a composer of vocal music. Berberian was especially renowned for her ability to use "unusual" vocal techniques and to embody whole characters and emotions in her performances. This piece uses many vocal or vocal-like techniques on the trombone (or both at once!), with sections rapidly switching from pure anxiety to stillness to anger to laughter.
Berenbaum - A Fire Burns
for Piano
Performed by pianist Maeve Berry. This piece is about the Yiddish lullaby oyfn pripetchik, or "On The Hearth." My experience with this song was originally just in quotations from klezmer recordings; I knew the melody, but not the words or where it came from. It was only after years of this when I finally learned that it's a lullaby about children learning the alef-beys, or Hebrew alphabet. However, as the song progresses, the speaker reveals that the children need to learn to alphabet in order to be able to read about the sad history of the Jewish people. This song also has numerous versions with different lyrics, including one about smuggling goods into ghettos during the Holocaust. I wanted this piece to capture my experience of hearing this melody and later learning of its origin and deeply sad history.
Berenbaum - Sealed Lips (2023)
for Mezzo Soprano, Alto (offstage), Alto Flute (dbl. Picc.) Harp, Violin, Cello, and Percussion
A ghostly (yiddish!) song cycle after Anna Margolin's poetic cycle of the same name, this piece is a dialogute between a woman and the demons that beckon her to her death. The creatures call to her, eventually winning over the musicians on stage until she is alone, and then she too gives in.
I want to thank all the wonderful musicians who premiered this piece, with a special thank you to Luke Poeppel for his wonderful conducting!