NEWS
Travelogue: "Rencontres poétiques" Concert Week in Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire, FRance (MARCH 2024)
April 15, 2024
(Above: Salons Ronsard, the beautiful concert venue for "Rencontres Poétiques".)
From March 24th-30th 2024, Mary was delighted to visit the city of Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire, France to perform with composer Christina Goh in the third edition of their poetry inspired concert series, "Rencontres Poétiques". While in Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire, Mary was also honored to meet with the wonderful offices and organizations that made the concert possible, as well as perform in a children's edition of the concert for a local elementary school group. Here are some memories and photos from the week!:
--> CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TRAVELOGUE (WITH PHOTOS)
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GUEST PERFORMER ON CHRISTINA GOH'S NEW ALBUM, ANDROMEDE, RELEASED TODAY
April 12, 2024
Mary is honored to be featured as a guest performer on ANDROMEDE; the beautiful new album by composer, blues vocalist, and poet Christina Goh; released today. Here is description of the album by distributor Sergent Company Ltd:
"With ANDROMEDE, the vocalist [Christina Goh] redefines her time frame: her powerful, soulful voice retraces the story of Ovid's mythical Andromeda with a set of wonders rooted in forgotten blues and a strangely contemporary sound. Here, the composer's frequencies twirl between percussion, authentic electric instruments from the 70s and the electronic sounds of the 21st century."
Mary was inivited to play piano for the final track of the album, "Wings of Imagination"; Christina's gorgeous musical setting of the Phillis Wheatley poem, On Imagination.
ANDROMEDE is available as both a physical and digital album, via online music shops as well as all major streaming services.
Congrats to Christina Goh on this amazing new album, and everyone go give a listen to ANDROMEDE!
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“Rencontres Poétiques” - THANK YOU!
April 3, 2024
Thank you so much to everyone who joined us for "Rencontres Poétiques" at the beautiful Salons Ronsard in Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire, France on March 28th! It was a joy to perform for you, and to share such a wonderful experience together.
And a VERY special thanks to the town of Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire, Salons Ronsard, Art et Poésie de Touraine, Hommes et Patrimoines Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire, France/États-Unis Touraine, and and all of the wonderful people and organizations who made this unique concert and incredible week of collaboration possible!
More info and media on the concert will be posted in the coming weeks. Until then, merci beaucoup and wishing everyone a beautiful spring season!
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“Rencontres Poétiques” Concert Featured in La Nouvelle République
March 26, 2024
French newspaper La Nouvelle République has published an article about Mary Bichner and Christina Goh’s sold-out “Rencontes Poétiques” concert in today's Tours edition!
You can read the full article online right here (in French):
And here is a brief snippet from the article translated into English:
"On Thursday March 28, 2024 at 7 p.m., international blues vocalist Christina Goh and award-winning synesthete and orchestral composer Mary Bichner offer a poetic encounter in sound and light in the Ronsard salons, specially designed for this unique show. [...] 'With this concert, the audience must be able to experience another universe in which we associate sight with hearing,' explains Christina Goh. Indeed, Mary Bichner who is a synesthete orchestrator, 'sees the music'. When she composes, synesthesia allows her to associate musical notes with specific colors."
Thank you so much to one and all, and looking forward to Thursday’s concert in Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire!
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sold out: “Rencontres Poétiques” with Christina Goh in Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire, France
March 15, 2024
The third edition of Rencontres Poétiques, the collaborative poetry-inspired concert series by composers Christina Goh (France) and Mary Bichner (USA), is now sold out! The concert will take place on March 28th 2024 @ 7:00pm at the beautiful Salons Ronsard in Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire, France.
Rencontres Poétiques will feature musical settings composed by Christina and Mary for classic poems in both French and English; inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Yves Bonnefoy, Phillis Wheatley, Honoré de Balzac, Benjamin Franklin, Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, Emily Dickinson, and more. The date of the concert is timed to coincide with France’s National Poetry Month, also known as “Le printemps des poètes”.
Although the concert is sold out, if any additional tickets become available, it will be via this link.
Thank you so much to Christina Goh, the town of Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire, Salons Ronsard, Art et Poésie de Touraine, and Hommes et Patrimoines Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire for their partnership in this concert. And looking forward to seeing everyone on March 28th!
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COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE AT THE VASILICOS OF SANTORINI, GREECE IN MAY OF 2024; new string quartet work
January 15, 2024
( Photo Credit: Nikos Alexopoulos )
Composer Mary Bichner is honored to have been named artist-in-residence for 2024 by The Vasilicos, an elegant seven-suite boutique hotel perched on the magnificent Caldera of Santorini, Greece; as part of its “[To Build] A [Temporary] Home” ad hoc residency program.
While in residence in late May 2024, Mary will begin the composition of a new string quartet work using her sound-to-color synesthesia, inspired by the rainbow hues of the world-famous Santorini sunset as viewed from The Vasilicos’ Efta balcony.
The work will later be recorded in partnership with The Vasilicos, with a live premiere anticipated for the future.
Mary is the third artist-in-residence in the program, and the first composer in its history. Previous recipients of the residency include Felicia Simion (2022) and Saori Kuno (2013).
More information on The Vasilicos can be found on their official website, and more information on their ad hoc residency program can be found via the “[To Build] A [Temporary] Home” subpage.
Thank you so much to the Vasilicos for this amazing collaboration, and more updates to follow soon!
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NEW COMPOSITION: "WHITE LILIES" FOR ALTO VOCALIST AND ORCHESTRA (FORTHCOMING)
January 8, 2024
( Photo Credit: Nikos Alexopoulos )
“White Lilies” is a new work for vocalist and orchestra by composer Mary Bichner. The piece is a brand new musical setting of the 17th-century Scottish poem “James Harris/The Daemon Lover”, which tells the story of a married woman who is visited by her long lost love, whom she thought had died at sea.
The lyrics to the work are a composite of the eight versions of the poem found in The English and Scottish Popular Ballads by Francis James Child [1825-1896], with a few lyrical variations and re-wordings added in by the composer, to preserve the newly-created melody line and structure (as well as to change to storyline just slightly, to make it a bit more operatic :)).
Singularly, Mary has composed “White Lilies” largely — but not entirely — in the Locrian mode, a dissonant modal scale rarely used in Western music due to its instability. The Locrian mode’s mysterious and unsettling energy lends itself perfectly to the historical poem’s haunting tale.
A piano-and-vocal version of “White Lilies” was completed in November and December of 2023, with an orchestral version currently in progress. A live premiere of the piano-and-vocal version is anticipated for Summer/Autumn 2024 (more info TBA), with a recording and live premiere of the orchestral version to follow in the future.
For more info on "White Lilies" and/or to request a demo recording of the piano-and-vocal version, please contact the composer at: info@marybichner.com
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New concert: “Rencontres Poétiques” with Christina Goh at Salons Ronsard in Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire, France on March 28th 2024
January 3, 2024
Composers Christina Goh (France) and Mary Bichner (USA) are delighted to announce that Rencontres Poétiques, their collaborative poetry-inspired concert series, will be returning to the stage on March 28th 2024 @ 7:00PM. This latest edition of the concert will take place at the beautiful Salons Ronsard in the city of Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire, France.
The date of the concert is timed to coincide with France’s National Poetry Month in March, also known as “Le printemps des poètes”.
Tickets are free and all ages, and can be reserved via the following link: https://www.saint-cyr-sur-loire.com/Agenda/Rencontres-poetiques
Thank you so much to Christina Goh and Salons Ronsard for this wonderful new concert, and looking forward to March 28th!
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New Year, New Website, New Photos
January 1, 2024
( Photo Credit: Emily O'Brien Photography )
It's a new year, and time for a new website! Welcome to the brand new version of marybichner.com, now programmed in Webflow.
The site also features brand new promo photos of Mary for 2024 by the wonderful Emily O’Brien Photography.
Please watch this space for new project and concert announcements coming soon!
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