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February 2025
Premiere of "White Lilies" with the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra
Organization: The Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra
Venue: The Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall (13350 FSW Pkwy, Fort Myers FL 33919, USA)
Details: In February of 2025, Mary premiered her latest orchestral work, "White Lilies", with Maestro Andrew Lipke and the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra. Singularly composed largely — but not entirely — in the dissonant Locrian mode, "White Lilies" is a new musical setting of “James Harris/The Daemon Lover” (a 17th-century Scottish poem in which a married woman is visited by her long lost love, whom she thought had died at sea). The premiere took place during the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra's "You've Got Mail!: Musical Love Letters" Valentine's Day program at the Barbara B. Mann Performance Hall in Fort Myers, FL, USA on February 14th 2025.
May 2024-May 2025
Composer Residency at The Vasilicos of Santorini, Greece (May 2024) and Commission/Release of "EFTA Suite" (July 2024-May 2025)
Organization: The Vasilicos (https://www.thevasilicos.com)
Details: Mary was 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 of May 2024, Mary took notes and conducted research for a new string quartet suite 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 resulting two-movement work, "EFTA Suite", was composed in July-September 2024 and recorded by members of The Budapest Scoring Orchestra in October 2024, in partnership with The Vasilicos. "EFTA Suite" was released to all streaming platforms on May 16th 2025, and a live concert premiere is anticipated for the future.
January 2023
Release of “Oh, the OF It All!” Orchestral Recording and Music Video
Organization: John J King, Playwright (https://www.j-rexplays.com)
Details: “Oh, the OF It All!” is a nine-minute “miniature” orchestral ballet work by composer Mary Bichner and librettist John J King, celebrating American illustrator Edward Gorey’s fondness for the New York City Ballet and its legendary choreographer, George Balanchine. The work is arranged for a traditional mid-sized ballet orchestra consisting of: 2 flutes (flute + flute/piccolo), 2 oboes (oboe + oboe/English horn), 2 clarinets (clarinet + bass clarinet), 2 bassoons (bassoon + bassoon/contrabassoon), 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones (2 tenor + 1 bass), tuba, timpani, percussion (snare drum, triangle, gong), piano, celesta, harp, and string orchestra. “Oh, the OF It All!” was recorded by the Budapest Scoring Orchestra at Rottenbiller Studio in Budapest, Hungary in October of 2022, and released as a digital single on January 30th 2023. An accompanying music video, featuring live footage of the orchestra paired with the ballet libretto’s text so that viewers can follow along with the story, was released on the same date. (View the music video HERE, and the full "Oh, the OF It All!" project page HERE.)
May 2022-May 2024
Opera: The Memoirs of Antonina ("Official" Version)
Details: “The Memoirs of Antonina” is a three-act opera inspired by Marie Antoinette of France. Taking its name from a slanderous 18th-century tract about the queen’s rumored exploits and indiscretions, “The Memoirs of Antonina” focuses on the final years of Marie Antoinette’s life, and pits two versions of the queen (performed by two different singers) against one another: the imagined breezy libertine derided by revolutionary pamphleteers, and the distraught historical figure determined to reclaim her reputation. Three recitatives and five arias from the opera received their piano/vocal premiere at the Central Square Theater of Cambridge, MA, USA on September 2nd 2018 as part of The Nora Theatre Company’s emerging artists workshop series. A first musical draft of the opera was completed in 2017-2019, with an "official" version completed in 2022-2024. Mary is currently at work on the opera's orchestrations. (More information on this piece can be found on the “Memoirs of Antonina” mini-site right HERE.)
November 2021-Present [ ONGOING ]
“Rencontres Poétiques” Collaborative Concert Series (France + USA)
Organizations: Christina Goh: Composer, Poet, and Performer; The Museum of Science, Boston; Muse & Ruse Production; Sabine Soury Poussard; the City of Tours; the Bibliothèque centrale de Tours; The Saché Castle; le Département de Touraine; the National Union for Suicide Prevention France; Le Centre des Monuments Nationaux (National Monuments Center of France); l’Office National des Forêts de France; the City of Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire; the Boston Athenaeum; and the French Library of Boston.
Details: “Rencontres Poétiques” is a poetry-focused international concert series created by composers Mary Bichner [USA] and Christina Goh [France]. The series features musical settings composed by Bichner and Goh for classic poems in both French and English; inspired by the works of Yves Bonnefoy, Phillis Wheatley, Honoré de Balzac, Edgar Allan Poe, Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, Emily Dickinson, and more. The first edition of the concert took place in Boston, MA, USA on April 13th 2022 at the Museum of Science Boston’s Mugar Omni Theatre. The event featured a world premiere from each composer, as well as gorgeous visuals custom-made by the Museum’s award-winning artistic teams accompanying each song via the theatre’s five-story screen. The second edition of the concert took place in Tours, France on October 20th 2022 at Le Centre Musical Jean de Ockeghem, a beautiful 12th-century abbey turned performance venue, complete with a multi-sensory pre-show experience that included color-changing lights, images, and immersive sound. The third edition took place during France’s National Poetry Month (known as “Le printemps des poètes”) on Thursday, March 28th 2024 at Salons Ronsard in Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire, France; with an accompanying informational exhibit illustrating the poets performed. The fourth edition of "Rencontres Poétiques" took place at the historic Boston Athenaeum on April 10th 2025, and featured the world premiere of Goh and Bichner's collaborative Dante-inspired work, "Nostra vita (éternelle clarté)". (More information on this series can be found on the “Rencontres Poétiques” mini-site HERE).
June 2021-October 2021
Collaboration as part of Christina Goh’s “Ut Fortis”
Organizations: Christina Goh: Composer, Poet, and Performer (https://www.christina-goh.com); in partnership with Réseau VIES 37, the Institut de Touraine (https://www.institutdetouraine.com), and the Université de Tours (https://www.univ-tours.fr)
Venue: Université de Tours (60 Rue du Plat d’Étain, 37000 Tours, France)
Details: Mary was honored to have been invited by composer, poet, and performer Christina Goh to participate in Goh’s “Ut Fortis”; a multi-media, multi-artist event centered on the important topic of suicide prevention. The concert took place on June 11th 2021 at the Université de Tours in Tours, France; and featured performances by Christina Goh, Catherine Capozzi, Gotham Aymar, G.K Noland, Les Passeurs de Legendes, Maxime Perrin, Noah Preminger, Jacques Moury Beauchamp, and Mary Bichner. One month later, the concert was broadcast by TV Tours Val de Loire on Sunday July 11th 2021, and again Sunday September 11th 2021. To close the project, Ms. Goh released the EP “Double Trinome” on October 4th 2021 (Mary appears as a guest singer on the track “Ut Fortis”).
June 2021
Masterclass Series Presentation at the Institut de Touraine
Organizations: The Institut de Touraine (https://www.institutdetouraine.com), and Christina Goh: Composer, Poet, and Performer (https://www.christina-goh.com)
Venue: Institute of Touraine (1 Rue de la Grandière, 37020 Tours, France)
Details: Mary was honored to have been invited to speak as part of the Institut de Touraine’s Masterclass series on June 9th 2021 in Tours, France. The class consisted of a presentation on Mary’s compositional process as well as her use of synesthesia in her work, and a Q&A session for audience questions.
May 2020-August 2021
Commission: Composer for John J King’s “Fair Isle"
Organization: John J King, Playwright (https://www.j-rexplays.com)
Details: In 2020-2021, Mary composed the musical score for "Fair Isle", a fifteen-minute orchestral “mini” opera, with librettist John J King. Inspired by an episode in the life of American illustrator/author Edward Gorey, “Fair Isle” tells the tale of Ted (Edward Gorey) and Tom, two friends in the midst of a month-long trip through the Scottish Isles. With Tom, Ted’s heart swells like a storming sea, but – as Ted searches for the right words – Tom’s feelings remain firmly planted on earthy matters. A live premiere of this work is anticipated for the future. (More information on this opera, including the libretto music video, can be found on the “Fair Isle” mini-site right HERE.)
January 2019-May 2019
Commission: “Senses of Summer” for Aeronaut and WGBH’s Pindrop Sessions Concert Series
Organizations: Pindrop Sessions @ Aeronaut Brewing Company (https://www.aeronautbrewing.com), in partnership with WGBH (https://www.wgbh.org), and 99.5 WCRB/Classical Radio Boston (https://www.classicalwcrb.org)
Details: Three-movement, synesthesia-inspired musical setting of excerpts from James Agee’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915” for soprano and woodwind quintet. Commissioned by Aeronaut Brewing Company for the Pindrop Sessions, a classical music concert series presented in partnership with WGBH and 99.5 WCRB/Classical Radio Boston. Premiered live by Phoenix and soprano Margot Rood during the Pindrop Sessions’ season 2 finale concert at Aeronaut Brewing Company on May 5th 2019. (More information an be found on the “Senses of Summer” project page HERE).
September 2018-December 2018
Composer-in-Residence at The Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico
Organization: The Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico (https://www.wurlitzerfoundation.org)
Details: Mary was honored to have been granted a three-month artist residency at The Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico for September through December of 2018. While in residence, she worked on the first draft of “The Memoirs of Antonina”, a three-act opera inspired by the final years of Marie Antoinette’s life.
September 2018
Preview Concert for “The Memoirs of Antonina”
Organization: The Nora Theatre Company [AEA] (https://www.centralsquaretheater.org)
Venue: Central Square Theater (450 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge MA 02139)
Details: Preview concert for Mary’s full-length opera “The Memoirs of Antonina”, which featured the world premiere of three recitatives and five arias. The sold-out concert took place on September 2nd 2018 at the Central Square Theater of Cambridge, MA, USA; and starred Helen Zhibing Huang as Marie Antoinette, Emily Thorner as Antonina, Neal Ferreira as Louis XVI, and Junhan Choi as Jacques Hébert, with music direction by conductor and operatic vocal coach Tim Ribchester. (More information on the opera can be found on the “Memoirs of Antonina” project page HERE).
July 2018
Performance of “King’s Chapel” for Vento Chiaro’s “The Boston Project” at Boston University Tanglewood Institute
Organization: Vento Chiaro (https://www.ventochiaro.org)
Venue: Trinity Episcopal Church (88 Walker St., Lenox, MA 01240)
Details: Boston wind quintet Vento Chiaro performed “King’s Chapel”, a work they commissioned Mary to compose for the ensemble’s “Boston Project” 20th anniversary series, during their Boston University Tanglewood Institute Faculty recital at Trinity Episcopal Church of Lenox, MA, USA on July 11th 2018.
December 2017-May 2018
Commission: “Boston Common” and “King’s Chapel” for Vento Chiaro’s “The Boston Project”
Organization: Vento Chiaro (https://www.ventochiaro.org)
Details: To celebrate their 20th anniversary season, renowned Boston wind quintet Vento Chiaro commissioned Mary to compose a pair of works for the ensemble’s newest series, “The Boston Project”. Mary created two new compositions — one inspired by Boston Common, and one by King’s Chapel — using her sound-to-color synesthesia, which were premiered by Vento Chiaro during the inaugural “Boston Project” concert at Forest Hills Cemetery of Boston, MA, USA on May 6th 2018.
December 2017
Recipient of a 2017 Iguana Music Fund Grant
Organization: The Iguana Music Fund & Club Passim (https://www.passim.org)
November 2017-June 2020
“Synesthesia Suite: Live” Concert Series with The Museum of Science, Boston and World Premiere of “Synesthesia Suite: Constellations”
Organization: The Museum of Science, Boston (https://www.mos.org)
Venue: Charles Hayden Planetarium (1 Science Park, Boston MA 02114, USA)
Details: From 2017-2020, Mary collaborated annually with the Museum of Science, Boston on the groundbreaking “Synesthesia Suite: Live” concert series: an immersive musical event in which live performances of Mary’s compositions (performed by Mary Bichner and Planetary Quartet) were paired with customized 360° full-dome visuals created by the Museum’s award-winning planetarium team. The visuals for each piece were directly inspired by Mary’s synesthesia, allowing audience members the unique opportunity to “hear” color and “see” sound just as Mary does when she listens to music. The 2017 version also included the premiere of Mary's "Synesthesia Suite: Constellations", a collection of chamber works inspired by constellations found in the New England night sky in spring. (More information on this project, including photos and videos from the live events as well as collaborators for each, can be found HERE.)
April 2017-May 2019
Opera: The Memoirs of Antonina (Draft One - "Official Version" completed in May 2024)
Details: “The Memoirs of Antonina” is a three-act opera inspired by Marie Antoinette of France. Taking its name from a slanderous 18th-century tract about the queen’s rumored exploits and indiscretions, “The Memoirs of Antonina” focuses on the final years of Marie Antoinette’s life, and pits two versions of the queen (performed by two different singers) against one another: the imagined breezy libertine derided by revolutionary pamphleteers, and the distraught historical figure determined to reclaim her reputation. Three recitatives and five arias from the opera received their piano/vocal premiere at the Central Square Theater of Cambridge, MA, USA on September 2nd 2018 as part of The Nora Theatre Company’s emerging artists workshop series. A first musical draft of the opera was completed in 2017-2019, with an "official" version completed in 2022-2024. Mary is currently at work on the opera's orchestrations. (More information on this piece can be found on the “Memoirs of Antonina” mini-site right HERE.)
May 2016-November 2017
Composer-in-Residence at Mount Auburn Cemetery and Commission of "Mount Auburn Cemetery: Spring and Autumn Suites"
Organization: Mount Auburn Cemetery (https://www.mountauburn.org)
Details: Mary was honored to take part in a two-year composer residency at the historic Mount Auburn Cemetery of Cambridge, MA, USA. In the first year of her residency, Mary composed twelve new works inspired by the cemetery’s breathtaking landscape and landmarks, using her sound-to-color synesthesia to select the musical components that best “match” the natural color palette of each location at different times of year. In January of 2017, the works were recorded by a 19-piece chamber orchestra at WGBH Studios of Boston MA, and were released online as a digital album on June 3rd 2017. The works were premiered at Mount Auburn Cemetery in concert on June 3rd 2017 (Spring Suite) and November 4th 2017 (Autumn Suite). The audio recordings were also featured in Mount Auburn Cemetery’s 2017-era mobile app, allowing visitors to the cemetery to experience the music in the setting that inspired it. (View a brief documentary of this project HERE, and the full Mount Auburn Cemtery Composer Residency project page HERE.)
May 2016
Composer-in-Residence at Marble House Project
Organization: Marble House Project (https://www.marblehouseproject.org)
Details: While at Marble House from May 2nd through May 25th 2016; Mary began composing a series of vocal and instrumental works inspired by the night sky’s constellations entitled “Synesthesia Suite: Constellations”, which premiered at the Museum of Science Boston on November 30th 2017.