Photo: London Symphony Orchestra | photo by Nick Rutter

There are a number of ways to beat the heat of summer. For the PARMA production team, recording some of the world’s top orchestras and ensembles in studios across the globe is a sure fire way to keep cool. Read on for a deep dive into this month’s sessions with the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and more:

London Symphony Orchestra

The PARMA production team kicked off this month’s sessions overseas in London to record a number of works from a wide array of composers with the London Symphony Orchestra and cellist Ovidiu Marinescu of Trio Casals.

Cellist Ovidiu Marinescu during a recording session with the London Symphony Orchestra | photo by Nick Rutter

Over the course of three days, the team captured 12 orchestral works, several of them freshly composed for this recording. Composer Diane Jones shared her thoughts on the sessions:

“It was a wonderful session, and I was extremely pleased with both the process and the wonderful balance between Ovidiu and the orchestra.”
– Composer Diane Jones on sessions at LSO St Lukes

Among the works recorded at LSO St Lukes was a piece from Emmy Award Winning composer John Wineglass, who’s composition Bonny Doon was recently released on INVITING WORLDS from Navona Records following sessions earlier this year.

Composer John Wineglass and violinist Yumi Hwang-Williams during a recordings session with the London Symphony Orchestra | photo by Nick Rutter

Wineglass shared the origins of his work, #elijah, recorded on July 7 by the LSO:

“This piece is dedicated to the life of Elijah Jovan McClain, a 23-year old African-American massage therapist and amateur violinist from Aurora CO, who died six days after a violent encounter with police and paramedics on August 30, 2019, and to the lost lives of many people of color at the hands of those who are entrusted ‘to serve and protect.’”

Chamber Music Sessions

While orchestral productions were a big focus this month, the production team also worked with a number of chamber ensembles both at home and abroad.

  • John Rommereim recorded a collection of songs on the text of W.S Merwin at Mount Vernon NY’s Oktaven Audio with baritone Thomas Meglioranza and pianist Reiko Uchida. These songs will be released alongside other works by Rommeriem on a future album.

  • On the other side of the Atlantic, the team returned to the Czech Republic’s Ostrava House of Culture with the Benda Quartet to record late composer Lawrence K. Moss’s String Quartet No. 5

  • In Prague, composer Alla Cohen had her piece, Watercolors of the Master who is Accustomed to Paint Oils recorded and performed by clarinetist Karel Dohnal and pianist Martin Kasík.

  • Composer Sarah Wallin Huff synced up with the production team at Rockport MA’s Shalin Liu Performance Center to record two works, Nevermore with violist Charlotte Goode and pianist Yoko Hagino, and Wabi-Sabi with the Juventas New Music Ensemble.

Royal Scottish National Orchestra

July’s Productions concluded at Scotland’s Glasgow Royal Concert Hall with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, where the team captured a rhythmically-exciting and melodic Piano Concerto by composer Steve Law, and composer Barbara Jazwinski’s Fantasy on Jazz, an orchestral homage to the music of New Orleans. With these projects in the books and more on the horizon, we’re looking forward to a number of orchestral projects in the months ahead, and continued collaboration with the RSNO scheduled for early 2023.