VALERIE COLEMAN FLUTIST & COMPOSER
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AMAZONIA
A Tribute to the Amazon Rainforest
for Flute and Piano

NOW AVAILABLE IN THE VCOLEMAN MUSIC STORE!!!
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

This work was made possible by the Flute New Music Consortium, with support of 62 flutist co-commissioners who will premiere the work, led by Juilliard/Stonybrook University Flute professor and icon, Carol Wincenc. 

Premiere Performances

​Laura Pillman, flute + Paul Sweet, piano
January 17, 2020, 5:30pm
Bethany Christian Church
Tulsa, OK
.
Carol Wincenc, flute + Hsin-Chiao Liao, piano
January 18, 2020, 8PM
FNMC New Music Festival
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, NY
.
Amy Likar,
January 18, 2020, 7pm
“An Evening of Music by Valerie Coleman”: A Fundraiser for the Oakland Symphony
Piedmont Center for the Arts, Piedmont, CA
.
Tessa Brinckman, flute + Miles Graber, piano
January 19, 2020, 7pm
@ Aretè Venue & Gallery,
67 West St, #103, Brooklyn NY
.
Misty Theisen, flute + Brad Curtioff, piano
January 20, 2020, 6pm
MLK Day at Mars Hill University, Owen Theatre
.
Elizabeth Robinson, flute + Paul Sweet, piano
January 21, 2020, 7pm
Northeastern State University
Tahlequah, OK
.
Misty Theisen, flute + Brad Curtioff, piano
January 21, 2020, 7:30pm
Mars Hill University
Mars Hill , NC
.
Karen Large, flute + Deloise Lima, piano
January 21, 2020, 7:30pm
Faculty Recital
Dohnanyi Recital Hall, Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL
.
Naomi Seidman, flute + Christopher Guzman, piano
January 23, 2020, 7:30pm
Faculty Recital
Penn State University
.
Alexandra Aguirre, flute + Farren Rowan, piano
January 24, 2020 7:30pm
East Central University, Ataloa Theatre
Ada, OK
.
Sarah Jane Young, flute + Dean Peiskee, piano
January 24, 2020, 8pm
Florida Flute Association Convention
Orlando, FL
.
Kathryn Thomas Umble, flute + Anthony Ruggiero, piano
January 25, 2020, 7:00pm
McDonough Museum of Art
Youngstown, OH
.
Carmen Lemoine, flute
February 15, 2020 3:30pm
Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention, Colvin Run Room
Hilton Washington Dulles Airport
.
Carmen Lemoine, flute
March 7, 2020
Mid-South Flute Festival
University of North Alabama
.
Ginevra Petrucci, flute + Jory Vinikour, piano
March 18, 2020, 12pm
UC Berkeley Noon Concert Series
Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
.
.
Commissioning members, if you have an upcoming performance or if you’ve performed Amazonia and it is not listed, please submit your information here: https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSeR1h9eXVEE0QbLhn…/viewform

Picture
PROGRAM NOTES:
Amazonia is a dedication to what is considered to be the “lungs of the earth”, 
and is a poem that describes its natural beauty that progressively becomes destroyed, 
as the dark aspects of human nature intrude upon its vitality. The work begins at Sunrise with the sounds of nocturnal animals like frogs and insects enjoying the last parts of the night, the sounds of croaking and leaves moving erratically throughout the foliage. Tree frogs, Tamarin monkeys, and macaws sing their sounds, while drips of dew fall from the leaves, and provides a raindrop-esque motif throughout the first part of the work. The opening motif in the flute gives a fragmented taste of the grooves and rhythms found in Brazilian music. 

As the Amazonia scene is set, a simple melody emerges representing the carefree children of the Amazon, who innocently play throughout the jungle and river, immune to the dangers that lurk around them. The melody itself is a sweet dance that turns to a more mature stance that describes the peaceful pride of the tribal adults. Theirs is an intentional way of life that is unimpeded by technology and urban landscape, greed and crime. Following a brief flute cadenza, the section ends with a still life Sunset of reds, oranges and yellows.

As the work unfolds, darker elements soon cloud the landscape, in a section called, Menacing. The piano ominously marks the entrance of poachers and mercenaries into the rainforest, with an aggressive yet stealthy march. Their job is to drive out the tribes from the forest through intimidation and assault. Here the flute becomes the aggressor as its lower register articulates the word, fire, in Morse code as an impending signal to the burnings that will soon occur. Elements of Samba emerge within the Piu Mosso section (ms. 180), with the piano part dancing a macabre dance that symbolizes greed, as corporate interests circle the forest like vultures about to feast on the defenseless. Shouts, run, and anger precede the start of fire trickling through the rainforest, signified by a single note shared between the flute and piano that chromatically undulates and becomes more intense as the fires build and consume. Amazonia ends on an intense panic of shrieks and screams. 

As the fires in the Amazon rainforest have decimated thousands of acres, I felt it important to memorialize what was once a natural wonder undisturbed by the greed of man. 
  • About
    • BIO
    • umama womama
    • Umoja Anthem of Unity
    • Seven O'Clock Shout
    • Fanfare for Uncommon Times
    • AMAZONIA
    • Phenomenal Women
    • Shot Gun Houses
  • Media
    • MATISSERIES
    • News & Events >
      • Events
      • 2021 News
      • 2020 News
      • 2019 News
      • 2018 News
      • Masterclasses
    • Videos
    • PHOTOS
  • Works
  • VColeman Music Store
    • Rental Catalog
  • Flute Studio at Mannes
  • Contact
    • CONTACT INFO
    • Rentals
    • Licensing