OPERA LAGUNA — Step inside Laguna’s past with the world premiere of Ghosts of Laguna: Ye Arch Beach Tavern. After last year’s sold-out workshop, the opera returns with a newly scored chamber orchestration, an ensemble of singers, and an expanded story that reveals more of the town’s hidden history.
Set inside the once-thriving Arch Beach Tavern, Pamela Madsen’s score moves between the ethereal and the immediate, carrying us from the glow of silent films to the shadows of prohibition and capturing the spirit of town unlike any other.
Join us for the premiere of this evolving work and experience how history and imagination meet on stage in the heart of Laguna Beach.
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Da6pzhY5J/
Doors 7:00pm
Program 7:30pm
In this wonderful program, David discusses my work in a pre-concert lecture and the concert itself starts at the 58:30 mark.
Full program here: https://issuu.com/csuf_cota/docs/molly_pease_and_david_bergstedt
Longing (Tesknota) Song Cycle by Pamela Madsen
(from In America: Modjeska (2025))
(World Premiere)
I. Lost Father
II. Hymn to the Earth
III. A Tree Ascended There
IV. Arden
V. Parallel Disasters-Loss and Gain
***** Intermission *****
Which Side Are You On? (from North American Ballads) by Fredric Rzewski
Proof and Disproof (an opera for one alone) by Pamela Madsen
Movements V-VII
Recovery Family by Molly Pease
From I to We by Molly Pease
The Singing of the Waves: Nereid’s Lyre by Pamela Madsen
Approaches and Departures (from Four Meditations for Orchestra) by Pauline Oliveros
Molly Pease, voice
David Bergstedt, piano
CSUF New Music Ensemble
Molly Pease, mezzo-soprano, & David Bergstedt, piano
Friday, September 19, 2025 8:00pm
Meng Concert Hall, Cal State Fullerton
Program
Pamela Madsen, “Longing (Tesknota) Song Cycle from In America: Modjeska”
Fredric Rzewski, “Which Side Are You On?” from North American Ballads
Pamela Madsen, “Neried’s Lyre: the Singing of the Waves”
Pamela Madsen, “Proof and Disproof (an opera for one alone)…”
Movement V -VII
Molly Pease, “Recovery Family”
Pauline Oliveros, from “Four Meditations-Approaches and Departures”
About In America: Modjeska
In America: Modjeska for voice and piano focuses on immigration in America. The work follows the complex story of Helena Modjeska, a Polish immigrant and renowned Shakespearean actress who emigrated to the United States in the late 19th century for personal and political reasons. She settled in Southern California to establish the Bohemian artist community "Arden" in what is now Modjeska Canyon, near my home in Laguna Beach.
I am honored to the invited lecturer of MacDowell Downtown during my MacDowell residency on September 5th, 7:30pm. I will discuss my process and background that contributed to Why Women Went West, the current project In America: Modjeska, and the a focus on my work during the residency.
Lecture Description
I am a composer, pianist, writer, and curator of new music. My work spans immersive concert-length projects, solo compositions, chamber music, and multimedia opera collaborations, rooted in archival historical research, the evolution of compositional thought, deep listening, and the celebration of women in music. Notable projects include the Opera America, National Endowment for the Arts, and New Music USA awarded opera "Why Women Went West" and "Oratorio for the Earth." I have been recognized as a Huntington Library Fellow, Alpert Award Panelist, and Creative Capital artist “on the radar,” and have received residency fellowship awards from Copland House, MacDowell, UCross, Women’s International Studies Center, Wurlitzer, Huntington Library Mellon Foundation, and American Scandinavian Foundation. I am a professor of Music Composition at California State University, Fullerton, where I direct the New Music Ensemble, New Music Series, and InterArts Collaborative Projects.
I am excited to present my latest large-scale project: "In America: Modjeska!" This 40-minute concerto/aria project for piano and voice focuses on immigration in America. The work follows the complex story of Helena Modjeska, a Polish immigrant and renowned Shakespearean actress who emigrated to the United States in the late 19th century for personal and political reasons. She settled in Southern California to establish the Bohemian artist community "Arden" in what is now Modjeska Canyon, near my home in Laguna Beach. My work at MacDowell explores the legacy and impact of women artists, tracing this through archival research, site explorations, and the creation of new works influenced by the region. I will present the concerto/aria project "In America: Modjeska," featuring the song cycle "Tesknota" (“Longing”) with piano interludes inspired by MacDowell’s Woodland Sketches.
About MacDowell Downtown
MacDowell Downtown is a free series of presentations by MacDowell Fellows that are open to the public. It takes place on the first Friday of the month from March to November in downtown Peterborough, NH. Each season of MacDowell Downtown features a wide array of programming, including film screenings, readings, artist talks, interviews, musical performances, and more.
From June 11-21, No Exit will perform The Land of Little Rain Suite on their European tour.
No Exit brings their 2024-25 season to a close with a presentation of music from The Collective – an international consortium of composers who represent some of the most individual and poetic voices in new music today. This eclectic program will be performed throughout Europe by No Exit during the first 2 weeks of June. The concert will feature works by Agata Zubel, Mathew Rosenblum, Douglas Knehans, Spiros Mazis, Amy Kaplan, Constantine Koukias, Edward Smalldone, Timothy Beyer, Cindy Cox, Pamela Madsen and Jack Vees.
Full Tour Schedule
June 11, 2025 | The Land of Little Rain Suite in Athens, Greece
No Exit performs the Land of Little Rain Suite on their European tour, featuring composers from The Collective. This performance will be in the Black Box Theater at The American College of Greece. More info here.
June 13, 2025 | The Land of Little Rain Suite in Peruggia, Italy
No Exit performs the Land of Little Rain Suite on their European tour, featuring composers from The Collective. This performance will be at the Morlacchi Conservatory. More info here.
June 15, 2025 | The Land of Little Rain Suite in Wrocław, Poland
No Exit performs the Land of Little Rain Suite on their European tour, featuring composers from The Collective. This performance will be in the Akademii Muzycznej concert hall. More info here.
June 21, 2025 | The Land of Little Rain Suite in Amsterdam
No Exit performs the Land of Little Rain Suite on their European tour, featuring composers from The Collective. This performance will be in the Vondelkerk Amsterdam. More info here.
I will explore the creative process behind my Opera America award-winning work, "Why Women Went West." In the presentation, I discuss how my work documents historical dramas and revive the voices of women through archival research, collaboration, and deep listening at significant sites, aiming to impact the future.
This is a virtual presentation held via Zoom.
Full Blurb:
Pamela Madsen, an internationally acclaimed composer, performer, researcher, and director of the CSUF New Music Series, will share insights into her creative process, focusing on her Opera America award-winning work, Why Women Went West; Her diverse portfolio includes immersive concert-length projects, solo and chamber music, and multimedia opera collaborations, tackling themes of social change, image, music, text, and the environment. With a Ph.D. in Music Composition from UCSD and Yale University, and training in Deep Listening with Pauline Oliveros, Madsen’s research explores compositional evolution, improvisation, electronic music, and the role of women in music. As a composer, she documents historical dramas, reviving women’s voices through archival research, collaboration, and deep listening at significant sites, aiming to impact the future. Her major works include award-winning operas like Why Women Went West; Oratorio for the Earth; and There Will Come Soft Rains. exploring themes around Marie Curie, ancient sibyls, Arctic myths, and climate change. Madsen has been recognized as a Huntington Library Mellon Fellow, Alpert Award Panelist, and Creative Capital artist “on the radar”, with awards from the Copland Foundation, American Scandinavian Foundation, MacDowell, UCross, Women’s International Studies Center, and Wurlitzer Foundation. She currently serves as Professor of Music Composition at California State University, Fullerton.
On Thursday, May 22nd, 2025, at 7:30 PM in the DiMenna Center's Cary Hall, the League of Composers/ISCM presents a concert of innovative and expressive new works featuring premieres by Justin Weiss, Pamela Madsen, Paul Salerni, and Roger Reynolds. The Orchestra of the League of Composers will be conducted by Louis Karchin and David Fulmer.
Thursday | May 22, 2025 | 7:30 pm
The DiMenna Center for Classical Music
Cary Hall
450 West 37th Street
New York, NY
Program
Justin Weiss: through depths and shadows (NY Premiere)
Winner, 2024 League-ISCM Competition for New Works
Pamela Madsen: Melting Away: Gravity (Premiere of the version for Sinfonietta)
featuring Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek, mezzo-soprano
Paul Salerni: The Oak and the Reed (NY Premiere)
featuring Domenic Salerni, violin
Roger Reynolds: JOURNEY (U.S. premiere)
featuring Jacqueline Leclair, oboe
Tickets: $25 Advance | $35 Doors | $15 Student/Senior (w/ ID, Senior 65+)
Doors open: 7:00 PM
The Trio ACG performs The Consecrating Mother from Oratorio for the Earth on March 21st and 22nd in Greece. Performances feature works by the international composer group — The Collective — at The American College of Greece and Ionian Academy.
March 21, 2025 | The Consecrating Mother in Athens, Greece
Trio ACG performs The Consecrating Mother for voice, cello, and piano at The American College of Greece.
March 22, 2025 | The Consecrating Mother on Corfu, Greece
Trio ACG performs The Consecrating Mother for voice, cello, and piano at Ionian Academy.
2025 Grammy Award winners SO Percussion are coming to CSUF!
Shaw and So Percussion won a Grammy for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance for their album “Rectangles and Circumstance”.
Keep an eye out for CSUF events:
Feb. 19th-Percussion Room 119
Workshop/Masterclass 7:30-8:30PM
Open Rehearsal with So Percussion and CSUF New Music Ensemble 8:30-9:30PM
Feb. 20th, Concert 8PM Meng Hall works by SŌ AT FULLERTON!
MENG AUDITORIUM
Works by Nathalie Joachim, Pamela Madsen, Jason Treuting, Olivier Tarpaga, and Pauline Oliveros.
CSUF New Music Ensemble Performing works by Jason Treuting and Pamela Madsen with So Percussion.
Honored for this Composer Residency Award from The Copland House! Congratulations to all!
Full Press Release Here: 2024 Copland House Residency Awards Announced
Here is a preview clip of my opera in-progress entitled Ghosts of Laguna, presented by Opera Laguna.
More info about the performance: https://operalaguna.com/ghostsoflaguna
Oriana Geis-Falla, Soprano
Arnold Livingston Geis, Tenor
Catherine Miller, Piano