NEWS!!
We can finally announce that Opera Montana has commissioned me, Matt Foss, and Kelley Rourke to write the operatic adaptation of Norman Maclean’s A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT.
In celebration of the book’s 50th anniversary in 2026, Opera Montana presents the world premiere of a new operatic adaptation of Maclean’s beloved story. With music by award-winning composer Zach Redler and a libretto by Matt Foss and Kelley Rourke, based on Maclean’s novella, A River Runs Through It premieres in September 2026 at the Ellen Theater in Bozeman, with additional October performances in Missoula, where some of the story is set. Opera Montana Artistic Director Michael Sakir conducts the world premiere, with stage direction by Foss, scenic and video design by Kristin Ellert, and lighting design by Stephen Sakowski. Montana PBS will film the world premiere performances for a future broadcast.
Baritone Schyler Vargas stars as Norman, the recently married eldest brother; tenor Michael Kuhn is Paul, the youngest brother, a newspaperman, gambler, and an artist with a fly rod; soprano Christine Taylor Price is Jessie, Norman’s fierce, funny, loving wife; tenor Ryan Bryce Johnson is Neal, Jessie’s brother; mezzo-soprano Megan Marino is Heidi (“Rawhide”), a local woman who fancies Neal and believes in love; mezzo-soprano Phyllis Pancella is Clara, Norman and Paul’s mother; and bass-baritone David Pittsinger is John, Norman and Paul’s father, a Presbyterian minister.
Some New Music
Spring Hill for Violin and Piano
Written for pianist Mary Beck and violinist Elisabeth Small, Spring Hill tries to capture the beauty I witnessed looking out from Mary Beck’s studio of the same name in the gorgeous Monadnock region of New Hampshire.
Upcoming events
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Brown - Feb 3, 2026
Freddie Ballentine and Kunal Lahiry are performing a piece, “Brown”, Jerre Dye and I wrote for him on their recital “Arranged in pillars representing isolation, damnation, remembrance, and finally, revolution, and featuring music ranging from spirituals to songs by Copland, Ricky Ian Gordon, Schubert, Gershwin, Nina Simone and others, the concert takes listeners on a formidable journey, leaving them at their destination: hope.”
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A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT - PREVIEW - May 20, 2026
Opera Montana and the Seagle Festival present selections from a new opera based on Norman Maclean’s classic novella, A River Runs Through It, now celebrating the 50th anniversary of its publication. John Maclean, son of Norman Maclean and author of Home Waters and other works, will read passages from his father’s book paired with corresponding music from the new opera.
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The Falling And The Rising - Brevard, NC July 2026
Brevard Music Center will produce the piece with their Janiec Opera Company.
Here are some nice things people have said about my music.
