Conni Ellisor

Ellisor’s contributions to the orchestral repertoire include such uniquely American works as Blackberry Winter for mountain dulcimer and strings,NPR. [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4469707 "Conni Ellisor"], NPR, Retrieved on 22 April 2019. and Whiskey Before Breakfast – Partita for Bluegrass Band and Strings.LeDor Publishing. [https://www.ledorgroup.com/product/whiskey-before-breakfast-partita-for-orchestra-and-bluegrass-band/ "Whiskey Before Breakfast"], Ledor Group, Retrieved on 22 April 2019. Blackberry Winter has generated widespread NPR airplay and was featured on All Things Considered.NPR. [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4469707 "Conni Ellisor"], NPR, Retrieved on 22 April 2019. Her long and productive association with the Nashville Chamber Orchestra resulted in the premieres of 11 of her works. Three were recorded for broadcast by NPR’s Performance Today,NPR Performance Today. [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4469269 "The Sounds of the Tennessee Music Box"], NPR, 28 January 2005. Retrieved on 22 April 2019. and her Conversations In Silence became the title track on the orchestra’s 1997 debut album on Warner Bros.Discogs. [https://www.discogs.com/Nashville-Chamber-Orchestra-Nashville-Chamber-Orchestra/release/3096587 "Nashville Chamber Orchestra"], Discogs, Retrieved on 25 April 2019. The Bangor Daily News described Conversations in Silence as "lush and layered with all of the sounds the stringed instruments are able to make alone and together."{{Cite web |last=Richman |first=Debbie |date=2018-06-15 |title=Conni Ellisor's "Conversations in Silence" - LeDor Publishing |url=https://www.ledorgroup.com/conni-ellisors-conversations-in-silence/ |access-date=2025-02-24 |language=en}}

NPR Senior Producer Benjamin Roe’s comment that “the NCO truly is what’s new in classical music” is a testament to Ellisor’s groundbreaking contributions to the group’s repertoire.Marcel Smith. [https://www.nashvillescene.com/arts-culture/article/13007602/the-nashville-chamber-orchestra-is-bridging-the-gap-between-music-row-and-classical-music "The Nashville Chamber Orchestra is bridging the gap between Music Row and classical music"], Nashville Scene, 29 August 2002. Retrieved 22 April 2019. Among the pieces commissioned by the NCO was Sea Without A Shore, written for orchestra, marimba and percussion and premiered by the NCO, Christopher Norton and world-renowned percussion ensemble Nexus. Other of her works have been premiered and recorded by the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, London Symphony, Nexus Chamber Orchestra, Denver Brass, Camelli Quartet, New York Treble Singers, Hamburg Radio Orchestra and the London Philharmonic.Marcel Smith. [https://www.nashvillescene.com/arts-culture/article/13007602/the-nashville-chamber-orchestra-is-bridging-the-gap-between-music-row-and-classical-music "The Nashville Chamber Orchestra is bridging the gap between Music Row and classical music"], Nashville Scene, 29 August 2002. Retrieved 22 April 2019.

Recent commissions and premieres include Diaspora by the Nashville Symphony (2011),Nashville Symphony. [https://www.facebook.com/nashvillesymphony/posts/conni-ellisors-diaspora-premieres-tonight-diaspora-is-based-on-west-african-perc/123621744378515/ "Conni Ellisor's Diaspora Premiere"], Facebook, 7 April 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2019. her second concerto for mountain dulcimer and orchestra, Broad Band of Light, by the Tucson Symphony (2012),Cathalena E. Burch. [https://tucson.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/tso-premieres-dulcimer-piece/article_fc0ef7db-c1d7-5d32-8261-36f8c15e6523.html "TSO Premieres Dulcimer Piece"], Tucson.com, 2 February 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2019. Tres Danzas De Vida by the Arlington (NY) High School Philharmonia Orchestra (2013), Fort of Shadows by the Arlington High School Sinfonia Orchestra (2014), and The Bass Whisperer, a concerto for electric bass written with and for 5x Grammy-winning bassist Victor Wooten and commissioned by the Nashville Symphony, the Colorado Symphony, and the Chicago Sinfonietta (2015/2016).Brad Schmitt. [https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2014/09/17/victor-wooten-nashville-symphony-debut-bass-whisperer/15776585/ "Victor Wooten, Nashville Symphony debut ‘Bass Whisperer’"], The Tennessean, 17 September 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2019. She has also written and recorded the score for the SONY/Affirm film All Saints (2017) with composer/multi-instrumentalist (and husband) John Mock, through their production company, Drowsy Maggie Productions.[https://www.soundtrack.net/album/all-saints/ "All Saints Soundtrack"], Soundtrack.net, Retrieved 22 April 2019. Conni Ellisor’s works are represented by LeDor Publishing.{{Cite web |last=swmc-admin |date=2018-06-01 |title=Conni Ellisor - LeDor Publishing |url=https://www.ledorgroup.com/composer/conni-ellisor/ |access-date=2025-02-24 |language=en}}

• Blackberry Winter - solo dulcimer and strings
• Broad Band of Light - solo dulcimer and orchestra
• Concerto for Marimba, Percussion, and Strings
• Conversations In Silence - string orchestra
• Diaspora - orchestra
• No Place To Get To - strings, English horns, guitar (also available for string quartet, guitar, and English horn or clarinet)
• Nuages de la Nuit - violin, bass, two guitars, and strings
• Rhapsody for Viola - solo viola, strings, single winds, trumpet, percussion
• Sea Without A Shore - marimba, five percussion, and orchestra
• The Bass Whisperer - solo electric bass and orchestra (written with Victor L. Wooten)
• The Bell Witch Ballet - orchestra
• Tres Danzas De Vida - orchestra
• Whiskey Before Breakfast: Partita for Orchestra and Bluegrass Band

• Awake at Night - string quartet
• Beloved Enemy - solo voice and strings (written with Gretchen Peters)
• Wind From The Mountain - brass ensemble and percussion

• Keepers Of This House
• Concerto for Marimba, Percussion, and Wind Ensemble

• Air for the Duchess
• Bell Witch Dances
• Fiddlers on the Hudson
• Poughkeepsie Blues
• Rowing Under a Hudson Moon
• River that Runs Two Ways
• Fort of Shadows
• Rousing Rip van Winkle

• All Saints (Sony/Affirm)

Ellisor has written multiple works for the Arlington (NY) High School Philharmonia Orchestra and recently completed a three-year residency with Stringendo, a nonprofit community strings program in upstate New York. The partnership has resulted in seven new works for varying levels of string orchestra.The Fisher Center for the Performing Arts. [https://fishercenter.bard.edu/events/stringendo-annual-gala-concert/ "STRINGENDO ANNUAL GALA CONCERT"], The Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Retrieved 22 April 2019.

Ellisor has also had a career as a contemporary jazz recording artist. Her Night at the Museum album, one of four solo albums she’s released, climbed to #13 on Billboard’s Adult Alternative chart.All Music. [https://www.allmusic.com/album/night-at-the-museum-mw0000072311 "Night At the Museum"], Nashville Studio Orchestra, Retrieved on 22 April 2019. Her studio albums and live performances have both garnered critical praise. “While the pieces all have a contemporary, accessible feel, the consistent classical nuances help maintain the warmth and humanity that make this such a special collection of music,” wrote a critic for the Exclusive Adult Music Review. Venerable Nashville music critic Robert Oermann encouraged readers to attend an upcoming concert, commenting that “Conni and her all-star group combine classical training with contemporary melodies. Her performances are soundtracks for mental movies that transport the listener to parts unknown.”

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• [http://ellisormusic.com ellisormusic.com]

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Category:Living people

Category:American women composers

Category:1953 births

Category:21st-century American women