It was early January, and composer Ellen Reid was in Joshua Tree working on a piece using the four elements - earth, air, water, and fire - for inspiration.
Ellen Reid writes, “This photo was taken in 2023 when I was pregnant with my daughter, and would walk in Eaton Canyon to cope with the stress of pregnancy complications.
Ellen Reid
Reid, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 2019 for her opera “p r i s m,” was writing “fire” when the Eaton and Palisades fires hit. She reshaped it, and it’s now the third movement of “Earth Between Oceans,” commissioned by the Los Angeles and New York Philharmonics for Gustavo Dudamel’s final season here before he heads to New York.
“Earth Between Oceans” gets its world premiere Thursday (9/25) as part of the program that opens the Walt Disney Concert Hall season, and she gave Notes from the Fires host John Rabe a sneak preview.
After the interview, we listen to an excerpt from “p r i s m,” “lumee’s dream,” with violist Nadia Sirota leading the ensemble.
