SKYLARK LULLABY for Saxophone Choir by JENNIFER BELLOR (USA, 1983)

WASBE Marcom
5 days ago
3 min read

Updated: 9 hours ago

Premiered by Eastman Saxophone Project conducted by Chien-Kwan Lin

Skylark Lullaby, by American composer, performer, and educator Jennifer Bellor, is our Composition of the Week.

Skylark Lullaby was written for the Eastman Saxophone Project under the direction of Chien-Kwan Lin and premiered at the 2014 North American Saxophone Alliance Conference in March, at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

It was featured at the 2015 Florida State University Seventeenth Biennial Festival of New Music, performed by the South Sound Saxophone Ensemble, and awarded the 2015 IAWM Judith Lang Zaimont prize.

Skylark Lullaby was recently selected to be featured at the SCI 2019 National Conference/Robb Composers’ Symposium held at the University of New Mexico in March 2019.

“When I was writing Skylark Lullaby, I imagined a scene at sunset filled with beautiful types of birds communicating, flying towards and away from each other before darkness sets in and it is time to fall asleep. The independent melodic lines for each of the instruments intertwine with each other, often times coming together to contribute to the harmonic and melodic ideas already set up among the other instruments playing, and at other moments, change direction to share a new idea that will eventually be woven into the meditative landscape.” Program Notes by Jennifer Bellor

The work is scored for saxophone choir (3 soprano sax, 3 alto sax, 3 tenor sax, 3 baritone sax, 1 bass sax), it has a duration of 11 minutes, and it is available at Sheet Music Plus.

Jennifer Bellor earned a Ph.D. in music composition at Eastman School of Music, a Master of Music degree in composition at Syracuse University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in music at Cornell University. Her primary composition teachers included David Liptak, Bob Morris, Andrew Waggoner, Sally Lamb McCune, and Steven Stucky.

Dr. Bellor is a versatile composer whose works have been presented by Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center, American Composers Orchestra, Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra (SWOJO), Las Vegas Philharmonic, and many others in the U.S. and abroad. Her music draws on a variety of influences, evidenced in her debut album Stay (2016), which is a melting pot of different music styles largely based on poetry. Bellor also has received awards for her jazz/cross-genre compositions Midnight Swim (2013 DownBeat) Noir (2014 SWOJO), and Chase the Stars (2016 The American Prize).

She has been composer-in-residence for the percussion quartet Clocks in Motion. Additionally, current projects include a new work for mezzo-soprano and alto saxophone for Megan Ihnen and Alan Theisen, for the AdZel Duo, and her second album, which will feature her most recent piece Cerulealina for strings, percussion, and harp. Her composition Crystalline was selected for performance on the 2018 Music Now Festival held at Indiana State University.

Jennifer Bellor served on the composition faculty at the International Alba Music Composition program in May 2024 and is joining the faculty at the Mostly Modern Festival in summer 2025.

Other works for winds

• Electric Vortex (2013) for jazz combo and WE

• Querencia (2016) for vibraphone and WE

• Bordello Nights (2016) for jazz combo and WO

• North Star (2017) for flute ensemble

• Uprising (2018) for jazz drum set and WE

• Ballad of a Wanderer (2022) for horn choir

• Noir (2024) for tenor sax, electric guitar and WE