written as part of Friday Evening Service, 4/11/97
but not performed with it;
premiere 7/3/97 by Faith Steinsnyder, David Perper & composer
ACC-GTM Convention, Huntington Hilton Hotel;
also sung by them 8/16/09, 8/20/09, 8/8/10, 1/23/11;
solo version premiered by Janis Sabatino Hills & composer,
Malverne Community Presbyterian Church (LICA) 10/19/97;
choral version premiere by North Shore Synagogue Choir & composer
at Malverne Community Presbyterian Church (LICA) 11/15/98
English tr. of Mi Sheibeirach, op. 129A (2’00”)
for choir with piano or organ, 2009
premiere, with piano, United Methodist Church, Huntington;
concert premiere there with piano (LICA) 6/13/10;
also sung, with organ, at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church,
Castleton, Staten Island 9/12/10 & 11/28/10
Two-Part (div.) Round in Hebrew, 1996 (2’00”)
Round for Two-Part Chorus (div.) (2’00”) 3/2001
sung at services in Malverne, Babylon, Huntington, NY;
Wayne (10/24/07), Montclair (a cappella 10/26/08),
Denville (10/24/10) NJ, 2001-2010
English translation by composer of Shalom Rav, op. 130 (1996)
settings of poems by Brooklyn’s late poet laureate,
for voice & piano, 1996 (4’00”):
The First Smile – Kiss – Swing
premiered 4/30/97 by Helene Williams & composer,
LICA@Brooklyn Borough Hall
suite of 12 pieces in memory of Benar & Olga Heifetz (1997)
#1-6 and 7-12 may be performed as Suites #1 (16’45”) & 2 (16’30”)
1. A Light in the Darkness (2’15”)
2. The Shepherd (3’30”)
3. Thanatos (2’00”)
4. Eros (3’00”)
5. The Definition (2’00”)
6. The Moon (4’00”)
7. The Painted Veil (5’00”)
8. Night (1’00”)
9. Thinking of You (2’30”)
10. Don’t Ask (3’00”)
11. One Day (3’00”)
12. A Blessing (2’00”)
#1 performed at North Shore Synagogue, Syosset NY 4/11/97
and at subsequent Yom Kippur services, 1997-2000;
#1, 3 & 6 performed 8/20/99 Bryant Library (LICA)
setting of poem by Julia Cooney in honor of Theodore Roosevelt;
premiered by Helene Williams & composer 1/19/98
LICA Concert honoring J. Willard Roosevelt’s 80th birthday
at Merrick Library (3’00”)
3-part round (2’00”) for Pete Seeger, on a text provided by him, 4/25/98
premiered Malverne Community Presbyterian Church 6/15/98
and there again, on LICA concert, 11/15/98
setting of E.E. Cummings poem as
duet for male & female voices & piano (3’00”)
premiered by Helene Williams & composer, Eastover, Lenox MA 6/24/98
also by Ronald Edwards, Janis Sabatino Hills & composer,
Bryant Library (LICA) 11/1/98
setting of poem (#249) by Emily Dickinson for voice & piano
#3 (of 3) from Emily Dickinson Song Cyclette, op. 137
premiered by Helene Williams & composer, 2/99 (LICA)
recorded on Capstone #CPS-8667:
Helene Williams sings More Songs of Love by LICA Composers
setting of poem (#288) by Emily Dickinson for voice & piano
#2 (of 3) from Emily Dickinson Song Cyclette, op. 137
premiered by Helene Williams & composer, 2/99 (LICA)
recorded on Capstone #CPS-8667:
Helene Williams sings More Songs of Love by LICA Composers
setting of poem (#937) by Emily Dickinson for voice & piano
#1 (of 3) from Emily Dickinson Song Cyclette, op. 137
premiered by Helene Williams & composer, 2/99 (LICA)
recorded on Capstone #CPS-8667:
Helene Williams sings More Songs of Love by LICA Composers
setting of 3 poems for voice & piano, 5/98;
premiered by Helene Williams & composer, LICA 2/99
1. I Felt a Cleaving (#937)
2. I’m Nobody (#288)
3. Wild Nights (#249)
recorded on Capstone #CPS-8667, Helene Williams sings
More Songs of Love by LICA Composers, 1999
setting of text by James Baldwin (3′)
for solo voice or SATB chorus & piano;
choral premiere, Malverne Community Presbyterian Church 11/15/98
solo premiere, Helene Williams & composer, Hofstra (LICA) 1/17/99
also sung by Faith Steinsnyder with composer at piano
8/16/09, 8/20/09, 8/8/10, 1/23/11 (Lehrman birthday concerts)
setting of poem by Grace Herman for soprano & piano (3’00”) 12/98
premiere by Helene Williams & composer, Great Neck Hse 3/14/04
setting of 26 words, beginning with A-Z, text by composer
for voice & piano (1’00”)
inspired by & written as complement to
Daniel Dorff’s “Two Alphabetical Songs”
premiered (with them) by Helene Williams & Leonard Lehrman
8/20/99 Bryant Library (LICA) Lehrman Semi-Centennial Concert
setting of text by George Eliot from Armgart (2’30”)
for soprano & piano;
premiered by Monica Harte & Kenneth Merrill,
Manhattan School of Music, 9/25/01
commissioned by & dedicated to Marilyn Siegel Smith,
Sept.-OCt. 2000; Mar. 2001 (each c. 3’00”)
based on opp. 12, 128, 60, 130, 56; original
“Meine Gedanken Wollen Nicht Ruhen”
setting of German text by “Charles” (Karlheinz Schulze-Michels)
in memory of Franz Pindorfer, Autumn 2000;
English tr. by composer
for solo voice a cappella (3’00”)
2-part canon with accompaniment (+optional bells)
setting of poem by Christina Rossettii (2′)
for Malverne Community Presbyterian Church Jr. Choir
premiered by them 12/17/00;
performed & recorded with bell choir,
St. George’s Church, Hempstead 12/10/06
subtitled: Off Our Chests
musical with texts by Sydney Ross Singer & composer
on the link between bras & breast cancer
for 2 men, 2 women, and a piano (and optional cello),
based on A Little Breast Play
by Singer & Soma Grismaijer, Dec. 2000-Jan. 2001;
asterisked numbers* added, 2005;
written for & performed by Helene Williams, Cary Bair,
Peter Kacalanos/Leonard Lehrman,
Sarvamangala/Susan Blake/Kathryn Wieckhorst
Excerpts:
Overture*
Doctors*
Think Pink*
Barbie Blues
Baby Breasts
The Boobs Blues
Pusher Bra*
Fiji*
Silicone Sal
Breast Play
Quartet: Pillow Talk
It’s Tough Bein’ a Tittie Today*
A Break*
The Trouble with Breasts*
The Test
Bras, Not Genes*
Working It Out
Stuffed Bras (Off Our Chests)
concert prem. (of 8 numbers) Golden Fleece Ltd., Theater 22, 5/13/01
full concert prem. Eastover, Lenox, Mass. 8/23/01
performances with additional numbers:
8/11/05 Empire Haven, Moravia NY
5/19/06 PeaceSmiths, United Methodist Church,,Amityville NY [SB]
5/19/07 United Methodist Church, Islip NY [SB]
8/10/07 Eastern Naturist Festival, Empire Haven, Moravia NY
8/12/07 Ithaca Commons, NY Green Fest [SB]
8/25/07 Custer Institute, Southold NY [SB]
5/17/08 WomanSpace, Great Neck Senior Center [KW]
10/20/08 Puffin Cultural Forum, Teaneck NJ [KW]
—during Breast Cancer Awareness Month
3-act opera (2 hr. 45 min.) begun but left unfinished by
Marc Blitzstein (1959-1963)
commissioned by Ford Foundation,
optioned by Metropolitan Opera, completed 1978-Feb. 2001
published by Theodore Presser;
6 excerpts (asterisked) published by Boosey & Hawkes;
first complete performances in concert with piano:
Aug. 17, 18, 19, 2001, White Barn Theatre, Westport CT
Excerpts performable separately:
*1. Sacco’s Act II Aria, “With a Woman to Be” (4’40”-7’03”)
*2. Sacco-Rosa Act II Duet (2’04”)
*3. Vanzetti’s Last Statement (3’07”)
*4. Vanzetti’s First Aria (2’29”)
*5. Sacco’s “The Whole Shoe” Aria (5’11”)
6. Sacco-Mrs. Evans Duet
7. Sacco-Rosa-Vanzetti Trio (1’45”-2’00”),
also performable as Sacco-Rosa Duet,
music based on Blitzstein’s “The Hills of Amalfi”
*8. Mary Donovan’s Aria,
inspired by “Hymn” from Blitzstein’s Juno
9. Act I Quartet Finale
music derived in part from “Have Yourself a Night”
from Blitzstein’s Reuben Reuben
10. Memorial Day Parade (1’37”)
music based on Blitzstein’s setting  of Alfred Hayes’s
“Into the Streets May First”
11. Thompson’s Act III Aria, “Secrets”
#1 recorded on Premier PRCD 1005
#2-5 recorded on Original Cast Records OC 4441
#1, 7 & 10 recorded on Original Cast Records OC 6127
setting of poem by Ian McBryde (3’15”),
#18 (finale) from An Australian Odyssey, op. 149;
premiered by Helene Williams & composer,
Bryant Library, Roslyn NY Dec. 2, 2001,
Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran, Melbourne, Jan. 5, 2002
setting of poem by Judith Wright (2’30”) –
quotes (Schubert’s) “Death and the Maiden,”
as the poem does; #17 from An Australian Odyssey,
op. 149;Â premiered by Helene Williams & composer,
Bryant Library, Roslyn NY Dec. 2, 2001,
Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran, Melbourne, Jan. 5, 2002
setting of poem by Judith Wright (1’40”),
#16 from An Australian Odyssey, op. 149;
premiered by Helene Williams & composer,
Bryant Library, Roslyn NY Dec. 2, 2001,
Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran, Melbourne, Jan. 5, 2002
setting of unpunctuated, uncapitalized prose poem
by Ania Walwicz (8’25”),
#15 from An Australian Odyssey, op. 149;
premiered by Helene Williams & composer,
Bryant Library, Roslyn NY Dec. 2, 2001,
Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran, Melbourne, Jan. 5, 2002;
also performed at Hakoah Club, Bondi, Sydney, 1/9/02,
and at Jan Hus Playhouse, NYC, 4/27/08,
co-sponsored by Vox Novus & Remarkable Theatre Brigade
setting of poem by Chris Wallace-Crabbe,
#14 from An Australian Odyssey, op. 149;
premiered by Helene Williams & composer,
Bryant Library, Roslyn NY Dec. 2, 2001,
Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran, Melbourne, Jan. 5, 2002
setting of poem by John Tranter (2’10”),
#13 from An Australian Odyssey, op. 149;
premiered by Helene Williams & composer,
Bryant Library, Roslyn NY Dec. 2, 2001,
Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran, Melbourne, Jan. 5, 2002;
also performed at Hakoah Club, Bondi, Sydney, Jan. 9, 2002
setting of poem by John Forbes (1’15”),
#12 from An Australian Odyssey, op. 149;
premiered by Helene Williams & composer,
Bryant Library, Roslyn NY Dec. 2, 2001,
Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran, Melbourne, Jan. 5, 2002
setting of poem by John Forbes (1’50”),
#11 from An Australian Odyssey, op. 149;
premiered by Helene Williams & composer,
Bryant Library, Roslyn NY Dec. 2, 2001,
Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran, Melbourne, Jan. 5, 2002;
also performed at Hakoah Club, Bondi, Sydney, Jan. 9, 2002
setting of poem by Michael Dransfield (1’10”),
#10 from An Australian Odyssey, op. 149;
premiered by Helene Williams & composer,
Bryant Library, Roslyn NY Dec. 2, 2001,
Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran, Melbourne, Jan. 5, 2002
setting of poem by Judith Wright (2’35”);
#9 from An Australian Odyssey, op. 149;
premiered by Helene Williams & composer,
Bryant Library, Roslyn NY Dec. 2, 2001,
Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran, Melbourne, Jan. 5, 2002;
also broadcast on Melbourne radio 3CR, Dec. 30, 2001
setting of poem by Peter Goldsworthy,
#8 from An Australian Odyssey, op. 149;
premiered by Helene Williams & composer,
Bryant Library, Roslyn NY Dec. 2, 2001,
Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran, Melbourne, Jan. 5, 2002
setting of poem by Jordie Albiston (1’30”),
#7 from An Australian Odyssey, op. 149;
premiered by Helene Williams & composer,
Bryant Library, Roslyn NY Dec. 2, 2001,
Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran, Melbourne, Jan. 5, 2002
setting of sonnetina (10-line sonnet) by Alex Skovron,
#6 (1’30”) from An Australian Odyssey, op. 149;
premiered by Helene Williams & composer,
Bryant Library, Roslyn NY Dec. 2, 2001,
Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran, Melbourne, Jan. 5, 2002
setting of eponymous poem by Alison Croggon (2’05”),
#5 from An Australian Odyssey, op. 149;
premiered by Helene Williams & composer,
Bryant Library, Roslyn NY Dec. 2, 2001,
Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran, Melbourne, Jan. 5, 2002
setting of sonnet by Alex Skovron,
#4 from An Australian Odyssey, op. 149;
premiered by Helene Williams & composer,
Bryant Library, Roslyn NY Dec. 2, 2001,
Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran, Melbourne, Jan. 5, 2002
setting of poem by aboriginal Australian poet,
Oodgeroo Noonuccal (2’20”);
#3 from An Australian Odyssey, op. 149;
premiered by Helene Williams & composer,
Bryant Library, Roslyn NY Dec. 2, 2001,
Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran, Melbourne, Jan. 5, 2002;
also performed at Sydney Naturally, Jan. 19, 2002,
on 2 Melbourne radio broadcasts,
Dec. 30, 2001 & Jan. 5, 2002;
and at Jan Hus Playhouse, NYC, Apr. 27, 2008,
co-sponsored by Vox Novus & Remarkable Theatre Brigade
setting of sonnet by Jacob Rosenberg,
premiered by Effie Apelast-Weinberg & composer,
CAMI Hall, Oct. 23, 2001;
also performed by Helene Williams & composer,
Theodor Herzl Club, N. Caulfield, Melbourne 12/31/01,
and at Hakoah Club, Bondi, Sydney, Jan. 9, 2002;
#2 from An Australian Odyssey, op. 149 –
premiered by Helene Williams & composer,
Bryant Library, Roslyn NY Dec. 2, 2001,
Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran, Melbourne, Jan. 5, 2002
setting of sonnet by Edith Speers, for soprano & piano;
#1 from An Australian Odyssey, op. 149;
premiered by Helene Williams & composer,
Bryant Library, Roslyn NY Dec. 2, 2001,
Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran, Melbourne, Jan. 5, 2002;
also performed by them at Hakoah Club, Bondi, Sydney,
Jan. 9, 2002; Sydney Naturally, Jan. 19, 2002;
and on 2 Melbourne radio broadcasts, Dec. 30, 2001
18-song cycle on poems by Australian poets (42’30”):
Edith Speers (#1), Jacob Rosenberg (#2),
Oodgeroo Noonuccal (#3), Alex Skovron (#4 & 6),
Alison Croggon (#5), Jordie Albiston (#7),
Peter Goldsworthy (#8), Judith Wright (#9, 16 & 17),
Michael Dransfield (#10), John Forbes (#11 & 12),
John Tranter (#13), Chris Wallace-Crabbe (#14),
Ania Walwicz (#15), Ian McBryde (#18);
for Helene [Williams], to Alex Skovron;
premiered by her & composer,
Bryant Library, Roslyn NY, Dec. 2, 2001
Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran, Melbourne, Jan. 5, 2002
3-part chorus (1’15”), Oct. 14, 2001
on Presbyterian Church Confession of 1967
premiered by Malverne Community Presbyterian
Church Choir, Nov. 2001
12-tone Christmas carol (1’00”)
for voices & accompaniment
setting of Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem”
for voice & piano (1’30”);
premiered by Helene Williams & composer, Apr. 14, 2002
at Queens College Langston Hughes Centennial;
also performed by Darryl Taylor;
and by Jeannine Otis & composer, 2nd Hofstra
Suburban Diversity Conference, Oct. 26, 2010
twelve 3-line settings for baritone, soprano & pno/orch:
#1 In the Beginning
#2 Manhood
#3 Nature
#4 Rain
#5 Weather
#6 Death
#7 Elijah
#8 Mantra
#9 Fish
#10 Wandering
#11 The Score
#12 After All
premiere Aug. 22, 2002 by Cary Bair & Helene Williams
with composer at the piano, Eastern Naturist Gathering,
Eastover Resort, Lenox, Mass.
a cappella round in two parts (1’00”)
#1 of Two Abel Meeropol Rounds
premiered by Metropolitan Philharmonic Chorus,
Queens College, Feb. 23, 2003
recorded on Original Cast Records CD 6055
The Abel Meeropol Centennial Concert
duet for soprano & tenor, a cappella (1’22”)
on text by Abel Meeropol;
premiered by Helene Williams & Gregory Mercer,
Queens College, Feb. 23, 2003;
recorded on Original Cast Records CD 6055
The Abel Meeropol Centennial Concert
setting for soprano & piano of text by Abel Meeropol
(2’48”) premiere by Helene Williams & composer,
Queens College, Feb. 23, 2003;
recorded on Original Cast Records CD 6055
The Abel Meeropol Centennial Concert
one-act opera for SATB (24’07”)
libretto by Lewis Allan (Abel Meeropol), originally for Elie Siegmeister,
one-act opera after Anton Chekhov’s Medved’, premiered by
Helene Williams, Tara Venditti, Gregory Mercer, Gregory Rahming
conducted by composer, Queens College, 2/23/03
recorded on Original Cast Records CD 6055
The Abel Meeropol Centennial Concert
setting for poem, “Castor Oil,” by Charles Bernstein
for soprano-tenor duet & piano
premiered by Helene Williams, Paul Sperry, and composer
5/27/04 Composers Concordance concert at NYU