New Classical, Experimental, and Improvisational Music 

Como la leyenda de Tlön

Music by Pablo Chin

Text by Nina Dante (in her imagining of Borges’ imaginary mythological language of the planet Tlön)

Inspired by the fantastical Jorge Luis Borges’ story Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius.

Performed by Nina Dante (voice) and Ryan Packard (percussion)

Which of my forms / Cuál de mis formas

Created and performed by the Dante + Chin Duo • Nina Dante (voice) and Dalia Chin (flute)

Through music and bilingual dream-story, the Dante+Chin Duo’s Which of my forms / Cuál de mis formas tells the story of a woman who can assume the forms of both cougar and deer, two creatures indelibly intertwined in a predator-prey relationship.

Premiered on the CUSP’s Re:Sound Festival, 2021.

Bodyscape

Music by Bethany Younge

Text by Nina Dante

Inspired by and structured around found footage of a woman at a riverbank, Bodyscape explores a sensuous and lush musical landscape.

Performed with Fonema Consort

Song for the Red-Spotted Garter Snake

Created by Nina Dante

A miniature piece inspired by the secretive, water-goioing Red-Spotted Garter Snake, a snake native to the area in which Nina lives.

Cassandra Fragments

Music by Stratis Minakakis

“Cassandra Fragments was inspired by Euripides’ Trojan Women, the poet’s fiercest condemnation of the brutalities of war. After the fall of Troy, Cassandra, the Trojan princess, is betrothed to Agamemnon, the victor, to become his concubine. Through her prophetic gift, she foresees Agamemnon’s death upon their return to Argos, his homeland, as well as her own demise. In an ecstatic delirium, she sings praises to Hymen, god of marriage, knowing that her sacrifice will be the catalyst for the ultimate destruction of her tormentor and the house of Atreas.” – Stratis Minakakis

Performed by the Dante + Chin Duo (Nina Dante and Dalia Chin, flute)

“La miel de la higuera”, from Los lugares del deseo

Music by Juan Compoverde

Text by Cristobal Zapata

Setting erotic poems by the poet Cristobal Zapata, Ecuadorian composer Juan Campoverde weaves a lush sonic terrain, in which nature and human desire sings.

Performed with Fonema Consort, premiered at Harvard University, 2017

Come Live with Me

Music by James Dillon

In this ornate ensemble work, Scottish composer James Dillon sets portions of the Song of Songs, an ancient text that speaks of romantic love in terms of the ever-overflowing, intoxicating beauty of nature.

Performed with Fonema Consort

And So Now (part 1)

Music and text by Ben Vida

An expansize, hypnotic, evening-length work, Ben Vida’s And So Now explores cyclicality in music, poetry, and time.

Performed by Nina Dante, Brandon Lopez, Jessica Pavone, and Ben Vida; premiered at BAM, NYC

Coïgitum

Music by Richard Barrett

A demanding work of hyper-complexity, Coïgitum was inspired by and named after a large-scale work by the Chilean artist Roberto Matta. Reflecting the tumbling, galactic geometry of Matta’s painting, this piece finds rest in the perpetual.

Performed with Fonema Consort

Sólo es real la niebla

Music by Pablo Santiago Chin

Text by Octavio Paz

A setting of Octavio Paz’ poem “Aquí”, Sólo es real la niebla is a dreamy, fluttering, and disorienting portrait of foggy streets, and their psycho-sonic ramifications.

Performed with Fonema Consort

… y el mar

Improvisation by Nina Dante

Inspired by the song Alfonsina y el mar, this improvisation explores the vast wildness of the ocean, and trapped spaces of the soul.

Invocation III

Music by Beat Furrer

Like two wild birds shrieking through the sky, voice and flute entwine, flutter, cry, and pant out heartbreak in Invocation III.

Performed by Nina Dante and Dalia Chin (flute)