All music is what awakes from you when you are reminded by the instruments, It is not the violins and the cornets, it is not the oboe nor the beating drums, nor the score of the baritone singer... It is nearer and farther than they. (Walt Whitman)

Send an e mail to Bruce Brown: bruce@jonathanbrucebrown.com

Legacy of Vision: Martin Luther King for Narrator, Chorus and Orchestra

Performance Highlights: Cincinnati May Festival, St. Louis Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Champaign-Urbana Symphony, Toledo Symphony, Jackson (MI) Symphony, Northwestern University, South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts, Constitution Hall (Washington D.C.)

It brought the audience to its feet for a prolonged standing ovation (Champaign-Urban News Gazette)

This is a rousing work ... resounding theme of freedom (Muskegon Chronicle)

It was received with a roaring standing ovation ... absolutely dynamic (Kalamazoo Gazette)

The unquestioned highlight of the evening ... both dramatic and spiritual (Spartanburg Herald-Journal)

Symphony for String Orchestra

Recorded by the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra for MMC Music

A sincerely felt and meditative work that takes a simple motif and develops it in interesting ways through three programmatic movements: Introspection, Epiphany and Celebration ... the work is informed by Christian sentiment - the acquisition of joy through suffering; the penetration of darkness by light [but] any religious disposition should be able to find both balm and pleasure in the composer's sensitive and imaginative utilization of the resources of a large string band (Review by Terry Pow)

The restrained tonality and concentrated melodic writing achieve a remarkable purity of effect (Robert Nosow)

Pilgrimage for Violin and Orchestra

... a rare musical experience (review by Stephen Smiley)

In the Golden Light ... Soaring for Cello and Orchestra

A work that begins with magical delight, progresses haltingly in musings over life, then affirms 'freedom of the air' over 'safety on the ground' (Review by Ken Wyatt)

Professor Felix von Forte's Wonderful Symphony

This is a delightful piece for children's concerts ... I think the adults enjoyed the music and the narrator's high jinks as much as the kids did. (Conductor Brent Cryderman)

I Do Sing, And I've Done So for Chorus and Orchestra

This piece celebrates love of music, and love of LIFE, in  an exceptional way ... It was great to commission a composer who knew the poet, Lew DeFoe, personally.  The music reflects his zest for life, as well as his sense of humor (Conductor James Holleman)

Bravissimo

A sparkling concert opener and showcase for all the sections of the orchestra!

Psalm of Thanksgiving for Chorus and Orchestra

Based on a poem by the composer's father Fred E Brown.  A rich orchestral setting with vivid imagery, constantly shifting colors and a powerful finish

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