Solo Cello Repertoire
“[Ives’ compositional] renaissance has given rise to creations that can be blissfully hummable… but beautifully test the boundary between notes and sounds”
— Oregon ArtsWatch
With a diverse, genre-spanning career as both a cellist and composer, Ives grounds her works for cello in a foundational understanding of the instrument.
After decades of collaborative work in New York City and beyond, Ives holds an additional 20+ years of experience as Principal Cellist of the Oregon Symphony. She is now "one of Oregon’s most prominent and accomplished classical musicians” (The Oregonian) and enjoys an illustrious performance career that informs her eloquent and enduring compositional style. “A relative of the acclaimed composer Charles Ives, Nancy carries on the tradition of her namesake with modern relevance... working with Indigenous communities to authentically capture, amplify and relay their stories to wider audiences.” (Oregon Coast Today) She is also drawn to highlighting environmental issues and the impacts of climate change through her work.
Suite
for cello and vocal obligato; premiered by the composer, The Old Church Concert Hall, Portland, OR, 1/21/19
Once she had an Allemande (for her Allemandes project) and a Sarabande, Ives found it irresistible to complete a Suite in the exact form of the beloved Bach Suites. One exception: in lieu of the traditional dance movements, she includes Waltzes.
Piece begins at 5:25
Allemalgam
Solo movement from Suite; may be performed independently
Sarabande
Solo movement from Suite; may be performed independently
…black snow, dark ocean…
for singing cellist; premiered by Valdine Ritchie Mishkin with Third Angle New Music at Vestas building, 9/12/19
The changing Arctic and its effect on Indigenous people of the region inspired this piece. Their deep knowledge of the Arctic informs our understanding of climate change, which is three times faster in the Arctic, threatening Indigenous peoples’ way of life. Two Inuktitat words which have been adopted by climate researchers are incorporated into the vocalise. The passacaglia form sets up a dramatic rupture, evoking the disruption of ancient cycles.
Give All to Love
for singing cellist; commissioned by Valdine Mishkin, 2020
A true love song, commissioned by Jonathan Mishkin for his wife and cellist extraordinare, Valdine. The couple shares a deep appreciation for the work of Ralph Waldo Emerson, even naming one of their sons Emerson, and Nancy excerpted the text used in the vocal line from the couple’s favorite of his poems.
...on fire...
for singing cellist; commissioned by Valdine Mishkin, 2020
A work about climate change that quotes a variety of influential speeches, with a musical underpinning borrowed from another composer. Each measure begins with a note, in the exact order, from Daniel Crawford's A Song for our Warming Planet, in which he used "data sonification" to convert global temperature records from 1880 to 2012 into a series of pitches.
Dialogue III
for cello and orchestra; premiered with the composer as soloist and the Danbury (CT) Community Orchestra, Danbury Music Center, 1994
On the Root Glacier
for solo cello; premiered at the Pratt Museum, Homer, Alaska, December, 2019
Composed to mark the close of an exhibit of works by Kathy Smith, “Rivers of Ice,” a personal record of Smith’s visits to various Alaskan glaciers, and a reminder of the dramatic changes that have taken place in that landscape during her lifetime. This piece draws specific inspiration from a painting of a group of hikers cresting the eponymous glacier, and uses extended techniques to transport listeners to the icy soundscape and vocalise to express the joy of the hikers.
Songs of Celilo - poetry of Ed Edmo
for singing cellist, or soprano and cello; premiered between 2020 and 2022 by the composer
These songs are the result of a collaboration between Ed Edmo (Shoshone-Bannock poet, playwright, performer, traditional storyteller, tour guide and lecturer on Northwest tribal culture), the composer, and Joe Cantrell (Cherokee photographer) which culminated in the multimedia orchestral work Celilo Falls: We Were There, commissioned by the Portland Chamber Orchestra and premiered in June 2022 in Beaverton, OR.
Singing Cellist Études
Organized in sequence to achieve maximum skill-building, the collection begins with more challenging cello parts paired with easier vocal parts, and progresses to simpler cello parts paired with more intricate vocal lines. The book may also be utilized by vocalists who have basic cello knowledge by working in reverse order. Learn more below…
Learn to sing and play with Ives’ Singing Cellist Études…
Ives is excited by the use of vocal counterpoint in pieces for solo string instruments, written with the intention for one player to execute both parts simultaneously. This composition technique greatly expands the scope of possibility for solo performance. However, as someone who has trained in vocal performance, she understands that this performance technique is not common practice, and that there exist few opportunities to refine this method of performance. Thus Ives is writing a set of études specifically designed for cellists to hone this skill of singing while playing. Thoughtfully integrated, these études perfectly introduce the practice, and remain enjoyable to revisit again and again!
