EVENING LAND: Eight Songs from California for Voices and Piano

About this event

What does California sound like? Find out on Saturday, April 25th, when Stanford voice students take the stage to perform the world premiere of EVENING LAND: Eight Songs from California for Voices and Piano, a new song cycle by composer Scott Ordway. The program also features the premieres of original songs by Stanford composition students — all rooted in California themes and written specifically for each performing student.

Dr. Ordway is Associate Professor of Music and Head of Composition at the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, and a 2025–26 Visiting Scholar with Stanford's Bill Lane Center for the American West. This concert marks the culmination of a year-long collaborative project bringing together student singers, student composers, and a distinguished visiting artist.

Meet the artists after the performance at a reception in Campbell Courtyard.

Also not to be missed: Dr. Ordway will present a lecture about the project on Thursday, April 23rd, at 12:30 pm in Room 103, Braun Music Center.All events are free and open to the public

Scott Ordway is an American composer and interdisciplinary artist whose music has been performed by leading orchestras, ensembles, and soloists across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. His work has appeared at Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Lincoln Center, and major festivals worldwide, and has been praised as “exquisite” (New York Times) and “soul-stirring” (BBC Music). Raised in Northern California and shaped by the emotional intensity of post-hardcore underground rock music, Ordway brings a distinctly personal sensibility to contemporary classical music. Rooted in tradition but radically open in form and tone, his recent work blends music, photography, video, and original text in a shift toward personal narrative, spiritual depth, and environmental themes. He is Associate Professor and Head of Composition at Rutgers University.