
This song originally appears on The Ambassador, an album by Gabriel Kahane on which every track is named after a Los Angeles address. The Ambassador was a hotel famous for Hollywood celebrity hotspot status in the ‘20s and ‘30s, for its night club The Cocoanut Grove, and for being the site of the 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. This arrangement highlights the contrast between the hotel’s highs and lows and adds in some experimental elements characteristic of C3LA.
"Ambassador Hotel (3400 Wilshire Blvd)" by Gabriel Kahane, arr. Tanner Pfeiffer
Performed by C3LA | 2024
Richard An, conductor | Julie Hinton, soprano | Abigail Whitman, soprano
Anastasia Belleza Gastelum, soprano | Gabbi Coenen, soprano
Drew Corey, soprano | Aria Gittelson, alto | Rhiannon Lewis, alto
Ari Stultz, alto | Vera Lugo, alto | Alexandra Grabarchuk, alto
Daniel Leese, tenor | Evan Roberts, tenor | Jeff Greif, tenor
David Rentz, tenor | tenor | Will Reeder, baritone | TJ Sclafani, baritone
John Bergquist, bass | Tanner Pfeiffer, bass
Strip the Willow
Strip the Willow takes its form from a Scottish dance of the same name. The playful swapping of partners is represented by the eight soloists (four singers and four instrumentalists in this performance). The various chord progressions used throughout the piece are also taken from traditional Scottish music. The chord progressions, form, and general guidelines are provided to the performers, but the actual notes played are entirely improvised.
Soloists: Travis Ciortan, voice | Tanner Pfeiffer, voice | Noah Schwartz, voice Nathan Turczan, voice | Eris DeJarnett, flugelhorn and trumpet
Daniel Lemer, flute | Tate Shoebridge, oboe | Nev Wendell, trumpet
Band: Alberto Cruz, clarinet | Darren Dvoracek, tuba | Björn Gustaffson, horn Juhad Kuri, percussion | Wells Leng, piano | John Pisaro, trombone
Michael Salas, bass clarinet | Armando Wood, bass
The Divine Dark
The Divine Dark is a piece for wind ensemble (or any group of at least four musicians) commissioned by Matt Smoot. It takes its inspiration from the writings of Christian mysticism author Evelyn Underhill; she describes a five-step process of becoming a mystic, the last step of which is Union with the Other. This piece illustrates that step with a demonstration of the necessity of giving back to the community as a part of Union.
“When love has carried us above all things into the Divine Dark, there we are transformed by the Eternal Word Who is the image of the Father; and as the air is penetrated by the sun, thus we receive in peace the Incomprehensible Light, enfolding us, and penetrating us.” —Evelyn Underhill
Voicemails from Braxton
Voicemails from Braxton was originally a sound installation. I kept all the voicemails my best friend Braxton sent me from 2013–2018 and paired them with field recordings and ambient music as well as a cozy space decorated with twinkle lights, chairs, and a rug.
The Voicemails from Braxton EP contains excerpts from the sound installation, presented as discrete tracks. Nostalgia, warmth, sadness, and connection feature in these fragments.
Certainty
A short clip from Certainty, a film by Candace Nelson I scored in 2017.