Composer/oboist Patricia Morehead and Navona Records are pleased to announce Ms. Morehead’s second CD, Good News Falls Gently. Her previous recording, Cityscape (for full orchestra) is on the ERM label (Kiev Symphony Orchestra).

GOOD NEWS FALLS GENTLY features the works of Chicago-based composer and oboist Patricia Morehead: “Disquieted Souls”, inspired by pre-Christian Celtic legends of goddesses and the supernatural; “The Handmaid’s Tale”, motivated by the chilling, futuristic writing of Canadian writer Margaret Atwood; “It is Dangerous to Read Newspapers”, a reflection on modern times and the proclivity towards bad news; “Ladders of Anxiety”, an abstract work inspired by colorful medical charts that taps into our inner anxieties; and “Good News Falls Gently”, a setting of the poetry of Chicago-based writer Regina Harris Baiocchi that portrays an intense spiritual faith from a feminist perspective.

Compositions on Good News Falls Gently:

DISQUIETED SOULS (2009) was recorded June 12, 2010 at WFMT studio, featuring Carolyn Hove, English Horn; and Philip Morehead, conductor.

THE HANDMAID’S TALE (1998) is inspired by the novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood. The four movements of this composition reflect the composer’s passionate reading of the Atwood text. It was recorded live in Toronto at a concert of Ensemble Noir; Abraham Stokman & Philip Morehead, pianists.

IT IS DANGEROUS TO READ NEWSPAPERS (1999) is based on a poem of the same title from the collection The Animals in That Country (1968) by Margaret Atwood. It was recorded by WFMT’s “Live from Studio One” on October 28, 2002, featuring Barbara Ann Martin, soprano; Philip Morehead, piano.

LADDERS OF ANXIETY (2007) for flute/alto flute, guitar and string trio is dedicated to Claire Chase and ICE (International Contemporary Ensemble). It was recorded by WFMT’s “Live from Studio One” on February 4, 2008, featuring Caroline Pittman, flute, James Baur, guitar, and members of the Avalon Quartet.

The title track, GOOD NEWS FALLS GENTLY (1995), a setting for soprano and orchestra of the poetry of Chicago poet/composer Regina Harris Baiocchi, recorded live March 16, 2003 at the Harold Washington Library, Chicago, IL, and performed by CUBE Contemporary Chamber Ensemble (Jonita Lattimore, soprano; Philip Morehead, conductor)

Composer, oboist, and teacher PATRICIA MOREHEAD is founder of CUBE Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, and past president (and currently Congress Chair) of the International Alliance of Women in Music. She holds degrees from New England Conservatory of Music (BM in oboe) and The University of Chicago (PhD in composition), diplomas from the Royal Toronto Conservatory of Music (Canada), the Conservatoire National de Musique (Paris, France) and the Accademia Chigiana (Siena, Italy). She has concertized as an oboist in North and South America, Europe and Asia; she made her Carnegie Recital Hall debut in 1977; and she has premiered more than 60 works written for her instrument, including many commissions that Patricia has initiated for her family of oboes (oboe, oboe d’amore and English horn).

Patricia is the recipient of more than forty commissions and several “Meet the Composer” Grants, and she was chosen as a “Chicagoan of the Year” 2002 in classical music by Chicago Tribune music critic John von Rhein. She was commissioned by North/South Consonance (2009) for Disquieted Souls (English horn solo with double quintet of strings and winds) that she premiered in New York City, June 2009. In July 2009 her Three Icons of the Feminine Divine (oboe, English horn, contraforte and piano) was premiered at the International Double Reed Conference (Birmingham, England). Her most recent composition, “Prairie Portraits,” was premiered by Caroline Hove of the LA Philharmonic in Muncie, IN at her English Horn workshop. Currently Patricia is working on the opera project Black Hawk Speaks, to be workshopped in Chicago for future performances.

Upcoming on Ms. Morehead’s busy schedule:

• Orchestrating period music and songs for “Persuasion” by Jane Austen for Chamber Opera Chicago, performances September 10-18, 2011. Athenaeum Theatre, Chicago.

• “Belle Ile Beethoven Bagatelle” for International Beethoven project – solo piano piece based on Beethoven’s Ode to Joy theme. This festival will take place September 14-18 at the Chicago Urban Art Society space in East Pilsen.

• Good News Falls Gently CD release party on September 25th, 3 PM at Elizabeth Stein Company, Chicago, featuring performances by CUBE members.

• 90th Anniversary commission, Chicago Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Russell Vinick conductor, world premiere Sunday, November 13, Gottlieb Hall, Chicago.

Patricia is on the faculty of Columbia College Chicago, teaching composition and music history, and head of the Composers Forum at the Merit School of Music. She recently joined the faculty of Dominican University. She also teaches composition online with the Vermont MIDI program. She is an Associate of the Canadian Music Centre.