Colored Stones movements I & III,  by Jenni Brandon, was presented by bassoonist Jack Formica on March 25, 2021 at the University of Akron’s “Women In Music” concert at 4:30pm to 6:00pm PDT. The concert was free and in the Guzzetta Recital Hall.  This event was in celebration of Women’s History Month, featuring music by women composers of the past and present. 

Colored Stones for solo bassoon tells the story of three stones: smoky quartz, lapis lazuli, and tiger’s eye. Some cultures and spiritual practices believe these stones have powerful qualities such as the ability to heal, protect, and offer spiritual guidance. The bassoon explores these beautiful stones’ unique qualities.

Smoky Quartz – An incredibly grounding stone, this smoky brown stone transforms and diffuses negative energy. The bassoon changes from a sense of grounding to playfulness, exploring this balance of energy. In the end, it always finds its way back to telling the story of the grounding quality of the stone.

Tiger’s Eye – Tiger’s eye, a golden brown to deep red stone, is very grounding and can bring luck and ward off evil. The bassoon is sometimes “protective and seeing,” moving quickly to remove the look of the “evil eye” and other times moving dreamily through an ancient landscape of protective energy.

Colored Stones was chosen as the winner of the 2014 Bassoon Chamber Music Composition Competition and premiered by Susan Nelson.

Recorded on Susan Nelson’s CD Elements and friends on MSR Classics.  World premiere recordings of winning works from the 2012 and 2014 Bassoon Chamber Music Composition Competition

The CD  features Jenni Brandon’s work Colored Stones  for solo bassoon, and sheet music is available through Imagine Music