Jenni Brandon

Death Valley Symphony performance and premiere at the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center on April 11
2026-04-11 19:30 - 21:00 (America/Chicago) | UNI Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center, Great Hall, 8392 University Ave, Cedar Falls, IA, IA, 50614-0801, United States
Dark Skies and Distant Worlds – April 11, 2026, 7:30 P.M.
Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center, Cedar Falls, IA
Tickets: Dark Skies and Distant Worlds with Heartland Marimba | GBPAC
Jenni will conduct her Death Valley Symphony by Heartland Marimba with 100 singers
Assisted by the Met Chorale, Bel Canto Cedar Valley Chamber Choir, and University of Northern Iowa Percussion
3 World Premieres by HM Artists: Jenni Brandon, Matthew Coley, & Marco Schirripa
Heartland Marimba is joining forces with two other Cedar Valley ensembles—The Met Chorale and Bel Canto—to present a captivating concert combining mallet percussion and choir. Dark Skies and Distant Worlds invites the audience on a sonic and visual voyage through some of the most stunning and mysterious locations across our solar system. Celebrating the magic of our natural world, the performance also aims to inspire environmental awareness. Six HM Artists will take the stage with an extraordinary collection of instruments, including several 9-foot marimbas, as well as glass, stone, and otherworldly metal percussion. With many performances across the country and around the globe, Heartland Marimba continues to showcase the unique artistry of its musicians and instruments for enthralled audiences.

Death Valley Symphony by Jenni Brandon (composer and conductor)
I. Badwater Basin [marimba quartet]
II. Clay Pipes and Spiral Shells [two marimbas and narrator]
*III. Erosion’s Grotto [chamber choir and marimba quartet] – WORLD PREMIERE
IV. Dark Sky [SATB chamber choir, SATB choir, marimba quartet, percussion ensemble, piano]

Cobalt Blue for Flute/Piccolo performed at Coastal Carolina College
2026-04-12 16:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Coastal Carolina University, 100 Chanticleer Drive E, Conway, SC, 29528, United States
Cobalt Blue for Flute (with Piccolo) and piano is performed by Olivia Odhiambo, a flute student at Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina. Olivia is one of the consortium members that helped support the creation of Cobalt Blue. She is joined by Muriel Balzer on piano.
Cobalt Blue for Flute (with Piccolo) and Piano (version also available with Wind Symphony) is inspired by the beauty and unique landscape of Long Beach, California, with the solo ﬂute (with piccolo) as our guide through its sights and sounds. The journey begins at the striking Walter Pyramid (I. The Great Pyramid), a cobalt-blue landmark rising 18 stories above the city on the campus of California State University, Long Beach. As the ﬂute soars above, the Cobalt Blue theme emerges, weaving throughout the piece.

Moving through the city’s roads and highways, we arrive at the Grand Prix of Long Beach (II. The Grand Prix), where a rhythmic groove captures the speed and excitement of the race. As cars zip by, the Cobalt Blue theme returns in a dreamlike, slow-motion moment before accelerating toward the ﬁnish line.
Leaving the race behind, we head to the beach, where the sound of the wind evokes the ocean breeze (III. Western Sandpipers at the water’s edge). The piccolo sings the calls of Western Sandpipers in a solo cadenza using several transcribed Western Sandpiper songs and playing in the surf – running, darting, and soaring into the sky. Sunlight sparkles on the water as the solo piccolo gives us a bird’s-eye view of the water and sand below.
In majestic ﬂight, we ﬂy over the Long Beach harbor, glimpsing the Queen Mary with her iconic red and black stacks (IV. Majestic ﬂight over the Queen Mary).

As birds dive and glide above, we await the deep, resounding blast of her 55Hz typhoon whistle. The journey concludes back at the Great Pyramid, bringing our musical exploration full circle.
Commissioned by ﬂutist Dr. Jenni Olson and a consortium of ensembles and individuals, the world premiere of the Wind Symphony version was performed by Dr. Olson as soloist and the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music Wind Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Jermie Arnold on March 8, 2025 at the Carpenter Center in Long Beach, California. She premiered the piano version at CSULB on September 7, 2025.

The Dark Hills performed by Collegium Ancora in
2026-04-19 16:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Grace Episcopal Church Rhode Island, 300 Westminster St, Providence, RI, 02903, United States
The Dark Hills for SATB choir, Oboe, and Piano is performed by Collegium Ancora in Rhode Island on their concert “Kaleidoscope: A Spectrum from Dark to Light.”
Sunday, April 19, 2026
4pm EST
Grace Episcopal Church – 300 Westminster St, Providence, RI 02903
