Jennifer Bellor, composer Bonus track/single to debut album STAY released August 10, 2016 Colin Gordon, soprano saxophone Andrew Links, piano Wendy Eisenberg, electric guitar Tyrone Allen, electric bass Aaron Staebell, drums CREDITS Recorded and mixed by Greg Thompson at the Eastman School of Music Conducted by Jennifer Bellor PREFACE My composition "Midnight Swim" was recorded as a bonus track for my album STAY released August 10th, 2016. Existing in multiple versions including big band (which was awarded a 2013 Downbeat award), sinfonietta, and chamber ensemble, this particular recording and instrumentation is the one that best represents the piece. It was written for soprano saxophonist Colin Gordon, since he also premiered the big band version. BIO Las Vegas-based composer Jennifer Bellor blends contemporary jazz, classical, and rock styles, and enjoys collaborating will jazz and classical musicians, dancers, poets, filmmakers, and visual artists. Her works have been performed by national and international organizations such as Washington National Opera, Lviv Philharmonic, Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra, ACO Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute readings in New York City, North American Saxophone Alliance Conference, Aspen Music Festival, June in Buffalo, Eastman New Jazz Ensemble, Eastman Wind Ensemble, Eastman Saxophone Project, UNLV Wind Symphony, Nazareth College Wind Symphony, California State University East Bay Wind Orchestra, UNLV Jazz Ensemble, Florida State University Festival of New Music, Hildegard Festival, Ritsos Project in Greece, A/Tonal Ensemble, and many others in the United States and abroad. Her composition "Skylark Lullaby" (2014) was the winner of the 2015 International Alliance for Women in Music (IAWM) Judith Lang Zaimont Prize. Additionally, she was recognized as a 2015 American Prize Finalist for her composition Uprising for wind ensemble, and a semi-finalist for both Skylark Lullaby, and her opera Christabel. She earned a 2013 DownBeat Award for her composition "Midnight Swim" for big band in the original composition/orchestrated work category at the graduate college level. Her composition "Noir" for big band won the 2nd Annual Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra composition contest, and was performed in Seattle in November 2014, featuring Grace Kelly on alto saxophone. Judges considered her piece “really beautiful and haunting,” and “reminiscent of Ornette’s collaboration with Howard Shore for the film Naked Lunch.” Additionally, she was commissioned by Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative to write a twenty-minute opera, "Duffy’s Cut," which was premiered at the Kennedy Center in November 2013. Her writing was praised as showing a “flair for full-bodied, operatic sound” (Washington Post), and for “using contrasting rhythms and clever harmonies to an intriguing effect” (Huffington Post). Highlighted recent performances include a premiere of "Bordello Nights" by the UNLV Wind Orchestra featuring jazz saxophonists Eric Marienthal and Colin Gordon, pianist Mitch Forman, bassist Kevin Axt, and drummer Bernie Dresel. The wind orchestra premiered the shortened version of the piece in France June 26, 2016 on their tour at the Festival des Anches d’Azur in La Croix Valmer. Additionally, a revised version of her composition "898 Hildegard" for orchestra and chorus that was commissioned and premiered by the Genesee Valley Orchestra June 3-4 in Rochester, NY will be presented by the Las Vegas Philharmonic April 1, 2017. Jennifer’s debut album STAY released August 10th, 2016 blends jazz, classical and rock styles, featuring classical and jazz artists affiliated with Eastman School of Music and University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Additionally, her track "Chase the Stars" features Las Vegas-based rapper Rasar Amani. She presented live show versions at her CD release party, along with premieres, at the Bop Shop August 21st. For more information on her album, please visit the Discography page on her website www.jenniferbellor.com Jennifer earned a PhD in music composition at Eastman School of Music, a Master of Music degree in composition at Syracuse University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in music at Cornell University. Her primary composition teachers included David Liptak, Robert Morris, Andrew Waggoner, Sally Lamb-McCune, and Steven Stucky.   She is currently Visiting Lecturer at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she teaches courses in music composition and theory. For more information, please visit her musician Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/JenniferBellor, and website at jenniferbellor.com