In this perplexing murder mystery from New York Times bestselling author Lemony Snicket, everyone seems to have a motive, everyone has an alibi, and nearly everyone is a musical instrument. But the composer is still dead! Help LSO and narrator William Shomos solve the mystery by investigating the families of the orchestra in this humorous who-done-it. Arrive early for complimentary face painting, an instrument petting zoo, crafts, and other family activities.

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Lemony Snicket's The Composer Is Dead

Nebraska Wesleyan University

The composer is dead… and everyone on stage is a suspect in this hilarious narrated introduction to the orchestra, based on the children’s book by Lemony Snicket.

When you hear music, what do you see? The amazing student artists of the Rainey institute share their visions as their interpretive art is projected above the orchestra!

Family Fun

Beachwood High School

Berkeley native Eisa Davis’ lyrical coming-of-age story follows a multiracial girl found as an infant floating in a basket on the Navarro River in Mendocino County. It’s 1955, and Bulrusher is 18 and restless, with a gift for clairvoyance that makes her feel like a stranger even amongst the eccentric, dialect speaking folks of her predominantly white enclave of Boonville. When a mysterious Black girl from Birmingham comes to town, Bulrusher discovers new facets of her identity — and uncovers her place in the world. A Pulitzer Prize finalist called “captivating and lushly poetic” by the LA Times, Bulrusher is infused with rhythmic language, passion, and down-home humor.

Bulrusher

Peet's Theatre

In the musical murder mystery, The Composer is Dead by Nathaniel Stookey and Lemony Snicket, the killer could be anyone in the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra! Join Niklas Riesbeck as the Detective, as he tries to find out who is guilty. The concert opens with imaginative music by Edvard Grieg and Jean Sibelius. Suitable for children from 8 years. The Composer is Dead is performed in Swedish.

The Composer Is Dead

SR Berwaldhallen

In 1955, in the redwood country north of San Francisco, a multiracial girl grows up in a predominantly white town whose residents pepper their speech with the historical dialect of Boontling. Found floating in a basket on the river as an infant, Bulrusher is an orphan with a gift for clairvoyance that makes her feel like a stranger even around those who think they know her best: the taciturn schoolteacher who adopted her, the madam who runs her brothel with a fierce discipline, the logger with a zest for horses and women, and the guitar-slinging boy who is after Bulrusher's heart. Just when she thought her world might close in on her, she discovers an entirely new sense of self when a Black girl from Alabama comes to town.

McCarter Theatre Center

A terrible thing has transpired at the concert hall: the composer is dead! Where were the violins on the night in question? Has anyone seen the harp? With your help we will scour the stage for clues, examining each instrument of the orchestra with care – before the trail of evidence goes cold. It’s a bit of film noir fun for the whole family, a suspiciously charming introduction to the symphony for children of all ages.

Free Family Concert: The Composer is Dead

Von Braun Center

Family Concert

Mendocino College

We are excited that Nathaniel Stookey will be the composer of West Edge Opera’s first commission while he develops his first full-length opera, Bulrusher, based on the play of the same title by Eisa Davis who will serve as co-librettist. Bulrusher the play was short-listed for the Pulitzer Prize in 2007.
Bulrusher is a coming of age story about an African-American girl growing up in Northern California’s remote Anderson Valley in 1955. Found in a basket by the river, she is raised by the local schoolteacher and has never seen anyone that looks like her until a young Black woman from Alabama comes to town. Meeting someone like herself opens a political, sexual and identity awakening within her.
The development of the complete opera Bulrusher will take place over the course of three years, with a series of milestones built into the process.
Bulrusher will debut in a fully staged production as part of West Edge Festival 2023.

Diane B. Wilsey Center for Opera

With music by Nathaniel Stookey and words by Lemony Snicket, The Composer Is Dead introduces instruments of the orchestra through a whimsical, whodunit mystery. Plus, enjoy Shostakovich’s rollicking “Galop” from his musical comedy and Lili Boulanger’s vibrant depiction of a spring morning that showcases the players of the orchestra.

Nathaniel Stookey

Events

Apr 6, 2024

Lemony Snicket's The Composer Is Dead · Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra

Dec 10, 2023

Family Fun · Suburban Symphony Orchestra

Oct 27 - Dec 3, 2023

Bulrusher · Berkeley Repertory Theatre

Oct 14, 2023

The Composer Is Dead · Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra

Sep 13 - Oct 7, 2023

Bulrusher · McCarter Theatre Center

About

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