Press Release

May 14, 2025

For Immediate Release

"Orchestrating the Wild" pays tribute to the natural world in four diverse works

"The era of the player-composer is returning" – Pan Magazine

The natural world is front and center on a forthcoming album of music performed by the London Symphony Orchestra with conductors Jonathan Pasternack and Bobby Collins. Four works by the award-winning composer Sarah Bassingthwaighte pay homage to sparrows, the sea, a cave high atop a mountain, and a desolate cape. "Orchestrating the Wild" is released on May 20, 2025 on Aria Classics.

"I'm inspired by the sound and spirit of everything that is outdoors, says Bassingthwaighte, who is a critically acclaimed composer and flutist. "Over the course of 55 minutes, you’ll soar with sparrows, take in stunning views from a mountaintop, feel the air sizzle with insects, and feel the spray of the ocean as you crash against the rocks."

"A Mountain Symphony" Mvt. 1, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra

A centerpiece of the album is the Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra. It was written to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra and born out of the desire to add works for double bass and orchestra to the repertoire. Bassist Stephen Schermer, who is the soloist on this recording, also premiered the work. Bassingthwaighte says it's "more like a symphony with string bass as hero. It takes the listener through the depths of grief, irreverence, playfulness, and finally rejuvenation and purification through fire."

The album closer "A Mountain Symphony" pays homage to the breathtaking mountains of Washington state. It was composed in a cave at an elevation of 8000 feet with the sound of a glacier, the river rushing underneath, the winds in the valley, and all the forms of life. It's dedicated to Bassingthwaighte's mother, who was an eager supporter of the work while her daughter was composing it. She died shortly before the premiere of the work.

Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD or digital copy of this recording.

Composer Sarah Bassingthwaighte

Orchestrating the Wild

Release date: May 20, 2025

Aria Records

Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra 

Conductors:  Jonathan Pasternack (Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra)  

Bobby Collins (Let There Be Sparrows, then; Cape Flattery; A Mountain Symphony)

Bass soloist: Steve Schermer 

Track Listing

[01] Cape Flattery 06:52

Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra

[02] I. Lachrymae 08:28

[03] II. Scherzo 03:58

[04] III. Pesante feroce 05:43

[05] Let There Be Sparrows, then 11:03

A Mountain Symphony

[06] I. Flowing 08:20

[07] II. Pesante 10:14

Artist Biography

Canadian-American composer, flutist, and educator Sarah Bassingthwaighte is an acclaimed member of the contemporary classical music scene, a music lecturer and clinician, and an award-winning composer who has taught, performed and had her works performed in England, Iceland, Russia, Canada, Mexico, and the US. Her compositions have been performed by the Northwest Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Northwest, the Seattle Collaborative Orchestra, the Sound Ensemble, the Ecco Chamber Ensemble, and members of the Iceland Symphony, among others.

Dr. Bassingthwaighte is the winner of the European Music, the International Satie, the International Saint-Saëns Competitions, a finalist for the American Prize in Composition, and her pieces have often won the NFA Newly Published Music Award. In 2025 she is Composer-in-Residence in Sweden, at the Visby International Centre for Composers (VICC) as well as at the Uncool Residency in Switzerland.

Her solo CDs include Songs from the Caucasus, Stalks in the Breeze and Flute Meets Machine, and she and guitarist Mark Wilson recorded Around the World and Through Time as the ensemble Sirocco. She is the author of the book Flute Meets Machine, and has been awarded the Stan Chu Essay award. Dr. Bassingthwaighte is Head of Composition at Seattle Pacific University.