photo: Dan Brown | credit: Petra Hajska

December brought a variety of new music to be recorded by PARMA’s production team. From original music recordings with author Dan Brown to studio sessions with several PARMA artists, here’s a look at the productions that closed out 2025.

Why Was The Secret of Secrets Author Dan Brown Recording at Prague’s Studio Martínek?

The New York Times bestselling author and creator of Wild Symphony Dan Brown connected with the PARMA production team to record his original compositions at Studio Martínek, nestled in the same city as his latest mystery thriller, The Secret of Secrets.

Led by PARMA CEO Bob Lord and PARMA Vice President of Production Jan Košulič, the Czech Studio Orchestra and Kühn Choir of Prague recorded several of Brown’s classical works.

Lord has served as Brown’s music producer in collaborations spanning more than a decade, guiding PARMA’s work on the groundbreaking Wild Symphony and other creative projects.

“Dan approaches music with the same curiosity, discipline, and storytelling instinct that defines his writing,” said Lord.

“From Wild Symphony to these latest recordings, his musical voice continues to grow in depth and imagination, and PARMA is pleased to help bring his vision to life.”

Prague’s Studio Martínek has been a cultural landmark for over a century and a recording studio for the past 70 years. With a setting steeped in history, the studio proved to be an ideal setting to record Brown’s latest musical creations.

“I’ve had a great few days here recording. Something about Studio Martínek feels like home.”

– Dan Brown

Brown shares more on his recording experience in Prague in this video interview. 

Roberta Rust and Anthony Wilson at Shalin Liu

Productions continued in the United States with Roberta Rust, an imaginative recitalist, vibrant orchestral soloist, and sensitive chamber musician praised by The New York Times as “a powerhouse of a pianist.”

Rust worked with PARMA to record a new album of solo piano works by Indigenous American composers Louis W. Ballard (Quapaw/Cherokee, 1931–2007) and Connor Chee (Diné/Navajo, b. 1987). Recorded at Rockport MA’s Shalin Liu Performance Center, the album will come as Rust’s third release with Navona Records, following DIRECT CONTACT, MOZART MATURES, and A CITY OF SILVER & A CITY OF FIRE.

“I’ve had the great pleasure of working with Brad Michel and Lucas Paquette on previous PARMA projects and they are superb professionals with great ears and abundant experience,” said Rust. “Working with them is akin to a gratifying chamber music experience — one never feels alone artistically, but part of a team that shares mutual aesthetic and musical values.”

Rust hopes future listeners of the Navona Records album will hear the authentic Indigenous voice of the two significant American composers, who have expressed Indigenous music as reflectively influenced by their Western European musical training.

“I am of Lakota Sioux descent, so playing this music and engaging with these composers has special meaning for me and I hope for listeners as well.”

– Roberta Rust

PARMA’s Shalin Liu sessions also included the music of Australian composer Anthony Wilson, whose Une Idée and Zambra were recorded by violinist and Kronos Quartet member Gabriela Díaz and pianist Yoko Hagino.

Several of Wilson’s recorded works for orchestra and choir have been released on Navona Records.

Solo Violin with Er-Gene Kahng

December sessions concluded back at Studio Martínek with violinist Er-Gene Kahng, an accomplished performer, educator, and recording artist, widely recognized for her advocacy of underrepresented composers and her contributions to American classical music.

The team recorded several works for an upcoming album of solo violin music, much of which was written by 20th century composers.

“Studio Martínek was a wonderful experience from start to finish,” said Kahng. 

“Honza and his team were warm, knowledgeable and adaptable. It made a daunting task measured, steady and fun.”