photo: Juventas New Music Ensemble flutist Nicholas Southwick, PARMA Senior Producer Brad Michel
New classical music is blooming around the world this spring — particularly in the United States, where the PARMA production team worked with several composers and performers to record a variety of chamber works.
Matthew Hetz and Juventas New Music Ensemble
The production team launched into May with sessions at Rockport MA’s Shalin Liu Performance Center for PARMA’s recent Featured Recording Opportunity with the Juventas New Music Ensemble. Composer Matthew Hetz brought his selected piece, Inventions for Solo Flute, to the studio to be recorded by Juventas flutist Nicholas Southwick.
The piece, to be released on an upcoming album from Navona Records, will be programmed and performed as part of Juventas’ 2025–2026 concert season.
Inventions for Solo Flute will also be available in Dolby Atmos immersive audio, enhancing the piece’s inherent intimate character.
We’ve recently had the privilege of mixing several chamber music projects in Dolby Atmos. These experiences have beautifully demonstrated that Atmos and immersive audio aren’t just for large scale orchestral or choral works — they bring a new level of realism and presence to smaller ensembles as well.
“When you sit in a concert hall listening to a solo violinist, the experience is naturally immersive,” said PARMA Senior Producer Brad Michel. “You’re hearing direct sound from the performer, early reflections from the stage shell or proscenium, and later reflections from the concert hall itself — all of which contribute to a rich, enveloping sound.”
“Using our Atmos microphone arrays and immersive mixing techniques, we’re able to recreate that environment with remarkable fidelity. The result? A ‘you are there’ experience—whether it’s one performer or three hundred.”
Explore more chamber music in Atmos on Navona Records.
New Music for Cello and Piano
Spring sessions concluded in West Chester PA with Ovidiu Marinescu and Carl Cranmer, who came together to record new classical music for an album of contemporary compositions for cello and piano selected from a Featured Recording Opportunity.
Together, the duo recorded 68 total minutes of music in just a few short days, navigating works by composers Ivar Lunde Jr., John Spence, Pierre Schroeder, James Chenevert, Ferdinando DeSena,, Warren Gooch, Tyler Goodrich White, and Sheli Nan, whose works include an archetypal fairy tale illustrating our profound relationship with death, and a piece based on the story of two Holocaust survivors.
“The experience was enlightening, profound, entertaining and excellent,” said Nan.
“Once again PARMA is an organization of creative intelligent people on all that has to do with music; creating it, recording it, packaging it, and finding amazing musicians. Heartfelt thanks to you all. I feel like I have made more friends and that the respect for elucidation and education is paramount.”
With recordings in post production and plans for Carnegie Hall concerts post album release, Marinescu expressed great enthusiasm regarding the program, to be presented as the third installment in Navona Records’ RESURGENCE Series.
Experience the first two volumes of RESURGENCE.
