American neo-classical composer Sharon Fendrich released her self-produced first album, Red Sky Prairie, on August 1, 2019. The album runs just under 60 minutes and includes 11 tracks. The album's emotive melodies captivate the heart and offer the listener a soundtrack to dreams and memories. The music features Fendrich on piano, along with four Dutch soloists: violinist Wilfred Sassen, cellist Joep Willems, flautists Helen Hendriks and Ies Muller, and Russian vocalist Anna Emelyanova. Mixing both instrumentals and lyrical pieces, Fendrich writes her songs in five languages including Esperanto

Rather than relying on traditional forms, Fendrich allows her fingers and ears to guide her into crafting a complete solo piano work. Then, as she begins to add layers of sound through improvisation, counter-melodies emerge and contribute to a full harmonic palette with tempos full of breathing room. She says; “I’m willing to go to the deepest, most fragile places in our emotions to capture the music hidden inside sorrow, grief, hope, peace and love.”

Fendrich traveled to Stein, a small town in the Netherlands, to record and mix Red Sky Prairie at Kerani Music Studio with Arno Op den Camp, the engineer behind award winning neo-classical artist Kerani. Solo musicians featured on the album are frequent principal players and have toured with the André Rieu Orchestra. Los Angeles mastering engineer Stephen Marsh was the final stop in the album’s production chain. Marsh is known for his work with Hollywood’s most respected composers, including Danny Elfman, Alexandre Desplat, John Powell, Mark Isham, and Mychael Danna. “I encourage listeners to embrace the emotions that naturally arise within their hearts. My motivation is to provide a safe sensory experience which can lead to an acceptance of one’s own unique story. Starting off with willingness and curiosity can open a path to resolution, and hope for the present and future,” says Fendrich.

“The inspiration for the album,” continued Fendrich, “came from a daydream I had about a tranquil place filled with red-orange skies after the passing of a storm. A hushed early evening breeze had fallen upon a prairiescape. I saw myself at various ages residing in a weather-worn white farmhouse, able to feel the emotions of the phases of life. A profound sensation of safety and peace permeated the air in this scene and the feeling has stayed with me ever since.” Red Sky Prairie was born.

Then Fendrich pulled together poignant emotional themes from her own life and put them to music. The eleven tracks are L’dor Vador, A Secret’s Song, Within Whispers, Red Sky Prairie, Song of the Dove, Never Alone, Moonswept, Bittersweet Memory, Last Tears, In Memoriam, and That September Day.

The Hebrew phrase L’dor Vador translates as generation to generation. The circular pattern repeated throughout the piece accompanies English words that include, “round and round, on and on, I see my life in yours, hopes and memories wrap me with love.”

A Secret’s Song is a tribute to James Horner’s work, Somewhere Out There, from the animated feature film An American Tail. Magical and full of imagination, the track has a passionate B-section grounded in an Einaudi-like piano part and driven forward by passion from the violin.

Within Whispers starts with a delicate duet of piano and Irish flute. The B-section pays homage to Debussy’s orchestration of Satie’s Gymnopédie #1. The song evokes a delicate intimacy, but acknowledges there is a struggle to maintain that closeness despite inevitable obstacles.

The title track, Red Sky Prairie, paints the vision Fendrich had of a place suspended in time where emotions are free to be felt, expressed and remembered. The piece balances a rumbling storm with the calm that follows. The reflective, Americana-esque theme and full orchestration features rich string lines from the violin and cello.

The lyrics for Song of the Dove are sung entirely in Esperanto, an international language created to bring together speakers from diverse countries. The song highlights the flight of the dove of peace and the hefty weight of responsibility the bird carries.

Never Alone is sung in Spanish, English and Yiddish. Inside a sanctuary, a refugee prays for help, safety and guidance. As the prayer echoes throughout the space, the prayers of those who have had similar stories seem to echo in reply. The song was written during the summer of 2018, at the height of media attention in the USA over refugees entering the country from Latin America. The lyrics link the story with that of Jewish refugees in WWII.

Moonswept is full of delicate, magical phrasing. The piano, flute, violin and harp use sweeping brush strokes to paint a scene of free movement in the glow of moonlight.

Bittersweet Memory gently calls the listener away into a setting highlighted by a piano and flute duet. Memories of long-lost love are stirred anew, cherished for the sweetness they once provided, and again put back into memory.

In Last Tears, the piano, cello and violin trio tugs at the heartstrings in a manner offering closure. These are the tears cried before the wave of grief slows, becomes more predictable, and one accepts that a part of the sorrow will always remain.

In Memoriam is a memorial to Alaska Airlines flight 261. On January 31, 2000, enroute from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to Seattle, Washington, USA, the plane suffered a catastrophic loss of pitch control. All 88 souls aboard perished. That night Fendrich began this song, fearing that someone she knew may have been onboard. The song’s Latin-only words, “Dona eis pacem. Volant cum angelis. Amen”, translate as, “Grant them peace. They fly with the angels.”

That September Day is Fendrich’s retrospective of September 11, 2001. The piece begins just as that infamous day did in the USA. The morning sun rises, a beautiful late summer day lies ahead. Then suddenly everything changes. The English lyrics and melodic theme then bring us out of the darkness and onto a brighter path guided by the forging of togetherness, hope and strength.

Born and raised in Eugene, Oregon, USA, Fendrich began music studies at age three. Though she soon added piano, violin, flute and voice, it was piano and voice that stayed with her. Raised by a family who frequented live events, her young ears and eyes were filled with symphony, opera, ballet and other stage performances. She continued piano and choral studies through college at Tufts University in addition to courses in music theory, world music, composition, orchestration and conducting. During her senior year, she scored a student film and also conducted the orchestra in a performance of one of her compositions.

After college, she continued to explore composition while working in marketing, development and production roles for the La Jolla Music Society and the San Diego Chamber Orchestra, in California. “My favorite memories of that time were composing on the concert grands left on empty stages long after the headlining pianists had finished a performance”, Fendrich reminisces.

Fendrich’s background is in both classical and ambient music and her influences include composers ranging from Chopin, Debussy and Schubert to Ludovico Einaudi, Helen Jane Long, Enya, Clannad, Loreena McKennitt and Secret Garden.

“...carefully sculpted melodies and ambient textures guide you through imaginative worlds brimming with reverie and longing.” – Jake Hull, film and theater composer