Pancho Villa From a Safe Distance - Opera

Pancho Villa From a Safe Distance is a bilingual cross-border opera about the life and death of Pancho Villa.  Commissioned by Ballroom Marfa, the project is the third installment of The Marfa Triptych, a genre-hopping trilogy of musical performances by visionary composer Graham Reynolds. The opera is an insightful examination of the Mexican and Mexican-American impact on the culture and politics of West Texas, contributing to the current and timely conversation about borders and the limitations of the concept of delineated states.

MARFA: A Country & Western Big Band Suite

MARFA: A Country & Western Big Band Suite was originally commissioned by Ballroom Marfa. The work, composed by Golden Hornet Artistic Director Graham Reynolds, merges instrumental country music and western soundtracks with a power jazz rhythm section, a classic string quartet, all alongside horns. In total, a fourteen-member ensemble featuring legendary country guitarist Redd Volkaert (Merle Haggard) and ever-smiling pedal steel player Ricky Davis (Dale Watson).

POE / A TALE OF MADNESS - Ballet Austin

Following the unprecedented success of Grimm Tales, the first ballet commissioned by the Butler New Choreography Endowment, join us for the second offering as Stephen Mills explores the haunted life and works of celebrated author Edgar Allan Poe in his latest world premiere. With a newly commissioned score by award-winning composer Graham Reynolds, and libretto by Shawn Sides, this World Premiere work shares a perspective of the blurred lines between Poe’s chilling tales and complex life.

THE BRAIN - featuring Jeffrey Zeigler

“The Brain” was written as a part of Golden Hornet’s Science-based commission “The Sound of Science”. All pieces were performed by world-renowned cellist Jeffrey Zeigler, long time member of Kronos Quartet, cellist for John Zorn, Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, and many more.

MARIE ANTOINETTE: Vampire Queen of Versailles - Ballet Austin

Marie Antoinette: Vampire Queen of Versailles is a full-length world premiere ballet by Ballet Austin that reimagines the infamous French queen as a supernatural creature choosing immortality and power over the guillotine. Composer Graham Reynolds crafted a dynamic, hybrid score for the production. He blended a period-appropriate, Versailles-sized chamber orchestra with contemporary synthesizers and drum machines. The classical instrumentation reflects the rigid elegance of the 18th-century French court, while the electronic and synth elements open up the sonic landscape for the dark, seductive vampire storyline.

The Difference Engine: A Triple Concerto

The completed concerto “The Difference Engine” premiered on February 6th, 2010 with a 35-piece string orchestra in a Golden Hornet Project performance at Ballet Austin’s Austin Ventures Studio Theater.