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"David Graves' original music and sound design are superb."
- Kedar K. Adour, For All Events
Starting in September 2008, I began composing new music and designing sounds for the Aurora Theater's incredible production of Miss Julie. Mark Jackson (Director) and I met periodically for five months, previewing and discussing musical ideas and soundscapes. Then the rehearsals started, and the real magic began....
The play opened April 9. Below are four samples of the music that became an integral part of the play. Many thanks to everyone involved - actors, crew, staff at the Aurora - for an impressive production.
Dancing Folk Music 
Slow Dreamy and Romantic 
Tragic Meltdown
Money and Dreams
Members of San Francisco's Real Vocal String Quartet recorded the violin (Alisa Rose), viola (Dina Maccabee) and cello (Jessica Ivry) music. I am deeply indebted to Alisa for her generous advice on writing idiomatically for fiddle! Multiple overdubs were required to create the critical "barn dance" ambience for portions of the script, including some accordion, believe it or not (and a big thank you to Larry and Joyce!)... and of course there are the usual trips to freesound for unusual field recordings...
Ken Bullock, who has talked with me on a number of occasions about my Berkeley Symphony works, writes for the Berkeley Daily Planet. He took a special interest in the collaboration between Mark Jackson and me, attended one of our rehearsals, and wrote an insightful article. I've quoted Ken's review of the play, a separate piece, below (along with others!):
"The carnival here, though, is only heard offstage, as the lower classes celebrate
the season with sexual provocativeness. David Graves’ music keys it in well, as do
his more reflective tones on strings and keyboard in the intimate chamber of the
kitchen, where time seems to float, to get tangled up in pauses and long looks, to
change the very color of the air as the three come out with their emotions and
secrets, peaking with a slow dance on the kitchen table as if on stage, ending in a
deadly game of hypnosis, of self-hypnosis."
- Ken Bullock, Berkeley Daily Planet
"Composer/sound designer David A. Graves offers a movie-like underscore –
folksy jigs when we’re reminded of the celebrations happening outside on the
estate’s grounds, intensely romantic and cello dominated when Jean and Julie
inch closer to the consummation of their heavy-duty flirtation."
- Chad Jones, Theater Dogs
"A great deal of credit for this production's success goes to Helen Cooper for
her effective translation, to David A. Graves for a remarkably intuitive
soundscape, and to designer Giulio Cesare Perrone for a unit set that is
simple, effective, and yet surprisingly elegant in its minimalism. All of these
elements have been carefully integrated under the meticulous direction of
Mark Jackson, whose keen attention to motivation and detail anchor the
evening in a most astonishing way. It's rare to see a classic done so well that
the audience leaves the theater visibly shaken by the ending.
- George Heymont, My Cultural Landscape