Breath of Life

Excerpt:

Breath of Life

Music by J. Todd Frazier

Libretto by Michael Remson

Inspired by real events, people and situations, J. Todd Frazier conceived of the story of “Breath of Life” in response to watching his father, Dr. O. H. Frazier, perform a successful heart transplant procedure at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston, TX. Informing the central themes of the work were interviews and conversations with recipient Reverend Robert Browne and surgeon Dr. O. H. Frazier. The work responds to aspects of the procedure that defy science, challenge spiritual views from both the Judeo Christian Religion and Shinto Faith, and require “leaps of faith” from all involved.

Written in Honor of Dr. O. H. Frazier and Dedicated to the Memory of

Ruth Popper, Rev. Bob Browne, Claude Duthuit and James Bowers.

Support provided by the Powell and McNair Foundations of Houston, TX and

The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance.

Setting: Houston, Texas, A hospital, 1981. The Set: Four main areas. Downstage center is the Operating Room. There is appropriate electronic machinery, including a bypass machine, heart monitor, and defibrillator, all surrounding a gurney. Directly above it and further upstage on a raised platform, is the Observation Deck with several chairs. The area furthest downstage should remain clear and free of obstruction. Upstage right is the Hospital Chapel. A large cross, not depicting the crucifixion, is seen suspended. Beneath and behind it, a prie dieu for kneeling in prayer (facing the audience) can be seen. Further upstage, chairs and/or a pew. While it is not as sterile as the rest of the surroundings, it should be utilitarian, nothing more. Upstage left is the Patient’s Room and a small adjoining Vestibule (located between the O.R. and Patients Room). The Patient’s Room is white, if possible, and includes a hospital style bed, a table next to it and a chair for visitors. The room should also include machinery for monitoring the progress of the patient, including an intravenous stand/bag and heart monitor. It is central to the effectiveness of the set that these areas appear sterile. The set should represent a clinical detachment from the emotional events that take place within it.

About this entry

You’re currently reading “ Breath of Life ,” an entry on J. Todd Frazier

Published:: 12.27.07 / 5pm

Category:: Composition, Entrepreneurial/Other, Medical: General and Arts in Medicine

About

Jefferson Todd Frazier

(October 2011 Performance of “Buffalo Altar” at Perini Ranch supporting the Buffalo Gap, TX Historic Village; middle 3, l-r: Barry Corbin, narrator; Todd Frazier, composer; and Stephen Harrigan, librettist)

Jefferson Todd Frazier is a composer, educator, non-profit leader and 6^th generation Texan. He is the Director of The Center for Performing Arts Medicine at The Methodist Hospital in Houston, Founder of the American Festival for the Arts and Houston Arts Partners, and is the former Executive Director of Young Audiences of Houston. His work in the non-profit sector focuses on the arts as a unique and dynamic common denominator in strategic collaboration. He is currently leading research, education and accessibility collaborations between the K-12 Education, University, Texas Medical Center, and the Arts and Culture communities in Houston, TX. He received his undergraduate and graduate training from The Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, and The Juilliard School in New York, NY. He has been honored by the American Academy of Arts and Letters and serves as a Director of the Texas Lyceum, Member of the Eastman National Council and Fellow of the US-Japan Foundation Leadership Program. On the occasion of the Juilliard School’s 100th anniversary in 2006, Frazier was recognized as one of 100 distinguished alumni and profiled in the Juilliard Journal’s “A Quiet Revolution: Juilliard Alumni and The Transformation of Education in America Through the Arts.”

As a composer, his love for history inspires many of his works. Most recently; “Thomas Jefferson”, a large scale oratorio based on the extraordinary life and contributions of the third president of the United States, received its premiere at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. on April 3, 2011 by the National Symphony Orchestra, soprano Renee Fleming and conductor Christoph Eschenbach and has since been performed as part of Mrs. Fleming’s West coast Orchestral tour in March 2012 with the San Antonio, Portland, Seattle, Denver and Fresno Orchestras – “It’s a beautiful work and the words of the Declaration of Independence come to life in a powerful way. I’m so happy to be singing Todd’s piece for the first time and it’s particularly special for me to have premiered it in our nation’s capital,” Ms. Fleming; “Buffalo Altar; A Texas Symphony,” the story of Texas for narrator and orchestra (or piano), has become a popular highlight at literary and historical events across the state with narrators Lucian Douglass, Tommy Thompson and Barry Corbin; and “Save the World: In Memoriam Richard Smalley”, for narrator and orchestra, was written to commemorate the 25^th anniversary of the 1985 discovery of nanotechnology at Rice University in Houston, TX. For more information please visit: www.jtoddfrazier.com

WEBSITES:

J. Todd Frazier

Breath of Life

About this entry

No comments

Have your say

About

Recently

Categories