In 1969 my cousin Evelyn Waldman, who managed to succeed in Mad Men-era Madison Avenue advertising, landed me my one and only commercial, for a French suntan lotion called Ambre Solaire. I channeled my best cross between Edith Piaf and Jaques Brel, who was very au courante at the time., since his show had opened at the Village Gate the year before and was still running.

I wrote one tune with two different lyrics, one about sun, beach, and romance, and the other connecting to French cultural icons - and cheese. They surprised me by recording both. I found all the original material including drafts of my lyrics, tapes of my studio-recorded demo, and the final versions with a professional singer, an orchestra and a voice-over announcer! Very silly, but fun. Enjoy!

Blanche Abram

In 2016 the fantastic pianist Blanche Abram, who’s been a wonderful friend and supporter of my work, played four of my series of 24 Intervals pieces as a part of a LICA concert. She did a beautiful, heartfelt job with these, and I was really pleased to come across the live recording from that day and hear them again. I thought you might also enjoy hearing them.

The Intervals series came about when a musician friend of mine once told me that her favorite songs were those that began with the jump of an octave. Like “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”. It got me to thinking about how the first two notes of any piece of music really set up what will follow. That octave jump, that interval, is only one of twenty-four possible intervals in a one-octave scale. That is to say, there are twenty-four different intervals with which to begin a piece of music. I wrote these twenty-four pieces with the idea of having the first two notes of each of them start with a different interval. Writing them has been like a series of adventures, each of which begins by taking the first two steps, and then discovering where they will lead.

I have been very pleased to have had so many performances of them by so many pianists around the world. Haddassah Guttman recorded all 24, which you can find here, and the sheet music is available as a collection here.

The warm and wonderful flautist Paul Taub passed away on March 13, 2021. He will be sorely missed. Paul performed some of my music, including ‘Blues for Paul’ which I wrote for him, and even included me in a program on what must have been one of his very last performances in late February. His friends and colleagues are holding a memorial concert event to remember and honor him. You are welcome to join. For more info click the image below or follow this link. To watch the event go to Loudwell.com or the Royal Room Facebook page

Back in the day I actually had a pretty good voice and usually sang my songs live in publishers’ offices. Sadly I didn’t have great tape recorders. This is a collection of some rough self-tapes of my songs captured on inexpensive cassette decks. The recordings date from the 60's through the 90's. My son convinced me to post them online, so here goes.

Please forgive any noise, hum, pops, or clicks or general sense of being underwater or far away!

I’m very happy to have been included on a wonderful program that will be streaming tonight from Flushing Town Hall in Queens:

LOUIS ARMSTRONG LEGACY - MONTHLY VIRTUAL JAZZ JAM

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10

7 to 9 pm on zoom

HOW TO WATCH:

Zoom: https://bit.ly/zoom-jam-live   or   https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87021459234 or facebook.com/flushingtownhall/live 

PARTICIPANTS: REGINALD HEGGIE, GHANNIYYA GREEN, MIKI YOKOYAMA, FREDDIE DUGARD and LAFORREST COPE, Aimée ALLEN, LARRY and JAKE NEWCOMB, ROB PISCITELLO, NICHOLAS BRODIE, RYAN RICHTER, DIANA GITESHA HERNANDEZ, KATE COSCO, FRANCIE SCANLON, HEIDI WARM, JULIE MANDEL, ANGEL ROSE, KEVIN HAILEY

HOUSE BAND: CAROL SUDHALTER (FL/SAX), JOE VINCENT TRANCHINA (PNO), SCOTT NEUMANN (DMS), ERIC LEMON (BS)

The wonderful flutist Paul Taub will be performing my work “Every Monday” on
Friday, February 26, 2021 (PST) @ 6:30 pm - 7:00 pm

The concert will be live-streamed from St. James Cathedral in Seattle, WA.

Please join for free!

Paul Taub, flute
Joseph Adam, organ

Jehan Alain, arr. Marie-Claire Alain – Trois Mouvements for flute and organ
Alan Hovhaness – Sonata for Ryūteki and Shō, or Flute and Organ
Julie Mandel – Every Monday for flute alone (world premiere)
Anna Bon di Venezia – Sonata No. 1 in C major, Op. 1, No. 1 for flute and organ

About Musical Prayer from the Cathedral:

Join St. James Cathedral each Friday evening at 6:30pm as Cathedral Musicians and friends present meditative music to soothe the soul and bring a quiet end to a busy week.

We invite you to join the livestream at the St. James Cathedral, Seattle Facebook page, or at the Cathedral’s Vimeo page. If you are unable to watch live, the video will be archived for future viewing.

The livestream will take place at 6:30pm Pacific / 9:30pm Eastern. Broadcasting live from St. James Cathedral, Seattle, WA.

Watch the livestream here:

Watch on Facebook

Watch on Vimeo

Link to donate: https://www.stjames-cathedral.org/music/donate/default.aspx

Recorded on 22nd September 2020 as part of Workout! Performance and more info: https://ligetiquartet.com/workshops/to-ernst-julie-mandel

The U.K.-based Ligeti Quartet selected my twelve-tone work for string quartet “For Ernst” to be featured in their wonderful series called:

WORKOUT!

“The Workout! scheme is our ambition to play and workshop 100 pieces by 100 composers in a year to celebrate our tenth anniversary. Its available now on their web site in two forms - a performance, and a video of their workshopping of the piece. ”

— Ligeti Quartet

I’m delighted at having been included. What a great idea for a Covid project!

So please visit their site here and stream the video!

Paul Taub

I’m so pleased and grateful that my work for flute and Piano Blues for Paul will be featured in the June 25th issue of The Flute Examiner, an online publication & newsletter about the flute & flute pedagogy. This will be the fourth work to be featured as a part of a collaboration with the wonderful New York Women Composers.

Blues for Paul was written for the wonderful flautist Paul Taub. The score is be available for purchase at SheetMusic Plus.

I hope you will join Classical Discoveries this Wednesday, March 11, 2019, from 5:00am until 2:00pm when Marvin Rosen presents the second program of the 17th annual series "In Praise of Woman" - devoted to music written by women in observance of Women’s History Month. This week - American Women Composers!

Here is a list of some of the works which will be presented during this week's program, including mine:

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by Eve Beglarian (1958- )
Concerto for Violin and Chamber Orchestra (2007) by Margaret Brouwer (1940- )
Jordan and the Dog Woman (2003) by Beth Denisch (1958- )
Three Preludes for Piano (2011) by Nancy Galbraith (1951- )
On the Death of Righteous (2009) by Jennifer Higdon (1962- )
String Trio "Moods" (2010) by Julie Mandel
Landing Inside the Inside of an Animal (2008) by Ann Millikan (1963- )
Sound Geometries (2003) by Pauline Oliveros (1932-2016)
Violin Concerto for Oneness (2013) by Deon Nielsen Price (1934- )
Symphony by Helen Taylor (1915-1950)
Timberline by Lois Lois V Vierk (1951- )
Birdwing by Frances White (1960- )
More Spirit Than Matter by Carolyn Yarnell (1961- )
plus music by: Beth Anderson-Harold, Rebekah Driscoll, Karen Griebling, Libby Larsen, Catherine McMichael, Joanne Metcalf, Alexandra Ottaway, Elena Ruehr, Alex Shapiro, Julia Wolfe, and much more.

Classical Discoveries, now in its 22nd year, is a unique radio show that is devoted to rarely heard contemporary works from the late 20th and 21st centuries as well as selections of music written before 1750. Most of the compositions heard on this program feature music you rarely hear, if ever, on other radio stations.

Listen on WPRB 103.3 FM Princeton NJ, or on the Internet at: www.wprb.com.
If you need more information, please go to my website at www.classicaldiscoveries.org

I’m bad about advertising these sorts of things, but my collection of piano works, Intervals, is available for sheet music purchase and download at Sheet Music Plus. Please make my day and download a copy of the entire collection or individual peices!

I’m delighted that my string trio, Moods, has been included on a recording of contemporary chamber music for strings by women composers.

“The recording, available from Albany Records, on Amazon, and other outlets, includes two works for string trio by Victoria Bond and Julie Mandel; a work for solo cello and two works for violin duo by Rain Worthington; and a composition for violin and cello by Adrienne Albert. The performers include Anna Cromwell, assistant professor of violin and viola and the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point; Lisa Nelson, who is instructional professor of viola, violin, and string pedagogy at Illinois Wesleyan University; and Mira Frisch, associate professor of cello and director of string chamber music at the university of North Carolina at Charlotte. Both Anna Cromwell and Mira Frisch appear on Albany Records performing as a violin/cello duo.”

We stumbled on this album from 1958 today, recorded by Lee Schaefer who had been a successful folk singer with a group called The Wayfairers, and a friend of my husband and me. Apparently I did lyrics to two of the songs on the album, Dark is the Night, and We Played at Love. She had a lovely warm voice!

Guido Arbonelli (clarinet) and Michele Fabrizo (piano) will be performing my duet for Clarinet and Piano in several concerts in four cities in Italy this November, starting in Gubbio on the 10th. I wish I could go!

I stumbled across a children’s record on YouTube the other day that I wrote four songs for in the 1970’s called Eat Your Spinach. You can jump to it <here>. I had forgotten half of these songs! I laughed a lot when I got to “It Rains” which starts with an intro around 11 mins 20 seconds (11:20). Also, “I Wonder” is beautiful, staring at 7 minutes. Enjoy!

Its based on a story by Beth Brown. I did the music and Lyrics. It was conducted by Vic Flick, who clearly brought in a lot of great studio musicians, but I have no idea who did the arrangements. It was produced by Howard Scott, who also hired me to do some other Golden Records childrens’ albums. I’ll try to find them too!

MEMORIES, a piece of mine for violin and piano, will be played at a LICA concert in April. 

Featuring Brian Bak, violin and Hsin-Chiao Liao, piano.

Please come!

presented by
The Long Island Composers Alliance
Sunday April 19, 2020 at 2 p.m.
Bryant Library
Roslyn, Long Island
2 Paper Mill Road, Roslyn, New York 11576
516-621-2240
Free Admission

Whipped Cream, a piece of mine for clarinet and piano, will be played at a concert this coming Friday by two very talented musicians, Carina Canonico on clarinet and Jane Leslie on piano.  Please come!

Concert of Music by New York Composers
presented by
The Long Island Composers Alliance
Friday, June 15, 2018 at 7 p.m.
South Huntington Public Library
Huntington Station, New York
145 Pidgeon Hill Road, Huntington Station, New York 11746
631-549-4411
Free Admission

My piece for clarinet and piano, WHIPPED CREAM, will be performed by Carina Canonico, clarinetist, and Nhi Huynh, pianist on Sunday, March 11th at the Bryant Library in Great Neck, NY.   The concert will take place at 2 pm.  WHIPPED CREAM is one of three clarinet/piano works written under the titled CONFECTIONS.  The other two works are SPRINKLES and A LA MODE.

The ASCAP Plus Awards program recognizes writer members whose works are substantially performed in media not surveyed by ASCAP, or whose works have a unique prestige value for which adequate compensation would not otherwise be received. The awards are determined by an independent panel of distinguished music experts who are neither members nor employees or ASCAP. I'm really honored and pleased to have received the award!

Haddasah Guttmann's wonderful recording of all 24 of my INTERVALS works has finally been released!! Its available for download on iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby or and other online retailers and streaming services. Please give it a listen!

Three of my works will be performed in three separate concerts on October 22, which is an amazing and wonderful coincidence!

Hadassah Guttmann, who has recorded all 24 of my INTERVALS works for piano will be performing some of them at The Flushing Fresh Meadows Jewish Center located at 193-10 Peck Ave, Fresh Meadows in Queens at 2PM.

Soprano Tammy Hansrud will be singing CHAMBER MUSIC at a concert presented by the Long Island Composers Alliance in collaboration with the LI Arts Council, at South Nassau Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 228 South Ocean Avenue, Freeport, NY,  also at 2 pm. 

In Chicago, Anna Cromwell, violin; Lisa Nelson, violin/viola; and Mira Frisch, cello will be playing all three movements of MOODS, my string trio, at the Doudna Fine Arts Center Recital Hall, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL.