Upcoming Performances
Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato sings two songs by Gordon Getty at Festival Napa Valley opening
Festival Napa Valley Stage at Charles Krug, 2800 Main Street, St. Helena, CA
Festival Napa Valley presents Uytengsu Family Opening Night, with mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato singing songs and arias, including composer Luna Pearl Woolf’s world premiere orchestrations of two songs from Gordon Getty’s The White Election: “Beauty Crowds Me” and “The Going From a World We Know.” The program also features violinist Tessa Lark and the Festival Orchestra Napa, conducted by Clelia Cafiero.
Photo: Simon PaulyFestival Napa Valley presents recital of Gordon Getty’s piano works by Forrest Eimold
CIA at Copia Ecolab Theatre, 500 1st Street, Napa, CA
Festival Napa Valley presents Festival Live! Forrest Eimold, with pianist-composer Forrest Eimold performing a program of Gordon Getty’s piano music. The program includes Four Traditional Pieces, selections from Ancestor Suite, First Adventure, Scherzo Pensieroso, the West Coast Premiere of Follow Me, and the World Premiere of Impenitent Ultima.
News
The latest on compositions, performances, and recordings.
Festival Napa Valley presents multiple premieres of Gordon Getty’s music
Joyce Di Donato, Lester Lynch, Alexandra Armantrading, Kevin Korth and Forrest Eimold perform world premieres of Gordon Getty’s works in Festival Napa Valley’s 2025 season.
San Francisco Symphony to perform three of Gordon Getty’s choral works
On June 20 and 22, 2025, the San Francisco Symphony, conducted by James Gaffigan, performs three of Gordon Getty’s works for chorus and orchestra.
Featured Recordings
Gordon Getty’s oeuvre spans orchestral works, song cycles, and full length operas.
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (2025)
Gordon Getty’s opera is based on James Hilton’s beloved 1934 novella “Goodbye, Mr. Chips” and other stories. It tells the heartwarming story of Chips, a beloved schoolteacher portrayed by tenor Nathan Granner.
Featured Reviews
A complete archive of reviews of works by Gordon Getty, including performances and recordings.
David Patrick Stearns: GETTY Goodbye, Mr Chips
Getty the librettist allows ample leeway to Getty the composer, whose neo-tonal language – more respected now than 20 years ago – is readily comparable to Gian Carlo Menotti’s melodic but not necessarily tuneful idiom. Getty doesn’t aim to please; he aims to move. Talking to their deceased loved ones is a way of life for some – and in the case of Mr Chips, Kathie answers back, making her a pervasive after-death presence.
Read the full review on GramophoneKeith R. Fisher: GORDON GETTY Goodbye, Mr. Chips
I cannot recall ever having a more intimate operatic experience than listening to Gordon Getty’s touching opera based on the acclaimed James Hilton novella. The scoring is for what sounds to me like a chamber orchestra with prominent keyboard, harp, and percussion parts. As befits the poignancy of Hilton’s story, Getty’s approach (he wrote the libretto as well) is all very lyrical. Rarely do the dynamics get as loud as forte, as in pastoral English music by the likes of, say, Delius, but for all that there is no monotony. There are, however, stylistic similarities to the vocal writing of Britain’s leading opera composer, Benjamin Britten (which should be taken as high praise). The style is tonal and traditionally melodic.
Read the full review on Fanfare