"The Dream Gallery: Seven California Portraits is a big song cycle for soloists and chamber orchestra that depicts a group of archetypal Californians and the regions in which they live. The product of an intense year-and-a-half of composing and recording, Gallery exposes both the state's varied landscape and the fault lines of its characters' internal worlds. Dispensing with postcard themes and stressing stark realism, the piece highlights these complexities through music that melds elements of classical, rock and jazz, and is performed by high caliber musicians from across Southern California. To emphasize the characters' individuality, I chose a different singer for each of the cycle’s seven movements. The soloists – Mary Jaeb, David Marshman, Janelle DeStefano, Delaney Gibson, Carver Cossey, Martha Jane Weaver and Tom Zohar -- form a fascinating cross-section of the musical life of the region. All of them met admirably the challenge of a composition posing unusual demands and a high degree of characterization." — Mark Abel (composer)
