Thirteen Rounds

Thirteen Rounds (2021) draws on the materials from my chamber opera Inheritance which anchors in the life and legacy of Sarah Winchester, heir to the gun-manufacturer fortune, and explores her life as a metaphor and a means to reflect on America’s deeply complex relationship with violence and guns. Thirteen Rounds is a musical story without a narrative, and explores the elements of violence, self-imprisonment, atonement, and Winchester’s obsession with the number 13.  Thirteen Rounds is commissioned by and written for the Chatter (Jeff Brooks, bass clarinet; Kathleen Mcintosh, harpsichord; Jeff Cornelius, percussion; Elliot Simpson, guitar; David Felberg, conductor), with funding generously provided by Eleanor Eisenmenger. – Lei Liang