Tanner Porter
About Tanner Porter
Creator During the 2023-2024 Season
Tanner Porter is a composer-performer and songwriter. In her “original art songs that are by turns seductive and confessional” (Steve Smith, The New Yorker), Tanner explores her passion for storytelling, often framing her work within the imagery of the California coast she grew up on. Tanner’s orchestral music, described as “drop-dead gorgeous” (Jim Munson, Broadway World), has been commissioned by the San Francisco Ballet, Louisville Orchestra, Albany Symphony Orchestra, Nu Deco Ensemble, and the New York Youth Symphony, among others.
Music as a vehicle for the mingling of artistic mediums is at the heart of Tanner’s work, stemming from a reverence for theatrical productions and a deep love of song arrangement. She is thrilled to have collaborated with choreographer Claudia Schreier on two new ballets: Slipstream for the Boston Ballet and Kin, commissioned by the San Francisco Ballet and hailed as “a total-stage spectacle” (Rachel Howard, SF Chronicle).
As a songwriter, Tanner has been commissioned to write and perform song cycles by institutions such as Dumbarton Oaks (A Sky To Love More, premiered by Eric Jacobsen and Friends) and the Louisville Orchestra (True Lover’s Knot, premiered by the LO under the baton of Teddy Abrams). Her short opera Boughs was commissioned and premiered by Barnard College and Columbia University’s New Opera Workshop. Her most recent record, One Was Gleaming, was released in 2024 with mixing by Christopher Botta and mastering by David Peters of Oak House Recording. Called “an outstanding, genre-defying album from a uniquely talented composer-songwriter…a rare, must-listen recording from an important artist with much to say” (Lauren Ishida, I Care if You Listen), One Was Gleaming features colorful arrangements and “songs imbued with nothing less than life itself” (Adobe and Teardrops). Her previous record, The Summer Sinks, was recorded with LA-based studio Oak House Recording and can be heard on all streaming platforms.
As a performer, Tanner had the privilege of being in the original Broadway cast of ILLINOISE, with music by Sufjan Stevens, direction and choreography by Justin Peck, a book by Jackie Sibblies Drury and Justin Peck, music direction by Nathan Koci, and new orchestrations by Timo Andres. She was the vocal/guitar understudy for two roles played by Tasha Viets-Vanlear and Shara Nova (My Brightest Diamond)/Becca Stevens.
As an arranger, Tanner orchestrated Grammy award-winning songwriter Aoife O’Donovan’s All My Friends for premiere with the Orlando Philharmonic, with a 2024 record featuring orchestrations for The Knights of New York, the Westerlies, and the San Francisco Girls Chorus.
Tanner was a composer-in-residence with the Louisville Orchestra's 2023-2024 Creators Corps, a 2022 Early Career Musician in Residence at Dumbarton Oaks, and has been a fellow of the Aspen Music Festival, Djerassi Resident Artists Program, Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and the Next Festival of Emerging Artists. Her works have been presented at Carnegie Hall, the New World Symphony’s New World Center, the Prototype Festival, the Miami Light Box, the Mizzou International Composers Festival, New Music Detroit’s Strange Beautiful Music, New Music Gathering, and the American Composers Orchestras Connecting ACO Community virtual series. She was a 2019 recipient of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Charles Ives Scholarship. Tanner holds degrees in composition from the University of Michigan’s SMTD (BM) and the Yale School of Music (MM). She is a member of ANTiCX collective.
Back At It (2024)
World premiere by the Louisville Orchestra on February 27, 2024, as part of the In Harmony Commonwealth tour.
As a string player, I love exploring harmonies that incorporate alternative open-string tunings and I have been reminded of the beautiful tuning variations of the Mountain Dulcimer these last months in Kentucky. For fun one night, I set out to explore a dulcimer-esque DAD tuning on my cello, with the drone of the 5th below and the melody above it. It was the first time in a long time that I’ve tried writing at the cello, which was once my primary tool for composing but has gathered dust in recent years. I was struck by the chaos, joy, and anxiety of old muscles picking up where they left off, remembering and relearning what was once familiar— the feeling of suddenly being thrown back into something. The mixed-meter melody that I wrote that night became the foundation of this piece, with the DA drone still sitting beneath it throughout the piece.
Back At It was written for the Louisville Orchestra with conductor Teddy Abrams as part of the 2023-2024 LO Creators Corps Residency.
Hear the Work:
True Lovers Knot (2024)
World premiere by the Louisville Orchestra (Tanner Porter, voice; Nicole Ritchie, drums; Liz Faure, guitar) on May 9, 2024.
True Lover’s Knot is a reimagining of “Barbara Allen," the beloved traditional ballad (Child 84) that dates back to the 17th century. Specifically, it is based on the version sung by the late, great Kentuckian Jean Ritchie, “Barby Ellen.” Although there are many versions of “Barbara Allen,” the underlying themes of each are similar. The ballad tells the tragic story of two lovers— young William Greene, who, on his deathbed, asks for the affection of his scorned love, Barbara Allen. She refuses him, but when she hears the knelling of his death bell, she too perishes of a broken heart. Their love is honored in the afterlife when out of his grave grows a red rose and out of hers a green briar, which entwines in a true lover’s knot. It’s a story of pride, the bitter reluctance of the broken-hearted to forgive, and the complexities of loneliness and guilt. In reimagining this story as a new song cycle, I wanted to use the imagery of the original ballad to offer a version where the two reconcile and live on. In my version, the pride of the jilted lover is eased, the death bells of the original ballad are turned to wedding bells, and the true lover’s knot that was found only in the grave is found instead in life.
True Lover's Knot was commissioned by the Louisville Orchestra as a part of the Creators Corps program. It was workshopped and premiered by the members of the Louisville Orchestra under the baton of Teddy Abrams, with additional conducting by Gabriel Lefkowitz during the reading sessions.
Hear Excerpts of the Work:
Bear Snores On (2024)
For violoncello and double bass. Written for the Louisville Orchestra's Once Upon an Orchestra series. Based on the book by Karma Wilson.
School Collaborations
Music composition and creative music-making are essential facets of musicianship and music education but are rarely taught in the K-12 ensemble setting. Additionally, it is rare for K-12 ensembles to have opportunities to collaborate with living composers. In 2023-24, LOCC composer Tanner Porter addressed this gap with workshops at three Kentucky schools -- Grace M. James Academy in Louisville, Waggener High School in Louisville, and Heritage Area Strings Program in Danville -- inviting students into the creative process. Throughout 3-4 workshops at each school, Tanner and the students at each school co-composed a new work custom-written for their strings ensemble. The students participated in the creative process by working with Tanner to choose the mood, choose versions of melodies, harmonies, textures, etc., and shape the composition's form. By the end of the workshops, each ensemble premiered a brand new composition at their Spring concerts.
In addition to Tanner, string players from the Louisville Orchestra attended several sessions to demonstrate the music and coach the students.
Works created:
- Journey Up a Mountain (Heritage Area Strings Program, Danville, KY; dir. Jaleeta Edwards)
- Above the Valley (Grace M. James Academy, Louisville, KY; dir. Gabrielle Burdette)
- Forest Dawn (Waggener High School, Louisville, KY; dir. Thomas Grisanti)
Performances
All Performances
- Friday, October 13, 2023 | Coffee: Lasting Legacies | Whitney Hall | Kin
- Friday, October 13, 2023 | NightLites: Lasting Legacies | Ogle Center (New Albany, IN) | Kin
- Saturday, October 14, 2023 | Classics: Lasting Legacies | Whitney Hall | Kin
- Thursday, February 8, 2024 | Music Without Borders: Rhythm and Song | The Jeffersonian | Canyons
- Friday, February 9, 2024 | Music Without Borders: Rhythm and Song | St. Vincent De Paul Family Success Center | Canyons
- Saturday, February 10, 2024 | Music Without Borders: Rhythm and Song | California Community Center | Canyons
- Tuesday, February 27, 2024 | In Harmony Commonwealth Tour | Corbin Arena (Corbin, KY) | Back At It
- Wednesday, February 28, 2024 | In Harmony Commonwealth Tour | Western Hills High School (Frankfort, KY) | Back At It
- Saturday, March 2, 2024 | In Harmony Commonwealth Tour | Carson Center (Paducah, KY) | Back At It
- Tuesday, March 5, 2024 | In Harmony Commonwealth Tour | SKyPAC (Bowling Green, KY) | Back At It
- Friday, March 8, 2024 | School Collaborations: Heritage Area String Program | Norton Center (Danville, KY) | Journey Up a Mountain
- Friday, March 8, 2024 | In Harmony Commonwealth Tour | Norton Center (Danville, KY) | Back At It
- Saturday, March 9, 2024 | In Harmony Commonwealth Tour | Sadowski Center (Ft. Knox, KY) | Back At It
- Thursday, April 11, 2024 | Music Without Borders: Bridging Beats | The Jeffersonian | Back At It
- Friday, April 12, 2024, | Music Without Borders: Bridging Beats |St. Vincent DePaul Family Success Center | Back At It
- Wednesday, May 1, 2024 | School Collaborations: Grace M. James Academy | Shawnee High School | Above the Valley
- Thursday, May 9, 2024 | School Collaborations: Waggener High School | Waggener High School | Forest Dawn
- Friday, May 10, 2024 | Coffee: Creators Fest | Whitney Hall | True Lover’s Knot
- Saturday, May 11, 2024 | Classics: Creators Fest | Whitney Hall | True Lover’s Knot
- Tuesday, Sep. 24, 2024 | In Harmony Commonwealth Tour | Lovett Auditorium (Murray, KY)| Canyons
- Wednesday, Sep. 25, 2024 | In Harmony Commonwealth Tour | Christian County High School (Hopkinsville, KY)| Canyons
- Thursday, Sep. 26, 2024 | In Harmony Commonwealth Tour | Preston Arts Center (Henderson, KY) | Canyons
- Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024 | Once Upon an Orchestra | Main Library | Bear Snores On
- Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024 | Once Upon an Orchestra | Highlands-Shelby Park Library | Bear Snores On
- Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025 | Once Upon an Orchestra | Iroquois Library | Bear Snores On