Praise for Damien

“the festival’s showpiece—the premiere of American Apollo by the hot young composer Damien Geter […] Geter’s music is quite beautiful and emotionally driven. There is some particularly lovely writing for strings and an interesting use of piano—particularly in the quotation of Reynaldo Hahn’s ‘À Chloris’, which is movingly utilized as a recurring love theme. […] American Apollo is an important addition to the canon” —Opera, October 2024 issue

“Geter, himself a bass-baritone, writes beautifully for voices and elegantly for orchestra. His “Apollo” score fuses Coplandesque Americana, ostinato-driven minimalism, and languid blues. [...] Geter creates a glistening atmosphere of expectation and yearning.” —The New Yorker, July 2024

“One of the most impactful things a work can do is give visibility to an erased, hidden or forgotten figure, and do so with dignity and humanity. A collaboration between composer Damien Geter and librettist Lila Palmer, American Apollo’s world premier at Des Moines Metro Opera, did precisely that. […] Geter’s orchestration creates a kaleidoscopic ‘American Impressionism’, with borrowings from other genres of the time, creating a diverse palate to accommodate the vivid characters. […] As the opera transitioned into the war years the longing of the melodic lines are punctuated by a percussive drive under the glistening tones - at times tender, at times brutal, led expressively by David Neely. […] A theme throughout is that even in a warring world, beauty is a need - this work is testament to that, that art should challenge us, give us a clearer view of the world around us, and is absolutely necessary.” —Opera Now, July 2024

“Geter’s sound palette and approach is very much his own distinct amalgamated voice, and most often, invigoratingly fresh. […] Under Maestro Neely’s leadership Mr. Geter’s musical intentions and motivic inventions were served up with loving gusto and high level musicianship by a twenty-five piece chamber orchestra that made the strongest case possible for this newly minted work. […] There is no question that American Apollo has legs and crosses the finish line. […] significant achievement […] The whole project resonated with artistic excellence, important social commentary, awesome commitment, and abundant community pride in this eventful World Premiere. […] It is a testament to the power of the message of love and inclusion, and the quality of the talent involved, that when the stage lights dimmed at the end of the performance, the SRO audience rose as one in the dark, and didn’t wait a moment to launch into a teary-eyed roar of approval that grew into a prolonged, emotional ovation. An “occasion,” indeed, and one to be treasured.” —Opera Today, July 2024

“[American Apollo’s] most affecting moments revolve around the melding of artistic inspiration and growing love in Sargent’s studio. They include Sargent’s first caressing aria (“Magnificent. Extraordinary.”), about how McKeller’s body and modeling skill have moved him, and later, a tender duet of mutual seduction as Sargent tells the stories of the gods and McKeller finds them in his poses. Mr. Geter’s lyrical music is at its strongest here; he also integrates Reynaldo Hahn’s perfumed chanson “À Chloris,” which the two men sing together, as a love motif.” —Wall Street Journal, July 2024

“Geter’s piece is a transcription of J.S. Bach’s Prelude and Fugue No. 2 in C Minor from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1. OBF instituted a plan to commission orchestral transcriptions of J.S. Bach’s keyboard works, and Geter’s—the multi-talented composer and bass-baritone has Portland roots as artistic advisor to Portland Opera and the Resonance Ensemble—was the first. This nine-minute piece used OBF’s 100-strong Modern Orchestra to produce bold jazz-infused sounds that put even more power into the Bach repertoire.” —Oregon Arts Watch, July 2024

“The work [COTTON] was composed by the prolific Damien Geter” —New York Amsterdam News, April 2024

“The cast of five soloists was anchored by bass-baritone Damien Geter who portrayed William Still with excellent vocals, displaying gravity and determination to “write, record, chronicle”.” —OperaGene, February 2024

“Damien Geter embodies the role of William Still. It is always a challenge to be the “still” figure at the center of a drama, when everything and everyone swirls around you so colorfully. His commanding presence and voice full of bass-baritone gravitas made me believe his character fully.” —DC Theater Arts, February 2024

“Leading off as the documentarian, William Still was reenacted by baritone Damien Geter in his VOA (Main Stage) debut. His commanding presence was transformative. His disciplined perseverance, haunting, as he commands himself to record first hand the harsh realities of slavery and escape of those enslaved, “Write it down.”” —The New Journal & Guide, February 2024

“The Blacknificent 7’s newest offerings proved its most memorable. Geter’s sumptuous Annunciation (2022)—given vigorous life by tenor Russell Thomas—sets a poem by librettist Joshua Banbury that reimagines the Biblical annunciation as an intimate encounter between two men. It’s the sexiest thing to hit the Orchestra Hall stage in recent memory: Banbury’s seven-verse text is unsparing (“he moved in me / the gold chain dangled on my face”), and Geter’s all-string setting intoxicating. Each verse segues unbroken into the next, the shifts signaled by changes in tempo and instrument pairings. The seventh verse ends in an echo of the first, with string harmonics, before vanishing in a mystical, harp-laced flourish. […] Annunciation’s breathless eroticism. […] Here’s to hearing more from the Blacknificent 7—and soon.” —Musical America, December 2023

“composer-performers Damien Geter and Jasmine Barnes also got to display their versatility in their own works and pieces by their colleagues […] The work that came off most successfully was Geter’s Annunciation (2022), a song cycle of seven vignettes derived from an explicitly homoerotic text by Joshua Banbury, subtitled “Visions from a Fever Dream.” […] Passions soon overtake text and music, the explicit carnality of Geter’s lyrical declamation buoyed by ecstatic instrumental lines […] Geter’s firm bass-baritone was put to most effective use as one of two vocalists in Jasmine Barnes’ The United States Welcomes You (2023) […] both singers acquitted themselves wonderfully well” —Chicago Classical Review, December 2023

“This was not the last grooving pop-inspired selection of the evening, however. A string quartet from D-Composed rounded out the program with a celebration of music by contemporary black composers, tipping off with “Bop,” a movement from composer-baritone extraordinaire Damien Geter’s Neo-Soul quartet. The players locked into the movement’s driving, asymmetrical groove from the first notes, over which Caitlin Edwards’ supple violin spun the expressive melody.” —Chicago Classical Review, September 2023

“It was the companion piece on the program, however, that captured my attention: the “Justice” Symphony by Damien Geter […] I went online and heard a complete performance of Geter’s 32-minute-long symphony […] and I was blown away. Yes, I told the publicist, set aside two tickets for me. I will go to Fresno. I want to be in that number for the live West Coast premiere, and I will make sure readers know about this great new composer and this fantastic big work that needs to be performed and heard all over the country and beyond. […] it’s never too late to sing Geter’s praises […] I am far from finished in my delight in discovering Damien Geter. I need to mention that he is also a splendid, cavernous bass-baritone, who sang that part in the Beethoven 9th on June 11—dressed in a dashing, fire-engine red suit with pegged pants” —People’s World, June 2023

“A new work for a full symphony and chorus, ‘An African-American Requiem’ was acclaimed last year at the Kennedy Center. Now the composer-conductor will lead its ‘red state’ premiere.” —Dallas Morning News, January 2023

“Damien Geter (whose “An African-American Requiem” knocked my socks clear off last year) returns with a new song cycle inspired by the work of photographer John E. Dowell.” —Washington Post, January 2023

Emphasis added