Press
"Mr. Fisher has combined elements of opera, dance, Indian raga, Japanese Noh theater and more into fusions that have both a ritualistic intensity and an improvisatory freedom…a strong, unified and strikingly individual utterance of unambiguous beauty."
-The New York Times
“Mr. Fisher ingeniously transfigured the sound world of classical Japanese Noh drama”
-The New York Times
"Hypnotic post-Minimalist music takes on a ritual air in the idiosyncratic music dramas of Garrett Fisher, a Seattle composer who weaves elements of ancient Greek, Japanese and Indian theatrical traditions into stage works that are exotic and enticing."
-The New York Times
“An alluring sound world” -Wall Street Journal
RECENT
"Also confident, in a very different register, was Garrett Fisher’s score for 'Blood Moon,' at the Baruch Performing Arts Center. Mr. Fisher ingeniously transfigured the sound world of classical Japanese Noh drama, with a harmonium making a gently coppery wheeze and the willowy viola da gamba trading off with its more powerful descendant, the cello. Modern metal flutes coexisted with the antique sound of a bamboo flute; traditional taiko drums crashed as punctuation on the action." -The New York Times
“An alluring sound world” -Wall Street Journal
“An impressive sensory and intellectual feast”
“Riveting, poetic opera theater”
“Ellen McLaughlin’s libretto [is] pure meditative poetry”
“Philosophically beguiling”
“Emotionally gripping”
“Hypnotic and magical” -Broadway World
“Part fairy tale, part ghost story, part meditation on mortality and the sublime.”
“Sumptuous, often achingly beautiful.”
“Hauntingly beautiful”
“Fisher’s score [is] a triumph, combining western and eastern instruments to stunning effect”
“A balance between tuneful tonality and dissonance”
“A visually stunning manifestation of an otherworldly event”
“Innovative and complex”
“The music [has] its own originality which [can] never be pigeonholed.”
“a whole new universe in which to delve.”
“An enormously skillful and daring composer”
“a highly satisfying evening of opera”
“You are left wanting more”
“You’ll get sucked into the drama and will leave wanting more.”
“A great example of what can happen when two distinct musical traditions meet and combine”
ARTICLES
"Famed Japanese Actor Embraces the New" (Seattle Times) Read review...
"Fisher Ensemble to sing of Nazi figure in 'Magda G'" (LA Times) Read review...
WQXR Review: 'Kocho': A 'Butterfly' by Any Other Name Read review...
"Psyche, the web opera: Visualizing the Invisible" (Seattles) Read review...
“Fisher Ensemble says yes to Noh in 'Kocho’” (Seattle Times) Read review...
“Ear Supply: Under the Plum Blossom” (Seattle Weekly) Read review...
“Noticed: Garrett Fisher Wows WSJ” (City Arts Magazine) Read review...
“Using Japanese Noh to Lift a Celtic Myth” (The New York Times) Read review...
“He Cross Borders” (The Wall Street Journal) Read review...
"At the Hawk's Well" (NewMusicBox) Read review...
“Garrett Fisher - At the Hawk’s Well” (The NewMusicBox) Read review...
“Opening Nights: At the Hawk’s Well” (Seattle Weekly) Read review...
“A daring take on Yeats work” (The Seattle Times) Read review...
"Outdoor 'Psyche' weaves story and landscape" (Seattle P-I) Read review...
"Composer's style is well-suited to his 'Zeus'" (Seattle P-I) Read review...
"Greek Tragedy Retold With Music, Dance" (The Seattle Times) Read review...
"Fisher: Passion of St. Thomas More" (Classics Today) Read review...