Wartime ‘Letters From The Front’ Transformed Into New Song Cycle by Composer Patrick Zimmerli on Album Out July 3

Concert pianist Ian Gindes, a major in the Illinois Army 
National Guard, spearheads program based on writings
of American military members and relatives    
from the Revolution to the Gulf War

World-premiere recording on Lexicon Classics features
soprano Desirée Hassler, mezzo-soprano Angela Born,
tenor John Riesen, bass-baritone David Govertsen,
and pianist Gindes

Libretto by Mirabelle Ordinaire

Independence Day weekend release celebrates US’s 250th anniversary

For download links and promo CDs, email nat@njscompany.com

CHICAGO, June 19, 2026 — Classical pianist Ian Gindes, a major in the Illinois Army National Guard, spearheads the new vocal album “Letters From The Front,” to be released digitally July 3, 2026, on Lexicon Classics (LC 2604).

“Letters From The Front” marks the world-premiere recording of the 2025 song cycle of the same name by New York- and Paris-based composer Patrick Zimmerli, with libretto by French stage director and librettist Mirabelle Ordinaire. 

Scored for four singers and piano, the work is based on wartime letters from American military service members and their families dating from the Revolutionary War through the Gulf War. 

Gindes, the project’s Chicago-based executive producer and principal of Gindes Music Productions LLC, commissioned the work and performs as the album’s solo and collaborative pianist. 

Singers are soprano Desirée Hassler, mezzo-soprano Angela Born, tenor John Riesen, and bass-baritone David Govertsen. 

An Independence Day weekend release, “Letters From The Front” commemorates America’s 250^th anniversary and honors the sacrifices of service members past and present, Gindes says. 

“Through these private letters, poetic in their own way, we experience the direct, heartfelt emotions of service members who didn’t know if they would live to see another day and family members who prayed for their safe return,” Gindes says. 

Full details about the project’s origins, artists, and repertoire are at lettersfromthefront.net. 

“A grand musical tapestry” 

In his liner notes for the album, John von Rhein, who served as the Chicago Tribune’s classical music critic for more than 40 years, describes ““Letters From The Front” as “an extended song cycle and a grand musical tapestry of American history, hope, faith, aspiration, despair and optimism in time of war.” 

Zimmerli’s music, von Rhein writes, turns the letter writers’ experiences into “aural poetry.” 

“With piano accompaniments that abound in period atmosphere, the score sounds American through and through,” von Rhein writes. 

When commissioning the music, Gindes says he sought a touch of neo-Romanticism as well as “a spacious, Copland-esque American sound that’s accessible to everyone.” 

Cycle opens with overture 

The album opens with an “Overture” for solo piano that introduces the themes of the 17 songs. 

“I’ll Live For Your Letters” and “I’ll Live For Your Letters Reprise,” both for mezzo-soprano, are settings of Hattie Reinauer’s letter to her son, Richard, as he was preparing to serve with the U.S. Marine Corps as a dog trainer and scout in the Pacific during World War II. The Chicago-born radio and television pioneer is best known for his 22 years as a producer and director of Mutual of Omaha’s “Wild Kingdom” network TV program. 

“I Set Myself Down This Moment” and “Preparation For Battle,” for tenor, are based on letters from James Davenport of Massachusetts to his brother during the American Revolution. 

“Tonite Two Fellows Got Together,” for tenor, comes from a letter from Joe Denov of Illinois to his wife, Tess, during World War II. 

“A Minute Doesn’t Go By,” for bass-baritone, draws on a letter by Colonel Bill Logel of Illinois to his grandson during the Gulf War. 

“Vietnam War Song,” for tenor, is based on a letter from Vietnam War veteran Fred Leo Brown to his mother. Brown currently resides in Indiana. 

“Poem For Irving F. Diamond,” for bass-baritone, comes from a poem that Howard Harwood of Skokie wrote in memory of his friend, Irving F. Diamond, whose death he witnessed during the World War II Battle of Anzio. 

“Where Are You Tonight?” and “This Is A Most Horrible War,” for soprano and tenor, and “All Greasy And Salty,” for soprano solo, are based on Civil War correspondence between Union Captain Jacob Ritner, an Iowa farmer, and his wife, Emeline. 

“Engagement Letter,” for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, and bass-baritone, is based on a World War II letter from Army medic Irving Koidin of Chicago in which he proposes to his future wife. 

“A Baby At Home,” for tenor, is based on a World War II letter from Herman Gresik of Chicago to his wife, who had just given birth to their baby daughter. He died shortly thereafter in an Axis bombing raid in southeastern England. 

“I Have A Rendezvous With Death,” for all four voices, is based on the poem of the same name by soldier and poet Alan Seeger of New York, who had moved to Paris and fought and died in World War I as a member of the French Foreign Legion. 

“Now There Will Be Stories To Tell,” for bass baritone, is based on a World War II letter from George Freedman, a military dentist, to his brother, Maurice. He spent his final years in Georgia. 

“It Won’t Be Long Now,” for soprano, is based on a letter by World War II U.S. Navy nurse Helen Strzelcyzk (pronounced STROHL-sik) as she returned home from service in the Pacific, docking in San Francisco. 

The four singers join forces for the “Finale,” which comprises texts from the letters. 

Radio inspiration

Gindes teamed with Zimmerli, Ordinaire, and classical radio veteran Steve Robinson, credited as “artistic originator,” to select letters from The Pritzker Military Museum & Library, Kenosha, Wisconsin, and Museum of the American Revolution, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

The project was inspired by classical WFMT radio’s award-winning radio documentary, “War Letters.” The program, conceived and championed by Robinson, debuted in 2001 when he was the Chicago station’s general manager. The broadcast featured letters submitted by listeners and given dramatic readings by aspiring young actors. 

Robinson, who knew Gindes as a Chicago-based musician and local military officer, suggested he lead the effort to create a musical counterpart. Many of the texts set to music in “Letters From the Front” were from the radio program.

“Letters From The Front” in concert 

“Letters From The Front” will receive its world-premiere performance August 19 at ChamberFest Brown County in Nashville, Indiana. Tickets and more information can be found at chamberfestbrowncounty.com. 

A pre-Veterans Day performance is scheduled for November 5 at the Donald W. Nixon Centre for Performing and Visual Arts, Newnan, Georgia. More information will be posted at thenixoncentre.net. 

The Artists 

Acclaimed for her “rich, clear voice” that is “geared towards storytelling” (Chicagoland Musical Theatre), mezzo-soprano Angela Born is an opera theatre artist and interpreter of new classical works. She has performed with opera companies including Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company, Ouroboros Opera Company, and Chicago City Opera. 

Lauded by Gramophone magazine for his “keyboard brilliance,” pianist and album executive producer Ian Gindes has performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall among other venues. Gindes has served in the Illinois Army National Guard for more than 20 years. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance from the University of Illinois, where he studied under Ian Hobson. His discography includes releases on the Navona and Centaur labels. 

Bass-baritone David Govertsen is a regular performer with Lyric Opera of Chicago and is a member of Fourth Coast Ensemble. He has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Ricardo Muti. 

Lyric Opera of Chicago soprano Desirée Hassler has appeared in many Lyric productions, including the televised 2022 Emmy-award winning production of “Pagliacci.” 

Hailed as “every inch the hero in stature and voice” (Classical Voice North America), award-winning tenor John Riesen has performed with orchestras and opera companies around the United States, including Dallas Symphony Orchestra, New York Oratorio Society, Nashville Opera, and Opera Las Vegas. 

Librettist Mirabelle Ordinaire joined the Metropolitan Opera Stage Directors (New York) in 2018. She was revival director of Franco Zeffirelli’s “La Bohème” production there for the past three seasons. 

Patrick Zimmerli is an American composer, jazz saxophonist, and producer. The New Yorker magazine applauded his “exhilarating style that combines the spontaneity and exuberance of jazz with the complexity and rigor of the modernist composers he admires.” His full-length opera, “Lucia Joyce,” premiered in Dublin, Ireland, in April 2026. His music is heard on the Naxos, Blue Note, Arabesque, Songlines, and Naïve labels. His collaborators across classical and jazz genres have included, among others, saxophonist Joshua Redman, Brooklyn Rider, and the Escher String Quartet. He has taught at the Paris Conservatoire, Sciences Po, and Columbia University, from which he holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in composition. 

Recording sessions

“Letters From The Front” was produced by Patrick Zimmerli and engineered by Charlie Post at recording sessions January 12–14, 2026, at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, Skokie, Illinois.
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LETTERS FROM THE FRONT
Lexicon Classics LC2604

Patrick Zimmerli, composer
Mirabelle Ordinaire, librettist
Desirée Hassler, soprano
Angela Born, mezzo-soprano
John Riesen, tenor
David Govertsen, bass-baritone
Ian Gindes, piano 

TRACK LISTING 

1. Overture (4:36)
    Ian Gindes, piano
2. I’ll Live For Your Letters (2:39)
    Angela Born, mezzo-soprano
3. I Set Myself Down This Moment (2:01)
    John Riesen, tenor
4. Tonite Two Fellows Got Together (3:18)
    John Riesen, tenor
5. A Minute Doesn’t Go By (5:00
    David Govertsen, bass-baritone
6. Preparation For Battle (2:44)
    John Riesen, tenor
7. Vietnam War Song (5:13)
    John Riesen, tenor
8. Poem For Irving F. Diamond (4:14)
    David Govertsen, bass-baritone
9. I’ll Live For Your Letters Reprise (3:02)
    Angela Born, mezzo soprano
10. Where Are You Tonight? (4:47)
      Desirée Hassler, soprano; John Riesen, tenor
11. All Greasy And Salty (1:54)
      Desirée Hassler, soprano
12. This Is A Most Horrible War (4:19)
      Desirée Hassler, soprano; John Riesen, tenor
13. Engagement Letter (6:39)
      David Govertsen, bass baritone; Desirée Hassler, soprano;
      Angela Born, mezzo-soprano; John Riesen, tenor  
14. A Baby At Home (1:45)
      John Riesen, tenor
15. I Have A Rendezvous With Death (5:45)
      Desirée Hassler, soprano; Angela Born, mezzo-soprano;
      John Riesen, tenor; David Govertsen, bass-baritone
16. Now There Will Be Stories To Tell (2:17)
      David Govertsen, bass-baritone
17. It Won’t Be Long Now (3:20)
      Desirée Hassler, soprano
18. Finale (2:56)
      Desirée Hassler, soprano; Angela Born, mezzo soprano;
      John Riesen, tenor; David Govertsen, bass-baritone
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Press contact:
Nat Silverman
Nathan J. Silverman Co. PR
Office tel: 847-868-1417
Email: nat@njscompany.com