Cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper Gives World Premiere Of Composer Avner Dorman’s Inner Fire At Boston Modern Opera Project, Jordan Hall, June 21, 2026

Concert to Include Another World Premiere And Two New England Premieres

The highly accomplished and versatile cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper will perform the world premiere of Inner Fire, a new five-movement cello concerto by noted Israeli composer Avner Dorman, with the Boston Modern Opera Project. Led by Conductor and Artistic Director Gil Rose, the concert, entitled Premiere4, takes place at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall (30 Gainsborough St, Boston, MA 02115) Sunday evening, June 21, 2026 at 7:00 p.m.

 

As BMOP’s 2025/26 season finale, the evening will include two world premieres and two New England premieres. Dedicated to Ms. Cooper, Inner Fire traces fire’s physical and symbolic states. The piece moves from the initial spark of “Invocation” through the intensity of “Ignition” and “Wildfire,” into the reflective calm of “Hearth.” The final movement draws on Tummo meditation, using breath and focus as a model for rising inner heat and transformation. “I have written pieces that respond directly to recent events,” says Mr. Dorman. “Inner Fire is something different — a step back toward what is timeless. And yet I would be less than honest if I said the world we have been living through didn't shape it. The search for inner stillness and transformation feels more urgent now than when Kristina and I first began talking about this music. I think that urgency is in every note.”

 

The full program follows:

 

 

The concert is free, but donations are welcome to help with BMOP’s mission. For more information, please visit BMOP’s event page and cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper’s website.

 

The internationally heralded cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper stands out among her peers not only for her polished virtuosity but for her fierce intelligence and imaginative programming. She has performed internationally with a wide range of ensembles in both standard and contemporary repertoire.

 

Ms. Cooper’s most recent recording, Hidden Legacies - Weinberg & Korngold, featuring four-time GRAMMY®-nominated conductor Constantine Orbelian and the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra, was released on the Delos label in March 2026. Reviewing this recording for the BBC Music Magazine, critic Jo Talbot wrote:

 

"This scenic backdrop [of Korngold's Cello Concerto] is partnered by soaringly memorable melodies, American cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper drawing a winning lyrical line and surmounting the significant technical hurdles with convincing characterization…Cooper is captivating and the incisive conducting of Orbelian with the Kaunas City Symphony underline lovely lilt to the music’s dance-like character… The inclusion of the less frequently played [Weinberg's] Fantasia makes this a really evocative programme, particularly given the warmth and insight of Cooper's playing." 

(May 2026 Issue)

 

In Online Merker, critic Dirk Schauß said this about the recording: “With this release, Kristina Reiko Cooper has achieved more than just an outstanding interpretation. She has delivered a passionate plea for two composers who have remained in the shadow of their contemporaries for far too long. Anyone seeking music that challenges both heart and mind, and that ventures far from the beaten path, will find this journey of discovery indispensable." (March 12, 2026)

 

In conjunction with the release of this album, a documentary film, Emerging from the Shadows: Rediscovering the legacies of Weinberg and Korngold, which follows Ms. Cooper and Maestro Orbelian as they record the repertoire for the album, received its first-ever screening in New York City at the Directors Guild of America’s New York Theater on April 15, 2026. As of today, this film has been shown in multiple festivals on three continents and has won multiple awards.

 

As soloist, Cooper has performed with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Dresdner Philharmonie, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Prague Chamber Orchestra, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Osaka Symphony, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Mexico City Philharmonic, and New York City Opera Orchestra, among others.

 

An avid champion of new works, she has commissioned and given the world premieres of works by composers such as Lera Auerbach, Josef Bardanashvili, Kenji Bunch, Mario Davidovsky, Avner Dorman, Tan Dun, Philip Glass, Tania León, Roberto Sierra, and Benjamin Yusupov, and is Co-Director of the contemporary music ensemble Continuum, based in New York City.

  

Driven by a passion for meaningful projects, Cooper created a consortium of Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, and the American Society of Yad Vashem to commission composer Lera Auerbach to write Symphony No. 6 “Vessels of Light”, scored for cello, chorus, and orchestra. This piece, which has been performed internationally to great critical acclaim, received its world premiere in 2022 in Kaunas, Lithuania, conducted by Constantine Orbelian, with Ms. Cooper as soloist. The work commemorates the heroic deeds of Japanese consul Chiune Sugihara who, during World War II in Kaunas, Lithuania, issued over 2500 life-saving transit visas to Jews. Because of his courage in defying Japan’s regulations and risking his own life, generations of visa recipient families survived, including Ms. Cooper’s father-in-law Irving Rosen, her husband, and three children.

 

Ms. Cooper has appeared at prestigious festivals such as the Lincoln Center Festival, Musicians from Marlboro, Bang on a Can All-Stars and the Stresa International Festival. Her performances have graced venues like Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Disney Hall, Rudolfinum in Prague, Suntory Hall, and Henry Crown Hall in Jerusalem.

 

Ms. Cooper was born and raised in New York City into a family of musicians. Her father, Dr. Rex Cooper, is a pianist and former professor at the University of the Pacific, and her mother, Mutsuko Tatman, is a violinist who served as concertmaster of the American Symphony Orchestra. Her grandfather, Tomojiro Ikenouchi, was a Japanese composer, and her great grandfather, Kyoshi Takahama, was a haiku poet. Ms. Cooper holds bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Joel Krosnick. She is a recipient of the Walter M. Naumburg Chamber Music Award.

 

A founding musical director of the Israel Chamber Music Society, she serves as Vice President of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation, and as a board member of the Charney Forum for New Diplomacy. Ms. Cooper, a visiting professor at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at Tel Aviv University, performs on a 1743 Guadagnini cello, known as the “Ex-Havermeyer”, and lives in Tel Aviv with her husband and three children.

 

Avner Dorman writes music of intricate craftsmanship and rigorous technique, expressed with a soulful and singular voice. A native of Israel now living in the United States, Dorman draws on various cultural and historical influences in composing, resulting in music that affects an emotional impact while exploring new territories. His music utilizes an exciting and complex rhythmic vocabulary, as well as unique timbres and colors in orchestral, chamber, and solo settings; many of his compositions have become contemporary staples in the repertoire.

 

Mr. Dorman's music is championed by renowned conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Christoph Eschenbach, Ricardo Chailly, and Andris Nelsons, and soloists such as Pinchas Zukerman, Gil Shaham, Martin Grubinger, and Hilary Hahn. His music has been commissioned and performed by some of the world's leading orchestras, such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, NDR Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the San Francisco Symphony.

 

The 2025–2026 season brings major world and country premieres alongside performances across Europe, Asia, and the United States. Highlights include the world premiere of New Orleans Mix for piano and wind quintet by Ensemble 4.1 at the Harvard Musical Association (October 2025), as well as the world premiere of Inner Fire. In Asia, Gil Shaham, Adele Anthony, and Sejong Soloists gave the Korean premiere of A Time to Mourn and a Time to Dance in Seoul, while in Europe the Berlin Academy of American Music presented the Romanian premiere of Tanyaderas at the George Enescu Festival.

  

Other season highlights include Child’s Play in Göppingen, Germany; multiple European performances of In Flux (Trio Colores with the Jugendsinfonie Orchester Zürich) in Bremen, Potsdam, Berlin, and Zurich; Frozen in Time in Hamburg, 1 of 2 Zagreb, Málaga, Salzburg, and again at the Elbphilharmonie in spring 2026; Udacrep Akubrad with the Wave Quartet in Magdeburg; and Spices, Perfumes, Toxins! in Vienna in a new two-pianos and percussion arrangement. In the United States, upcoming performances include Jerusalem Mix in Harrisburg, PA; Eternal Rhythm in New Bedford, MA; and the Rochester Philharmonic’s performances of A Time to Mourn and a Time to Dance, featuring Gil Shaham and Adele Anthony under Andreas Delfs.

 

During the 2024–2025 season, Dorman’s music was heard worldwide in major premieres and revivals. These included the world premiere of In Flux by Trio Colores and the Braunschweig Symphony, the world premiere of A Time to Mourn and a Time to Dance by Gil Shaham, Adele Anthony, and the Santa Barbara Symphony with Nir Kabaretti (later featured at the Aspen Music Festival), and the UK premiere of his opera Wahnfried at the Longborough Festival, which received rave reviews. Other highlights included the Israeli premiere of his Concerto for Mandolin, Guitar, and Orchestra, the return of Die Kinder Des Sultans to Dortmund Opera, and new works for piano and youth orchestra.

 

Mr. Dorman's music has garnered numerous awards and prizes, including Israel's prestigious Prime Minister's Award for his Ellef Symphony, and international awards from ASCAP, ACUM, and the Asian Composers League. His music is available on Naxos, Deutsche Grammophon, Canary Classics, and other labels. Dorman studied composition with John Corigliano and Josef Bardanashvili, and he holds a doctorate in composition from the Juilliard School. Mr. Dorman currently serves as Associate Professor of Music Theory and Composition at the Sunderman Conservatory of Music at Gettysburg College.

 

 

 

For further information, please contact Hemsing Associates at (212) 772-1132 or visit www.hemsingpr.com.

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