Caroline Mallonee's music is inspired by scientific phenomena, visual art, and musical puzzles,. At once systematic and intuitive in her compositional approach, she writes chamber and orchestral music that revels in the timbral palette available to the contemporary composer.

One of her most-performed pieces is “The Butterfly Effect.” Despite being aleatoric, in just intonation, and involving scordatura, electronics or off-stage ensemble, not to mention at least four rainsticks (and rainstick players), this 10-minute piece for string quartet has been played by the Spektral Quartet (for whom it was commissioned), Mivos Quartet, Clara Quartet, Artemis Quartet, Apple Hill String Quartet, the Buffalo Chamber Players, and the Locrian Chamber Players, who named it the winner in their 2015 call for scores. It has also been performed at the Roycroft Chamber Music Festival, at Shenandoah University, and at National Sawdust. Performance materials are available here.

Groups that have programmed Mallonee’s music include:

APPLE HILL STRING QUARTET Alexander String Quartet ANA TRIO* Antares* BUFFALO CHAMBER PLAYERS* Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra* CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FORUM* Ciompi String Quartet* COUNTER)INDUCTION Da Capo Chamber Players DEL SOL STRING QUARTET* Echo Chamber* ETHOS PERCUSSION GROUP* Flexible Music FIREBIRD ENSEMBLE* Genkin Philharmonic LIMINAL SPACE ENSEMBLE Locrian Chamber Players ONE QUIET PLUNGE Mivos Quartet MONADNOCK MUSIC* Mendelssohn String Quartet MUSIC IN THE AMERICAN WILD* New York Philharmonic NEW YORK NEW MUSIC ENSEMBLE Non Sequitur* ORKEST DE EREPRIJS Prism Saxophone Quartet* PRESENT MUSIC* Spektral Quartet* VERDANT VIBES The Wet Ink Ensemble* WILD RUMPUS Women Composer's Orchestra*

*Commissioned Work

Chamber Music

7:39

Throwing Mountains (bass clarinet, cello, double bass, piano)

Washington Square Contemporary Music Ensemble
8:30

Unless Acted Upon (flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano)

Firebird Ensemble
12:33

Reaction (bass clar, tenor sax, vln, vla, vc, cb, pno, perc)

Present Music
8:35

Shadow Rings (clarinet, violin, cello, piano)

Antares
7:26

Alaskan King (a crab canon for two cellos)

Natasha and Evelyn Farny
10:02

Tomorrow Sharpened (piano and percussion)

Haruka Fuji and Eric Huebner
7:19

Clock It (violin, viola, cello)

Locrian Chamber Players
7:13

'Stain (baritone sax, elec. guitar, piano, marimba)

Ryan Muncy, D.J. Sparr, Matt Gold, David Friend
15:10

Curtains of Light (trumpet, trombone, violin, viola, cello, harp, percussion)

Buffalo Chamber Players
8:46

Simon I: Crossfades and Monoliths (string quartet)

Del Sol Quartet
15:25

North South East West (for four percussionists in four corners)

Ethos Percussion Group
7:38

Hammering Away (for saxophone quartet)

Prism Quartet
8:30

Hey Yeah I Am Waiting

Capital M
5:29

Keeping Time in a Bottle (for three bottles and electronics)

Duke University
7:51

Emerging Voices (bass clarinet, violin, cello, piano)

Regis University
8:51

Pan (for six wind instruments)

Melody of China

MIXED ENSEMBLE:

Whistler Waves (2012/2015) for solo cello and orchestra (Also available for cello and string orchestra) (20 minutes) Listen

Unless Acted Upon: Manifestations of Newton’s First Law (2011) for flute, clarinet, violin, ‘cello and piano. (8.5 minutes) Buy the score here. Listen Watch

Net Force: Newton's Second Law (2017) for English horn, bass clarinet, bassoon/contrabassoon, percussion, viola, cello and contrabass (15 minutes)

Reaction: Newton's Third Law of Motion (2010) for tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, violin, viola, cello, double bass, piano, percussion (12 minutes) Listen

Curtains of Light (2017) for trumpet, trombone, percussion, harp, violin, viola and cello (15 minutes) Buy the score here. Listen

Octopus (2018) for bass clarinet, violin, cello, double bass, piano and percussion (12 minutes) Listen Watch

Shadow Rings (2010) for clarinet, violin, cello and piano (8.5 minutes) Buy the score here. Listen

Throwing Mountains (2003) for bass clarinet, ’cello, double bass, and piano (7.5 minutes) Listen

’Stain (2002) for bass clarinet or baritone saxophone, one or two electric guitars, piano and marimba (7.5 minutes) Listen

Big Fridge, Little Fridge (2003) for violin, bassoon, guitar and percussion (10-12 minutes) Instrumentation is flexible.

We Summoned Dragonflies (2009) for chamber orchestra or full orchestra (9 minutes)

STRINGS:

STRING ORCHESTRA

Whistler Waves (2013) for cello and string orchestra (20 minutes) In 4 movements. Also available for cello and orchestra. Listen

Portraits of Andromeda (2019) for cello and string orchestra (30 minutes) In 3 movements. Listen

The Knight’s Reflection (2023) for string orchestra. Written for the 4th grade orchestra at Frederick Law Olmsted School 64.

STRING QUARTET

The Butterfly Effect (2014) for string quartet; electronics, playback, or off-stage ensemble; and rain sticks (8-12 minutes) Buy the score here. Listen Watch

Simon I (2006) for string quartet (9 minutes) Listen

How Small I Am (2006) for string quintet or string orchestra (6-8 minutes)

Mirage (2006) for oud and string quartet. (9 minutes)

Quartet of Songs (2001) for soprano and string quartet. (12 minutes) Words by Carl Sandburg.

STRING TRIOS

Clock It (2013) for violin, viola and cello (7 minutes) Listen Watch

Atlantic Trio (2007) for three violins (6 mins.) from String Tunes. Listen

The Way Home (2008) for three violins (4.5 mins.) from String Tunes. Also available for three violas or three cellos. Listen

Bidwell Trio (2015) for two violins and viola (or three violins) (4 mins.) from String Tunes. Listen

STRING DUOS

Storm King Suite (2017) for viola and cello. In 9 movements. Also available for two violas or violin and cello. (30 minutes) Listen Watch

Wavefield (2017) for viola and cello. (10 minutes) Also available for two violas or violin and cello. (10 minutes) Listen Watch

Southern Tier (2020) for two violins (3 mins.) from String Tunes. Also available for two violas. Listen

Alaskan King (2011) A crab canon for two cellos (7.5 minutes) Watch Listen/Buy

Maryland Blue (2008) A crab canon for two violins ( or violin and flute) with optional fixed electronics. (6 minutes)

SOLO

String Tunes: There are eleven pieces for solo string instruments (violin, viola, or cello) in this collection. Listen Buy

Crossings (2006) for solo violin, viola, or cello (4-10 mins.) from String Tunes. Watch performances on Violin, Viola, Cello.

Rotations for viola and piano (8 mins.) Buy

Wavefield (2017) for viola and piano. (10 minutes) Listen

WINDS:

Keeping Time in a Bottle (2002) for three beer bottle-blowers and CD. (5.5 mins)

Pan (2008) for four wind instruments with simple delay or six wind instruments. (9 mins.) Watch

Hammering Away (at the great unknown) (2005) for saxophone quartet. (7.5 mins.) Listen/Buy

PERCUSSION:

Tomorrow Sharpened (2011) for marimba, crotales and piano (10 minutes) Listen

North South East West (2009) for percussion quartet (15 minutes) Listen

Snowswirl (2023) for two harps and percussion (12 minutes) Listen Watch

SOLO PIANO:

Pangrams (2008) for piano (15 minutes) Listen

Toccatina and Chorale (2008) for piano (4 minutes)

How Small I Am (2006) for piano (6 minutes). Also available for string quintet or string orchestra.

CHAMBER WORKS WITH VOICE: ( For choral and vocal ensemble works, please visit CHORAL MUSIC.)

Where The Heart Can Sit (2012) for soprano, cello and piano. (14 minutes) Words by Elizabeth Spires. Watch

For Paul Signac (2009) for soprano, flute, tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, electric guitar, piano, percussion, video and electronics (10 minutes) Watch the entire piece here. Buy the score here.

Spies (2005) for four voices (SATB) and large ensemble (5 minutes) Words by the composer.

Twelve Opposites (2009) for soprano, violin, viola, and bass clarinet (9 minutes). Words by Richard Wilbur. Watch

Solitude of Self for voice, flute, clarinet, violin and cello. (10 minutes) Words by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Watch

Quartet of Songs (2001) for soprano and string quartet. (12 minutes) Words by Carl Sandburg.

To Paint The Stars: Five Nocturnes for Soprano and Orchestra (2000) (18 minutes)

Words by Amy Lowell, Dorothy Parker, Anne Sexton, Alicia Rabins, and Emily Dickinson.

FLEXIBLE INSTRUMENTATION AND TEXT SCORES::

To Be Sung in a Circle (2020)

In a Stand of Birch Trees (2019) for at least one musician

Consensus (2018) for at least two musicians

Pan (2008) for four wind instruments with simple delay or six wind instruments. (9 mins.) Watch

Big Fridge, Little Fridge (2003) for violin, bassoon, guitar and percussion (10-12 minutes) Instrumentation is flexible.

Airplane Piece (2020)

Recipe Piece (2020)

For Yoko Ono, On Her 80th Birthday (2013)

For more information or to obtain performance materials, contact carolinemallonee@gmail.com.