Doug is a composer
“vivid, emotive, with contemporary twists” — New York Times
“weird in the best possible way” — I Care If You Listen
“light-hearted yet dark…it had the audience laughing one minute and in tears the next…” — I Care If You Listen
“Brilliant” — DC Theater Scene
“bizarrely delicious...it probably meets no academic standard of correctness. What of it? As the song says, ‘If loving you is wrong, I don’t wanna be right.’” — incidentlight.com
DOUG IS A POET
“Get ready to know Doug Balliett—a name you will remember after this year” —Charleston Today
“the poetry was brilliant and witty” —New York Times
“[He] used a fast rhythmic patter to introduce a bard character, straight from the medieval oral-tradition, but contemporized...Move over Lin Manuel Miranda. Your phenomenon has ignited the world and paved the way for new music-theatre makers.” —DCTheaterScene.com
DOUG PLAYS BASS
“elegantly played” —New York Times
The instrumental highlight of the evening was Domenico Gabrieli’s Sonata prima à basso solo…This sonata not only showcased the talents of Doug Balliett on the baroque bass, but also those of theorbist Paul Holmes Morton. Theatricality and remarkable musicianship are the hallmarks of these two fine performers. — Seen and Heard International
“Hearing Balliett’s warm tones, played with a curious bow, a replica of one heard in Mozart’s time, brought depth and complex balance to the piece like a grand cru.” — DCTheaterScene.com
“a neat romp that employed a variety of textures and sounds” — The Charleston Post & Courier
He is professor of baroque bass and violone at the Juilliard School, since 2017.
PROJECTS
COMING UP
COMPOSITIONS
July, 2025 / New York City / Rome is Falling! (opera) / American Modern Opera Company
August 28, 2024 / Saint-Juire-Champgillon, France / St. Mark passion / Les Arts Florissants, Juilliard School, Emmanuelle Negri, Cyril Auvity, William Christie, Tom Dunford, and more
August 10, 2024 / The Clark Institute, Williamstown, MA / Rome is Falling! (opera) / American Modern Opera Company, Ariadne Grief, Reggie Mobley, Paul Appleby, Doug Williams
May 10, 2024 / Full tour / A Season on the Wind (song cycle) / Majel Connery, Bowerbird Collective
THEOTOKOS
St. Mary’s on Grand St.
Theotokos performs at St. Mary’s
Theotokos is the living embodiment of a baroque church ensemble. Founded in 2020, the ensemble is in residence at St. Mary’s Church on the lower east side of New York City. Every week a new cantata is composed by director Doug Balliett and performed by the ensemble, based on and tightly linked with the liturgical readings assigned to that date. In addition, theologically relevant baroque and pre-baroque music is performed in situ during the Mass, from Josquin to Telemann, early American church music, and into Romantic masters.
Theotokos has given concerts of sacred vocal music around New York City, including performances of Telemann’s Harmonischer Dottesdienst cantatas, Charpentier’s Leçons de Tenebre by candlelight, and the sacred madrigals of Marenzio. Driven by a special interest in early Christian music, Theotokos also runs a Gregorian Chant club, open to all, which regularly meets to chant the Latin Mass and the Divine Office.
The passion, historical curiosity, and imagination of the Theotokos project has attracted visiting guests of extraordinary stature and variety, including Davoné Tines, Karim Sulayman, Jonathan Woody, Nola Richardson, Jessica Niles, Majel Connery, Matt Aucoin, Jean Rondeau, Thomas Dunford, Myriam Rignol, and William Christie, as well as many of NYC’s top choral soloists. In 2021 Theotokos began a fruitful collaboration with the Juilliard School Historical Performance program, in which interested students are given the opportunity to perform, compose music, and experience the baroque sacred music tradition from within.
St. Mary’s is a Roman Catholic Church on the lower east side of Manhattan. Theotokos was founded in October, 2020, when Fr. Andrew O’Connor invited Doug Balliett to compose and program weekly music for the 12 PM Sunday mass.
Recent (non-mass) performances:
March 28, 2024: GEMS Midtown Concert: Marenzio’s Sacred Works
December 31, 2023: Gawain and the Green Knight
December 7, 2023: 5 Boroughs Music Festival: Advent cantatas from Telemann and Balliett
May 25, 2023: Psalms and Saints (with The Chivalrous Crickets)
February 7, 2023: Charpentier’s Leçons de Tenebrae
December 31, 2022: Gawain and the Green Knight
December 29, 2022: Midtown concerts: Cantatas from the Harmonischer Gottesdienst
Theotokos performs at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
Theotokos after mass with choristers and guest artist William Christie
St. Mary’s Church on Grant St.
SCORES FOR SALE
Venmo @Doug-Balliett
All of Mr. Balliett’s scores are available for purchase, and more will be added regularly. To purchase a score simply Venmo the marked amount to @Doug-Balliett, with the title of the piece you want. Or, use the CONTACT tab to email for more information.
“Beauty Is”
song from The Passionate Pilgrim
for soprano, flute, harp, and strings. 3.5’. $40
BEAST FIGHTS
Dramatic oratorio
scored for tenor, harp, and 7 double basses. 22’. $80
THE FOUR SEASONS OF NYC
Concerto for bass and chamber ensemble. 30’. $100
OVID CANTATAS
A series of cantatas for narrator and baroque ensemble. Roughly 15-20’ each. $80 each.
PHAETHON - for narrator, soprano, vibraphone, guitar, harp, keyboard (harpsichord and piano), English horn, violin, and cello (non-baroque)
DAPHNE - for narrator, soprano, tenor, violin, double bass, and continuo
ECHO AND NARCISSUS - for narrator, mezzo, tenor, flute, oboe, 2 violins, viola, viola da gamba, contrabass, and continuo
PELEUS AT TRACHIN - for narrator, soprano, 5-string cello, and viola da gamba
BACCHUS - for narrator, SATB, flute, oboe, bassoon, harp, percussion, 2 violins, viola, cello, contrabass
CALLISTO - for narrator, soprano, 4 violas da gamba
BAUCIS AND PHILEMON - for narrator, tenor, flute, bassoon, 2 violins, viola, viola da gamba, contrabass, and continuo
ACTAEON - for narrator, soprano, tenor, flute, oboe, bassoon, violin, viola, viola da gamba, contrabass, and continuo
PYRAMUS AND THISBE - for narrator, soprano, tenor, flute, oboe, bassoon, 2 violins, viola, viola da gamba, contrabass, and continuo
OCYRHOE - for narrator, soprano, harp, guitar, English horn, and viola da gamba (non-baroque)
ERYSICHTHON - for narrator, soprano, cello, viola da gamba, and harpsichord
CLYTIE AND THE SUN - for narrator, soprano, saxophone, harp, piano, and electric guitar (non-baroque)
HERMAPHRODITUS - for narrator, soprano, alto flute, oboe, bass clarinet, bassoon, flugelhorn, and piano (non-baroque)
THE FLOOD - for narrator, baritone, violin, viola, cello, and bass
CADMUS - for narrator, soprano, tenor, baritone, flute, oboe, bassoon, 2 violins, viola, cello, bass, and continuo
SACRED MUSIC
Mr. Balliett has composed approximately 110 mass-cantatas assigned to specific Sundays and Feast Days for the liturgical calendar. Most are composed for a 1-4 solo vocalists and instruments, plus continuo. If you would like more information or to find music for a specific week, please use the CONTACT tab at the top of the page.