Lotus Blooming in a Sea of Fire

Lotus Blooming in a Sea of Fire

Track Listings
Disc: 1

1. Opening

2. What Kind of World

3. Lan's Prayer

4. Shade and Light/The First Vision/Interlude

5. Kiss the Earth

6. Mystery

7. Parting

8. When the Lord Came A-Calling

9. When the Lord Came A-Calling

10. When the Lord Came A-Calling

See all 11 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Rain

2. Interlude

3. Anointed

4. The Dragon and the Angel

5. The Dragon and the Angel

6. March 15th

7. March 15th

8. March 15th

9. March 15th

10. The Second Vision

See all 12 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews
The Dartmouth, November 13, 2000
"One of the few releases I've heard in recent years that can be said to be truly complete."

About the Artist
Michael T. Roberts

Michael T. Roberts is a composer, writer, and guitarist from New Canaan, CT. He picked up the guitar at age ten, four long years after watching his first Van Halen video. Over the years, his study of the guitar has introduced him to a wide spectrum of musical styles— from rock to jazz, funk, and bluegrass, from classical to the tango—all of which have found their way onto his artistic palette. His literary influences have been equally diverse, ranging from Beowulf to Vietnam War novelist Tim O’Brien and Columbian surrealist Gabriel García Márquez.

During his senior year at the prep school Choate Rosemary Hall, Michael began composing a musical theatre piece entitled A Legend of My Lai. Nearly three years later, at Dartmouth College, he completed the work as the rock opera Lotus Blooming in a Sea of Fire, ultimately spending his senior year composing the opera’s entire book, music, and lyrics. He also produced and musically directed its premiere, which took place on May 24, 2000 to great acclaim. In November 2000 he released CD and video recordings of the performance, hailed by The Dartmouth as "one of the few releases…in recent years that can be said to be truly complete."

While at Dartmouth, Michael also found the time to perform and compose with his rock/funk group Stand Up Eight, which produced two CDs and toured throughout the Northeast for three years, dominating the regional college scene and winning Best New Band of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year in Jam Music Magazine’s 1998 Reader’s Poll. He also shared the stage with such legends as Lester Bowie, the Sun Ra Arkestra, and Jerry Jeff Walker, and taught music and writing to scores of students ranging from age five to fifty-five. In June 2000 he graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, the recipient of the Mark Lebowitz Prize in the performing arts, the Eugene B. Roitman Award in music, the Lazarus Family Musical Theatre Award, and seven academic citations.

In the fall of 2000 Michael contributed new music, lyrics, and book material to the one-act musical Passion Play, serving also as assistant to the director and musical director and playing guitar in its workshop premiere, at the Presbyterian Church of New Providence, NJ. A member of the first-year member of the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop, Michael is now at work revising Lotus and is looking forward to reuniting with Stand Up Eight in June 2001.

Lotus Blooming in a Sea of Fire,Michael T. Roberts

Jazz Music: Lotus Blooming in a Sea of Fire

Jazz Music: