Composer Joseph Rivers’ expressive, sure-handed soundtrack for A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Bo Bergstrom, blends New Age and Romantic orchestral sounds with non-Western instruments like the erhu, ney, and balaban, whose use often suggests a particular character or emotion. For example, the bansuri (Eastern Indian wood flute) was chosen for Puck since it has a light timbre like a flighty shape-shifter. Besides leitmotifs, his music is rich with beautiful melodies, effects, textures, and colors. A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare's most popular comedy, was written around 1594 or 95. Dealing with the universal theme of love and its complications: lust, disappointment, confusion, marriage, it features three interlocking plots, connected by a celebration of the royal wedding of Duke Theseus of Athens and the Amazonian queen Hippolyta. The plot focuses on three parallel stories: the trials and experiences of two sets of lovers camping in a magical forest, the world of the Fairy King and Queen and their elves, and a group of rough craftsmen attempting to stage a production of "Pyramus and Thisby" for the wedding of the Duke of Athens. Magic, action, love and humor are the ingredients for this unforgettable spell. The play is widely performed around the world, and no wonder - it's about the world's most popular pastime, falling in love. But as Puck knows, falling in love can make fools of us all. Love is crazy, love is mad. Will love win out in the end? A professional composer, Joseph Rivers has composed music for concert hall, stage, and film. He is a member of BMI, the American Composers Forum, the Society of Composers and Lyricists, and the Oklahoma Composers Association. Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Rivers grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, and presently lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Representative compositions include the Concerto for Oboe, English Horn and String Orchestra, commissioned by oboist Lise Glaser (made possible by Carol Pearson), and perhaps the first concerto for these two solo instruments in combination; the Trio for Violin, Violoncello, and Piano, commissioned by the Oklahoma Music Teachers Association and composed in commemoration of the Oklahoma state centennial in 2007; Echoes of War—Visions of Peace, symphonic poem commissioned and premiered by the Signature Symphony of Tulsa and recorded by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra for Vol. 15 of ERMMedia’s “Masterworks of the New Era” series; Prairie Dreams, an opera about Oklahoma in pioneer days; Tempests Round Us Gather, a choral work commissioned by the Coventry Chorale of Tulsa in conjunction with the Smithsonian American Museum of Art exhibition, "The Gilded Age”; Will Rogers Self-Portrait, commissioned by the Will Rogers Heritage, Inc. and the Claremore (OK) Community Chorus; Portrait of a Cat, for woodwind trio and dancer with narration, commissioned by the Harwelden Institute for the Arts and premiered by the Council Oak trio, which toured widely in Oklahoma schools; a ballet, The Exile's Return; and Lonely People of the Osage, a choral work about the Osage people near Tulsa. Rivers recently released a CD entitled, Nuova Avventura. His film scores include Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Bo Bergstrom, and Brother Mine, directed by Nathan McLeod. His present projects continue to engage him in composing for concert hall, stage, and film. Soundtrack music composed by Joseph Rivers. Lullaby was composed and sung by Maria Casler, arranged and orchestrated by Joseph Rivers. Piano tracks were performed by Joseph Rivers using the Ivory Italian Grand Piano sample library. Original DVD art created by Patricia Taber. Cover design by Adriana Rivers. Mastering by Secret River Productions.