Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, born in Miami in 1939, was an orchestral violinist before establishing herself as a composer, and her Violin Concerto shows an obvious love for the instrument's lyrical qualities… But Pamela Frank, soloist in the premiere in 1998, is a persuasive advocate, and the wind soloists of the Saarbrücken orchestra also make a strong impression in a clear recording. Rituals, a recent concerto for five percussionists and orchestra, makes a colourful use of an array of instruments in four well contrasted movements...The original performers the long-established Canadian group Nexus and Michael Stern's own Iris Chamber Orchestra, sound confident and sympathetic...