The composer was officially pronounced dead on July 8 at the Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. The suspects included every instrument in the SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY and the only determinable motive is a children’s musical drama that doubles as a murder-mystery.

The Composer is Dead, an original work commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony, is the result of a collaboration between venerable San Francisco-based children’s author Lemony Snicket (né Daniel Handler), shown here, best known for his dark children’s books A Series of Unfortunate Events, and composer NATHANIEL STOOKEY, who last year won acclaim for the Music for Strings (1992-2002 collection released on the Albany label.)

The symphony premiered the 30-minute children’s musical with a matinee performance on July 8 as part of its Summer in the City series, a music festival that caters specifically to families.

The whodunit work begins with Snickety setting the scene. A composer is dead and decomposing. Hot on the trail to find the murderer, the violins jump into a waltz, with cellos and bass providing the oom-pah-pah backdrop, while the violas sorrowfully mourn the loss. From there, the piece twirls its way through every orchestra section, spotlighting each one in turn, all in the name of finding the culprit.

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