Anne Akiko Meyers’ New Album "Beloved"

Released on the Platoon label, the album features music by Billy Childs, Ola Gjeilo, and Eric Whitacre

Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers has recently released her newest album on the Platoon label. Titled Beloved, the disc contains the world premiere recordings of three different works: Billy Childs’ In the Arms of the Beloved, Eric Whitacre’s Seal Lullaby (2024), and Ola Gjeilo’s Serenity.

For all three pieces, Meyers is joined by the Los Angeles Master Chorale and conductor Grant Gershon.

Conceived as a requiem for the composer's mother, Mable Brown Childs, In the Arms of the Beloved reflects on the fires that decimated the communities of Altadena and the Palisades, in Childs and Meyers’ home state of California.

The work sets a text by Rumi, Gone to the Unseen — and Childs says he imagined the solo violin as the voice of his mother, while the piano serves as his own voice.

At Meyers' request, Eric Whitacre wrote a new version of his beloved Seal Lullaby for solo violin and strings, saying that he "couldn't be more thrilled" with the commission. The disc is rounded out by Ola Gjeilo's Serenity for choir and violin, a reworking of his earlier piece O Magnum Mysterium.

"This piece elevates my spirit and soul and allows me to reflect and reminisce," Meyers said of the Billy Childs work. "It also reminds me of how sound can act like a bridge, connecting us not just to each other, but to something larger — whether that’s the land, the shared human experience, or a collective healing."

"That this work is rooted in the very land — Southern California — that endured such hardship adds an extra layer of emotional depth, making it not just an incredible composition, but a collective expression of grief and renewal," she added.