When Zach Redler isn’t teaching, directing ensembles, or mentoring students as music director at the Dublin School, he is composing nationally recognized original operas.
Since 2023, Redler has been composing the score for the first operatic adaptation of Norman Maclean’s novella, “A River Runs Through It.” The opera opened Sept. 18 at the Ellen Theater in Bozeman, Montana, selling out its initial two-week run before transferring to Missoula for additional performances.
“It was a little tricky to negotiate that I was going to have to miss the first two weeks of school this year because of the timing of the show,” Redler said. “I’ve been here four years, and I found out I got this commission at my very first faculty meeting.”
Redler feels “incredibly supported” by the whole Dublin School community, from administration to parents, and says that support let them take the time they needed to write “River.”
“It’s great to be able to demonstrate that thanks to a community like this, you can succeed in the arts,” they said.
Before “River” opened in Bozeman, the company performed a preview in Brooklyn at National Sawdust, where it caught the interest of the New York Times theater critic.
“The New York Times sent their head critic for the opening, which we could not believe, and we got great reviews from the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. We just got incredible reviews for a regional theater show,” Redler said. “A lot of people from the Dublin area also flew out to see the show, which was amazing.”
Redler had not read the novella or viewed Robert Redford’s 1992 film adaptation before starting to compose.
“I purposefully did not want to see the movie or be influenced by it,” Redler said. “In the summer of 2023, I read the book, and I thought, ‘I think I can find my way into this story.’ For me, it was a family drama.”
Collaborating closely with the author’s son, writer John Maclean, Redler focused on the narrative’s themes of family and environmental reverence.
“Not being a fly fisherman, and not being from Montana, the part of the story I really connected with was the reverence for nature the characters have,” Redler said. “The last paragraph of the book, and the last line — ‘I am haunted by the waters’ — that stays with me.”
Prior to joining the Dublin School faculty, the South Florida native spent a decade composing for theater and regional opera companies, including the Seattle Opera, Washington National Opera, and San Diego Opera. His previous works include “The Falling and Rising,” an opera centered on an injured active-duty service member co-commissioned by the San Diego Opera and the U.S. Army Field Band.
Redler resides in Dublin with his wife, Brittney, an instructor at Keene State College, and their two children, who attend Dublin Consolidated School.
“When I came for the interview at Dublin and sat in on the morning meeting, I was like, ‘This is the place,'” Redler said.