Bent Frequency presents "Georgia In My Ear" - Tues 21 April @ 8pm

Bent Frequency presents "Georgia In My Ear" tomorrow, April 21 at 8pm in GSU's Kopleff Recital Hall, featuring music by Georgia composers Nickitas Demos, Mark Gresham, Lewis Nielson and Joel Puckett, and composer Vivienne Olive from Atlanta's sister city, Nuremberg, Germany.

Thanks to recent underwriting of the program through a CENCIA Grant from Georgia State University, admission to the concert is now FREE for all attending audience.

Program:

Nickitas Demos: Secret Music
Joel Puckett: Gunslingers
Mark Gresham: Mortal Coils (premiere)
Lewis Nielson: Danger Man
Vivienne Olive: Another Silly Love Song

Click image below to see full-sized graphic for the concert:

Rapido Composition Contest hosted by Atlanta Chamber Players

Ugh! Why does this cool stuff happen right in the middle of our wedding/honeymoon! Brian C. and I won't be able to do this, but maybe one of you can. Win it for Atlanta!

June 8 - 22, 2009
Sponsored by the Atlanta Chamber Players & The Antinori Foundationto promote new works for chamber ensemble by Southern composers

The Atlanta Chamber Players, a mixed ensemble of strings, winds & piano, were founded in 1976 and have premiered more than 65 works to Atlanta audiences, including commissions by John Harbison, Michael Gandolfi, Anne LeBaron and Jonathan Kramer. The group has performed in more than 250 cities in the U.S. and Europe and has five CD recordings in its discography.

THE COMPOSITION CONTEST:
An original movement of 4-6 minutes for mixed ensemble must be composed in 14 days! The Rapido!SM judges will award the first prize winner a commission to complete the work for premiere performance by the Atlanta Chamber Players in May 2010.

PRIZES:
Cash prizes total more than $6,000.Each finalist will receive $500 to be used for travel to Atlanta for Oct 09 competition concert.First Prize: $3500 award to compose additional 10-12 minutes of music Second Prize: $600 Third Prize: $400Audience Favorite Prize: $250

ELIGIBILITY: First 100 online registrantsResidents or full-time student residents of 11 southern states:(AL, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)Composers of all ages and levels of professional experienceCONTEST TIMELINE: June 1, 2009: Closing date for online registration at http://www.atlantachamberplayers.com/.

June 8, 2009: Announcement is made online and by email of required form and instrumentation of Rapido!SM composition entries. (Maximum group is quintet)

June 8, 2009 - June 22, 2009: Composers will have 14 days to write an original movement of 4-6 minutes based on strict requirements.

August 14, 2009: Announcement of up to four finalist compositions.

October 4, 2009: Finalist Compositions to be performed in concert by the Atlanta Chamber Players at the High Museum's Walter Hill Auditoriumin Atlanta.

April 1, 2010: First Prize Winning Commissioned Work of 14-18 minutes to be delivered to Atlanta Chamber Players for premiere performance inMay 2010.

For more information and to register for Rapido!SM please go to:http://www.atlantachamberplayers.com/.

GSU Student Composer Concert

from Brent Milam:

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Concert: GSU SCI Student Composers Concert

Time: Friday, April 17, 2009 at 12:00 noon

Location: Kopleff Recital Hall at Georgia State University

FREE ADMISSION

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Dear Fellow Composers,

I would like to announce a concert that will feature works by students from the Georgia State University SCI Student Chapter in Atlanta, GA.  The concert will take place this Friday, April 17th, at 12:00 noon in the Kopleff Recital Hall (Arts and Humanities Building) on the campus of Georgia State University in downtown Atlanta.

Music by: Chad Powers, Hanna Lisa Stefansson; Chris Owenby, Toby Chappell & Ben Kaplan

neoPhonia New Music Ensemble Concert

The fourth and final neoPhonia New Music Ensemble concert of the 2008/09 season takes place on Tuesday, April 7, 2009 at 7:30 PM in the Kopleff Recital Hall on the campus of Georgia State University. The concert is FREE and open to the public.

Stars, water and landscapes...we explore the different facets of the observable world in a program entitle: intelligent designs. The concert will feature pieces for animated film, computer generated sounds as well as acoustic instruments. Joining student performers will be special guest ensemble Musica Da Camera (Helen KIM, violin, Tania MAXWELL CLEMENTS, viola & Charae KRUEGER, cello) and GSU faculty members Ken LONG, clarinet and Joseph PERAGINE, Associate Professor of Drawing, Painting, Printmaking - Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design.

PROGRAM:

2BTextures : : an abstract experimental animation - music by Elainie LILLIOS; animated film by Bonnie MITCHELL

Water Voyage : : for clarinet duo and electronic soundscape on CD by Alex SHAPIRO

Dark Expanse : : for computer generated sounds (premiere) by Brent MILAM

Paisaje cubano con rumba : : for guitar quartet by Leo BROUWER

intelligent designs : : for string trio and animated film (premiere) - music by Nickitas DEMOS ; animated film by Joseph PERAGINE

The Kopleff Recital Hall is located within the Arts & Humanities Building which is on the corner of Peachtree Center Avenue and Gilmer Street in downtown Atlanta. Street parking may be available in this area, or you may use the I-Lot (Peachtree Center Ave.). For more detailed directions and maps, please check out the GSU School of Music website at: 

http://www.music.gsu.edu

As always, you will be able to meet and greet the composers, artists and performers after the concert at a reception hosted by the GSU Student Chapter of the Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI)

My Blog

Hi Everyone-
I thought some of you might be interested in a recent blog about my experiments with/on
a piano. Mostly for fun...:^)
Have a great week!

http://www.jcazmusic.blogspot.com/

Jonathan Cazenave

World Premiere of REDEEMER EVENING PRAYER – A LENTEN VESPERS by Curtis Bryant

From Curtis Bryant:

I just wanted to remind you about the upcoming premiere of the full program of REDEEMER EVENING PRAYER – A LENTEN VESPERS on Wednesday, April 1 at 7:00 PM at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, 731 Peachtree Street, NE, Atlanta, Georgia.

http://www.curtisbryantmusic.com/news.html

The April 1 service will include all of the music I wrote for the Redeemer Lutheran portion of the Atlanta Faith Partners Residency sponsored by the American Composers Forum. Included in the service are eight new compositions running approximately 25 minutes: an organ Prelude, Hymn of Light (Phos Hilaron), Thanksgiving for Light, Psalm 121 (I Lift My Eyes Unto the Hills), Canticle of Mary (Magnificat), Canticle of Simeon (Nunc Dimittis), both with respective Glorias, and Postlude: Fugue and Toccata on FA-SOL-LA-RE. I collaborated with three Atlanta poets, Marcia King, William Allen, and Doug Cumming (who is on the faculty at Washington and Lee University) for the creation of the above choral settings.

Here is some additional information that will be included in the program notes:

Redeemer Evening Prayer – A Lenten Vespers was composed for the 2009 Lenten services of Lutheran Church of the Redeemer as part of the American Composers Forum Faith Partners Residency Program in collaboration with choir director David Hansen and organist Sarah Hawbecker. Employing numerous early Christian literary sources, including the Phos Hilaron, Magnificat, and Nunc Dimittis, as well as a Psalm traditional to these services (No. 121), Bryant sought out the talents of several Atlanta writers to create poetic settings suitable for musical treatment. Particular attention was given to the inclusion of responsorial verses as practiced in the Lutheran tradition. One of the principal musical motifs connecting many of the compositions within this service is the recurrence of the notes F-G-A-D (Fa-Sol-La-Re) which coincidentally suggest the opening lines of the Greek “Hymn of Light” (Phos Hilaron). Bryant composed the organ prelude and postlude using themes from these choral settings to create a sense of thematic unity and to showcase the Létourneau organ at Redeemer Lutheran.

Faith Partners is an ecumenical program designed by the American Composers Forum that enables religious institutions to select a composer to create original musical works appropriate for use in the worship services of participating congregations. Other consortium members are Cathedral of Christ the King and First Presbyterian Church. Bryant is currently working on liturgical compositions for these congregations as well.

Sonic Generator Concert (March 30th) and Jenny Lin at Spivey (April 1st)

Two exiting, free concerts coming up next week. On Monday, Sonic Generator makes its debut at Woodruff Arts Center, offering a unique program combining music with film and visual theatrics through technology. On Wednesday, exception New York new music pianist Jenny Lin presents a recital of etudes at Spivey Hall.

Hope you can make it to these shows!

Sonic Generator
ensemble in residence at Georgia Tech
Monday, March 30th, 8 pm
Rich Theatre @ Woodruff Arts Center
music by Michael Gordon, Louis Andriessen, Daniel Lentz, Tristan Perich, Marco Nardelli, and Javier Alvarez
films by Hal Hartley and Bill Morrison
post-concert reception to meet the artists and composer Tristan Perich and see hands-on music technology research demos
More info: http://www.sonicgenerator.gatech.edu

Jenny Lin, piano
Wednesday, April 1st, 7:30 pm
Spivey Hall
music by Debussy, Chin, Messiaen, Fujikura, Ortiz, Sanchez-Gutierrez, Stravinsky, and my own Piano Etudes
More info: http://www.spiveyhall.org/concerts/details.php?secID=2&subSecID=1&eventID=579&eventType=1&inDetail=yes

A composer's views on "Less is More (More or Less)"

OK, admittedly since I was one of the composers who was a part of the Atlanta Composers Meetup with Darren and Mark, it's hard to be unbiased about Mark's "Less is More (More or Less)" show at eyedrum last night. But I do have to commend Mark on a well thought-out program, as well as he, Darren, and everyone involved who put together a really fantastic show last night. My views on the show can be read at the link in the title of this article. Great job to all of you! It was really a treat.

Brian Skutle
www.sonic-cinema.com

less is more (more or less) @ Eyedrum, this Friday, March 20

A concert featuring new works by Atlanta-based creative artists (in alphabetical order):

Stuart Gerber, percussionist
Mark Gresham, composer
Al Matthews, video artist
Jen Mitchell, composer/dj
Darren Nelsen, composer

...plus front-edge music and performance art by:

John Luther Adams
Alexandre Babel
Giorgio Battestelli
Frederic Rzewski
Stuart Saunders Smith
Christian Wolff

Friday, March 20, 2009 @ 8:00pm
Eyedrum
29 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. SE, Suite 8, Atlanta, GA 30312
$10 at the door / $5 students with student ID
(sorry, no credit cards!)

For those who have never been to Eyedrum:

Eyedrum is located on the northeast corner of Hill St. and MLKjr Dr., the entrance to the gravel parking lot faces MLKjr Dr. (Do not park across the street, as you will get towed.) Note that Google tries to locate the address one block to the east and down a dead-end street--wrong location! When you enter Eyedrum's parking lot, the door on the left next to the silo is the traditional entrance to the front gallery, through which you'll go to get to the performance space behind it.

It's going to be a great show. Hope to see you there!

composer duo at Eyedrum, Thursday March 12

Hello,

Spreading the word about a composer duo appearing at Eyedrum this Thursday evening.

http://www.pd.org/~eyedrum/calendar/index.php?id=3006

Jonathan Chen and Andrew Raffo Dewar
8:00PM, Thursday, March 12, at Eyedrum
www.eyedrum.org
$5

"I’ve been repeatedly impressed by the consistency and rigor of [Chen's] work...lovely and unexpected..." Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader

Andrew Raffo Dewar, saxophone, and Jonathan Chen, violin will perform three 20 minute sets. One set will be performed together as a duo and two sets will be performed solo. In their solo sets they will perform improvised works informed by generative idioms that have been developed compositionally. As a duo, Chen and Dewar will improvise freely.

JONATHAN CHEN’s work includes installation, composition, improvisation, interpretation, and video. One of his current projects, Platform, is a component within a larger research project linking the philosophies of Marcel Duchamp and Friedrich Nietzsche and involves the installation of slowly moving platforms. Chen’s work has been performed or installed at venues both in the U.S. and internationally. He has worked with artists such as Tatsu Aoki, Anthony Braxton, Flux String Quartet, & Alvin Lucier among others. He received his Master of Music in violin performance from Northwestern University, Evanston, IL in 1999. In 2006 he completed his Master of Arts in music composition at Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT. Chen is currently working on his PhD in Electronic Arts at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.

ANDREW RAFFO DEWAR is a composer, improviser, woodwind instrumentalist, ethnomusicologist and Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Arts in the New College and music department at the University of Alabama, USA. Since 1995, he has been active in the music communities of Minneapolis, New Orleans, the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City, performing his work in North America, Southeast Asia and Europe.

As a composer, Dewar's pieces have been performed by the Flux Quartet (NYC), Sekar Anu (Indonesia), the Koto Phase ensemble (USA/Japan) and the XYZ composer collective (NYC). He has received grants from Arts International, Meet The Composer and the Getty Foundation to support his work.

Andy Ditzler
Frequent Small Meals
Atlanta, GA
www.frequentsmallmeals.com

Christopher Theofanidis and Robert Spano Talk

From Melanie Darby of ASO:

The next Conversation of Note will be take place on Wednesday, April 1 at 7pm and in the Rich Auditorium of the Woodruff Arts Center. Christopher Theofanidis and Robert Spano have confirmed for the event. Chris will talk about his music from the perspective of the composer as teacher. How does the composer inspire a student and what kind of inspiration is gained by the composer from that relationship? ASO plans to bring one or two of Chris’ students to the panel. Throughout classical music there are examples of great composers mentoring their successors. This will be a living example of what those relationships may have been like.

Call for reservations: 404.733.4870

Björk interviews Arvo Pärt

Although this is 12 years old, I thought ACG readers might find it worthy viewing.

--mg

Björk interviews Arvo Pärt for the BBC program 'Modern Minimalists' (1997).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pDjT1UNT3s

Atlanta composers in New York City

Hello all -

Just dropping in to inform you that three Atlanta-connected composers will be on the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, April 2-4.

Among the 100+ composers on the festival will be Emory University's Steve Everett, as well as ex-Atlantans Daniel Swilley and yours truly.

for more info, see: www.nycemf.org

cheers,
asn

neoPhonia New Music Ensemble Concert Friday (2/20)

This is from Dr. Demos at GSU:

You are cordially invited to the third neoPhonia New Music Ensemble concert of the 2008/09 season.

We explore the world of wind music in a concert entitled AIR. Works for brass and woodwinds will be performed by student members of neoPhonia as well as special guest artists duoATL (Nicole RANDALL, flute & Brian LUCKETT, guitar) and GSU faculty member, Ken LONG, clarinet.

If you are able, please join us on Friday, February 20 at 7:30 PM in the Kopleff Recital Hall on the campus of Georgia State University in lovely downtown Atlanta. The concert is, of course, FREE and open to the public.
program:

Paths by Toru TAKEMITSU
Lost Hollow Road by Brian CHAMBERLAIN
Elements of Nature by Paul OSTERFIELD
Gra by Elliott CARTER
Four Sketches for Brass Quintets by Anthony PLOG

The Kopleff Recital Hall is located within the Arts and Humanities Building which is on the corner of Peachtree Center Avenue and Gilmer Street in downtown Atlanta. Street parking may be available in this area, or you may use I-Lot (Peachtree Center Ave). For more detailed directions and maps, please check out the GSU School of Music website at:

http://www.music.gsu.edu

As always, you will be able to meet and greet the composers and performers after the concert at a reception hosted by the GSU Student Chapter of the Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI).

Hope to see you there!

Alvin Singleton and Jennifer Higdon Giving Talk March 1

American Originals: Art is the Ultimate Democracy
Complimentary admission
Sunday March 1, 2009
7:00 pmAtlanta Symphony Hall Stage

Due to space limitations, RSVPs are strongly encouraged.To RPVP for this event, please call 404.733.4850.For additional information, contact Melanie Darby at 404.733.4870.

Explore the inspiration and music of award-winning composers Jennifer Higdon and Alvin Singleton! Art is a language composed with rhythm, form, and style. Poetry and music intertwine. Is it any wonder that composers are inspired by prose? Join Jennifer Higdon - the most performed living American composer working today - in a dialogue with our own Music Director Robert Spano, award-winning poet Dr. Jeanne McGinn, Chair of the Liberal Arts Department for The Curtis Institute of Music, and Atlanta Composer Alvin Singleton. Led by ASO Insider Ken Meltzer, this Conversation of Note will reveal the inspiration of an "Atlanta School" Composer!

Below is a note from the coordinator Melanie Darby:
"Maestro Spano, Jennifer Higdon, and Alvin Singleton will all perform snippets of their music on piano during the event. It (the advertisement) also doesn’t tell you about the exciting pre-lecture opportunity I’ve arranged for you! Since this Conversation is focusing on the deep connections between poetry and music, I have arranged for a truly dynamic poet to perform before the lecture begins. Her name is Jessica Hand (see bio below). Jessica will be performing her own works with flute accompaniment. This is most certainly not a standard poetry reading. "

Jessica Hand Bio

Jessica D. Hand earned a Creative Writing BA (as well as a BA in Psychology) from Carnegie Mellon University, where she had the pleasure of working extensively with Jim Daniels and Terrance Hayes. She is now working on her MFA in poetry at Georgia State University, where she also teaches Freshman Composition. Her publications include the minnesota review, Redactions, Limp Wrist, and Java Monkey Speaks 2, among others. She was a finalist for River Styx’s 2008 International Poetry Contest. Her poem Jesus Mirror won the 2008 Agnes Scott Literary Festival Poetry Competition, judged by Martín Espada, and Jess was a finalist for the same competition in 2007, judged by Yusef Komunyakaa. Ode to My Pentecostal Right Arm is currently nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She has featured in many venues, including Java Monkey, Outwrite, the Decatur Book Festival, and the Portfolio Center.

New Online Work: Piano Etudes

Wanted to let you all know about a new web-based work of mine that launched today, Piano Etudes. On the site, you can create and share your own unique versions of four open-form piano works; these can also be performed live in concert by a pianist. (The first performance in Atlanta will be in April at Spivey.) Hope you enjoy!

duoATL Concert on Tuesday (2/10) featuring 3 Atlanta Composers

Flutist Nicole Randall and Guitarist Brian Luckett team up as duoATL to perform February 10 at 8pm at Emerson Hall in the Schwartz Center at Emory University. Admission is Free!

duoATL was founded in 2005 by classical guitarist Brian Luckett and flutist and composer Nicole Randall. The duo aspires to explore the incredibly intriguing and ever growing repertoire written for flute and guitar. This dynamic pairing of instruments has inspired a great diversity of composers to write for it, resulting in an exciting body of repertoire from the 20th and continuing into the 21st century. In addition to performing and recording music from the current repertoire, duoATL aims to bring both newly commissioned and original music to the concert stage. To learn more about duoATL got to http://www.duoatl.com/

Below is the program for the duoATL concert:

Libertango (1973) - Astor Piazzolla(1921–1992) arr. duoATL

Lost Hollow Road (2007) - Brian Chamberlain (b. 1977)
I . Glimpses
II . Reflections
III . Shadows

Serenata al Alba del Dia (1985) - Joaquin Rodrigo (1901–1999)
I . Andante moderato
II . Allegro

West End Funk (2007) - Brian Luckett

I Loved Lucy (1996) - Michael Daugherty (b. 1954)

Confidencial No. 2 (1989) - Alejandro Yague (b. 1947)

Suite Buenos Aires (1995) - Maximo Diego Pujol (b. 1957)
I. Pompeya

Acrobats (2002) - David Leisner (b. 1953)
I . In the Wings
II. Flashback
III . Up in the Air

Mangosteen (2008) - Nicole Randall (b. 1977)

Marc Mellits interview: Food for Your Ears

And as one of those being overheard at the Sonic Generator concert, here is the link to my telephone interview of Marc Mellits on my EarRelevant blog: Food for your Ears.

(Thanks, Brian, for taking up the pen to write a review.)

—Mark Gresham

Concert Review: Sonic Generator 2/2/09

Inspired by a discussion overheard at the conclusion of last night's Sonic Generator concert down at Georgia Tech, I decided to take matters into my own hand and share my views on the program over at my website in the Music News section. You can also get there by clicking on the above link. I hope you enjoy!

Thanks for listening,

Brian Skutle
www.sonic-cinema.com

Sonic Generator Concert

If you're wondering where you can see a quartet of iPhones performing John Cage, music for saxophone and tape delays by Terry Riley, paranoid cheese miniatures by Marc Mellits, and more, look no further! The next free performance by Sonic Generator, Georgia Tech's high-tech chamber-music ensemble in residence, is coming up on Monday, February 2nd at 8 pm at the Georgia Tech Alumni House.

For full details, see the Sonic Generator web site or the Facebook event page.

See you there!