1) Name five influences
The Beatles, John Cage, Claude Debussy, Pink Floyd, and Anton Webern. There are so many others, but these are definitely in the top 10.
2) What are you currently working on? What can we expect to hear from you?
I am working on a lot of things this summer. I am gradually switching to Linux (Ubuntu mainly), so I am learning how to use some great open source programs such as Ardour and MuseScore. I just got The SuperCollider book and am delving further into that. Music-wise, I am revising some pieces, including a generative spectralist piece in SuperCollider featuring synthesized bells and a piece for quarter-tone alto flute and fixed media. If I have time I want to revise a sax
quartet I wrote last fall as well.
3) What's good about the Atlanta music scene? Or, why do you live and/or work here?
The best parts about the Atlanta music scene is that it's small enough to break in and that it's very friendly. After living in the New York City area for two years, I can say that it's nice that our city doesn't really have the cliques and barriers that other cities have.
I am a native, but basically (for four years) expat Atlantan. However, I really believe that Atlanta is ripe for an active alt-classical scene and do what I can to help promote it. There are a few venues that focus on other genres but are friendly to the idea of classical and experimental music, and in my experience, people are more receptive to different genres than one might expect. We have a small core group of people who play out often, and I hope this will
grow. Even though I live in Florida, I like to come up and put on shows in Atlanta. There is an audience here; we just need more musicians to be active about promoting their music, and alt-classical music in general.
4) What is the biggest challenge you face as an Atlanta composer and how do you address it?
The biggest challenge is putting on shows and maintaining an audience. As I said, there are a handful of venues friendly to alt-classical/experimental music, but I understand that they have to pay the bills and won't be as friendly if turnouts are small. Atlanta's size makes for a strange dynamic – small enough to make things happen, but large enough that there can sometimes be too many entertainment/cultural options for your audience. Since playing classical music in bars (as I like to do) is a fairly new idea for a lot of people, they may not think of it as an option for their evening.
5) Who in the local scene would you like to collaborate with and why?
Of course, any musicians who are interested in playing my music! But I am also very keen on collaborating with artists in other fields – visual arts, film, dance. I'd love to work on an experimental show of some sort with the Center for Puppetry Arts.
6) What instrument(s) haven't you written for that you would like to write for?
I recently saw two calls for toy piano compositions, so I listened to some contemporary toy piano works and really loved the sound. Yet another piece for the summer may be for toy piano!
7) How does technology play a role in your work?
It plays many roles. I have written a lot of fixed media works, as well as some live electronic pieces. My Master's thesis included five pieces for laptop quartet (Max/MSP pieces). This year I started an improv group – FLIP – and so far we've been primarily improvising with our laptops. I have made a few pieces involving the Arduino circuit board and plan to explore that further.
I also use technology in my acoustic pieces. A few pieces have used some probabilistic processes to generate material. For the piece I just finished, Etude in Metal for solo percussion, I analyzed the frequency spectrum of my percussionist's gongs, and used the harmonics of his gongs to create the pitch material for the glockenspiel part.
8) When and where is your next performance?
My next performance will be on Saturday, June 11 in Gainesville, FL. I will be doing a solo improv set as part of Hal McGee's Apartment Music series. It will be streaming online here:
http://www.justin.tv/haltapes
9) Where can we find you online?
My website is www.adamscottneal.com. I am also on Twitter, Blogspot, ReverbNation, SoundCloud, CDBaby, and YouTube under "adamscottneal."
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Q&A with Composer Curtis Bryant
1) Name five influences.
Bartók, Brahms, Beethoven, Bach, Beatles come to mind under the letter B.... But, then there's C.... I recognize many mentors, and I can wear many musical hats.
2) What are you currently working on? What can we expect to hear from you?
This summer I'm doing the orchestration of my opera "The Anarchist," in anticipation of a 2013 premiere with Atlanta's Capitol City Opera. I also have a recent piano quartet and a new song cycle that are awaiting premieres. Stay tuned....
3) What's good about the Atlanta music scene? Or, why do you live and/or work here?
I am an Atlanta native with roots that go back to the city's founding, but mostly, I like it here, and I have a cool place in the woods on a private lake that makes for an ideal place to compose.
4) What is the biggest challenge you face as an Atlanta composer and how do you address it?
The music scene here offers a great amount of variety, and there are some good opportunities for performances of new works. But I have to say that the city's major music organizations, such as the Atlanta Symphony and the Atlanta Opera have shown not the slightest interest in the work or talent of Atlanta composers. Another major problem working as a composer in Atlanta and in the South in general is the lack of funding for commissioning new works and the lack of funding for the arts in general.
5) Who in the local scene would you like to collaborate with and why?
I am open to collaboration with any group performing chamber music, orchestral music, opera, art song, or liturgical music.
6) What instrument(s) haven't you written for that you would like to write for?
Never composed anything for the Wagner tuba, Heckelphone or the Theremin. Beyond that, there are several genres that I haven't had the opportunity to write for. Most glaringly absent in my catalog is a concerto. I'd be happy to tackle one for piano or any other major solo instrument, given the promise of a performance. That could include any of the above instruments, as well.
7) How does technology play a role in your work?
I got tired of producing hand-written scores and instrumental parts years ago. I currently use Finale for most of my concert music. I use Logic Pro for most commercial work, including film scores and video game music.
8) When and where is your next performance?
Still waiting for exact dates, but at least 3 premieres are in the wings. The major one with Capitol City Opera is slated for the 2012-13 season.
9) Where can we find you online?
My website is http://www.curtisbryantmusic.com. You can go to the "news" page for updates on performances. I also maintain a group on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=79336280906. Anyone can join my group.
Thanks, Curtis!
Bartók, Brahms, Beethoven, Bach, Beatles come to mind under the letter B.... But, then there's C.... I recognize many mentors, and I can wear many musical hats.
2) What are you currently working on? What can we expect to hear from you?
This summer I'm doing the orchestration of my opera "The Anarchist," in anticipation of a 2013 premiere with Atlanta's Capitol City Opera. I also have a recent piano quartet and a new song cycle that are awaiting premieres. Stay tuned....
3) What's good about the Atlanta music scene? Or, why do you live and/or work here?
I am an Atlanta native with roots that go back to the city's founding, but mostly, I like it here, and I have a cool place in the woods on a private lake that makes for an ideal place to compose.
4) What is the biggest challenge you face as an Atlanta composer and how do you address it?
The music scene here offers a great amount of variety, and there are some good opportunities for performances of new works. But I have to say that the city's major music organizations, such as the Atlanta Symphony and the Atlanta Opera have shown not the slightest interest in the work or talent of Atlanta composers. Another major problem working as a composer in Atlanta and in the South in general is the lack of funding for commissioning new works and the lack of funding for the arts in general.
5) Who in the local scene would you like to collaborate with and why?
I am open to collaboration with any group performing chamber music, orchestral music, opera, art song, or liturgical music.
6) What instrument(s) haven't you written for that you would like to write for?
Never composed anything for the Wagner tuba, Heckelphone or the Theremin. Beyond that, there are several genres that I haven't had the opportunity to write for. Most glaringly absent in my catalog is a concerto. I'd be happy to tackle one for piano or any other major solo instrument, given the promise of a performance. That could include any of the above instruments, as well.
7) How does technology play a role in your work?
I got tired of producing hand-written scores and instrumental parts years ago. I currently use Finale for most of my concert music. I use Logic Pro for most commercial work, including film scores and video game music.
8) When and where is your next performance?
Still waiting for exact dates, but at least 3 premieres are in the wings. The major one with Capitol City Opera is slated for the 2012-13 season.
9) Where can we find you online?
My website is http://www.curtisbryantmusic.com. You can go to the "news" page for updates on performances. I also maintain a group on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=79336280906. Anyone can join my group.
Thanks, Curtis!
Friday, May 13, 2011
Q&A with Composer Nicole Chamberlain
1) Name five influences.
Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland, William Davis (composition teacher at UGA), Osvaldo Golijov, and Brian Chamberlain (husband/composer/guitarist)
2) What are you currently working on? What can we expect to hear from you?
I have been commissioned by the Atlanta Opera to write a small ensemble 45-60 minute children's opera based on the Tales of Br'er Rabbit. The piece is for soprano, mezzo, tenor, baritone, and piano with libretto provided by Madeleine St. Romain. Based on the cultural history of the tales, the music will also get inspiration from blues, jazz, americana, and native american music. The end result, I hope, will be playful and fun music with substance that young and old will enjoy.
3) What's good about the Atlanta music scene? Or, why do you live and/or work here?
Growing up in Savannah there were not many opportunities for musicians. The city has been plagued with trying to support even a part-time orchestra. I knew early on I would not be able to make a living in Savannah as a musician. I happened to move to Atlanta for a day job, but stayed because of the music opportunities. I have been able to establish a network of music friends and colleagues so I have never felt the need to leave. Geographically, Atlanta is a good spot to be as well. With a major airport you can fly anywhere. I am also the middle point between my parents and sister in Savannah to my eldest sister in Clarksville, TN. I can visit all of any of my immediate family with in 4-5 hours.
4) What instrument(s) haven't you written for that you would like to write for?
I have never written for saxophone, and that has been a big regret of mine. At UGA, where I went to school, there was an outstanding saxophone quartet who repeatedly asked me I needed to write for them. What a missed opportunity! Sometimes you just need to make time to write for musicians when they ask you. I cringe when I think of how fabulous a performance and recording I could have from my undergrad years had I just written a saxophone quartet.
5) Who in the local scene would you like to collaborate with and why?
I've had such a fabulous time collaborating with the Atlanta Opera I hope I get to do it again. They've been incredibly supportive and trusting. Of course I would like to get the chance to write and have another orchestral work performed, but who wouldn't? I would love to work with Atlanta Symphony, but I think a highly underrated orchestra that I would love to write for is the Cobb Symphony (now Georgia Symphony). I had the pleasure of performing with the group this past season and throughly enjoyed working with some fabulous and talented musicians. I hope I get the chance to collaborate with them gain either as composer or flutist.
6) When and where is your next performance?
There are a few performance on the horizon. The Walker School Band directed by Erik Kofoed in Marietta, GA is performing my band piece "Hopewell" on May 20th that was commissioned by Hopewell Middle School band directed by Audrey Murphy. In September, the Dahlia Flute Duo is premiering my flute duet "Chatter" at the International Alliance of Women in Music World Congress at the University of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, AZ. Then on October 29, the Atlanta Opera will give the public premiere of "Rabbit Tales" at the Wren's Nest here in Atlanta in conjunction with National Opera Week.
7) Where can we find you online?
http://www.nikkinotes.com
http://www.twitter.com/nikkinotes
http://www.facebook.com/nikkinotes
and you can sign up for a newsletter here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nicolechamberlain
Thanks, Nicole!
Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland, William Davis (composition teacher at UGA), Osvaldo Golijov, and Brian Chamberlain (husband/composer/guitarist)
2) What are you currently working on? What can we expect to hear from you?
I have been commissioned by the Atlanta Opera to write a small ensemble 45-60 minute children's opera based on the Tales of Br'er Rabbit. The piece is for soprano, mezzo, tenor, baritone, and piano with libretto provided by Madeleine St. Romain. Based on the cultural history of the tales, the music will also get inspiration from blues, jazz, americana, and native american music. The end result, I hope, will be playful and fun music with substance that young and old will enjoy.
3) What's good about the Atlanta music scene? Or, why do you live and/or work here?
Growing up in Savannah there were not many opportunities for musicians. The city has been plagued with trying to support even a part-time orchestra. I knew early on I would not be able to make a living in Savannah as a musician. I happened to move to Atlanta for a day job, but stayed because of the music opportunities. I have been able to establish a network of music friends and colleagues so I have never felt the need to leave. Geographically, Atlanta is a good spot to be as well. With a major airport you can fly anywhere. I am also the middle point between my parents and sister in Savannah to my eldest sister in Clarksville, TN. I can visit all of any of my immediate family with in 4-5 hours.
4) What instrument(s) haven't you written for that you would like to write for?
I have never written for saxophone, and that has been a big regret of mine. At UGA, where I went to school, there was an outstanding saxophone quartet who repeatedly asked me I needed to write for them. What a missed opportunity! Sometimes you just need to make time to write for musicians when they ask you. I cringe when I think of how fabulous a performance and recording I could have from my undergrad years had I just written a saxophone quartet.
5) Who in the local scene would you like to collaborate with and why?
I've had such a fabulous time collaborating with the Atlanta Opera I hope I get to do it again. They've been incredibly supportive and trusting. Of course I would like to get the chance to write and have another orchestral work performed, but who wouldn't? I would love to work with Atlanta Symphony, but I think a highly underrated orchestra that I would love to write for is the Cobb Symphony (now Georgia Symphony). I had the pleasure of performing with the group this past season and throughly enjoyed working with some fabulous and talented musicians. I hope I get the chance to collaborate with them gain either as composer or flutist.
6) When and where is your next performance?
There are a few performance on the horizon. The Walker School Band directed by Erik Kofoed in Marietta, GA is performing my band piece "Hopewell" on May 20th that was commissioned by Hopewell Middle School band directed by Audrey Murphy. In September, the Dahlia Flute Duo is premiering my flute duet "Chatter" at the International Alliance of Women in Music World Congress at the University of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, AZ. Then on October 29, the Atlanta Opera will give the public premiere of "Rabbit Tales" at the Wren's Nest here in Atlanta in conjunction with National Opera Week.
7) Where can we find you online?
http://www.nikkinotes.com
http://www.twitter.com/nikkinotes
http://www.facebook.com/nikkinotes
and you can sign up for a newsletter here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nicolechamberlain
Thanks, Nicole!
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
The Atlanta Opera Commissions Children Opera
Libretto Based on Br’er Rabbit Stories by Joel Chandler Harris
The Atlanta Opera has commissioned a one-hour children’s opera for its 2011-2012 season. The libretto, written by Atlanta-based librettist and playwright, Madeleine St. Romain, will be based on the antics of Br’er Rabbit, a central figure in the Uncle Remus stories popularized by Southern author Joel Chandler Harris in the late 19th Century. The Br’er Rabbit stories can be traced back to “trickster” figures in African folklore, particularly the hare, a character that is prominent in the storytelling traditions of Western, Central and Southern Africa. This production will be a contemporary, light-hearted rendering of several story lines from Native American, African, and Cajun Folklore. The score, composed by Atlanta-based flutist and composer Nicole Chamberlain, will be written for four voice types, and will incorporate melodies and rhythms from African, Native American and Cajun music, as well as the blues. The work, currently entitled Rabbit Tales, will be performed by The Atlanta Opera Studio in elementary schools October 24 through November 18, 2011 and again February 13 through March 30, 2012. There will be a premiere open to the public on October 29, 2011 at the Wren’s Nest, in conjunction with National Opera Week. Further details will be announced at a later date. This is the first opera commission in the company’s history.
To book a performance of Rabbit Tales and to find out more information, contact Emmalee Iden at (404)881-8883 or eiden@atlantaopera.org.
Read full press release here: http://www.atlantaopera.org/media/pdf/Childrens_Opera_050411.pdf
The Atlanta Opera has commissioned a one-hour children’s opera for its 2011-2012 season. The libretto, written by Atlanta-based librettist and playwright, Madeleine St. Romain, will be based on the antics of Br’er Rabbit, a central figure in the Uncle Remus stories popularized by Southern author Joel Chandler Harris in the late 19th Century. The Br’er Rabbit stories can be traced back to “trickster” figures in African folklore, particularly the hare, a character that is prominent in the storytelling traditions of Western, Central and Southern Africa. This production will be a contemporary, light-hearted rendering of several story lines from Native American, African, and Cajun Folklore. The score, composed by Atlanta-based flutist and composer Nicole Chamberlain, will be written for four voice types, and will incorporate melodies and rhythms from African, Native American and Cajun music, as well as the blues. The work, currently entitled Rabbit Tales, will be performed by The Atlanta Opera Studio in elementary schools October 24 through November 18, 2011 and again February 13 through March 30, 2012. There will be a premiere open to the public on October 29, 2011 at the Wren’s Nest, in conjunction with National Opera Week. Further details will be announced at a later date. This is the first opera commission in the company’s history.
To book a performance of Rabbit Tales and to find out more information, contact Emmalee Iden at (404)881-8883 or eiden@atlantaopera.org.
Read full press release here: http://www.atlantaopera.org/media/pdf/Childrens_Opera_050411.pdf
Sunday, May 01, 2011
FREE Bent Frequency show TODAY
Sorry we neglected to post this!
Today, Sunday May 1st
3:00 PM
Ivy Hall, Savannah College of Art and Design (Atlanta campus, natch)
179 Ponce de Leon Ave
Featuring works by Erickson, Rzewski, Mansurian, Thornock, Mellits, and Cage.
Today, Sunday May 1st
3:00 PM
Ivy Hall, Savannah College of Art and Design (Atlanta campus, natch)
179 Ponce de Leon Ave
Featuring works by Erickson, Rzewski, Mansurian, Thornock, Mellits, and Cage.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
GSU Student Chapter of SCI in CONCERT
Come check out great music by talented student composers!
DATE: Friday, April 15
TIME: 12 PM
PLACE: Kopleff Recital Hall
FREE!
Works by Rachael Alexander, Taylor Helms, Emiliano Nieto-Montiel and more!!!
For directions to the Kopleff Recital Hall click HERE
Need more info? Call the GSU School of Music Concert Information Line at 404-413-5901
Hope to see you there!
DATE: Friday, April 15
TIME: 12 PM
PLACE: Kopleff Recital Hall
FREE!
Works by Rachael Alexander, Taylor Helms, Emiliano Nieto-Montiel and more!!!
For directions to the Kopleff Recital Hall click HERE
Need more info? Call the GSU School of Music Concert Information Line at 404-413-5901
Hope to see you there!
Sunday, April 03, 2011
California EAR Unit 4/17
Hi all - this is a VERY important show that you all need to attend. The California EAR Unit is one of the top new music ensembles in the country. I'll be stuck in FL, so I'm quite jealous!
Guest Artist - California E.A.R. Unit
Sunday, April 17, 2011 - 7:30 PM
Venue: Kopleff Recital Hall, GSU
Cost: FREE
The EAR Unit, Los Angeles' fearless new music ensemble, performs David Dvorin's haunting multimedia As Alice with live electro-acoustic manipulations of tea cups/saucers, playing cards, pocket watches and child song along with interactive video (degraded 1903 version of Alice in Wonderland); Montana native Vicki Ray's Jugg(ular)ling, which follows the ever-increasing complexity of juggling feats captured on video; Spill Out/Fish Tank by Canadian Linda Bouchard with images created by Kim Turos and the electronics-savvy Belgo II, Amy Knoles's clever confounding of violin, piano, sampled text and bird song.
Friday, April 01, 2011
GSU Percussion Ensemble - Tuesday 4/5
GSU Percussion Ensemble
Rialto Center
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 - 7:30 PM
Stuart Gerber, director
FREE!
Featuring works by Michael Colgrass, Daniel Levitan, Adam Scott Neal, Dorothy Hindman, James Romig, Steve Reich, John Cage and Nigel Westlake, as well as a "Middle Eastern Groove Medley" guest directed by Emrah Kotan.
Rialto Center
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 - 7:30 PM
Stuart Gerber, director
FREE!
Featuring works by Michael Colgrass, Daniel Levitan, Adam Scott Neal, Dorothy Hindman, James Romig, Steve Reich, John Cage and Nigel Westlake, as well as a "Middle Eastern Groove Medley" guest directed by Emrah Kotan.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Discounted tickets for eighth blackbird concert
The Bailey Center at Kennesaw State University would like to offer discounted tickets for the April 2, 2011 eighth blackbird concert to AtlantaComposers.com visitors.
To purchase $10 tickets, visit http://ticketing.kennesaw.edu or call 770-423-6650 and use this promotion code:
GTGS
To purchase $10 tickets, visit http://ticketing.kennesaw.edu or call 770-423-6650 and use this promotion code:
GTGS
eighth blackbird
Saturday, April 2, 2011 | 8 p.m. | Bailey Center Performance Hall | $30
Grammy Award®-winning sextet eighth blackbird returns to the Bailey Center displaying their
uniquely provocative and engaging performance style. The program will include the world premiere
of How Soon?, a new work by Nico Muhly, featuring the KSU Womenʼs Chorus. The work was co-commissioned
by eighth blackbird, the KSU School of Music, and the Anima-Young Singers of
Greater Chicago.
The KSU Festival of New Music continues this evening with a free Faculty Composers Concert at 8 p.m., on Friday with residency activities by eighth blackbird and Nico Muhly, and on Saturday with an Analysis Symposium. A complete schedule is at:
http://www.kennesaw.edu/music/bpc/newmusicfestival/
The KSU Festival of New Music continues this evening with a free Faculty Composers Concert at 8 p.m., on Friday with residency activities by eighth blackbird and Nico Muhly, and on Saturday with an Analysis Symposium. A complete schedule is at:
http://www.kennesaw.edu/music/bpc/newmusicfestival/
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
neoPhonia New Music Ensemble: APRIL 6, 2011
To All Our Friends,
The fourth and final concert of the 2010/11 neoPhonia New Music Ensemble season takes place on Wednesday, April 6. If you find yourself in or around the Atlanta area, please join us as we present a concert entitled Odysseia.
The evening will feature music composed by Greek and Greek-American composers and is made possible, in part, through funding by the Center for Hellenic Studies, College of Arts & Sciences, Georgia State University. We are honored to welcome special guest faculty artists from Thessaloniki, Greece Nevart-Veron Galileas (flute) and Theofilos Sotiriadis (saxophone) as well as GSU faculty artists W. Dwight Coleman (baritone), Christos Galileas, (violin), Ken Long (clarinet) and Brandt Fredriksen (piano).
DATE: Wednesday, April 6
TIME: 7:30 PM
LOCATION: Kopleff Recital Hall
FREE ADMISSION!
PROGRAM:
Theodore ANTONIOU / Celebration XV for flute, alto sax, violin & piano
George TSONTAKIS / Three Sighs, Three Variations for violin & piano
Elainie LILLIOS / Veiled Resonance for solo soprano saxophone and electronics
Nickitas DEMOS / An Empty Blouse for baritone, flute, clarinet, violin & piano
As always, you can meet and greet some of the composers and all the performers at a reception following the concert sponsored by the GSU Student Chapter of the Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI) !
For directions to the Kopleff Recital Hall visit: http://www.music.gsu.edu/locations.aspx. For more information, visit www.music.gsu.edu or call 404.413.5901
Hope to see you there!!
The fourth and final concert of the 2010/11 neoPhonia New Music Ensemble season takes place on Wednesday, April 6. If you find yourself in or around the Atlanta area, please join us as we present a concert entitled Odysseia.
The evening will feature music composed by Greek and Greek-American composers and is made possible, in part, through funding by the Center for Hellenic Studies, College of Arts & Sciences, Georgia State University. We are honored to welcome special guest faculty artists from Thessaloniki, Greece Nevart-Veron Galileas (flute) and Theofilos Sotiriadis (saxophone) as well as GSU faculty artists W. Dwight Coleman (baritone), Christos Galileas, (violin), Ken Long (clarinet) and Brandt Fredriksen (piano).
DATE: Wednesday, April 6
TIME: 7:30 PM
LOCATION: Kopleff Recital Hall
FREE ADMISSION!
PROGRAM:
Theodore ANTONIOU / Celebration XV for flute, alto sax, violin & piano
George TSONTAKIS / Three Sighs, Three Variations for violin & piano
Elainie LILLIOS / Veiled Resonance for solo soprano saxophone and electronics
Nickitas DEMOS / An Empty Blouse for baritone, flute, clarinet, violin & piano
As always, you can meet and greet some of the composers and all the performers at a reception following the concert sponsored by the GSU Student Chapter of the Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI) !
For directions to the Kopleff Recital Hall visit: http://www.music.gsu.edu/locations.aspx. For more information, visit www.music.gsu.edu or call 404.413.5901
Hope to see you there!!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
KSU Festival of New Music
Student Composers Recital
Monday, March 28, 2011 | 8 p.m. | Bailey Center Performance Hall | Free
New works by students from Kennesaw State University, Georgia State University, and the Georgia Institute of Technology will be featured.
Faculty Composers Recital
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 | 8 p.m. | Bailey Center Performance Hall | Free
Featuring compositions from the faculties of Kennesaw State, Georgia State, and Georgia Tech, including Robert Cronin, Nickitas Demos, Drew Dolan, Jason Freeman, Jen Mitchell, and Laurence Sherr.
Residency with eighth blackbird and Nico Muhly
Friday, April 1, 2011
Chamber Ensemble Coaching
11 a.m. – 1 p.m. | Bailey Center Performance Hall
Members of eighth blackbird will coach KSU students in chamber music performance.
Panel Discussion and Q&A Session
2 – 3:30 p.m. | Wilson Building, Room 103
Member of eighth blackbird and Nico Muhly will discuss topics related to modern chamber music performance.
Discussion Session with Composers
4 – 5:30 p.m. | Wilson Building, Room 103
Composer Nico Muhly hosts a discussion session aimed at composers
and composition.
Analysis Symposium
Saturday, April 2, 2011 | 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. | Wilson Building, Room 103
Music theorists Benjamin Wadsworth, Yayoi Everett, and Mark McFarland present their research on modern music.
eighth blackbird
Saturday, April 2, 2011 | 8 p.m. | Bailey Center Performance Hall
Grammy Award®-winning sextet eighth blackbird returns to the Bailey Center displaying their uniquely provocative and engaging performance style. The program will include the world premiere of “How Soon?”, a new work Nico Muhly, featuring the combined KSU Women’s Chorus and Georgia Youth Symphony Orchestra Chorus. The work was co-commissioned by eighth blackbird, the KSU School of Music, and the Anima-Young Singers of Greater Chicago.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Bent Frequency Presents "Art Imitates Life Imitates Art"
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Kopleff Recital Hall, GSU
FREE ADMISSION!
Program:
David CRUMB - "Awakening"
Josh LEVINE - "Transparency I"
John DRUMHELLER - "The View from Dead Horse Point"
Ben STONAKER - "Back Jump"
Hubert HO - "A Dangerous Game of Hide and Seek"
Featuring:
Sarah Kruser Ambrose, flute
Jan Berry Baker, saxophone
Tania Maxwell Clements, viola
Amanda Pepping, trumpet
Stuart Gerber, percussion
Peter Marshall, piano
Robert J. Ambrose, conductor
Kopleff Recital Hall, GSU
FREE ADMISSION!
Program:
David CRUMB - "Awakening"
Josh LEVINE - "Transparency I"
John DRUMHELLER - "The View from Dead Horse Point"
Ben STONAKER - "Back Jump"
Hubert HO - "A Dangerous Game of Hide and Seek"
Featuring:
Sarah Kruser Ambrose, flute
Jan Berry Baker, saxophone
Tania Maxwell Clements, viola
Amanda Pepping, trumpet
Stuart Gerber, percussion
Peter Marshall, piano
Robert J. Ambrose, conductor
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Adam Scott Neal & Friends - CD Release Show - 3/19/11
I am releasing a short album/EP titled FULL CIRCLE, which features my hip-hop/electronic tracks overlayed with solos written by Atlanta composer-performers Nicole Randall Chamberlain, Margie Deeb, Darren Nelsen, Jason Passmore, and Jason Pellett. This event will feature an eclectic mix of performances culminating with the first public listening of this genre-bending experiment. I hope you all can join us!
KAVARNA
707 E Lake Dr, Decatur
Saturday, March 19, 2011 - 9PM
FREE!
on the bill:
Stuart Gerber and Craig Dongoski will present a portion of their new multidisciplinary collaboration "Surface Resonance"
Morningside Chamber Musicians will play a few pieces for woodwind trio, including Tim Jansa's "Morning Sides"
Darren Nelsen will be rocking out with his prog/fusion band GRAVITY MACHINE
These will be brief 20ish-minute sets before the listening party (album clocks in just under 30 minutes).
Bring your homies!
KAVARNA
707 E Lake Dr, Decatur
Saturday, March 19, 2011 - 9PM
FREE!
on the bill:
Stuart Gerber and Craig Dongoski will present a portion of their new multidisciplinary collaboration "Surface Resonance"
Morningside Chamber Musicians will play a few pieces for woodwind trio, including Tim Jansa's "Morning Sides"
Darren Nelsen will be rocking out with his prog/fusion band GRAVITY MACHINE
These will be brief 20ish-minute sets before the listening party (album clocks in just under 30 minutes).
Bring your homies!
Friday, March 04, 2011
Hopewell Middle School Symphonic Band Premieres New Work
Hopewell Middle School Symphonic Band under the direction of Audrey Murphy commissioned Nicole Chamberlain to write a piece to be performed at the Music for All National Festival in Indianapolis later this month. They will be giving a preview concert and premiering the work in Alpharetta, GA this Tuesday.
Tuesday, March 8 at 7pm
Alpharetta First United Methodist Church
69 N Main St
Alpharetta, GA 30009
Here are the program notes written by my sister Joell Greco, who is an author soon to be published:
"Hopewell" was commissioned by Hopewell Middle School's Symphonic Band directed by Audrey Murphy located in Milton, Georgia. The connotations of the school's namesake gave an opportunity to convey a realization that a generation of young people is growing up in an age of uncertainty and that hope is often a seed that is rarely planted. Like most developing minds of today’s era, a situation where the possible positive ending to a seemingly dramatic and life changing problem is all but possible to them. Most do not see that hope is a ray of brilliant light that often breaks the most foreboding thundering clouds of life even at the last moments of a crossroads. The movements of rhythm and volume weaved within this piece reflect that the very mindset of those who only see the darkness of a situation can often find the glimmer of hope to hold onto at the very end for to have the hope of peace, the hope of cures, and the hope of a better life is something that all children deserve the right to have.
Tuesday, March 8 at 7pm
Alpharetta First United Methodist Church
69 N Main St
Alpharetta, GA 30009
Here are the program notes written by my sister Joell Greco, who is an author soon to be published:
"Hopewell" was commissioned by Hopewell Middle School's Symphonic Band directed by Audrey Murphy located in Milton, Georgia. The connotations of the school's namesake gave an opportunity to convey a realization that a generation of young people is growing up in an age of uncertainty and that hope is often a seed that is rarely planted. Like most developing minds of today’s era, a situation where the possible positive ending to a seemingly dramatic and life changing problem is all but possible to them. Most do not see that hope is a ray of brilliant light that often breaks the most foreboding thundering clouds of life even at the last moments of a crossroads. The movements of rhythm and volume weaved within this piece reflect that the very mindset of those who only see the darkness of a situation can often find the glimmer of hope to hold onto at the very end for to have the hope of peace, the hope of cures, and the hope of a better life is something that all children deserve the right to have.
Sonic Generator Concert
Sonic Generator Presents “Something Old, Something New…”
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Rich Theatre, Woodruff Arts Center
1280 Peachtree Street.
Concert begins at 8 p.m.
Reception to follow
free admission
Georgia Tech’s chamber music ensemble-in-residence, Sonic Generator, features music by Philip Glass, Gil Weinberg, Milton Babbitt, Randall Woolf, Daniel Wohl, and Charles Amirkhanian in a free performance in partnership with the Woodruff Arts Center. The concert explores the power of words and images to reframe musical experiences and performances.
More info at http://www.sonicgenerator.gatech.edu/upcoming_concerts/wednesday-march-16-2011.html.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Rich Theatre, Woodruff Arts Center
1280 Peachtree Street.
Concert begins at 8 p.m.
Reception to follow
free admission
Georgia Tech’s chamber music ensemble-in-residence, Sonic Generator, features music by Philip Glass, Gil Weinberg, Milton Babbitt, Randall Woolf, Daniel Wohl, and Charles Amirkhanian in a free performance in partnership with the Woodruff Arts Center. The concert explores the power of words and images to reframe musical experiences and performances.
More info at http://www.sonicgenerator.gatech.edu/upcoming_concerts/wednesday-march-16-2011.html.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Classic Goes Contemporary: F.W. Murnau’s silent movie "Faust" (1926) set to new music by Toby Chappell
Saturday, March 5 @ 6 pm
Goethe-Zentrum Auditorium
http://www.goethe.de/ins/us/atl/ver/en7168706v.htm
The 1926 film "Faust", directed by F.W. Murnau of "Nosferatu" fame,
will be shown in its entirety on March 5 with a live performance of
a new soundtrack (electronics and guitar) for the film.
"Faust" was backed by the biggest film budget in German film history
up to that point, and features the most intricate special effects
possible in the era, as well as a superb cast anchored by Emil
Jannings as Mephisto and Swedish stage legend Gösta Ekman as Faust.
Previous sections of the soundtrack have been performed at
Georgia State University, and a house concert hosted by Darren Nelsen.
This event will mark the premiere of the full soundtrack.
CDs will be available featuring excerpts from the soundtrack.
Please RSVP for this event by March 4 at 404-892-2388 or info@german-institute.org.
Toby Chappell is a composer, guitarist, and sound sculptor currently
residing in the Atlanta, GA area. He has studied and/or collaborated
with such diverse artists and collectives as the Pythagoras Society,
Robert Scott Thompson, Eyes of Ligeia, and the Black Muse Element.
Currently, Toby is focusing on film soundtrack and guitar-based
ambient music, all of which he releases pseudonymously as Saturnin
Sektor (electroacoustic and film music), or Misdreamt (guitar+electronics).
Contact: motiondemon@emailengine.net
Goethe-Zentrum Auditorium
http://www.goethe.de/ins/us/atl/ver/en7168706v.htm
The 1926 film "Faust", directed by F.W. Murnau of "Nosferatu" fame,
will be shown in its entirety on March 5 with a live performance of
a new soundtrack (electronics and guitar) for the film.
"Faust" was backed by the biggest film budget in German film history
up to that point, and features the most intricate special effects
possible in the era, as well as a superb cast anchored by Emil
Jannings as Mephisto and Swedish stage legend Gösta Ekman as Faust.
Previous sections of the soundtrack have been performed at
Georgia State University, and a house concert hosted by Darren Nelsen.
This event will mark the premiere of the full soundtrack.
CDs will be available featuring excerpts from the soundtrack.
Please RSVP for this event by March 4 at 404-892-2388 or info@german-institute.org.
Toby Chappell is a composer, guitarist, and sound sculptor currently
residing in the Atlanta, GA area. He has studied and/or collaborated
with such diverse artists and collectives as the Pythagoras Society,
Robert Scott Thompson, Eyes of Ligeia, and the Black Muse Element.
Currently, Toby is focusing on film soundtrack and guitar-based
ambient music, all of which he releases pseudonymously as Saturnin
Sektor (electroacoustic and film music), or Misdreamt (guitar+electronics).
Contact: motiondemon@emailengine.net
Two new releases from Toby Chappell
Two new releases are now available from Atlanta-area electronic and
electro-acoustic composer Toby Chappell. The releases are available
in both physical and digital formats.
The latest release from SATURNIN SEKTOR ("Unreal City") is the culmination
of two years' work collecting field recordings from such places as
Savannah, New York City, and sacred sites in Ireland.
The first release from MISDREAMT ("The Motion Demon") is also now available.
MISDREAMT features found percussion and looped/layered guitar parts, with
unsettling electro-acoustic ambience always lurking beneath the surface.
Live performances of the MISDREAMT material will include video components
from the composer and other collaborators.
More information (samples, artwork downloads, ordering info) can be found at:
http://misdreamt.bandcamp.com
http://saturninsektor.bandcamp.com
http://motiondemon.blogspot.com
Toby Chappell is a composer, guitarist, and sound sculptor currently
residing in the Atlanta, GA area. He has studied and/or collaborated
with such diverse artists and collectives as the Pythagoras Society,
Robert Scott Thompson, Eyes of Ligeia, and the Black Muse Element.
Currently, Toby is focusing on film soundtrack and guitar-based
ambient music, all of which he releases pseudonymously as Saturnin
Sektor (electroacoustic and film music), or Misdreamt (guitar+electronics).
Contact: motiondemon@emailengine.net
electro-acoustic composer Toby Chappell. The releases are available
in both physical and digital formats.
The latest release from SATURNIN SEKTOR ("Unreal City") is the culmination
of two years' work collecting field recordings from such places as
Savannah, New York City, and sacred sites in Ireland.
The first release from MISDREAMT ("The Motion Demon") is also now available.
MISDREAMT features found percussion and looped/layered guitar parts, with
unsettling electro-acoustic ambience always lurking beneath the surface.
Live performances of the MISDREAMT material will include video components
from the composer and other collaborators.
More information (samples, artwork downloads, ordering info) can be found at:
http://misdreamt.bandcamp.com
http://saturninsektor.bandcamp.com
http://motiondemon.blogspot.com
Toby Chappell is a composer, guitarist, and sound sculptor currently
residing in the Atlanta, GA area. He has studied and/or collaborated
with such diverse artists and collectives as the Pythagoras Society,
Robert Scott Thompson, Eyes of Ligeia, and the Black Muse Element.
Currently, Toby is focusing on film soundtrack and guitar-based
ambient music, all of which he releases pseudonymously as Saturnin
Sektor (electroacoustic and film music), or Misdreamt (guitar+electronics).
Contact: motiondemon@emailengine.net
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Concert Review: "neoPhonia- Related Pitches"
Click on the title to check out my review of this past Tuesday's neoPhonia concert. I hope you enjoy!
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Tuesday, February 8th, 2011 - Take Your Pick!
Alas, next Tuesday is another night of competing concerts of contemporary compositions.
If you are downtown and/or in a "wind" mood, please see neoPhonia at 7:30 pm (FREE - see below for more details).
If you are in a more "percussive" mood and/or on the North(west) side of town, see Cerberus Percussion Group at KSU's Bailey Center (8PM, FREE).
Cerberus will be playing:
The Frame Problem by James ROMIG
Pachamama by Adam Scott NEAL
Metasmo by Joel HOFFMAN
Always Very Soft by John Luther ADAMS
Worker’s Union by Louis ANDRIESSEN
Please please please go support our growing post-classical music scene!!!!
If you are downtown and/or in a "wind" mood, please see neoPhonia at 7:30 pm (FREE - see below for more details).
If you are in a more "percussive" mood and/or on the North(west) side of town, see Cerberus Percussion Group at KSU's Bailey Center (8PM, FREE).
Cerberus will be playing:
The Frame Problem by James ROMIG
Pachamama by Adam Scott NEAL
Metasmo by Joel HOFFMAN
Always Very Soft by John Luther ADAMS
Worker’s Union by Louis ANDRIESSEN
Please please please go support our growing post-classical music scene!!!!
Monday, January 31, 2011
neoPhonia New Music Ensemble: February 8, 2011
The third concert of the 2010/11 neoPhonia New Music Ensemble season takes place on Tuesday, February 8. Please join us as we present a concert entitled Related Pitches. The evening will feature virtuoso music composed for clarinet and saxophone. We are honored to welcome guest faculty artists Ken LONG (clarinet) and Jan Berry BAKER (saxophone) as well as international guest artist Theofilos SOTIRIADIS (saxophone)
DATE: Tuesday, February 8
TIME: 7:30 PM
LOCATION: Kopleff Recital Hall
FREE ADMISSION!
PROGRAM
WANAMAKER / Duo Sonata for clarinet/sax duo
SPIROPOULOS / Saksti for tenor sax and electronics
DEMOS / Tonoi VII for solo alto sax
ETEZADY / Glint for clarinet/sax duo
KOUMENDAKIS / Forget Me Not for solo alto sax
LILLIOS / Veiled Resonance for solo soprano sax and electronics
DEMOS / Citizens of Nowhere (premiere) for clar./bass clar. and sop./alto sax
As always, you can meet and greet some of the composers and both performers at a reception following the concert sponsored by the GSU Student Chapter of the Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI) !
For directions to the Kopleff Recital Hall visit: http://www.music.gsu.edu/locations.aspx. For more information, visit www.music.gsu.edu or call 404.413.5901
Hope to see you there!!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Laptop Orchestra of Louisiana - GSU Tomorrow
Hi all - just a reminder to see the Laptop Orchestra of Louisiana (aka the LOLs) at GSU tomorrow night. 7:30, free!
The Laptop Orchestra of Louisiana (LOLs) is a research and performance ensemble dedicated to the exploration of real-time computational technologies and digital media for the purpose of group music making. Inspired by the Princeton (PLOrk) and Stanford (SLork) ensembles, they look to bring the same excitement and virtuosity to the Gulf South, but with their own individual flair.
Also, set your calendars for Saturday, Feb. 12 - my new laptop-etc. group FLIP will be making our debut at Kavarna as part of the City Skies series.
The Laptop Orchestra of Louisiana (LOLs) is a research and performance ensemble dedicated to the exploration of real-time computational technologies and digital media for the purpose of group music making. Inspired by the Princeton (PLOrk) and Stanford (SLork) ensembles, they look to bring the same excitement and virtuosity to the Gulf South, but with their own individual flair.
Also, set your calendars for Saturday, Feb. 12 - my new laptop-etc. group FLIP will be making our debut at Kavarna as part of the City Skies series.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Cobb Symphony Premieres Work by Atlanta Composer
Anybody go and see Eric Alexander's premiere last night? I'm sad I missed it.
http://www.artscriticatl.com/2011/01/review-cobb-symphony-delivers-sparkling-ravel-and-an-engaging-world-premiere/
http://www.artscriticatl.com/2011/01/review-cobb-symphony-delivers-sparkling-ravel-and-an-engaging-world-premiere/
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Sonic Generator Presents The Open Score
Georgia Tech’s chamber music ensemble-in-residence, Sonic Generator, will explore open musical scores on the boundaries of composition, improvisation, and interactivity in a free exhibition and concert in partnership with the Woodruff Arts Center. The performance features music with unconventional and technologically-driven scores by Kaija Saariaho, Frederic Rzewski, Jason Freeman, Bill Ryan, David Kim-Boyle, and Akito Van Troyer. It takes place at the Rich Theatre at Woodruff Arts Center on January 24th. The exhibition opens at 7 pm and the concert begins at 8 pm. We hope to see you there!
Full details are on Sonic Generator's web site.
Full details are on Sonic Generator's web site.
Monday, January 10, 2011
New Website Launch
Happy New Year!
I’m happy to announce the launch of my new website:
Here you can sample audio excerpts and score previews of my compositions, view videos of performances, order music, check out my blog, Greek & Composing and much more!
Best,
NJD
Friday, January 07, 2011
Dali til Dawn! This Weekend!
Saturday, January 8 · 6:00pm - 11:00pm - High Museum
WonderRoot and The High Museum present a night of surreal send-off performances as part of Dali til Dawn. Come see a varitey of acts... Poetry! Improv! Animation! Live Art! Film! Dance! Comedy! Skits! Music!
Performers include (in no particular order):
Ben Leak and the Lobster Mobster Poetry Collective, Adam Bruneau, Zentropy, Brett W Thompson, Amber Boardman, Steven Abadin, Scott Burland, Robbie Land, Ana Sousa, Cameron Stuart, Subliminator, Corey Barksdale, Bradley Bailey, Caleb Herron, Tanner Slick, Gary Eddy, David Bradford, Paul Mercer, Sarah Falls, Jule Baggenstos, and Alma Dytoc.
Dali Open Mic begins at 6pm and ends at 11pm (immediately following is a performance by The Imperial Opa!). Hosted by WonderRoot's Open Mic host Cameron Stuart. This event is part of the High Museums 31 hour Dali Send-Off.
For more information on Dali til Dawn visit:
http://www.high.org/main.taf?p=4%2C3%2C2&eventId=732&eventTypeId=12
For more information on WonderRoot visit:
www.wonderroot.org
Facebook event:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=179843638712395
WonderRoot and The High Museum present a night of surreal send-off performances as part of Dali til Dawn. Come see a varitey of acts... Poetry! Improv! Animation! Live Art! Film! Dance! Comedy! Skits! Music!
Performers include (in no particular order):
Ben Leak and the Lobster Mobster Poetry Collective, Adam Bruneau, Zentropy, Brett W Thompson, Amber Boardman, Steven Abadin, Scott Burland, Robbie Land, Ana Sousa, Cameron Stuart, Subliminator, Corey Barksdale, Bradley Bailey, Caleb Herron, Tanner Slick, Gary Eddy, David Bradford, Paul Mercer, Sarah Falls, Jule Baggenstos, and Alma Dytoc.
Dali Open Mic begins at 6pm and ends at 11pm (immediately following is a performance by The Imperial Opa!). Hosted by WonderRoot's Open Mic host Cameron Stuart. This event is part of the High Museums 31 hour Dali Send-Off.
For more information on Dali til Dawn visit:
http://www.high.org/main.taf?p=4%2C3%2C2&eventId=732&eventTypeId=12
For more information on WonderRoot visit:
www.wonderroot.org
Facebook event:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=179843638712395
Monday, January 03, 2011
Spring Semester Concerts
I have compiled the contemporary music concerts I found at our local universities and orchestras. If I missed something, don't hesitate to leave a comment! I hope you all can make it to as many of these as possible. Quite a few of them are FREE! We will have reminder posts, but I wanted to show an overview as you plan your new year.
Cobb Symphony - premiere by Atlanta composer Eric Alexander
January 15, 2011 • 8 PM - Murray Arts Center, Kennesaw
Sonic Generator
Monday, January 24, 2011, 8 pm - Tech
Laptop Orchestra of Louisiana
Wednesday, January 26, 2011 - 7:30 PM - GSU
Cerberus Percussion Group
Tuesday, February 8, 2011 - 8:00 PM - Bailey Center, KSU
neoPhonia New Music Ensemble
Tuesday, February 08, 2011 - 7:30 PM - GSU
ASO plays Golijov and Piazzola
Thurs-Sat, February 24-26 - 8PM - Symphony Hall
Sy Brandon in residence at KSU
March 4, 2011: masterclasses only - no concerts :(
Senior Recital - Micah Martin, composition
Saturday, March 12, 2011 - 7:30 PM - GSU
Graduate Recital - Chris Owenby, composition
Sunday, March 13, 2011 - 7:30 PM - GSU
Rusty Banks in residence at KSU
March 14, 2011 - recital at 8PM
Sonic Generator
Wednesday, March 16, 2011, 8 pm - Tech
Bent Frequency
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 7:30 PM - GSU
KSU Festival of New Music - Bailey Center, KSU
3/28, 8 pm: Student Composers Concert (KSU, GSU, Tech)
3/30, 8 pm: Faculty Composers Concert (KSU, GSU, Tech)
4/1, all day: eighth blackbird and Nico Muhly residency activities
4/2, 11 am-1 pm: Theory Symposium
4/2, 8 pm: eighth blackbird concert with Nico Muhly Southeast premiere
GSU Percussion Ensemble
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 - 7:30 PM - GSU
neoPhonia New Music Ensemble
Wednesday, April 06, 2011 - 7:30 PM - GSU
Instant Music Concert
Friday, April 08, 2011 - 12:00 PM - GSU
KSU Student Composers Concert
Friday, April 8, 2011 - 8:00 PM - KSU
4/11-13: Thomas Benjamin in residence at KSU
4/12, 8 pm: Mixed Chamber Ensemble, includes works by Thomas Benjamin
4/13, 8 pm: KSU Orchestra, includes work by Thomas Benjamin
Student Composers Concert
Friday, April 15, 2011 - 12:00 PM - GSU
Guest Artist - California E.A.R. Unit
Sunday, April 17, 2011 - 7:30 PM - GSU
Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Wind Orchestra & Percussion Ensemble
with Michael Colgrass, composer
Thursday, April 21, 2011 - 7:30 PM - GSU
Graduate Recital - Hanna Lisa Stefansson, composition
Friday, April 22, 2011 - 7:30 PM - GSU
Cobb Symphony - premiere by Atlanta composer Eric Alexander
January 15, 2011 • 8 PM - Murray Arts Center, Kennesaw
Sonic Generator
Monday, January 24, 2011, 8 pm - Tech
Laptop Orchestra of Louisiana
Wednesday, January 26, 2011 - 7:30 PM - GSU
Cerberus Percussion Group
Tuesday, February 8, 2011 - 8:00 PM - Bailey Center, KSU
neoPhonia New Music Ensemble
Tuesday, February 08, 2011 - 7:30 PM - GSU
ASO plays Golijov and Piazzola
Thurs-Sat, February 24-26 - 8PM - Symphony Hall
Sy Brandon in residence at KSU
March 4, 2011: masterclasses only - no concerts :(
Senior Recital - Micah Martin, composition
Saturday, March 12, 2011 - 7:30 PM - GSU
Graduate Recital - Chris Owenby, composition
Sunday, March 13, 2011 - 7:30 PM - GSU
Rusty Banks in residence at KSU
March 14, 2011 - recital at 8PM
Sonic Generator
Wednesday, March 16, 2011, 8 pm - Tech
Bent Frequency
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 7:30 PM - GSU
KSU Festival of New Music - Bailey Center, KSU
3/28, 8 pm: Student Composers Concert (KSU, GSU, Tech)
3/30, 8 pm: Faculty Composers Concert (KSU, GSU, Tech)
4/1, all day: eighth blackbird and Nico Muhly residency activities
4/2, 11 am-1 pm: Theory Symposium
4/2, 8 pm: eighth blackbird concert with Nico Muhly Southeast premiere
GSU Percussion Ensemble
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 - 7:30 PM - GSU
neoPhonia New Music Ensemble
Wednesday, April 06, 2011 - 7:30 PM - GSU
Instant Music Concert
Friday, April 08, 2011 - 12:00 PM - GSU
KSU Student Composers Concert
Friday, April 8, 2011 - 8:00 PM - KSU
4/11-13: Thomas Benjamin in residence at KSU
4/12, 8 pm: Mixed Chamber Ensemble, includes works by Thomas Benjamin
4/13, 8 pm: KSU Orchestra, includes work by Thomas Benjamin
Student Composers Concert
Friday, April 15, 2011 - 12:00 PM - GSU
Guest Artist - California E.A.R. Unit
Sunday, April 17, 2011 - 7:30 PM - GSU
Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Wind Orchestra & Percussion Ensemble
with Michael Colgrass, composer
Thursday, April 21, 2011 - 7:30 PM - GSU
Graduate Recital - Hanna Lisa Stefansson, composition
Friday, April 22, 2011 - 7:30 PM - GSU
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Philippe Leroux lecture at Georgia Tech
In addition to coming to Tuesday night's free Sonic Generator concert at Woodruff Arts Center, I encourage you all to come see Philippe Leroux's lecture at Georgia Tech tomorrow (Monday), where he'll discuss his piece Voi(Rex) that is on Tuesday evening's program.
GA Tech's "C3: Creativity, Cognition and Computation" series and the Center for Music Technology Seminar Series present:
Philippe Leroux, University of Montreal and IRCAM
Voi(Rex) the model of the model
Monday, November 29, 2010
TSRB Auditorium: directions and parking info at http://www.tsrb.gatech.edu
reception at 1:30 pm
lecture at 2:00 pm
See you tomorrow (and Tuesday)!
GA Tech's "C3: Creativity, Cognition and Computation" series and the Center for Music Technology Seminar Series present:
Philippe Leroux, University of Montreal and IRCAM
Voi(Rex) the model of the model
Monday, November 29, 2010
TSRB Auditorium: directions and parking info at http://www.tsrb.gatech.edu
reception at 1:30 pm
lecture at 2:00 pm
See you tomorrow (and Tuesday)!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Student Composer Concert
You are cordially invited to come by and enjoy a FREE concert given by the Georgia State University Student Chapter of the Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI).
Date: Friday, November 19
Time: 12 PM
Location: Kopleff Recital Hall.
PROGRAM:
Taylor HELMS / Modal Dances for woodwind quintet - [premiere]
John PAPASPYROU / Eight Little Sketches for Viola - [premiere]
Chris OWENBY / Wondrous Love for soprano & piano trio
John PAPASPYROU / Epitaphios for tenor sax. & cello - [premiere]
Taylor J. GLANTON / Latin Bridge Suite for piano trio - [premiere]
For directions and more information, please visit www.music.gsu.edu. We hope to see some of you there!
Date: Friday, November 19
Time: 12 PM
Location: Kopleff Recital Hall.
PROGRAM:
Taylor HELMS / Modal Dances for woodwind quintet - [premiere]
John PAPASPYROU / Eight Little Sketches for Viola - [premiere]
Chris OWENBY / Wondrous Love for soprano & piano trio
John PAPASPYROU / Epitaphios for tenor sax. & cello - [premiere]
Taylor J. GLANTON / Latin Bridge Suite for piano trio - [premiere]
For directions and more information, please visit www.music.gsu.edu. We hope to see some of you there!
Sonic Generator Concert with Philippe Leroux
Georgia Tech’s chamber music ensemble-in-residence, Sonic Generator, will feature the music of guest composer Philippe Leroux in a free performance in partnership with the Woodruff Arts Center and France-Atlanta 2010. The concert also features guest soprano Donatienne Michel-Dansac and compositions by Kaija Saariaho and Pierre Jodlowski.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010 at 8 p.m.
Rich Theatre, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree Street
free admission, reception to follow
Full details at:
http://www.sonicgenerator.gatech.edu
Hope to see you there!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010 at 8 p.m.
Rich Theatre, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree Street
free admission, reception to follow
Full details at:
http://www.sonicgenerator.gatech.edu
Hope to see you there!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Eddie Horst's Passing
I am sorry to share the news that Eddie Horst died on Thursday. He took his own life after struggling with clinical depression. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Many of you remember Eddie from the monthly composer meetups he hosted at Crawford Communications a few years back. Others of you probably know him in others ways too. He had far reaching connections in the music industry and touched many people's lives. He was very supportive of the Atlanta Composers mission to network local composers.
If there is a public memorial, I (or one the blog authors) will post details when they become available.
If you would like to share your positive remembrances of Eddie, please do so in the comments.
Many of you remember Eddie from the monthly composer meetups he hosted at Crawford Communications a few years back. Others of you probably know him in others ways too. He had far reaching connections in the music industry and touched many people's lives. He was very supportive of the Atlanta Composers mission to network local composers.
If there is a public memorial, I (or one the blog authors) will post details when they become available.
If you would like to share your positive remembrances of Eddie, please do so in the comments.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Albert Einstein and Rabindranath Tagore
After a few words about order and causality, a meeting of minds on music.
Below is an excerpt from a conversation between poet Rabindranath Tagore and physicist Albert Einstein, which took place in a meeting arranged by a mutual friend ("Dr. Mendel") on August 19, 1930. Fascinating that a considerable portion of their exchange is about music. It is taken from "Three conversations: Tagore Talks with Einstein, with Rolland, and Wells" (Asia Magazine, March 1931). This was a second meeting and conversation between Einstein and Tagore. The photo by Martin Vos was taken during their first encounter on July 14 of the same year. [Image source: Wikimedia Commons]
TAGORE: I was discussing with Dr. Mendel today the new mathematical discoveries which tell us that in the realm of infinitesimal atoms chance has its play; the drama of existence is not absolutely predestined in character.
EINSTEIN: The facts that make science tend toward this view do not say good-bye to causality.
TAGORE: Maybe not, yet it appears that the idea of causality is not in the elements, but that some other force builds up with them an organized universe.
EINSTEIN: One tries to understand in the higher plane how the order is. The order is there, where the big elements combine and guide existence, but in the minute elements this order is not perceptible.
TAGORE: Thus duality is in the depths of existence, the contradiction of free impulse and the directive will which works upon it and evolves an orderly scheme of things.
EINSTEIN: Modern physics would not say they are contradictory. Clouds look as one from a distance, but if you see them nearby, they show themselves as disorderly drops of water.
TAGORE: I find a parallel in human psychology. Our passions and desires are unruly, but our character subdues these elements into a harmonious whole. Does something similar to this happen in the physical world? Are the elements rebellious, dynamic with individual impulse? And is there a principle in the physical world which dominates them and puts them into an orderly organization?
EINSTEIN: Even the elements are not without statistical order; elements of radium will always maintain their specific order, now and ever onward, just as they have done all along. There is, then, a statistical order in the elements.
TAGORE: Otherwise, the drama of existence would be too desultory. It is the constant harmony of chance and determination which makes it eternally new and living.
EINSTEIN: I believe that whatever we do or live for has its causality; it is good, however, that we cannot see through to it.
TAGORE: There is in human affairs an element of elasticity also, some freedom within a small range which is for the expression of our personality. It is like the musical system in India, which is not so rigidly fixed as western music. Our composers give a certain definite outline, a system of melody and rhythmic arrangement, and within a certain limit the player can improvise upon it. He must be one with the law of that particular melody, and then he can give spontaneous expression to his musical feeling within the prescribed regulation. We praise the composer for his genius in creating a foundation along with a superstructure of melodies, but we expect from the player his own skill in the creation of variations of melodic flourish and ornamentation. In creation we follow the central law of existence, but if we do not cut ourselves adrift from it, we can have sufficient freedom within the limits of our personality for the fullest self-expression.
EINSTEIN: That is possible only when there is a strong artistic tradition in music to guide the people's mind. In Europe, music has come too far away from popular art and popular feeling and has become something like a secret art with conventions and traditions of its own.
TAGORE: You have to be absolutely obedient to this too complicated music. In India, the measure of a singer's freedom is in his own creative personality. He can sing the composer's song as his own, if he has the power creatively to assert himself in his interpretation of the general law of the melody which he is given to interpret.
EINSTEIN: It requires a very high standard of art to realize fully the great idea in the original music, so that one can make variations upon it. In our country, the variations are often prescribed.
TAGORE: If in our conduct we can follow the law of goodness, we can have real liberty of self-expression. The principle of conduct is there, but the character which makes it true and individual is our own creation. In our music there is a duality of freedom and prescribed order.
EINSTEIN: Are the words of a song also free? I mean to say, is the singer at liberty to add his own words to the song which he is singing?
TAGORE: Yes. In Bengal we have a kind of song-kirtan, we call it-which gives freedom to the singer to introduce parenthetical comments, phrases not in the original song. This occasions great enthusiasm, since the audience is constantly thrilled by some beautiful, spontaneous sentiment added by the singer.
EINSTEIN: Is the metrical form quite severe?
TAGORE: Yes, quite. You cannot exceed the limits of versification; the singer in all his variations must keep the rhythm and the time, which is fixed. In European music you have a comparative liberty with time, but not with melody.
EINSTEIN: Can the Indian music be sung without words? Can one understand a song without words?
TAGORE: Yes, we have songs with unmeaning words, sounds which just help to act as carriers of the notes. In North India, music is an independent art, not the interpretation of words and thoughts, as in Bengal. The music is very intricate and subtle and is a complete world of melody by itself.
EINSTEIN: Is it not polyphonic?
TAGORE: Instruments are used, not for harmony, but for keeping time and adding to the volume and depth. Has melody suffered in your music by the imposition of harmony?
EINSTEIN: Sometimes it does suffer very much. Sometimes the harmony swallows up the melody altogether.
TAGORE: Melody and harmony are like lines and colors in pictures. A simple linear picture may be completely beautiful; the introduction of color may make it vague and insignificant. Yet color may, by combination with lines, create great pictures, so long as it does not smother and destroy their value.
EINSTEIN: It is a beautiful comparison; line is also much older than color. It seems that your melody is much richer in structure than ours. Japanese music also seems to be so.
TAGORE: It is difficult to analyze the effect of eastern and western music on our minds. I am deeply moved by the western music; I feel that it is great, that it is vast in its structure and grand in its composition. Our own music touches me more deeply by its fundamental lyrical appeal. European music is epic in character; it has a broad background and is Gothic in its structure.
EINSTEIN: This is a question we Europeans cannot properly answer, we are so used to our own music. We want to know whether our own music is a conventional or a fundamental human feeling, whether to feel consonance and dissonance is natural, or a convention which we accept.
TAGORE: Somehow the piano confounds me. The violin pleases me much more.
EINSTEIN: It would be interesting to study the effects of European music on an Indian who had never heard it when he was young.
TAGORE: Once I asked an English musician to analyze for me some classical music, and explain to me what elements make for the beauty of the piece.
EINSTEIN: The difficulty is that the really good music, whether of the East or of the West, cannot be analyzed.
TAGORE: Yes, and what deeply affects the hearer is beyond himself.
EINSTEIN: The same uncertainty will always be there about everything fundamental in our experience, in our reaction to art, whether in Europe or in Asia. Even the red flower I see before me on your table may not be the same to you and me.
TAGORE: And yet there is always going on the process of reconciliation between them, the individual taste conforming to the universal standard.
# # #
Footnote for composers: 1930 was the year in which Nicholas Slonimsky premiered Charles Ives's "Three Places in New England," a year which also saw the premieres of such disparate works as Howard Hanson's "Symphony No. 2," Anton Webern's "Quartet, Op. 22," and Kurt Weill's "The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny." It was also the year when the Marx Brothers' film "Animal Crackers" was released. --mg
Below is an excerpt from a conversation between poet Rabindranath Tagore and physicist Albert Einstein, which took place in a meeting arranged by a mutual friend ("Dr. Mendel") on August 19, 1930. Fascinating that a considerable portion of their exchange is about music. It is taken from "Three conversations: Tagore Talks with Einstein, with Rolland, and Wells" (Asia Magazine, March 1931). This was a second meeting and conversation between Einstein and Tagore. The photo by Martin Vos was taken during their first encounter on July 14 of the same year. [Image source: Wikimedia Commons]TAGORE: I was discussing with Dr. Mendel today the new mathematical discoveries which tell us that in the realm of infinitesimal atoms chance has its play; the drama of existence is not absolutely predestined in character.
EINSTEIN: The facts that make science tend toward this view do not say good-bye to causality.
TAGORE: Maybe not, yet it appears that the idea of causality is not in the elements, but that some other force builds up with them an organized universe.
EINSTEIN: One tries to understand in the higher plane how the order is. The order is there, where the big elements combine and guide existence, but in the minute elements this order is not perceptible.
TAGORE: Thus duality is in the depths of existence, the contradiction of free impulse and the directive will which works upon it and evolves an orderly scheme of things.
EINSTEIN: Modern physics would not say they are contradictory. Clouds look as one from a distance, but if you see them nearby, they show themselves as disorderly drops of water.
TAGORE: I find a parallel in human psychology. Our passions and desires are unruly, but our character subdues these elements into a harmonious whole. Does something similar to this happen in the physical world? Are the elements rebellious, dynamic with individual impulse? And is there a principle in the physical world which dominates them and puts them into an orderly organization?
EINSTEIN: Even the elements are not without statistical order; elements of radium will always maintain their specific order, now and ever onward, just as they have done all along. There is, then, a statistical order in the elements.
TAGORE: Otherwise, the drama of existence would be too desultory. It is the constant harmony of chance and determination which makes it eternally new and living.
EINSTEIN: I believe that whatever we do or live for has its causality; it is good, however, that we cannot see through to it.
TAGORE: There is in human affairs an element of elasticity also, some freedom within a small range which is for the expression of our personality. It is like the musical system in India, which is not so rigidly fixed as western music. Our composers give a certain definite outline, a system of melody and rhythmic arrangement, and within a certain limit the player can improvise upon it. He must be one with the law of that particular melody, and then he can give spontaneous expression to his musical feeling within the prescribed regulation. We praise the composer for his genius in creating a foundation along with a superstructure of melodies, but we expect from the player his own skill in the creation of variations of melodic flourish and ornamentation. In creation we follow the central law of existence, but if we do not cut ourselves adrift from it, we can have sufficient freedom within the limits of our personality for the fullest self-expression.
EINSTEIN: That is possible only when there is a strong artistic tradition in music to guide the people's mind. In Europe, music has come too far away from popular art and popular feeling and has become something like a secret art with conventions and traditions of its own.
TAGORE: You have to be absolutely obedient to this too complicated music. In India, the measure of a singer's freedom is in his own creative personality. He can sing the composer's song as his own, if he has the power creatively to assert himself in his interpretation of the general law of the melody which he is given to interpret.
EINSTEIN: It requires a very high standard of art to realize fully the great idea in the original music, so that one can make variations upon it. In our country, the variations are often prescribed.
TAGORE: If in our conduct we can follow the law of goodness, we can have real liberty of self-expression. The principle of conduct is there, but the character which makes it true and individual is our own creation. In our music there is a duality of freedom and prescribed order.
EINSTEIN: Are the words of a song also free? I mean to say, is the singer at liberty to add his own words to the song which he is singing?
TAGORE: Yes. In Bengal we have a kind of song-kirtan, we call it-which gives freedom to the singer to introduce parenthetical comments, phrases not in the original song. This occasions great enthusiasm, since the audience is constantly thrilled by some beautiful, spontaneous sentiment added by the singer.
EINSTEIN: Is the metrical form quite severe?
TAGORE: Yes, quite. You cannot exceed the limits of versification; the singer in all his variations must keep the rhythm and the time, which is fixed. In European music you have a comparative liberty with time, but not with melody.
EINSTEIN: Can the Indian music be sung without words? Can one understand a song without words?
TAGORE: Yes, we have songs with unmeaning words, sounds which just help to act as carriers of the notes. In North India, music is an independent art, not the interpretation of words and thoughts, as in Bengal. The music is very intricate and subtle and is a complete world of melody by itself.
EINSTEIN: Is it not polyphonic?
TAGORE: Instruments are used, not for harmony, but for keeping time and adding to the volume and depth. Has melody suffered in your music by the imposition of harmony?
EINSTEIN: Sometimes it does suffer very much. Sometimes the harmony swallows up the melody altogether.
TAGORE: Melody and harmony are like lines and colors in pictures. A simple linear picture may be completely beautiful; the introduction of color may make it vague and insignificant. Yet color may, by combination with lines, create great pictures, so long as it does not smother and destroy their value.
EINSTEIN: It is a beautiful comparison; line is also much older than color. It seems that your melody is much richer in structure than ours. Japanese music also seems to be so.
TAGORE: It is difficult to analyze the effect of eastern and western music on our minds. I am deeply moved by the western music; I feel that it is great, that it is vast in its structure and grand in its composition. Our own music touches me more deeply by its fundamental lyrical appeal. European music is epic in character; it has a broad background and is Gothic in its structure.
EINSTEIN: This is a question we Europeans cannot properly answer, we are so used to our own music. We want to know whether our own music is a conventional or a fundamental human feeling, whether to feel consonance and dissonance is natural, or a convention which we accept.
TAGORE: Somehow the piano confounds me. The violin pleases me much more.
EINSTEIN: It would be interesting to study the effects of European music on an Indian who had never heard it when he was young.
TAGORE: Once I asked an English musician to analyze for me some classical music, and explain to me what elements make for the beauty of the piece.
EINSTEIN: The difficulty is that the really good music, whether of the East or of the West, cannot be analyzed.
TAGORE: Yes, and what deeply affects the hearer is beyond himself.
EINSTEIN: The same uncertainty will always be there about everything fundamental in our experience, in our reaction to art, whether in Europe or in Asia. Even the red flower I see before me on your table may not be the same to you and me.
TAGORE: And yet there is always going on the process of reconciliation between them, the individual taste conforming to the universal standard.
# # #
Footnote for composers: 1930 was the year in which Nicholas Slonimsky premiered Charles Ives's "Three Places in New England," a year which also saw the premieres of such disparate works as Howard Hanson's "Symphony No. 2," Anton Webern's "Quartet, Op. 22," and Kurt Weill's "The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny." It was also the year when the Marx Brothers' film "Animal Crackers" was released. --mg
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Will Eyedrum Go Out with a Bang?
Financially troubled arts-alternative Eyedrum will close its current location, as its lease expires Dec. 31 and will not be renewed. Read the article by Chad Radford in this week's Creative Loafing (online now, on the street soon): http://clatl.com/atlanta/will-eyedrum-go-out-with-a-bang/Content?oid=2309057
Monday, November 08, 2010
24 Hour Opera Project
We had a blast this weekend making operas in 24 hours with the Atlanta Opera! Here's a link of the beginning of the competition in case any of you may be curious about applying next time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD6lUin2igc&feature=youtu.be
If you have a facebook account you can view all three operas here:
http://www.facebook.com/video/?id=1387344038
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD6lUin2igc&feature=youtu.be
If you have a facebook account you can view all three operas here:
http://www.facebook.com/video/?id=1387344038
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
November 7th: Bent Frequency and Ballet Preljocaj
On Sunday, November 7th at 4:00pm in the lobby of the Rialto, the Atlanta-based new music group Bent Frequency will be collaborating with the innovative Ballet Preljocaj and the Rialto for this event by sharing their expertise on the music of John Cage for this performance. Founding member and percussionist Stuart Gerber will be giving a brief introduction to Cage and his work at the beginning of the program. For a more in-depth look at Cage’s music, Bent Frequency will present a few short pieces from various points in Cage’s career at the reception in the Rialto lobby before the Ballet Preljocaj performance of Empty Moves. We will explore Cage’s sound world through works for saxophone, trumpet, percussion, amplified cacti, and conch shells!
The program includes:
Inlets (1977) for 12 conch shells
Variations I (1958) (a duo version for saxophone and trumpet)
Composed Improvisation for Snare Drum (1975)
Water Walk (1959)
It promises to be an adventurous evening!
Ballet Preljocaj’s performance begins at 5pm in the Rialto Center for the Arts. Information about tickets can be found here.
The program includes:
Inlets (1977) for 12 conch shells
Variations I (1958) (a duo version for saxophone and trumpet)
Composed Improvisation for Snare Drum (1975)
Water Walk (1959)
It promises to be an adventurous evening!
Ballet Preljocaj’s performance begins at 5pm in the Rialto Center for the Arts. Information about tickets can be found here.
Bent Frequency presents the New York-based Amp New Music Ensemble - TWICE!
Hi all -
You have TWO chances to catch some innovative saxophone and electronic music this weekend:
Friday, November 5 · 7:30pm - 9:30pm
Kopleff Recital Hall Georgia State University
FREE
Amp New Music will be presenting “Amplified: Saxophone and Electronics” with Saxophonist Michael Ibrahim. This program will include music by Grisey, Chion, Mirza, and Stockhausen.
Saturday, November 6th, 8PM
Eyedrum (290 MLK Dr. SE)
$7/students=$5
We will be miking the big drum out front! It will be played before and after the main program. Double-header of new/experimental classical music by Atlanta locals Bent Frequency hosting New York-based Amp.
Bent Frequency
Bent Frequency brings the avant-garde music tradition to life in Atlanta through adventurous programming, the promotion of New Music, and a creative synthesis of music and media. Our vision is to redefine the traditional music experience - ushering it from the strict formality of the concert hall into the fresh air of contemporary artistic expression and experimentation.
AMP
Amp is a new music group based in New York City that grapples with experimental, electroacoustic, gestural, or situational compositional trends in the context (for the perspective) of a broader musical modernism. Without fixed ensemble, we draw from the rich new music scene in New York to organically develop a few concerts each year, each usually featuring a particular composer or nexus of compositions. More info at www.ampmusic.org.
Please try to make it out to one or both! And don't miss some brand new opera this weekend as well (see below).
Here is Amp at the NYC venue The Tank last year:
You have TWO chances to catch some innovative saxophone and electronic music this weekend:
Friday, November 5 · 7:30pm - 9:30pm
Kopleff Recital Hall Georgia State University
FREE
Amp New Music will be presenting “Amplified: Saxophone and Electronics” with Saxophonist Michael Ibrahim. This program will include music by Grisey, Chion, Mirza, and Stockhausen.
Saturday, November 6th, 8PM
Eyedrum (290 MLK Dr. SE)
$7/students=$5
We will be miking the big drum out front! It will be played before and after the main program. Double-header of new/experimental classical music by Atlanta locals Bent Frequency hosting New York-based Amp.
Bent Frequency
Bent Frequency brings the avant-garde music tradition to life in Atlanta through adventurous programming, the promotion of New Music, and a creative synthesis of music and media. Our vision is to redefine the traditional music experience - ushering it from the strict formality of the concert hall into the fresh air of contemporary artistic expression and experimentation.
AMP
Amp is a new music group based in New York City that grapples with experimental, electroacoustic, gestural, or situational compositional trends in the context (for the perspective) of a broader musical modernism. Without fixed ensemble, we draw from the rich new music scene in New York to organically develop a few concerts each year, each usually featuring a particular composer or nexus of compositions. More info at www.ampmusic.org.
Please try to make it out to one or both! And don't miss some brand new opera this weekend as well (see below).
Here is Amp at the NYC venue The Tank last year:
Monday, November 01, 2010
Concert for 24 Hour Opera Project by Atlanta Opera
The concert for Atlanta Opera's 24 Hour Concert will be this Sunday (11/7) at 7:30pm at Georgia State University's Kopleff Recital Hall. The concert is free and open to the public.
Composers will begin work on Saturday (11/6) at 5pm, working with the librettist, stage director, singers, and pianists. The teams are formed by the Atlanta Opera at 5pm on Saturday. The Atlanta Opera will also reveal some other items to be included in the new operas.
Should be a fun ride!
Composers will begin work on Saturday (11/6) at 5pm, working with the librettist, stage director, singers, and pianists. The teams are formed by the Atlanta Opera at 5pm on Saturday. The Atlanta Opera will also reveal some other items to be included in the new operas.
Should be a fun ride!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
neoPhonia New Music Ensemble: November 9, 2010
Date: Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Time: 7:30 PM
Location: Kopleff Recital Hall
Program:
OSTERFIELD / Six Vignettes for solo clarinet
ERB / Changes for clarinet & keyboards
DEMOS / Tonoi III for solo clarinet
ERB / Woody for solo clarinet
DEMOS / Rites of Passage (premiere) for clarinet (tripling on bass clarinet, Eb clarinet) & piano
Friday, October 29, 2010
Bent Frequency TONIGHT (10/29)
Sorry we neglected to post this VERY IMPORTANT show - hopefully you've been checking the GSU calendar and/or facebook invites! This was snowed out TWICE last year, so please make a good showing for BF!
Mauricio Kagel: Film Music, Music Performance, Performance Film
Featuring Bent Frequency
Friday, October 29, 2010 - 7:30 PM
Kopleff Recital Hall, GSU
FREE!
Mauricio Kagel, the German-Argentine composer who died in 2008, is most noted for his theatrical contributions to classical music performance. The evening will offer two of Kagel's short films, Unter Strom and Antithese, and performances of Kagel's Schattenklange for bass clarinet and Match for Two Cellos and Percussion. Match is a dialogue for two celli with a percussionist serving as the umpire. It is not only a match in sounds, but also in physical reactions, keeping the umpire busy! Sponsored by the Center for Collaborative and International Arts (CENCIA), which brings together creative writers, visual arts, composers, musicians, actors and playwrights, filmmakers and scholars engaged in arts-related research at Georgia State.
Mauricio Kagel: Film Music, Music Performance, Performance Film
Featuring Bent Frequency
Friday, October 29, 2010 - 7:30 PM
Kopleff Recital Hall, GSU
FREE!
Mauricio Kagel, the German-Argentine composer who died in 2008, is most noted for his theatrical contributions to classical music performance. The evening will offer two of Kagel's short films, Unter Strom and Antithese, and performances of Kagel's Schattenklange for bass clarinet and Match for Two Cellos and Percussion. Match is a dialogue for two celli with a percussionist serving as the umpire. It is not only a match in sounds, but also in physical reactions, keeping the umpire busy! Sponsored by the Center for Collaborative and International Arts (CENCIA), which brings together creative writers, visual arts, composers, musicians, actors and playwrights, filmmakers and scholars engaged in arts-related research at Georgia State.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Press Release: Composer Brian Skutle Goes "Beyond the Infinite" for his Fourth Album
A decade after its first conception, and 42 years after the film that inspired it, Atlanta-area filmmaker-composer Brian Skutle is proud to release his fourth album, "Beyond the Infinite: A Musical Odyssey".
In 1999, Skutle was a student at Georgia State University when he composed "Beyond the Infinite," a 3 1/2 minute work inspired by the music of Gyorgy Ligeti and the cinema of Stanley Kubrick as it collided in the landmark 1968 film "2001: A Space Odyssey", and the musical seed that would grow into the album of the same name. Adapted from the short story "The Sentinel" by Arthur C. Clarke, "2001" was an ambitious film that tracked man's evolution in intelligence and technology back from the "dawn of man" to the early 21st Century, when the crew of Discovery One is sent to explore a mysterious signal that was directed towards Jupiter from an artifact on the moon. With Oscar-winning visual effects and limitless imagination, Kubrick's iconoclastic sci-fi film has confounded and enthralled audiences ever since its first release during the "space race" of the late '60s.
Skutle was one of those both confounded and enthralled by the film. As he wrote in his 2002 review, "But like the finest cinematic mind-benders, the more times you watch, the more the underlying meaning and form of Kubrick’s film reveals itself...whether you see it as a spiritual epic or pretentious bore, '2001' is a landmark of special effects and sound design." It wasn't just the sights that engaged him: Kubrick's use of classical music to score the action also imprinted itself on Skutle; that and the knowledge of an unused score by Alex North gave him the idea for "Beyond the Infinite."
As he writes in the liner notes for the album, "Conceived in part as an 'alternative soundtrack' to '2001' as much as it is a tone poem, 'Beyond the Infinite' takes its cues, on a musical level, as much from Alex North's elegant, unusued score for '2001' as much as it does the collection of Ligeti, J. Strauss, R. Strauss, and Khachaturian Kubrick used in his epic. The goal was to meld the tonal continuity of North's music with the experimental amalgam of Kubrick's chosen selections...So you have waltz-like works performed by synthesized sounds instead of strings, motifs performed in both chamber and electronic configurations, and pieces that carry a more traditional music structure programmed next to ones of a more avant garde nature."
In the spirit of his conception of "Beyond the Infinite" as an alternative soundtrack to the film, Brian Skutle has chosen an original approach to releasing the album. In addition to being available for purchase at online retailers such as CDBaby and iTunes (along with his other three albums- "Creative Beginnings", "Dark Experiments", and "Sonic Visions of a New Old West"), Skutle has created a special commentary for "2001: A Space Odyssey" which places the pieces of "Beyond the Infinite" in context of the moments in the film they were inspired by, along with newly-recorded commentary that goes in depth onto not only his thoughts on the film itself, but also the creation of "Beyond the Infinite: A Musical Odyssey." Downloadable from www.sonic-cinema.com, the track allows for a new experience in watching the film, as well as gives voice to an artist and critic with a lot to say as both about this singular work of art.
Thanks for listening,
Brian Skutle
www.sonic-cinema.com
www.reverbnation.com/brianskutle
www.myspace.com/brianskutle
www.myspace.com/cinemanouveau
www.youtube.com/bskutle
Sonic Cinema Shop
"Creative Beginnings" at CDBaby
"Dark Experiments" at CDBaby
"Sonic Visions of a New Old West" at CDBaby
"Beyond the Infinite: A Musical Odyssey" at CDBaby
In 1999, Skutle was a student at Georgia State University when he composed "Beyond the Infinite," a 3 1/2 minute work inspired by the music of Gyorgy Ligeti and the cinema of Stanley Kubrick as it collided in the landmark 1968 film "2001: A Space Odyssey", and the musical seed that would grow into the album of the same name. Adapted from the short story "The Sentinel" by Arthur C. Clarke, "2001" was an ambitious film that tracked man's evolution in intelligence and technology back from the "dawn of man" to the early 21st Century, when the crew of Discovery One is sent to explore a mysterious signal that was directed towards Jupiter from an artifact on the moon. With Oscar-winning visual effects and limitless imagination, Kubrick's iconoclastic sci-fi film has confounded and enthralled audiences ever since its first release during the "space race" of the late '60s.
Skutle was one of those both confounded and enthralled by the film. As he wrote in his 2002 review, "But like the finest cinematic mind-benders, the more times you watch, the more the underlying meaning and form of Kubrick’s film reveals itself...whether you see it as a spiritual epic or pretentious bore, '2001' is a landmark of special effects and sound design." It wasn't just the sights that engaged him: Kubrick's use of classical music to score the action also imprinted itself on Skutle; that and the knowledge of an unused score by Alex North gave him the idea for "Beyond the Infinite."
As he writes in the liner notes for the album, "Conceived in part as an 'alternative soundtrack' to '2001' as much as it is a tone poem, 'Beyond the Infinite' takes its cues, on a musical level, as much from Alex North's elegant, unusued score for '2001' as much as it does the collection of Ligeti, J. Strauss, R. Strauss, and Khachaturian Kubrick used in his epic. The goal was to meld the tonal continuity of North's music with the experimental amalgam of Kubrick's chosen selections...So you have waltz-like works performed by synthesized sounds instead of strings, motifs performed in both chamber and electronic configurations, and pieces that carry a more traditional music structure programmed next to ones of a more avant garde nature."
In the spirit of his conception of "Beyond the Infinite" as an alternative soundtrack to the film, Brian Skutle has chosen an original approach to releasing the album. In addition to being available for purchase at online retailers such as CDBaby and iTunes (along with his other three albums- "Creative Beginnings", "Dark Experiments", and "Sonic Visions of a New Old West"), Skutle has created a special commentary for "2001: A Space Odyssey" which places the pieces of "Beyond the Infinite" in context of the moments in the film they were inspired by, along with newly-recorded commentary that goes in depth onto not only his thoughts on the film itself, but also the creation of "Beyond the Infinite: A Musical Odyssey." Downloadable from www.sonic-cinema.com, the track allows for a new experience in watching the film, as well as gives voice to an artist and critic with a lot to say as both about this singular work of art.
Thanks for listening,
Brian Skutle
www.sonic-cinema.com
www.reverbnation.com/brianskutle
www.myspace.com/brianskutle
www.myspace.com/cinemanouveau
www.youtube.com/bskutle
Sonic Cinema Shop
"Creative Beginnings" at CDBaby
"Dark Experiments" at CDBaby
"Sonic Visions of a New Old West" at CDBaby
"Beyond the Infinite: A Musical Odyssey" at CDBaby
Friday, October 22, 2010
Cerberus Percussion Group @ Red Light Cafe 11/19/10
Hi everyone -
Cerberus Percussion Group is playing the Red Light Cafe at 9PM on Friday, 11/19/10. Alt-country/folk acts EB Reece (GSU student!) and Adam Klein open at 7:30 and 8:00, respectively.
On the program:
Catfish - Mark Applebaum
Pachamama - Adam Scott Neal
The Frame Problem - James Romig
Attica - Frederic Rzewski
Admission is $7, but supporting contemporary music is priceless.
Feel free to RSVP via facebook here.
Program Notes:
Catfish (2003) - Intense, but always with a sick Californian sense of humor, Catfish is a vexing and delightful listening experience. -John Zorn
Pachamama (2009) is a piece for percussion trio. Each player has a 'melodic' instrument (conch shell, ocarina, melodica), some kind of drum (up to them), another 'rhythmic' percussion instrument (shaker, stones, log drum) and an 'atmospheric' instrument (frog guiro, box of pebbles, paper and plastic bags).The form is based on a 9x9 magic square. The number in each square determined the number of measures (in 4/4) that each instrument, dynamic, or rhythmic pattern would last. It will sound a lot less arbitrary than that description. What to listen for, in a nutshell - different instruments will come and go. They will gradually fall into a groove, the groove may become less apparent, then appear again. If you listen closely, you may notice that each player is actually in his own meter. -Adam Scott Neal
The Frame Problem (2003) The title refers to a primary difficulty in designing robots and computer programs with "artificial intelligence." Human brains have a remarkable ability to "frame" information: in an instant, we are able to observe and organize an enormous amount of data, sorting and categorizing what is relevant and what is not. When listening to music, one of the primary hierarchical "frames" we create is that of meter. In this percussion trio, multiple distinct meters occur concurrently—in different lines, at constantly shifting dynamic levels, and in different timbral aggregations—providing human listeners with the opportunity to resolve multiple overlapping “frames” simultaneously. Robots in the audience will probably just be confused. -James Romig
Attica (1972), the earliest work on tonight’s program, is also one of Rzewski’s earliest compositions to feature an overtly political message. A lush repetitive tonal sequence is punctuated by a narrator’s intoned text, gradually expanding one word at a time; the sequenced is derived from a statement made by Richard X. Clark, one of the organizers of the 1971 Attica prison uprising, upon his release in February 1972: “Attica is in front of me.” Although Attica is being presented on its own this evening, it was originally conceived as a companion piece to the more visceral Coming Together, whose narration is based on the words of a less fortunate Attica inmate, radical antiwar activist Sam Melville (“Mad Bomber” Melville), who was killed by police during the uprising. -Kyle Gann
Cerberus Percussion Group is playing the Red Light Cafe at 9PM on Friday, 11/19/10. Alt-country/folk acts EB Reece (GSU student!) and Adam Klein open at 7:30 and 8:00, respectively.
On the program:
Catfish - Mark Applebaum
Pachamama - Adam Scott Neal
The Frame Problem - James Romig
Attica - Frederic Rzewski
Admission is $7, but supporting contemporary music is priceless.
Feel free to RSVP via facebook here.
Program Notes:
Catfish (2003) - Intense, but always with a sick Californian sense of humor, Catfish is a vexing and delightful listening experience. -John Zorn
Pachamama (2009) is a piece for percussion trio. Each player has a 'melodic' instrument (conch shell, ocarina, melodica), some kind of drum (up to them), another 'rhythmic' percussion instrument (shaker, stones, log drum) and an 'atmospheric' instrument (frog guiro, box of pebbles, paper and plastic bags).The form is based on a 9x9 magic square. The number in each square determined the number of measures (in 4/4) that each instrument, dynamic, or rhythmic pattern would last. It will sound a lot less arbitrary than that description. What to listen for, in a nutshell - different instruments will come and go. They will gradually fall into a groove, the groove may become less apparent, then appear again. If you listen closely, you may notice that each player is actually in his own meter. -Adam Scott Neal
The Frame Problem (2003) The title refers to a primary difficulty in designing robots and computer programs with "artificial intelligence." Human brains have a remarkable ability to "frame" information: in an instant, we are able to observe and organize an enormous amount of data, sorting and categorizing what is relevant and what is not. When listening to music, one of the primary hierarchical "frames" we create is that of meter. In this percussion trio, multiple distinct meters occur concurrently—in different lines, at constantly shifting dynamic levels, and in different timbral aggregations—providing human listeners with the opportunity to resolve multiple overlapping “frames” simultaneously. Robots in the audience will probably just be confused. -James Romig
Attica (1972), the earliest work on tonight’s program, is also one of Rzewski’s earliest compositions to feature an overtly political message. A lush repetitive tonal sequence is punctuated by a narrator’s intoned text, gradually expanding one word at a time; the sequenced is derived from a statement made by Richard X. Clark, one of the organizers of the 1971 Attica prison uprising, upon his release in February 1972: “Attica is in front of me.” Although Attica is being presented on its own this evening, it was originally conceived as a companion piece to the more visceral Coming Together, whose narration is based on the words of a less fortunate Attica inmate, radical antiwar activist Sam Melville (“Mad Bomber” Melville), who was killed by police during the uprising. -Kyle Gann
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
neoPhonia concert review
Review of neoPhonia New Music Ensemble: October 19, 2010
I hesitate to call this a review because I'm not a professional journalist and I'm only going to say a few words of my impressions of the evening. For a critic's review, please see Pierre Ruhe's write-up on ArtsCriticATL.com.
This concert, which began the 16th season of neoPhonia, was an evening of three Atlanta native composers--Charles Knox, Mark Gresham, and Brent Milam. Charles Knox, born 1929, is our 'founding father', the oldest and most mature composer living and working in the Atlanta area. This concert was largely in honor of Mr. Knox. The evening was framed by his works, both the first and last pieces written by him. And a few words were said in his honor by Dwight Coleman, who spoke of working with Knox on an opera [could someone who knows more please provide details] and of Knox's 45-year relationship with the School of Music.
All composers were in attendance. It was greet to meet and chat with them before and after the show.
Following is the program with some of my notes...
KNOX / Song & Double (1984) for oboe & piano
All I wrote for this one was "beautiful". ;)
GRESHAM / Vagabond Drumming, Book IV (2010 - premiere) for percussion duo
Excellent and perhaps my favorite of the pieces in Gresham's Vegabond Drumming series.
Made use of blocks, bongos, snare, tamborine, cymbals and chimes. The blocks started together and then the percussion combined in different ways. The third movement was polyrhythmic, the fourth seemed Asian inspired with the pentatonic pitched blocks, the fifth got louder with snare, bongos, and blocks. I think Mark was very pleased with this performance, as he should be, it was great.
MILAM / Between The Walls (2010 - premiere) for flute, Bb clarinet, cello & piano
Great work. The first movement started off softly dissonant, but stayed light and went into jazzy playfulness. The second movement was soft and gentle. The third and most memorable to me started playfully pizzicato and pointillistic and gradually got more intense, melodic, and dense, a disintegration process in reverse. Very cool!
GRESHAM / Genshi (2010 - premiere) for Bb clarinet & viola
This was a beaufiful piece with much counterpoint, sometimes chasing, sometimes opposing. The clarinet and viola were in continual play with one another. I heard some intonation issues in the viola in several parts. I don't think the microtones were intended ;), but it did not take away from the beauty and delightfulness of the piece.
KNOX / The Framing Of This Circle (1999) for horn, violin & piano
WOW! This was the powerhouse of the evening. I don't have words to describe it. You just have to find a recording of it (if there is one; I hope there is!) and hear it for yourself. Swept me up, heart and soul. This was a fitting finale and brought the whole concert (which was already great to begin with) to a grand conclusion. This was absolutely the most mature piece on the program, which is not surprising given that Knox has decades on us in composing experience. : ) The instrumentation was a perfect union. The writing was in perfect relationship. Amazing piece!
Btw, here's the #neophonia Twitter feed with what I tweeted from the show (in between pieces, of course!)
Anyone else who was there, please feel free to add your comments.
I hesitate to call this a review because I'm not a professional journalist and I'm only going to say a few words of my impressions of the evening. For a critic's review, please see Pierre Ruhe's write-up on ArtsCriticATL.com.
This concert, which began the 16th season of neoPhonia, was an evening of three Atlanta native composers--Charles Knox, Mark Gresham, and Brent Milam. Charles Knox, born 1929, is our 'founding father', the oldest and most mature composer living and working in the Atlanta area. This concert was largely in honor of Mr. Knox. The evening was framed by his works, both the first and last pieces written by him. And a few words were said in his honor by Dwight Coleman, who spoke of working with Knox on an opera [could someone who knows more please provide details] and of Knox's 45-year relationship with the School of Music.
All composers were in attendance. It was greet to meet and chat with them before and after the show.
Following is the program with some of my notes...
KNOX / Song & Double (1984) for oboe & piano
All I wrote for this one was "beautiful". ;)
GRESHAM / Vagabond Drumming, Book IV (2010 - premiere) for percussion duo
Excellent and perhaps my favorite of the pieces in Gresham's Vegabond Drumming series.
Made use of blocks, bongos, snare, tamborine, cymbals and chimes. The blocks started together and then the percussion combined in different ways. The third movement was polyrhythmic, the fourth seemed Asian inspired with the pentatonic pitched blocks, the fifth got louder with snare, bongos, and blocks. I think Mark was very pleased with this performance, as he should be, it was great.
MILAM / Between The Walls (2010 - premiere) for flute, Bb clarinet, cello & piano
Great work. The first movement started off softly dissonant, but stayed light and went into jazzy playfulness. The second movement was soft and gentle. The third and most memorable to me started playfully pizzicato and pointillistic and gradually got more intense, melodic, and dense, a disintegration process in reverse. Very cool!
GRESHAM / Genshi (2010 - premiere) for Bb clarinet & viola
This was a beaufiful piece with much counterpoint, sometimes chasing, sometimes opposing. The clarinet and viola were in continual play with one another. I heard some intonation issues in the viola in several parts. I don't think the microtones were intended ;), but it did not take away from the beauty and delightfulness of the piece.
KNOX / The Framing Of This Circle (1999) for horn, violin & piano
WOW! This was the powerhouse of the evening. I don't have words to describe it. You just have to find a recording of it (if there is one; I hope there is!) and hear it for yourself. Swept me up, heart and soul. This was a fitting finale and brought the whole concert (which was already great to begin with) to a grand conclusion. This was absolutely the most mature piece on the program, which is not surprising given that Knox has decades on us in composing experience. : ) The instrumentation was a perfect union. The writing was in perfect relationship. Amazing piece!
Btw, here's the #neophonia Twitter feed with what I tweeted from the show (in between pieces, of course!)
Anyone else who was there, please feel free to add your comments.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
iPad Concert idea
I'm thinking of putting together an iPad concert where each participant composes and performs a work in an app of their choosing.
There are many apps to choose from.
Here are some of my favorites:
Beatwave
JamPad
KORG iELECTRIBE
A Noise Machine HD
PatternMusic
PolyRhythms
Reactable
Tiction AV
Zen Sound
Would anyone like to join me in composing iPad pieces and putting on a show?
There are many apps to choose from.
Here are some of my favorites:
Would anyone like to join me in composing iPad pieces and putting on a show?
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Curtis Bryant - Atlanta Faith Partners Concert - October 17
October 17, 2010 – Sunday, 4:00 PM, FAITH PARTNERS FINAL CONCERT. A joint performance of all programs from Curtis Bryant's Atlanta Faith Partners Residency sponsored by the American Composers Forum will be held at First Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, Georgia. Choirs and instrumentalists from three Atlanta congregations, Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Cathedral of Christ the King, and First Presbyterian Church will participate in the concert. Featured works include the complete "Redeemer Evening Prayer – A Lenten Vespers," including the "Prelude and Postlude: Fugue and Toccata on FA-SOL-LA RE" for organ solo, "I Lift My Eyes" (Psalm 121), "Canticle of Mary" and "Canticle of Simeon," and two Glorias. Two additional psalm settings for choir and organ, "How Long, O God" and "I Sing of Light," as well as the "Hymn of Wisdom" for choir with brass quintet, organ and percussion will be featured. The vocal works on the program include original lyrics by four different poets with ties to Atlanta: William Allen, Stephen Bluestone, Doug Cumming and Marcia King. The St. Cecilia Consort will also give a repeat performance of Bryant's "Fantasy on Divinum Mysterium" for orchestra. ADMISSION IS FREE!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
GSU Bands with world premiere by Tim Jansa - October 21, 2010
Big new music week at GSU - neoPhonia on Tuesday and this concert on Thursday:
During the inaugural concert of the 2010/2011 season, Robert J. Ambrose will lead internationally renowned euphonium soloist Adam Frey and the Georgia State University Symphonic Wind Ensemble in the world premiere performance of "Concierto Ibérico" for solo euphonium and concert band by local German-American composer Tim Jansa. This is a large-scale symphonic work of almost 28 minutes in length and built around 3 major festivals of Spain: The Festival of San Fermin in Pamplona, the Semana Santa, and the Fallas of Valencia.
This work was named a finalist for the 2010 Harvey G. Phillips Award for Compositional Excellence.
The performance will take place on Thursday, October 21, at 7:30 pm at the Rialto Center for the Arts. Admission is free.
The Symphonic Wind Ensemble will also present works by McAllister, Stravinsky and Bach. The Wind Orchestra will perform works by Whitacre, Grainger, Persichetti and Goldman.
Robert J. Ambrose & Chester Phillips, conductors
Tim Ellison, graduate assistant conductor
Adam Frey, euphonium
More info can be found at http://www.music.gsu.edu/events.aspx and at http://www.timjansa.com/works/concierto-iberico-2009
During the inaugural concert of the 2010/2011 season, Robert J. Ambrose will lead internationally renowned euphonium soloist Adam Frey and the Georgia State University Symphonic Wind Ensemble in the world premiere performance of "Concierto Ibérico" for solo euphonium and concert band by local German-American composer Tim Jansa. This is a large-scale symphonic work of almost 28 minutes in length and built around 3 major festivals of Spain: The Festival of San Fermin in Pamplona, the Semana Santa, and the Fallas of Valencia.
This work was named a finalist for the 2010 Harvey G. Phillips Award for Compositional Excellence.
The performance will take place on Thursday, October 21, at 7:30 pm at the Rialto Center for the Arts. Admission is free.
The Symphonic Wind Ensemble will also present works by McAllister, Stravinsky and Bach. The Wind Orchestra will perform works by Whitacre, Grainger, Persichetti and Goldman.
Robert J. Ambrose & Chester Phillips, conductors
Tim Ellison, graduate assistant conductor
Adam Frey, euphonium
More info can be found at http://www.music.gsu.edu/events.aspx and at http://www.timjansa.com/works/concierto-iberico-2009
Friday, October 08, 2010
neoPhonia New Music Ensemble: October 19, 2010
When: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 - 7:30 PM
Where: Kopleff Recital Hall - Free Admission
PROGRAM:
KNOX / Song & Double for oboe & piano
GRESHAM / Vagabond Drumming, Book IV (premiere) for percussion duo
MILAM / Between The Walls (premiere) for flute, Bb clarinet, cello & piano
GRESHAM / Genshi (premiere) for Bb clarinet & viola
KNOX / The Framing Of This Circle for horn, violin & piano
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Composer & Flutist Robert Cronin in Concert!
Flutist and Composer Robert Cronin will be doing a recital on Tuesday, October 5th at 8:00PM at Kennesaw State University in the Bailey Performing Arts Center. The concert consists entirely of works written by Mr. Cronin himself, including two brand new pieces for flute(s) and harp, Portraits for piccolo and Piano, Postcard for Piccolo and Marimba, Off the Wall for Flute and Piano, a bassoon and trumpet duet as well as part of a solo cello sonata. Other performers include Christina Smith, Tom Hooten, Laura Najarian, Peter Marshall and Ellen Foster. The concert is free and no tickets are required. More information about the works to be performed can be found at www.robertcronin.net.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Sonic Generator Concert
Georgia Tech’s chamber music ensemble-in-residence, Sonic Generator, kicks off its fifth anniversary season with a free concert at the Reinsch-Pierce Family Auditorium at the Georgia Tech College of Architecture on Thursday, October 7, 2010 at 8 p.m. The concert features compositions by Randall Woolf, Jonathan Kramer, Karlheinz Essl, Gene Pritsker, Jesper Nordin, and Nathan Davis.
More information at http://www.sonicgenerator.gatech.edu. Hope to see you there!
More information at http://www.sonicgenerator.gatech.edu. Hope to see you there!
Monday, September 13, 2010
24-Hour Opera Project by Atlanta Opera
Saturday November 06, 2010
Sunday November 07, 2010
Composers, lyricists, stage directors and opera singers from all over may apply to join in the project. Composers and lyricists selected to participate will be randomly paired together and will have 12 hours to write an opera! At the end of 12 hours, the pieces will be assigned to participating stage directors, who will draft singers from a pool of applicants and have 8 hours to rehearse before presenting the pieces on a showcase concert 12 hours after the project begins! It’s a whirlwind of music and drama!
Who can participate?
Composers, lyricists, stage directors, and singers may apply (experience required).
Download the appropriate application:Composer Application (PDF)
Lyricist Application (PDF)
Singer Application (PDF)
Stage Director Application (PDF)
What are we talking about?
We’re talking about opera insanity! 24 hours to compose, rehearse, and perform an opera with strangers. Prizes will be awarded following the showcase concert in the following categories: Best Use of Props, Most Diva-liscious, Best Death Scene, and Best Overall Composition.
Where will the event take place?
The 24-Hour Opera Project will take place on the campus of Georgia State University.
When will this happen?
November 6-7, 2010
Why are we subjecting ourselves to such madness?
Because we’re crazy! (And we want everyone to see how cool opera is!)
Still have questions?
Please contact The Atlanta Opera education department at 404.881.8801 or education@atlantaopera.org.
The Fine Print:
Compositions must 7-10 minutes in length, written and performed in English and scored for 4 singers (soprano/mezzo/tenor/bass) with piano, and composed around a specific themed (top secret until November 6!). Pre-existing compositions will not be eligible. Composition teams will be paired randomly, compositions will be assigned to stage directors randomly, and participating singers will be selected to perform through a “live” singer draft. Submission of application in any category does not guarantee participation and artists may only apply in one discipline; Applicants selected to participate will be notified by October 25.
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