Soprano, Suzanne Kompass & Jazz Clarinettist, Sean O'Boyle

  • Suzanne Kompass

    Suzanne Kompass is an extraordinarily versatile performer who has appeared on the great stages of the world; from the Lincoln Centre in NY to the Sydney Opera House in Australia. Suzanne has worked with luminary conductors Zubin Mehta, Carlo Maria Guilini, Robert Shaw, Erich Kunzel, Joseph Flummerfelt, Martin Katz, Christian Badea, Riccardo Muti, Daniel Barenboim and Elmer Iseler. She has collaborated with leading composers including Gian Carlo Menotti, Peter Schickele, Jack Behrens, Sean O’Boyle and has performed in new music concerts with the music of John Cage, Albert Fischer and Olivier Messiaen.

    Her engagements include concerts with the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra and the Australian Pops Orchestra. Suzanne's festival appearances include the Spoleto Festival’s of Charleston (South Carolina) & Spoleto (Italy), the Australian Shakespeare Festival, Mukisfest with the Bethlehem Bach Choir and the Huntsville Festival in Canada. She has a platinum selling album “A Christmas Homecoming” and a gold DVD “Scotland the Brave” and produced the Gregory Moore smash hit album “I Dreamed of You”. Her music takes her in many directions from directing award winning youth choirs, on screen soprano soloist in the film “A long kiss goodnight”, music coach for the feature film “A Heartbeat Away” and most recently touring as Soprano Soloist with the jazz band “Blackwood” in Queensland Ballet's hit show 'Cloudland'.

    • Sean O'Boyle

    Australian composer & Jazz Clarinetist, Sean O’Boyle's compositions have been performed and or recorded by all the major Australian orchestras; by European Orchestras including Berlin Philharmonic, Orchestre Symphonique Divertimento. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra and by North American orchestras including the Dallas, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. In 2002, he was featured exclusively at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) where his compositions were performed live for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. In 2000, Sean composed the ABC’s Olympic theme for use during the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Broadcast. Following an electrical accident, Sean didn't play any wind instruments for more than 10 years. He made his comeback forming the band “Blackwood” in 2002 recording for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and touring throughout Australia & Europe. Sean has recently shared the stage with jazz legend, James Morrison & the world's greatest acoustic guitarist, Tommy Emmanuel.

Fifteen one-minute selections for Suzanne Kompass & Jazz Clarinettist, Sean O'Boyle

  • The Pursuit Of Quietness

    Rodrigo Baggio

    Rodrigo Baggio music has been performed in many cities around the world such as São Paulo, Brasilia and Tatuí (Brazil), Paris (France), Quebec (Canada), Bremen (Germany), London (England), New York and Vermont (USA). He was the guest guitarist of Universitè Laval (Quebec) for their winter semester/2012.

    “The Pursuit Of Quietness” – One of the most intriguing quests of the human beings is "The Pursuit Of Happiness", in any level or style of life...however, in trying to fulfill the mission, sometimes we let escape the quietness that surrounded our childhood, especially the one of the lullabies.

  • Lullaby

    Robin Benton

    Robin Benton lives in Bath, England, and enjoys composing for brass instruments, handbells and choirs. He has won several composing competitions and has conducted his music at Regional, National and International Handbell events. His music is published in both the UK and the US.

    "Lullaby" is a dialog between a mother (soprano) and her restless baby (clarinet). It is a quiet battle of wills as the mother tries to get the baby to sleep, and the baby tries to stay awake. Fortunately, the mother wins this encounter!

  • Pastorale

    Dominic Blake

    Dominic Blake is an Australian composer currently studying at Sydney’s Conservatorium of Music. His experience in composition is closely linked to his singing in the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and playing the piano, organ and harpsichord.

    In "Pastorale" the clarinet supports a delicate soprano line with slow semiquavers. The implied harmonies create a Impressionist feel.

  • How Violets Came Blew

    Erik Branch

    Erik Branch is a native of New York City, and received a BA and MA in Music (Composition) from Hunter College. He lives near Orlando, Florida, where he is active as a pianist, musical director, composer/arranger, opera chorister, and actor on stage and screen.

    The delightful combination of soprano and clarinet, with its vernal, liquid qualities, immediately made me think of Robert Herrick and his pithy, pastoral, musical poems. The title, How Violets Came Blew, also irresistibly suggested to the word-painter in me the flattened thirds and sevenths that permeate the melody.

  • Looking Within

    Jesse Alexander Brown

    Jesse Alexander Brown recently completed his graduate studies at the Hartt School. While there, Jesse premiered works such as his electroacoustic quartet “And Let My Cry Come Until Thee” with the Foot in the Door ensemble and “Hagar” written for countertenor, Steven Serpa. His primary teachers were Robert Carl and Ken Steen.

    "Looking Within" was pieced together from those light melodies you might sing to yourself when you’re alone with just your thoughts. For me, it possesses a familiarity, like déjà vu--phrases once sung to me, but have over time gained their independence.

  • Berceuse (pour un Chat)

    Andy Cohen

    Andy Cohen studied classical music at Oberlin and Manhattan School of Music, and enjoys writing pieces in that genre when he gets the chance. Usually, he is busy doing sound design, original music, and musical direction for theatre shows in New York City. For more information, visit him at www.andycomusic.com.

    Berceuse (pour un Chat) is inspired by the very cute Kato Bentley, whose dreams are tantalizingly inscrutable.

  • Suantraí

    Fiona Linnane

    Fiona Linnane is a composer based in the West of Ireland. She is a member of the Association of Irish Composers and is represented by the Contemporary Music Centre, Dublin.

    ""Suantraí"" is the Irish word for lullaby. This piece takes its text from various Irish lullabies and is mostly made up of nonsense words which have no meaning such as 'Hush a bye lu lo' and 'Deirín Dé'.

  • Just a minute to say

    Aldo Lomber

    Aldo Lombera was born in 1990 in Mexico City. Since 2008, he has been enrolled at CIEM in Mexico City, where he is studying a degree in Composition. Throughout 2011 and 2012, he has won several contests and his music has been performed in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Jalapa.

    This work has been inspired by the contest “Fifteen Minutes of Fame” and the challenge to write a piece were you’ve to be consistent and express your message in an short amount of time…"Just a minute to say"…

  • Lulla

    Steven H Markowitz

    Steven H Markowitz Studied Composing and Arranging at Dick Groves (Studio City California) in the mid 80's. He is an accomplished improviser at the piano keyboard, wherein he merges classical and jazz sonorities. Influences include Keith Jarrett, Eric Satie, and Sergei Prokofiev.

    Lulla by Steven H Markowitz. A mother sings to her newborn daughter Lulla, while rocking her crib. The Bb clarinet paints a picture of colorful play toys while it sometimes imitates the sounds of rocking and an ocassional squeak.

  • untitled

    Daniel_Mihai

    Romanian violinist Daniel Mihai studied with the Maestro Ladislau Csendes's Master class between 2007-2009 He has attended MBA courses in the Faculty of Performing Art, with the objective of improvement and assimilation of all knowledge related to contemporary music, both orchestral as well as chamber soloists/violinist. Daniel is currently pursuing PhD courses-extramural form of higher education-UNMB.

    For this composition i reach one of the meaning of the mood in the reason of the word of relaxing mood and especially the power of the meaning of "LULLABY"! I compose a special line for the DUO (soprano voice and clarinet in B) who is in my perception the most attractive and also fancy combination in a concert in whole world! This composition expresses also all the postmodern sense because remember and inspire the life kids!

  • Too Much to Say; Too Little Time

    Kit Mills

    Not only does Kit Mills write music, he makes a mean cup of chai, loves trying to figure out cool soccer tricks, is addicted to funky drumming, and just likes kicking back, hanging out, and joking around with folks, watching the sun meander across the sky.

    In my notes to the performers, I shared my sense that this tune has a bit of the atmosphere of a smoky little French café in the wee hours of a rainy night. That said, I've never been to France, so I could be completely wrong.

  • Goodbye

    David Morneau

    David Morneau is a composer of an entirely undecided genre, a provider of exclusive unprecedented experiments. In his work he endeavors to explore ideas about our culture, issues concerning creativity, and even the very nature of music itself. Learn more at http://5of4.com

    This duet is based on my favorite jazz ballad: Charles Mingus’s Goodbye Pork Pie Hat.

  • Lullaby for Libby

    Sean O’Boyle

    Australian composer, Sean O’Boyle's compositions have been performed and or recorded by all the major Australian orchestras; European Orchestras include - Berlin Philharmonic, Orchestre Symphonique Divertimento, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra and North American Orchestras include the Dallas Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, Concord Chamber Orchestra and the Cincinnati Pops.

    Composed on May the 4th, this is a musical study in the beauty of 4ths and spans much of the clarinets range and dynamic capability. The composer started his musical career on clarinet.

  • Niindar Aa

    Akmal Parwez

    While studying electronics in Tokyo on a Japanese Government scholarship, composer-vocalist Akmal Parwez studied composition with Yasushi Akutagawa and Klaus Pringsheim. After completing his university studies (B.E., M.E.), he felt compelled to devote his life to composing, singing and teaching music. In the U.S. he studied composition with Florence Jolley, Leo Kraft, Samuel Adler(M.A., Queens College; Ph.D., Eastman School of Music).

    'Niindar Aa' in Punjabi means 'Come, Sleep'. It is meant to be a 'double lullaby' for both parents, with the clarinet taking the role of the father. I've used some 'sleep-inducing' syllables from Italian and Japanese. As an alternative, it may be sung as a vocalise.

  • Lullaby

    José Jesus de Azevedo Souza

    José Jesus de Azevedo Souza studied in England at the Purcell School with a scholarship from the Calouste Gulbenkian and later studied at the Trinity College of Music and University of Sheffield. He has since composed a considerable amount of music, some of which has been performed.

    The surreal words of this grotesquely bizarre poem, intrinsic angst underpinning exterior tranquility, give wing to considerable contrast. The music begins full of consonance. Midway there is a break in mood and by the end, the music becomes dissonant as the singer realises the finality of the situation