Fifteen Minutes of Fame: with Viola Yip

Viola Yip, a native of Hong Kong, is a Brooklyn-based composer and performer, who tries to find the boundaries and push the boundaries in her imaginary sound world. As a composer, her compositions are not limited to acoustic music, electronic music, graphic scores and structured improvisation. Recent works appeared in ArtX at Bowling Green State University, Women Composers Festival of Hartford, Ravinia Festival, Fresh Inc Festival, soundSCAPE Festival, TEDXSMU, University of Florida, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, NASA saxophone conference, ThingNY spam v3.0 concert, Quiet City concert, Vox Novus Concert, Musicarama 2012 (Hong Kong) and PAUSA Art House in Buffalo. As a new music advocate, she also performs contemporary works regularly as a pianist and an improviser. Her recent interest falls on using human natural voice as an instrument and explore its expressivity and musicality.

Concert Dates

  • May 11, 2014 - Jan Hus Church, New York City

15 one-minute selections for Viola Yip

Concert program

  • A Lecture on the Meanig of Dedication

    Alfie Cooke

    Alfie Cooke is a British composer, double bassist, reeds player and sound manipulator. In these, as with his work as an artist, he is self-taught. Many say it shows. He performs irregularly in the trio New Sound Ensemble and lives in perpetual fear of the number 13.

    This piece is what it a says, a lecture on the meaning of dedication. What more do you want to know? Nothing! That's exactly my point.

  • Swan Song : To Life

    Christopher M. Culp

    Christopher M. Culp is a clarinet player specializing in the various aspects of the philosophy of music, specifically issues of emotion, tragedy, and transcendence within musical practice. Fascinated and terrified of death, Chris’ works center on the body’s ability to contain/restrain musical expression.

    With our dying moments, we take the last bit of experience before expiring, savoring the breath of life. Inspired by the Greek sense of the word psyche, meaning both ‘breath of air’ and ‘spirit,’ this breathing-in might be our dedication to life – our last attempt to be.

  • [ʃ m a]

    Jeffrey Edenberg

    Jeffrey Edenberg makes music in the Midwest. In addition to his work as a composer, he performs regularly on the horn, recorder, and the musical saw. He is inspired by whimsy and earnest expression, and by the power of their combination. Jeffrey holds a Bachelor of Music from Lawrence University.

    Inspired by a Denver-born Israeli mystical painter, [ʃ m a] is an attempt at interstellar radio communication. As in the Hebrew prayer that shares its name, [ʃ m a] commands the listener to hear: “HEAR this dedication to the airwaves, to technological human communication, to the chatter and drivel EXCEEDINGLY IMPORTANT STUFF of life!”

  • The Children of God Shall Be Numbered

    Fermino Gomes

    Fermino Gomes (Patos, PB, Brasil) studied theory with Gazi Sa and João de Barro at Caipira University of Paraiba (UNICPB), Brazil. As well as an active composer, Fermino performs on the viola (Brazilian 10 string-folk guitar) regularly. Fermino currently lives in New York City.

    A collage of a Cantonese children’s counting song and a jazz drummer reciting a Takadimi system while soloing. The titular phrase is translated into Mandarin, German, and Cantonese with all of the ranges of meaning that can be misconstrued from ancient text transcribed linearly through time and horizontally through culture.

  • idk

    Krystal J. Grant

    Composer-pianist Krystal J. Grant's career has broadened from giving lecture-recitals in elementary schools of her hometown, Birmingham, Alabama to presenting multimedia installations in New York City. With her Ph.D. from Stony Brook University, she teaches composition, theory, and piano in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, while sharing life with others through making music.

    idk, while freely typed, is a phrase infrequently said. In this piece, saying "I don't know" becomes a struggle with fluctuating resolve and intensity.

  • Fry

    Joshua Hahn

    Joshua Hahn tries to fuse player with electronics to produce new, versatile instrumental practice. This medium has opened up new sounds, spaces and scenarios. He holds an MM in composition from Rice University and plays the flute.

    Fry is for voice and live electronics, and uses only the vocal fry register, a raspy, harsh sound made when the voice attempts to sing below its natural range. The percussive vocal sound paired with vowel changes and filtering makes shimmering, constantly-shifting pulses.

  • Limonion

    Norbert Hoffmann

    Born in Ingolstadt (Germany) Study of composition (Fritz Büchtger, Munich) Study of music at the conservatoire of Innsbruck: composition (Günther Andergassen) and conducting (Edgar Seipenbusch) Study of physics at the universities of Munich (Germany) and Innsbruck (Austria), finished with the diploma Author of books (computer technique, neural networks) The voice tries to fight against the violent electronic sounds but there is not the slightest chance!

  • Sleep Circle

    Liburn Jupolli

    Born in 11.12.1989 in Pristine the capital city of Kosovo. Finished primary and the secondary school of music in the class of prof. Syzana Jakupi and Misbah Kacamaku in he piano department. Has started being interested in composition since the age of 12 working privately with prof. Valton Beqiri and Mendi Mengjiqi.After finishing secondary school in piano continued to study composition wth prof. Zeqirja Ballata in the Faculty of arts-Music Department in Pristine and is currently in the 2nd year.Since 2009 has sarted working and has finished 8 manuscripts of new instruments which fullfill a new musical language involving microtonal aspects.

    Sleep Circle is a piece for spoken voice and electronics vvriten in a descriptive literal musical language consisting of vvord in : -Breton -Albanian -English -Japanese -Chinese – (traditional). It tries to convey the moment vvhen a person is vvaking up and hovv “dedicated” the brain is to make a very interesting surreal experience.

  • WVE-313

    Shigeru Kan-no

    C.V. A Japanese Composer-Conductor for contemporary music and classical music. In Fukushima/ Japan. Studies in Fukushima, Tokyo, Wien, Stuttgart, Ludwigsburg and Frankfurt with Shimazu, Yun, Nishimura, Österreicher, Bernstein, Lachenmann, Stockhausen, K.Huber, Joahim Kaiser, Rilling and Zender: theory, piano, composition, conducting and musicology. Get 58 times Competiton and Conducting Prizes,.

    A technical etude. There is second part as a polyphonic style. About chinese style letter we can read free. Modern chinese, old chinese or japanese aren´t so important. That´s interpretation also. The means appears once more in german as a sprechgesamg. we can read exactly. Au ending as deja vu as to reappear.

  • To All The

    Wesley Levers

    Wesley Levers is a Boston-born composer currently studying at Northwestern University. He has also studied at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, the New England Conservatory Preparatory School, and the Walden School Young Musicians Program. He has written chamber music, electronic music, and music for theatre and dance.

    To All The is a slightly manic take on bandstand dedications. I basically took a lot of tiny actions and attributed false importance to them by spending a long time dedicating each one. The result is fast and erratic, and hopefully at times enjoyable.

  • Hora Spoitorilor

    Emma-Ruth Richard

    British composer Emma-Ruth Richards has been commissioned by Opera North, London Philharmonia, BBCNOW Chamber Players, Håkan Hardenberger, Colin Currie, Nicholas Daniel, Rhodes Trio, Navarra Quartet, Camerata Pacifica, Manchester Camerata amongst others. She is currently residence with London Symphony Orchestra, London Arte Chamber Orchestra and finishing her PhD at RNCM.

    This piece is an exploration of the Romanian words Hora Spoitorila, the title of an anonymous Romanian folk theme. Its purpose is to explore the individual syllables of the words in a fragmented and relatively aggressive way to exploit the power of extended vocal technique alongside traditional 'sung' words.

  • Petite Liturgie Situationniste:

    David Jason Snow

    The compositions of David Jason Snow have been performed in concert by the Ensemble Intercontemporain, the American Brass Quintet, the New Juilliard Ensemble, the Harvard Wind Ensemble, et al. Snow is the recipient of composition awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the ASCAP Foundation, BMI, and Keyboard magazine.

    A catechism for the Groucho Marxist.

  • Dedication

    Juan Maria Solare

    Juan Maria Solare, born 1966 in Argentina, works currently in Germany as composer, pianist (contemporary & tango) and teaching at the University of Bremen and at the Hochschule fuer Kuenste Bremen. His music has been performed in five continents. Thirteen CDs of different performers include at least one piece of him.

    Dedication was composed in Bremen on 21st November 2013. To Viola Yip. Dedication is the act of consecrating a temple or other sacred building. The body is a temple. This pantheist prayer consecrates it. Repeat endlessly until the next Big Bang.

  • Time Keeper

    José Jesus de Azevedo Souza

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

    Merging Cantonese, English and German and including elements of extended technique and theatrical gestures , the composer creates a nocturnal improvisation for Viola Yip on an almost spontaneous script.

  • The Gospel According to Mammon: A Dedication to the Lord of Material Possessions

    Samuel Stokes

    Samuel Stokes has a Ph.D. in music composition from Louisiana State University where he studied under Dinos Constantinides. Among Stokes’s compositions are Symphony No. 1, "Eustace the Monk," which was premiered by the LSU Symphony, and two full-length musicals entitled Dracula and Bird Millman.

    "The Gospel According to Mammon: A Dedication to the Lord of Material Possessions" is a satirical piece reflecting on the uneven distribution of wealth. It presents the perspective of the greedy, who will twist their belief system to justify why they won't share their material blessings with those less fortunate.