Composer's Voice Concert
A Tribute to Liana Alexandra
May 13, 2012
Jan Hus Church
351 East 74th Street
New York
,
New York
10021-3798
A Tribute to
Liana Alexandra
Music and performances by
Jasmin Bey Cowin Douglas DaSilva Nuha Dolby
Serban Nichifor Robert Voisey Midori Witkoski
15 Minutes-of-Fame
Riko Higuma & Wonki Lee
15 pieces 15 composers 15 Minutes
Program:
15-Minutes-of-Fame (15 One Minute works in memory of Liana Alexandra)
Riko Higuma, piano
Wonki Lee, saxophones
Barcarolla
Liana Alexandra
Kaoru Ikeda, dance
Consonances VII
Liana Alexandra
Jasmin Bey Cowin, harp
Stabat Serban
(for Serban Nichifor in Memory of Liana Alexandra)
Douglas DaSilva
Midori Witkoski, viola
Melody
Liana Alexandra
Kaoru Ikeda, dance
Lament & Sorrow
Robert Voisey
Kaoru Ikeda, dance
Incantation
Liana Alexandra
Josh Henderson, violin
Prayer to my Angel Liana
Serban Nichifor
Josh Henderson, violin
Ms. Liana's Piece
Nuha Dolby
Josh Henderson, violin
Performers
Kaoru Ikeda
Kaoru Ikeda, dancer, choreographer and teacher,
originally from Japan, was graduated from New York
University, Tisch School of the Arts with Master of Fine
Art in Dance with Rotary International Ambassadorial
scholarship and NYU Tisch Grad school scholarship. Her
works of "perfectly realized dance" (offoffoffdance) have
been shown in NYC, Japan and Mexico. She works with
various dance projects and artist in US, Mexico, South
Korea and Japan as a dancer, choreographer and
assistant. Recently, she was invited "Solioquios y
Dialogos Bailados 2012, Centro Cultural Los talleres" as a
dancer and "Viculacion Dancistrica Professional" as a
guest Choreographer in Mexico.
More information: http://kaoruikeda.web.fc2.com
Jasmin Bey Cowin
Dr. Jasmin Bey Cowin, harpist, educator and lecturer,
graduated from at the Staatliche Hochschule fuer Musik in
Karlsruhe in 1986 with a Diploma for Education and Orchestral
Harpist. From 1985-1986 she studied at the University of
Houston American harp music through a Fulbright scholarship. A
subsequent scholarship in Graduate Studies at Rice University in
Houston, Texas enabled her to further explore harp repertoire of
all periods and musical styles. Eventually she left for New York
where she received her Masters (1989) and her Doctorate in
Education (1992) from Columbia University. Dr. Cowin currently
teaches at the Center for Living & Learning and is enrolled for a
Certificate Program at the Center for Modern Psychoanalysitc
Studies, NY. www.operalectures.com
Nuha Dolby
Nuha Dolby is in sixth grade at the New Explorations in Science,
Technology and Math (NEST+m) school; she has taken part in
the New York Philharmonic's Very Young Composers program
for more than 2 years, and has had music performed by that
orchestra. She is learning the flute and the violin, and has
played the flute in school performances. Nuha's piece Piano
Music was premiered on the September 18, 2011 Composer's
Voice concert as part of the Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame: <15
performed by pianist Sophia Yan.
Riko Higuma
Pianist Riko Higuma has performed and collaborated with
legendary artists such as Albert Markov, Neil Rosenshein, Aaron
Rosand, Cho-Liang Lin, Alan Gilbert, Steven Tanenbom, Dora
Schwarzberg, and Timothy Eddy. She was a top-prize winner at
the Jacob Flier International Piano Competition and was one of
the Young Artists at the Van Cliburn Piano Institute, where she
appeared with the Fort Worth Symphony. Individually and as the
pianist of the acclaimed Zodiac Trio, Ms. Higuma has performed
around the globe, including the LaJolla Music Society
Summerfest, Summit Music Festival, Russian River Chamber
Music, Festival c'est pas classique, and most recently at the
Festival Radio-France Montpellier. Ms.Higuma studied with
Phillip Kawin at the Manhattan School of Music and with the
Ysaye String Quartet at the Paris Conservatory.
Wonki Lee
Korean saxophonist Wonki Lee was born in Tokyo and began
playing the saxophone at the age of thirteen. He has
distinguished himself as a remarkable saxophonist with his
instrumental prowess and keen artistic grasp. He was the first
Korean selected as a semi-finalist in the Adolphe Sax
International Competition. As an active concert saxophonist, he
performs a wide range of music, including solo premieres and
chamber music. Wonki made his Carnegie Recital Hall debut in
2008 and has performed at the Metropolitan Museum, Merkin
Concert Hall, Time Warner Building, and Macys. His concerto
recording was broadcasted on a WQXR. He won 1st prize for
MTNA Young Artist NY State Competition, and 3rd prize for the
LISMA International Music Competition. Wonki exclusively uses
YAMAHA Custom EX saxophones.
Midori Witkoski
Midori Witkoski, Violist, is a proud advocate of all music, both
new and old. Her passion for playing contemporary works has
led her to premiere many new works in student composer
concerts at the Manhattan School of Music, where she is
expected to graduate in May 2011 with a Bachelors degree in
Viola Performance. She has worked with and been coached by
world renowned chamber musicians such as Lawrence Dutton of
the Emerson String quartet, and members of the American String
Quartet including Daniel Avshalomov (viola), Peter Winograd
(violin), and Wolfram Koessel (cello). She currently coaches with
contemporary violinist Curtis Macomber, on works such as the
Prokofiev wind quintet and Schoenberg's Transfigured Night.
Composers
Douglas DaSilva
Artistic Director of the Composer's Voice concert series,
Douglas DaSilva is a composer, guitarist, educator, curator,
film-maker and amateur clarinetist in New York City. He
composes in various styles including jazz, pop, children's music,
chamber music and experimental. Much of his writing is
influenced by Brazilian music and self-inflicted stress. His
compositions have been described as "very individual, and to us
has a very clear personality" in Classical Guitar Magazine. His
pieces Sarabande; How to Build a Totalitarian State and
Contrails have been included in 60x60 projects. His works have
been performed in Brazil, England, Italy, Germany, Romania,
Brazil & throughout the USA.
http://www.voxnovus.com/composer/Douglas_DaSilva.htm
Serban Nichifor
Composer/cellist and professor of music Serban Nichifor (b.
25.08.1954, Bucharest); STUDIES: National University of Music
Bucharest (NUMB), PhD Musicology; USIA Grant, 1982; -
COMPOSITION PRIZES: Amsterdam (First Prize Gaudeamus),
Tours, Evian, Atena, Toledo, Urbana-Illinois, Trento, Roma,
Bydgoszcz, Hong Kong, Jihlava, Karlsruhe, Koln, Newtown-
Wales, Birmingham-Alabama, Zagreb; Officer Belgium Crown
Order; AT PRESENT: Professor at the NUMB. His piece Prayer
for My Angel Liana was composed for Fifteen-Minutes-of-
Fame: Conway Kuo, violin as "an homage to my very dear wife
Liana Alexandra, for his love, support and sacrifice..." Serban
lives in Bucharest, Romania.
Robert Voisey
"The word 'viral,' comes to mind as a trendy but disquietingly
accurate image for Robert Voisey's infectious enthusiasm. He is
always ready to mutate and reinfect the process as indicated to
maintain the highest degree of project fever" -60x60: netsuke for
the musical mind -- Richard Arnest, Sounding Board, Spring
2011. "With few opportunities and much competition, young
composers show creativity in just getting heard." And in Chris
Pasles's article in the Los Angeles Times, Robert Voisey is
highlighted as one of those composers. Composing
electroacoustic and chamber music, his aesthetic oscillates from
the romantic to Post Modern Mash-Up. His work has been
performed in venues throughout the world including: Carnegie
Hall, World Financial Center Winter Garden Atrium, and Stratford
Circus in London.
15 Minutes of Fame Composers
Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame - 15 one-minute selections dedicated to the composer Liana Alexandra
La necesidad de crear
Guido Bisocoli
Composer, drummer and programmer from La Plata, Argentina, Guido Bisocoli (born 1982) studied composition
5 years with a private teacher covering counterpoint, classical harmony and XX century trends.
He creates musical works ranging from Electroacoustic through contemporary, to Progressive
Rock. He's always searching for innovation and looking for new sounds on every composition.
"La necesidad de crear" is a piece for Soprano Sax and Piano, it starts with a sustained note by the
sax, then imitated by the Piano followed by a sudden agitation to return again to the, now,
uneasy calm. Chaos again takes control until gradually all stabilizes again.
1947
Gordon Francis Blaney Jr.
Gordon Francis Blaney Jr. (b. 29 November 1982) is an American writer, performer, educator, and theorist with an extensive background in classical and jazz. He studied at Berklee College of Music where he received a BM in Composition. He studies composition with Berklee College of Music composition department professor Dennis LeClaire.
"1947" is dedicated to Liana Alexandra, a colleague in composition. She chose the profession of composer, because she loved it. It didn't matter that her passion became her job, for what's work when it's love? It didn't matter that her job became her career, for what amount of time, space, and resources can compare to living the dreams one dreams?
He couldn't Boogie Woogie Worth a Damn
Scott Brickman
Scott Brickman (b. Dec. 28, 1963, Oak Park, Illinois) was educated in the Chicago Public school system and holds music degrees from the University of Wisconsin and Brandeis University. Since 1997 he has taught at the University of Maine at Fort Kent, where he is Professor of Music and Education.
He couldn't Boogie Woogie Worth a Damn (2012) takes its title from a short story of my favorite author, Nelson Algren. The piece is in a simple ternary form. Written using the 12-tone technique, the initial idea is based on the octatonic scale.
Consonances
Andy Cohen
Andy Cohen did the classical-music-studies thing at Oberlin and Manhattan
School of Music, and enjoys revisiting that universe from time-to-time. For
the most part, he is keeping busy doing sound, original music, and musical
direction for theater shows. For more information, visit him at
www.andycomusic.com.
The musical materials for Consonances (for Liana) are derived and developed
from a short section of the third movement of Liana Alexandra's Fourth
Symphony. Liana wrote many pieces of chamber music with the title
"Consonances"; here is one dedicated to her in return.
crashing into the sun
David Heuser
David Heuser's music has be hailed as "all-American music at its most dynamic and visceral," "thoughtful, beautiful and wonderfully made," and "just the sort of music classical music needs more of." A native of New Jersey, Heuser now lives in Potsdam, New York.
"crashing into the sun" uses the jarring loud clusters which begin the third movement of her Symphony No. 4 as an ending point, with the piece an exercise in figuring out how to get there.
Shadowthoughts
Ching-chu Hu
Born in Iowa City, Iowa, Ching-chu Hu earned his DMA from the University of Michigan. His music has been performed around the world at various festivals and venues and recorded on Albany Records, ERM Media, and Capstone Records. He is Associate Professor of Music at Denison University at Granville, Ohio.
Shadowthoughts was inspired by Liana Alexana's Cadenza for piano. The soprano saxophone melody is "protected" by the piano, as if its lines are a shadow of Alexana's work. Shadowthoughts is dedicated to Wonki Lee and Riko Higuma as part of the Vox Novus 2012 Fifteen Minutes of Fame project.
Melody Drops
Jose Mora-Jimenez
Jose Mora-Jimenez was born in Costa Rica. He studied the majors Classical Guitar and Music Composition at the University of Costa Rica. He completed his composition studies at The Royal Conservatory in The Hague under the guidance of Gilius van Bergeijk and Cornelis de Bondt. He is currently living in the Netherlands where he is active as a composer of modern music as well as composer of music for the media.
While listening to music by composer Liana Alexandra I came across a short work called "Melody", a melodic and slow piece for cello and piano. Thus, I decided to make a slow melodic piece as well. For this piece I used the concept of how circular waves are formed after dropping a single drop of water into a liquid surface. In my piece, the notes of the melody played by the sax are like drops producing "waves" of sound in the piano.
Meditation on Liana Alexandra
Wade Meyers
Wade Meyers is an active pianist and composer currently in the Washington - Baltimore metropolitan area. He holds degrees in piano performance from Stetson and George Mason Universities, where he studied piano with Michael Rickman and Anna Balakerskaia; improvisation with Harold Blanchard; and, composition with Manuel de Murga.
"Meditation on Liana Alexandra" is written as a pensive, somewhat impressionistic reflection on Liana Alexandra's life, work, and legacy. Though the piano sets the tone for the tenor saxophone's entrance, it is also the piano's descending bass line that provides the structure of the piece.
Broken Waltz In Memoriam LIANA ALEXANDRA
Daniel Mihai
Daniel Mihai studied with the Maestro and teachers like Serban Nichifor, Stefan Gheorghiu and a lot of great teachers of Romanian School of Music!
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.I am teacher of violine in Constanta and also i play with pleasure this kind of music wherever! Also, I want to finish my final thesis soon as possible!
For this composition iI reach one of the meaning of the soul of Liana A;exandra a powerfull romanian composer. I choose one of the feelings of she in 60 seconds .
My personal advice to the soloist is to be more relaxing.
For this composition iI reach the Waltz FROM THE BALLET "THE LITTLE MERMAID"
BY LIANA ALEXANDRA like an hommage!
Do Not Kill A Mockingbird
Serban Nichifor
Serban Nichifor, composer. Married to Liana Alexandra, composer.
This miniature is trying to express the contrast between the purity of Liana's Spirit and the deadly blows received from her so jealous Romanian colleagues... The melody is a quote from Barcarola by Liana Alexandra Serban, Liana's husband.
A Desire
Mike Perdue
Mike Perdue is an improvising percussionist and composer of experimental chamber music. Originally from rural south Alabama, Perdue is a product of competitive marching bands, church music, the symphony orchestra, the Internet, and the 20th Century avant-garde. Perdue has been a featured solo improviser at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, the Festival Internacional de Percusion in Puerto Rico, and with the ensemble Tactus in New York. His extensive list of creative collaborators includes cellist Mariel Roberts, violinist/visual artist Leah Asher, actor/director Tyne Rafaeli, composer Matt Aelmore, and choreographer Jeanne S. Mam-Luft. Perdue holds degrees in percussion from Carnegie Mellon University and Manhattan School of Music.
The thematic material in this short duet is derived from a quote by the late Romanian composer Liana Alexandra, which reads as follows:
"I chose the profession of composer because I like that and probably was the vocation of my life. Sure, that becomes a job, but becomes a job after that stage overcome by passion and creative, a desire, the need to create."
This quote is taken verbatim from a website dedicated to Alexandra's memory, and does not make perfect grammatical sense in English; this is likely because English was not Alexandra's native language, and was probably dictated from extemporaneous speech. Nevertheless, its message is genuine and clear. The idiosyncratic rhythm and notation in this piece intends to capture the spirit of Liana Alexandra's quote, both in grammar and meaning.
Text from the quote is printed inline with the score as a loose guide to articulation and rhythmic interpretation.
Susura
Kala Pierson
Kala Pierson is an American composer and sound artist. Her works have been performed and installed in 22 countries. Her long-term projects include Axis of Beauty (setting texts by Middle Eastern writers since 2004, in an ongoing response to her government's "Axis of Evil" propaganda) and Illuminated (setting texts about sex and sexuality from a broad range of cultures).
"Susura" is Romanian for murmur. The piece is similar in style to a Romanian doina -- a rhythmically free, delicately ornamented mourning song played by a single melody instrument (here, soprano saxophone) and sometimes accompanied by one or more drone instruments (here, piano).
Mystic Dances
Josh Ransom
Josh Ransom is an Australian composer and musician residing in his hometown of Sydney. He currently is studying his Bachelor of Music degree majoring in Composition under the guidance of composers Matthew Hindson and Damien Ricketson. Josh has composed symphonic works for both symphony and Wind orchestras which have been performed throughout the state at contest and festival level.
"Mystic Dances" is a brief encounter of effect when one walks through a dimly lit, fog bound park in the dead of night. Presenting both a calm and uncertainty of what lies ahead. This brief dance begins with a music box idea portraying a dreamscape which quickly develops into a raucous festivity of fog bound fret.
Waltz for Alexandra
Corina Alexandra Tirziman
My name is Corina Alexandra Tirziman. I am 20 years old, and I have been studying Contemporary Classical Music Composition for two years at the "National University of Music from Bucharest", Romania. By participating in numerous workshops and competitions, I can describe myself as a perseverant, tenacious, and ambitious student.
"Waltz for Alexandra" is a piece for soprano saxophone and piano, written in Neo-Consonant style, which is one of the composing directions approached and promoted by Liana Alexandra. The piece is built from a generating motif, which consists in the succession on the following keys: AEADA. The keys represent Alexandra's melogram: ALEXANDRA.
Dance
Georgiana Trandafir
Born in 1989 in Bucharest (Romania), GEORGIANA TRANDAFIR studied performing arts (violin, chamber music) and composition at the National University of Music Bucharest, and legal sciences at the "Nicolae Titulescu" University.
"DANCE" for Bb Tenor Saxophone and Piano
This piece is written In Remembrance of the great composer LIANA ALEXANDRA !
The music is directly inspired by the marvellous "CLARINET QUARTET" by LIANA ALEXANDRA.
I dedicate this work to the wonderful Duo WONKI LEE, saxophone and RIKO HIGUMA, piano.
Program Notes
Liana Alexandra
Liana Alexandra was born in Bucharest, Romania in May 27, 1947.
From 1965 to 1971, she studied at the University of Music Ciprian
Porumbescu, Bucharest. She received the "George Enescu"
scholarship and took composition courses in 1974, 1978, 1980 and
1984 in Darmstadt, West Germany. In 1983 she received a USIA
stipend to study in the USA and received a Ph.D. in Musicology.
In 1978 Liana Alexandra married the Romanian musician and
composer Serban Nichifor.
She has received the Prize of the Romanian Composers and
Musicologists Union on five occasions in 1975, 1979, 1981, 1982,
and 1984. In 1979, she received the first prize in Dresden at the "Carl
Maria von Weber Competition." She won the "Gaudeamus"
Foundation prize in 1979 and 1980, and in 1980, she also won the
prize of the Romanian Academy.
Alexandra took a position as professor at the National University of
Music of Bucharest, teaching composition, orchestration and musical
analysis. She performed as a member of Duo Intermedia and was codirector
of the Nuova Musica Consonante-Living Music Foundation
Festival with Serban Nichifor.
Liana Alexana died in her sleep on January 10th, 2011.
Fifteen Minutes of Fame is a collection of 15 one-minute works
composed specifically for a performer or ensemble. The purpose
of Fifteen Minutes of Fame is to promote a great variety of
contemporary music to audiences hungry to hear what living
composers are writing today. The project seeks one minute
music compositions from composers working in any style and
aesthetic. Vox Novus places a call for scores and 15 pieces are
chosen from the works submitted. The works are then premiered
on the Composer Voice concert series in New York City. The
idea grew out of a celebratory concert in 2009 for the birthday of
Robert Voisey who is the founder of Vox Novus and known for
his 60x60 project.
Support from the Puffin Foundation "...continuing the dialogue
between art and the lives of ordinary people."
Vox Novus is a collective of composers, musicians, and music enthusiasts collaborating together to create, produce, promote, and enjoy the new music of today. Our members are from a variety of composers committed to the creation and dissemination of new music. Their music is of a variety of styles, aesthetics, and ideologies.
Vox Novus produces and promotes new music. They are dedicated to contemporary music, the musicians who perform, and the composers that write the music of today. Their mission is to cultivate a music community and make their work available to the greater public.
Remarkable Theater Brigade founded by Christian McLeer, Dan Jeselsohn and Monica Harte, creates and produces new operas and musicals and takes children's versions out to special-needs and at-risk children free of charge.
Presenters:
Remarkable Theater Brigade
Remarkable Theater Brigade founded by Christian McLeer, Dan
Jeselsohn and Monica Harte, creates and produces new operas and
musicals and takes children's versions out to special-needs and at-risk
children free of charge.
Remarkable Theater Brigade creates and produces new works including
operas, orchestral pieces, ballets, musicals, and electro-acoustic works and
co-produces the Composer's Voice Concert Series concerts.
Remarkable Theater Brigade was founded in 2002 by Christian McLeer,
Monica Harte, and Dan Jeselsohn.
Jan Hus Church
This is the place you were welcome,
long before you arrived!
www.janhus.org
Vox Novus
Vox Novus promotes contemporary music and its creators through concerts,
recordings, publications, broadcasts, and online publicity.
Vox Novus believes strongly in the intrinsic value of contemporary music,
recognizing it as a force in the advancement of culture and art. Our goal is to
keep music alive by strengthening the connection between composer and
audience, providing greater exposure to new music.
Funding by
Puffin Foundation
Funding also provided by the Puffin Foundation, "...continuing the dialogue between art and lives of ordinary people."
![[ Composer's Voice ]](http://www.voxnovus.com/img/Composers_Voice_Collaboration_Logo.png){kind=logo}
