February 24, 2013

COMPOSER’S VOICE

15 one-minute selections for Conway Kuo

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  Epigram

  Spyros Banos

  My name is Spyros Banos. I have studied Composition with Yannis Ioannidis and Piano with Maria Efstradiadis at Athens Music Society, in Greece. As a pianist I have escorted classical singers and philharmonic bands and also composed music for theatrical groups and video art projects.

  Epigram was originally a simple inscription on a tomb of the deceased, with his name, generation or the place of birth. Gradually, this inscription developed artistically into erotic, dedicational or satirical poetry. It was one of the main expressions of Greek poetry by Alexandrian times.

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  Gossamer Thread

  David Bohn

  David Bohn received degrees in composition from the University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and the University of Illinois. He currently resides in West Allis, Wisconsin, and is the music director at St. John's Lutheran Church in West Milwaukee. He is the President of the Wisconsin Alliance for Composers.

  The title for this composition is taken from Walt Whitman's "A Noiseless, Patient Spider".

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  Sturgis Stomp

  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.

  I chose to write something brusque, energetic and bracing, influenced by country fiddling styles, rather than the usual slow, plangent piece one expects to hear on the viola, It’s called Sturgis Stomp because it reminded a friend of the South Dakota town where a huge motorcycle rally is held yearly.

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  Arioso

  Jesse A. Brown

  Jesse 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.

  While working on a string orchestra piece this past year, I wrote several melodies, attempting to find the perfect one for the final canonic movement. Though almost discarded, I decided to rewrite this melody, and now it’s found it’s way from sketch to the short piece presented here as “arioso.”

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  Clockwork Rabbit

  Nuha Dolby

  Nuha Dolby is an 11-year-old composer who is in the 7th grade at the New Explorations into Science, Technology, and Math school (NEST+m). She works with the New York Philharmonics Young Composer and Bridge program, and plays flute, violin, and piano.

  My piece, Clockwork Rabbit, is written in ONLY sharps. It was an interesting challenge for me to attempt to do that- and this is the result. It is ever-changing, hence "clockwork" (a clock always changes). I liked the idea of a animal trying to navigate through a clock -like me trying to navigate through the piece.

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  Sinfonia Atomica

  Michael Gatonska

  The music of Michael Gatonska has been performed by the Minnesota Orchestra, the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, the American Composers Orchestra, the Pacific Symphony, the Hartford Symphony, the Talea Ensemble, the Chicago Chamber Musicians, and LOCRIAN chamber players among others. He has received numerous awards for his compositions, including the 2012 American Prize.

  Sinfonia Atomica begins as a whisper, and quickly winds and builds in dynamic and in intensity through a series a very rapid passages that arc through the register of the viola. The work eventually reaches its omega point, and at that juncture, the soloist has been given the freedom to improvise his own coda, based on some simple criteria provided in the score.

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  dIMsOME

  Bruce Goble

  Bruce Goble is a 56-year-old composer and sound artist from Westfield, Illinois. Goble works primarily with homemade string instruments and electronics. His untitled piece for computer won the 2005 Hyperscore contest at Indiana State University's contemporary music festival. Goble studied with African American composer, the late John Price.

  I love some diminished intervals as much as I love dimsum...

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  Moment of Death

  Brian D Kelly

  Brian D Kelly is a 26-year-old composer who is currently pursuing his MMus in composition at the University of Georgia in Athens. His works tend to explore themes that are socially conscious, often rooted in challenges to the status quo of American culture.

  Moment of Death is a work representing the precise, brief moment that a living being succumbs to death. The piece is as much based in odd textures as it is in pitch.

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  Thaw Voyager Thaw

  Scott Anthony Moore

  Scott Anthony Moore received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Composition and Electro-Acoustic Music from the University of South Florida in Tampa. He currently lives in Chicago, Illinois, where he is exploring deeper the trajectories of improvisation and notated composition. He is looking very forward to his first snowy winter.

  Thaw Voyager Thaw is an explosive, but concentrated moment of intense and focused energy. It must maintain its momentum and intensity throughout, while paying utmost attention to the infinite moments within moments that become elongated and condensed as space-time warps with fluctuations of speed and dynamics. Written for Conway Kuo.

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  Running Emptiness

  Elvira Muratore

  Born in 1985, Elvira Muratore attends an advanced course in composition with M° Ivan Fedele. Her music has been created in Finland, Argentine, Belgium, Italy. She received the second prize in the international composition competition Assisi Suono Sacro 2011 and she was finalist in the international composition competition organized in 2008 by ISME in Brussels.

  Running Emptiness is based on the oriental idea of vacuum, in particular the composer is attracted by the feeling that in oriental philosophies emptiness never means absence of something, but it is that important part of reality that make possible change and life.

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  Disappear

  Dafina Zeqiri Nushi

  Dafina Zeqiri Nushi, is a Kosovar composer of orchestral, chamber, and choral music that has been performed in Europe and elsewhere. Studied music composition with Mendi Mengjiqi at the University of Prishtina. Her magister's-degree work was with Jana Andreevska at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje. Among her honors are three awards in the Cesk Zadeja competition for young composers in Tirana (diploma of encouragement 2002, Third Prize 2003, Special Prize 2005), a diploma as an Eminent Student from the University of Prishtina (2006), Third Prize in the pre-art competition for young composers in Zurich (2008), the Theodore Front Prize the International Alliance for Women in Music (2009), the second prize “Chopin Kosovo” Composers Competition (2012), the First Prize in Composers Competition 2011 for chamber music from Kosovo Ministry of Culture. She is Assistant in University of Prishtina, member of “The International Alliance for Women in Music”, FOUNDATION ADKINS CHITI and Composers Association of Kosovo.

  DISAPPEAR - is a short piece for solo viola with an arch form. Start with deep low sound gradually devolve to high sound and return to lower until the disappearing sound . The extended techniques are very common especially with manner of playing as is bow pressure, and instrument usage as playing in body of the instrument, on the tailpiece, behind the bridge, etc.

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  namaz

  Emma-Ruth Richards

  British composer Emma-Ruth Richards has been commissioned by Opera North, London Philharmonia, BBC NOW Chamber Players, Håkan Hardenberger, Colin Currie, Nicholas Daniel, Rhodes Piano Trio, Navarra Quartet, HM Royal Marines, Camerata Pacifica and Manchester Camerata amongst others. She is currently residence with London Symphony Orchestra, London Arte Chamber Orchestra and Milton Keynes City Orchestra.

  namaz (prayer) is written for Conway Kuo for the New York Composer's Voice concert series 2013. It is built on the Arabic maqamet mode tradition but merged together with western compositional thought and influence from ancient middle eastern folk song.

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  Continuum I

  Aurelio Scotto

  Young Italian composer, Aurelio Scotto's music has been performed in Italy, Russia, Usa, Malta, Japan, Swizterland, and published by Wicky Music Editions, Taukay Music Editions, Master Symphony Editions, Universal Music Publishing Ricordi Edition. Winner of many National and International Composition Competition. www.aurelioscotto.it

  Fascinating and hypnotic game of the four empty strings.

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  Sfizio n. 5

  Pierluigi Tanzi

  Pierluigi Tanzi compositions have been performed in various theaters: Auditorium S. Cecilia di Roma, Teatro Politecnico di Roma, Teatro Monghio di Parma, Gran Teatro La Fenice di Venezia, Teatro Rex di Belgrado, Fondazione Calderara di Orta, festival del Parco della Musica di Noceto (Parma).

  Sfizio n. 5 is a composition of limited proportions, designed to provide a performance linked to other pieces of the same duration, something special for the proportions and inventiveness that puts some peculiarities of the instrument, every note isimportant, the gratification of sound.]

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  Albumblatt n. 4

  Luca Vanneschi

  Luca Vanneschi’s music was awarded prizes in more than twenty International competitions and it has been performed by some of the more qualified musicians all over the world. Hans Werner Henze said about his music: “… it is an intelligent, non conformist, elegant and full of grace music.”

  Albumblatt n. 4 is conceived as a solo piece, that balances colourful effects, timbric pliabilities and expressive necessities. A continuous and extreme instrumental virtuosity characterizes the piece, full of abrupt changes, sonorous volleys, daring combinations of the tempo.