MSU Wind Symphony reading of a work by a student composer

Every semester the composition students from MSU have the opportunity to have a work or an orchestration project read by a large ensemble from the College of Music. This recording attests to the quality of the musicians involved in the reading as well as the quality of this composition by MSU student composer Christian Kolo.

Enjoy!

 

Alex Ross: 2015 Notable Performances and Recordings

“Generally, it was a formidable year for new music—so much so that my ten notable recordings are entirely contemporary, with dead composers demoted to the honorable-mention category. Many of these works have an intangible quality in common, one that’s hard to name. Sonic landscapes shimmer before one’s ears, but they are too irregular and restless to be classified as minimalist or ambient. Instead, they suggest an ominous stasis, an unstable stillness.”

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Butt Sticks and other awesome blogs to follow

That’s right. Butt sticks. Just one of the many posts you’ll find in the amazing blog that composer David Rakowski. Here is a link to that article, and you can find a list below of awesome blogs to follow and read about composing, your career as a composer, and new music. These are just the ones I follow, please feel free to add more!

David Rakowski’s Blog (easily my favorite)

Inklings, a Blog by Stacy Garrop

http://www.icareifyoulisten.com (I write for this one!)

http://www.newmusicbox.org

A blog by Alex Ross, Music Critic for the New Yorker

Steven Bryant

Composer Opportunities

Sometimes it can be hard to remember all of the emails you’ve gotten with composer opportunities in the coming months. These are a couple of the spots to look once a month or so for what competitions, festivals, and other opportunities are available for composers!

http://www.composerssite.com (free!)

http://www.societyofcomposers.org/publications/scion.html SCION is a fantastic resource, but you must be a member of SCI to view it. Membership isn’t too expensive for students, though, and it’s worth being a part of professional organizations in the field you’re studying!

Strange Beautiful Music VIII

Always a FANTASTIC event. This year will feature Andy Akiho (listen to his music on iTunes or watch a video here, or another here–his music is sweet), Latitude 49 (great new music ensemble with roots in Michigan), and of course New Music Detroit. Tickets are pay as you can, so it’s relatively inexpensive for people like us, and it’s an 8-hour long concert devoted to new music…what more could you want?!

More information and buy tickets here

Choral Music by Ivette Herryman Released by Walton Music

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A new piece by MSU DMA student Ivette Herryman Rodríguez has been published by Walton Music, a division of GIA Publications.The piece can be seen featured on their “2015 New Releases” page. The title, “Sigue” (Continue) and is inspired on a poem by Nicolas Guillen, Cuba’s national poet. Musically the piece recreates the Cuban genre known as Son, which is a hallmark of Cuban Music.

The MSU Women’s Chamber Ensemble will close their concert on Saturday with a performance of the piece. Congratulations, Ivette!