Philip Rice (center) and Cindy Hunter Morgan (right), with Current State host Mark Bashore
Credit Scott Pohl/WKAR
Current State host Mark Bashore talks with two of the artists who worked on the project. Philip Rice is a student in composition at MSU, and Cindy Hunter Morgan is a local poet and lecturer in the English department. See the full story and listen to the broadcast here.
Continuing with the topic of scandals and current events as topic for dramatic musical works—here is a piece on NPR about a new oratorio to premiere at the Brooklyn Academy based on the WikiLeaks debacle. Before there was the story of whistle blower Edward Snowden, there was Chelsea Manning and her disclosure of military documents to WikiLeaks. Now there is composer Ted Hearnes and a new oratorio using these documents as well as the identity struggles of Manning due to his sex change.
Submitted by Ricardo Lorenz
Leo Brouwer is a Cuban composer, conductor, and guitarist. His music was featured during Composer Idol (sadly, he didn’t make it to the last round).
Ivette submitted this video of his piece for guitar, Un dia de Noviembre to give a sense of what his music is like. I think it’s especially appropriate for the season as the snow begins to fall this week.
Here is a link to a really cool article composer Robert Beaser wrote for the New York Times a few years ago. He talks about his time at the Rome Prize fellowship in both 1977 and 2011 and how the experience changed, and how that reflected on the changes in art music between now and then. Check it out!
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/27/the-reconstruction-of-rome/
Submitted by Joe Krycia
Now in its seventh year, the 2013 Music & Brain Symposium begins on April 12 at Stanford University. The brainchild of Jonathan Berger, professor at Stanford’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), the conference brings together a multi-disciplinary group of musicians, scientists, and academics for two days of performances and presentations. This year’s symposium focuses on the phenomenon of auditory hallucinations.
Submitted by Charlie Cooper
Read the whole interview here.
From the Eastern American Music Distributors Company
On September 25, Kevin Sedatole leads the Michigan State University Band in the world premiere of Robert Beaser’s The End of Knowing, for soprano, baritone and wind ensemble. The premiere takes place at Michigan State University’s Wharton Center in East Lansing, Michigan, and features soprano Lindsay Kesselman and baritone Benjamin Park as soloists.
Commissioned by a consortium of 27 bands across the United States, The End of Knowing is a powerful setting of texts from poets Seamus Heaney, Alfred Noyes, Joseph Brodsky, Gjertrud Schnackenberg, Chidiock Tichborne, Theodore Worozbyt and James Joyce. Beaser describes the work as “a dramatic meditation on the nexus of religion, politics and the fragile human condition.”
Following the premiere, the work receives several performances by ensembles across the country, including a featured performance in Nashville at the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) Conference in March 2015.
For more information on Robert Beaser, please visit www.schott-music.com.
Details on the premiere can be found at music.msu.edu.
Robert Beaser
The End of Knowing (2014)
for soprano, baritone and wind ensemble
texts (Eng) by Seamus Heaney, Alfred Noyes, Joseph Brodsky, Gjertrud Schnackenberg, Chidiock Tichborne, Theodore Worozbyt and James Joyce
pic.2(2.afl).2.ca.Ebcl.3.bcl.cbcl.2.cbsn.ssax.asax.tsax.barsax-4.3.2.btbn.2euph.1-timp.7perc-hp.pno/synthesizer-db
30’
Happy Birthday to one of the most important composers to come out of England!
Read more about Gustav Holst here.
New Music Detroit will present Strange Beautiful Music VII this Saturday (Sept. 13, 2014).
New Music Detroit will host a 6-hour event for new music including two world premieres: John Zorn’s “Trilogy” and a work by Detroit native, Frank Pahl. New York-based violinist, Todd Reynolds, will join us for a set of composition and improvisation. NMD will perform Detroit’s premiere of David Lang’s “Death Speaks” with special guest, Shara Worden. Also featured are GVSU’s New Music Ensemble, Miles Brown Quartet, Donald Sinta Sax Quartet, and Clem Fortuna.
Get more details on the NMD website.
Music at Mt. Parnassus 