Steve Hall

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Publication Date

3-2-2017

Year of Release

2017

Note(s)


March 2-3, 2017

sponsored by:

Marshall University School of Music, College of Arts and Media, and MUsic Alive Concert Series Featured Guest Composers 2017


Featured Composers

Luciano Berio (1925-2003)

Jarohn Grandstaff, Marshall University

Craig Hultgren, Decorah, IA

James Harley, University of Guelph

Charles Ingram, University of Southern Mississippi

Daniel Kessner, California State University, Northridge

Mike McFerron, Lewis University

David Morneau, Artistic Director of Circuit Bridges

Charles Norman Mason, University of Miami

Gene Pritsker, founder Sound Liberation

John Shuff, Marshall University

Anne Warren, Artistic Director of Concrete Timbre, NY

Luigi Zaninelli, University of Southern Mississippi

Frank Zappa (1940-1993)

Mark Zanter, Marshall University


Concert One

Mason Bartlett, Matthew Bradley, Chris Scarberry, Austin Redd, marimba

James W. Stamm, electric guitar

Lars Swanson, electric bass

Hogan Bentle, drum set

Concert Two

Marshall University Percussion Ensemble:

Steve Hall, Director

Keith Bailey, Mason Bartlett, Matthew Bradley, Anna Firth, Montana Gatens, Will Runyon, Chris Scarberry, Austin Redd; Bobby Galloway, saxophone

Andrea Withee, trumpet, Jason Dandelet, electric guitar

Lars Swanson, electric bass

Hogan Bentle, drum set

Dirigent: Steve Hall

Concert Three

Richard Kravchak, oboe

Johan Bates, Piano


Thursday, March 2, 2017

Concert One: Collage

7:30 PM, Marshall University Smith Recital Hall

Featuring the Marshall University Percussion Ensemble

Music by: Grandstaff, Harley, McFerron, Shuff, and Zappa

Friday, March 3, 2017

Concert Two: Guest Artist Recital Craig Hultgren, cello

12:00 Noon MUsic Alive,

Fifth Avenue Baptist Church, 1135 5th Avenue, Huntington, WV

Music by: Hultgren, Morneau, Mason, Pritsker, Warren, and Zanter

Concert Three: Guest Artist Recital Richard Kravchak, oboe

7:30 PM, Marshall University Smith Recital Hall

Music by: Berio, Ingram, Kessner, Zaninelli, and Zanter

6 short studies: At times I simply have to reach into my "toolbox" and construct a composition. But, there are other times when I get to try something new; or at least "new" to me. These short studies are such pieces. In each case, these one-minute "experiments" led me to more substantial pieces, and more important, they added additional tools to my toolbox.

No Way Out is an upbeat composition that embraces minimalistic compositional techniques and popular sounds of jazz and rock. The title of the piece is clearly represented in the piece's nature to constantly move forward at a fast pace, with no definite signs of ending. The pulse is set initially by marimbas playing a repetitive, and driving eighth note passage. This eventually breaks into a series of pentatonic based motives in each marimba and the electric string instruments, displayed in a contrapuntal fashion. Meanwhile, the drum set builds up tension with complementary rhythms. The tension is eventually released through a rock based groove played by the drums and complemented by the supporting bass line, guitar comp figures, and continued contrapuntal sounds displayed by the marimbas. This returns again in the original key's parallel major of Eb, after another build-up of twwension which involves rapid key changes and a false ending (seemingly indicating a "way out" of the piece). The piece ends with a final reference to one of the composition's main motives in Eb major.

Heuschreckenpest is a work exploring the generation of sounds and pitch material using Audacity and Pure Data. In the work, musical textures are created by feeding random pitches into a sampler housing electronically generated sounds; these were recorded and shaped further using signal processing. Heuschreckenpest translates loosely into "Plague of Locusts;' which is a fitting metaphor for the sound of this piece.

Wild Fruits 4: Winter is an electroacoustic soundscape work from the Wild Fruits cycle, begun in 2003. The piece includes spoken text taken from Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard, recorded by Anne-Marie Donovan. The cycle takes its title from the posthumously-published journal by Henry David Thoreau. The sounds are all based on field recordings from various locations, processed in the studio. Originally conceived as an 8-channel surround-sound work, Winter is highly spatialized, with all sounds traveling independently around the listening space.

Released on the 1973 LP Over-Nite Sensation, Frank Zappa's song ZombyWoof is the story of a man who went to sleep and woke up transformed into a zomby woof, a play on words making him some kind of a zombie/werewolf /dog creature. The transformation was illustrated in the original studio version by the shift in lead vocals from Zappa's calm basso voice to Ricky Lancelotti's "mad lion" roars and Tasmanian Devil-esque energy.

The interest of this song does not reside in its rather cheesy horror movie plot (although there are some twisted word plays here as Zappa was trying to find rhymes for "woof"), but in its musical structure. The basis frame of a straightforward rock song in 4/4 is periodically stretched to accommodate a 5/8 riff and, what is the tune's most identifiable feature, a four-bar break played in 5/4 (five against four). These elements hint at the complexity of the material Zappa would soon write for the albums Roxy & Elsewhere and One Size Fits All.

"Zomby Woof' was performed live upon its release in 1973 and also during the 1982 and 1988 tours. A live rendition from 1982, noticeably faster than the LP version, can be found on You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1. It also sports some good guitar work by Zappa and Steve Vai. (http://www.allmusic.com/song/zomby-woof-mt0009397397, accessed February 4, 2017)

Featured Performers

Craig Hultgren

For several decades, cellist Craig Hultgren has been a fixture on the scenes for new music, the newly creative arts, and the avant-garde. Recently leaving Birmingham after more than 30 years as a member of the Alabama Symphony, he now resides outside of Decorah, Iowa as the farmer-cellist. In March, the New York Classical Review commented that he, "... played with impressive poise and sensitivity ..." for Dorothy Hindman's chamber music retrospective at Carnegie Hall. At this point, more than 200 works have been created for him. A recipient of two Artist Fellowships from the Alabama State Council on the Arts, he was a member for many years of Thámyris, a contemporary chamber music ensemble in Atlanta. He is a founding member of Luna Nova, a new music ensemble with a large repertoire of performances available as podcast downloads on iTunes. Hultgren is featured in three solo CD recordings including The Electro-Acoustic Cello Book on Living Artist Recordings. For ten years, he produced the Hultgren Solo Cello Works Biennial, an international competition that highlighted the best new compositions for the instrument. He taught at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the Alabama School of Fine Arts and Birmingham-Southern College where he directed the BSC New Music Ensemble. He is a founding member and former President of the Birmingham Art Music Alliance and was on the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Youth Orchestras of Birmingham and their Scrollworks program. Currently, he is Vice President of the Oneota Valley Community Orchestra Board of Directors in Decorah. Last summer, he was the featured performer for the Summer Composition Intensive at Saint Mary's College in South Bend, Indiana.

Dr. Richard Kravchak

Dr. Richard Kravchak has been heard as an oboe soloist, chamber and orchestral musician around the world, performing concerts throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas. He has appeared as a soloist with ensembles as diverse as The Dubuque Symphony, The University of Hawaii Wind Ensemble, The Carson Symphony, Banda Espinia de Portugal and the Orquesta Symphonica de El Salvador. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald has written "Kravchak's playing revealed a real beauty of tone, not monolithic, but always changing in color and intensity. He makes even the most difficult lines seem almost effortless: “The Florida Flambeau raves "Kravchak made a good case for his virtuosity:” Dr. Kravchak has been invited to present solo performances at conferences and festivals including The International Double Reed Society, The North American Saxophone Alliance, Festival Forfest, the International Clarinet Society, and many others.

Kravchak holds performance degrees from the Eastman School of Music, the Juilliard School, and Florida State University. Richard Kravchak served as Professor of Music at California State University, Dominguez Hills, where he was the Chairman of the Music Department and Director of the School of Music and Theatre at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Currently Dr. Kravchak serves as the Director of the School of Music at The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Johan Botes

Johan Bates is known for his extraordinary versatility as a soloist, collaborative musician, and teacher; a career which has brought him recognition in concerts around the world. A native of South Africa, Bates showed musical promise from an early age. Among many notable awards in his native country, he was the 2007 First Prize Winner of the Third UNISA/Vodacom National Piano Competition playing Rachmaninoff's technically demanding Third Piano Concerto to a standing ovation; a performance for which he also won the Desmond Willson Memorial Prize for best concerto in the final round.

In 2008, he moved to Europe and continued his studies in London with British pianist Martin Roscoe at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. That year also resulted in master classes with Imogen Cooper, Alexander Rudin, Paul Lewis, Leslie Howard, Leon Fleisher and Richard Goode as well as regular coaching classes with pianist Graham Johnson and soprano Margaret Humpfrey-Clark.

As a soloist, Bates has performed in venues worldwide. He has appeared as soloist with the Chamber Orchestra of South Africa, Pro Musica Orchestra in Johannesburg, the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra in Durban, the University of Pretoria Symphony Orchestra as well as the Texas Chamber Orchestra at UT Austin. He has also performed in Prague with the Hadrec Kralove Orchestra in 2003 and in 2005 he toured to Bulgaria where he played with the Vana Philharmonic Orchestra in Varna.

In 2009, he moved to the United States and completed a Doctor of Musical Arts at The University of Texas at Austin under the tutelage of South African pianist Anton Nel. In 2010, Bates won the Sidney M. Wright Presidential Scholarship Competition in Piano Accompaniment and in the same year began collaborative Piano Trio work with cellist Francesco Mastromatteo. Their first performance in October 2010 resulted in critical acclaim, winning them the Prize for the best Chamber Music Recital at The University of Texas at Austin in 2011.

Dr. Bates holds a D.M.A in Piano Performance from the University of Texas at Austin and a M.M from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He received another M.M. as well as his B.M. from the University of Pretoria in South Africa. He is currently Assistant Professor of Piano at Marshall University in Huntington, WV.

BIOGRAPHIES

Luciano Berio was born in Italy on October 24, 1925. He began his musical studies with his father and continued at the Milan Conservatory with G.C. Paribeni and G.F. Ghedini. In 1954, with composer Bruno Moderna, he founded the electronic studio in Milan, Studio di Fonologia Musicale at the Radio televisione ltaliana di Milano, which he led until 1961. In 1956 he founded the series lncontri Musicali, and was in charge of the concert activities of this institution until 1960. Berio has held a number of prestigious teaching positions including Tanglewood (1960 and 1982), the Summer School in Dartington (1961 and 1962), Mills College in California (1962 and 1963), Darmstadt, Cologne, Harvard University, and the Juilliard School (1965-1975). Although Berio has explored many musical styles, including serialism, electronic technology, and indeterminacy, it is his treatment of language and a strong sense of theater that is the most remarkable aspect of his music.

Jarohn Grandstaff is a second year graduate student pursing his M.A. in Music Theory and Composition. He also serves as the Assistant Director of Poca High School's Visual Volume Show Choir. Being a recent graduate from Marshall University with his B.F.A in Jazz Studies, Grandstaff is known for writing mainly jazz compositions. His decision to stay at Marshall and study under Dr. Mark Zanter rested partly on wanting to explore more compositional styles and techniques other than jazz. After graduating with his M.A., Grandstaff intends on staying between the Huntington and Charleston areas to teach in higher education and eventually pursue a doctorate in Jazz Composition.

James Harley is a Canadian composer teaching at the University of Guelph. He obtained his doctorate at McGill University in 1994, after spending six years (1982-88) composing and studying in Europe (London, Paris, Warsaw). His music has been awarded prizes in Canada, USA, UK, France, Austria, Poland, Japan, and has been performed and broadcast around the world. Recordings include: Neue Bilder (Centrediscs, 2010), ~spin~: Like a ragged flock (ADAPPS DVD, 2015).

As a researcher, Harley has written extensively on contemporary music. His books include: Xenakis: His Life in Music (Routledge, 2004), and Iannis Xenakis: Kraanerg (Ashgate, 2015). As a performer, Harley has a background in jazz, and has most recently worked as an interactive computer musician.

After receiving his BM from USM in 1973, Charles Ingram attended the University of Southern California in the Fall of 1973. He earned his M. Mus. in Choral Music in 1975. In 1976 he began teaching at Los Angeles Southwest College. In 1985 he returned to USM to pursue DMA study in composition with Luigi Zaninelli. Charles retired as Professor of Music from Los Angeles Southwest College in 2008. He lives in Covington, Ga. His relationship with USM is still active as he is currently writing musical compositions which have been performed by several current faculty members of the School of Music and various ensembles and students. His setting of "Go, Lovely Rose" for Women's chorus, horn and piano received it's world premier on April 27,2010 by the Choraliers at Miami University of Oxford, Ohio.

Born in Los Angeles in 1946, Daniel Kessner studied with Henri Lazarof at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he received his Ph.D. with Distinction in 1971. In 1970, he was appointed to the music faculty of California State University, North ridge. He is currently Emeritus Professor of Music, retired in 2006. He remains active as a composer, flutist, and conductor. To date he has produced more than 150 compositions, including 16 orchestral works, 12 choral and stage works, 11 pieces for symphonic band, more than 120 works for various chamber ensembles, solos, and duos.

Charles Norman Mason has been recognized for his originality and attention to color. Steve Smith of The New York Times said, "Additions offered a nearly seamless integration of electronic and acoustic sounds …” Peter Burwasser of Fanfare wrote that Mason's music speaks in a, "boldly, original voice:' High Performance Review states the music is "full of invention ... funky and colorful... consistently ingenious:' Among his awards are the 2006 Prix de Rome, a Dale Warland Prize, an American Composers Orchestra "Playing it Unsafe" prize and the FETA Cellotronics audience favorite prize. His music has been performed throughout the world including the FORO INTERNACIONAL DE MUSICA NUEVA, Quirinale in Rome, the Aspen Summer Music Festival, and Nuova Musica Consonante. His music has been featured several times on Performance Today on NPR. Mason is chair and professor of composition at the University of Miami Frost School of Music.

Mike Mcferron is professor of music and composer-in-residence at Lewis University and he is founder and codirector of Electronic Music Midwest (http://www.emmfestival.org). A past fellow of the MacDowell Colony, Ucross, June in Buffalo, and the Chamber Music Conference of the East/Composers' Forum, honors include, among others, first prize in the Louisville Orchestra Composition Competition, first prize in the CANTUS commissioning/residency program, recipient of the 2005 CCF Abelson Vocal Music Commission, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's "First Hearing" Program. He serves on the board of the directors for the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra and also as the Chair of the Executive Committee for the Society of Composers, Inc. McFerron's music can be heard on numerous commercial recordings as well as on his website at http:/ /www.bigcomposer.com.

David Morneau is a composer of an entirely undecided genre. Described by Molly Sheridan as a "shining beacon" of inspiration, his diverse work illuminates ideas about our culture, issues concerning creativity, and even the very nature of music itself. His eclectic output has been described variously as "elegantly rendered'; "happily prissy'; "impressive'; "unusual, esoteric, and offbeat': His recent album, Broken Memory, "absolutely wrecks shop ... For that, David Morneau wins:' Morneau is Artistic Director of Circuit Bridges and Composer-In-Residence at Immigrant Breast Nest.

Composer/guitarist/rapper/DiJ. Gene Pritsker has written over six hundred compositions, including chamber operas, orchestral and chamber works, electro-acoustic music and songs for hip-hop and rock ensembles. His compositions employ an eclectic spectrum of styles and are influenced by his studies of various musical cultures. He is the founder and leader of Sound Liberation; an eclectic hip hop-chamber-jazz-rock-etc. ensemble who have released cd's on Col-legno, Composers Concordance and in nova Records. He is also the co-director of Composers Concordance, a new music presenting organization with a 30-year history of producing concerts in New York City. Pritsker's music has been performed all over the world at various festivals and by many ensembles and performers, including the Adelaide Symphony, MDR Symphony, the Athens Camerata, China Philharmonic Orchestra, Brooklyn, Shanghai and Berlin Philharmonics, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, St. Lukes Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonietta Riga, Orchester des Pfalztheaters, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Anhaltische Philharmonie as well as by such soloists as Anne Akiko Meyers, Lara St. John, Sarah Chang, Kathleen Supové, Martin Kuuskmann and Simone Dinnerstein.

Jonathon Shuff is a Senior Composition Major at Marshall University. He has had numerous performances of his pieces at Marshall and at West Fork New Music Festival at Fairmont, WV. He is active in the community as a member of Phi Mu Alpha and an educator in the marching arts, currently teaching in Charleston, WV.

Ann Warren strives to create a mélange of artistic disciplines that blurs the boundaries between concert performance, literature, installation art, and theater. She composes with an immersive theatricality that thrives on collaboration in all phases of the creative process. She aims to challenge performers to experiment freely and to encourage audiences to widen the scope of their attention. Ann is the Producing Artistic Director of Concrete Timbre, a New York composers' collective that collaborates, develops, and produces contemporary music in theatrical settings. Ann is proud to walk through the streets - wherever she is - take the clangs of construction, the sporadic beep-beep of horns, the whirring of some unidentified machine that never stops, and then mixes in some occasional cable shouting expletives, the bass thump-thump-thump of a car passing in the night, the Yankee stadium cheer for a home runs and ... is surrounded by music!

Luigi Zaninelli was born in Raritan, New Jersey in 1932. At the age of 17, he played his music for renowned composer Gian Carlo Menotti who then accepted him as a student at the Curtis Institute of Music. Two years later the Curtis Institute sent Mr. Zaninelli to study composition with the legendary Rosario Scalero, the teacher of Menotti and Samuel Barber. Upon graduation, he joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute.

Zaninelli returned to Rome, Italy in 1964 to compose film music for RCA Victor ltaliana. In 1968, he was appointed Composer-in-Residence at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Returning to the United States in 1973, he became Composer-in-Residence and Professor of Music at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Mark Zanter composer/performer, has been commissioned by the UIUC Creative Music Orchestra, CU Symphony, the American Composers forum, the WV Commission on the Arts, WVMTA, Due East, Şölen Dikener, Rick Kurasz, Çetin Aydar, Ankara University Soloists, Lindsey Goodman, Trifecta!, Awea Duo and many others. He has appeared on NPR's Live at the Landmark, WILL, IPR, on WVPN In Touch With The Arts, is published by Les Productions d'OZ, Schott European American and MJIC, and his works have been performed nationally and internationally at festivals including MUSIC X, June in Buffalo, Soundscape (Maccagno, Italy), NYCEMF, Echofluxx14 (Prague, Czech Republic), SEAMUS, the Atlantic Center for the Arts, NFA and ICA International Conferences. Zanter has received awards from ASCAP, AMC, ACF, Meet the Composer, WV Division Culture, WVMTA; Lament and dream for string orchestra, piano and percussion received special distinction for the ASCAP Rudolph Nissim Prize. Zanter's music has been issued on the Ablaze, Navona, and innova record labels. Dr. Zanter is professor of music at Marshall University.

Note

Smith Music Recital Hall

Note

Fifth Avenue Baptist Church, 1135 5th Avenue, Huntington, WV

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities | Fine Arts | Music | Music Performance

Marshall University Music Department Presents an Eighth Annual Festival of New Music

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