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Publication Date

11-11-2005

Year of Release

2005

Note(s)

Theodore A. Rose II, president, MU Chapter SCI

Faculty Advisors: Dr. Marshall Onofrio, Dr. Mark Zanter

Justin Near, Eric Akers, horn

Alanna Cushing, Eric Near, Yuri McCoy, Jeremy Carter, piano

Ashlee Black, clarinet

Brian T. Lang, alto saxophone

Patrick Billups, Jeremy Quave, trombone

Tonya Burdine, cello

Eric Near, vocal

Alanna Cushing, celeste

Magic Bronson

Andy Masker, Brian Lang, tenor saxophone

Jeremy Carter, trombone

Kevin Arbagast, electric guitar

Shawn Beckner, electric bass

Micah Thomas, drumset

Notes/Bios:

Yuri McCoy is a junior at Marshall University with an emphasis in piano performance. He has played violin with the Huntington Symphony Orchestra and the Marshall Orchestra, and currently is the organist at St. John's Episcopal Church.

Prelude: I wrote this short prelude while on vacation at the beach. I was inspired by the mystery of the ocean at night, but this piece isn't meant to portray any specific scene or mood. I was strongly influenced by the music of Shostakovich (Op. 34 preludes), and Charles Ives. YM

Currently enrolled at Marshall University in Huntington West Virginia, Robert Hage is a BFA composition major, with plans to graduate in May 2007. Mr. Hage is an active member of the MU Chapter of the Society of Composers, Inc. and frequently has his music featured on SCI programs. Among these are Declarations and Dialogues for solo Bb Trumpet, Discontinuity for saxophone quartet and Fluctuations for two Bb clarinets. Mr. Hage is also a member of the Southeastern Composers League which selected Declarations and Dialogues to be performed at the 2005 SCL Forum at Louisiana Tech University.

Trio is an attempt to create effective counterpoint using a four-note pitch set as source material. The piece is divided into three sections. The first is expositional and presents the set in a very dense, concise manner. This is heard in the first measure where all three instruments imitate the set and complete an aggregate. The middle section is developmental, generating more lyrical and agitated rhythms from the primary motive. The last section of the piece recapitulates the opening motivic material and transitions into a short coda. Throughout the piece, the various rotations, inversions, retrogrades and transpositions of the set are used to provide a variety of musical material. RH

Ted Rose is currently a junior composition major at Marshall University. His other works include Gloria, Sierra 's Lullaby, and Cathexis, all of which have been performed on previous composers' concerts.

Sun-Ripened Strings arose from a composition assignment for a simple cello piece with accompaniment. The theme travels from one instrument to the other and imitation abounds. TR

Sean Sovine currently studies composition with Dr. Marshall Onofrio at Marshall University. His works have been performed on MU Student Composers Concerts for the two previous semesters.

Brass Trio is written for trumpet and two trombones and is based upon contrapuntal technique.

Piece for Five Trumpets begins in a Traditional style resembling a march (but in four), and moves to a climactic point of greater harmonic variety, then settles back with a recap of the opening theme. SS

Jindalay Hughes is a sophomore composition major studying with Dr. Marshall Onofrio. Her first MU performance as a composer occurred at the Fall 2004 SCI concert with Viae Cognitae for piano and flute.

The Weaving of Norns, commissioned by Jeremy Quave, tells the story of the three Norse sister goddesses of fate. Each is introduced individually. Urd, the oldest, is often portrayed as a hag or giantess, and represents the past. Skuld, the youngest, is the uncertain future and ill-tempered. The beautiful maiden Yerdandi symbolizes the present. The final section depicts the three of them haphazardly weaving fate. In the end, Skuld has a tantrum, tearing out what they have done. JH

Jeff Blair is currently a sophomore studying with Dr. Mark Zanter.

Fantasy is composed of various contrasting sections. As you listen to the piece picture a fantastic journey; an adventure, traveling through forests and plains, seeing and interacting with beings that do not exist in this world. JB

A Short Expository (David Schoening) is based upon a set of pitches derived from an expanding interval pattern. From that set other patterns and intervals are derived and expanded upon further. Each pitch is carefully chosen, but as for the durations and tempo, the performer is given liberty to explore on her own. DS

Eric Akers is a graduate student in composition at Marshall University. As an undergraduate he received a double major in Music Composition and Music Education from Marshall University. Currently he is the choral music teacher at West Middle School in Huntington, WV and is organist at South Ashland UMC. Akers is a composer of the visual persuasion, and many of his pieces elicit strong visual images. Akers' compositions most recently were performed in a benefit concert for the 21st Street Children's daycare program.

Crystal Skies is a set of syncopations overlapping each other. There are several motives that you will hear return throughout the piece. Often these are rhythmically displaced, creating syncopation that drives this piece Lo a dramatic final section.

Flying Car has been an ongoing project. It originated as a 30 sec. piece of commercial music for my car with wings. The next incarnation was an extended version written for tenor and soprano voices. Flying Car, as it exists today, uses a rhythmic tape with electronic wave accents. The acoustic instruments will be routed through the sound system for processing.

La Danza de Estrellas is in ABA form. The slow chordal beginning section represents stars silently appearing in the dusk. The up-tempo second section shows the Stars as they dance and flicker through the night when few are watching. The last section is a recap of the opening that represents the disappearance of the night sky. The small coda at the end reminds us that they have not left us for good.

The Dream is the second in a set of vocal pieces set to text by William Blake. The text expresses a nightmarish dream. The eerie mood of this piece recalls the terror of a midnight disturbance and the unsettling calmness as you awake from a dream. EA

This ls My Brain on Piano (Jeremy Carter) is a completely improvised piece meant to illustrate the possibility of music performed on a foreign instrument without rehearsal. JC

Eric Near holds the BFA in Music Theory and Composition from Marshall University. A past president of MU SCI and member of the International Horn Society, Near has attended workshops in regional, national and international workshops dedicated to composition and the horn. He has been described by colleagues as a Neo-Impressionist. Beginning in December, Near will join with Roane County artist Jaen Sidney in creating a multimedia exhibit sponsored by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, slated for debut in late 2006.

The origin of the word Agonizamai is found in the culture of the citizen state of Sparta. At age 7, young boys were put into warrior training. Under a mentor, the boys would occasionally compete in a contest called the "agon." They were stripped bare, slathered with oil and required to wrestle to the point of utter exhaustion. We derive our word "agony" from the name of this ritual. In the Kaine Greek of the New Testament, the derivative word "agonizomai" means "to strive, to fight, to labor fervently". It is an apt word for the call to the Christian life. This piece employs orchestral effects to convey the concept of this struggle. EN

Note

Smith Recital Hall

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities | Fine Arts | Music | Music Performance

Marshall University Music Department Presents the Society of Composers Composition Concert

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