Third Annual Composition Festival

Exchange of MidWestern Collegiate Composers (EMCC)
Universities of Missouri-Kansas City, Colorado-Boulder and Iowa

FESTIVAL CONCERT II

Saturday, April 14, 2012, 11:00 am
UCC Recital Hall (map)

Program

 

Program Notes

Shane HOOSE

Contrasting Images

represents my return to electronic composition after a period of composing strictly for acoustic instruments. There are two versions of this piece: an 8-channel version, and the stereo version that will be heard this evening.

Shane Hoose is a graduate of Bowling Green State University (MM) and Ball State University (BM) and is currently pursuing a doctorate in composition at the University of Iowa. Recently, he was a finalist in the Music Teacher's National Association (MTNA) Composition Competition. He composes in both the acoustic and electroacoustic media. He is currently an adjunct instructor of music at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. His mentors in composition include Lawrence Fritts, David Gompper, and Elainie Lillios.


Ryan T. CONNELL

Night Sketches: First, Second, Third

The genesis for Night Sketches grew out of the extreme boredom I was feeling one day. Improvising has always been a reliable way for me to alleviate boredom. While these pieces are not improvisations, the melodic and rhythmic motives were a direct result of this process. There are three Night Sketches that comprise the set. Each has an individual character that attempts to describe the process I go through at night to fall asleep. Night Sketch #1 represents the initial attempt at lying down and calming my mind. Often, this process takes longer than expected and usually ends with some semblance of rest that quickly transforms into a brain full of what is to come the following day. Night Sketch #2 serves as my attempt to describe how the many thoughts being processed simultaneously eventually coalesce into a state of contentment or calm. Night Sketch #3 is representative of that calm that eventually allows me to drift away into sleep.

Ryan T. Connell's formal education includes two summers of study at Indiana University Summer Piano Academy, and a B.M in Piano Performance and Music Composition from the University Of Louisville. He is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Music Composition at the University of Colorado Boulder. In the summer of 2000, Ryan studied in Salzburg, Austria. He focused on a critical review of Beethoven's Piano Sonatas in addition to studying German. In Spring 2004 he was invited to perform and present at the new music festival of The Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland, where he premiered his trumpet ensemble piece Watta Flipt Watta. His composition for string quintet, "...her image deeply lies..." was also featured. In the past few years Ryan has focused on performing new classical music on the piano and organ.


Lizz HOUGLAND

Lost Reflections

was created on a whim with a sort of tabula rasa intuition. The concept of the piece was based on the performer reflecting on their past. Through this reflection, harmony is created. One of the other main concepts is the resulting sound world; and thus, the idea of timbre is very important.

Lizz Hougland is a composer, violinist and violist currently residing in Kansas City, Missouri. She also enjoys being a part of the production team for Kansas City Electronic Music Arts Alliance (KcEMA). She has had works recorded by the Kansas City Chorale, Quadrivium, a Kansas City-based ensemble, and NewEar. As a performer she has played in groups such as Musica Nova and has performed many on the Composers Guild concerts. She is currently seeking a bachelors in music composition at University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). Teachers have included Dr. Mara Gibson, Dr. James Mobberley, Dr. Paul Rudy, Dr. Chen Yi, and Dr. Zhou Long.


Hugh LOBEL

Wayward Atoms: Bornium

was created for a pretty simple reason: A friend wrote a beautiful poem and I had another friend with a great voice who I knew I could get to sing it!

Hugh Lobel is a composer, programmer, collaborator, performer, and a recent expatriate of Texas. His early studies at the Rice University Preparatory program instilled in him a passion for composition that led to undergraduate studies at the University of Houston, and a master's degree from the University of Texas. Hugh is currently a doctoral candidate at Colorado University, where he holds the title of Atlas Fellow. Hugh has been an avid collaborator since his first ballet score at the age of 16, and his works often involve the synthesis of electronic sounds with live performance.


Cody KAUHL

Pitch Class Preludes

is separated into six short character pieces, in which odd numbered movements (the Étude, Rag and Fugue) are built upon dodecaphonic tone rows, while even numbered movements (the Lullaby, Rhapsody, and Toccata) are influenced by set theory. However, both techniques are exploited and contorted to create a shifting yet intelligible tonal center. The individual movements are placed on a pitch (instead of in a key) not simply because of its relationship to standard tonal functions, but because these pitches represent the first value in the prime form of the movement's prevailing tone row or pitch class set.

Cody Kauhl is a current graduate student pursuing a M.M. in Music Composition at University of Missouri - Kansas City (UMKC). An aspiring professional composer, Cody graduated Summa Cum Laude in Spring 2011 with a B.M. in Music Theory/Composition at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE). He has received a commission by the Vestal Middle School's 6th Grade and 7th/8th Grade Bands in Vestal, New York and has also won a number of composition contests at SIUE, including 1st Prize in 2010 for his work "Quartet for Strings" and 2nd Place in 2009 for "Miserere."


Jason PALAMARA

either/or

is a work for laptop/live electronics with audience participation. The piece displays three text boxes into which various questions, musings, commands and requests are typed. The questions and musings are intended to be thought provoking, whereas the commands and requests are directed at the audience who, responding, become a part of the electronic manipulations.

Jason Palamara is a first year doctoral student in music composition at the University of Iowa. He recently graduated with a Master's degree from the University of Louisville and has a Bachelor's from Butler University. Mr. Palamara is currently studying with Dr. Larry Fritts. All resemblances are purely coincidental.