Third Annual Composition Festival

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

FESTIVAL CONCERT III

Saturday, April 14, 2012, 2:30 pm
UCC Recital Hall (map)

Program

 

Program Notes

Yang MING

Melting

This work is inspired by the glasswork of Chihuly. My composition attempts reflect the various shapes and colors of these delicate artifacts. One can sense the fluidity of my music and appreciate how it portrays the process of crafting these types of glasswork.

Yang Ming is a Chinese composer currently pursuing his Masters of Music in composition at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, and has studied under the guidance of Chen Yi, James Mobberley, and Paul Rudy. His works are highly recognized for his individuality and exquisite aesthetics. His pieces have been performed in various music festivals.


Chan Chin TING

Katachi II

Katachi is a Japanese term that means form, shape or figure. In the ancient game of Go, the word Katachi is used to describe the formation of stones on a Go board (Go is originated from Ancient China, where it is known as Weiqi). The conception of stone formation in Go is transformed to apply to the circulation and combination of sounds and timbre in the music.

Katachi II is written for and dedicated to violinist Sally J. Williams. The sounds used in this piece are primarily generated from recorded sounds of the violin and the earlier piece Katachi I for fixed media. Electronic techniques that are employed in creating this piece include delay, ring modulation, flanger and more. The pitch materials are derived solely from an ancient game of Go dated from 1846 between two of Japan's top Go player Honinbo Shusaku and Genan Inseki - one of the most well-known game in the history that is known as the "Ear-Raddening Game."

Raised in Hong Kong, composer Chin Ting (Patrick) Chan received his M.M. and B.M. degrees from Bowling Green State University and San José State University. He is currently pursuing a D.M.A. in composition at the University of Missouri–Kansas City. His mentors have included Zhou Long, Chen Yi, Marilyn Shrude, Burton Beerman, Andrea Reinkemeyer, Brian Belet and Pablo Furman.


Zach ZUBOW

Copenhagen Wheel

A Copenhagen Wheel is a "smart" attachment for the rear bicycle wheel that stores the energy created when pedaling and braking the bicycle. This energy can then be harnessed to give the bicycle an extra boost of energy when pedaling up a hill or whenever the rider needs a little extra help around town. Data from the Copenhagen Wheel is sent to your smart phone that includes distance, speed, calories burned and a number of other bits of information. This type of technology is far distant from the days of taping playing cards to the frame of a bicycle in order to get just a bit of sound as you rode around town. The ideas for Copenhagen Wheel come from the thought that our basic technologies found just a few decades ago have tremendously changed into objects that are implemented into our everyday lives. The transition from creating just a few sounds from a bicycle's spokes to a bicycle giving us real information is expressed in the choice of cardboard boxes and live electronics. Cardboard boxes are also used to represent the basics of our technology while the electronics that are manipulated in real-time represent the immersion of technology into simple, everyday objects.

Zach Zubow's music has been featured on many new music conferences and festivals throughout the United States and abroad. Zach was named regional winner in the 2011 SCI/ASCAP Student Composition Commission Award for his string quartet, Sundown, which also received the 2012 College Music Society Mid-Atlantic Composition Award. He has also received awards from the 2011 Five College Composition Competition and the 2012 College Music Society Southern Region's Composition Competition. Zach has received degrees from Luther College, Illinois State University and is now pursuing a PhD in music composition at The University of Iowa. For more information please visit www.zachzubow.com.


Brian PENKROT

Souviens per la fausse

is a line from the Fin Amour ballade Adieu Vous Di, commonly attributed to Solage. The line is thanking Fortune for allowing the protagonist an hour to remember things as he wanted as opposed to the way they happened. Seizing upon this imagery, I wanted to create a version of the same ballade, remembered incorrectly. The melodic material is all derived from the harmonic series of the original three parts. The electronics are a mixture of the original ballade (as performed by the Gothic Voices) and processed bassoon samples.

Brian Penkrot is an American composer of concert, film, and stage music. Brian is originally from Chicago but has lived and worked in cities across the US. He is a guitarist and conductor with additional studies in violin, piano, drum set, vocal performance, improvisation, film, and dance. He received is MM from the University of Nevada Las Vegas and his BM from Columbia College Chicago. For a full listing of news and upcoming performances, please visit his website at www.brianpenkrot.com.


Kathryn MUELLER

Selected songs from "Great Expectations"

This piece, written for Angela Born, is my response to a decision made by the head of the English department at my high school. All works by Charles Dickens have been removed from their English curriculum, because high school students are not mature or intelligent enough to read and understand books by Dickens. I was part of one of the last grades to read Great Expectations before this change was implemented. These pieces will be part of a song cycle depicting the things I remember from Dickens, which I wouldn't know if I hadn't read this book.

The characters and plot twists that Dickens creates are astonishing. The relationship between Miss Havisham and Estella, and the contrast between Wemmick's quaint and cheerful "castle" and his cold, cheerless workplace, are two of my most vivid memories from this novel.

Katie Mueller grew up in West Michigan. She received a Bachelor's Degree in Composition from the University of Michigan, where she studied composition with Evan Chambers, Kristin Kuster, Erik Santos, and Bright Sheng, and organ with Marilyn Mason. She also studied conducting, music for film and musical theater, and electronic music. Ms. Mueller participated in the 2009 soundSCAPE festival in Italy. She spent the summer of 2010 working for a community festival in Dresden, Germany. She is currently pursing graduate studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder, studying with Carter Pann and Kevin Beavers.


Shane HOOSE

Recoil

is my latest electroacoustic composition. The work incorporates a wide variety of sonic material; however, most of the sounds are firearm-related in some way. Hence the title—Recoil.

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.


Brad VAN WICK

The Moon is Not a Radiant Body

This piece explores meditation, reflection, distortion, and improvisation.

Brad Van Wick- Some of my compositional interests include idiosyncratic chamber ensembles, interactive electronics, human interface devices, computer programming, video, collage, improvisation, and collaborating with dancers, industrial designers, and other visual and plastic artists. I also like to read literature. I am currently studying at the Conservatory of Music and Dance at the University of Missouri–Kansas City, where I am the vice president of the UMKC Composers' Guild, a Conservatory in the Schools fellow, and a performer with the Radical Art Technology Ensemble (Paul Rudy, director). Visit www.bradvanwick.com