NE\VSLETTER THE AMERICAN SOCIETY

OCTOBER, 1971/VOL. 4, NO. 3 OF UNIVERSITY COMPOSERS

SEVENTH NATIONAL CONFERENCE publication. Beginning with Volume 5, now in preparation, The Society will hold its 1972 National Conference papers and edited transcripts of panel discussions emanating April 7-9 in Baltimore. The Peabody Conservatory will act from regional ASUC meetings during the year immediately as host, with Robert Hall Lewis (Goucher College and preceding the date of publication will be considered for Peabody) in charge of concerts and arrangements, assisted publication. by Jean Eichelberger Ivey (Peabody). John Clough (Univer­ sity of Michigan) is arranging panels and papers. Potential contributors are urged to send papers or Members wishing to participate in either concerts or transcripts to the editors as soon after presentation as colloquia are urged to write to one of the planners named possible. above. All members are reminded that it is not too early even now to begin to plan travel arrangements for the Conference. NEWS FROM THE REGIONS Region II (chairman Allen Brings, Queens College) presented a Regional concert at ASUC RADIO SHOW October 15. The program included Raoul Pleskow's Three As reported by our National Chairman at the last Annual Bagatelles (1969) and Howard Rovics Events (1971 ), Conference, the ASUC Radio Show is slowly but surely on played by pianist Anne Chamberlain; William Hellerman's the move. The first hour-long program is currently being Round and About (1 971), played by trombonist James circulated and has to date been aired by more than a dozen Fulkerson; Allen Brings' Three Pieces (1963), with Syoko stations. The second program, now being prepared for Erle, violinist, and the composer as pianist; Karl Korte's circulation, will comprise works by ASUC members Ursula Remembrances (1971 ), played by flutist Samuel Baron; and Mamlok, Karel Husa, , and David Epstein. Leo Kraft's Spring in the Harbor (1969), a chamber cycle based on poems by Stephen Stepanchev, performed by Experience so far indicates that, with only limited funds soprano Catherine Rowe, flutist Gerardo Levy, cellist available for production and copying, the number of copies Alexander Kouguell, and pianist Andrew Thomas, with the that we can keep in circulation is small in the face of the composer conducting. time-consuming advanced programming practices of many good-music stations. However, any reasonable caution on Region VII (chairman David Burge, University of Colo­ the part of these stations is to be complimented. It is clear rado) held a conference for members and prospective that we should aim to win their confidence by offering only members at Colorado College, Colorado Springs during the quality programs on quality recordings; with widening weekend of October 16-17. Under the leadership of circulation and regular editions the project should gather a Stephen Scott (Colorado College), two concerts and both useful kind of momentum. fo rmal and informal discussions were planned.

Members are invited now to submit tapes for considera­ tion in programming the next show. Those persons inter­ ested should be sure to consult the two previous notices ASUC MEMBERS IN ACTION regarding procedures (see Vol. 3, Nos. 2 and 3 of the Will Gay Bottje (Southern Illinois University) has two Newsletter). One modification is necessary: Joan Tower premieres this season to announce. On October 17 his will no longer be administering the project. Tapes of works Reflections for flute, harp, and tape received its first should be mailed instead to Barry Vercoe, Music Division, performance- at Southern Illinois University. New Febru­ 14N-229, M.I.T., Cambridge, Mass. 02139. ary 17 Bottje's music will be heard at Washington Univer­ sity on a program including his METAPHORS (Symphony No. 8) for large wind ensemble and tape. NEW POLICY FOR PROCEEDINGS (Princeton) and Barney Childs (University Marion Brown (Bowdoin College), acting in place of of Redlands, California), editors of the Society's Proceed­ Elliott Schwartz for 1971-72, will present seminars on ings, wish to inform members of a new facet of that Black Music and organize an improvisational ensemble. --,

Richard Bunger (California State College, Dominguez Chamber Singers production of Dream Thing on Biblical Hills) presented his newest work- Pianography, Fantasy on Episodes in Northampton, Mass., New York City, and I ~ a Theme by Fibonacci (1971 )- at the Berlin International South America, and Day of Desolation - commissioned by Festival in September. Pianist Bunger and violist Milton the University of Connecticut Concert Choir, John Poellein Thomas performed in concert and on radio in Germany, conducting. England, and Norway recently, including on their recitals works commissioned for Bunger by the Martha Baird Donald Macinnis (University of Virginia) is currently Rockefeller Fund. working on two new commissions. He is writing Variations for Cello and 2-Channel Tape for cellist George Niekrug and David Cohen (Arizona State University), in his new role the Kindler Foundation, Washington, D.C. , while com­ as President of the Society of Arizona Composers, has pleting a Toccata for Piano and 2-Channel Tape for pianist planned four concerts this season. Cohen is now writing a Content Sablinsky and the Virginia Music Teachers' Associ­ work for chorus and chamber orchestra commissioned by ation. the Phoenix Bach and Madrigal Society. Juan A. Orrego-Salas (Indiana University) will hear the Conrad De Jong (Wisconsin State University, River Falls) world premiere of his Variaciones serenas for string received the first performance of his ET ENRAKU (The orchestra in Santiago, Chile in November as part of a Upper Cloud Music) for carillon or piano August 2. The program of his works during the festival of contemporary piece was presented by Barney Childs on a Wisconsin music sponsored by the Catholic University of Santiago. His Contemporary Forum concert in Milwaukee. Volte for piano, 14 solo winds, harp , and percussion will premiere December II at the Eastman School of Music Sydney Hodkinson is currently on leave from the School under Walter Hendl. The work was commissioned as part of of Music of the University of Michgan to serve a second the 50th anniversary celebration of the School. Orrego­ Salas has just completed his Missa in tempore discordiae for year as composer-in-residence for the Twin Cities, Minne­ chorus tenor solo, 4 flutes, 4 clarinets, 4 trombones, 4 sota area under a grant from the Contemporary Music percussion, and strings, based on the ordinarium of the Project. He has recently received commissions from the Mass and texts by Chilean poet Vicente Huidobro. Philharmonic Society and Public School System of St. Paul, and the Civic Orchestra and the Centre Opera Company of Minneapolis. Raoul Pleskow (C . W. Post College, Long Island Univer­ Recent performances include Valence for Chamber sity) has written a new work for a Carnegie Hall concert Orchestra in St. Paul and Tanglewood, and Ritual for a December 10 featuring music by C. W. Post composers. His capella choir at the University of Kansas. Three Bagatelles will be played by pianist Anne Chamber­ This year he will serve as guest conductor for the St. lain on her New York recital November 7. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Minnesota Orchestra, and will continue conducting duties with the Comtemporary John E. Price (Florida Memorial College) has two pieces Directions Ensemble in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In May appearing in a forthcoming anthology of piano music by Hodkinson received a music award from the American black composers to be published by the MacMillan Com­ Institute of Arts and Letters. pany. Price is now working on a piano concerto for Natalie Henderas and an opera, to be called Right On Baby, to a Leo Kraft (Queens College) has recently been elected libretto by Lewis Allan. second vice-president of the College Music Society. As National Membership Chairman and a founding member of Francis J. Pyle (Drake University) has had five works ASUC, Kraft urges all ASUC members to join CMS and premiered and published during 1971 : Sinfonietta No. 1 for work w_ith the growing contingent of composers in that chamber orchestra, Sonata for flute and piano, Eight organization. His Partita #1 for piano, Partita #3 for Etudes for bass accordion, Three Psalms for orchestra, woodwind quintet, Five pieces for Clarinet and Piano, and chorus, and brass choir, and Canticle of the Sun for SATB Fantasy for Flute and Piano have been published by and brass sextet or piano. General Music of New York. Newton Strandberg (Sam Houston State University, Edwin London (University of Illinois) has just com­ Huntsville, Texas) is the first prize winner in the Kinetic pleted a work for male chorus and balloons commissioned Theatre contest sponsored by the 1971 Summer Arts by Amherst College: Polonius Platitudes will be performed Festival of Oregon College, Monmouth. The winning work by the Amherst chorus on tour in Africa and the Near East. is a Processional for 5 sopranos, string quartet, piano, His recent premieres include a Smith college/Princeton vibraphone, bass drum, and gong. ,,

NEW PUBLICATIONS October 3, Cornelius Cardew on October 18, and Herbert The Bowdoin College Music Press has recently published Brun December 1-3. five new works: William Bolcom's Duets for Quintet, Edwin London's Enter Madmen, Elliott Schwartz's Music for Wisconsin State University (River Falls) will hear new Prince Albert and Music for Nepoleon and Beethoven, and music November 11, February 3, and May 18 from its New John Rogers' Rotational Arrays. Works by William Al­ Music Ensemble, Conrad De Jong and Robert Samarotto bright, John Heiss, and Lawrence Widdoes will be issued in directing. The University has commissioned a new work by the near future. Scores may be ordered directly from the Mel Powell for an April premiere. Department of Music, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine 04011. COMPOSERS' FORUM SEASON 1971-72 Twice yearly a panel of three distinguished composers SYMPOSIUMS AND FESTIVALS selects seven persons to appear as part of the Composers' The Fourth Annual Contemporary Choral Music Sympo­ Forum series, held at the Donnell Library Auditorium, 20 sium will be held at the University of South Florida West 53rd Street, New York City. This year concerts will be (Tampa) January 28-29, 1972. Composers from the South­ held October 16 (music by Ulf Grahn and Makoto eastern Composers League have been invited to submit Shinohara), November 13 (Bo Lawergren and Bruce Say­ works for vocal ensemble or chorus. Music selected will be lor), December 18 (George Edwards and Bruce Mather), performed at the Symposium, for which William Schuman January 22 (William Komaiko and a second composer to be will serve as master composer-consultant and Gordon announced), February 19, March 18, and April 22 (com­ Johnson as host choral consultant and chairman. posers to be announced). Half of each concert is given to the works of one composer. At the end of the concert there is a question CONTEMPORARY MUSIC ON CAMPUS period. Tapes of the concerts and scores of the works are Arizona has two new grciups devoted to the performance sent to the American collection at the Lincoln Center of contemporary music : the Contemporary Ensemble of Library for the Performing Arts. Arizona State University (Tempe), directed by Frank Composers interested in appearing on a Forum program Spinosa, and the Northern Arizona University Contempo­ should send a representative selection of their works, rary Group (Flagstaff), directed by Thomas Clemen. perhaps not more than four selections, to Composers' Forum, 111 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10023. The University of Iowa's Center for New Performing Works for any medium may be submitted, but composers Arts (William Hibbard, director) has scheduled concerts in who are selected must be prepared to assemble a program Iowa City for October 9, October 30, November 14, lasting about 30 minutes and requiring no more than six December 5, February 6, March 5, March 19, and April 16. performers in all. The deadline for the Fall season is May 1 Considerable emphasis is being placed upon the perfor­ and for the Spring season November 1. mance of works written by composers at the University of Iowa, including five premieres of Iowa compositions. NEW MUSIC FOR TRUMPET Nazareth College of Rochester (New York) plans a novel Trumpeter Robert Anderson (SUNY, Stony Brook and sort of concert in February, according to Timothy Sullivan, CUNY, Brooklyn College), with pianist Robert Miller and who writes, "the concert (of short electronic concert conductor Jacques Monod, presented an October 6 concert pieces) will last less than one hour, will be held in a room of new music for trumpet at Alice Tully Hall in New York. which accomodates only a few people, and will be repeated New works premiered included those of Harvey Sollberge r several times during the evening. Meanwhile a separate for trumpet and piano, and Milton waiting room or 'fun room' will have continuous environ­ Babbitt for trumpet and tape, Justin Connolly for trumpet, mental music and visual elements for those waiting to hear piano, and tape, and Stefan Wolpe for trumpet and seven the concert. This event is one of several which have been instruments. aimed at solving the problem of presenting tape pieces in some sort of public concert."

Oberlin College (Ohio), utilizing a grant from the Ohio MUSIC FOR BLACK AMERICAN COMPOSERS Arts Council, has scheduled guest appearances of three The piano music of black American composers is the noted composers as part of its New Directions series this special subject of a project to collect, study, perform, and season. will be in residence September 28 to record such music now being conducted by research •

perfonner Felipe A. Hall (School of Music, University of INDEX OF NEW MUSICAL NOTATION Michigan). Mr. Hall invites composers to bring works to his A three-year project to establish an Index of New attention, either by letter or by sending scores to him for Musical Notation (described in the ASUC Newsletter, use in his lecture presentations and scheduled concerts and summer of 1970) has been funded by the Rockefeller recordings. Foundation and is now under way at the Research Library of the Performing Arts. The project will be directed by Kurt Stone, music editor, writer, and lecturer, with the assistance of Gerald Warfield, formerly of Princeton Univer­ sity. This undertaking, which focuses on the problems inher­ COMPETITIONS ent in the notational innovations found in much contempo­ Unperformed works for choir, chamber ensemble, or­ rary music, is presumed to be the first of its kind under the chestra, or electronic media are eligible for prizes running as auspices of a major library. It is the aim of the project to high as 4000 Dutch guilders in the International Gaudea­ examine pertinent scores in the library's present collection, mus Composers' Competition. Composers born after Janu­ to solicit additional material, published and unpublished ary 1, 1936 may obtain further information from Gaudea­ (from individuals as well as publishers), to categorize and mus, Bilthoven, The Netherlands. Deadline January 31, index the notational devices and systems utilized in these 1972. works, and to analyze and evaluate the findings. The results of this investigation will be presented at the next ASUC A listing of theater and multi-media pieces is being National Conference. Collaborative working relations with compiled by Dr. David E. Wallace, Office of Special publishers, institutions, and individuals have already been Programs, Oregon College of Education, Monmouth, Ore­ established in the United States and in Europe. gon 97361. Composers may submit their own works for the It is hoped that this increased communication among list, which is based on works submitted to the College's composers, editors, performers, educators, and music librar­ Summer Arts Festival Kinetic Theatre Presentation. ians will effect a degree of standardization in modern music notation. Such standards should greatly reduce the nota­ Information concerning the Queen Marie Jose Musical tional problems of today's (and tomorrow's) music and Prize Contest for Composers is available from the Secre­ facilitate its composition, performance, understanding, and tariat of the Contest, 1249 Merlinge (Gy), Switzerland. enjoyment. Deadline May 31, 1972. The index project was planned by a Music Library Association committee chaired by Kurt Stone. Other Composers 32 and younger may obtain information committee members are Frank Campbell, Chief of The New about the Concours International A. Casella from the York Public Library's Music Division, Richard French, Accademia Musicale Napolitana, Via S. Pasquale a Chiaia of music at Union Theological Semfoary, H. Wiley 62, I-Napoli (Italia). Deadline March 15, 1972. Hitchcock, professor of music at Hunter College and Thor Wood, Chief of The Research Library of the Performing Information concerning the VIth International Composi­ Arts at Lincoln Center. tion Contest sponsored by SIMC is available from the Comments or suggestions concerning any part of this Segreteria de! Concorso, Piazza Buenos Aires 20, 00198 project are welcome and should be sent to: Roma, Italy. The SIMC (Italian Society for Contemporary Kurt Stone, Director Music) contest is open in six categories (one act opera, Index of New Musical Notation-Music Division orchestra, chamber works using less than 36 players, the The New York Public Library at Lincoln Center same using less than 11 players, electronic or computer 111 Amsterdam Avenue music, and religious works in any of the other five areas). New York, New York 10023 Prizes as large as 3,000,000 Italian lira will be awarded. Deadline January 31, 1972. CHANGE OF ADDRESS Undergraduate and graduate composers from twelve Michael Babcock, Chicago Musical College, Roosevelt southeastern states are eligible for the Arnold Salop University, 430 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois Memorial Composition Prize or the Philip Slates Memorial 60605. Composition Prize, respectively. For infonnation write Dr. Allen Bonde, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Charles Knox, Vice-President, Southeastern Composers Massachusetts 01075. League, Georgia State University, 33 Gilmer Street, S.E., Sidney Hodkinson, 1716 Skillman Avenue, St. Paul, Atlanta, Georgia 30303. Deadline January 5, 1972. Minnesota 55113 (1971-72). Wendell Logan, 221 S. Dudley Street, Macomb, Illinois urge all of you to think about the kind of program you 61455. would want to attend next April 7-9. After thinking, write Donald Macinnis, Mcintire Department of Music, 112 to Bob Lewis or John Clough! Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va. Richmond Browne, Editor 22903. ASUC Newsletter Donald Martino, 107 Gainsborough Street, Boston, School of Music Mass. 02115. William Penn, Theory /Composition Department, East­ Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105 man School of Music, 26 Gibbs Street, Rochester, N.Y. 14604. Elliott Schwartz, 95 Wood Vale, London N.10, England (through March 1972), c/o Villa Schifanoia, Via Boccaccio, Florence, Italy (March through June, 1972). Theodore Snyder, Music Department, S.U.N.Y., Brock­ port, N.Y. Stephen L. Syverud, School of Music, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60201. Barry Vercoe, 11 Roundhill Road, Lexington, Mass. 02173. Gerald Warfield, 143 W. 74th Street (4A), New York, N.Y. 10023. THE AMERICAN SOCIETY Charles Whittenberg, Star Route at Upton Road, Mans­ OF UNIVERSITY COMPOSERS, INC. field Depot, Conn. 06251. A non-profit corporation in the state of New York. c/ o Department of Music Columbia University COMPOSITIONS AVAILABLE New York, N.Y. 10027 The Newsletter will publish notice of ASUC members' works available whenever space is free. Send particulars­ title, instrumentation, timing, terms, etc.- to the Editor. Executive Committee Richmond Browne, University of Michigan CONRAD DE JONG Barney Childs, University of Redland, California Aanraking (Contact) for solo trombone, more than three John Clough, University of Michigan minutes. · . ~ Paul Lansky, Princeton University Hist Whist for voice, flute, viola, and percussion, four John Rothgeb, University of Texas (Austin) minutes. Nicolas Roussakis, Columiba University Both works published by G. Schirmer, N.Y. Joan Tower, Columbia University Barry Vercoe, M.I.T. Gerald Warfield, Princeton University

EDITORIAL COMMENT National Council I sent a postcard to each of you in August to remind you I John Rogers, University of New Hampshire to send news and comment for this issue to me before II Allen Brings, Queens College September 10. Apparently the message "Fall deadline" was III Robert Hall Lewis, Goucher College, a bit too cryptic! Some funny replies were received . .. Johns Hopkins University next time I ask you for information, I'll be more specific. IV Donald Macinnis, University of Virginia The postcards worked, though, as they must: most of the V Richmond Browne, University of Michigan contents of the Newsletter are sent in by the members. VI Jeffrey Lerner, University of Houston Your reactions to David Burge's address (see the last VII David Burge (Chairman), University of Colorado Newsletter) are highly favorable. A common suggestion is VIII Richard Bunger, California State College for the Society to discuss theory at the forthcoming at Dominguez Hills Conference in Baltimore. Let me repeat the first page and IX Homer Keller, University of Oregon