Performances of New Music: Composer/Performer Collaborations

FIFTY-FIFTH NATIONAL CONFERENCE PERFORMANCES OF NEW MUSIC: COMPOSER/PERFORMER COLLABORATIONS Arthur Gottschalk ! Concert Manager Saturday, November 17, 2012 4:00 p.m. Manchester Grand Hyatt Elizabeth A San Diego, California PROGRAM In Threes ........................................ M. Shawn Hundley (Bethune–Cookman University) The PEN Trio In Threes refers to several ongoing ideas in this work. A few of them are quite obvious; others are left to the discretion of the listener. Essentially, the work begins with a recurring tutti separated by a solo section for each instrument. The music is never restated exactly the same way twice and gets a little more agitated each time. The final solo for the bassoon leads directly into the concluding section, which has some features reminiscent of the fugue. This work is dedicated to the PEN Trio and was premiered in October 2011. Piano Trio No. 1 ................. Wendy Wan-Ki Lee (The Chinese University of Hong Kong) The Jung Trio This work is inspired by a classic Chinese folk tale of bravery, loyalty, and love. “Yang Sheng’s Dog and the Well” depicts the inseparable, lifelong companionship between a man and his faithful dog. In the T’ai-ho period of the Chin Dynasty, there was a young businessman named Yang Sheng who had a smart and loyal dog. One evening, Yang became drunk, and fell asleep on the grass. Suddenly a strong wind started to blow, and with it carried a little spark, which caused the dry grass that Yang was sleeping on to catch a fire. His dog was with him at the time and barked incessantly, hoping that it could alert Yang. However, its master was still fast asleep. As the fire was burning closer, the clever dog decided to dash off to a nearby river, soak its body wet, and shake off the water onto the grass next to Yang so that the fire can be subsided. This was only one of the many incidents recorded in the folk tale that this legendary dog has rescued its master from life-threatening dangers. Opening with a “naïve” piano solo played on the white keys, this work intends to capture a musical journey that is as emotional and powerful as the courage, trust, and unconditional love that exist between Yang Sheng and his dog. I Forget What Eight Was For ..... William M. Price (University of Alabama–Birmingham) The Extreme Duo I Forget What Eight Was For was influenced by my past and current interest in serial and non-serial atonality, Existentialism, and the music of Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, The Violent Femmes and Tom Waits. The piece is constructed using several three-note and four-note pitch cells, in particular, pitch class sets (016) and (0147). Furthermore, each member of (016) is used as important tonal center (Eb, E, and A). Formally, this three-part work features an imbedded musical structure that focuses on the interruption of the overall narrative. Opposites Attract ........................................................ James Lentini (Miami University) II. Dance of the Yin-Yang Rawlins Piano Trio The second movement employs many of the elements of “opposing” and “attracting” musical ideas that appear in the first movement, but within a more forceful aggressive, and playful structure. There is a rhythmic sense of forward motion that permeates the movement, with lines bouncing in contrary motion that are often interrupted by sharp accented chords from the piano. A center section of the piece offers a more lyrical excursion to contrast the fast-moving opening, eventually leading to a syncopated dance-like motive that appears in various rhythmic formations, often alternating with a musical idea similar to the opening of the piece. The work displays my varied musical influences and interests, including a fascination with both tonal and non-tonal music, lyrical melodies, rhythmic vitality, and blended characteristics of classical, jazz, and other idioms. In my mind, many different styles of well-crafted music share a core quality when performed with commensurate musicality, passion, and care. PROGRAM Swarm ........................................ Aleksander Sternfeld-Dunn (Wichita State University) Scott/Garrison Duo swarm: noun 1. a body of honeybees that emigrate from a hive and fly off together, accompanied by a queen, to start a new colony. 2. a body of bees settled together, as in a hive. Swarm was commissioned by the Scott/Garrison Duo. Each movement reflects on imagery of the honey bee. COMPOSER BIOGRAPHIES Hundley, M. Shawn Dr. M. Shawn Hundley teaches theory and composition and serves as chair of the Department of Music at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida. Previously, he taught composition at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. His works have been performed at numerous festivals and conferences. Recent honors include second prize in the Eppes competition for his string quartet Evocations, a Charles Ives Scholarship from the Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Arch Composition Award for Surface Tensions, a work for wind ensemble performed at the University of Georgia. Disambiguation for solo clarinet was performed at ClarinetFest in Austin, Texas and most recently Hundley received a commission from the Florida State Music Teachers Association to write a new work for piano. Hundley received his BM degree from Radford University and master’s and doctorate degrees from Florida State University. His teachers include Bruce Mahin, Daniel Crozier, Mark Camphouse, Ladislav Kubik, and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. Lee, Wendy Wan-Ki Wendy Wan-Ki Lee is a composer-pianist-theorist. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Music Composition at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and has held teaching positions at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and State University of New York at Binghamton prior coming to Hong Kong. While on full scholarship, Wendy received her Ph.D. in Composition and Theory from the University of Michigan. As a composer, Wendy is the recipient of numerous commissions and honors, such as those from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Aspen Music Festival, Banff School of Arts, Florence Gould Foundation, Hong Kong Arts Development Council, Hong Kong Composers’ Guild, Orford Arts Centre, Renée B. Fisher Composer Award, Government of Canada, and many others. Her music has been performed at important venues, and at music meetings such as: IAWM Congress, International Double Bass Festival, Musicarama, International Tuba/Euphonium Conference, SCI National Conference, and others. As a pianist, Wendy received FTCL of the Trinity College of Music in London, and ARCT of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. She has premiered pieces by living composers, and conducted lecture- recitals at such institutions as the University of Cambridge, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, and University of Sydney. As a theorist, Wendy is interested in interdisciplinary research, and has presented at international conferences, such as those organized by the Asian Composers’ League, College Music Society, International Society of Contemporary Music, University of Chicago Beijing Center, University of Missouri New Music Festival, and MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music. Lentini, James Award-winning composer and guitarist James Lentini is a recipient of the Segovia International Composition Prize, the McHugh Composition Prize, and the Bluffton University Choral Competition (first prize), in addition to awards from Meet the Composer and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). A new CD of his works entitled Orchestra Hall Suite has recently been released on the Naxos American Classics Series, and his music also appears on the Capstone, MMC, and CRS recording labels. His composition entitled The Four Seasons for classical guitar was recently published by Mel Bay in their Contemporary Anthology of Solo Guitar Music for Five Fingers of the Right Hand. Lentini’s works have been performed by distinguished solo artists such as guitarist William Kanengiser and recorded by ensembles that include the Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra, Bohuslav Martinù Philharmonic Orchestra, and the St. Clair Trio. Members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra have regularly performed his works, and commissions include those for the Hanson Institute for American Music and the Plymouth Symphony. He has participated as a juror in the Segovia International Guitar Competition in La Herradura, Spain, and he has been a Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome. In 2007, Dr. Lentini accepted an appointment as Dean and Professor of Music of the School of Fine Arts at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. COMPOSER BIOGRAPHIES Price, William M. William Price is Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he teaches courses in music theory, aural skills, and composition. Dr. Price has presented guest lectures and papers at several national and international conferences, including the 2010 Beyond the Centres Conference in Thessaloniki, Greece, the 2011 Society of American Music and International Association for the Study of Popular Music National Conference, and the 2011 College Music Society International Conference in Seoul. His research interests include Postmodern American music, temporal and textual dissonance, and the music of Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, and John Zorn. As a composer, Price’s music has been performed in Europe, South America, Asia, and throughout the United States. His works have been featured prominently at such venues and events as the International Trumpet Guild Conference, the International

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