Advancing Percussion Through Composition Interviews with Emerging Percussionist-Composers by Oliver Molina
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Advancing Percussion Through Composition Interviews with emerging percussionist-composers By Oliver Molina n March 18, 2014 Dr. Dave Gerhart principal songwriting instrument. Once I I didn’t want to play anything other guys in posted a blog on drumchattr.com got to Eastman for my undergrad percussion the studio were playing, so when my teacher highlighting thoughts of Dr. John studies, I started transferring my songwrit- suggested some pieces that were already be- Lane from the PASIC 2013 session ing background to more formal “academic” ing played, I asked if I could write something O“Four Manifestos of the Percussive Artist.” Dr. compositions. myself instead, and he went for it. Lane listed five points in his lecture that ad- Brian Blume: I first began composing caden- Joe Moore: I started composing during my dressed five problems suppressing the advance- ces, exercises, short features for marching undergraduate studies at the University of ment of the percussive artist. band shows, etc. for my high school drum- Central Florida. As a percussion student I After reading the blog post I pondered the line. More substantial composing experience was required to write a short composition current state of percussion and where it will be came during college when I began writing for a specified percussion instrument each in the future. I started to think about today’s for indoor percussion ensembles—my first semester. My sophomore year I was required composers who are advancing the percussive experience writing for melodic percussion. to compose a short multiple percussion work arts, and I compiled a list of emerging percus- I got my start writing concert percussion X-amount of measures long, so I decided to sionist-composers who I believed are starting music when I needed a multi-percussion write a multiple percussion duet based on to add to the current musical canon. I wanted solo for a recital and had trouble finding one the number 5. I titled the work “Dimension to pick their brains about their backgrounds, I liked. So my teacher said, “Just write one!” 5” and performed it on my junior recital with composing, how they have developed as a com- And I did! percussionist Chris McWilliams. I sent the poser, and where they think the direction of Baljinder Sekhon: My first composition was score and recording to Innovative Percussion percussion composition is going. a piece for solo snare drum when I was nine Publications on a whim. They published the The composers chosen for interview have years old. I brought it to my private teacher, work, and from that point I decided that if I won the PAS composition contest, started Myles Overton, during one of my percussion was going to be serious about composing I their own publishing house, have their music lessons and was very excited about the idea should actually study the art of composition. published through various publishing compa- that I could write music down on manu- Andy Akiho: As a percussionist, I have al- nies, have been commissioned on numerous script. This was followed by numerous etudes ways wanted to create and invent. Because occasions, and have had works premiered at for a variety of percussion instruments that we are constantly asked to find or build PASIC. The composers interviewed were Andy I continued to work on throughout middle instruments, invent sounds, improvise, and Akiho, Brian Blume, Joe Moore, Brian Nozny, school. My first “serious” piece wasn’t un- conceptualize percussion setups, we are con- Baljinder Sekhon, and Ivan Trevino. til I was 15 or 16 when I set some texts by stantly situated in what I think is a composi- Andy Akiho is a Ph.D. candidate at Princ- William Blake and wrote my first chamber tional mindset. I never knew that was a path eton University in New Jersey. Brian Blume is orchestra piece. Beyond my earliest works towards becoming a real composer, but I am the Instructor of Percussion at Southeastern for percussion, I did not focus on composing really happy it ended up that way. University in Lakeland, Florida. Joe Moore is for percussion during the most important the instructor of percussion at the University stages of my development as a composer. I Molina: What is your compositional back- of Texas – Rio Grande Valley. Brian Nozny is was more focused on composing for a wide ground? on percussion faculty at Troy University in Ala- range of instruments and only moved back Trevino: Composing is something I grew into. bama. Baljinder Sekhon serves on the composi- to serious percussion writing when I felt my I didn’t major in composition in college, so tion faculty at the University of South Florida creative skills could be applied to the medi- I kind of learned by doing. My songwriting in Tampa. Ivan Trevino is a percussionist and um in a way that would contribute a unique background definitely helped, and it helped rock drummer residing in Austin, Texas. voice to our field. that I was immersed in all kinds of music, Brian Nozny: When I was in high school I both classical and non classical, which I Oliver Molina: When and how did you get wrote some things for the rock band I was think formed my own sound and style. I was your start with composing? in, but I didn’t really start composing seri- also lucky to have John Beck as a percussion Ivan Trevino: I started songwriting in high ously until I got to college. The first piece teacher at Eastman, who supported my pas- school for a punk band I played in. I play I wrote was a marimba solo called “Away” sion for composing and encouraged me to a bit of guitar, which at the time was my when I was an undergrad. I had this idea that bring my compositions in to our lessons for PERCUSSIVE NOTES 22 MAY 2016 I have written works for several different instruments and ensembles. My solo instru- ment catalogue includes works for flute, A new combination of oboe, E-flat clarinet, alto clarinet, bass clari- net, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, horn, tuba, piano, electric guitar, banjo, harp, instruments inspires me to toy piano, hammered dulcimer, soprano (voice), multiple percussion, cowbell, cro- accept the challenge of tales, glockenspiel, marimba, vibraphone, snare drum, timpani, congas, kalimba, tam- bourine, and waterphone. writing for something As far as ensembles go, my catalogue includes works for orchestra, band, string unfamiliar.—Andy Akiho quartet, woodwind quintet, percussion ensemble, and several mixed chamber ensembles. I have composed works for Hamiruge – the LSU Percussion Group, the Iowa City Percussion Group, the Denkyem him to listen to and critique. I never thought composition. There my main composition Percussion Group, the Rosewind Duo – Scott that composing music would be such a big teacher was Jon Polifrone, though I also Herring and Clifford Leaman, Brett William part of my life, but now I can’t imagine a life studied with Kent Holliday and jazz compo- Dietz, Brandon Arvay, Gustavo Miranda and without creating music. I’ve written over 30 sition with Chip McNeill. I then went to the Deborah Sophia (percussion and violin duo), works for the percussion genre, and some of University of Miami where I got a Masters Aaron Railey, Daniel Heagney, Kathryn Ir- the performers and groups I’ve written for in Composition studying with Don Wil- win and Emily Strachan, Kids’ Orchestra of include Michael Burritt, Dr. Eric Willie, Phil- son and electro-acoustic composition with Baton Rouge, the Dauphine Street Duo (Dan lip O’Banion, Eastman School of Music, Ten- Keith Kothman. At the University of North Heagney, percussion and Bethany Padgett, nessee Tech University, Novus Percurtere, Texas, where I got my masters degree in flute), the Rio Bravo Percussion Ensemble, and Escape 10 Percussion Duo. I also write performance, graduate students are required the UTB Marimba Quartet, Oliver Molina, for non-percussionists and am one of the to have a minor concentration so I studied Robert Giovanelli and Patrick Chapman principal composers for Break of Reality, a more electro-acoustic composition with (percussion duo), and Holly Brewer (flutist). cello rock band out of New York City. Dave Gedosh, Jon Nelson, and Chapman Akiho: I am currently working on a Ph.D. in Blume: After getting my start writing for in- Welch. composition at Princeton University, where door percussion, I began writing for concert While in college I wrote for just about ev- I have studied with Steven Mackey, Paul percussion—solo and ensemble—while erything except strings. Now though, I pretty Lansky, Dan Trueman, Dmitri Tymoczko, studying with Kevin Bobo, David Schneider, much stick to percussion. I’ve been commis- and Donnacha Dennehy. From 2009–11, I and Aaron Travers during undergraduate sioned by the Caixa Trio, Omar Carmenates, studied with David Lang, Martin Bresnick, and graduate studies at Indiana University. I the Denkyem Percussion Group, the Florida Christopher Theofanidis, and Ezra Lader- have composed or arranged over 25 indoor State University Percussion Ensemble, Adam man at Yale School of Music. My first official or marching band shows, a variety of concert Groh, Scott Herring, the MASS Marimba composition teacher was Julia Wolfe, whom I percussion works, two choral works, a few Band, Nexus, the University of Kentucky studied with while attending the Manhattan fixed electronics pieces, and music for televi- Percussion Ensemble, the University of School of Music from 2007–09. I have also sion commercials, which have aired on CBS, North Texas Percussion Ensemble, and the worked with Christopher Rouse and Mat- ESPN, Big Ten Network, and MTV. Troy University Percussion Ensemble. thias Pintscher at the 2011 Aspen Summer Sekhon: My formal composition training came Moore: At UCF I studied composition with Jay Music Festival.