The William Paterson University Department of Music presents New Music Series Peter Jarvis, director featuring Bill Schimmel at 70 with New Jersey Percussion Ensemble, B3+ (Brass Trio), Gene Pritsker and Bill Schimmel Monday, September 19, 2016, 7:00 PM Shea Center for the Performing Arts Co‐Presented with Composers Concordance Program Poumons d’ Acier (2016) * William Schimmel For Accordion and Three Percussionists NJPE John Ferrari, Peter Jarvis, Payton MacDonald ‐ Percussion William Schimmel ‐ Accordion Bronze Bossa (2016) * Dan Cooper For Mixed Ensemble B3+ John Clark, Franz Hackl & David Taylor NJPE Michael Aberback, Paul Carroll, John Ferrari, Payton MacDonald Gene Pritsker – Guitar, William Schimmel ‐ Accordion Peter Jarvis ‐ conductor Loving Zombies (2016) * William Schimmel Accordion Solo William Schimmel Solemnity (2016) * Gene Pritsker Mixed Chamber Ensemble B3+ John Clark, Franz Hackl, David Taylor NJPE Peter Jarvis – Vibraphone Paul Carroll, John Ferrari, Payton MacDonald ‐ Percussion William Schimmel – Accordion Gene Pritsker ‐ Conductor 70 (2016) * Payton MacDonald Concerto for Accordion and Percussion Ensemble NJPE Michael Aberback, Paul Carroll, John Ferrari, Jesse Gerbasi, Peter Jarvis, Gary Van Dyke William Schimmel – Accordion Payton MacDonald ‐ Conductor Stressor (2016) * Gene Pritsker Accordion Solo William Schimmel Side by Side (2016) * John Clark For Chamber Ensemble B3+ John Clark, Franz Hackl & David Taylor NJPE Michael Aberback, Paul Carroll, Sean Dello Monaco, John Ferrari, Payton MacDonald, Gary Van Dyke Gene Pritsker ‐ Guitar William Schimmel – Accordion Peter Jarvis ‐ Conductor Waltz Heteroclite (2016) * David Taylor For Accordion, Bass Trombone and Drum Set David Taylor – Bass Trombone, Peter Jarvis – Drum Set William Schimmel ‐ Accordion Polka Face (2016) * Franz Hackl Brass Trio Plus B3+ John Clark, Franz Hackl & David Taylor Peter Jarvis – Percussion William Schimmel ‐ Accordion Concerto for Accordion and Percussion Sextet (2016) * Peter Jarvis For Accordion and Percussion Ensemble NJPE Michael Aberback, Paul Carroll, Sean Dello Monaco, John Ferrari, Payton MacDonald, Gary Van Dyke William Schimmel – Accordion Peter Jarvis – Conductor Lucky Man (2016) *(arr. premiere) Greg Lake Microtonal Arrangement: William Schimmel William Schimmel – Bass Accordion and Vocals Peter Jarvis ‐ Percussion * = World Premiere Program Notes Poumons d’ Acier: William Schimmel The title on my piece translated means Steel Lungs. The style and mood reflects the French Neo classical period and the spray of references pay respect to the members of Le Six ‐ William Schimmel Bronze Bossa: Dan Cooper Composers Concordance, this presenting organization for contemporary music which i'm fortunate to co‐direct, owes its existence to artists such as Bill Schimmel and Peter Jarvis, who've been associated with the series since its founding over thirty years ago. Bill was in fact the composition teacher of one of CompCord's founding directors! Bill has brought to innumerable concert programs not only amazing performances & compositions, but also invaluable mentorship. We look forward to continued collaboration. Happy 70th Birthday Bill! Hope you dig this new bossa nova tune i wrote, entitled 'Bronze Bossa!’. – Dan Cooper Loving Zombies: William Schimmel Loving Zombies was conceived as a result of me watching (in a half light) Ray Donovan on late nite TV (I happen to be playing in the soundtrack). On this particular episode was a wonderful cover of Time of the Season by the Zombies. That night I hear in my dream a new version. I wake up and I write it down and realized that I turned my dream into a REALITY. Loving Zombies is just that ‐ and a tribute to the wonderful 60's band ‐ The Zombies. ‐ William Schimmel Solemnity: Gene Pritsker The word solemnity is used for occasions that are all about seriousness and dignity. The music is ceremonial that develops one percussion groove idea and one melodic idea. They move together solemnly, reacting to each other and evolving slowly. The percussive part of the music only uses 3 instruments: Cabasa, Djembe and a Tambourine. The vibraphone, accordion, horn and bass trombone are the quartet that set the harmonic and melodic language of the music. It is a procession with a grave undertone, a mood that reflected my feelings while writing this music, shortly after the passing of my friend of 16 years, my dog Poochini. I am sure though, that this is not the last tribute I will write for him, for my feelings are strong and consistently reveal themselves in the music I create. ‐ Gene Pritsker 70: Payton Macdonald I composed 70 for Bill Schimmel and the New Jersey Percussion Ensemble in honor of Bill's seventieth birthday. I used the number 7 in various ways to generate and develop musical material, in honor of Bill's seven extraordinary decades. ‐ Payton MacDonald Stressor: Gene Pritsker Stressor for solo accordion plays with the rhythm stress points of the accompaniment while presenting a fun uninhibited melody. These 2 ideas are developed throughout in virtuosic accordion writing and bring us to a stress free conclusion. ‐ Gene Pritsker Side to Side: John Clark Side to Side is an unabashed 1980's ‐ type funk vamp that provides a challenging backdrop for a soloist or soloists. The tonality and the patterns change at regular intervals to keep things interesting. Feel free to dance in your seat, get up and dance or just bob your head from Side to Side! ‐ John Clark Concerto for Accordion and Percussion Sextet: Peter Jarvis Concerto for Accordion and Percussion Sextet was completed on June 16, 2016 and is happily dedicated to William Schimmel. This is my third concerto for percussion sextet and soloist. The first, from 2011, is with vibraphone solo composed for John Ferrari, the second from 2016, is with frame drums solo composed for Glen Velez and this; my third is with accordion and was composed for William Schimmel. All three pieces were composed with the New Jersey Percussion Ensemble in mind, which silently shares the dedication. ‐ Peter Jarvis Lucky Man: Greg Lake (arr. William Schimmel) Even with Emerson, Lake and Palmer's Progressive 70's Rock takes Classical Compositions, Lucky Man by Greg Lake was their biggest hit. Upon hearing about Keith Emerson's death, I started to explore Lucky Man on my Bass Accordion which is well broken in to achieve Microtones by bellows manipulation. Adding a kind of vocals that resembled speaking in tongues, I started to move into vocal microtones. And the final result is a tribute to ELP and of course Keith Emerson ‐ William Schimmel Biographical Information William Schimmel (born 1946) is one of the principal architects in the resurgence of the accordion, the revival of the Tango in America, and the philosophy of "Musical Reality” (composition with pre‐existing music.) He holds Bachelor of Music:. Master of Science and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in composition from the Juilliard School where he studied with Elliot Carter, Vincent Persichetti, Roger Sessions, Hugo Weisgall, Luciano Berio and a diploma from the Neupauer Conservatory of Music in performance and composition where he studied with Dr. Jacob C Neupauer, Lotta Hertlein, David Lampe and Paul Creston. He is a prolific composer with nearly 4000 works in many mediums including, Broadway, Off Broadway, Solo, Chamber Music, Music Theatre and Performance Art. His music has been performed by/at The Houston Symphony, The Orchestra of St. Lukes, The Grand Rapids Symphony, The Juilliard Symphony, The Pennsylvania Sinfonia, WBAI Free Music Store, The Juilliard Ensemble, The New Juilliard Ensemble, The Grand Teton Festival Orchestra, The Westchester Philharmonic, Serious Fun at Lincoln Center, The Washington Square Chamber Players, Parnassus, The Absolute Ensemble, The Soldier String Quartet, The Sonic Boom Festival, The Sirius String Quartet, The Knitting Factory, Composers' Collaborative, Composers' Concordance, HiFi New Music Festival, Riverside Church, Union and General Theological Seminaries, St Patrick's Cathedral, Merkin Concert Hall, Carnegie Hall, New York. Chamber Ensemble, The Music Theatre Group, The Quog Music Theatre (founding member with Eric Salzman), The No Smoking Playhouse (composer in residence), The American Place Theatre, The Edinburgh Festival, The Long Wharf Theatre, The Steppenwolf Theatre, The West Bank, The John Houseman Theatre, The Studio‐Muse Dance/Music/Theatre (founding member with Micki Goodman La Mama Etc. The Cell Theatre, The Tenri Cultural Institute, The New Tango Project (founding member with Eric Salzman), Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, The Caramoor Festival, The Punk Accordion Summit, Circle In the Square Uptown (Broadway), numerous soloists and, of course, himself. He performs music in many genres, has commissioned and premiered literally hundreds of new works, has written a number of books and articles and has made numerous recordings and videos. He is also the subject of a number of scholarly dissertations, books and articles. He has received grants from the American Music Center, Meet The Composer, two teaching fellowships from The Juilliard School, Two Rodgers and Hammerstein Scholarships from The Juilliard School and The Dr. Albert Szmari Scholarship, also from Juilliard. He received a Composers' Citation from The American Accordionists' Association in honor of his composition, The Spring Street Ritual, which was the test piece for the 1979 Coupe Mondiale World Competition. He received The C onfederations international Association Merit Award for his contributions