Thelema Trio
Ward De Vleeschhouwer, piano
Rik De Geyter, clarinets
Peter Verdonck, saxophones
Guest Artist Recital
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
7:30 pm
Organ Hall, Music Building
Program
Hypnosis (in another room) Juan María Solare
for tenor saxophone, clarinet and piano (Argentina)
Somniloquy Ellen Lindquist
for saxophone (tenor/baritone), clarinet (Bb/bass) and piano (USA)
Ouckosz @ Lilith Sebastian Bradt
for alto saxophone, clarinet (Bb/bass) and piano (Belgium)
Sharpie (world premiere) Mark Engebretson
for clarinet (Bb/bass, saxophone (alto/baritone) and piano (USA)
Dingle Way Ward De Vleeschhouwer
for alto saxophone, clarinet and piano (Belgium)
neither from nor towards (ballade) Eric Honour
for baritone saxophone, clarinet and piano (USA)
An Unspeakable Hunch Michiel De Malsche
for baritone saxophone, bass clarinet and piano (Belgium)
Clarmaggeddon Peter Verdonck
for baritone saxophone, clarinet and piano (Belgium)
Program Notes and Biographies
Juan Maria Solare
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Solare studied and received his diploma in piano (María
Teresa Criscuolo), composition (Fermina Casanova, Juan Carlos Zorzi) and conducting
(Mario Benzecry) at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música Carlos López Buchardo. He
also studied privately with Francisco Kröpfl. Between 1993 and 1996 he undertook
postgraduate studies on Composition at the Musikhochschule in Cologne (Germany) under
the guidance of Johannes Fritsch, Clarence Barlow, and Mauricio Kagel, in the frame of a
scholarship of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Between October 1997
and February 1999, he did postgraduate studies with Helmut Lachenmann in Stuttgart.
(Between July 1998 and June 1999 he held a scholarship from the Heinrich-Strobel
Foundation (Baden-Baden).) Between 1999 and 2001 studied electronic music with Hans
Ulrich Humpert in Cologne, with Diploma. From June 2001 until May 2002 he was
composer in residence at the Künstlerhäuser Worpswede (Art colony in Worpswede),
Germany. In April 2005 he obtained the title "Licenciado en Composición" (Master degree)
from the Instituto Universitario Nacional del Arte (IUNA) in Buenos Aires. Since 1993 he
has regularly attended and participated in seminars given by Karlheinz Stockhausen. He
passed the Konzertexamen (master) in electroacoustic composition at the Musikhochschule
in Cologne on 5 December 2007. Currently he is working on a PhD in music education at
the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
Ellen Lindquist
The music of Ellen Lindquist is performed regularly throughout the United States, Canada,
and Europe (Sweden, England, Scotland, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria), and has also
been performed in South Korea, the Philippines, and South Africa. Discovery of unique
sound-worlds through collaboration is central in much of Ellen's work; several of her pieces
are collaborative projects involving dance, theater, poetry, and performance art. Ellenʼs
work has been heard at venues such as Carnegie Hall, The United Nations, The Cathedral
Church of St. John the Divine (New York), the Västerås Konserthus (Sweden), and the
Royal Northern College of Music (England). Past commissions range from solo and
chamber pieces to choral and orchestral works. Currently, Ellen is working on a new piece
for music-theatre produced by Companion Star, based on the work of Swedish poet Tomas
Tranströmer. With its international ensemble Companion Star has presented work-in-progress
performances of drömseminarium (dreamseminar) in both Sweden and New York.
(The premiere is slated for 2011 in Sweden.) drömseminarium has been featured on
Swedish television, and on both Swedish and American radio. Recent grants to support
Ellenʼs work on the piece while living in Sweden include fellowships from the American
Scandinavian Foundation and the American Swedish Institute (the Malmberg Scholarship),
and development funding from The New York State Council on the Arts. She has been
invited for multiple residencies at the Visby International Centre for Composers (Sweden),
the Banff Centre for the Arts (Canada), and the International Ceramic Research Center
(Denmark; a collaboration with ceramic artist Henny Linn Kjellberg to develop porcelain
percussion instruments), and has served as composer-inresidence at Mälardalen University
(Sweden). Ellen has been invited to speak about her work live and in radio interviews in the
US, Canada, Sweden, and Denmark. Her work is published by Marimba Productions, Inc.,
and Apple Mountain Music Press (ASCAP). Go Fish Music has released Thomas Burrittʼs
solo CD titled All Times Identical , with his recording of her solo marimba work Scorned as
Timber, Beloved of the Sky. As a pianist, Ellen has performed as chamber musician and
accompanist in the US, Canada, and Europe. She was a co-founder of the Musiciansʼ
Alliance for Peace (MAP), and co-organized MAPʼs anual Music for Peace Project, a global
network of concerts for peace. During the years 2004-2007, 350 concerts dedicated to
peace were performed in 30 countries. Ellen holds degrees from Middlebury College (BA in
composition and www.thelematrio.com piano performance) and Stony Brook University (MA
and PhD in composition). She has most recently served as visiting professor at the Gotland
School of Music Composition in Sweden, and now lives in the Netherlands. A deep respect
for and love of the natural world is reflected in her work.
Sebastian Bradt
From 1995 to 1998, he studied bassoon, piano and music theory at the Art Gymnasium of
Ghent. He later on continued studying komposition and orchestration at the Royal
Conservatory of Ghent with Lucien Posman, Luc Brewaeys and Godfried - Willem Raes.
During this period, he wrote several pieces in various styles and genres, flamboyantly
discussed the basics of the craft with musicians from the local music scenes and attended
masterclasses with Louis Andriessen and David Rowland in Amsterdam. In 2002, he
became one of the finalists at the Aquarius komposition Contest with his orchestral work
Morph (his second symphony). This piece was premiered in Bruges by the Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra of Flanders, conducted by Lucas Vis. In 2003, he graduated at the
Conservatory, became connected with the Logos Foundation for experimental and
electronic music http://www.logosfoundation.org) and developped a steady interest in the
M&M Robot Orchestra, established by Godfried - Willem Raes. This Robot Orchestra, in
which the forces of Man's musical imagination and the sharp preciseness of Machines fully
are combined, has intrigued him for the years to come. Until now, he gathered a huge
amount of kompositions and orchestrations of pieces by Perotin, Gesualdo, Bach,
Holbourne, Beethoven, Ravel, Weill, Stravinsky, Ives, Nancarow, Andriessen, Monk, Zappa
and Ligeti, up to 21st century bands as Kraftwerk, Jimi Hendrix, Radiohead, Massive
Attack, Marylin Manson, and many others. Since 2006, his own kompositions undergo a
severe conceptual and personal approach called 'Bradtpack'; being fed up with the
multiplicity of soundclips on the internet and far beyond, Bradt decided to make music by
only his own, physical means: analogue to the Danish movie manifesto Dogme 95, every
sound - source has to be produced, morphed, edited, mixed and mastered by the maker
himself. In that way, the maker must be able to play all instruments required and try to be
consequent in combining them decently. The process includes also the booklet, cover,
photography of the record as well as the requirement that titles must be derived from his
own dreams. He also has written soundtracks for animation movies, for orchestra, chamber
ensembles and for fireworks.
Mark Engebretson
Mark Engebretson (b. 1964) is Associate Professor of Composition and Electronic Music at
the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He is a recipient of major commissions
from Harvard Universityʼs Fromm Music Foundation, and the Thomas S. Kenan Center for
the Arts. His compositions have been presented at festivals such as SEAMUS (Society for
Electroacoustic Music in the United States), SCI (Society of Composers) National and
Regional conferences, ICMC (International Computer Music Conference), Bowling Green
Festival of New Music and Art, Third Practice Festival (University of Richmond), Wien
Modern (Vienna), Gaida Festival (Vilnius, Lithuania), Sonoimagenes (Buenos Aires)
Hörgänge Festival (Vienna), Ny Musikk (Bergen, Norway), Indiana State University New
Music Festival (Terre Haute, Indiana), the Florida Electroacoustic Music Festival, ISCM
Festivals (Tirana, Albania and Baku, Azerbaijan), the UNCG New Music Festival and World
Saxophone Congresses (Pesaro, Italy, Montreal, Canada, Minneapolis, Minnesota and
Ljubljana, Slovenia).
Performances include premieres by the flute and percussion duo Due East, UNCGʼs
EastWind Ensemble (Carnegie Hall), the Casella Sinfonietta, Tadeu Coelho and the Prism
Saxophone Quartet, the SUNY Fredonia Wind Ensemble at a College Band Directorʼs
National Organization (CBDNA) regional conference, the Wroclaw (Poland) Philharmonic
Orchestra, a presentation by the Jacksonville Symphony and a three-night, sold out
engagement featuring Winter Ashes, with dance and video by John Gamble. Since itʼs
completion in January 2006, SaxMax for saxophone and interactive electronics has
received at least twenty performances.
She Sings, She Screams for alto saxophone and digital media has been performed
countless times worldwide, and has been released on three commercial compact disc
recordings, two of which are on the Innova label. SaxMax was released in 2009 by Susan
Fancher on Innova 736 and recorded by James Romain for another pending release. Other
works on CD include Nesseln (Arizona University Recordings Americanʼs Millennium
Tribute to Adolphe Sax, Volume VIII, AUR CD 3121); Duo Concertante (recorded twice);
and Events (to be included on FEMF vol. 2 proceedings disc). A composer-feature disc
entitled Where Does Love Go? was released in 2007 on Innova 645.
Dr. Engebretson taught composition at the University of Florida, music theory at the SUNY
Fredonia and 20th-century music history at the Eastman School of Music. He studied at the
University of Minnesota (graduating Summa cum Laude), the Conservatoire de Bordeaux
(as a Fulbright Scholar), and Northwestern University, where he received the Doctor of
Music degree. At Northwestern he studied composition with M. William Karlins, Pauline
Oliveros, Marta Ptaszynska, Michael Pisaro, Stephen Syverud and Jay Alan Yim and
saxophone with Frederick Hemke. His teachers in France were Michel Fuste-Lambezat and
Jean-Marie Londeix.
Eric Honour
Eric C. Honour, Jr. (b. 1970) is an associate professor of music and director of the Center
for Music Technology at the University of Central Missouri, in Warrensburg, Missouri. His
compositions have been performed across the United States, in Greece, Belgium, London,
Budapest, and Bologna, including performances at regional, national, and international
festivals and conferences. He is affiliated with the classical music division of Broadcast
Music, Inc. (BMI) and his music has been published by Roncorp, Inc. and recorded on
Capstone Records. He has won widespread recognition in competitions for both
composition and performance, including the SCI National Composition Competition, the
MTNA Collegiate Artist (both woodwind & composition) competitions, and the ASCAP
Morton Gould Awards to Young Composers competitions. His music has been performed
by such notable artists as Quintet Attacca, Q-02, Quintet of the Americas, Winston Choi,
Mia Hynes, and Quartetto Musicattuale. His composition teachers have included M. William
Karlins, Stephen Syverud, John Anthony Lennon, Jay Alan Yim, and Budd Udell. He
completed the Doctor of Music degree in composition at Northwestern University in 2004.
He earned his master's degree in saxophone and composition at Northwestern in 1997,
studying saxophone with Frederick Hemke and Jonathan Helton. He was awarded a
bachelor's degree in saxophone and composition with highest honors as well as the
Performer's Certificate by the University of Florida in 1995.
Michiel De Malsche
Michiel De Malsche (born in 1982) is a Belgian composer who`s active in the European
music-scene. He writes music for contemporary ensembles, youth orchestra's,
contemporary dance-productions, theater, art-exhibitions, art-movies, etc. inGermany,
Turkey, The Netherlands, Belgium & Spain and wrote his first compositions at the age of
14. He studied Jazz-Piano & Arrangement with Bart Van Caneghem and got a Master
Degree in Classical Composing in the conservatory of Ghent, where Dirk Brosse was his
teacher. At the moment he's writing an opera and is finishing his first symphony. He wrote
music for Das Oldenburgisches Staatstheater, Theater aan Het Vrijthof, De Kopergietery,
Fabuleus, D`AMOR, Floor, Lovemonk Records, Chez Records, E.Penguin-Records & many
more. Check out some of his music on www.myspace.com/michieldemalsche
Thelema Trio
… an unusual ensemble that believes in music without boundaries. They want to promote
and perform new music from the 21st century and use their unique instrumentation beyond
the borders of their classical training, which has made them a voice for many contemporary
composers. Their program offers a wide range of styles, new performance techniques, and
a chance for each performer to really shine and strut performance chops that seem endless
and yet continued to grow with each new piece you hear. Within diverse contemporary
composition styles going from a filmic blaze of colors, and an orchestral lushness to the
energy and power of avant-garde, in which emotion and story are primary and thoughts can
roam free. The trioʼs sound comes from a unique combination of piano, clarinet and
saxophone. It is an inviting, engaging and constantly surprising sound that bears memories
of the trioʼs contrasting backgrounds, as well as their travels around the world. The
Thelema Trio has played at big-name festivals and in famous concert halls in Belgium
(Bijloke Muziekcentrum, Handelsbeurs), Italy, Japan (International Clarinet Festival in
Tama, Tokyo), the Netherlands (November Music), Peru (2nd and 3rd International Festival
of Contemporary Music in Lima) and the United States (27th Annual New Music & Art
Festival in Bowling Green, Ohio, National SCI Conference Greensboro, NC in 2005 and in
numerous universities). Thelema too feel the need to bring out a ʻtraditionalʼ album. After
years of intercontinental wanderings, they have decided to capture the fleeting moments of
their concerts on a disc with their first full CD, ʻT H E L E M A . . .ʼ released in 2007. In 2008
they recorded their 2nd full CD ʻNeither From Nor Towards…ʼ, featuring music from North
and South America, released by Innova Recordings in 2009.
www.thelematrio.com
info@thelematrio.com
Ward De Vleeschhouwer, piano
Ward De Vleeschhouwer began his piano training at the E. Hullebroeck Academy in his
hometown of Ghent, Belgium. After graduating from the Academy, he continued his studies
at the Royal Conservatoire of Ghent, studying piano with Claude Coppens and Daan
Vandewalle, composition with Luc Brewaeys and Frank Nuyts, and improvisation with Peter
Vermeersch. Further he followed piano masterclasses with Jan Michiels, Daniel
Blumenthal, Mariko Kaneda, Thomas Rozenkrans and Tae Yoshioka. As a composer,
Ward wrote for piano, chamber music and works for different ethnic instruments. Many of
his titles have names of African masks such as Boki (2010) for piano solo and Goli (2009)
for piano four hands. In 2003 he founded “A Tryst,” an unusual project combining original
compositions, traditional West African music and modern dance. In 2005 he received a
commission from the theatre group NUNC to compose music for children for their new
production ʻRaisonnezʼ, which won in 2008 a prize for culture. Since 2005 he's NUNCʼs
composer in residence. After that he received several commissions for other
theaterprojects (Fabuleus Youth Theatre - “Forza”, Hugo Van Laere - ʻVoor Altijd!ʼ). Ward
also wrote for ensembles as Spectra Ensemble, Thelema Trio and Aranis. Several of his
works are recorded on CD. And some of his piano works are published with HrdScr
Editions. He is a member of ensembles such as Thelema Trio and the classical chamber
rockband Aranis. With these ensembles and as a soloist, Ward has played on prestigious
festivals and renowned concert halls in Belgium (Flanders Festival, Bijloke concert hall and
Haʼ - Gent), the Netherlands (November Music), Italy (Soundscape Festival), Japan
(International Clarinet Festival in Tama Center), the USA, Peru ( 2nd & 3rd Festival
internacional de Música Contemporánea - Lima), Germany (Freakparade ArtRock Festival
II) Switzerland (Paul Klee Museum - Bern), France (Rock in Opposition festival) and Austria
(Bösendorf Hall - Vienna).
Peter Verdonck, saxophones
Peter Verdonck started the study of the saxophone at the Music Academy of Turnhout with
Mark Verdonck, which he continued at the music department of the Heilig Graf Institute in
Turnhout. After finishing his high school in 1998, he moved to Ghent to study with Willy
Demey at the Royal Conservatory. There he took courses in composition with Lucien
Posman as well and he graduated in June 2003 with highest honours for saxophone,
chamber music and improvisation. In June 2007 Peter obtained the diploma for
Postgraduate Concert Soloist at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp with Hans De Jong.
Furthermore he followed masterclasses with Hans De Jong, Claude Delangle and
Rasscher Saxophone Quartet. Besides Thelema Trio, Peter plays with the Rhythm Junks
and heʼs the founder, composer, singer and saxophonist of his own band Swinetrek.
Champ dʼAction often engages Peter for their contemporary and experimental projects. In
2009 he founded a new trio called Trhizoom, that explores the existing repertory for 2
saxophones and piano, but also challenges composers to write for this trio in which the
saxophones range from sopranino to bass. As a saxophone player he is very inspired by
free music and improvisation, which led to his membership with the free jazz group
Aardbeefman. These bands, ensembles and projects have brought him to halls all over
Belgium, but also the Netherlands, Slovakia, Poland, Italy, France, Germany, Peru, the
USA, China and Japan and he had also recorded several CDʼs with them. Peter taught
masterclasses and workshops himself in a.o. Lima and Arequipa in Peru, the University of
Houston, Texas, Oklahoma University, University of Central Missouri, USA. As a
saxophone and chamber music teacher Peter is connected to Dé Kunsthumniora
Antwerpen, the Heilig Graf Institute in Turnhout and the academy Zoltàn Kodàly in
Wijnegem. He composes chamber music for many different line-ups. A number of his works
have been recorded by Thelema Trio, Ambrassband and Aranis.
Rik De Geyter, clarinets
Clarinetist Rik De Geyter started playing the clarinet with Luc Heyvaert and Geert Baetens.
Later he joined the music school of Lokeren where he was a student of Filip Haentjens.
After his secondary studies, he started his master studies with Eddy Vanoosthuyse at the
Lemmensinstitute in Leuven where he obtained his Masters Degree in clarinet. Rik is
currently studying clarinet and bass clarinet with Eddy Vanoosthuyse and Marc Kerckhof at
the Royal Conservatory of Ghent. He attended several masterclasses with a.o. M. Arrignon,
E. Eban, R. Walzel and N. Baldeyrou. During the 2008-2009 season, he was selected as a
trainee in the Brussels Philharmonic. Since then the Orchestra often engages him. In July
2007 he was semi-finalist of ʻTheYoung Artist Competitionʼ, a competition for young solists
organized by the International Clarinet Association which took place at the ClarinetFest in
Vancouver. As a soloist Rik played the clarinet concerto of Mozart, and recently he was a
guest on the Jazz & Sounds festival in Ghent. Besides his musical activities, Rik is also
President of the organization ʻDagen van de Huismuziekʼ, which organizes youth music
holiday resorts and internships.
www.thelematrio.com
info@thelematrio.com
