Student Composer Concert
Eric Bridges, D. Travis Clem,
Carlos M. Fuentes, Austin Glover,
M. Scott Johnson, Jeffrey Lewis,
Jazzmin Moore, Travis Railsback,
Jonathan Salter, Lance Sigmon,
Nick Stubblefield, Daniel G. Taber,
Andrew Weathers
Composition Studio Recital
Students of Dr. Mark Engebretson and Dr. Alejandro Rutty
Thursday, October 2, 2008
7:30 pm
Recital Hall, School of Music
Program
Absence Lucidity Lance Sigmon
Christian McIvor, Matthew Boggs, Jake Yates, Clay Perry,
Jordan Buck, Elizabeth Shank, Alex Powell, Phil Spencer,
Joshua Peek, Michael Price, Carolina Perez, Jamie Dickens,
Ben Crotts, Mike Castellucci, Mike Shietzelt, trumpet
Night Poem, Op. 17 Carlos M. Fuentes
Carlos M. Fuentes, piano
Chatham Suite M. Scott Johnson
I. Praeludium
II. Allemande
III. Courante
IV. Sarabande
V. Gigue
Matthew Gregory, trombone
Texturous Eric Bridges
John Pavik, piano; Joseph Cox, marimba
Streaming Induced Potential Jonathan Salter
Josh Cvijanovic, marimba
some kind of texas accent Andrew Weathers
Eric Perrault, cello; Andrew Weathers, laptop
Intermission
Selected Scenes from Oakwood Nick Stubblefield
Cey Sesiguzel, director; Salome Wouters, producer
A Production of the University of Westminster
Musette for Richard Corey Austin Glover
T. Railsback, R. A. Freeman, guitar;
L. E. Elias, soprano
Our Last Words Jazzmin Moore
Ashley White, flute; Logan Cox, tenor
Blue Mountains Travis Railsback
Aslan Freeman, electric guitar; Eric Bridges, piano
Eric Perrault, cello; Domenic Sabol, Cello
The House that Cage Built D. Travis Clem
Eric Bridges, clarinet; Daniel Taber, french horn; Andrew Weathers, vibraphone;
Austin Glover, alto saxophone; M. Scott Johnson, piano
Morpheus Mischievous: a Delusion for Half an Orchestra Daniel G. Taber
Caroline Rohm, flute; Jim Davis, oboe; Jay Welborn, clarinet;
Kevin Harrison, bass clarinet; Skylar Van Duuren, horn; A.J. Benson, trumpet;
Matthew Gregory, trombone; M. Scott Johnson, tuba;
Lisa Gattuso and Megan Morris, violin;
Domenic Sabol, cello; Stephen Jackson, double bass
The End of Beginnings Jeffrey Lewis
Caroline Rohm, flute; Jim Davis, oboe; Jay Welborn, clarinet;
Kevin Harrison, bass clarinet; Daniel Taber, horn; A.J. Benson, trumpet;
Matthew Gregory, trombone; M. Scott Johnson, tuba;
Keyan Peterson and Alex Kluttz, percussion;
Lisa Gattuso and Megan Morris, violin;
Domenic Sabol, cello; Stephen Jackson, double bass
Program Notes
I started writing Night Poem in the fall of 2007, and completed the work this past summer. It was
written as a sort of montage of thoughts and ideas inspired by the night -- a poem, describing the
process of learning about God's perfect nature through the lens of my own personal experiences.
This is my first true attempt at developing a harmonic and musical language all of my own, using
color and emotion (as well as my synesthesia) as the primary guiding forces.
The piece was written for my good friend, Josh Binkley, but in his absence I will be performing the
work myself.
- Carlos M. Fuentes
The Chatham Suite is a serial work for trombone, dedicated to trombonist Thomas Brown. Ideal
performance setting includes at least six couples dancing the traditional European dances.
- M. Scott Johnson
I wrote Texturous as a little bit of comic relief for myself - to get myself out of the monotony of my
classes and the constant write/edit/revise/edit more/start over/revise again/turn in because the
due date has come and gone/get a grade/repeat cycle - but also because I felt as though I hadn't
written anything cheerful enough. I was tired of writing only serious music as compositions and
didactic music as assignments, and this was my attempt to break free of that encumbering cycle!
To create Art uplifting in its lasting effects! To inspire the masses beyond the sundry of humdrum,
the multitudinous menagerie of meek madness! To rise above and take the horns of Life and
steer the vessel of Fate itself!
That being said, I don't think it turned out quite as cheerful as I would have liked.
- Eric Bridges
Streaming Induced Potential is about transmission. A single line, split apart, passes through itself
in a complex metrical transformation. As we cross through the middle section of the work, the
piece itself inverts, and we view the end of the work as a reminiscence of the beginning, though
looking at it from an opposite viewpoint.
- Jonathan Salter
Oakwood was a short horror/comedy film created and debuted by graduate and undergraduate
students at the University of Westminster during the Summer of 2008 under the direction of Cey
Sequizel. The score was composed electronically, but at sections, real vocals were used. I was
even asked to write, perform and record a song for the opening and closing credits. It's full
runtime is about 16 minutes.
The film opens with a young couple, Bob and Claire, and their infant daughter Emmy stranded out
in the English countryside as their car breaks down. They stop in at the nearest hotel, "Oakwood,"
only to find they are the only guests there. The three hotel owners seem odd at first, and quickly
become more sinister, eventually kidnapping Emmy. Claire undergoes a remarkable
transformation and shocks even her husband as she releases her motherly rage on the hotel
owners, and hilarity ensues.
- Nick Stubblefield
Musette for Richard Corey is a setting of Edward Arlington Robinson's poem Richard Corey,
which may or may not be about Robinson's brother. I have intentionally altered the last line (in
the program notes (not the music) for those who have yet to read this poem. As for the form, a
musette is a piece of music based around a drone, usually in three sections (tonic, dominant and
back to tonic).
- Austin Glover
WHENEVER Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.
And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
"Good-morning and he glittered when he walked.
And he was rich—yes, richer than a king,
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.
So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home …
- poem by Edward Arlington
In Spring 2008, the composition department collaborated with UNCG's Dance studio; Our Last
Words was created as part of this project. This piece portrays the emotions one feels while
losing a loved one; the sadness that they are leaving but the joy of knowing that their legacy will
live on through you.
- Jazzmin Moore
I grew up in the Appalachian Mountains, and visited the Blue Ridge parkway often to witness the
beauty, and stand outside civilization for a few precious moments. In Blue Mountains, there is the
ancient mightiness of the mountains, contrasted with the serenity of the forest. If you ever visit the
Blue Ridge Parkway, I invite you to go to a lookout and remember my piece for a moment, if you
can.
- Travis Railsback
You walk across the lawn. Upon entering the house, you hear sounds emanating from the
kitchen, the bedroom, the bathroom, and the living room. They are all very individual sounds,
wandering about their given spaces at liberty. Some fall down; others soar. Here a soft whisper;
there a roar. You can hear that they are related, but like all families, they don't necessarily work
together. There are long tones coming from the basement that are attempting to unite the
aforementioned; whether or not these attempts are successful is for you to decide. Being fully
entertained by this architecture, you decide to exit quietly, taking your leave across the back yard.
- D. Travis Clem
Morpheus Mischievous: a Delusion for Half an Orchestra is a soundtrack to a dream half-remembered,
in which a muse continues to change the channel between shows, turning it off just
before an alarm clock begins the day anew
- Daniel G. Taber
The meaning of The End of the Beginnings is evident in the title, but I will expound on it a little.
Not being too descriptive so as to keep the work boundless: it is about something coming to an
end and being reborn in its perfect form, never in need of change again. The creative process of
writing this piece was a long one and a short one at the same time. Musical ideas meant for
other works, or simply written down and put aside over the years had been put together in a few
months to create this. The "beginnings," or musical fragments, had been collected and put
together, forming a whole, "ending" the "beginning" stage of all the fragments. The work may not
be in its perfect form. It may change again. Do not think, however, that I named the piece after
the creative process it went through: I am merely drawing a parallel. Attach whatever meaning
you would like it to have for you.
- Jeffrey Lewis
