School of Music
U N C G
Faculty Composers Concert
music by:
Michael Burns
Greg Carroll
Mark Engebretson
Steve Haines
Alejandro Rutty
Jonathan Salter
performances by:
Sandy Blocker
Tadeu Coelho
Nathan Daughtrey
Eastwind Ensemble
Faculty Jazz Combo
Red Clay Saxophone Quartet
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
7:30 p.m.
Recital Hall, School of Music
Program
Hindu Kush (2009), 5 min. Greg Carroll
world premiere (b. 1949)
Mark Engebretson, saxophone
Nathan Daughtrey, marimba
Sandy Blocker, hand drums
What Michael Said (1992), 6 min. Mark Engebretson
(b. 1964)
Faculty Jazz Combo
Chad Eby and Mark Engebretson, saxophones
John Salmon, piano
Steve Haines, bass
Thomas Taylor, drums
Rendez Vous (2007), 6 min. Steve Haines
Faculty Jazz Combo
Riffs for Reed Quartet, 6 min Michael Burns
I. (b. 1963)
II.
Eastwind Ensemble
Ashley Barret, oboe
Kelly Burke, clarinet
Jonathan Salter, bass clarinet
Steve Stusek, saxophone
Michael Burns, bassoon
Blueberry Jam (2008), 6 min. Jonathan Salter
(b. 1980)
Eastwind Ensemble
L'accordeoniste (2007, rev. 2008), 5 min. Alejandro Rutty
world premiere of revised version (b. 1967)
Eastwind Ensemble
Deliriade (2008), 12 min. Mark Engebretson
I. Praeludiana
II. Minuetish
III. Choreado
Tadeu Coelho, flute
Red Clay Saxophone Quartet
Susan Fancher, soprano saxophone
Robert Faub, alto saxophone
Steve Stusek, tenor saxophone
Mark Engebretson, baritone saxophone
Hindu Kush is an ethno-flavored composition originally conceived for alto saxophone and
marimba. This piece is not an authentic expression of indigenous music from the Middle East;
rather, it is an attempt to capture the ambience of the culture in a general way—similar to
Beethovenʼs celebration of Nature in his Sixth Symphony. Elements to listen for: the conventional
slow-to-fast tempo pattern, the improvisational quality of the sax and hand drumming, the drone
(in the marimba), the exotic scales and decorative melodic filigree in the alto saxophone part, and
the increase in tempo leading to frenzy at the end. (g.c.)
What Michael Said is the only jazz composition I have made. (m.e.)
Rendezvous is on the album The Steve Haines Quintet: Stickadiboom, which will be released by
Zoho Records March 10, 2009. The original recording features jazz legend Jimmy Cobb on
drums. Rendezvous was inspired by an evening in Shanghai, China while on tour with the John
Salmon Quintet. Every evening, the quintet went to dinner parties after our performances. On
one particular night I was a little restless and snuck out to go for a walk. I wonderered in to a
beautiful castle. Inside there was an Argentinean dance society made up of people from all over
the world. They danced with a quiet passion and tried to teach me the tango. It was such a
magical experience. Naturally the entire quintet ended up there! I tried to compose a tango, but
this is what came out instead. It's almost a tango. (s.h.)
Riffs for Reed Quintet is a brief two-movement work in the style of a slow-groove jazz waltz,
emphasizing the duple hemiola accenting typical of many jazz waltzes but written in 9/8 and a
fairly fast, driving jazz shuffle with bebop overtones written in 12/8. It was written in response to a
request from a colleague for a “jazz primer” for bassoon with written-out solos in the style of
improvisation so in that regard is like Jazz for Dummies. The piece is based upon some earlier
jazz tunes that I had composed while playing drums in a jazz combo. The performers should feel
free to truly improvise instead of playing the written-out solos, and/or to embellish their parts with
“jazzy” effects and elements. It is hoped, however, that someone not versed in the realm of jazz
may be able to play the parts as written and recreate some sense of jazz style. The original
version was for flute, bassoon, and piano and this current version was created for the Eastwind
Ensemble to take with us on our 2008 tour to China as they requested some light, pops-style
pieces. Some of the ʻsolosʼ in the Waltz are based on a transcription I made of a solo that my
colleague Dr. John Salmon played on piano in an early performance of that movement. In some
instance I orchestrated the solos for more than one person playing together somewhat in the vein
of “Super Sax.” (m.j.b.)
Blueberry Jam was composed for the Eastwind Ensemble to be performed at the Shanghai
International Arts Festival in October, 2008, and on the ensemble's concert tour of China. The
piece is meant to capture the image of wild blueberries found in the late Fall in Maine, a breezy
homage to sweet and bitter flavors in the chill of winter's foreshadowing. It's also a "Jam" in the
musical sense, with each instrument taking turns playing solos. (j.s.)
Lʼaccordeoniste, for oboe, clarinet, alto sax, and bassoon is the second life of Witchcraft
Recipes #13, for accordion, clarinet, violin, and cello. The piece, originally composed for a group
including Bulgarian accordionist Peter Stan, is a view of music of the Balkans as seen from South
America.
In the piece, imperfect imitations of the idiosyncrasies of gypsy accordion playing with South
American accent meets a tourist fantasy about gypsy weddings. The metaphor of the wedding
guides the structure of the piece, and it includes a band with an accordionist, dance, abundant
drink, and the collapse of the tent ruining the food, but not the party. Witchcraft Recipes #13 was
never performed.
This version of the piece was written for Eastwind and it is called Lʼaccordeoniste in reference
both to the imagined and to the real accordion player, while making a reference to a well-known
old French song. (a.r.)
Deliriade is a five-movement work for solo flute with saxophone quartet (at present, only three
movements are completed). The piece is imagined as a “dance suite concerto,” with the first
movement serving as a prelude (“preludiana”) and the next four evocative of various dances
(minuet, choros and so forth). It is by turns a brilliant, virtuosic, charming and mysterious work
that seeks to highlight many and various qualities of the flute, while at the same time giving the
saxophone ensemble plenty of opportunities to blaze.
Deliriade is dedicated to Tadeu Coelho, who commissioned the work with support from the
Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. The
piece was written for Dr. Coelho and the Prism Saxophone Quartet, who gave the first
performance on January 17, 2009 at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. (m.e.)
Biographies and Comments:
Ashley Barret
Blueberries, accordions, and riffs....Oh My!
Sandy Blocker has studied and performed many different drumming traditions from around the
world. He has traveled to West Africa to study jembe, dunun, balafon, and hunters (donso) music.
He has performed with great percussionists such as Ladji Camera, Glen Velez, Michael Spiro,
Madou Dembele, Alessandra Belloni, Soner Cicek, and Mohamed Da Costa. Blocker began his
musical studies in the late 1960s by learning blues and field songs, hambone, and harmonica
while working in tobacco fields in New Bern, NC. In the 70s and 80s, he studied tenor banjo with
Big John Williams and played in string bands focusing on early jazz, blues, and the music of
Django Reinhardt. Percussion became his musical focus in 1988. He began studying frame
drums while working with Glen Velez. In 1989, he began studying jembe and dunun and playing
for West African dance classes. He also studied drumming styles to accompany Sufi Zikirs.
Blocker has performed and facilitated workshops at universities and in public schools throughout
the southeast. Along with Eric Charry, he founded the Summer Jembe and Dance Institute. For
ten years, Blocker owned and operated Talking Drums, a world percu ssion shop. His work as a
craftsman on jembes and other world percussion instruments is widely known. Currently, he is an
adjunct professor in the School of Music and an accompanist in the dance department at the
University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He has performed in world music ensembles such as
Mystic Balafon Ensemble, Global Repercussions, Tasmua, Jaafar, and currently with AnKaTaa.
Recent performances range from New York Cityʼs Lincoln Center to weddings in Bamako, Mali, to
backyard parties.
Kelly Burke
Kelly is a wicked clarinetist who gardens and waterskis in her spare time.
Michael Burns
Live music and living composers make for a stimulating evening.
Greg Carroll
Did I hear someone scream "Jihad!"?
Brazilian-born artist/flutist Tadeu Coelho joined the University North Carolina School of the Arts
in 2002. Mr. Coelho frequently appears as soloist, chamber musician, and master clinician
throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, and the Americas. He has performed as first
solo flutist of the Santa Fe Symphony, Hofer Symphoniker in Germany, and the Spoletto Festival
Orchestra in Italy, among others, including guest appearances with the Boston Symphony in the
summer of 1996.
As a recording artist, Mr. Coelho can be heard in several solo recordings. Most recently, he
released his solo CD Azules, with harpist Karen Thielen. His other CDs include Nocturnes with
Australian pianist Simon Tedeschi; Modernly Classic and 18th Century Flute Sonatas both with
UNCSA colleague Eric Larsen; Flute Music from Brazil; ¡Rompe! - Mexican Chamber Music for
Flute, and Life-Drawing - Works for Solo Flute. Dr. Coelhoʼs CDs and other published works are
available at CD Baby, Flute World, and Carolyn Nussbaum Music Co.
Tadeu Coelho is a Miyazawa artist and plays on a platinum flute. For more information on Dr.
Coelho, please visit his official web site at www.tadeucoelho.com.
Composer and percussionist Nathan Daughtrey (b. 1975) has distinguished himself in recent
years as an artist of great range. Described as "fresh and imaginative" (Percussive Notes) and
"evocatively crafted" (Indiana University Herald Times), his works have been performed by
individuals and ensembles of all levels at festivals and venues around the world, including the
Percussive Arts Society International Convention, the International Double Reed Society
Conference, and the Midwest Band & Orchestra Clinic. With several awards to his credit, Dr.
Daughtrey is the only composer to win 2nd and 3rd Place the same year in the Percussive Arts
Society Composition Contest. He was also the recipient of 2007 and 2008 ASCAP Plus Awards.
With over 50 publications for percussion, concert band, and orchestra, he is in great demand for
commissions and clinics.
Dr. Daughtrey is also extremely active and sought after as a solo marimba artist and clinician. His
performances have taken him throughout the United States and overseas to Eastern Europe and
Japan, appearing as featured soloist with orchestras such as the North Carolina Symphony and
the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra. His first CD, "Spiral Passages," was released in 2001
and features original and adapted works for solo and accompanied marimba. Other recent
collaborative recordings include Emma Lou Diemer's work "Concerto in One Movement for
Marimba and Orchestra," Michael Udow's CD "Footprints," and Daniel McCarthy's CD "Song of
Middle Earth."
Dr. Daughtrey serves on the Percussive Arts Society Composition Contest Committee and is the
Director of Operations for the Classical Marimba League. He is a Performing Artist and Clinician
for Yamaha Corporation and Vic Firth, Inc. and all of his works are available from C. Alan
Publications.
The Eastwind Ensemble has performed extensively and established an enviable reputation
regionally, nationally, and internationally. The ensemble maintains a heavy concert schedule and
has toured countries including Fench, Holland, Switzerland, Canada, New Zealand, Austria,
Australia, Russia, Central America,Caribbean coastal area. Along with formal performances, The
East Wind Ensemble has an excellent educational program of lecture/demonstrations and master
classes for schools. On January 2008, The East Wind Ensemble had a 16 days tour in Germany
and performed in Berlin Arts Festival .The members each have extensive solo and chamber
music experience, which brings strength and creative diversity to the ensemble.
Chad Eby
Would you like to see pictures of my kids?
Mark Engebretson
Tadeu Coelho = absolutely unbelievable!
The UNCG Faculty Jazz Combo has been burning it up all over the place.
Susan Fancherʼs efforts to develop the repertoire for the saxophone have produced dozens of
commissioned works by contemporary composers, as well as published transcriptions of music
by composers as diverse as Josquin Desprez and Steve Reich. She has worked with a multitude
of composers in the creation and interpretation of new music including Terry Riley, Michael Torke
and Charles Wuorinen, to name just a few, and has performed in many of the worldʼs leading
concert venues and contemporary music festivals. The newest addition to her discography, In
Two Worlds, is a recording of electroacoustic works, released in 2009 on the Innova label. Susan
Fancher is a regularly featured columnist for the nationally distributed Saxophone Journal. Her
principal teachers were Frederick Hemke, Jean-Marie Londeix, Michael Grammatico and Joe
Daley. She is a clinician for the Selmer and Vandoren companies, and teaches saxophone at
Duke University.
Robert Faub is an accomplished classical soloist, chamber musician and jazz artist. He was
formerly the alto saxophonist with the widely acclaimed New Century Saxophone Quartet, with
whom he performed extensively throughout the United States and in the Netherlands. He
appears on New Century's recordings A New Century Christmas and Standards. As a soloist, he
gave the first performance of Ben Boone's concerto Squeeze with the University of South
Carolina Symphony, adding to a long list of works he has premiered. His recording of Andrew
Simpson's Exhortation, included on Arizona University Recording's America's Millennial Tribute to
Adolphe Sax, was "immaculately played," according to The Double Bassist magazine. Robert is
the Director of Bands at Caldwell Academy in Greensboro, NC. He also shepherds an
accomplished studio of young private students, plays extensively with local jazz combos and
appears regularly with the North Carolina, Greensboro and Winston-Salem Symphonies.
Steve Haines directs the Miles Davis Program in Jazz Studies at the University of North Carolina
at Greensboro. He has performed with players such as Joe Chambers, Mike Moreno, Dick Oatts,
Adam Nussbaum, Bob Berg, Joe Williams, Mark Levine, Ellis and Jason Marsalis, and Marcus
Roberts. His first album as a leader The Steve Haines Quintet: Beginner's Mind received
international critical acclaim and was hailed by All About Jazz as "one of the best inside/outside
records of the year." Haines holds a B.M. in Jazz Performance from St. Francis Xavier University
in Canada and a M.M. in Music (Jazz Studies) from the University of North Texas. While at the
University of North Texas, Haines directed the Three O'clock Lab Band, and was a member of the
One O'clock Lab Band. Haines' music is published at the University of Northern Colorado Press.
Steve orchestrated and arranged the musical Ella: The Life and Music of Ella Fitzgerald. He
recently finished a year in New York City on research assignment. His album The Steve Haines
Quintet with Jimmy Cobb: Stickadiboom will be released on Zoho records on March10, 2009.
The Red Clay Saxophone Quartet is a classical chamber music ensemble formed in October
2003 when the fates conspired to bring four internationally recognized saxophonists together in
Greensboro, North Carolina. The RCSQ takes its name from the areaʼs luscious red soil. The
Quartetʼs repertoire features music by composers as varied as Ben Johnston, Burton Beerman,
Mark Engebretson, György Ligeti, Francis Poulenc, Ben Boone, Steve Reich and Gavin Bryars.
Alejandro Rutty
This is the third revision of the second of three versions of Lʼaccordeoniste. Perhaps I should give
up the idea of trying to get this one right and come up with new tunes…
John Salmon
Silvery smolts swim seaward, smiling subtly sans souci.
Jonathan Salter is finishing his D.M.A. this semester, assuming he turns
in his dissertation draft tomorrow. He grew up in Oberlin, Ohio, and received his Bachelor of Arts
degree at Williams College where he majored in mathematics and music, graduating with highest
honors. He received his Master of Music degree from Indiana University. Salter was the associate
principal clarinetist for the Berkshire Symphony from 1998 to 2002, and was selected to perform
Debussyʼs Premiere Rhapsodie with the orchestra for the concerto competition in 2001. He was
the recipient of the Hubbard Hutchinson Memorial Fellowship from Williams College, the
Excellence Fellowship from UNCG and also received the Leopold Schepp Foundation Fellowship.
Salterʼs clarinet teachers include Michèle Gingras, Susan Martula, Alan Kay, Eli Eban, Howard
Klug, and he is currently working on his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at UNCG with Dr. Kelly
Burke. As a composer, Salter studied with David Kechley and Robert Suderburg at Williams
College, P.Q. Phan at Indiana and is currently a student of Dr. Mark Engebretson and Dr.
Alejandro Rutty at UNCG. Salter is active as a composer of acoustic and electro-acoustic music,
and his research concerns intersections between contemporary mathematics and music theory.
Steve Stusek
Yeah - I'll send it to you tomorrow - think I've got a good one....
Thomas Taylor
Swingin' keeps your heart happy!
