Student Composers
Concert I
Students of Mark Engebretson and Alejandro Rutty
Monday, November 15, 2010
7:30 pm
Recital Hall, Music Building
Program
Special Installation
Pre concert, Intermission This Machine Kills Fascists Andrew Weathers
Post concert for prepared electric guitar and amplifier
(20 min loop)
Timepiece Zachary Smith
John Moore, percussion
Chris Dial, percussion
Alex Harris, percussion
Composition Project 02 Eric Bridges
electronic media
Opulence Aslan Freeman
Aslan Freeman, guitar
Andrew Weathers, guitar
electronic media
String Quartet No. 1 Greyson E. Leybourne
Emily Jackson, violin
Naomi Bate, violin
Laurie Rominger, viola
Eric Perreault, cello
Abandoned Sanctuary Elizabeth Kowalski
Kelsey Philbrick, violin
Alison Stevens, viola
Grace Wepner Ludtke, harp
Dance of the Undead: Avenue Q Jazzmin Moore
Megan Guiliano, violin
Noelle Saleh, violin
Courtney Cuthrie, viola
Jonathan Stuart-Moore, cello
Trinity Eric Lacy
Megan Guiliano, violin
Sarah A. Baugher, viola
Jonathan Stuart-Moore, cello
Rose One Ned Emerson, Jr.
I.
II.
III.
Jared Newlen, soprano saxophone
Alanna Hawley, alto saxophone
Leslie Simmons, tenor saxophone
David Haynes, baritone saxophone
Panorama Sarah A. Baugher
Jared Newlen, soprano saxophone
Alanna Hawley, alto saxophone
Leslie Simmons, tenor saxophone
David Haynes, baritone saxophone
PROGRAM NOTES
Andrew Weathers, This Machine Kills Fascists
Woody Guthrie was born in July 1912 in Okemah, Oklahoma. He is best known as a singer,
writing songs dealing with the working classes in the Western United States during the Great
Depression. In recordings from the 1940s, he included the following note: "This song is
Copyrighted in U.S., under Seal of Copyright # 154085, for a period of 28 years, and anybody
caught singin it without our permission, will be mighty good friends of ourn, cause we donʼt give a
dern. Publish it. Write it. Sing it. Swing to it. Yodel it. We wrote it, thatʼs all we wanted to do.”
Eric Bridges, Composition Project 02
This piece is indisputable proof that music can be judged objectively and graded appropriately.
Also, this piece was accepted and performed at the FEASt Fest (Florida ElectroAcoustic Student-
Run Festival) in Miami, Florida.
(that's so meta)
Aslan Freeman, Opulence
Opulence is a partially improvisational piece for two amplified guitars. It uses a fully notated score
to guide the performers' interpretation of the piece, while allowing each individual's approach to
the music space to alter the piece's overall sound. Notated use of special effects is also employed
to extend the playability and expand the tonal range of the guitar.
Greyson E. Leybourne, String Quartet No. 1
This piece was inspired by the harmonies and textures of the superior late 19th century and early
20th century French Composers. When you listen, listen for the variety of textures and colorful
harmonies.
Ned Emerson, Jr., Rose One
Premiered earlier this year, Rose One is a reflection on both the art of Alphonse Mucha and the
art of vibrating sound, explored atop the composerʼs melodic tendencies. In three movements,
Rose One contrasts the capabilities of controlled vibrato with dictated sound vibrations as it
portrays elements from Muchaʼs print “Rose,” specifically the flora, the bold black lines, and the
eyes of the woman among the vines. The composer is very grateful for Newlen, Hawley,
Simmons and Haynesʼ involvement in the pieceʼs refinement.
Jazzmin Moore, Dance of the Undead: Avenue Q
Instead of this piece being composed to be programmatic or theatrical music, like most of my
other pieces. This composition is one that is driven by the possibilities of different key areas,
which one can modulate to by using the diminished seventh chord.
Elizabeth Kowalski, Abandoned Sanctuary
A sanctuary can have different meanings, as being a holy temple, haven, or retreat. The piece
allows the listener to envision a kind of sanctuary that since long ago became abandoned and
bare. Each instrument will play a part in taking the listener on a journey through time via
complex, overlapping rhythms and patterns. Suddenly, the violin comes to an emotional grand
halt to see into the past, what the sanctuary used to be like. With the sustained violin and viola
parts and the harp's sweeping motion into the depths of its range, one can envision a sanctuary in
its original grandiose, yet serene, setting.
Eric Lacy, Trinity
A trinity is a group of three closely related members, who have a distinct identity but function
together as one. The triune nature of this piece becomes increasingly evident through each
section. Trinity begins with a simple statement of the main melody, which is the gentle yet driving
force that holds the music together. A few noteworthy aspects of Trinity are the dependency and
sometimes playful interaction between parts, the dissonant climax at the end of the middle
section, and the brief but expressive violin solo which beings the final section.
Sarah A. Baugher, Panorama
This piece is meant to evoke long stretches of desolate, desert landscape in the American
Southwest. The highly active textures showcased in the initial section represent the heat
shimmering on top of sun-cracked earth, while the static nature of the instrumental lines represent
a seamless horizon, punctuated every now and then by the profile of wind-sculpted sandstone.
Inner sections showcase a sparse ostinato accented by smaller, independent motives, which
eventually sediment into a robust web of sound. Likewise, the desert may initially seem like a
barren wasteland, indifferent to life and impervious to alteration. But when examined closely, life
and itʼs little cycles begin to appear everywhere.
Zachary Smith, Timepiece
This piece, as the name suggests, has much to do with our idea of time and ways in which we
experience the passage of time.
The piece is structured in two sections, the first of which bears witness to the measured, rhythmic
passage of time. This first, rhythmic idea, however, breaks down and subsequently gives way to
the second section that describes the amorphous, flowing quality that time can also have.
The true nature of time will likely never be understood, but this piece attempts to express the
duality of our perception of time.
