2018 Guest Composers
Bryce Craig (b. 1990) is a freelance composer and percussionist in the Greensboro, North Carolina area and also works as Music Editor/Audio Specialist for C. Alan Publications. He received his Bachelor of Music degree in Composition summa cum laude from Kansas State University and his Masters of Music in Composition from Central Michigan University. His previous composition instructors include Keith Larson, Craig Weston, Jay Batzner, and David Gillingham. Bryce’s works have been performed nation-wide at events such as the National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy, the 2015 PARMA Music Festival, the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, and numerous Society of Composers, Inc. conferences. Bryce’s orchestral work Tracks was the winner of both the Duluth-Superior Symphony’s 2015 James and Paula Nelson Young Composer’s Competition and the Holland Symphony’s 2015 Young American Composer Competition. Bryce is also heavily involved in the world of dance music, working closely with several choreographers and studios across the country. In addition to his work as a composer Bryce is active as a percussionist and private percussion instructor, and primarily performs on the MalletKAT MIDI controller.
Pierce Gradone's music reflects the strange brew of musical cultures that made up his childhood, from playing bluegrass in the hills of Appalachia, to sprinting the marathon of blinding-fast pentecostal shout music. Described as “gorgeous, expansive” (I Care If You Listen) and “engaging” (Chicago Tribune), his music is infused with a wide variety of influences, including mass culture, improvisational comedy, and histories of art and machinery. Pierce’s works have been performed by Eighth Blackbird, Ensemble Signal, Imani Winds, the Chicago Civic Orchestra, Pacifica Quartet, Quince Ensemble, Switch Ensemble, and many others. He has received commissions from the Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University, Ensemble Dal Niente, Line Upon Line Percussion, Ursa Ensemble, URCAA, and many others. He currently resides in the South Side of Chicago, where he is a Ph.D candidate at the University of Chicago.
Aaron Graham is an award-winning composer and performer. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Percussion Performance from the University of Kentucky, under the study of James Campbell, a Master’s degree at the University of British Columbia, and is currently a Doctoral Fellow at the University of British Columbia under the study of Vern Griffiths. He won the 2014 PAS International Percussion Composition Contest with his percussion ensemble piece “Sleeping Bear”. Aaron’s works have been performed across the US and Canada, by professional and university ensembles alike including percussion ensembles at the University of Iowa, University of British Columbia, Arizona State University, as well as the Piano and Erhu Project, Vox Populi, and the Sound/Vision Chamber Ensemble. His writings have been published in Percussive Notes, and the International Journal of Music and Performing Arts. He resides in Vancouver, BC with his wife Kelly, and maintains a full schedule of private studio lessons teaching percussion, piano, and guitar, as well as composing, and performing professionally.
Douglas Hertz (b. 1993) is a composer and percussionist based in Ann Arbor, MI. His work has appeared on programs presented by the Nief Norf Summer Festival, Atlantic Music Festival, the Dynamic Music Festival, Bard College’s Music Alive series and the Deer Valley Music Festival. His music has been either performed or recorded by the Wet Ink Ensemble, Da Capo Chamber Players, American Symphony Orchestra, Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Calidore String Quartet, Denovo String Quartet, Vanguard Reed Quintet, Up/Down Percussion Quartet, Room 1078, //meridian vocal ensemble, and BrassTaps Duo. Hertz is an avid collaborator and constantly seeks ways to further the potential of his work beyond the concert hall. Recent Collaborations include Saeculum, a cantata/dance piece created in collaboration with choreographer Al Evangelista, and Household, an art/sound installation commissioned by performance group, Call Your Mom. Douglas completed his undergraduate degree at Bard College and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in composition from the University of Michigan on a graduate fellowship. He currently studies with Evan Chamber. His past teachers have included Bright Sheng, Kristin Kuster, George Tsontakis, Joan Tower, Kyle Gann, and Janet Weir.
Michael Johanson’s music reflects a deep interest in bringing together materials drawn from a wide range of styles and approaches. His work is informed by an abiding interest in timbral possibilities, a wide-ranging harmonic palette, and an interest in extended instrumental techniques. His compositions have been performed throughout the states and in England, China, Switzerland, Thailand, France, and Australia. Commissions and performances have come from institutions such as the International Beethoven Project; Portland Piano International; the Indiana State University Contemporary Music Festival; Fear No Music; Third Angle; June in Buffalo; Resonance Ensemble; the Lewis & Clark College Orchestra, the Northwest Horn Orchestra, Post-Haste Duo, Portland Percussion Group, the Indiana University New Music Ensemble, and the Oregon Repertory Singers. Johanson has received awards/fellowships from the American Music Center, ASCAP, MacDowell, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Wildacres Residency, and Palazzo Rinaldi. He is the 2016 recipient of the Oregon Music Teachers Association Composer of the Year Award, and one of only two recipients awarded an Honorable Mention in the 2016 MTNA Distinguished Composer of the Year Award. He is Associate Professor of Music at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, where he also serves as Music Department Chair.
Eric Lagergren (b. 1994) grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he developed a fascination for portraying the world around him through music. This interest has led him to study music composition at Colorado State University under the tutelage of Dr. James David. While at CSU, Lagergren has focused primarily on composing chamber music for various small ensembles. He has been commissioned by the CSU Middle School Outreach Ensemble, the CSU Percussion Ensemble, and "It Could Be Anything" New Music Ensemble. A strong believer in fostering creativity and a personal joy for music, Lagergren is also an avid teacher of piano and composition.
Alexis Lamb (b. 1993) is a composer, percussionist, and educator with a fascination for the global percussive medium. Lamb is a co-director of Arcomusical, a non-profit organization that advocates the artistic advancement of the Afro-Brazilian berimbau and related musical bows. Her compositions can be found on MeiaMeia: New Music for Berimbau, released on Innova Recordings. Lamb has received multiple commissions and has collaborated with various ensembles, including Percussia of Queens, New York, and the Northern Illinois University World Steelband. Her music has been performed throughout the United States, Brazil, and South Africa. Other current compositional projects include a piece for solo drumset with electronics, an a cappella choral work, and a piece for solo cello with electronics. Lamb earned two Bachelor of Music degrees in Music Education and Percussion Performance from Northern Illinois University. She currently is the 6-12th grade band director for Meridian CUSD 223 in Stillman Valley, Illinois. Her major teachers include Gregory Beyer, Michael Mixtacki, Robert Chappell, David Maki, Brian Penkrot, and Lauren Ryals.
Australian composer Nicole Murphy's music has been described as “exquisite, sensitive and delicate”. She is the recipient of various awards, including the Iceberg New Music Call for Scores (2017), Nief Norf International Call for Scores (2016), the MAFB International Commissioning Prize (2015), the Theodore Front International Orchestral Prize (2013) and the Definiens C3 International Composer’s Award (2011). Nicole has been commissioned by eminent arts organisations including the Australian Ballet, the Royal Academy of Dance (London), Experiments in Opera/Symphony Space (New York), the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, Wild Rumpus (San Francisco), Chamber Sounds (Singapore), and the Definiens Project (Los Angeles). Her music has been performed by ensembles such as the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Ars Nova (Dallas) and Halcyon (Sydney). She has received performances at numerous festivals including the Atlantic Music Festival (Maine), the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival (Connecticut), the Dallas Festival of Modern Music, the Nief Norf Festival (Tennessee) and the Bowdoin International Music Festival (Maine). She is Composer-in-Residence at the Queensland Academy for Creative Industries and holds a PhD from the University of Queensland.
Ivonne Paredes is a Lima-born, New York-based composer and percussionist, whose rhythmic scores combine aspects of traditional Peruvian music with wide ranging contemporary influences. Upon relocating to the U.S., she studied with renowned percussionists Mike Davis and Beth Gottlieb, and went on to compose under Dr. Daniel Crozier at Rollins College (Winter Park, FL). A graduate student from CUNY - Brooklyn College, Ivonne has studied under the instruction of Tania León and Douglas Cohen. Her music has been performed across the Americas as well as in Europe and Asia. Some of the ensembles that have performed her compositions include forty/sixty, andPlay, Black House Collective, JACOPERA, the Brooklyn College Symphony Orchestra, the Vanguardia Perú Big Band, the YMCA College of Hong Kong’s jazz ensemble, and Arturo O'Farrill's Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra.
Aaron Parker writes instrumental and electronic music informed by a love for landscape, film (Jonas Mekas, Rose Lowder, Peter Bo Rappmund, Joshua Bonnetta), visual art (Anselm Keifer, Gerhard Richter, Ai Weiwei), and sound (Eliane Radigue, Rashad Becker, John Cage, Giuseppe Ielasi, Chris Watson, Mike Cooper, & many others). 2017 has seen the premiere of atholhu by Alarm Will Sound in the USA in July, the Canadian premiere of large-scale multi-ensemble plus electronics piece warehouse in Toronto in May, and suotnoiyo for Xenia Pestova on toy piano and electronics performed in London in March. Forthcoming projects include remote systems – a record of 'guitared-instrument’ plus electronics music with Manchester-based multi-instrumentalist David Bainbridge – and a collaboration with energetic London-based vocalist Kathryn West involving fractured reimaginings of traditional Appalachian folksongs. Aaron studied composition with Gary Carpenter and Larry Goves at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, and since graduating in 2013 has maintained a commitment to freelance composition work, alongside an ongoing involvement with music teaching. He is currently completing a Masters in Experimental Music at Brunel University, London, with generous financial support from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, alongside working as Assistant Director of Music at Lord Wandsworth College, Hampshire.
David Reeves is a composer of instrumental music focusing mainly on Percussion Ensembles and Chamber and Solo works. His works for Percussion have been performed frequently throughout the US, Japan, Russia and Europe. David is also a sought after arranger for the Marching Band, Drum Corps and Indoor Percussion activities throughout the US and the UK. He received his Bachelor of Music degree in Percussion Performance at the University of Washington under Tom Collier and Mike Crusoe. Prior to UW he studied Composition at Indiana University under Don Freund and Claude Baker. David resides in Seattle, WA with his wife and three sons.
James Romig (b.1971) endeavors to create music that reflects the intricate complexity of the natural world, where fundamental structures exert influence on both small-scale iteration and large-scale design, obscuring boundaries between form and content. His work has been described as "a complex quilt of sound" (Moline Dispatch), "unhurried, pointillistic" (Baltimore Sun), and "the musical equivalent of fractal geometry" (Classical New Jersey). Influenced by both serialism (Romig studied with Milton Babbitt and Charles Wuorinen while earning a PhD at Rutgers University) and minimalism (he studied percussion as an undergraduate at the University of Iowa), his music is further inspired by post-modern literature, abstract expressionist painting, progressive rock, and doom metal. His music has been performed in 49 states and more than 30 countries. Notable performers of his work include the JACK Quartet, Talujon, Chronophonie, Collide-O-Scope, Due East, Duo Contour, Helix, Khasma Piano Duo, New Muse Duo, Zodiac Trio, Duo Harpverk, Suono Mobile, the Quad City Symphony, pianists Ashlee Mack and Taka Kigawa, flutists John McMurtery and Harvey Sollberger, violinist Erik Carlson, and others. His percussion works are especially well-known and have received hundreds of performances around the world. Recordings of his music have been released by Blue Griffin, First Step, Navona, Parallax, and Perspectives of New Music/Open Space. Guest-composer visits include Eastman, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Bowling Green, Illinois, Northwestern, and the American Academy in Rome. Artist residencies include national parks (Everglades, Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest), Centrum, and Copland House. His music is available from Parallax Music Press. He has been on faculty at Western Illinois University since 2002.
Praised by The New York Times as “vivid and dramatic,” the music of Carl Schimmel is dense with literary and musical references, often humorous, and combines intensity of expression with a structural rigor which draws upon his mathematics background. Winner of Columbia University’s Joseph Bearns Prize, the Lee Ettelson Award, and the 2017 Goddard Lieberson Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Schimmel has received honors and awards from many organizations, including the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, Copland House, New Music USA, and ASCAP. His works have been performed in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall, Merkin Hall in New York, Severance Hall in Cleveland, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London, Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, and at other venues worldwide. He has received performances and commissions from the American Composers Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, California EAR Unit, the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, Alarm Will Sound, North/South Consonance, the Mexico City Woodwind Quintet, and many others. A graduate of Duke University (Ph.D.), the Yale School of Music (M.M.), and Case Western Reserve University (B.A. Mathematics and Music), he is currently Associate Professor of Music Theory and Composition at Illinois State University in Normal, IL.
The music of composer and multi-instrumentalist Dan VanHassel (b. 1981) has been described as “energizing” (Wall Street Journal), “a refreshing direction” (I Care If You Listen.com), and “an imaginative and rewarding soundscape” (San Francisco Classical Voice). His works create a uniquely evocative sound world drawing from a background in rock, Indonesian gamelan, free improvisation, and classical music. Recent performances include the Talea Ensemble at the MATA Festival, the International Computer Music Conference, Shanghai Conservatory Electronic Music Week, Bang on a Can Summer Festival, UC Davis Music and Words Festival, and the Wellesley Composers Conference. He has received grants from Chamber Music America, the Barlow Endowment, and New Music USA. Also active as a concert producer and performer on piano and electric guitar, Dan was a founding member of contemporary chamber ensemble Wild Rumpus and artistic director through 2016. Currently residing in Boston, Massachusetts, Dan has degrees from the University of California Berkeley, New England Conservatory, and Carnegie Mellon University.
Pierce Gradone's music reflects the strange brew of musical cultures that made up his childhood, from playing bluegrass in the hills of Appalachia, to sprinting the marathon of blinding-fast pentecostal shout music. Described as “gorgeous, expansive” (I Care If You Listen) and “engaging” (Chicago Tribune), his music is infused with a wide variety of influences, including mass culture, improvisational comedy, and histories of art and machinery. Pierce’s works have been performed by Eighth Blackbird, Ensemble Signal, Imani Winds, the Chicago Civic Orchestra, Pacifica Quartet, Quince Ensemble, Switch Ensemble, and many others. He has received commissions from the Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University, Ensemble Dal Niente, Line Upon Line Percussion, Ursa Ensemble, URCAA, and many others. He currently resides in the South Side of Chicago, where he is a Ph.D candidate at the University of Chicago.
Aaron Graham is an award-winning composer and performer. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Percussion Performance from the University of Kentucky, under the study of James Campbell, a Master’s degree at the University of British Columbia, and is currently a Doctoral Fellow at the University of British Columbia under the study of Vern Griffiths. He won the 2014 PAS International Percussion Composition Contest with his percussion ensemble piece “Sleeping Bear”. Aaron’s works have been performed across the US and Canada, by professional and university ensembles alike including percussion ensembles at the University of Iowa, University of British Columbia, Arizona State University, as well as the Piano and Erhu Project, Vox Populi, and the Sound/Vision Chamber Ensemble. His writings have been published in Percussive Notes, and the International Journal of Music and Performing Arts. He resides in Vancouver, BC with his wife Kelly, and maintains a full schedule of private studio lessons teaching percussion, piano, and guitar, as well as composing, and performing professionally.
Douglas Hertz (b. 1993) is a composer and percussionist based in Ann Arbor, MI. His work has appeared on programs presented by the Nief Norf Summer Festival, Atlantic Music Festival, the Dynamic Music Festival, Bard College’s Music Alive series and the Deer Valley Music Festival. His music has been either performed or recorded by the Wet Ink Ensemble, Da Capo Chamber Players, American Symphony Orchestra, Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Calidore String Quartet, Denovo String Quartet, Vanguard Reed Quintet, Up/Down Percussion Quartet, Room 1078, //meridian vocal ensemble, and BrassTaps Duo. Hertz is an avid collaborator and constantly seeks ways to further the potential of his work beyond the concert hall. Recent Collaborations include Saeculum, a cantata/dance piece created in collaboration with choreographer Al Evangelista, and Household, an art/sound installation commissioned by performance group, Call Your Mom. Douglas completed his undergraduate degree at Bard College and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in composition from the University of Michigan on a graduate fellowship. He currently studies with Evan Chamber. His past teachers have included Bright Sheng, Kristin Kuster, George Tsontakis, Joan Tower, Kyle Gann, and Janet Weir.
Michael Johanson’s music reflects a deep interest in bringing together materials drawn from a wide range of styles and approaches. His work is informed by an abiding interest in timbral possibilities, a wide-ranging harmonic palette, and an interest in extended instrumental techniques. His compositions have been performed throughout the states and in England, China, Switzerland, Thailand, France, and Australia. Commissions and performances have come from institutions such as the International Beethoven Project; Portland Piano International; the Indiana State University Contemporary Music Festival; Fear No Music; Third Angle; June in Buffalo; Resonance Ensemble; the Lewis & Clark College Orchestra, the Northwest Horn Orchestra, Post-Haste Duo, Portland Percussion Group, the Indiana University New Music Ensemble, and the Oregon Repertory Singers. Johanson has received awards/fellowships from the American Music Center, ASCAP, MacDowell, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Wildacres Residency, and Palazzo Rinaldi. He is the 2016 recipient of the Oregon Music Teachers Association Composer of the Year Award, and one of only two recipients awarded an Honorable Mention in the 2016 MTNA Distinguished Composer of the Year Award. He is Associate Professor of Music at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, where he also serves as Music Department Chair.
Eric Lagergren (b. 1994) grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he developed a fascination for portraying the world around him through music. This interest has led him to study music composition at Colorado State University under the tutelage of Dr. James David. While at CSU, Lagergren has focused primarily on composing chamber music for various small ensembles. He has been commissioned by the CSU Middle School Outreach Ensemble, the CSU Percussion Ensemble, and "It Could Be Anything" New Music Ensemble. A strong believer in fostering creativity and a personal joy for music, Lagergren is also an avid teacher of piano and composition.
Alexis Lamb (b. 1993) is a composer, percussionist, and educator with a fascination for the global percussive medium. Lamb is a co-director of Arcomusical, a non-profit organization that advocates the artistic advancement of the Afro-Brazilian berimbau and related musical bows. Her compositions can be found on MeiaMeia: New Music for Berimbau, released on Innova Recordings. Lamb has received multiple commissions and has collaborated with various ensembles, including Percussia of Queens, New York, and the Northern Illinois University World Steelband. Her music has been performed throughout the United States, Brazil, and South Africa. Other current compositional projects include a piece for solo drumset with electronics, an a cappella choral work, and a piece for solo cello with electronics. Lamb earned two Bachelor of Music degrees in Music Education and Percussion Performance from Northern Illinois University. She currently is the 6-12th grade band director for Meridian CUSD 223 in Stillman Valley, Illinois. Her major teachers include Gregory Beyer, Michael Mixtacki, Robert Chappell, David Maki, Brian Penkrot, and Lauren Ryals.
Australian composer Nicole Murphy's music has been described as “exquisite, sensitive and delicate”. She is the recipient of various awards, including the Iceberg New Music Call for Scores (2017), Nief Norf International Call for Scores (2016), the MAFB International Commissioning Prize (2015), the Theodore Front International Orchestral Prize (2013) and the Definiens C3 International Composer’s Award (2011). Nicole has been commissioned by eminent arts organisations including the Australian Ballet, the Royal Academy of Dance (London), Experiments in Opera/Symphony Space (New York), the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, Wild Rumpus (San Francisco), Chamber Sounds (Singapore), and the Definiens Project (Los Angeles). Her music has been performed by ensembles such as the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Ars Nova (Dallas) and Halcyon (Sydney). She has received performances at numerous festivals including the Atlantic Music Festival (Maine), the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival (Connecticut), the Dallas Festival of Modern Music, the Nief Norf Festival (Tennessee) and the Bowdoin International Music Festival (Maine). She is Composer-in-Residence at the Queensland Academy for Creative Industries and holds a PhD from the University of Queensland.
Ivonne Paredes is a Lima-born, New York-based composer and percussionist, whose rhythmic scores combine aspects of traditional Peruvian music with wide ranging contemporary influences. Upon relocating to the U.S., she studied with renowned percussionists Mike Davis and Beth Gottlieb, and went on to compose under Dr. Daniel Crozier at Rollins College (Winter Park, FL). A graduate student from CUNY - Brooklyn College, Ivonne has studied under the instruction of Tania León and Douglas Cohen. Her music has been performed across the Americas as well as in Europe and Asia. Some of the ensembles that have performed her compositions include forty/sixty, andPlay, Black House Collective, JACOPERA, the Brooklyn College Symphony Orchestra, the Vanguardia Perú Big Band, the YMCA College of Hong Kong’s jazz ensemble, and Arturo O'Farrill's Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra.
Aaron Parker writes instrumental and electronic music informed by a love for landscape, film (Jonas Mekas, Rose Lowder, Peter Bo Rappmund, Joshua Bonnetta), visual art (Anselm Keifer, Gerhard Richter, Ai Weiwei), and sound (Eliane Radigue, Rashad Becker, John Cage, Giuseppe Ielasi, Chris Watson, Mike Cooper, & many others). 2017 has seen the premiere of atholhu by Alarm Will Sound in the USA in July, the Canadian premiere of large-scale multi-ensemble plus electronics piece warehouse in Toronto in May, and suotnoiyo for Xenia Pestova on toy piano and electronics performed in London in March. Forthcoming projects include remote systems – a record of 'guitared-instrument’ plus electronics music with Manchester-based multi-instrumentalist David Bainbridge – and a collaboration with energetic London-based vocalist Kathryn West involving fractured reimaginings of traditional Appalachian folksongs. Aaron studied composition with Gary Carpenter and Larry Goves at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, and since graduating in 2013 has maintained a commitment to freelance composition work, alongside an ongoing involvement with music teaching. He is currently completing a Masters in Experimental Music at Brunel University, London, with generous financial support from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, alongside working as Assistant Director of Music at Lord Wandsworth College, Hampshire.
David Reeves is a composer of instrumental music focusing mainly on Percussion Ensembles and Chamber and Solo works. His works for Percussion have been performed frequently throughout the US, Japan, Russia and Europe. David is also a sought after arranger for the Marching Band, Drum Corps and Indoor Percussion activities throughout the US and the UK. He received his Bachelor of Music degree in Percussion Performance at the University of Washington under Tom Collier and Mike Crusoe. Prior to UW he studied Composition at Indiana University under Don Freund and Claude Baker. David resides in Seattle, WA with his wife and three sons.
James Romig (b.1971) endeavors to create music that reflects the intricate complexity of the natural world, where fundamental structures exert influence on both small-scale iteration and large-scale design, obscuring boundaries between form and content. His work has been described as "a complex quilt of sound" (Moline Dispatch), "unhurried, pointillistic" (Baltimore Sun), and "the musical equivalent of fractal geometry" (Classical New Jersey). Influenced by both serialism (Romig studied with Milton Babbitt and Charles Wuorinen while earning a PhD at Rutgers University) and minimalism (he studied percussion as an undergraduate at the University of Iowa), his music is further inspired by post-modern literature, abstract expressionist painting, progressive rock, and doom metal. His music has been performed in 49 states and more than 30 countries. Notable performers of his work include the JACK Quartet, Talujon, Chronophonie, Collide-O-Scope, Due East, Duo Contour, Helix, Khasma Piano Duo, New Muse Duo, Zodiac Trio, Duo Harpverk, Suono Mobile, the Quad City Symphony, pianists Ashlee Mack and Taka Kigawa, flutists John McMurtery and Harvey Sollberger, violinist Erik Carlson, and others. His percussion works are especially well-known and have received hundreds of performances around the world. Recordings of his music have been released by Blue Griffin, First Step, Navona, Parallax, and Perspectives of New Music/Open Space. Guest-composer visits include Eastman, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Bowling Green, Illinois, Northwestern, and the American Academy in Rome. Artist residencies include national parks (Everglades, Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest), Centrum, and Copland House. His music is available from Parallax Music Press. He has been on faculty at Western Illinois University since 2002.
Praised by The New York Times as “vivid and dramatic,” the music of Carl Schimmel is dense with literary and musical references, often humorous, and combines intensity of expression with a structural rigor which draws upon his mathematics background. Winner of Columbia University’s Joseph Bearns Prize, the Lee Ettelson Award, and the 2017 Goddard Lieberson Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Schimmel has received honors and awards from many organizations, including the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, Copland House, New Music USA, and ASCAP. His works have been performed in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall, Merkin Hall in New York, Severance Hall in Cleveland, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London, Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, and at other venues worldwide. He has received performances and commissions from the American Composers Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, California EAR Unit, the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, Alarm Will Sound, North/South Consonance, the Mexico City Woodwind Quintet, and many others. A graduate of Duke University (Ph.D.), the Yale School of Music (M.M.), and Case Western Reserve University (B.A. Mathematics and Music), he is currently Associate Professor of Music Theory and Composition at Illinois State University in Normal, IL.
The music of composer and multi-instrumentalist Dan VanHassel (b. 1981) has been described as “energizing” (Wall Street Journal), “a refreshing direction” (I Care If You Listen.com), and “an imaginative and rewarding soundscape” (San Francisco Classical Voice). His works create a uniquely evocative sound world drawing from a background in rock, Indonesian gamelan, free improvisation, and classical music. Recent performances include the Talea Ensemble at the MATA Festival, the International Computer Music Conference, Shanghai Conservatory Electronic Music Week, Bang on a Can Summer Festival, UC Davis Music and Words Festival, and the Wellesley Composers Conference. He has received grants from Chamber Music America, the Barlow Endowment, and New Music USA. Also active as a concert producer and performer on piano and electric guitar, Dan was a founding member of contemporary chamber ensemble Wild Rumpus and artistic director through 2016. Currently residing in Boston, Massachusetts, Dan has degrees from the University of California Berkeley, New England Conservatory, and Carnegie Mellon University.
2013 Guest Artists
MICHAEL COLGRASS
Michael Colgrass (b. 1932) began his musical career in Chicago where his first professional experiences were as a jazz drummer (1944-49). He graduated from the University of Illinois in 1954 with a degree in performance and composition and his studies included training with Darius Milhaud at the Aspen Festival and Lukas Foss at Tanglewood. He served two years as timpanist in the Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra in Stuttgart, Germany and then spent eleven years supporting his composing as a free-lance percussionist in New York City where his wide-ranging performance venues included the New York Philharmonic, American Ballet Theater, Dizzy Gillespie, the Modern Jazz Quartet, the original West Side Story orchestra on Broadway, the Columbia Recording Orchestra’s Stravinsky Conducts Stravinsky series, and numerous ballet, opera and jazz ensembles. He organized the percussion sections for Gunther Schuller’s recordings and concerts, as well as for premieres of new works by John Cage, Elliott Carter, Edgard Varese, and many others. During this New York period he continued to study composition with Wallingford Riegger (1958) and Ben Weber (1958-60).
Colgrass has received commissions from the New York Philharmonic and The Boston Symphony (twice). Also the orchestras of Minnesota, Detroit, San Francisco, St.Louis, Pittsburgh, Washington, Toronto (twice), the National Arts Centre Orchestra (twice), The Canadian Broadcast Corporation, The Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, the Manhattan and Muir String Quartets, The Brighton Festival in England, The Fromm and Ford Foundations, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and numerous other orchestras, chamber groups, choral groups and soloists.
He won 1978 Pulitzer Prize for Music for Déjà vu, which was commissioned and premiered by the New York Philharmonic. In addition, he received an Emmy Award in 1982 for a PBS documentary “Soundings: The Music of Michael Colgrass.” He has been awarded two Guggenheim Fellowships, A Rockefeller Grant, First Prize in the Barlow and Sudler International Wind Ensemble Competitions, and the 1988 Jules Leger Prize for Chamber Music.
He has created a method of teaching children—and teachers—how to write music using graphics. In April of 2009 he did a project with the Middleton Regional High School in Nova Scotia, where high school students wrote seven pieces for band in three days and conducted them in public concert on the fourth. As a result, his method was adopted by the Nova Scotia education system for inclusion in the junior high curriculum. Most recently he had students at Toronto’s Rockcliffe Middle School write a group composition for the Esprit orchestra in three days, which was premiered on 25 May 2010 with Alex Pauk conducting.
Among his recent works are Crossworlds (2002) for flute piano and orchestra commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and premiered with soloists Marina Piccinini and Andreas Heafliger. Pan Trio was commissioned and premiered by Soundstreams Canada in 2005 and premiered by them with Liam Teague, steel drums, Sanya Eng, harp and Ryan Scott, percussion. Side by Side (2007) for harpsichord and altered piano with Joanne Kong as soloist, was commissioned by the Esprit Orchestra, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) and the Richmond Symphony Orchestra. Zululand (2010) for wind ensemble, was commissioned and premiered by the University of Wisconsin at River Falls.
As an author, Colgrass wrote “My Lessons With Kumi,” a narrative/exercise book, outlining his techniques for performance and creativity. He lectures on personal development and gives workshops throughout the world on the psychology and technique of performance, in which participants do exercises from this book. His newest book, “Adventures of an American Composer,” is published by Meredith Music and distributed by the Hal Leonard Corporation. See book website and blog: http://www.colgrassadventures.com.
He lives in Toronto and makes his living internationally as a composer. His wife, Ulla, is a journalist and editor who writes about music and the arts.
Colgrass has received commissions from the New York Philharmonic and The Boston Symphony (twice). Also the orchestras of Minnesota, Detroit, San Francisco, St.Louis, Pittsburgh, Washington, Toronto (twice), the National Arts Centre Orchestra (twice), The Canadian Broadcast Corporation, The Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, the Manhattan and Muir String Quartets, The Brighton Festival in England, The Fromm and Ford Foundations, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and numerous other orchestras, chamber groups, choral groups and soloists.
He won 1978 Pulitzer Prize for Music for Déjà vu, which was commissioned and premiered by the New York Philharmonic. In addition, he received an Emmy Award in 1982 for a PBS documentary “Soundings: The Music of Michael Colgrass.” He has been awarded two Guggenheim Fellowships, A Rockefeller Grant, First Prize in the Barlow and Sudler International Wind Ensemble Competitions, and the 1988 Jules Leger Prize for Chamber Music.
He has created a method of teaching children—and teachers—how to write music using graphics. In April of 2009 he did a project with the Middleton Regional High School in Nova Scotia, where high school students wrote seven pieces for band in three days and conducted them in public concert on the fourth. As a result, his method was adopted by the Nova Scotia education system for inclusion in the junior high curriculum. Most recently he had students at Toronto’s Rockcliffe Middle School write a group composition for the Esprit orchestra in three days, which was premiered on 25 May 2010 with Alex Pauk conducting.
Among his recent works are Crossworlds (2002) for flute piano and orchestra commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and premiered with soloists Marina Piccinini and Andreas Heafliger. Pan Trio was commissioned and premiered by Soundstreams Canada in 2005 and premiered by them with Liam Teague, steel drums, Sanya Eng, harp and Ryan Scott, percussion. Side by Side (2007) for harpsichord and altered piano with Joanne Kong as soloist, was commissioned by the Esprit Orchestra, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) and the Richmond Symphony Orchestra. Zululand (2010) for wind ensemble, was commissioned and premiered by the University of Wisconsin at River Falls.
As an author, Colgrass wrote “My Lessons With Kumi,” a narrative/exercise book, outlining his techniques for performance and creativity. He lectures on personal development and gives workshops throughout the world on the psychology and technique of performance, in which participants do exercises from this book. His newest book, “Adventures of an American Composer,” is published by Meredith Music and distributed by the Hal Leonard Corporation. See book website and blog: http://www.colgrassadventures.com.
He lives in Toronto and makes his living internationally as a composer. His wife, Ulla, is a journalist and editor who writes about music and the arts.
ANDREW PAUL MACDONALD
The compositions of Andrew Paul MacDonald have won many prestigious prizes, including the 1995 Juno Award for “Best Classical Composition” for his Violin Concerto. His many compositions have been performed across the country by such notable ensembles as the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, l'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Esprit Orchestra, l'Orchestre symphonique de Québec, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the CBC Vancouver Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, the Regina Symphony Orchestra, the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, The Evergreen Club and the I Musici de Montréal. He has had works commissioned by outstanding orchestras, chamber ensembles, solo performers, music competitions, the Canadian Opera Company and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. His works are frequently broadcast on CBC and Société Radio-Canada, and have been performed in Australia, China, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Taiwan, Turkey, the United States, Ukraine and Canada. Thirty-three of his compositions have been recorded on eighteen compact discs to date, and two for violin and piano on the ATMA and Centrediscs labels were both nominated for the 2005 East Coast Music Award. Of these, Jasper Wood's recording of MacDonald's works won that award, as well as the 2005 Canadian Independent Music Award. MacDonald recently finished Mary’s Wedding, a major opera for Pacific Opera Victoria, with libretto by Stephen Massicotte, which was premiered in November 2011 in Victoria, B. C. and later broadcast by the CBC.
Past Vice-President and Council member of the Canadian League of Composers and founding Artistic Director of Ensemble Musica Nova, MacDonald performs in concert as a jazz guitarist and as a conductor, and is professor of composition at Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke (Lennoxville), Québec. Biographical articles on MacDonald are to be found in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2ed., 2001), the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada (www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com) and the Canadian Who's Who.
Visit the websites at:
www.ubishops.ca/andrewpaulmacdonald
www.ubishops.ca/hotjazztrio
Past Vice-President and Council member of the Canadian League of Composers and founding Artistic Director of Ensemble Musica Nova, MacDonald performs in concert as a jazz guitarist and as a conductor, and is professor of composition at Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke (Lennoxville), Québec. Biographical articles on MacDonald are to be found in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2ed., 2001), the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada (www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com) and the Canadian Who's Who.
Visit the websites at:
www.ubishops.ca/andrewpaulmacdonald
www.ubishops.ca/hotjazztrio
OASIS QUARTET
The Oasis Quartet has emerged out of a shared goal of interpreting dynamic repertoire at the highest level. In the tradition of fine chamber ensembles, Oasis Quartet's nuanced performances of string and wind arrangements are as fresh, authentic and arresting as their interpretations of original works for saxophone. Founded in 2007, the ensemble has received rave reviews of its live performances as well as for its innovative and creative clinic and concert programming.
The members of Oasis--Nathan Nabb, James Bunte, Dave Camwell, and James Romain—are each highly regarded concert artists in their own right, appearing regionally, nationally, and internationally as chamber musicians, clinicians, orchestral musicians, solo recitalists and adjudicators. They can be heard on the Teal Creek, Centaur, Amp Recordings, and Mark Custom labels, and in performances with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, as well as a number of regional orchestras.
As an ensemble, Oasis is dedicated to the exploration, preparation and presentation of important contemporary works for saxophone quartet, while retaining a strong foundation in standard and transcribed repertoire. The diverse and wide-ranging interests of its members—including jazz performance and history, contemporary techniques and notation, ethnomusicology, and regular contributions to scholarly and trade journals—contribute a broad array of influences that lend a unique depth and perspective to Oasis Quartet performances.
The members of Oasis--Nathan Nabb, James Bunte, Dave Camwell, and James Romain—are each highly regarded concert artists in their own right, appearing regionally, nationally, and internationally as chamber musicians, clinicians, orchestral musicians, solo recitalists and adjudicators. They can be heard on the Teal Creek, Centaur, Amp Recordings, and Mark Custom labels, and in performances with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, as well as a number of regional orchestras.
As an ensemble, Oasis is dedicated to the exploration, preparation and presentation of important contemporary works for saxophone quartet, while retaining a strong foundation in standard and transcribed repertoire. The diverse and wide-ranging interests of its members—including jazz performance and history, contemporary techniques and notation, ethnomusicology, and regular contributions to scholarly and trade journals—contribute a broad array of influences that lend a unique depth and perspective to Oasis Quartet performances.
2011 Guest Artists
STEPHEN PAULUS
Stephen Paulus (b. 1949) is a prolific composer of over 400 works. He is fluent in all genres, including orchestra, opera, chorus, chamber ensemble, solo voice, concert band, piano and organ. Born August 24, 1949 in Summit, New Jersey, Paulus has lived most of his life in Minnesota. He co-founded the American Composers Forum in 1973 and continues to work on behalf of his colleagues as the Symphony and Concert representative on the ASCAP Board of Directors. His music has been commissioned, recorded and performed by such varied performers as The New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Washington Opera, Los Angeles Master Chorale, The Dale Warland Singers, VocalEssence, Doc Severinsen, Thomas Hampson and Deborah Voigt.
ALEX SHAPIRO
Alex Shapiro (b. New York City, 1962) composes acoustic and electroacoustic pieces known for their lyricism and drama. Published by Activist Music, her music is heard daily in concerts and broadcasts across the U.S. and internationally, and can be found on over twenty commercially released CDs from record labels around the world. Educated at The Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music as a student of Ursula Mamlok and John Corigliano, Ms. Shapiro's honors and awards include those from The American Music Center, ASCAP, the American Composers Forum, Mu Phi Epsilon, Meet the Composer, The California Arts Council and The MacDowell Colony. An enthusiastic leader in the new music community, Alex advocates for other artists through her speaking appearances and her published articles. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Music Center and The MacDowell Colony, sits on ASCAP's Symphony & Concert Committee and the ASCAP Board of Review, and is the past President of the Board of Directors of the American Composers Forum of Los Angeles. Raised in Manhattan and later a longtime resident of Malibu, California, Alex now lives on Washington State's remote San Juan Island. When she's not composing she can be found communing with the sea life, as seen on her music and photo-filled blog, www.notesfromthekelp.com and her website, www.alexshapiro.org.
FOUNTAIN CITY ENSEMBLE
The Fountain City Ensemble has performed throughout the USA and Japan at such prestigious
events as the North American Saxophone Alliance National Conference, the
International Clarinet Fest, and the joint national conferences of the American
Musicological Society and Society for Music Theory. Based at the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia, the group’s members are: Andrée Martin, flute; Lisa Oberlander, clarinet; Amy Griffiths, saxophone; and Paul Vaillancourt, percussion. The group frequently performs re-imaginings of modern works from a variety of disciplines such as composer Terry Riley's In C and director Fritz Lang's Metropolis.
SUZANNE SORKIN
Suzanne Sorkin (b. 1974) is active as a composer and educator. She has received awards and commissions from the Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University, Chamber Music Now, Third Millennium Ensemble, counter)induction, ASCAP, and others. Her work has been programmed on Piano Spheres in Los Angeles, Washington Square Contemporary Music Society, Denison University New Music Festival, Chamber Music Quad Cities, Florida State University Festival of New Music, and Vassar Modfest. She has written for ensembles including the Mannes Trio, Cabrini Quartet, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Third Angle, and Aspen Contemporary Ensemble. She has been a composition fellow at the Wellesley Composers Conference, the Ernest Bloch Composers Symposium, the Advanced Masterclasses in Composition at the Aspen Music Festival, and the Oregon Bach Composers Symposium. Residencies include Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Ragdale Foundation, Artists’ Enclave at I-Park, Kimmel Harding Nelson Center, and Atlantic Center for the Arts. She received her Ph.D. in composition from the University of Chicago through the support of a four-year Century Fellowship in the Humanities. In Fall 2005, Suzanne Sorkin joined the faculty at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia as Assistant Professor of Music where she teaches composition, theory, and history.