June 17th, 1999, Concert of Premieres

PROGRAM

Gustavo Parra ........... Zaius*

Yusuke Iwasaki .............. Pillow*

Eric Foinquinos ............. Caprichos del Tiempo*

Juan Raffo ...................... El Momento Entre Los Trapecios*

Matt Vinson ................... Jubilations*

Hyun Jung Shim ............ Beyond*

Jong Suh Lee ................... Lunarian Dance*

Shawn Harper Tarrant....... The Forgotten**

Chan Ji Kim ....... Flying in New York on a Summer Night*

David Reminick .............. Spiderman*

Galo Recalde ................... Looking for Carlos*

Wendy Luck ................... The Ancient Key*

* First Performance ** First NY or US Performance

Having long awaited the final concerts for this seminar, I was extremely pleased with the final concert for group A. The concert consisted of pieces by Gustavo Parra, Yusuke Iwasaki, Eric Foquinos, Juan Raffo, Matt Vinson, Hyun Jung Shim, Jong Suh Lee, Shawn Harper Turrent, Chan Ji Kim, David Reminick, Galo Recalde, and Wendy Luck. In general terms, the concert displayed a great degree of ecclectisism and diversity. There were pieces of a straightforward tonal nature as with Yusukee's piece Pillows, pieces consisting of more of a polyphonic and freely tonal linear design like Gustavo's piece, and pieces with a modal, eastern quality like Wendy's piece and Hyun Jung Shim's piece. I was pleased to see so many pieces that were obviously crafted with care and attention to the development and realization of melodies over time. As with any student concert, there were varying levels of succes but I would think its safe to say that every piece on the concert had some really wonderful moments and that every piece was composed with feeling that came out in the show. The performers in the ensemble faced a rather daunting task of learning quite a bit of music in a realtively short period of time with very limited and rather stressed rehearsals. In spite of all this however, I think they did a good job of presenting the material as best they could. I think it was unfortunate, however, that the music was often stopped so that mistakes might be fixed with the fictional idea that the music could be cut and spliced magically in the recording studio. This really isn't how that kind of thing works. Not to say that a recording studios can't do some very magical things, but a spliced recording will sound just like that unless there are transition points that have some kind of clear ending and beginning. (Evan Gardner)

Two Concerts of Premieres June 17th and June 22nd, 1999 These two concerts reminded me of a conversation with a student majoring in fine art the other day. He and I discussed about the general tendencies of students' works in two fields, fine arts and music composition. He said that in the fine art field, students have concept, philosophy or just what to want to express clearly. However, usually they don't have enough skill to embody those themes, so their works become to look incomplete. Then, it is funny that instead of creating, they talk a lot about their themes, he said. In the music composition field, things seem in the opposite way. Most students seem to know theory and technique enough. However, it seems that they don't have what to want to express. In other words, they just write the "good" pieces that sound beautifully without any theme. Also, many students seem to lack the sense of time flowing throughout pieces while they care much enough about vertical sonority or temporally rhythm. Unfortunately, it turned out that this conversation was applicable to most pieces from these two concerts. However, some pieces have strong expressions. Hyun Jung Shim's "Beyond" reflects her national identity as a Korean composer. Although using ethnic materials always works to get the advantage to make the audience like the piece, every composer has a right to do so as far as it is true to him or her. Patrick Snyder's "Cannon's Walk" is another example to express a composer's musical identity. This classical cannon shows his attitude to write what he wants to write, without being influenced by "cool trend." Also, in his piece called "Sandwich Musings," Chris Bassett's crystallizes his unique sense of rhythm, knowledge of each instrument's color, and the sense of humor into one piece. Those young composers may achieve his or her own style with excellent quality, unless they depend too much on the technique they may learn. (Yusuke Iwasaki)

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Eric Foinquinos' highly structured and rhythmic piece "Caprichos del Tiempo" brings about many brilliant harmonic and thematic elements. Encompassed within these elements is a unique, eminent, fulfilling voice. .Juan Raffo's "El Momento Entre Los Trapecios" is a dynamic tango which utilized the full force of the septet for which it was written. The piece built from a very soft and flowing introduction to a loud and tumultuous. The shortest piece on the program, Matt Vinson's "Jubilations" was a well orchestrated and effectively strong piece. The pace was fast and there was much rhythmic activity making a lot said in a short period of time.

The accomplished composer, Gustavo Parra, brings about an enlightened and thought provoking piece, "Zaius". The orchestration was magnificent and the thematic evolution was brilliant. "Pillow", by Yusuke Iwasaki, is a piece which seems peaceful yet it's running all over the place. The composer used each instrument's sound individually to create a very approachable and extremely effective texture. Hyun Jung Shim's, "Beyond", is a slowly powerful and meaningful piece incorporating eastern music and instruments. Its pulse and its sounds immerse the listener in an exotic and provocative mood.

The poignant piece, "Lunarian Dance", by Jong Suh Lee brought out a lot of creative rhythmic and thematic material. With this music, it is easy to envision dancers moving about in a nocturnal ritual. "The Forgotten" by Shawn Harper Tarrant, is a flowing and emotional piece. The composer's experience in film is probably what brings about many of the lucid images interwoven throughout this music.

Chan Ji Kin - Flying in New York on a Summer Night. A moving marimba introduction brings about the rest of this fast and equally moving piece. The piece effectively implants the image of flying as well as the longing for the composer's homeland, which originally inspired the piece.

A playful and extremely well constructed duet for Piano and Marimba, David Reminick's piece, "Spiderman", combines a multitude of musical styles and moods. From 20th century to Jazz to more romantic mediums. The styles are not only combined but seamlessly blended together, so that hints of a style are present as another comes into focus.

"Looking for Carlos" by Galo Recalde is a solo performance with midi backup dedicated to the composer's brother. Galo Recalde gave an fantastically funny performance, imitating trumpet and electric guitar with his voice, while acting as a somewhat absent minded performer.

A moving and powerful look into the mysteries of ancient and present day Egypt, Wendy Luck's "The Ancient Key" made full use of flute, percussion, video, and tape. The piece was a kind of duet between different types of flutes which the performer, Wendy herself, utilized and the sound of a flute played within the natural acoustics of the titanic structures of Egypt. (Patrick Snyder)

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