Andrea Segovia

Andrea Segovia was a child prodigy. She taught herself to play the guitar at the age of two and had mastered the instrument before she was eight. However, in unenlightened Spain at the turn of the twentieth century, there was no call for wunderkind girl guitarists. So she did what so many other talented female artists of the day did – she traded her skirt for a pair of trousers, cut and pomaded her hair, and assumed a more masculine name: Meptang. But when she learned the name was a Basque word meaning “tone-deaf shepherd ugly as goiter,” she promptly changed it to Andrés. The rest is six-string history.

David Gunn
www.DavidGunn.org

MaD Circle

Last Sunday’s Composer’s Voice concert combined new dances with new music to create a unique project for the series. The concert, entitled “MaD Circle”, sought to rethink the classic forms of the waltz and tango.

For this concert, curators Erin Bomboy and Callie Hatchett called for choreographers to create new works set to original music written for the project. Each selected choreographer was given a piece of music, based on either the waltz or tango form, and assigned to revitalize the form of classic dance “for a new generation through fresh choreographic ideas and rejuvenated music structures”. The goal was to combine the worlds of commercial dance and concert dance to create something innovative yet rooted in classic forms. The result of the project was a variety of unique takes on innovating upon classical forms that both engaged and entertained the audience.

One of the highlights of the performance was Zyngare, choreographed by Callie Hatchett and performed by Caroline Deitz, LA Kilpatrick, Allison Schieler, and Leslie St. Jour. Set to Gary Allne Edwards’ “The Gypsy Tango”, Hatchett’s choreography perfectly embraced the idea of new concert dance building upon the classic form of the tango. While not overtly tango-like, her choreography used elements that the audience would recognize as coming from the tango in a subtle way, perhaps aided by Edwards’ rather straightforward tango music. The result was a freer or looser form of the classic tango.

Maxx Passion’s performance of her I know, follow the leader, set to music by Petri Kuljuntausta, was a strong statement on the role of women in the classical form of the waltz. Passion began by dancing around a pair of black heels, nearly slipping her feet into the shoes yet consistently resisting. To this she added “I thought I would be the leader”, which she spoke directly at the audience in an earnest tone, seeming to express some inner desire to lead rather than be led. Eventually she succumbed, donning the heels and, partially, a golden gown and danced in a more traditional manner that looked like she was, in fact, being led by an unseen leader (presumably a man). Passion’s piece, which was beautifully danced, had a clear message which directly related to the theme of the project in a unique way.

Special mention should be made of Carson Reiners’ performance of her piece Stuck. She danced through her entire piece even though the music never started playing without giving a hint to the audience that something was wrong. Oddly enough, the performance, in which Reiners frequently made silent gasping motions, seemed to work even without music and left me wondering if perhaps the lack of sound was intentional.

The concert concluded with Jennifer Roit and Ray Keller’s performance of Roit’s TRUSTissues, set Larry Matthew Gaab’s “Dreaming Tangos”. Gaab’s eerie and fluid music, itself an interesting take on the traditional tango, was effectively matched to Roit’s graceful choreography.

After the performance, the dancers, choreographers, and composers gathered at The Pony Bar for drinks, a Composer’s Voice tradition, to discuss the effectiveness of the performance and enjoy each other’s company.

The July 13th concert was the first of two for the MaD Circle Dance project. The second concert will take place at 1:00 pm on Sunday, August 10th at Jan Hus Church in New York City and will feature a new set of composers, choreographers, and dancers.

Joseph Bohigian
http://josephbohigian.wix.com/composer
Joseph Bohigian is a composer from Fresno, California and is interning for Vox Novus. He will be sharing his experiences on the New York New Music scene.

Is it worth it to compose a work one minute in length?

As much as we all have issues with Facebook, it can be amazing — I posted about "Peregrination," a one-minute piece for bassoon, clarinet, euphonium, saxophone or tuba. In two hours, the wonderful Suzanne Mueller, cellist, commented asking why there was no version for cello. I made an adaptation for cello for her, and then I also adapted "Chesapeake Gambol," a one-minute piece originally written for tuba, for her, and KAZAAAAMMMM!!! Suzanne is now planning to premiere both pieces on her July 27 concert at Old Westbury Gardens!!. Thank you, Suzanne!! And thank you to Douglas DaSilva and Rob Voisey whose 15 Minutes of Fame program prompted me to write these two one-minute pieces, even if they were "not selected" for performance on the 15 Minutes of Fame program.

NOTE: The tuba piece, Chesapeake Gambol, was premiered by Ben Vokits on June 27 on the Soofser#5 program.

Greg Bartholomew
http://www.gregbartholomew.com/
Greg Bartholomew is a Vox Novus composer and his works have been included on 60x60, Composer's Voice, and Fifteen Minutes of Fame

Upcoming Performances

CIRCUIT BRIDGES CONCERT NO. 6:
REINFORCING BRIDGES

Thursday, July 24th, 2014 at 7:30 PM

Circuit Bridges is a monthly electroacoustic concert series, held at Gallery MC in New York City. The July 24th concert, titled “Reinforcing Bridges”, is the final concert of the first season. It reflects the concept of the first concert from the season, which built a bridge from New York City composers to composers from around the world. This return home features music from the inaugural call for works, which received over 190 submissions. The music selected for this concert represents a variety of styles and ideas employed by living electronic music composers.

Founded in 2014 by Robert Voisey and under the artistic direction of David Morneau and Melissa Grey, Circuit Bridges is dedicated to creating a community for creators of electroacoustic music and strives to explore all that is included, and currently being innovated, under the electroacoustic umbrella, such as sonic art, radio art, glitch, circuit bending, electronica, real-time improvisation, network performance, audiovisual composition, mash-up, and data sonification. It’s mission is to connect with similar organizations from around the globe that foster and promote innovative electroacoustic music and sound. Concerts feature local composers and sound artists and those from visiting communities and immerse audiences in the vast wealth of electroacoustic music being created today. Concerts are held on a Thursday once a month at Gallery MC in New York City.

This concert will present works from a unique set of composers: Joel Gressel, Antonio D’Amato, Ken Paoli, Robert Voisey, Angelo Bello, Joshua Marquez, Michael James Olson, Brian Schorn, Milica Paranosic, John Oliver, John Bock, Taylor Brook, and Taylan Cihan, which reflect the curators’ aesthetic and experiences.

These composers’ works have been performed around the world at such prestigious venues as the SEAMUS National Conference, Noisefloor Festival, ICMC Conference, World Financial Center Winter Garden Atrium, Stratford Circus, and Carnegie Hall by such ensembles as the JACK Quartet, Akropolis Reed Quintet, Quintet Sirocco, Argento Chamber Ensemble, Momenta Quartet, and Ensemble Adapter.

The concert will feature performances by Margaret Lancaster, Taylan Cihan, Milica Paranosic, and Robert Voisey and video by Carmen Kordas. Their work has been heard around the world at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, Ibsen Festival, Santa Fe New Music, Edinburgh Festival, Tap City, New Music Miami, Festival D’Automne, Galapagos Art Space, The Stone, and Symphony Space.

For more information about the Circuit Bridges Series: www.circuitbridges.com

CIRCUIT BRIDGES CONCERT NO. 6: REINFORCING BRIDGES
Thursday, July 24th at 8:00 pm (7:30 pm pre-concert listening)
Gallery MC
549 W 52nd St, New York, NY 10019
[Use the freight elevator entrance]
$10 admission
http://www.gallerymc.org/h/

Calendar

Announcing results for Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame with
Calvin Falwell, bass clarinet & Robert McCormick, drum set

Vox Novus called for one-minute pieces for Calvin Falwell, bass clarinet & Robert McCormick, drum set for Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame to be performed on Composer's Voice concert series Septmeber 14, 2014 at Jan Hus Church in New York City

Praised for his "great skill and captivating sound" by Clariperu, American clarinetist Calvin Falwell enjoys a varied career as an orchestral musician, soloist and educator. His choice of equipment and clarinet reeds has helped him to earn his fame he has today. Calvin is a member of the clarinet faculty of the University of South Florida School of Music and is a member of the Sarasota Opera Orchestra in Sarasota, FL. During the summer months he can be found performing with the Ash Lawn Opera Festival in Charlottesville, VA. Prior to his current appointments, Calvin held positions with the Florida Grand Opera, Miami City Ballet and the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra. Calvin has also appeared with the Louisville Orchestra, Florida Orchestra, Lexington Philharmonic, Sarasota Orchestra, Opera Tampa, Opera Naples, Palm Beach Symphony, Pittsburgh Opera Theater and Symphony in C (formerly Haddonfield Symphony). Additionally, Calvin has toured internationally with the Hollywood Concert Orchestra. Calvin has also served on the faculties of Holy Family University, Wilmington University, Hartwick College Music Festival, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and AMEROPA Chamber Music Festival. In addition to his orchestral positions, Calvin has enjoyed performing as a soloist in both recital and orchestral settings. A true champion of new music, Calvin has had the privilege of premiering numerous works for both clarinet and bass clarinet including works by Todd Goodman, David Thomas, Max Lifchitz, Suzanne Polak and Joseph Hallman. Solo appearances have included recitals in South America, China, Europe and the US. His principal teachers and mentors include Paul Demers (Philadelphia Orchestra), Ron Samuels (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra), Tim Zavadil (Minnesota Orchestra), Dallas Tidwell (Louisville Orchestra), Daniel Lochrie (Nashville Symphony) and Scott Locke (Murray State University). Both Calvin's BM and MM are in Clarinet Performance and are from the University of Louisville and Duquesne University respectively. Calvin is both a Selmer Paris and Rico Performing Artist, performing on Selmer Clarinets and Rico Reeds exclusively.

Robert McCormick is currently Professor of Music at the University of South Florida. He served as principal percussionist/assistant timpanist with the Florida Orchestra for 20 seasons, and was a core member of the legendary Harry Partch Ensemble. Robert is often sought after to perform and conduct in major venues working with such artists as Placido Domingo, Andre Bocelli and many others. He has authored articles, solos, and percussion texts that are considered standard literature in the field of percussion. With dozens of critically acclaimed recordings and reviews in leading journals such as Gramophone, American Record Guide, Fanfare and The Strad, Robert is internationally recognized for his performances with the McCormick Percussion Group and the McCormick Duo flute/percussion ensemble. Robert was the 2006 recipient of the Florida Music Educator of the Year Award; the 2007 Grand Prize in the Keystone Percussion Composition Award, the 2010 Jerome Krivanek University Distinguished Teacher Award and received 2012 Global Music Award. Highly regarded as a teacher, Robert is especially proud of his many students that hold prestigious positions in the field of percussion.

Works selected for this Fifteen Minutes of Fame include:
The Metropolis Skyline by Rodrigo Baggio,
Interlude 146 by David Bohn,
Charlie Foxtrot by James Bohn,
Homage to Scrubby Samba by Joseph Bourdeau ,
Perspective by Stephen P Brown,
The Sight of a Dragon by Inna Buganina,
Jabber by Vincent Euliano,
Thought Chamber by Sean Hamilton ,
Dirt by Tyler Kline ,
Elation Relation by David Meckler,
Zhoke by Daniel Mihai,
Bounce by Gary Powell Nash,
Nice N' Simple by J.J. de Azevedo Souza,
Salty Kiss by Paul Taylor, and
In Memoriam S. H. by Luca Vanneschi.

You can find more information here
http://www.Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame.com/featuring/Calvin_Falwell_Robert_McCormick/

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