“With few opportunities and much competition,...composers show creativity in just getting heard.” And in Chris Pasles’s article in the Los Angeles Times, Robert Voisey is highlighted as one of those composers. Composing electroacoustic and chamber music, his aesthetic oscillates from the Romantic to the Post Modern Mash-Up. His work has been performed in venues throughout the world including: Carnegie Hall, World Financial Center Winter Garden Atrium, and Stratford Circus in London. Voisey has been profiled and music broadcasted on HEC-TV public television in St Louis, Elektramusik in France, as well as radio stations all around the world including: Cityscape NPR St. Louis Public Radio; Arts & Answers & Art Waves on WKCR, Upbeat with Eva Radich on Radio New Zealand; and Kol Yisrael Israeli Radio.
Cloud 1: Recorded in 2015 with the Buchla Electric Music Box
Antonino Eze Cuscina is a self-taught musician composer living in Sicily. He’s been into music since he was 16 when he started playing drums in a local cover band, and later guitars (left-hand with right-hand string position), learning from records how to get into the instruments; his main influences come from Brian Eno, Robert Fripp, David Sylvian, Peter Gabriel, Robert Wyatt, Ryuichi Sakamoto. His studio comprises of Apple computers, Pro Tools, Fender, Yamaha and Cuenca guitars, hardware-software analog a digital synthesizers, various outboard. His music vision concentrates mostly on vibrations from different nature, that excited together bring to an harmonic flowing in precisely constructed pieces. “Maritime Tatami”/”A Game Of Despair” EP, from 1983, featuring Victrola, the duo of Antonio Eze Cuscinà and Carlo Smeriglio is currently available
here.
Kirsten Volness is a composer and pianist currently residing in Providence, RI. Her acoustic and electronic music is often inspired by nature, myth, science, spirituality, and environmental and sociopolitical issues. She has received commissions from the BMI Foundation, ASCAP/SEAMUS, World Future Council, and various notable performers and new music ensembles. When not writing electro/acoustic music, she plays piano for NYC-based Hotel Elefant, collaborates with Meridian Project on astrophysics-inspired multimedia performances, writes and performs operas with homeless advocacy group Tenderloin Opera Company, serves on the board of directors for the Boston New Music Initiative, and is an affiliate artist of Sleeping Weazel. She holds composition degrees from the Universities of Michigan (DMA, MM) and Minnesota (BA summa cum laude), and teaches privately and at the University of Rhode Island. •
www.kirstenvolness.com
Violinist Lilit Hartunian performs at the forefront of contemporary music innovation in Boston and internationally. Described as “brilliantly rhapsodic” by the Harvard Crimson, Lilit is regularly heard on stage premiering works written for her by leading composers, and with ensembles such as Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Sound Icon, Boston New Music Initiative, Transient Canvas, Equilibrium Ensemble, Boston Microtonal Society, and others. She has been invited repeatedly to perform at the Museum of Fine Arts, with projects ranging from solo recitals to orchestral concerts with a lighting design co-conceived by Lilit. Locally, the Boston Musical Intelligencer praised her “captivating and luxurious tone,”. Internationally, she was selected as one of 12 American violinists to attend the Lucerne Festival Academy in 2014. Lilit has performed under conductors including Simon Rattle, Matthias Pintscher, Peter Oundjian, Douglas Boyd, and Andrew Litton.
River Rising is an elegy to those who have lost friends, family, livelihoods, and communities—sometimes an entire existence that can never be recovered—to unexpected tragedy. The hopelessness and horror that tsunamis, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, war, illness, climate change, and other catastrophic forces may bring seem surreal, having never lived through anything like this firsthand. I wanted to take a moment to reflect on being overwhelmed entirely by situations beyond our control that may only be endured together. Special thanks to Mary Kouyoumdjian for letting me play and sample her beloved Siran.
Eva Ingolf is a well known Icelandic violinist particularly recognized for her authoritative performances of solo works by J. S. Bach. She comes from a leading musical family and her father, Ingólfur Guðbrandsson, premiered many of the great choral works in Iceland and six of her sisters and brothers are professional musicians who have made an important contribution to the high quality of the musical life in the country. Eva Ingolf currently lives in New York City with her husband Kristinn Sv. Helgason, an official of the United Nations Secretariat and their daughter, Andrea Kristinsdóttir, a musician and actress. Education She began violin studies at a young age, gaining early recognition for outstanding musical talent, including the beautiful tone and artistic interpretation of her playing. After studying at the Conservatory of Reykjavík for 6 years, Eva left Iceland to study with some of Europe’s finest violin pedagogues. Her playing has been greatly influenced by the spirit of the Russian and East-European violin schools. At the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, she was a student of Prof. Leon-Ara, followed by studies with Prof. Corrado Romano at the Conservatory of Geneva and Prof. Istvan Parkanyi at the Sweelink Conservatory in Amsterdam. During these years she won many awards, as well as scholarships to study with world renowned pedagogues such as Stephan Gheorghiu, Victor Pikaizen, Zachar Bron and Tibor Varga. Throughout her career, Eva has given numerous solo recitals in well-known concert halls in Iceland, Japan, United States, Russia and Europe, including regularly at the Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Trinity Church in New York City and the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., receiving high acclaim from music critics as well as the general public. She has released two highly-regarded CDs on the Japis label. Eva has also recorded for the Icelandic State Radio. In 1995-1996, she undertook studies in composition, conducting and orchestration at Harvard University.
Nicole Antebi works in non-fiction animation, motion graphics, installation while simultaneously connecting and creating opportunities for other artists through larger curatorial and editorial projects such as Water, CA and The Winter Shack. Her work has been shown in many places including Hive House, High Desert Test Sites, The Manhattan Bridge Anchorage, Teeny Cine’s converted trailer, Portable Forest, a Texas Grain Silo and in the cabin of a capsized ship at Machine Project in Los Angeles. She is also the 2015 recipient of the Jerome Foundation Grant for Film/Video.
Doug Thomas is a French composer and artist. In 2014, he graduated from his BMus Degree (Hons) in Popular Music Performance at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance in London. Doug is currently busy working on his solo projects, as well as on many side projects.
Pulse 3 was written to accompany the video animation Gesture #1 "For Circuit Bridges" by Nicole Antebi. I am currently working on Pulse 1 and Pulse 2, which in addition to Pulse 3 will form a larger project entitled PULSE.
Michael Braudy is a violinist who specializes in Western classical, Celtic and Indian music. He teaches playing the violin with relaxation, improvises, and composes tunes in the Celtic idiom based on Indian ragas. He collaborates with storytellers and poets, and gives workshops in music and health.
www.michaelbraudy.com
Air in Rag Bhimpalasi: In India, the afternoon is a time for rest and reflection, and the raga on which this Celtic air is based has that nature of openness and exploration. The violin lifts us into a realm of pensive recollections, and gently returns us to where we began.
Carrin Tanaka is a Los Angeles-based composer specializing in scoring for visual media. Her collaborations have been screened at Warner Bros. Studios as well as various film festivals throughout the US. She holds a dual Bachelor’s Degree in music composition and ethnomusicology from the University of California, Davis.
Dial 414 was written as a nod to the 1990’s. Electric violin leads the music through a digital, churning atmosphere, which subtly emulates the sounds of video games and the early Internet. The numbers 414 refer to the semi-tone intervals of the most prominent motif in the piece.
Bob Siebert: I received my BM and MM Music Degrees from Manhattan School of Music and have been a performer/composer/teacher in the New York area for the past thirty-five years. My music, which can be found on iTunes, runs the gambit from pop influenced electronic realism, reinvented jazz standards, experimental electronic pieces and improvisations for the African thumb piano.
Dancing Pearls: I wanted to create an animated piece that best compliments the animation in Gesture 1
Dan Mackenzie: BA Brown University 1989 2004 Emmy nomination for best TV theme song winner of 2004 ASCAP Foundation Sammy Cahn Award and 2010 ASCAP Foundation Joe Raposo Award, co-writing and producing credits include Joss Stone and Martin Sexton
Olga Maria Valentina Fernanda Beauregard: An old violinist who hasn't played in decades comes upon their violin in the attic. Tentative musical reminiscing gives way to a joyously melodic nostalgia trip, which fades as quickly as it began with the wistful realization that time has indeed passed, and the bliss of youth is gone.
Studies have shown that performing music by James Bohn causes performers to be viewed as 17% more sexually attractive to both men and women. People who perform music by James Bohn develop whiter teeth and thicker, fuller hair. Science is never wrong.
=:-) <:-) [:-), pronounced punk dunce walkman, for electric violin and fixed audio was composed to accompany Nicole Antebi’s video "Gesture #2" utilizing a high degree of coordination between the music and the animation. Drum and bass? Cheesy video game music? Early seventies synthesized pop music? You be the judge.
Rosa Brands born 1989 in Stykkisholmur and has studied cello and music composition since the age of 12.
The crab race is written for Gesture 3 and electric violin.
Melanie Mitrano is an award-winning ASCAP composer, singer, and teacher whose vocal and compositional styles span many genres, including classical, jazz, theater, Brazilian music and Portuguese Fado, the traditional music of Portugal. Her music has been performed in a variety of venues from concert halls to theaters to jazz clubs.
Remember Who You Are is a vocal trance EDM in which the violin emulates the human voice. The message is self-empowerment; a reminder to value what makes us strong and unique. This was inspired by Gesture #1, a string of moving pearls, precious gems in motion, my definition of humankind.
Composer, Artistic Director of the Composer's Voice Concert Series, Douglas DaSilva is dedicated to promoting the music of living composers. His “Stabat Serban” was performed at the George Enescu Festival by cellist Maestro Serban Nichifor. “Rondellhund” was performed by Bateira Trio at Carnegie Hall.
Funeral for Avogadro’s Balloon: Avogadro’s Law: “Equal volumes of gases at the same temperature and pressure contain the same number of molecules regardless of their chemical nature and physical properties” Amadeo Avogadro (1776-1856). Sounds were created by Yumi Suehiro: acoustic piano, mic, wah-wah, guitar effects, amp.
Daniel Mihai studied with the Maestro and teachers like Serban Nichifor, Stefan Gheorghiu and a lot of great teachers of Romanian School of Music (National University of Music in Bucharest)! The first teacher in my life was my father who brings my special love to music and special to my first love- violine! He has attended MBA courses in the Faculty of Performing Art, with the objective of improvement and assimilation of all knowledge related to contemporary music. I am teacher of violine in Constanta and also I play with pleasure this kind of music wherever! Also, I am PhD Teacher of Violine since 2013.
Videomatics: For this composition i reach one of the meaning of the conexxion of the future with the playing violine in some feelings in postmoden era.
Peter Hawkey is a musician and composer who studied at Oxford Brookes University. Although having a background in rock music, he enjoys writing in many styles, and taking on the challenges of composing in unfamiliar styles or starting with unusual materials.
Building Blocks.... : Beginning with a rigid motif to reflect the abstract nature of the images, the piece begins to become more playful with a series of short twists and turns. Through a flurry of notes it feels as if the piece is inevitably being drawn back to the original motif.
Daniel Schnee is an ethnomusicologist and saxophonist who has performed worldwide with many Juno and Grammy™ Award winning musicians. He has also been internationally recognized as a graphic score composer, and is a former student of both Pulitzer Prize-winning saxophonist Ornette Coleman, and legendary GUTAI artist Shozo Shimamoto.
Villutrú (Icelandic: heresy) is a quasi-improvisational composition for violin and film. Each section moves at the same tempo but switches time signatures, creating a shift in harmonic rhythm. The performer can switch sections any time, as well as switch to and fro from each section without finishing either.
Composer Melissa Grey’s projects include concert works, electroacoustic performances, installations, and collaborations with artists, architectural designers, and musicians.
Gesture 1 on 2 Strings: The violin part, dedicated to Eva Ingolf, offers real time frequencies and beating rhythms that are influenced by Schumann resonance and highlight two strings on the violin. The frequencies and beating effects align with Nicole Antebi’s Gesture 1.
Alon Nechushtan is a Composer and Pianist based in New York. His work has been presented in Carnegie Hall, The Blue Note Jazz Club, Central Park Summer Stage and many other venues in New York, Europe and his native Israel. www.musicalon.com
Duelity explores the balance between a perpetual climbing melody and a more droning counter pulse, driving a single intervallic nucleus to it's full potential before it's final stop.
David Morneau is a composer of an entirely undecided genre, a provider of exclusive unprecedented experiments. In his work he endeavors to explore ideas about our culture, issues concerning creativity, and even the very nature of music itself. Learn more at
5of4.com
CaCO3 is the molecular formula for calcium carbonate, the substance from which pearls are formed.
Rain Worthington has a distinct voice within the field of contemporary music. As music journalist, Bob Briggs, noted, “… she writes music which speaks to the senses, is packed with real emotion and, most important of all in contemporary music, really communicates.”
World music, minimalism and romanticism have influenced Worthington’s compositional style. Her music has been performed in a wide variety of venues from loft performance spaces and dance clubs in New York City, to orchestra recordings in Eastern Europe and chamber concerts in Spain, Belgium, Italy, Brazil, Iceland, and India.
Rain Worthington’s evocative work is nuanced, delicate, passionate and transporting. Her music takes “…ideas of American musical style to a new place – like a walk in a familiar, yet very different park... And isn't afraid to come up with its own startling conclusions.” (Kyle Gann, Chamber Music magazine)
Her music is released on CDBaby, North/South Recordings, and Navona Records.
Gunnbjörg Oladottir is born in Reykjavík in 1964. Gráduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1999 with an MTh degree. Has worked on translations in the past mostly on works related to the psychology of religion. Now works as an assistant in the fishing industry and writes in her spare time.
Rakel Steinarsdóttir is a versatile and widely travelled artist who is beginning to make her presensce felt on the Icelandic art scene. Her chosen method which has chiefly been a conceptual one touches on issues of social or ecological import. These have led her to extend her range of materials to include not only window glass and mirror glass, but also cast concrete, photographs, videotape, electric light and sound effects. Her large-scale glass pieces thus become installations of sorts that enclose the viewer and challenge his preconceptions. She has started to develop independent sound works composed uniquely of glass sounds.
Among the influences that Rakel Steinarsdóttir has listed are modern architecture and the Icelandic landscape. She seeks inspiration in the circle of life and Icelandic vastness. She makes a point of incorporating natural processes into her work, for instance by freezing glass panes overpainted with water and then burning the resulting frost formations into the glass. She has also worked with the Blue Lagoon by immersing glass panes in its silica-rich waters and using the ensuing silica texture in her work.
An Evening Indigo: A quiet contemplation of life in the hours of evening twilight. (Originally composed for violinist, Eva Ingolf’s call for short works for solo violin.)
Caroline Park is a composer, musician, and artist working within the minimum in experimental electronic music. She creates custom software in Max/MSP, integrating chance and silence in unique, minimal systems. Her 2015 digital release "less than human" was described in The Wire as "a hissing, humid approximation of summer and wet earth to surround." Caroline collaborates frequently with Asha Tamirisa in duo situations and also performs in the electro-improv quartet BUMPR (Peter Bussigel, Stephan Moore, Tim Rovinelli). Performances, solo and collaborative, have occurred at venues including Machines With Magnets, AS220, Jordan Hall, New Museum, and the Stone. Caroline is a founding member of OPENSIGNAL, a Providence-based artist collective focusing on the representation of gender and race within experimental electronic music. She received B.M. and M.M. degrees in composition at the New England Conservatory and is currently finishing the MEME Ph.D at Brown University. Caroline lives and works in Providence, RI.
noi: How do we disrupt established norms, break out of traditional patterns? There are no errors, only differences in perception. "noi" is simply sound in space.
Hans Tammen creates sounds that have been described as an alien world of bizarre textures and a journey through the land of unending sonic operations. He produces rapid-fire juxtapositions of radically contrastive and fascinating noises, with micropolyphonic timbres and textures, aggressive sonic eruptions, but also quiet pulses and barely audible sounds – through means of analog synthesizers built around chaotic behaviors, where small changes in the settings may yield widely diverging sonic and rhythmic changes, forcing the player to constantly rethink and rearrange the music.
"Turbulent flow, long considered a form of chaos, is now know to possess an intricate structure of vortices and eddies within other vortices and eddies... The spatial structure of turbulence, like that of any structure that is made of small copies of itself, is said to have a "fractal" nature... Like a vortex, which maintains its shape despite the fact that it is but part of a violently moving fluid, a command system in battle must form an island of stability amid the surrounding chaos, an island created by the same forces producing the turmoil around it." (Manuel DeLanda).