Composers
Composer’s Voice is presenting the following composers at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on November 22,2019 with pianist Matthew McCright.
Kirsten Broberg
The music of composer Kirsten Soriano Broberg has been performed by internationally recognized ensembles such as the Kronos Quartet, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra MusicNOW Ensemble, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Musicians, the Minnesota Orchestra, the International Contemporary Ensemble, the New York New Music Ensemble, the Jack Quartet, the New Millennium Orchestra, the Sonic Inertia Dance and Performance Group, Third Coast Percussion and the SUNY Stony Brook Chamber Players. A passionate entrepreneur for the arts, she is the founding composer of the internationally-renowned group, Ensemble Dal Niente, and served as the Executive Director for its formative years (2004-2010), during which time the ensemble won a Kranichsteiner Musikpreis at the Darmstadt Festival for New Music. Among her honors are receiving a Fromm Foundation Commissioning Grant from Harvard University (2009), being selected as one of seven composers chosen for the Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute (2016), being awarded the Composer Choice winner of the Symphony Number One call for scores (2016) and receiving many grants and commissions from the American Composers Forum. She was featured on the American Music Center's New Music Box article, "Kirsten Broberg in the Abstract" and her music was broadcasted on their spotlight session (2009), her music was played and she was interviewed on Minnesota Public Radio (2013 and 2016) and she was on the cover of the International Alliance for Women in Music's magazine (2016). She holds a Doctorate in Music Composition from Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois where she was a student of Augusta Read Thomas, Jay Alan Yim and Jason Eckardt (2009). She also studied music composition privately with Kaija Saariaho, Tristan Murail and Philippe Hurel in France in 2013. Kirsten Broberg is currently an Assistant Professor in Music Composition in the College of Music at University of North Texas in Denton, Texas.
More can be found at:www.kirstenbroberg.com.
Kyong Mee Choi
Unleashed portrays a political scene of the United States since the 2016 election. There are two distinct musical ideas which are juxtaposed and developed overtime to reach the highest intensity of the musical structure. The piece tries to find balance and sustainability throughout challenges and struggles. Kyong Mee Choi, composer, organist, painter, poet, and visual artist, received several prestigious awards and grants including John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, Robert Helps Prize, Aaron Copland Award, John Donald Robb Musical Trust Fund Commission, Illinois Arts Council Fellowship, First prize of ASCAP/SEAMUS Award, Second prize at VI Concurso Internacional de Música Eletroacústica de São Paulo among others. Her music was published at Ablaze, CIMESP (São Paulo, Brazil), SCI, EMS, ERM media, SEAMUS, and Détonants Voyages (Studio Forum, France). She is the Head of Music Composition at Roosevelt University in Chicago where she teaches composition and electro-acoustic music.
More can be found at: http://www.kyongmeechoi.com.
Christopher Coleman
We suffer a crisis of truth and rationality; trapped in a catastrophe of vindictiveness and partisanship where hidden corporate and political interests dictate the words of the media. Catch phrases and talking points loop mindlessly, drowning the aether with static and suffocating reasoned discourse. Newsreaders seeming to present their own thoughts and opinions, instead all read from a single script prepared by unknown parties to advance dark agendas. Dishonest actors, trolls, and bots manipulate social media for nefarious means or mere laughs. The thrill of celebrity drives influencers to heights of inanity and insanity that would be absurd if only they weren’t taken seriously. Our minds are perpetually submitted to an unending barrage of hypocrisy in which any action, no matter how unimportant or innocent, becomes a locus for the fury of those who would incite us. Conspiracies are touted on every breath of wind while truths are engulfed within the festering morass of connectivity as we try desperately to claw our way back to sanity. --CC
Christopher Coleman (b. 1958, Atlanta, GA) composer, conductor, trombonist, has taught composition and music theory at the Hong Kong Baptist University Department of Music for the past 30 years. He is also the founder and conductor of the Big Swingin' Band, and directed the Contemporary Music Workshop for over 20 years.
Coleman's works range from large-scale multimedia/improvisation pieces to works for orchestra, symphonic band, chamber ensembles, instrumental solo, and voice. Most recently he has been developing the technique of massive replication and time shifting through a series of electro-acoustic compositions that have been widely acclaimed in the US and Europe. A prize-winning composer, he has received numerous commissions and grants, including those from from local groups the Hong Kong Wind Kamerata, the Hong Kong Wind Philharmonia, the Hong Kong Composers' Guild, RTHK Radio 4, and the Hong Kong University Grants Committee. His 2017 CD from Ablaze Records, Christopher Coleman: Multiple Worlds, received Global Music Awards in three categories: album, composition/composer and computer/electronic music. His works have been performed in over 20 countries and four continents by groups as diverse as the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland's Wind Band, the Italian Air Force Band, and the Hong Kong Musical Saw Ensemble.
His music is published by Vanderbilt Music, Maecenas Music, Theodore Presser, Ensemble Publications, C. Alan Publications and Crown Music Press. He frequently hosts radio series on RTHK Radio 4, Hong Kong's public radio station. A trans-media artist, Christopher Coleman also works in painting, sculpture and computer graphics. He is a founding member of People’s Liberation Improv, Hong Kong’s leading comedy improv group, and has performed with them in Beijing, Seoul, Singapore, Manila, and Macau as well as Hong Kong.
More can be found at:www.christophercoleman-composer.com.
Sean Friar
Composer and pianist, Sean Friar (b. 1985) grew up in Los Angeles, where his first musical experiences were in rock and blues piano improvisation. While his focus soon shifted toward classical music, his composition has always kept in touch with the energy and communicative directness of those musical roots, now along with an expansive and exploratory classical sensibility that is “powerfully engaging and incredibly fun” (I Care if You Listen) and “refreshingly new and solidly mature… and doesn’t take on airs, but instead takes joy in the process of discovery – in the continual experience of suspense and surprise – that good classical music has always championed.” (Slate Magazine). He thrives on composing for ensembles both within and outside the realm of traditional concert music, and his recent commissions run the gamut from works for orchestra and string quartet to a junk car percussion concerto and music for laptop orchestra. His music has been performed throughout the world by ensembles including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic Scharoun Ensemble (Germany), the American Composers Orchestra, the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, Argento Ensemble, So Percussion, Matmos, members of the Bang on a Can All-Stars, and percussionist Glen Velez, Festivals featuring his music include Aspen, Bang on a Can, Bowdoin, Cabrillo, Carlsbad, Cresc. Biennal für Moderne Musike, GAUDEAMUS Muziekweek, International Young Composers Meeting, Klangspuren International Ensemble Modern Academy, La Pietra Forum for New Music, Norfolk, Nuova Consonanza, Nuovi Spazi Musicali, RadialSystem, SONiC, the Venice Biennale, and the World Saxophone Congress.
A recent winner of the Rome Prize, Friar’s honors include the Aaron Copland Award; a Fromm Foundation Commission; Charles Ives Scholarship; a Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Grant; four ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards; Lee Ettelson Award; First Music Award from the New York Youth Symphony; a CAP Grant and a MetLife Creative Connections Grant from New Music USA; and Renee B. Fisher Award.
More can be found at:www.seanfriar.com.
Dorothy Hindman
Called “bright with energy and a lilting lyricism” – New York Classical Review, “dramatic, highly strung” – Fanfare, and “varied, utterly rich with purpose and heart” – Huffington Post, Dorothy Hindman’s music is performed internationally at venues including Carnegie Hall, the United Nations, American Academy in Rome, Muziekgebouw, Havana Contemporary Music Festival, and more by top performers including Bent Frequency, Splinter Reeds, Empire City Men’s Chorus, Duo46, Robert Black, Craig Hultgren, and more.
Hindman’s recognition includes Iron Composer 2015, a Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs grant, Global Music Awards #1 Album Fall 2017, The American Prize, Nancy Van de Vate International Composition Prize for Opera, G. Schirmer 1997 Young Americans Choral Competition, 2017 Seaside Escape2Create Fellowship, and American Academy in Rome Visiting Artist.
CDs include innova’s Tapping the Furnace and Tightly Wound, which ICON magazine says, “…weds technique and syntax of classical music with the directness and impudence of rock. Highly recommended for rockers wishing to get their proverbial feet wet in post-20th century classical music.” Hindman’s music is published by Subito, NoteNova, and dorn/Needham.
Hindman is Associate Professor at the Frost School of Music, and composition faculty at the Miami International Piano Festival Academy, 2018 Charlotte New Music Festival, 2016 Summer Composition Intensive, and the 2015 AmiCa CredenzePOP Festival.
More can be found at: www.dorothyhindman.org .
Mike McFerron
Mike McFerron is a professor of music and composer-in-residence at Lewis University in the Chicago area. He has been on the faculty of Hong Kong Baptist University, the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and the Kansas City Kansas Community College, and he has served as resident composer at the Chamber Music Conference of the East/Composers’ Forum in Bennington, Vt. McFerron is founder and co-director of Electronic Music Midwest and serves on the board of the directors for the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra and is a past Chair of the Executive Committee for the Society of Composers, Inc. McFerron’s music has received critical acclaim and recognition. His music has been performed by the Remarkable Theater Brigade (Carnegie Hall), the Louisville Orchestra, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and Cantus among many others. His music has been featured on numerous SCI National Conferences, SEAMUS National Conferences, the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC), Brooklyn College Conservatory’s Electroacoustic Music Festival, the MANTIS (UK) festival, ÉuCue “Plugged Festival” (Montreal), University of Richmond’s 3rd Practice Festival, New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, Denison University TUTTI Festival, Ball State University New Music Festival, Florida State University New Music Festival, Spark Conference, Annual Florida International Electroacoustic Music Festival, Spring in Havanna, the MAVerick Festival, several SCI regional conferences, and concerts and radio broadcasts across the U.S. and throughout Europe. He has written music specifically for Cantus, SUNY-Oswego, GéNIA, Andrew Spencer, Julia Bentley, the Chamber Music Conference of the East/Composers’ Forum, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Lewis University, Sumner Academy of Arts and Science, and the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra.
More can be found at www.bigcomposer.com
Ingrid Stölzel
Unus Mundus was commissioned by pianist Eunmi Ko for the centennial celebration of Isang Yun’s birth. I have long been fascinated by Yun’s compositional technique of “Hauptton” (main tone) which one can hear in his piano solo piece Interludium A, with pitch-class “A” being a centering main tone. Every time I listened to Interludium A, I was struck by a section about five minutes into the composition where he indicates a meter for the first time. This section starts with a disarming B-Major triad, which gets reiterated and suffused with quartal harmonies. I decided that this moment would become the soundworld that I would inhabit for my composition. I also felt that taking a moment in time as my inspiration aligns with Taoist philosophy, a strong influence on Yun’s music, in which the part is the whole and the whole is the part, and in which the dark and the light are intertwined with each other. I believe that music in its deepest expression has the power to fuse opposites to create oneness that cannot be fragmented, because as Carl Jung says “everything divided and different belongs to one and the same world.” This concept, which Jung called “Unus Mundus” from Latin “One World,” seemed like a fitting title for a composition honoring Isang Yun.
Composer Ingrid Stölzel has been described as having “a gift for melody” (San Francisco Classical Voice) and “evoking a sense of longing” that creates “a reflective and serene soundscape that makes you want to curl up on your windowsill to re-listen on a rainy day.” (I Care If You Listen)
Stölzel’s compositions have been commissioned by leading soloists and ensembles, and performed in concert halls and festivals worldwide, including Merkin Concert Hall, Kennedy Center, Seoul Arts Center, Thailand International Composition Festival, Festival Osmose (Belgium), Vox Feminae Festival (Israel), Dot the Line Festival (South Korea), Ritornello Chamber Music Festival (Canada), Festival of New Music at Florida State (USA), Beijing Modern Music Festival (China), Festival of New American Music (USA), and SoundOn Festival of Modern Music (USA). Her music has been recognized in numerous competitions, among them recently the Suzanne and Lee Ettelson Composer's Award, Red Note Composition Competition, the Robert Avalon International Competition for Composers, and the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra Competition. Recordings of her music can be found on various commercial releases including her portrait album “The Gorgeous Nothings” which features her chamber and vocal chamber music. Stölzel serves on the composition faculty at the University of Kansas School of Music.
More can be found at www.ingridstolzel.com
Robert Voisey
Robert Voisey composes primarily chamber music and electronic music. His chamber music tends to be neo-romantic or modern utilizing extended instrumental techniques and/or graphic notation. The electronic music he creates tends to be ambient utilizing throat-singing techniques he records of himself or mashup comprising of micro-samples.
Voisey collaborates with video, dance, poetry, spoken word, stage performers and has written for radio shows, film productions and theatrical stage performances.
Known for creating miniatures and small form, his Voisey's 10-minute opera “Poppetjie” premiered at Carnegie Hall by Remarkable Theater Brigade’s Opera Shorts; his chamber orchestra work "sic second chance" was a six-second work selected by Vine Orchestra; a 50 second mashup work was selected for "50/50" Recombinations/mnartists; and several of his one-minute works have received performances with 60x60 and Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame.
Voisey’s work has enjoyed the privilege of being selected and performed on many festivals including: A*Devantgarde festival, American Art Experience, Birmingham New Music Festival, Bellingham Electronic Arts Festival, Brookes Oxford's Sonic Art Festival, COMPOSERS CONCORDANCE, Create Festival, Dance Parade, Digital Art Weeks, EARFEST, Electronic Music Midwest Festival, ÉuCuE xxvii festival, Fresno New Music Festival
George Enescu Festival, International Electroacoustic Festival at Brooklyn College, International Sound Art Festival Berlin, Annual Kentucky New Music Festival, Annual North Carolina Computer Music Festival, Spark Festival, STUDIO 300 Digital Art and Music Festival, ThreeTwo festival, 12 Nights The Street: Festival of Electronic Music, Art and Performance, and the 3rd All Ears Contemporary Music Festival.
His work has been published in 15 compilation albums of various genres and labels.
Robert Voisey intrinsically believes in championing a community which collaborates and joins together to celebrate new music.
You can find more info at www.RobVoisey.com
Composer’s Voice has been listed by Time Out New York as “One of the premier showcases for promising composers…"
With its inception in 2001, the Composer’s Voice concert series has produced over 150 performances in New York City as well as more than 10 countries. Presenting only contemporary music the concert series has premiered the works of thousands of living composers.
“Composer’s Voice concerts are always contradistinct, each necessarily presenting a different set of composers, forces and styles. Where they do not differ is in that the concerts are presented with intelligence and invention. This approach towards curating a concert is truly refreshing, fulfilling expectations but also offering the unexpected… “ — David Mecionis, SoundWordSight
Proud to feature Matthew McCright to champion the piano works of this diverse set of living composers, Composer’s Voice brings this pianist to New York City. A recording of the pieces is being made to ensure future prosperity.
Composer’s Voice Featuring Pianist Matthew McCright
November 22, 2019 8:00 PM
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
154 W 57th St, New York, NY 10019
Admission $25
Tickets can be purchased at:
carnegiehall.org
CarnegieCharge 212-247-7800
Box Office at 57th Street and Seventh Avenue