Composer's Voice featuring Rebecca Ashe April 25, 2010 Jan Hus Church 351 East 74th Street New York, New York 10021

The Composer’s Voice Concert Series is an opportunity for contemporary composers to express their musical aesthetic and personal “voice” created in their compositions. Vox Novus collaborating with the Remarkable Theater Brigade and Jan Hus Church to produce a monthly concert series promoting the chamber works of contemporary composers.

Title Composer Performer Slight Uncertainty is Very Attractive Kyong Mee Choi Rebecca Ashe-flute & electronic sounds Luca Vanneschi/td> Rebecca Ashe-solo piccolo 21st Floor Ron Wray/td> Rebecca Ashe-solo flute Taint Robert Voisey/td> Rebecca Ashe-solo flute Fluxion Lisa Bost-Sandberg/td> Rebecca Ashe-solo flute Contrary Variants Arthur Gottschalk/td> Rebecca Ashe-flute and electronic sounds Kadenza per Flauto Solo Ulf Grahn/td> Rebecca Ashe-solo flute Stationary Fronts Mike McFerron/td> Rebecca Ashe-amplified flute and tape

Performers Flutist, Rebecca Ashe is currently on the faculty of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, as Adjunct Instructor of Flute. She is also a freelance musician and appears across the country as a performer, lecturer, and masterclass clinician. A new music performer and collaborator, she has partnered with several composers and has performed at several festivals, including SEAMUS and the Electroacoustic Juke Joint. She is the featured artist for the 2010 Electronic Music Midwest Conference in Joliet, Illinois. Dr. Ashe earned her Bachelor degree in Applied Music (flute) at the Eastman School of Music, where her principal teacher was Bonita Boyd. She earned both Master of Musical Arts and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Missouri –Kansas City, studying with Dr. Mary Posses. In 1998, she was the only American and one of four flutists worldwide to be chosen for Trevor Wye’s prestigious one-year course in Kent, England. Other major teachers have included William Bennett and Karl Kraber. In 2007, Dr. Ashe collaborated with composers Christopher Biggs, Ryan Oldham, and Jorge Sosa to premiere three new pieces for flute. A recording project for the pieces is underway, with a release expected in 2010. Dr. Ashe has performed recitals throughout the United States, Canada, England, and Latvia. In 2003, Dr. Ashe and pianist, Inara Zandmane, gave a recital at the Academy of Music in Riga, Latvia. Ms. Ashe was the first American flutist to perform a recital at the Academy, which was broadcast on national radio. She also gave a master class at the E. Darzins Academy of Music, the most prestigious preparatory music school in Latvia. Along with her recent collaborations, Dr. Ashe has premiered several pieces, including the Kansas City premier of Chen Yi’s The Golden Flute, for flute and orchestra, in 2003, and Hsueh-Yung Shen’s …And Then Things Changed, for flute and piano. She has won several local and national grants and awards.

Composers Flutist, composer, and improviser Lisa Bost-Sandberg is currently on the faculty of Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa, as Adjunct Instructor of Flute and World Music. She is the flutist with the Wild Prairie Wind Quintet, and her current orchestral engagements include principal flute with the Ottumwa Symphony, substitute with the Cedar Rapids Symphony, and substitute with the Dubuque Symphony. Kyong Mee Choi, composer, organist, painter, and visual artist, received several prestigious awards including John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, Robert Helps Prize, Illinois Arts Council Fellowship, and first place at the Birmingham Arts Music Alliance Concert Exchange program..She received a D.M.A. at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, a M.M. at Georgia State University and a B.S. in chemistry and science education at Ewha Womans University, and studied Korean literature in a master’s program at Seoul National University in South Korea. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Music Composition at Roosevelt University in Chicago. Arthur Gottschalk is a Professor at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music; and Chair of the Department of Music Theory/Composition, where he directed the university's electronic and computer music laboratories. In 1986 he co-founded Modern Music Ventures, Inc. for whom he produced records for PolyGram and Capitol. He is a recipient of the Charles Ives Prize of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and has been a Composer-in-Residence at the Columbia/Princeton Electronic Music Center and for the Piccolo Spoleto Festival. He has been honored with Special Recognition by the ASCAP Rudolph Nissim Awards, the First Prize of the Concorso Internazionale di Composizione Originale - Corciano, Italy, and by the Third Millennium Ensemble Composers Competition. Ulf Grahn studied music at the Royal Academy of Music, Stockholm and at the Stockholm City College where his principal composition studies were with Hans Eklund, violin and viola with Rudolf Forsberg, piano with Herbert Westrell and voice with Bertil During He holds a degree in Violin and Viola from Stockholms Musikpedagogiska Institut, Sweden and a MM from the Catholic University of America. In 1973 he founded the Contemporary Music Forum, Washington, D.C. and served as its Program Director until 1984. During 1988-90 he was Artistic and Managing Director of the Music at Lake Siljan Festival, Sweden. Prior to this he was on the faculty of Catholic University of America, Northern Virginia Community College and at George Washington University. Presently he teaches Swedish language and culture at the Foreign Service Institute. Mike McFerron is a professor of music and composer-inresidence at Lewis University in the Chicago area. At Lewis University, McFerron teaches music composition and directs the music technology program. He received a DMA in composition from the Conservatory of Music--University of Missouri at Kansas City where his primary teachers were James Mobberley, Chen Yi, and Gerald Kemner. A native of Oklahoma, McFerron also studied composition with Ray E. Luke. He has been on the faculty of UMKC 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 Luca Vanneschi, born in Montepulciano, Italy received a diploma in flute at the Morlacchi Conservatory of Music in Perugia, where he studied under Roberto Fabbriciani. Afterward he studied composition with Detlev Glanert, Carlo Alberto Neri, David Graham, and Dinu Ghezzo. He has written many works for orchestra, chamber groups and soloists, as well as music for theatre scenes, sound tracks, and musical commentaries for TV and radio programs. Mr. Vanneschi has been the composer in residence for the Compagnia del Teatro Povero di Monticchiello since 1991. “With few opportunities and much competition, young 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 ambient to the romantic. Rob Voisey embraces a variety of media for his compositions, and pioneers new venues to disseminate his music and reach audiences. His works have been performed in concert venues and radio broadcasts around the world. In 2010, Robert Voisey was interviewed in White Fungus, an art magazine based in Taiwan. His work "Dos Palabras" was performed at SALT artspace presented by Alphabet Soup. Last year, Voisey received his Carnegie Hall debut with his 10 minute opera, "Poppetjie" presented by the Remarkable Theater Brigade. Dr. Ron Wray is an Associate Professor of Music at the University of Alabama in Huntsville where he serves as teacher of clarinet and music theory. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Clarinet Performance from Louisiana State University. His compositions have been performed across the south. In 2009, Dr. Wray was awarded a Distinguished Teaching Award from UA Huntsville. He has also served as Associate Professor of Music at Dickinson State University in Dickinson, ND. Dr. Wray studies composition with Charles Norman Mason.

Vox Novus collaborating with the Remarkable Theater Brigade and Jan Hus Church to produce a monthly concert series promoting the chamber works of contemporary composers. An opportunity for contemporary composers to express their musical aesthetic and personal “voice” created in their compositions. Vox Novus promotes contemporary music and its creators through concerts, recordings, publications, broadcasts, and online publicity. Vox Novus believes strongly in the intrinsic value of contemporary music, recognizing it as a force in the advancement of culture and art. Our goal is to keep music alive by strengthening the connection between composer and audience, providing greater exposure to new music. Vox Novus understands that without the creation of challenging, contemporary music there will be no future masterpieces to reflect our time. Exciting new music is being composed constantly and must be heard in order to complete the cycle of creativity. Vox Novus gets contemporary music heard: in concerts; over the radio; CD’s and on the Internet. While artists have always struggled to create and promote their art, one may argue that the situation is now more precarious than ever. Today's economic climate is competitive , and emerging composers inevitably act as their own writer, producer, publicist, agent, and sometimes performer. This daunting array of tasks overwhelms many composers. Vox Novus helps emerging composers face this challenge helping them to promote their music, expand their audience, and advance their career. Recognizing that a major obstacle for composers is finding performances, Vox Novus develops and produces concerts. These concerts expand the audience for new music beyond the established music community. Vox Novus concerts aim to build a new repertoire by creating friendly, approachable listening environments that integrate a growing body of contemporary composers. Remarkable Theater Brigade founded by Christian McLeer, Dan Jeselsohn and Monica Harte, creates and produces new operas and musicals and takes children’s versions out to special-needs and at-risk children free of charge. Remarkable Theater Brigade creates and produces new works including operas, orchestral pieces, ballets, musicals, and electro-acoustic works and co-produces the Composer’s Voice Concert Series concerts. Remarkable Theater Brigade was founded in 2002 by Christian McLeer, Monica Harte, and Dan Jeselsohn. This year we opened our 8th Season with Opera Shorts in Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, October 1, 2009. Opera Shorts is Remarkable Theater Brigade’s set of 10 minute operas by composers Seymour Barab, Ben Bierman, George Brunner, Tom Cipullo, Anne Phillips, Patrick Soluri, Rob Voisey, and of course Christian McLeer. Support from the Puffin Foundation “…continuing the dialogue between art and the lives of ordinary people.”

The Composer’s Voice Concert Series is an opportunity for contemporary composers to express their musical aesthetic and personal “voice” created in their compositions. Vox Novus collaborating with the Remarkable Theater Brigade and Jan Hus Church to produce a monthly concert series promoting the chamber works of contemporary composers. Vox Novus is a collective of composers, musicians, and music enthusiasts collaborating together to create, produce, promote, and enjoy the new music of today. Our members are from a variety of composers committed to the creation and dissemination of new music. Their music is of a variety of styles, aesthetics, and ideologies. Vox Novus produces and promotes new music. They are dedicated to contemporary music, the musicians who perform, and the composers that write the music of today. Their mission is to cultivate a music community and make their work available to the greater public. Remarkable Theater Brigade founded by Christian McLeer, Dan Jeselsohn and Monica Harte, creates and produces new operas and musicals and takes children’s versions out to special-needs and at-risk children free of charge.

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Funding by Funding also provided by the Puffin Foundation, "...continuing the dialogue between art and lives of ordinary people."

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