July 16, 2012
Summer Festival Spotlight: Donnacha Dennehy
It is a privilege and a pleasure to have Donnacha Dennehy as one of the guest composers for the 2012 Mizzou New Music Summer Festival. Along with fellow guest composer Steven Stucky, Dennehy will instruct and mentor the Festival’s eight resident composers during their week in Columbia. He’ll also oversee the world premiere of the first part of The Hunger, a large work-in-progress that will be performed by resident ensemble Alarm Will Sound and the Festival’s guest artist, soprano Anne-Carolyn Bird, as part of the concert on Thursday, July 26. Born in 1970 in Dublin, Dennehy is…
July 13, 2012
Summer Festival Spotlight: David Crowell
While some of the resident composers for the 2012 Mizzou New Music Summer Festival are recent graduates or still studying for advanced degrees, saxophonist and composer David Crowell already is well along in his professional career. He has a very active schedule as a performer, touring with the famed Philip Glass Ensemble and leading his own band, and his compositions have been performed frequently in New York City and by various student and professional ensembles across the US. In fact, Crowell (pictured) will have two major performances of his works on the same night this month. On Saturday,…
July 13, 2012
Columbia hotels offering discounts during Mizzou New Music Summer Festival
Planning on visiting Columbia for the 2012 Mizzou New Music Summer Festival? If so, you should know that three local hotels are offering discounts for the nights of July 26, 27 and 28 to Festival attendees. They are: Hampton Inn & Suites Columbia (at the University of Missouri) 1225 Fellow’s Place (College Ave. & Stadium Blvd.), Columbia, MO 65201 Phone: 573-214-2222 $105/night + tax for a standard king or double room Ask for “New Music Summer Festival” Tiger Hotel 23 South 8th Street, Columbia, MO 65201 Phone: 573-875-8888…
July 12, 2012
Summer Festival Spotlight: Stephanie Berg
Today, let’s get acquainted with one of the resident composers for the 2012 Mizzou New Music Summer Festival, Stephanie Berg. She’s one of eight individuals to earn that designation this year, chosen from nearly 150 applicants from countries around the world, including Israel, France, Ireland, Spain, South Africa, Russia, England, Thailand, Canada and China. As a Missouri native and Mizzou graduate, Berg (pictured) is something of a local favorite at this year’s Festival. She grew up in the Kansas City suburb of Parkville, graduating from Park Hill South High School, and earned her Bachelor of Music degree…
July 12, 2012
Summer Festival Spotlight: Alarm Will Sound
Continuing with our series of posts focusing on various participants in the 2012 Mizzou New Music Summer Festival, today we shine out spotlight on Alarm Will Sound. As the resident ensemble for the Festival, AWS plays an essential role in bringing to life the new works created by the resident composers. Not many groups would be willing or able to take on the challenge of premiering eight new pieces in one night with limited rehearsal time, but Alarm Will Sound has accomplished the task each year of the MNMSF with consummate skill and panache. Former in 2001 by…
July 9, 2012
Patrick Clark – Day Eight: The Finish Line
The Finish Line: 9 July, 2012; Day Eight; Duhok, Iraq I am at the end of the eighth day of teaching composition, theory and music history with the American Voices YES Academy in Duhok, Iraq. I am most proud to report that seven of my ten composition students have crossed the finish line with completed short pieces for anywhere from four to seven players. The proof is on camera and digital audio as several volunteers for the program recorded our first reading and rehearsal session for these pieces. The generous string faculty allowed no fewer than three compositions to be…
July 8, 2012
Patrick Clark on Day Seven in Duhok, Iraq
Day Seven, American Voices YES Academy, Duhok, Iraq My composers have been moved by the spirit. Following yesterday’s reading of two student works by the String Orchestra, four of the remaining eight composers arrived in this morning’s class with beautifully finished scores and parts. I was caught off guard not expecting such a furious commitment overnight. I scrambled to assemble two student string quartets and some added auxiliaries (clarinets and piano) and arrange a reading and rehearsal session from 7:30 to 10:00 pm tomorrow night. I am expecting a similar phenomenon of productivity to swamp me with newly-completed works tomorrow…
July 7, 2012
Patrick Clark’s Observations & Fruit of Effort
Observations: 5 July, 2012; Day Five; Duhok, Iraq I’m in a mosaic of Turkish and Kurdish music, most of which I hear in the back of taxis. It would be terribly awful pop music to me if it didn’t sound so exotic. Iraqi music videos are hysterically bad and remind me of American shampoo commercials. The students are really unbelievably appreciative of every single thing I say or do — its weird! They thank me at the end of every sentence I speak, and even in between if I happen to pause momentarily. Their appetite for information is fierce, especially…