May 28, 2022 (15:45 EDT)

Concert Program:

‘pƐ-rI-qƆrt: by Ryne Siesky

Moonlight by Susanna Payne-Passmore

Zikr (Dhikr) by Turkar Gasimzada

Different forms of phosphoros by Karola Obermueller

Spinning by Lynnsey Lambrecht

Thread of Providence by Biljana Bojovic

Harmony 58 by Dinah Bianchi

Metropolis by Christopher Cook

Bios and Program Notes:

Ryne Siesky (b. 1996) is a Filipino-American composer, educator, and new music consultant. Described as “beautifully haunting”(Robert Avalon Competition), “attractive and inventive”(Dorothy Hindman), and “patiently evocative”(George Lewis), Ryne’s music explores the relationships between art, community, and identity. His music has been performed by Hypercube, Duo Sequenza, Peridot Duo, and Robert Black, among others. His music has also been featured at several festivals including the Aspen and Atlantic Music Festivals, International Trumpet Guild, and SEAMUS, among others. Siesky is currently ABD status and working towards his Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition as a Teaching Assistant at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. In the Fall, Siesky will serve as Assistant Professor of Music Technology at Johnson University. Siesky is currently a member of the Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI) National Student Council, Author and Curator of the Charlotte New Music Opportunity Newsletter, and Co-Founder of the -NESS Composer Collective. Outside of music, Ryne is an active foodie, chai and matcha connoisseur, and a semi-professional racquetball player.

‘pƐ-rI-qƆrt: was composed in residence at Arts Letters & Numbers for the Peridot Duo (Rose Hegele and Stephanie Lamprea) and Jacob Mason. ‘pƐ-rI-qƆrt: is inspired by the works of two other Winter 2022 ALN resident artists, Margaret Hull, and Emily Baker. The text was written by the composer in reaction to their works.

snow // steel // -ink // -ois

1. Cottagecorps (Margaret Hull)
2. Re-Tasking the Relic (Emily Baker)
3. Scape (Margaret Hull)
4. Heart Throb (Emily Baker)

Susanna Payne-Passmore is a composer residing in Philadelphia, PA, where they are currently pursuing a PhD in Music Composition at the University of Pennsylvania as a Benjamin Franklin Fellow. Previously, they completed a Masters of Music at the University of Oregon and a Bachelors of Arts at the New College of Florida. Susanna has been commissioned by Wayla Chambo, the Archaea Tree Ensemble, Chyornii & Dorado, Anthony Aguayo, and the Aotea Flute Quartet. Susanna is a Fulbright Fellow and a Morton Gould Young Composer award finalist.

In the moonlight, another world is illuminated, one that exists beside our own, one enchanted by silvery tones and shadows. Delicately though, for this world can flicker out of existence on the whim of a passing cloud. Moonlight transcribes my experience living in a world where my nonbinary gender is erased, elided, and forgotten. But it still remains to me a source of resistance and resilience, as if it were a moonlit forest within my innermost self to which I can return and be restored. In this work, I use a system of generative intervals to create a coherent harmonic space retains elements of syntax, but without tonal centricity or traditional triadic harmony. The piano’s part is comprised of iterations of alternating steps and leaps while the freely-composed clarinet line weaves a melody above with subtle counterpoint. Ultimately the work breaks out of this system at the climax before returning to a newly tender expression of the opening section.

Originally from Azerbaijan, Turkar Gasimzada‘s music won numerous awards in international competitions and performed in many festivals and conferences of contemporary music. Most recent features include performances in International Computer Music Conference (Chile), Saint-Petersburg New Music Festival (Russia), Music Biennale Zagreb (Croatia), SCI National Online Conference (USA), Bang on a Can Summer Festival (USA), Orebro Contemporary Music Festival (Sweden), Unerhorte Musik Festival (Germany), Charlotte New Music Festival (USA), Etchings Festival (France). Recent collaborations and commissions have included works for ECCE Ensemble (USA/France), Ensemble Courage (Germany), Contemporary Music Ensemble of Boston University (USA), Ecoute Ensemble (Switzerland), Frontiers New Music Ensemble (Oklahoma, USA), CNM Ensemble (Iowa, USA), Noise-Bridge duo (Stuttgart, Germany), Allen Otte (OH), Avital Cohen (Switzerland), Erica Dicker (NY), Sergej Tchirkov (Russia), Daniel Vaczi (Hungary). Gasimzada holds a Doctorate in composition from the University of Cincinnati, where he studied with Mara Helmuth and Michael Fiday. He also holds a Masters degree in composition from the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Reiko Fueting. A committed teacher, Gasimzada has taught in such universities as the American University of the Middle East (Kuwait), the University of Cincinnati (USA), and the National Conservatory of Azerbaijan. Gasimzada’s scores are published by Babel Scores (France).

Dhikr (remembrance) is a form of devotion, associated chiefly with Sufism, in which the worshipper is absorbed in the rhythmic repetition of the name of God or his attributes. The piece is composed for and dedicated to its performer, Humay Gasimzade.

Karola Obermueller‘s composing, described by the New York Times as “hyperkinetic music,” is constantly in search of the unknown. After obtaining composition degrees in Nuremberg, Saarbruecken, and the University Mozarteum Salzburg, her sense of rhythm and form was forever changed by studying Carnatic and Hindustani classical music in Chennai and Delhi, India. She has received commissions from the National Endowment for the Arts, Fromm Music Foundation, Ensemble Modern, International Contemporary Ensemble, Theater Bielefeld, Theater Bonn, Theater und Orchester Heidelberg, Staatstheater Nuernberg, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Saarlaendischer Rundfunk, and the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation. She has been a visiting artist at ZKM, Deutsche Akademie Rom, Centro Tedesco di studi Veneziani, Akademie Schloss Solitude, and IRCAM. Since receiving a doctorate from Harvard University, Obermueller has taught composition and co-directed the composition area at the University of New Mexico. Her music can be heard on CD (WERGO) and online at karolaobermueller.net.

“Different forms..”
I found myself working with different forms of energy, or perhaps, more accurately, different expressions of an energy, a strain of life forming and reforming like phosphorus being absorbed into the earth at one age and being reborn as the heart of living cells in another. Phosphorus, a central element in the metamorphoses of life and death, is unusually present on earth allowing organic matter to flourish here and its scarcity elsewhere in the universe leaves us to wonder how alone we are. A small voice in a vastness, a lostness. I hear this solitude sounding like a reverberation in a huge cave deep inside the Earth’s mantle. An imaginary hollow whose acoustic properties act like a series of mirrors reflecting the harmonic nature of each of life’s utterances while calling attention to the vast expanse around us. The idea of this reverberation became a kind of scaffolding upon which to build the piece and a kind of space within which the energy could metamorphose, forming and reforming the life within. In the end, for me, the music is the start of a kind of love letter to Earth and her network of infinite connections between all matter.

Lynnsey Lambrecht is an Assistant Professor of music theory and composition at Bradley University. She has presented research and compositions at The Midwest Clinic, College Music Society International Conference, International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition, and Music by Women International Festival. Lambrecht graduated from Michigan State University with a DMA in composition and a MM in theory. She holds a MM in theory and composition from the University of Northern Colorado and a BA in music education from Colorado Mesa University. Lambrecht’s compositions and arrangements are published by Grand Mesa Music Publishers, Eighth Note Publications, and Pámpano Publications.

Spinning for solo piano was composed in 2022 for Dr. Ji Hyun Kim. The genesis behind Spinning came from a four-note motive: G, F, C, and D. These four pitches are playfully maneuvered through the use of rhythmic syncopation and patterns that slowly evolve and expand. This rhythm is the driving force behind the A sections that comprise the traditional five-part rondo (ABACA) of the composition, and it is passed around to the different registers of the piano as the piece progresses. The B section of the piece is beautiful, melodic, and lyrical with chord voicings inspired by the original motive. The C section begins with canonic imitation based on the structural points of the melody of the B section, and this builds into a contrapuntal section that leads to the final return of the A material.

After graduating from music high school in Bitola, North Macedonia, Biljana Bojovic continued her studies at Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, completed her undergraduate studies at West Virginia University in Morgantown and graduate studies at Butler University in Indianapolis. She studied cello with William Skidmore and William Grubb, and music composition with John Beall, Frank Felice, and Michael Schelle. Biljana has participated in composition masterclasses with William Bolcom, Eric Ewazen, Seymour Barab, Elvis Costello, Paul Chihara, Elliott Schwartz, etc. Biljana’s compositions have been performed at the 33rd International Summer Festival Imago Slovenia, the 5th and 6th International Music by Women Festival, Illinois Modern Ensemble Concert Series, Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, Indiana State University – 40th Contemporary Music Festival, Finger Lakes Summer Chamber Music Festival, New York, at several of the Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI) conferences with most recent one being the 2021 Society of Composers Online National Conference, at the International Double Reed Society Conference (2009), Birmingham, England, and at many other concerts in the US, Czech Republic, Slovenia and North Macedonia. Her works are written mostly for solo instruments and chamber ensembles, and often draw inspiration from Balkan folk and Orthodox church music. She currently lives and creates in California.

Thread of Providence for solo violoncello (2020) by Biljana Bojovic – Life is a miracle. We neither know when it will begin nor when it will end. Behind every peak of life there is a new horizon, higher peak, and greater challenge. Our failures are countless, our victories pointless. Is then all meaningless? It will likely seem so, until true love illumines our sight to see and trust in everything by the Thread of Providence, which wisely and gently guides us to pure and unending Light and Life.

Award-winning Michigan composer, Dinah Bianchi, seeks to create vibrantly exciting music; music that is sublime, beautiful and with the communicative power that drives the imaginative spirit of all artists. She is well versed in a variety of musical genres with a portfolio that includes music for orchestra, concert band, string ensemble, chamber ensemble, solo works, as well as electronic music. Well received both nationally and internationally, Bianchi’s music has been performed in concert halls located in Europe, Asia, and the United States. Recently, she completed a recording session for Chasse Noir with the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra in the Czech Republic. The recording is scheduled for release in August of 2022. Understanding that music is more than just a passion, she strives to establish meaningful connections with others who appreciate the sonic world on a profound level. To Bianchi, music is a spirit in of itself; a spirit in which connects our lives, solidifies our memories, enhances our experiences, and is essential in the development of the human condition. With this in mind, she allows her enthusiasm for innovative and creative musical experiences to guide her towards new artistic collaborations such as collaborations through residencies and music festivals.

Harmony 58 is an electroacoustic work that features the clarinet and a fixed media recording. Designed with the clarinet in mind, the work consists of at least 58 varying sounds and elements originally recorded by use of the clarinet. Throughout the work, the listener will be mesmerized by the ways in which pitch, rhythm, timbre, extended techniques, sonic layering, motifs and the overall use of sound editing compliments one another. Along with a semi-aleatoric live solo score, these elements harmoniously present themselves between the solo clarinet and the fixed media recording, interacting with one another to construct a captivating and ever-changing soundscape. This work is designed to be performed differently every time. The score consists of 27 suggestions for the performer to choose from during the performance. Please note that pitch, rhythm, and note duration are all approximate and the performer may view the score as more of a guide. The performer should interact with the fixed media recording and make the performance their own. Dynamics are relative and have not been included within the score in order to fully reflect relativity. A visual representation of the fixed media recording has been provided at the bottom of the score.

Christopher Cook received the Doctor of Music degree from Indiana University where he served as assistant director of the Center for Electronic and Computer Music. He is a recent recipient of a Fromm Music Foundation commission from Harvard University and has received awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, the Music Teachers National Association, and the National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies. He is Associate Professor of Music at Chowan University.

Metropolis, for piano and electronics is inspired by a jaunt through a large metropolitan area. Different sections of the city are represented as they are encountered. The sections feature recurring jazz clubs, cathedrals, Victorian homes, and skyscrapers. The electronic components are largely created from sampled piano notes and musical phrases. Metropolis was written for pianist Mary Hellmann.