Review: 2008 SCI National Conference

Here is a full review of the Society of Composers National Conference, written for the organization's newsletter. I was told to try and address everything, and as a result it comes off a bit like a laundry list, but it's nice to get as many piece/composer names in there as possible I suppose. Enjoy.

P.S. The titles are not italicized because I didn't feel like putting in all those HTML tags. Apologies.

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So…pluralism. I know, I know. It’s getting to be a tired cliché. But I had to say it right away, because at the moment it’s the best explanation I have for what, exactly, composers are up to these days. Whether we like it or not, from time to time we must assess this question, ask ourselves what we’re writing and why, look around and try to pin down some movements and trends. I had the fantastic opportunity last month to encounter these issues first-hand at the SCI National Conference, held February 20-23 at Georgia State University in Atlanta.

The week got off to a strong start Wednesday night with a concert by GSU’s neoPhonia New Music Ensemble, under the direction of Nickitas Demos. The student performers put forth admirable effort in assembling these varied works. The Piedmont Winds presented the conference’s first piece by guest composer George Tsontakis, Birdwind, which demonstrated the composer’s skillful instrumental writing. The most energy, however, was present in the following piece, Ed Martin’s Psychonetic, which sent us all out to the reception charged up and ready for the week.

The Thursday morning session included performances organized by the composers, and as throughout the week, it was a joy to see so many wonderful performers engaged with new music and willing to travel in order to perform it. This first concert was highlighted by Clifton Callender’s Point and Line to Plane, a striking, coloristic piece executed with a superb sense of touch and attack by pianist Hui-Ting Yang.

That morning also held a panel discussion on the subject of Music Journalism in the 21st Century, featuring Creative Loafing’s Mark Gresham, Darren Nelsen of the Atlanta Composers Blog, and Pierre Ruhe, classical music critic for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The conversation began with ruminations on the past and future of journalism and the falling influence of print media, and eventually gave way to a spirited debate on the more general roles of the composer and of the critic. If there hadn’t been another concert to get to, we might have gone on all day.

Luckily, though, we made it back for a full recital by pianist Jeri-Mae Astolfi, who tackled an enormous program of extreme variety. There was a great deal of piano music on the conference, and this program illustrated the multiplicity of approaches to and influences on the medium. Laurence Sherr’s Nocturne was a fetching tribute to Debussy; Brian Belet’s Drei Kinderstucke capably expressed the aphoristic style of Webern; Alan Beeler’s 4 Little Bi-Scalar Pieces recalled Hindemith in its quartal harmony and contrapuntal approach; and Trent Hanna’s A Piece of Snow utilized a standard place-based program while also incorporating improvisatory touches.

Thursday afternoon’s concert consisted of electroacoustic works, and not surprisingly, it was among the more diverse programs on the conference. Anthony Cornicello demonstrated his inventive glove that controlled sound elements in the appropriately named The Gloved One. Two works, Per Bloland’s Graveshift and Orlando Legname’s Agua de Pingo, included video. Benjamin Williams’ Mirrored Pursuit for live piano and tape blended techno beats with Latin jazz. And there were also two traditional works for electronic playback, Neil Flory’s Four Variants and James Paul Sain’s Beondegi.

On Thursday night the GSU Wind Ensemble presented a concert that included two premieres. Lansing McLoskey’s OK OK for saxophone quartet wittily “recontextualized” a Charlie Parker solo’s 1058 pitches into a striking, meditative sound-world. Jonathan Newman’s suave Concertino, which recalled French neoclassicism, received a fine performance by flutist Sarah Kruser Ambrose. And a roaring conclusion was provided by Kingfishers Catch Fire, an attractive and energetic piece by the recently ubiquitous John Mackey. The wind writing by all of these composers showed the promise of this growing repertoire.

Friday morning began with another concert of composer-provided performers. Marilyn Shrude’s Lacrimosa for alto saxophone and piano opened the program with a tone that was mournful and emotionally complex, and Dohi Moon’s [bi:guni chum] drew unique sonic effects from a combination of three cellos. Following this concert was a full program by GSU faculty clarinetist Kenneth Long, who also deserves applause for the incredible variety of his program. Two of the pieces were solo, two included piano, and one featured the GSU Percussion Ensemble in the accompanying role. The moods were similarly disparate. John Bilotta’s Heart’s Desire wove Irish folk songs together into a work that felt homespun and honest. Craig Weston’s Still on the Antipodes, which included the percussion group and piano, featured numerous subtle colors and touches as well as large gestures. Perhaps the best vehicle for Long’s playing, however, was Paul Osterfield’s Six Vignettes. The generic title belies the pieces’ quirky and memorable character, and throughout, Osterfield tactfully utilized many clarinet techniques in the service of the movements’ individual moods.

Friday afternoon’s concert again featured various performers. Dorothy Hindman’s Tapping the Furnace was particularly memorable, using cymbals, coins and narration to recount a story about furnace workers in Alabama. Percussionist Scott Deal performed the piece with enthralling conviction. This concert was also notable for its inclusion of the conference’s only vocal work, part of a song cycle called Songs of Existence by Brian Bevelander. One wonders whether the submitted entries on the whole were so slanted away from vocal music. It recalls a point made more than once during the week by George Tsontakis: “Americans don’t listen to music, they listen to song.” I’ve been asking myself since whether this insight is accurate, and if so, whether composers are unwisely ignoring it.

Friday evening featured a banquet, with the keynote address provided by Tsontakis. As throughout the week, our guest composer proved himself here to be an eloquent spokesman for the field, an open-minded advocate who likes to remind others that “my colleagues are writing up a storm.” It is refreshing to know that on the highest levels of the profession there are individuals who clearly appreciate the complexity of the many issues facing composers.

Saturday’s first two concerts again exhibited the variety to which those in attendance had become accustomed. Leonard Mark Lewis’ As In Stained Light showed off some pop-influenced piano writing, Robert Fleisher’s Secrets made a more traditionally modernistic impression, and Alexander Sigman’s Reflects/Refléxions//Implosions for solo alto sax blended a Ferneyhoughian aesthetic with scientific inspirations that recalled Varese. Also notable were Kari Henrik Juusela’s colorful Dream Forests, which contrasted cloudy, soundscape sections with running notes and energetic rhythms, and Zack Browning’s Execution 88, which brought a jazzlike energy to the familiar genre of modernistic piano music.

George Tsontakis presented a master class that afternoon for GSU composition students, and aside from offering his own insights, he consistently showed a concern for opening the floor and involving everyone in the proceedings. We all benefited from the discussion that resulted, and Tsontakis impressed with his ability to perceive the underlying issues in the students’ music and ask the right questions.

GSU’s terrific Percussion Ensemble took the stage Saturday afternoon, showcasing another growing repertory that has been a playground for recent composers. Christopher Mont’s performance of Jonathan McNair’s Sonata for Solo Percussion displayed a promising talent, and the piece pleased with subtle sonic connections and carefully planned gestures. Scott Deal and GSU faculty percussionist Stuart Gerber joined forces for two duets, Amelia Kaplan’s Beat it with a Stick and Marc Satterwhite’s Nazca Lines. Seeing these two excellent performers working together was a joy in itself, and the composers provided countless inventive ideas. It’s an interesting commentary on the state of percussion music that the final piece on the concert, Brandon Hendrix’ Bahrah, was the first to include anything approximating a real, old-fashioned groove. Depending on one’s perspective, this apparent trend away from repeating rhythmic figures could be viewed as a positive or negative development for percussion music, but at the very least, we can clearly say that composers are approaching this genre with great freedom and personal license.

I’ve mentioned much excellent and memorable music, but the real peaches of the week were the concerts on Friday and Saturday evenings. The former featured largely performers from the Atlanta-based new music group Bent Frequency. The works included Tsontakis’ Seven Knickknacks for Violin and Viola, Kyle Kindred’s piano trio Inundación, and Carl Schimmel’s rite.apotheosis, all of which brought together concerns for color, rhythmic energy, and motion. Mei-Fang Lin’s L’Image reconstituée similarly wore a modernistic aesthetic tempered by a certain playfulness that made it instantly appealing. Lin also deserves commendation for the perfectly balanced pacing of her four movements. Perhaps most exciting on Friday evening, though, were the two premieres by the winners of last year’s SCI/ASCAP Student Commission Contest. Carolyn O’Brien’s Formicary and Maxwell Dulaney’s Eastern Limb both demonstrated exciting young talents. Dulaney’s piece contained perhaps the greatest surprise moment of any work on the conference: after an initial section of tense music and dense interaction between the seven players, the texture suddenly opened up to a beautiful, nocturnal soundscape that was tuned with brilliant senses of pacing and space. I was reminded of the classic advice in jazz improvisation, to constantly ask oneself if what one is playing constitutes an improvement on silence. When I mentioned my enjoyment of this section to Dulaney after the concert, he responded that he wanted to “make everyone hang out for a while.” In this case, the approach worked perfectly, leaving the audience leaning forward in our chairs with a keen sense of where we were and what we were listening to.

Saturday night’s concert was similarly a billboard for the many fantastic new music players who appear to be hanging around in Atlanta. Brian Baxter’s People Movement opened the concert with a tasteful and concise burst of rhythm, and Orlando Jacinto Garcia’s olas de humanidad, by contrast, gave the audience a quiet sound piece with little sense of traditional progression. The combination of extremely soft piano strumming over muted violin harmonics was gorgeous sonically, and Garcia connected the episodes and images with the utmost taste. Kyong Mee Choi’s A Slight Uncertainty Is Attractive, for flute and electronics, followed with an astounding achievement in spatialization. The sounds strongly suggested visual images—not surprisingly, since Choi is also a painter—and the concentration of musical information across the texture was always pitch-perfect. The concert continued with Nickitas Demos’ Akathist, which provided unexpected doses of wit and dance in an almost startling contrast with much of what we’d heard over the previous days. And to close, there was another attractive and strongly constructed piece by George Tsontakis, his Piano Quartet no. 3.

Thanks are owed to Nick Demos and the students, faculty, and staff at Georgia State. I was constantly impressed with the effort and organization these individuals put forth to make the week a success. The many performers featured, including those from GSU, the Atlanta area, and around the country, also deserve a special mention.

The conference was tiring. I’m sure that everyone in attendance would agree. It was so much music to take in, so many different approaches to digest. But aesthetic pluralism is, after all, inherently a challenge on us as composers, performers, and listeners. As Molly Ivins put it, “The thing about democracy, beloveds, is that it is not neat, orderly, or quiet. It requires a certain relish for confusion.” Pluralism may be tiring, may be difficult to understand in sum, may be occasionally off-putting, but you know what? I’ll take it. Especially if it means I get to sometimes come across musical gems like the ones I heard in Atlanta. We find ourselves situated today in a perhaps unparalleled atmosphere of artistic freedom, and I was thrilled to sit and listen in a room full of composers who are actively taking advantage of it. So cheers, everyone. Keep on writing, and hopefully I’ll see you at the next conference.