Underwood New Music Readings: Composer Spotlight - Polina Nazaykinskaya

Composer Polina Nazaykinskaya is one of the seven selected composers for ACO's 24th annual Underwood New Music Readings on May 6 and 7. Polina says of her selected piece, Reading the Wind, "Rhythms and sounds can reveal the power of the invisible world. Turning the pages of the Nature’s Book of Life, one may re-discover a sense of mystery that is part and parcel of our existence." Read her full program note here.

Polina was kind enough to answer some questions for SoundAdvice.

Composer Polina Nazaykinskaya

What was your reaction to finding out your piece had been selected for the Underwood New Music Readings?
I am excited and truly honored to have my piece selected for the Underwood New Music Readings. It`s not only  a great chance for me to meet and work with the wonderful American Composers Orchestra and Maestro Manahan, but also it's a great opportunity to get a valuable feedback about my music from the mentor composers Derek Bermel, Kevin Puts and Gabriela Lena Frank.

The Underwood New Music Readings is really a dream-come-true in many regards. The chance to work with a professional orchestra is very rare and extremely important for young composers. It can be intimidating as well – what if my music doesn't sound right? What if the majority of my orchestration choices don't work? In any case, it's the best composition/orchestration lesson one can get.

What preparations are you making ahead of the readings with the American Composers Orchestra?
A lot of my preparation went into the revision of the orchestration, as I strived to ensure that the richness of musical material would thrive in the hands of the orchestra. I am always trying to find the right balance between practicality and vividness of orchestration. I also had to go through extensive revisions of the score and parts formatting, which was not exactly my cup of tea.




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www.americancomposers.org

Underwood New Music Readings: Composer Spotlight - Jules Pegram

Composer Jules Pegram is one of the seven selected composers for ACO's 24th annual Underwood New Music Readings on May 6 and 7. His selected piece Shadows of the Studio is a "musical tribute to the glory days of Hollywood’s 'studio system.'" Read his full program note here.

Jules was kind enough to answer some questions for SoundAdvice.

Composer Jules Pegram

What was your reaction to finding out your piece had been selected for the Underwood New Music Readings?
My first reaction to being selected for this year's Underwood New Music Readings was one of sheer shock and gratitude.  All it takes is a glance over the impressive roster of past Underwood participants to know what an honor it is to be selected, and I'm truly humbled to join the ranks of such illustrious company.  I'm grateful to the American Composers Orchestra and their music director George Manahan for providing this opportunity to young composers, and for supporting new music through their constant championing of contemporary composition.

The ability to hear one's orchestral music realized is always an invaluable learning experience, regardless of who's playing.  But to work with an ensemble of the ACO's caliber, with their immense performing talents and storied legacy, is beyond informative — it's exhilarating.

What preparations are you making ahead of the readings with the American Composers Orchestra?
In advance of the Underwood New Music Readings, I have spent hours fine-tuning my score and parts.  For me, this meant making sure the score is impeccably precise and the parts clear and well laid-out; it is my hope that all of my musical intentions thus come across in as direct a way as possible, and that none of our precious rehearsal time is spent on dealing with errors or inconsistencies.  I have also spent time tweaking the orchestration of several sections of the piece, and I can't wait to hear what works well and what might still need some refining, particularly with regards to dynamics, timbre, and register.

I'm also eager to share insights into what inspired my piece Shadows of the Studio in the first place: early American film history.  Before and during the composition process I spent a great amount of time researching this rich topic, with a special focus on the rise and fall of Hollywood's so-called "studio system."  My continuing fascination with early Hollywood has led me to study countless historical texts, watch tons of old films, and delve ever deeper into classic film music, a life-long passion, and it is my sincere hope that this will all better help me express my motivations for writing my composition when I'm in New York for the readings.




Follow Jules on Soundcloud and YouTube

www.julespegram.com

www.americancomposers.org

Underwood New Music Readings: Composer Spotlight - David Clay Mettens

Composer and clarinetist David Clay Mettens is one of the seven selected composers for ACO's 24th annual Underwood New Music Readings on May 6 and 7. His selected piece Sleeping I am carried… is based on a melodic fragment from Alban Berg’s Mombert setting “Schlafend trägt man mich.” Read his full program note here. 

Clay was kind enough to answer some questions for SoundAdvice.

Composer/clarinetist David Clay Mettens

What was your reaction to finding out your piece had been selected for the Underwood New Music Readings?
I was absolutely thrilled to find out that my piece was going to be read by the American Composers Orchestra as part of the Underwood New Music Readings! This will be my first time working with a professional orchestra. My piece, Sleeping I am carried..., has been read and performed by excellent student orchestras at Eastman, but I'm very curious to hear what a reading with professionals shows about the piece. It's so rewarding to have a piece performed by different groups. Each new performance brings out new qualities in the music. I'm also really excited to work with the composer mentors and see the perspective they bring to my work.

What preparations are you making ahead of the readings with the American Composers Orchestra?
Over the last few weeks I've made a few cosmetic edits to my score based on suggestions from ACO's engraving specialist. Otherwise, I've been trying to reflect on the questions that I had after the previous reading and performance of the piece: Am I really getting the balance I want in these two measures? Does this doubling produce the color I had imagined? Is the profile of a gesture in the strings clear enough? After a first performance, you wonder if these things are inherent in the score or just result from some particularity of the situation—the hall, the ensemble, etc. The answers to these questions help me to grow as a composer and sharpen my inner ear.




Follow Clay on Twitter and Soundcloud

www.mettensmusic.com

www.americancomposers.org

Underwood New Music Readings: Composer Spotlight - David Hertzberg

Composer David Hertzberg is one of the seven selected composers for ACO's 24th annual Underwood New Music Readings on May 6 and 7. His piece, Spectre of the Spheres, which draws its titled from Wallace Stevens' The Auroras of Autumn, seeks to "create something that moves and breathes like the unfettered Aurora, with a reckless vitality, inexorably, and of its own mystical accord." Read his full program note here.

David was kind enough to answer some questions for SoundAdvice.

Composer David Hertzberg

What was your reaction to finding out your piece had been selected for the Underwood New Music Readings?
I was thrilled to hear that my piece had been selected for the Underwood readings, and am very much looking forward to working with Maestro Manahan, the orchestra, and mentor-composers Gabriela Lena Frank, Kevin Puts, and Derek Bermel. I have always admired the American Composers Orchestra, not just for its artistry, but as one of few ensembles of its size dedicated exclusively to the music of our time. I look forward to their interpretation and insight.

What preparations are you making ahead of the readings with the American Composers Orchestra?
Most of the preparation took place a few months ago when I was touching up the score and parts. Right now I am in Hong Kong rehearsing for a performance with the fabulous Tanglewood New Fromm Players at Hong Kong City Hall Theatre.




Follow David on Twitter and Soundcloud

www.davidhertzbergmusic.com

www.americancomposers.org

Underwood New Music Readings: Composer Spotlight - Igor Santos

Composer Igor Santos is one of the seven selected composers for ACO's 24th annual Underwood New Music Readings on May 6 and 7. Igor says of his selected piece, "ploy, pivot is the first work in a series of pieces of mine that attempt to create a narratological structure using the superposition of music with completely different characters." Read his full program note here.

Igor was kind enough to answer some questions for SoundAdvice.

Composer Igor Santos

What was your reaction to finding out your piece had been selected for the Underwood New Music Readings?
The opportunity to hear one’s orchestral work more than once is a rare event for most student composers, so I was very pleased to receive news that my work would receive a reading with the ACO. This was the first time I submitted a work for the Underwood New Music Readings, and I am humbled to have been chosen.

What preparations are you making ahead of the readings with the American Composers Orchestra?
It has been an entire year since I wrote this piece, so I am re-studying my score in preparation for the ACO rehearsals. One particular concept for this piece, “ploy, pivot”, involves the superposition of music of different affects (for example: having a layer of calm lyrical music against a texture of abrasive pointillist attacks), and there are moments in the work which are quite “thick”, with many independent musics occurring simultaneously. My preparations involve reminding myself now of what layers should be prioritized and the best ways of balancing certain sections, so that I can express this to the conductor and players in the case that my score fails to do so. I should add that although this piece is inspired and written in the spirit of Charles Ives’s orchestral works (e.g. Three Places in New England, Holidays Symphony, Symphony No. 4, etc.), my approach to multi-layered music is different: I do not reference vernacular music (e.g. Ives use of popular tunes, marching bands, church hymns), and independent musical characters are not isolated objects – they find points of convergence, moments of simultaneous transformation or separation, and so forth – my technique is, perhaps, aimed towards self-referential relationships, and I ultimately strive for clarity in this piece. This is no way a criticism on Ives - I am just pointing out that although I use a similar technique, the intent and scale of the music are quite different.


Follow Igor on Soundcloud

www.igorsantos.org

www.americancomposers.org

Underwood New Music Readings: Composer Spotlight - Kay He

Composer Kay He one of the seven selected composers for ACO's 24th annual Underwood New Music Readings on May 6 and 7. She dedicates her selected piece Passeig de Gràcia to her parents, and was inspired to write it after visiting the famous Barcelona avenue. Read her full program note here.

Kay was kind enough to answer some questions for SoundAdvice.

Composer Yuanyan Kay He

What was your reaction to finding out your piece had been selected for the Underwood New Music Readings?

I felt so happy.  Writing for orchestra is always one of the biggest challenges for emerging composers, so hearing our music performed by a professional orchestra and learning from the orchestra are some of the most valuable experiences for young composers.  Also, the master classes instructed by leaders in the industry, which provide information on subjects such as instrumental balance and timbre, communication skills between conductors and musicians, part preparation, and copyright commission agreements, provide important learning opportunities and skills for aspiring composers.  I am so lucky to be chosen for ACO's Underwood New Music Readings. This opportunity will inspire me to keep working hard in my composition career. I also hope my music can convey a new music spirit to other young composers and encourage them to write their own orchestra music.  Many thanks to ACO for selecting my work.  It means a lot to me.

What preparations are you making ahead of the readings with the American Composers Orchestra?
In my piece, there are many sudden mood changes and different layers of foreground and background instruments. To prepare for the reading, I studied my score very carefully to make sure all mistakes were eliminated. But, because there are about 30 or 40 systems in the full score, it wasn't easy to catch all the mistakes. Then, I spent some time completing the parts, which is a good way to proofread the entire score. Additionally, while I read my scores, I always try to imagine my piece in my head and sing the music with my heart in order to remember the characteristics and tempo of each section.  I believe doing this exercise and fully understanding my score/piece will allow for better communication between me and the conductor.




Follow Kay on Facebook and Soundcloud
www.kayhecomposer.com

www.americancomposers.org

Underwood New Music Readings: Composer Spotlight - Carl Schimmel

Composer Carl Schimmel is one of the seven selected composers for ACO's 24th annual Underwood New Music Readings on May 6 and 7. Carl says of his selected piece, "Two Variations on Ascent into the Empyrean is a pair of short orchestral movements inspired by my children’s artwork." Read his full program note here.

Carl was kind enough to answer some questions for SoundAdvice.

Composer Carl Schimmel

What was your reaction to finding out your piece had been selected for the Underwood New Music Readings?
I was very pleased and also surprised; when I submit works to competitions and calls for scores I always do so with the assumption that my work will not be selected.  Opportunities to work with professional orchestras are hard to come by, as are opportunities to work together with composers who are as accomplished as Derek Bermel and Gabriela Lena Frank and Kevin Puts.  Furthermore, I always enjoy getting to know my fellow composers and their music.  So, I'm very much looking forward to my time in New York and I anticipate that it will be educational and inspiring.

What preparations are you making ahead of the readings with the American Composers Orchestra?
Right now I'm trying to finish parts for another orchestra piece!  But in the days leading up to the Readings, I will be double-checking the parts and score for any errors that I might have missed the first few times around, and I'll spend additional time with the score to formulate some questions and come up with possible edits.


Follow Carl on Soundcloud
www.carlschimmel.com

www.americancomposers.org