Underwood New Music Readings - Composer Spotlight: James Diaz

New York-based composer James Diaz (b. 1990) is the winner of the 2015 National Prize of Music in Composition by the Ministry of Culture of Colombia for his Concerto for Percussion Trio and Orchestra, Saturn Lights. As winner of the 2014 Prize of Music in Composition for the reopening of the Teatro Colón, his orchestral piece Eclosion was premiered by conductor Claudio Cruz and the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia and recently has been recorded by the conductor Cecilia Espinosa and the EAFIT Symphony Orchestra for the upcoming album, New Colombian Music for Orchestra. Diaz has also won several competitions for his chamber and wind ensemble music, including the 2015 Coral and Symphony Composition Award by the Bogotá Philharmonic, the 2013 Composition Prize of the International Winter Festival of Campos do Jordão for his string quartet Dynamics of Meteorite and the XV National Award for Musical Composition City of Bogotá by the Bogotá Philharmonic for his work Iron Curtains. Diaz studied composition with Moisés Bertrán, Harold Vázquez and Gustavo Parra at the National Conservatory of Music, where he received his B.M. in Composition in 2015. He was a two-time Composition Fellow at the International Winter Festival of Campos do Jordao, Brazil; and is currently pursuing an M.M. in Composition at the Manhattan School of Music, where he is studying composition with Reiko Fueting.

James’ piece From Infinity was selected for the 2017 Underwood New Music Readings where it will be workshopped and read by American Composers Orchestra and maestro George Manahan. James spoke to us about the readings and his piece.

Rehearsals, workshops, and final readings are free and open to the public on June 22 and 23 at The DiMenna Center for Classical (450 West 37th Street, NYC). RSVP here

Composer James Diaz

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

James Diaz: I remember that I was in class when my wife emailed me that someone from the American Composers Orchestra had called, suddenly my hands started to shake. As soon as I finished my class I called back and I was informed that I had been selected, I thought I was in the middle of a dream, but it was very real. Being selected in this program is a huge honor for any young composer, it is a reward for many days and nights of time I invested.

ACO: Can you talk about your compositional process for From Infinity? Did you start with a broad picture of the piece, or with smaller gestures? At what point did you begin to make decisions about the orchestration?

JD: I always need to have the whole form of the piece in my mind, or at least the overall concept of the form. I worked on From Infinity for nearly one year. The main ideas were created while I was in Bogotá but right after I moved to NYC I reordered the structure and also I reorchestrated some parts, particularly the end and the center.

For me it's impossible to consider the composition and the orchestration as different aspects. I usually compose directly to the full score because many of principal ideas are essentially colors and gestures, for that reason the orchestration is always in my mind during the process of composition.

ACO: You biography states that you are considered one of the most representative young composers from Colombia. What do you think makes your music distinctively Colombian?

JD: Honestly, I do not know. However, I strongly believe that everything around us defines us. Colombia is well-known for its ecological, geographical and biological diversity and also for its very different sorts of cultures, etc. In others words, as a Colombian I have been exposed to many contrasting factors, which have or have not impacted my musical language and artistic interests.

ACO: What are you doing to prepare for the readings? Are there any changes you are making to your piece?

I try to be very rigorous with every single detail in the score. On the other hand, this is going to be the first time I am going to hear my piece live. Also, considering that generally I incorporate Indeterminacy in my music, there are some sections that will be new even for me, so I do know that I'll change some things after the readings.

ACO: What do you hope to gain from the readings?

As I mentioned before I have been imagining this piece for a long time, but my imagination has some limits. Although theoretically I can imagine what could happen, I am not 100% certain of the real sonic impact. For that reason this opportunity is so important for me – the contributions are unlimited, not only for the all-musical experience that we will gain but also because meeting the teachers, the orchestra and the staff is an incredible privilege. They all will play an important part in our compositional learning. Their life and professional experience, their music background and knowledge, definitely will impact on our lives as young artists. I am very much looking forward to this adventure!

Learn more about James at www.jamesdiaz.co
Follow James on Soundcloud

Rehearsals, workshops, and final readings are free and open to the public on June 22 and 23 at The DiMenna Center for Classical (450 West 37th Street, NYC). RSVP here

Underwood New Music Readings - Composer Spotlight: Alexander Timofeev

Composer and pianist Alexander Timofeev (b. 1983) has performed his compositions at the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Moldova, Thailand International Composition Festival, Hariclea Darclee Festival and Voice Competition (Romania), Oxford Piano Festival (UK), Novye Imena (Russia), and Northern Lights Festival (USA). He is the winner of the 2016 Richard Weerts Composition Competition, and a finalist of the 2016 Thailand International Composition Festival, among many other awards. In 2008, Timofeev founded the International Society of Pianists and Composers, a non-profit organization that promotes contemporary music written for piano. Started as a creative circle of composing and performing alumni of the Eastman School of Music, it now represents a growing network of musicians from over 20 countries. Alexander Timofeev completed his D.M.A. at the University of Maryland, College Park. He holds an M.M. from the Eastman School of Music and a B.M. from Rowan University. He studied composition with Lawrence Moss, Harold Oliver and Zlata Tkach. Timofeev currently resides in Philadelphia and is an Artist-in-Residence at Rowan University.

Alexander’s piece Fantasme was selected for the 2017 Underwood New Music Readings where it will be workshopped and read by American Composers Orchestra and maestro George Manahan. Alexander spoke to us about the readings and his piece.

Rehearsals, workshops, and final readings are free and open to the public on June 22 and 23 at The DiMenna Center for Classical (450 West 37th Street, NYC). RSVP here

Composer and pianist Alexander Timofeev

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

Alexander Timofeev: One day in February I received a call from the ACO. It was a big surprise for me to find out that my piece has been selected for the readings. I knew that many talented, emerging composers apply every year and that the competition is very rigorous. Writing an orchestral piece is a big effort on the part of the composer; the work on such a composition can last for many months. The fact that this year ACO readings had over 250 applications not only speaks about the number of young American composers who are writing music on a very high level, but it is also shows that UNMR is among the central events for emerging composers in this country.

ACO: What was the inspiration for Fantasme? How did your compositional process adjust to the task of writing an orchestral piece?

AT: I believe that in order for a new composition to appear, first there must be a source of inspiration. For me, the flow of music is very much like the flow of a river; such rivers, big and small, usually start with at a tiny rill. The composer’s job is first to discover this source and then to grow the music from there. I found the source of inspiration for Fantasme in the first few measures of my favorite Mozart sonata. In my piece, the original motive receives an immediate transformation and the music goes into new territory.

Writing an orchestral composition is a great experience; it requires a lot of patience and willingness to devote more time to editing the music, something that young composers don’t always have patience for. It is very possible that the time I spent editing the full score and the parts for Fantasme by far exceeded the time I spent on writing music for this piece. Of course, the content, character and emotion is most important in a composition, but a proper framework for the musical idea can really help the performers understand the composer’s intentions for the piece.

Fantasme offered me the challenge of exploring the problem of continuity in music and the opportunity of working on a subject that I really love; it helped broaden my understanding of the relationships between the instrumental groups, find a new way of using the technical possibilities of each orchestral instrument, and finally, it allowed me to experience all the steps on the way to completing a big project.  

ACO: You are the founder of the International Society of Pianists and Composers, a non-profit organization promoting contemporary piano music. Why do you believe organizations like ISPC and ACO are important for the health of the classical music world? Besides the obvious motivation of being an accomplished pianist yourself, is there any reason you believe new works for piano are especially important to advocate for?

My involvement with the International Society of Pianists and Composers helped me realize the importance of collaboration between composers, performers and the audience. I noticed that most composers, including myself, tend to focus on themselves a lot, and learn how to live and compose with minimal interaction with the outside world. And when it comes to finding opportunities for performance, composers often discover that they cannot find musicians interested in performing their piece. This is especially true with new piano music; while there are many pianists around us, there is also such an abundance of great masterpieces from the past centuries that, unless the composer has a prior arrangement with the performer, a new work can rest on the shelf for a long time. 

Because of my experience also as a concert pianist, I believe that advocating for new piano music should start in the studio of a college piano artist-teacher. If the teacher keeps a performing schedule and includes in his/her recitals works by living composers, commissions such new works, collaborates with local as well as with established composers, his/her students will also follow this skill of collaboration in their future careers. This requires a lot more effort and responsibility on the part of the performer but it is also very rewarding as one may realize that his/her premiere performance of a new work is unique and much more important for the continuation of music as a living art form. It is an unstoppable process - the pieces that make it into the repertoire are losing their musical freshness and value and become fuel for new works, or in performers’ terms - teaching material. 

In this light, it is not a surprise than concert institutions often talk about the lack of attendance for classical music recitals, chamber or orchestra concerts and the fact that young people are slow in connecting with classical music. How can anyone expect 100+ years old music to resonate with the modern audience? It is great to perform the masterpieces as a tribute to the old masters, we will always be indebted to them for their work but, in my view, the longest accent in concert programs should be on the new works. ACO is the first orchestra in the US that started to lead in a new direction and continues to pave the path for the future of all American orchestras.

  

ACO: What are you doing to prepare for the readings? Are there any changes you are making to your piece?

AT: I have sent to ACO the printed full scores and orchestra parts last month, so, even if I wanted - at this time there is nothing I can change… I am trying to get back to running and exercising, perhaps, this will not prepare me better for the readings, but, at least it is good for my health.

ACO: What do you hope to gain from the readings?

AT: The discussion, suggestions and feedback on our pieces from ACO musicians and the audience will be very helpful for our future work. I can’t wait to hear Fantasme and I am very interested in knowing more about my colleagues’ pieces; the music that will be performed during the readings will feature various strengths and stylistic directions. I am looking forward to meeting the composers and musicians that will be there.

Learn more about Alexander at www.timofeev.org

Follow him on YouTube and Soundcloud

Rehearsals, workshops, and final readings are free and open to the public on June 22 and 23 at The DiMenna Center for Classical (450 West 37th Street, NYC). RSVP here

Underwood New Music Readings - Composer Spotlight: Yucong (Zoe) Wang

Yucong (Zoe) Wang (b. 1993) began studying piano at age six and composition at age 11. She entered the Shanghai Conservatory as the top-ranked student in 2011, studying composition with Professor Gang Chen and Professor Huang Lv. In 2013, she entered the Eastman School of Music to pursue a B.M. in composition. Zoe’s compositions have been performed in Shanghai, the Eastman School of Music, George Eastman House, Strong National Museum, and University of Oregon. Composition awards include second prize in the Confucius Award Composition Competition (2009) for her Chinese instrumental trio, Yi, and first prize in the Young Promise Composition Competition (2011) for her mixed quintet, The Reverse of 12 Hours. She also received the Eastman School’s Belle Gitleman Award in 2016 for her chamber pieces, Five Wright Songs and The Ecstasy of Six Persian Poems.

Zoe’s piece Blackbird: II. Aggregation was selected for the 2017 Underwood New Music Readings where it will be workshopped and read by American Composers Orchestra and maestro George Manahan. Zoe spoke to us about the readings and her piece.

Rehearsals, workshops, and final readings are free and open to the public on June 22 and 23 at The DiMenna Center for Classical (450 West 37th Street, NYC). RSVP here

Composer/pianist Zoe Wang

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

Zoe Wang: To be honest, I did not expect anything from my submission of Blackbird to the Underwood New Music Readings. Blackbird is my very first orchestral piece and during the time of submission, I was going through a period of time when I was seriously debating whether I should continue my music career as a composer. I was so surprised to receive an email from ACO telling me that my piece was selected for the 2017 Underwood New Music Readings. I am so thankful and this opportunity is a great encouragement to me as a young composer.

ACO: Can you talk about your compositional process for Blackbird? Did you start with a broad picture of the piece, or with smaller gestures? At what point did you begin to make decisions about the orchestration?

ZW: I wrote Blackbird in 2016 during my junior year at Eastman School of Music. After I finished taking the orchestration class, I came up with an idea to write a piece for a large orchestra to challenge myself to write for as many instruments as I can. I was eager to hear what my musical vision for a large orchestral could sound like. Then I started to look for a topic that would fit the sound of a big orchestra and was reminded of a French documentary, Winged Migration, directed by Jacques Perrin. I remember that when I was watching it, I was fascinated by its depiction of the movements of birds, and struck by the power of nature that dominates all creatures. I then decided to write two contrasting movements: the first one “Migration” with smooth musical gesture in relatively slow tempo. The second one called “Aggregation,” which I submitted to the reading. “Aggregation” is more lively and energetic; my inspiration for this movement originally came from the film and the futurist painting Swifts, Paths of Movement by American artist Giacomo Balla. I started some sketches on the piano when I composed both two movements, and then orchestrated those sketches. The piece, especially the second movement, has some jazz influences. This influence comes from taking a jazz piano class and lessons with Professor Caramia and Dr. Terefenko at Eastman, and the skills I learned heavily affected the way I composed this piece. I only realized this when looking back after having finished Blackbird, and wasn’t aware of it during the writing process itself.

Swifts: Paths of Movement + Dynamic Sequences (1913)
by Giacomo Balla:

ACO: What are you doing to prepare for the readings? Are there any changes you are making to your piece?

I remember that ACO Artistic Director, Derek Bermel, called me and gave me a long list of suggestions in detail for revising “Aggregation.” The phone call lasted almost an hour. I appreciate Mr. Bremel spending his time to give me a lesson on my piece. After talking with him, I changed the grouping of the rhythm, and the notation for many instruments to make the score even more “readable” for the reading. Also, after having written more orchestral music this past year, I slightly changed the orchestration in the opening and the ending sections.

ACO: What do you hope to gain from the readings?

I am curious to see what my piece will sound like being read by an excellent, professional orchestra. I am also hoping to receive a lot of feedback and suggestions from other composers, conductor George Manahan, all the ACO performers, and my colleagues. The experience of participating in the rehearsal of Blackbird would be helpful for me to think of revisions for the piece afterwards, and encourage me to write more orchestral music in the future. I am also looking forward to hearing the other five composers’ music and listen to them sharing the concepts and processes of their works, as well as getting to know them and their musical ideas.

Follow Zoe on Soundcloud

Rehearsals, workshops, and final readings are free and open to the public on June 22 and 23 at The DiMenna Center for Classical (450 West 37th Street, NYC). RSVP here

Underwood New Music Readings - Composer Spotlight: Hilary Purrington

Hilary Purrington (b. 1990) is a New England-based composer whose music has been performed by many distinguished ensembles, including the Peabody Modern Orchestra, the Yale Philharmonia, the American Modern Ensemble, and the ChoralArt Camerata. Most recently, she was featured in the 2016 NY PHIL BIENNIAL. Commissions include new works for the Chicago Harp Quartet, the Musical Chairs Chamber Ensemble, and the Melodia Women’s Choir of NYC, and upcoming projects include commissions from Washington Square Winds, inFLUX, and the New York Youth Symphony. Purrington holds degrees from The Juilliard School and the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. She is currently pursuing a Master of Musical Arts at the Yale School of Music.

Hilary's piece Likely Pictures in Haphazard Sky was selected for the 2017 Underwood New Music Readings, where it will be workshopped and read by American Composers Orchestra and maestro George Manahan. Hilary spoke to us about the readings and her piece.

Rehearsals, workshops, and final readings are free and open to the public on June 22 and 23 at The DiMenna Center for Classical (450 West 37th Street, NYC). RSVP here

Composer Hilary Purrington

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

Hilary Purrington: I was thrilled! So many fantastic composers have been invited to participate, and it’s an honor to be one of them. 

ACO: Your selected work is named after a poem by William Meredith, which comments on, as you say in your program note, "our natural fear of randomness and our instinctive desire to find or create meaningful patterns." Can you talk about how your piece addresses this fear?

Poet William Meredith (1919 - 2007)

HP: I wouldn’t say that the piece is about fear. I’ve always been fascinated by our natural human tendency to organize randomness and find patterns where none may actually exist. Identifying and naming constellations, as described in Meredith’s poem, is an excellent example of this. The opening of my piece is sparse and unpredictable; gradually, by imposing regular patterns, I allow these fragmented materials coalesce into something identifiable and familiar.

ACO: Can you talk about your compositional process for Likely Pictures in Haphazard Sky? Did you start with a broad picture of the piece, or with smaller gestures? At what point did you begin to make decisions about the orchestration?

HP: The opening texture was the first thing I imagined, and much of the work grew out of that. The piece in its current form is so different from early drafts - at first, it was very sectional and episodic. Some of that remains, but it's much more continuous.

In this piece, the melodic and harmonic materials rely on their orchestrations. So, I made my orchestrational decisions very early in the process!

ACO: What are you doing to prepare for the readings? Are there any changes you are making to your piece?

HP: I made several small notational changes to clarify some things for the performers. The music has largely remained the same, though!

ACO: What do you hope to gain from the readings?

HP: Every rehearsal process and subsequent performance is a learning experience. Everything that I learn from the readings, whether practical or artistic/creative, will definitely influence how I approach future works. 

Learn more about Hilary at www.hilarypurrington.com

Follow Hilary on Instagram and Soundcloud

Rehearsals, workshops, and final readings are free and open to the public on June 22 and 23 at The DiMenna Center for Classical (450 West 37th Street, NYC). RSVP here

Underwood New Music Readings - Composer Spotlight: Nick DiBerardino

Composer Nick DiBerardino (b. 1989) is a Rhodes Scholar, called a “bright young star” and a “first-rate talent” by the Portland Press Herald, with awards from Portland Chamber Music Festival Composition Competition, soundSCAPE, and Connecticut’s Westport Arts Advisory Committee. Nick’s orchestral music has been programmed by the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and Minnesota Orchestra, and he is currently composer-in-residence at Luzerne Music Center. Nick has studied at Princeton University, University of Oxford, Yale School of Music, and is currently pursuing a Post-Baccalaureate Diploma in composition at the Curtis Institute of Music, where he teaches at the Young Artist Summer Program.

Nick's piece Mercury-Redstone 3 was selected for the 2017 Underwood New Music Readings, where it will be workshopped and read by American Composers Orchestra and maestro George Manahan. Nick spoke to us about the readings and his piece.

Rehearsals, workshops, and final readings are free and open to the public on June 22 and 23 at The DiMenna Center for Classical (450 West 37th Street, NYC). RSVP here

Composer Nick DiBerardino

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

Nick DiBerardino: Well I was certainly excited. Even when you think you’ve written a good piece, you know going into an application process like this that your odds are very slim. This piece is for triple winds, as well, meaning it calls for a slightly larger orchestra than is typical—that by itself had already narrowed down my chances of hearing the piece again. So I’m very appreciative to have been selected for UNMR!

ACO: Your selected piece Mercury-Redstone 3 is based on the somewhat under-celebrated NASA mission that first sent an American astronaut, Alan Shepard, into space. Can you talk about the narrative arc that's painted in your piece? What musical themes or gestures have you created to represent this story?

Alan Shepard in the Freedom 7 capsule before launch

ND: Sure. You know, some sense of narrative always tends to crop up in my music. It’s something that used to happen kind of automatically, but as I’ve matured as a composer I’ve actively embraced that side of my voice. I find that composing with a clear extramusical concept helps me to sharpen and refine my musical ideas. When you know your piece is about a rocket ship, for example, that significantly reduces the otherwise infinite number of sound worlds you might choose to create. I’m not usually working in a way where I’m trying to directly encode narrative ideas into sound, so you won’t find things like leitmotifs in Mercury-Redstone 3. What you will hear is that this piece weaves itself through an almost audaciously active set of musical textures, full of overlapping trills, propulsive rhythms, and whooshing scalar gestures. That all relates closely to my interest in the Mercury-Redstone 3 mission. When I was a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut, and the intense activity and excitement in this music responds directly to my inner sense of wonder about the audacity of human spaceflight. For me, there is a moment in the piece where I feel like the rocket actually takes off, but you’ll have to tell me what you think when you hear it for yourself!

ACO: In addition to being a composer, you are a committed teacher. You co-founded and were director of “Back in Tune,” a wonderfully successful arts initiative which helped an underserved school in Bridgeport, Connecticut gain status as a performing arts institution and receive state funding. Can you talk about any ways in which these roles have influenced your voice, techniques, or priorities as a composer?

ND: The process of composing music necessarily involves a fair amount of solitude. I wouldn’t trade that – I’m not sure I could produce quality music any other way. That said, I’ve always been drawn to the inherently social side of music making. To realize any piece of music, it takes tremendous energies of collaborative engagement on the part of performers and audiences alike. I imagine that the power music has in our daily lives is intimately related to the way we experience it collectively, as a community. Even if we’re just listening by ourselves on our headphones, we know on some level that the music we’re receiving is a message from another person, and—as long as we like what we’re hearing, anyway—we probably enjoy that sense of human connection. I suppose that’s part of the reason I compose in the first place; I feel I have something meaningful to say, and I hope my music will speak on some level to its listeners. It’s probably that social view of music that motivates me to share my passion for our art directly in my teaching, my curatorial projects, and through the community engagement work I’ve done with Back in Tune and other organizations. That philosophy surely has an important effect on my compositions, as well, though it’s harder for me to pin down exactly how that manifests. I do always craft my pieces around the idea that I’d like someone to be listening attentively, that I’d like a performer to be playing in a live setting, as comfortably as possible, and that no matter how challenging the musical material may be, everyone involved might be rewarded with a satisfying sonic journey.

ACO: What are you doing to prepare for the readings? Are there any changes you are making to your piece?

ND: I did recently prepare for UNMR by returning to my score and reorchestrating several passages that weren’t quite speaking right. That’s a regular part of my process with orchestral music, since I always find lots of little details that can be fine-tuned during the rehearsal process. In fact, I think that may be an integral part of any orchestral premiere—even Mahler made edits to his scores in rehearsal, and he was a longtime conductor! Luckily, I had the amazing good fortune of working on Mercury-Redstone 3 with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, and they have to be one of the finest student orchestras in the world. I spent a significant amount of time with my score and Curtis’ rendition of it leading up to UNMR. Mostly I was trying to rework the balance of foreground and background in the piece, rebalancing the several layers of activity that alternately vie for attention and settle into supporting roles throughout.

ACO: What do you hope to gain from the readings?

ND: From everything I hear, ACO does a fantastic job making the Underwood readings into a broadly useful learning experience. I’m sure the workshops on engraving, branding, copyright, and programming will be informative—it’s always good to double-down on the nuts and bolts of the business side of things. More than anything else, though, I’m looking forward to learning from the formidable combined experience of George Manahan, Derek Bermel, Libby Larsen, David Rakowski, Trevor Weston, and the musicians of the ACO. You don’t often get a chance to workshop your music with so many seasoned professionals! I’m looking forward to hearing as much feedback as I can get over the course of the readings, and I’m sure I’ll learn a whole lot that I’ll carry with me into my future orchestral work.

Rehearsals, workshops, and final readings are free and open to the public on June 22 and 23 at The DiMenna Center for Classical (450 West 37th Street, NYC). RSVP here

Learn more about Nick DiBerardino at www.nickdiberardino.com

Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Soundcloud