OME Vol 1 issue 6

OME ZINE vol. 1 issue 6 summer 2015

IN THIS ISSUE: Inside Josh Jandreau Muscal Maps Archive Meet Jason Barabba: 2015 OME Marathon Guest Composer

The EPIC Maker Instrument Challenge Returns for the Frist Time

oe n i h p n i c s u m new

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Letter from the editor.

As we announced last issue, new team members Michael Ferraro (OME co-director) and Jennifer Gunther (Graphic Design Consultant) have been working hard to organize new events, write grant proposals, and plan for the future.

OME's prime directive will always be to encourage and support the performance and commissioning of new music*, while increasing attendance to new music events.

Additionally, we are adding community events focusing on music and technology, performance, and listening.

OME is proud to announce that it will be the first non-profit in ASU's Consortium for Innovation and Transformation in Music Education (CITME). This will allow us to easily connect with people in the greater Phoenix area with similar goals, and use ASU resources. Our first new initiative is the Musical Map Archive, and the first pieces can be found on our website (ohmyears.com). Musical Maps, in the simplest sense, are drawings produced while under the influence of music. Maps can serve as an active listening tool, while Maps Meetups allow musicians and non-musicians to share a similar listening experience. Read more on page 6.

And as always, we are planning for our 3rd Marathon Concert, which will be held Saturday Jan 23rd, at the Mesa Arts Center. Financially, it's quite a big step up from The Trunk Space. Please read more on page 11 about becoming a private donor, a volunteer, or a performer.

Thank you for reading. Keep listening.

-elizabeth kennedy bayer founder/director, OME

*OME's official definition of new music is: music** that may or may not be written or improvised by classically trained musicians who have been influenced by western and non-western classical tradtions. **music being defined as organized*** sound ***organized by humans, manufactured intellegence, or nature

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Inside

JOSH JANDREAU A composer, a teacher, and a wine maker from Maine walk into a bar.

Their name is Josh Jandreau.

-joshua jandreau

EKB: I see you have your masters in composition from ASU – what made you stay in Arizona?

Josh: After several years of listening to counsel and opinions of established musicians, I thought it would be good to try and develop my skills outside of an academic situation. My bachelors is in music education, so I thought that while I develop as a freelance composer, I also wanted to develop as a teacher.

As a corollary, the same year I graduated from ASU, I was also awarded an artist fellowship to a music center for the summer. The prospect of trying to move without a job and attend the music center was just not possible, so I focused on finding a local job and attending the music center.

EKB: What composers or ensembles are you listening to or following right now?

JJ: Great question. Radiohead has been at the top of my list for the past decade or so; I've learned, transcribed, and performed many of their songs and I am always finding new things. Other artists include: Bonobo, Beck, Glenn Miller, George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic, Aphex Twin, Portishead, and Justin Vernon. I realize that not all of those groups are the most current, but it's what I'm listening to!

Recently, I've been studying a lot about French music and culture, and the contemporary composers Philippe Hurel and Thierry Machuel are both writing some cool stuff. Hurel has a fantastic ear for timbre and orchestration, and Machuel – particularly his choral music – writes with a flair for introspection other‐worldly detachment.

EKB: What is your day job?

JJ: I teach elementary and middle school general music, instrumental methods, and choral methods. Working with young children is often very challenging, but it forces me to constantly evaluate how I present ideas to students, which in turn informs my compositional process. For example, while it may be vogue to

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have very complicated, heady scores (and therefore good, right? All extremely complicated music must therefore be good!), I strive to communicate my ideas as clearly as possible.

EKB: What is the most interesting thing you've done with your day job?

JJ: This past school year, I formed a new music ensemble, MASiO, which is an ipad orchestra wherein members (ranging from 4th – 8th grade) create and perform original music. After our debut performance, we were awarded a grant to collaborate with LORKAS, the Laptop Orchestra of Arizona State University.

Through this collaboration, students were brought to the Matthews Center iStage where they created music using laptops, wii‐motes, and of course, ipads. Garrett Johnson and Justin Kennedy were both very generous with their time and resources and the students learned a great deal. Our collaboration culminated in a joint concert put on by both LORKAS and MASiO. EKB: On a scale of 1‐10, how mad are you at Ducey for cutting arts funding in Arizona? 1 being mad, 10 being filled with uncontrollable rage.

JJ: From news reports, it appears that Gov. Doug Ducey purports that children, schools, and art come first. He reinforces his message by taking funding from schools, school programs, and from classified staff positions. Without myself being aware of the minute, intricate details concerning funding the budget, he (the Governor) appears to be saying one thing but doing another. Where I'm from, we say you're talking out of both sides of your mouth.

I teach in a Title 1 classified school system, and many students aren't able to provide themselves with basic materials: pencils and notebooks. Many students also enroll in the “Not Hungry Tonight” program which helps put food into the hands of their families. Telling a child they are important while taking away opportunities for them to be successful is counter‐intuitive and counter‐ productive.

One of the greatest challenges that arts educators face is instilling the notion that arts are important and should be treated just as seriously as everything else. It makes me wonder what sort of arts experiences Gov. Ducey had growing up, and what sort of arts experiences he has now. When was the last time he went to a concert or the art museum? Doesn't he know admission is free on Wednesdays? The children we teach now become the adults that vote on laws in the future. Art matters, pure and simple.

EKB: What are some artistic or creative treasures in Arizona that not many people know about that you enjoy?

JJ: I tell my students that half of being a composer / musician is learning how to create sound. The other half, is learning how to create silence. There is so much noise and stimulation in our world, it can be difficult to let things go and to make time for the absence of “stuff”. I'm particularly guilty of this as I tend to be more of the “workaholic” type. When I can make time go get away though, I enjoy getting out of the valley to find silence – especially camping and hiking.

Arizona is a good state for hiking. I spend a fair amount of time in the northern part of the state.

Apart from many quaint shops and pubs, Flagstaff has many events going on, most recently the SSOO music festival featuring Arizona artists. More locally, I also attend the yearly OPUS concert held at the Phoenix Art Museum featuring contemporary music by Arizona composers. There is also the Downtown Chamber Series, which features five programs a year held in urban galleries and warehouses – often surrounded by visual art. Local ensembles,

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such as Crossing 32nd Street and Arizona Pro Arte have been around since 2001 and 2004 respectively, and hold several concerts a year. They are champions of recent contemporary music as well as supporters of new music by new composers. There is also of course AZ Opera, who do an awesome job promoting contemporary operatic music as well as engaging in educational outreach and after‐school programs for schools.

EKB: Any local people or ensembles you'd not‐so‐secretly like to collaborate with?

JJ: I'm always open for collaborations – painters, sculptors, visual artists, choreographers, film makers, etc. I like taking interesting things and smooshing them together to make other interesting things. I've wanted to collaborate with Crossing 32nd Street ever since I saw them perform Reich's Music for Eighteen Musicians last year. I have also had an idea for a ballet bouncing around in my head for some time; I would love to collaborate with a choreographer / dance troupe.

EKB: Are you always this outrageously handsome?

JJ: Yes. EKB: Seriously, I'm kind of a mess right now.

JJ: Don't worry, it'll pass.

JOSHJANDREAU.COM Who made OME's 2015 marathon concert possible?

DID

And you or your business can, too. Go to ohmyears.com/sponsors to find out how you can make your tax-deductible donation to OME today.

Your donation will go toward performer compensation, educator compensation, and promotion and printing costs.

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the Musical Maps Archive We are thrilled to announce the Music Maps Archive, a collection of maps created during OME sponsored meetups and community events. We provide art supplies and see what happens when musicians and non-musicians of all ages are allowed to create visual representations of their listening experience. We love musical maps because they enable us to intuitively engage with music through visual connections, movement, and singing. It also provides a fun atmosphere for shared listening and connection with others in our community.

OME held the first meetup on June 14, and we listened to the first movement of Britten’s String Quartet in D major, as well as Snarky Puppy’s newest album “Sylva.” The event was a rousing success, and the maps we created were colorful and diverse. Take a look at the archive on our website and you will see why musical maps have us so excited. And please join us at the next Musical Maps Meetup or share your own map with us via email!

Community Musical

Mapmaking Sunday, Aug 2, 2:30-4 Burton Barr Central Library Lecture Hall 1221 N. Central Ave, Phoenix 85004 FREE An active listening workshop geared towards anyone and everyone.

There will be live music, plenty of artistic mediums, & other activities.

Yes, snacks will be provided.

Yes, we will have Original Goldfish, so just, calm down.

Listening selectons will be listed on our Facebook page (/ohmyears) and on our website (ohmyears.com/events)

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Benjamin Britten's String Quartet in D Major, mvt 1 CURIOSITY / PERSPECTIVE These two things guide my creative practice. "Why is that? What is that?

How is that?" are questions that bounce around my mind all day. When I find myself centering, on the act of CREATION, the first step for me is to (re)discover something about which I'm curious. As I start to develop why/what/how a thing/idea is, as I get sense for the "thingness" of a thing, the most obvious or most common version is the ledge I am trying to jump from. If this is why/what/how of this thing, what elements change by shifting my perspective? In these moments of approach is where taste vision - my attempt make the STRANGE more visible - come to bear. It is only the through turning the prism of thought/ideas/action that something is created; only in doing is the (new?) thing made REAL. -Keith Kelly (June 1, 2015, pvccfinearts.com) 7

HELLO my name is...

Jason Barabba

Inspired by a wide variety of unexpected places, impulses, and experiences, Los Angeles‐based composer Jason Barabba processes his encounters through a personal artistic lens to create pieces that reflect his perception of the world around him. His artistry has included music based on business texts next to music inspired by television, disco music, and the writings of authors like Terry Pratchett and Edgar Allan Poe. Barabba approaches and meets each new work on its own terms and enjoys the challenge of creating music which captures his own, sometimes‐ idiosyncratic, perspective of the stuff in life that engages his curiosity and interest.

His music is sought out by performers across the country. Collaborations have included performances by The Janaki String Trio, The AdZel Duo, The California E.A.R. Unit, Ensemble Green, clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, The Krechkovsky‐Loucks Duo, pianist Susan Svrcek, The Arneis Quartet, The Symbiosis Chamber Orchestra, The What’s Next? Ensemble and The Verismo Trio. He is a frequent speaker and guest lecturer at colleges and universities, and has presented talks on composition and new music at The University of Kansas, Chapman University, and The California State University at Bakersfield. As composer‐in‐residence or guest composer, he has enjoyed participating in festivals including the Cortona Sessions for New Music, the University of Wyoming’s New Frontiers Festival, Los Angeles’ Hear Now Festival and the Vanguard Miami New Music Festival.

Mr. Barabba’s insatiable reading habit and love of literature is a frequent starting point for his music. Works by a diverse range of authors including Ursula K. Le Guin, Tao Lin, Herman Melville, Christopher Durang, David Bartone, and Terry Pratchett have all inspired his compositional process. Fellow composer Bernard Gilmore called Barabba’s opera ,`dentity Crisis, (based on the play by Christopher Durang) an “astounding work of the highest artistry”.

Le Guin has said of Barabba’s work, “Some composers use words as raw material. Like Schubert or Vaughan‐Williams, he collaborates with them...the texture of the music and the tension in it are wonderfully effective; it’s spare and airy, but strong.” Reviews of the 2011 premiere of his song cycle using text from Edgar Allan Poe’s Diddling: Considered as One of the Exact Sciences, said it was “rhythmically fidgety, harmonically acidulous, and uproariously hilarious, Barabba’s ‘Diddling’ was plain evidence of this composer’s tremendous talent and ability to evoke laughter from the listener; not an easy task.”

After receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies from Occidental College, he went on to study music at the University of Chicago, and composition at the University of California at Irvine, and UCLA. He is also the Executive Director of Synchromy, a Los‐Angeles composers’ collective working together to elevate the presence, awareness of, and exposure to excellent new music in Southern California. Through this work as a music administrator, Barabba has a chance to work on programs of music that is often unheard elsewhere in Southern California in addition to supporting the home‐grown efforts of Angeleno composers. The Crescenta Valley Weekly has called Synchromy “one of the most exciting new music projects in the Los Angeles area today.”

Several of his works are available on commercial recordings on the Yarlung Records, MMC Recordings and Navona Records labels.

jasonbarabba.com soundcloud.com/qfwfq

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www.facebook.com/JVBarabba synchromymusic.org

handsupeyesshut.bandcamp.com 9

COMING THIS FALL EPIC MAKER INSTRUMENT CHALLENGE

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TO A MAKER SPACE NEAR YOU Over the past 2 years, OME has provided hours and hours of performance time, over $1,000 in compensation, and other new music opportunities to Phoenix musicians. We are continuing our efforts with the Epic Maker Instrument Challenge. And yes, it's really happening this year.

We will disclose the date (it will most likely be in November) later in the summer and announce more on our website (ohmyears.com) and in our fall Zine.

In the meantime, you can start revving up your creative engines for the challenge.

BUILD AND/OR PROGRAM A NEW INSTRUMENT. Let your imagination and limbs run wild.

DEMONSTRATE YOUR CREATION. You can write a song or just show us what your new baby can do.

WIN PRIZES. We will have several categories, so your changes of winning something awesome (gear, $$, marathon tickets) are pretty high.

Plus you'll get to meet makers and musicians from all over the Valley.

Go to ohmyears.com to see examples ofnew instruments.

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!

E T A D E H T E V A S n o s i t r e c n o c n o h t a Our next mar m p 0 1 n o o N , d r 3 Saturday, Jan 2 enter at the Mesa Arts C The 3rd Annual OME Marathon Concert is only 7 months away, which means we are already paying holding fees for the venue, plus the usual annual expenses of web hosting, Zine printing, weekly meetings at coffee shops. And of course we have the impending costs of performer compensation, print promotion, guest composer travel, ASCAP festival license--all those small things that add up when you hold a 10 hour event.

Our point is this: OME wants to create a sustainable place for Arizona musicians to perform new music and connect with each other and with you. This state has next to no budget for the arts. The Arizona Commission on the Arts does not accept Fractured Atlas as a fiscal sponsor, despite the fact that (according to Fractured Atlas' website) "Fractured Atlas is legally registered as a charity to fundraise in all 50 states". Although we are in our third year, it will be a long while before we are able to obtain large grants. Fractured Atlas is a widely used fiscal sponsor that gives us and thousands of other organizations the ability to operate as a 503(c).

We need your help as a private donor, volunteer, patron, social media sharer, in-kind materials donor, friend inviter, and shower upper.

Help us pay musicians trained at ASU, NAU, U of A, community colleges, and who want to stay and make a living and a difference.

Help us shine light on this hidden corner of music in Arizona.

Visit ohmyears.com/sponsors for a link to our Fractured Atlas donation page.

Email us at admin@ohmyears.com if you are interested in helping in any way, or just want to sit down and talk with us in person.

Keep your hunger for new music on a short leash!!

Thank you, Short Leash Hotdogs for sponsoring the 2015 marathon!

Roosevelt Row � Midtown � Biltmore shortleashhotdogs.com

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thelistphx.com isclassicalmusicdead.com

OME STAFF: Elizabeth Kennedy Bayer (founder/director) Michael Ferarro (co-director) Jennifer Gunther (graphic design consultant) Issaac Bickmore (event consultant)

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