THE PEABODY COMPUTER MUSIC CONSORT PRESENTS A CONCERT OF ELECTRONIC AND COMPUTER MUSIC
“...fused into music...”
T u e s d a y, M a y 3 , 2 0 1 6 7:30 PM
Griswold Hall The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University 1 E . M o u n t Ve r n o n P l a c e Baltimore, Maryland, USA
FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR “Pain in the breast and the mind, fused into music! … Now, in this glade, Suffering is redeemed in song.” Tonight’s concert derives from powerful lines in John Hollander’s Libretto for Philomel. Music can express our deepest pain and intellectual anguish, and ultimately uplift and transform our experience. In Philomel, Milton Babbitt combines Ovid’s interpretation of the Greek legend of Philomela with the newest of musical instrument of his time, the RCA Sound Synthesizer. Ancient themes and modern expression form the basis for one of the most demanding soprano roles in modern music: one in which meticulous pitch-set construction, angular lines and organized dynamics must be mastered to bring forth the power and emotion of the drama. We are fortunate to have highly-skilled and expressive Peabody Faculty Artists to bring this concert to life. We are also joined by Peabody Alumni who have gone on to their own successful professional and academic careers, and are leading the way in future music explorations. More than ever Computer Music is a cross-disciplinary field that fuses mathematics, research, electrical engineering, computer science, psychoacoustics, and standard compositional practice into music. A wide range of music and technology is included tonight: Violoncello and metaphorical boombox; Electroacoustic works inspired by stars, oceans, creeks, and arctic sounds; The concert hall resonating 8-channels of 5-String Double Bass and Live Electronics; and Virtual reality sound worlds using the Oculus Rift and Leap Motion controller. Peabody Computer Music builds on 48 years of accomplishment and continues to develop new artistic relationships, new research directions, and an ever-widening network of alumni spreading innovative electroacoustic music throughout the world. — Dr. Geoffrey Wright
ABOUT THE COMPUTER MUSIC CONSORT The Peabody Computer Music Consort is a digital multimedia performance organization in residence at the Computer Music Department of the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University. Since 1982 the ensemble has presented innovative and evocative performances around the world led by founders Geoffrey Wright (Artistic Director) and McGregor Boyle (Technical Director). The Consort’s largest performance was on New Years Eve (1999-2000) at the Millennium Celebration in New York’s Time Square. The ensemble played to over 4 million people live in NYC and over 2 billion more via television and broadcast. The Consort also brings together composers and performers working in a wide variety of digital media for public concerts, workshops and lectures and demonstrations. The Consort’s presentations have played to capacity audiences at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Symphony Space and Times Square in New York, Peabody’s own Friedberg Concert Hall, conferences in Beijing, Singapore, Hong Kong, Greece, India, Iceland, Vancouver, San Diego, and museums, colleges, and city festivals throughout the United States.
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PROGRAM BLOOM (2009) ............................................................................ALEXANDRA GARDNER PETER KIBBE, VIOLONCELLO ALDÉBARAN (1972) ...............................................JEAN EICHELBERGER IVEY (1923-2010) MARIA LAMBROS, VIOLA MIDWAY INLET (2006)....................................................................... MCGREGOR BOYLE GARY LOUIE, SAXOPHONE SUBMERSIVE(S) (2016) ..........................................................................FORMANEK/HUET MICHAEL FORMANEK, 5-STRING DOUBLE BASS EDWIN KENZO HUET, LIVE ELECTRONICS
— BRIEF PAUSE —
CARILLON (2015) ...............................................................ROB HAMILTON/CHRIS PLATZ ROB HAMILTON, OCULUS RIFT AND LEAP MOTION CONTROLLER PHILOMEL (1964) .............................................................MILTON BABBITT (1916-2011) LIBRETTO BY JOHN HOLLANDER AH YOUNG HONG, SOPRANO FROSTBYTE: CHALK OUTLINE
(2015) ..................................................DANIEL BLINKHORN CHRYSSIE NANOU, PIANO
THE COMPUTER MUSIC CONSORT GEOFFREY WRIGHT, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR MCGREGOR BOYLE, TECHNICAL DIRECTOR JOSH ARMENTA, PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
PLEASE DISABLE ALL ELECTRONIC DEVICES INCLUDING PHONES, E-READERS, AND TABLETS DURING PERFORMANCES. THE USE OF CAMERAS AND SOUND RECORDERS DURING PERFORMANCES IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. NOTICE: FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY, LOOK FOR YOUR NEAREST EXIT. IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, WALK, DO NOT RUN TO THAT EXIT. BY ORDER OF THE MAYOR AND THE CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE.
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LIBRETTO FOR PHILOMEL, BY JOHN HOLLANDER
Part I
Part II (Echo Song)
(Philomel, chased into the woods of Thrace, struggles to find her voice) (Ee...ee...ee...ee...ee!) I feel— Feel a million trees And the heat of trees Not true trees–– Feel a million tears Not true tears— Not true trees— Is it Tereus I feel? Not Tereus; not a true Tereus— Feel a million laments; Fear the tearing, the feeling Trees, of ephemeral leaves Trees tear, And I bear Families of tears I feel a million Philomels–– Trees filled with mellowing Felonious fame– Is it Tereus I feel?
I feel trees in my hair And on the ground. Honey melons fouling My knees and feet Soundlessly in my Flight through the forest; I founder in quiet. Here I find only Miles of felted silence Unwinding behind me, Lost, lost in the wooded night. Pillowing melody Honey unheard
My hooded voice, lost Lost as my first Un-honeyed tongue; Forced, as my last Un-feathered defense Fast-tangled in lust Of these woods so dense. Emptied, unfeeling and unfilled By trees here where no birds have trilled— Feeling killed Philomel stilled Her honey unfulfilled. Feeling killed, unfulfilled
What is that sound? A voice found? Broken, the bound Of silence, beyond Violence of human sound, As if a new self Could be founded on sound. The trees are astounded! What is this humming? I am becoming My own song. . . .
(Philomel has a dialogue with other birds in quest of her new identity) O Thrush in the woods I fly among, Do you, too, talk with the forest’s tongue? Stung, stung, stung; With the sting of becoming I sing O Hawk in the high and widening sky, What need I finally do to fly And see with your unclouded eye? Die, die, die; Let the day of despairing Be done O Owl, the wild mirror of the night, What is the force of the forest’s light? Slight, slight, slight; With the slipping-away of The sun O sable Raven, help me back! What color does my torn robe lack? Black, black, black; As your blameless and longDried blood O bright Gull, aid me in my dream! Above the riddled breaker’s cream! Scream, scream, scream, For the shreds of your being; Be shrill The world’s despair should not be heard! Fear and terror not be stirred: The Gods who made this hubbub erred! Bird, bird, bird! You are bare of desire: Be born O green leaves! Through your rustling lace Ahead, I hear my own myth race. Thrace, Thrace, Thrace! Pain is unchained, There is change In the woods of Thrace!
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Part III (Philomel’s suffering is “redeemed in song” as her refrain repeats and her song - the nightingale’s - reigns) Living, growing, changing, being in the hum always Of pain! The pain of slow change blows in our faces Like unfelt winds that the spinning world makes in its turning: Life and feeling whirl on, below the threshold of burning. I burn in change. Far, far I flew To this wailing place. And now I range Thrashing, through The woods of Thrace If pain brush against the rushing wings of frightened change, Then feeling distills to a burning drop, and transformation Becomes intolerable. I have been defiled and felt my tongue Torn out: but more pain reigns in these woods I range among. I ache in change, Though once I grew At a slower pace. And now I range Thrashing, through The woods of Thrace
Love’s most hidden tongue throbbed in the barbarous daylight: Then all became pain in one great scream of silence, fading Finally, as all the voices of feeling died in the west And pain alone remained with remembering in my breast. I screamed in change. Now all I can do Is bewail that chase For now I range Thrashing, through The woods of Thrace Pain in the breast and the mind, fused into music! Change Bruising hurt silence even further! Now, in this glade, Suffering is redeemed in song. Feeling takes wing: High, high above, beyond the forests of horror I sing! I sing in change Now my song will range Till the morning dew Dampens its face: Now my song will range As once it flew Thrashing, through The woods of Thrace.
Pressed into one fell moment, my ghastly transformation Died like a fading scream: the ravisher and the chased Turned into one at last: the voice Tereus shattered Becomes the tiny voices of night that the God has scattered. I die in change. Pain tore in two Love’s secret face. And now I range Thrashing, through The woods of Thrace
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PROGRAM NOTES BLOOM Bloom for cello and boombox is written for Joshua Roman, with support from an American Composers Forum Subito Grant. It is the ninth work in a series of compositions for solo instrument and electronics. Originally the idea of having a boombox involved was simply for reasons of efficiency – so that Joshua could perform it easily whenever and wherever he desired. But as I worked I also found myself creating an electronic part that is more raw and “in your face” than usual, and taking into consideration the context in which I think of listening to a boombox—with a smallish group, probably of friends, in a gathering under a tree, in someone’s home, or maybe on a beach. A very different listening space than a concert situation! The title refers both to the music developing from bubbling textures into a dense soundscape, and also to Joshua’s sunny disposition. — ALEXANDRA GARDNER ALDÉBARAN Aldébaran: a fixed star of the winter sky. Its name is Arabic for “the follower.” — JEAN EICHELBERGER IVEY MIDWAY INLET Midway Inlet is the historic name of the inlet that separates Pawleys Island, South Carolina from the next beach to the north. Pawleys is an island because of the tiny estuary known to locals as “the Creek,” which separates the island from the mainland. The Creek is about 1/2 mile wide at its widest point, and it is about 4 miles long from Midway Inlet to the smaller Yahanney Inlet to the south. The locals no longer use these names, instead calling them the “Pawleys north inlet” and “Pawleys south inlet.” The piece Midway Inlet uses sounds recorded at Pawleys to describe a boat journey through the Creek to the inlet and back. Musically the piece is inspired by plainchant, specifically the hymn Veni Creator Spiritus, which is usually attributed to Rabanus Maurus (776-856). Most of the saxophone part is derived from this hymn, which is quoted explicitly at the piece’s climax. The computer part derives entirely from what the saxophone player plays, tracking its pitch and sustaining certain notes. The computer also contributes sounds from the creek, including that of water lapping, the distant ocean, and wildlife indigenous to the area. — MCGREGOR BOYLE SUBMERSIVE(S) Submersive(s) is a collaborative, improvisatory extension of the acoustic bass. The custom five-string upright bass itself is an extension of its typical form, with an added high C string. Through live processing in eight channels of surround sound, the instrument's characteristics are further magnified and transformed throughout the concert hall. Additional live manipulation of pre-recorded bass sounds and other timbrally-related materials, primarily water sounds, contribute to a hall-wide magnification and augmentation of the instrument that expands out from the stage and engulfs the listener. — EDWIN KENZO HUET/MICHAEL FORMANEK
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CARILLON Carillon by Rob Hamilton and Chris Platz is equal parts interactive musical performance environment and distributed virtual instrument. The core interactions in Carillon focus on the control of spinning gears - the heart of the Carillon itself. By interacting with a set of gears floating in the rendered HUD (head-up display) – grabbing, swiping, etc. – performers speed up, slow down, and rotate each set of rings in three dimensions. The speed and motion of the gears is used to drive musical sounds and instruments, turning the virtual/physical interactions made by the performers into musical gestures. Each performer controls their own sound, and in concert with other performers, that sound is spatialized around the hall. Carillon was built within the Unreal Engine 4 with support for the Oculus Rift head-mounted display and Leap Motion controller. Premiered on May 30, 2015 at Stanford University’s Bing Concert Hall by the Stanford Laptop Orchestra, Carillon was designed to allow multiple performers to interact with the giant virtual bell-tower across the network, controlling the motion of parts of the instrument that generate sound and music. The environment can be explored using an immersive head mounted display (HMD) like the Oculus Rift and a Leap Motion hand tracking sensor, though the demo can be used without the HMD. For more information please visit https://ccrma.stanford.edu/~rob/portfolio/carillon — ROB HAMILTON PHILOMEL The story of Philomel, the nightingale, appears in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Philomel is the sister of Procne, whose husband, Tereus, is King of Thrace. Tereus rapes and imprisons his sister-in-law, having cut out her tongue to silence her. From her captivity Philomel sends a garment to Procne, into which she has woven images of her doleful story. As a hideous revenge on her husband, Procne kills her young son, cooks his corpse, and serves it to Tereus, informing him as he eats of what she has done. Fleeing from Tereus, Procne releases her sister, and together they are pursued through the woods by the murderously enraged Tereus. They are saved by the gods, who transform Procne into the swallow, Tereus into the hoopoe, and Philomel, torn and mute, into the nightingale. From that time the nightingale has sung all night of her tragedy, becoming allegorically the poet, who figuratively out of pain and literally out of darkness transcends suffering. Philomel is a melodramatic representation of Philomel at the moment of her metamorphosis, when she discovers her restored voice among the threatening sounds of the forest. Gradually achieving coherence, she echoes the birds with her song, and the world responds with the final words of her questions. Finally she sings in a strophic aria of the redemption of her now fully evolved voice and celebrates her flight, as in her refrain: Now I range thrashing, through the woods of Thrace. — MILTON BABBITT (COURTESY AMP PUBLICATIONS) FROSTBYTE
- CHALK OUTLINE frostbYte - chalk outline is an ecoacoustic work using the Svalbard coastline (and the idea of an outline in a more generalised sense) as a metaphorical reference to the (antiquated) forensic technique of drawing a chalk outline around the deceased. The piece is an example of how I often integrate the differing disciplines of sound and image to create a sense of advocacy about the importance of places and spaces mediated via creative technology. — DANIEL BLINKHORN 6
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ABOUT THE PERFORMERS MICHAEL FORMANEK One marker of bassist Michael Formanek’s creativity and versatility is the range of distinguished musicians of several generations he’s worked with. While still a teenager in the 1970s he toured with drummer Tony Williams and saxophonist Joe Henderson; starting in the ’80s he played long stints with Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, Fred Hersch, and Freddie Hubbard. (As a callback to those days, Formanek recorded with hardbop pianist Freddie Redd in 2013). The bassist has played a pivotal role on New York’s creative jazz scene going back to the ’90s when he notably led his own quintet and played in Tim Berne’s barnstorming quartet Bloodcount. pc: Brian Cohen Nowadays Formanek’s in the co-op Thumbscrew with Brooklyn guitarist Mary Halvorson and drummer Tomas Fujiwara. Formanek is also a composer and leader of various bands. His principal recording and international touring vehicle is his acclaimed quartet with Tim Berne on alto saxophone, Craig Taborn on piano, and Gerald Cleaver on drums, which records for ECM; 2010’s The Rub and Spare Change and 2012’s Small Places both earned coveted five-star raves in Down Beat. Formanek writes, and the quartet plays, compositions of great rhythmic sophistication that unfold in a natural sounding way—challenging music the players make sound like lyrical free expression. His occasional groups include the 18-piece all-star Ensemble Kolossus, roping in many New York improvisers he works with. Formanek’s other recordings as leader include Wide Open Spaces and Extended Animation for quintet, and Low Profile and Nature of the Beast for seven players (all on Enja), and the solo album Am I Bothering You? (Screwgun). Mirage (Clean Feed) is by the occasional improvising trio of Formanek, tenor saxophonist Ellery Eskelin, and pedal steel guitarist Susan Alcorn. Thumbscrew’s 2014 debut is on Cuneiform Records. Michael Formanek has also made dozens of recordings as sideman, for among others Dave Ballou, Tim Berne, Jane Ira Bloom, Dave Burrell, Harold Danko, Marty Ehrlich, Tomas Fujiwara, Gary Thomas, and Jack Walrath. As composer of works for ensembles from duo to mixed jazz and classical orchestra, Michael Formanek has received institutional support from Chamber Music America, the Peabody Conservatory, the Maryland State Arts Council, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. As educator, Formanek teaches bass and jazz history and leads the jazz orchestra, at Baltimore’s Peabody Conservatory. AH YOUNG HONG Renowned for her artistic versatility, soprano Ah Young Hong has interpreted a vast array of repertoire, ranging from the music of Bach and Monteverdi to the songs of Poulenc and Shostakovich to the works of some of the 21st century’s most prominent composers.
pc: Richard Anderson
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In high demand as a concert soloist, Ms. Hong has performed with The Phoenix Symphony, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, Wiener KammerOrchester, and Tempesta di Mare, amongst others. In 2015, under the auspices of Philadelphia's Network for New Music, she gave the world premiere of Michael Hersch's a breath upwards. This season she also returned to Hersch's On the Threshold of Winter with new
productions in Baltimore and Nashville. Other performances in 2015-2016 included Mozart's Great Mass in C Minor with Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia; Poulenc's Gloria with the Phoenix and Charleston Symphony Orchestras, and the world premiere of Daniel McCarter's Symphony No. 1 with the Bay-Atlantic Symphony. In May, alongside hornist Michael Atkinson, she gives the world premiere of Michael Hersch's a tower in air during a memorial concert for British poet Christopher Middleton. In June, Ms. Hong appears on New York City's highly regarded Lex54 concert series in a recital program featuring works by Kurtág, Babbitt, and Hersch. She will be joined by violinist Miranda Cuckson, clarinetist Vasko Dukovski, and hornist Jamie Hersch. Upcoming engagements during the 2016-2017 concert season include world and European premieres with Ensemble Klang in Holland and ensemble unitedberlin at the Konzerthaus Berlin in Germany. Ms. Hong is currently a member of the Voice Faculty at the Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University. EDWIN KENZO HUET Edwin Kenzo Huet is a composer and sound artist from San Jose, California studying under Dr. Geoffrey Wright at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins, where he is pursuing master’s degrees in computer music composition and recording arts and sciences. His works have been selected for presentation internationally from Taipei to Athens at SEAMUS 2014/2015, ICMC/SMC 2014, N_SEME 2014, LEM, and Le Bruit de la Neige. His work is featured in film, photography, drawing, video game, and contemporary design projects. Prism (2014), for Disklavier and custom reactive software, received 2nd place in the 2014 pc: Scott Metcalfe Peabody Prix D’Été. Meridian (2015) received the XXIX 3rd International Luigi Russolo Award and a CD release on Monochrome Vision. His music was featured on contemporary dancer Shou-Yuo Liu’s SHAPDE 5.5 project in Taipei. Edwin is also an active performer and improviser of electro-acoustic music, having performed with Craig Taborn, Michael Formanek, Billy Hart, and the Peabody Jazz Ensemble. Edwin earned a B.M. in computer music composition from Peabody studying under Dr. Geoffrey Wright and Dr. McGregor Boyle. MARIA LAMBROS Violist Maria Lambros has performed as a chamber musician throughout the world as a member of three of the country's finest string quartets in venues such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, London's Wigmore Hall, the Konzerthaus in Vienna, New York's Lincoln Center and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. She was a member of the renowned Ridge String Quartet, which was nominated for the 1993 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance for their recording of the Dvorak Piano Quintets with pianist Rudolf Firkusny on the RCA label. The recording won Europe's prestigious Diapason d'Or in the same year. She was also a founding member of the Naumburg Award-winning Meliora String Quartet, which was Quartet-in-Residence at the Spoleto Festivals of the U.S., Italy, and Australia, and which recorded Mendelssohn's Octet with the Cleveland Quartet on the Telarc label. She was most recently a member of the Mendelssohn String Quartet, which held residences at Harvard University and New York’s Town Hall and is currently the violist with the New York based chamber ensemble, La Fenice. 8
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Ms. Lambros appears regularly at a number of major chamber music festivals, including Yellow Barn, Chesapeake, Aspen, Vancouver, Santa Fe, Tanglewood, La Jolla, Caramoor, Helsinki, Norfolk, Rockport, Skaneateles, Bard, Cascade Head, Chamber Music West, New York's Mostly Mozart Festival and the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival. She also performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, DaCamera Society and Context of Houston, and with the Guarneri, Cleveland, Juilliard, Muir, Brentano, Borromeo, Colorado, and Orion Quartets as well as the Peabody Trio and Triple Helix. She will be recording the two Brahms Viola Quintets with the New Zealand Quartet in 2016. Notable collaborators include Leon Fleisher, Joshua Bell, Steven Isserlis, Walter Trampler, Paula Robison and Jan De Gaetani. Ms. Lambros has had many pieces written especially for her, including four Viola Sonatas, a Viola Concerto and numerous chamber works for viola with other instruments, including Gerald Cohen’s Yedid Nefesh for viola, clarinet and piano, which she recently recorded with Vasko Dukovski and Alexandra Joan. She is also involved in historical performance and recorded Schumann's Piano Quartet and Quintet on period instruments with the violinist Sergiu Luca. After attending the Eastman School of Music, where she was awarded the prestigious Performer's Certificate in Viola, she earned a Master's degree in Humanities and Social Thought from New York University. A native of Missoula, Montana, she was named one of "Montana's Leading Artists and Entertainers of the 20th Century," a millennial list highlighting the last 100 years of Montanans' exceptional contributions to art and culture. A devoted teacher, Ms. Lambros currently teaches chamber music at the Peabody Conservatory of Music and is a faculty member of the Yellow Barn Music School. She is frequently invited to give master classes at major musical institutions such as the New England Conservatory, Shepherd School at Rice University, Eastman School of Music and Boston University, among others. An avid Orioles fan, she resides in Baltimore with her husband, cellist Michael Kannen, and their son, Daniel. Peter Kibbe Cellist Peter Kibbe enjoys a career as an orchestral and chamber musician in Baltimore, and specializes in modern music. Mr. Kibbe has had the privilege of working with several of today's most respected performers and conductors, including Michael Tilson Thomas, Kent Nagano, Grant Gershon, Stevie Wonder, Patti LaBelle and John Legend, to name a few. He has performed orchestrally for capacity audiences across the United States and parts of Europe, including acclaimed concerts at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and Carnegie Hall in New York. Peter is currently a member of several ensembles in Baltimore, including The Baltimore Chamber Orchestra in Towson, MD, and The Lunar Ensemble (www.lunarensemble.com), an acclaimed chamber group dedicated to new and cutting edge works, and who frequently involve themselves with commissions and premiers. Peter happily plays on a 2004 Cremonese instrument made by Roberto Collini and has two kitties at home.
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GARY LOUIE Internationally recognized as one of the leading saxophone virtuosi of our time, Gary Louie possesses a lively interpretive imagination coupled with a refreshingly understated artistry and a warm, supple tone, qualities that have earned him consistent praise from audiences and critics alike. Gary Louie's career has long been distinguished by his successful efforts to break boundaries and integrate the saxophone and its repertoire into the mainstream of classical music life. Gary Louie has been presented by prestigious institutions from coast to coast: New York City's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts' Alice Tully Hall and The Frick Collection; California's La Jolla Chamber Music Society; Boston's Jordan Hall; The University of Massachusetts at Amherst, The Philadelphia Museum of Art; The Cleveland Museum of Art; The Phillips Collection and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. International performances have been given in Paris at L'Opera Comique, in Rome at the Villa Medici, in Hong Kong, throughout Spain and with Vladimir Lande and the St. Petersburg Symphony and Germany’s Philharmonisches Orchester Augsburg, under the baton of Peter Leonard. pc: Britt Olsen-Ecker
Gary Louie began serious studies on the saxophone with George Etheridge in Washington, DC, and went on to study at the University of Michigan with the legendary saxophonist/teacher, Donald Sinta. He currently serves as Professor of Saxophone at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. He lives in Severna Park, Maryland with his wife, pianist Kirsten Taylor, where in their spare time they enjoy sailing and hiking with their sons, Warren and James. CHRYSSIE NANOU
pc: Travis Watts
Pianist Chryssie Nanou is active as a performer, lecturer, and teacher of piano performance, music technology and contemporary performance practice. Born in Greece, Chryssie’s personal and professional aesthetics were formed in Paris and further shaped in the United States with her studies at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris / Alfred Cortot and The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, and her work at the Stanford University’s CCRMA. As a solo artist, chamber musician and lecturer, Chryssie has given performances and lectures around the globe, giving special emphasis to the performance practices necessary to perform today’s acoustic and electro-acoustic contemporary music.
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ABOUT THE COMPOSERS MILTON BABBITT
pc: AMP Publishers
The compositional and intellectual wisdom of Milton Babbitt has influenced a wide range of contemporary musicians. A broad array of distinguished musical achievements in the dodecaphonic system and important writings on the subject have generated increased understanding and integration of serialist language into the eclectic musical styles of the late 20th century. Babbitt is also renowned for his great talent and instinct for jazz and his astonishing command of American popular music. His All Set, for jazz ensemble, reveals an extraordinary compositional flexibility, uniquely American and vintage Babbitt.
Babbitt was born on 10 May 1916 in Philadelphia and studied composition privately with Roger Sessions. He earned degrees from New York and Princeton Universities and has been awarded honorary degrees from Middlebury College, Swarthmore College, New York University, the New England Conservatory, University of Glasgow, and Northwestern University. He taught at Princeton and The Juilliard School. An extensive catalogue of works for multiple combinations of instruments and voice along with his pioneering achievements in synthesized sound have made Babbitt one of the most celebrated of 20th-century composers. He is a founder and member of the Committee of Direction for the Electronic Music Center of Columbia-Princeton Universities and a member of the Editorial Board of Perspectives of New Music. The recipient of numerous honors, commissions, and awards, including a MacArthur Fellowship and a Pulitzer Prize Citation for his "life's work as a distinguished and seminal American composer," Babbitt is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. (Courtesy AMP Publications) DANIEL BLINKHORN Daniel Blinkhorn is an Australian composer, sound and new media artist currently residing in Sydney. His creative works have received various international and national composition citations, with recent activities including Winner of a ‘GigaHertzPreis für elektronische Musik | Giga-Hertz-Award’ – Germany, Winner of the ‘International Computer Music Association’ – ‘Asia Oceania Award’ – 2013, Winner of the ‘9th International Composition Competition – Città di Udine’, Italy and Winner of the ‘12th as well as the 9th (2011 - 2009) International Electroacoustic Composition Competitions, ‘Música Viva’, pc: University of Sydney Portugal. He has worked in a variety of creative, academic, research and teaching contexts, and is currently lecturing in the composition and music technology department at the Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney. He is also an ardent location field recordist, where he has embarked upon a growing number of recording expeditions throughout Alaska, Amazon, West Indies, Northern Europe, Middle East, Australia and the high Arctic/ North Pole region of Svalbard. He is self-taught in electroacoustics, however has formally studied composition and the creative arts at a number of Australian universities including the College of Fine Arts - UNSW and the Faculty of Creative Arts, UOW where his doctoral degree in creative arts was recommended for special commendation. Other degrees include a BMus (hons), MMus, and a MA(r). More information about Daniel, as well as samples of his work can be found at www.danielblinkhorn.com. “…fused into music…”
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MCGREGOR BOYLE Dr. McGregor Boyle is active as a composer, performer, and music educator with a primary interest in digital media and computer applications to music composition and performance. With a Master's degree in guitar performance and a Doctorate in composition, Dr. Boyle is uniquely qualified to explore the applications of emerging digital technologies to the difficult problems posed by serious music composition, and its presentation to the audience in performance. The recipient of many prizes and awards for his composition, Boyle is especially interested in collaborations with artists from other disciplines, from work with choreographers and visual artists to his more recent scores for outdoor laser and fireworks spectacles. He was the composer of the music for the pioneering multimedia performance piece Red Zone, which combined digital sound with computer-controlled visual images, modern dance, and spoken word to create a seamless integrated whole which was highly acclaimed by audiences and critics in 1987. pc: Peabody Conservatory
Dr. Boyle is on the Computer Music Faculty at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University, where he teaches computer applications to music. He was awarded the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award in May 2008. ALEXANDRA GARDNER Praised as “highly lyrical and provocative of thought” (San Francisco Classical Voice), “mesmerizing” (The New York Times), and “pungently attractive” (The Washington Post), the music of composer Alexandra Gardner draws inspiration from sources such as mythology, contemporary poetry, and her training as a percussionist. Composing for varied instrumentations and often mixing acoustic instruments with electronics, Alexandra is building new audiences for contemporary music through an expressive sound and flair for the imaginative and unexpected. Gardner’s compositions have been featured at festivals and venues internationally, including performances at the Aspen Music Festival, Warsaw Autumn Festival, MATA, Beijing Modern Festival, Centro de Cultura Contemporania de Barcelona, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Look & Listen, Conservatory of Amsterdam, Symphony Space, Merkin Hall, The Library of Congress, Festival Cervantino, and The Kennedy Center. Her music has been commissioned and performed by acclaimed ensembles and musicians such as SOLI Chamber Ensemble, cellist Joshua Roman, Percussions de Barcelona, violinist Jennifer Choi, NOW Ensemble, Chicago Composers Orchestra, and The Seattle Chamber Players. Recent performance highlights include the world premieres of Just Say Yes for the Seattle Symphony, conducted by Ludovic Morlot and featuring drummer Alan White from the band Yes on drum set, and Chalcedony Sonata, a work for pianist Jenny Lin, commissioned by the Strathmore Music Center. Current commissions include Perseids, a wind ensemble piece for a consortium of university bands, and a new work for The String Orchestra of Brooklyn.
Gardner’s music has received honors and awards from organizations such as Meet The Composer, ASCAP, American Music Center, American Composers Forum, Mid-America
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Arts Alliance, D.C. Commission for the Arts and Humanities, The Netherland-America Foundation, Open Meadows Foundation, the Maryland State Arts Council, the Prix Ton Bruynèl, and the Smithsonian Institution. She has conducted residencies at the Atlantic Center for the Arts, Harvestworks Digital Media Arts Center, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, and The MacDowell Colony. She was awarded the 2002-03 Vassar College W.K. Rose Fellowship in the Creative Arts, and from 2002-2004 served as a visiting composer at the Institut Universitari de l’Audiovisual in Barcelona, Spain. Her music is recorded on the Innova, Ars Harmonica, and Naxos labels. Active as a digital media specialist and writer, Gardner has worked extensively in the fields of public radio and journalism. She has been an audio engineer at National Public Radio and Soundprint Media Center, and most recently was associate editor at NewMusicBox, a program of New Music USA. Gardner holds degrees from The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University and Vassar College. She currently resides in Baltimore, Maryland. ROB HAMILTON
pc: Ge Wang
Rob Hamilton (MM Peabody '04) explores the converging spaces between sound, music, and interaction. His creative practice includes mixed-reality performance works built within fully rendered, networked game environments, procedural music engines and mobile musical ecosystems. His research focuses on the cognitive implications of sonified musical gesture and motion and the role of perceived space in the creation and enjoyment of sound and music. Dr. Hamilton received his PhD from Stanford University’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) and currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Music and Media at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
JEAN EICHELBERGER IVEY Jean Eichelberger Ivey (1923 – 2010) founded the Peabody Electronic Music Studio in 1967. Dr. Ivey has a large catalog of works in virtually every medium and is frequently represented on the programs of major orchestras and ensembles.
pc: Peabody Conservatory
Most of her works which include electronics do so in combination with live musicians. The Baltimore Symphony has premiered two of her works which combine tape with orchestra. Her music has been recorded on CRI, Folkways and Grenadilla labels. Her publishers include Boosey and Hawkes, Carl Fischer, Inc. and E.C. Schirmer.
Listed in such reference works as the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Who’s Who in America, she is also the subject of a halfhour documentary film prepared in Washington: “A Woman Is… a Composer.” Her awards include a Guggenheim fellowship, two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, annual ASCAP awards since 1972, the Peabody Director’s Recognition Award, and the Peabody Distinguished Alumni Award. She expressed her compositional ideals as follows: “I consider all the musical resources of the past and present as being at the composer’s disposal, but always in the service of the effective communication of humanistic ideas and intuitive emotion.”
“…fused into music…”
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THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION Ronald J. Daniels President Robert C. Lieberman Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
THE PEABODY INSTITUTE ADMINISTRATION Fred Bronstein Dean Abra Bush Senior Associate Dean of Institute Studies Gavin Farrell Executive Director of the Preparatory Linda G. Goodwin Executive Director of Ensemble Operations Maureen Harrigan Senior Associate Dean for Finance and Administration Sarah Hoover Special Assistant to the Dean for Innovation, Interdisciplinary Partnerships, and Community Initiatives Paul Mathews Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Townsend Plant Associate Dean for Enrollment and Student Life
PEABODY COMPUTER MUSIC FACULTY AND STAFF Dr. Geoffrey Wright Director of Computer Music Dr. McGregor Boyle Faculty, Computer Music Mr. Josh Armenta Digital Audio Systems Consultant Graduate Assistants Ian Clarke Edwin Huet Robby Neubauer Ryan Woodward
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS •
The Peabody Concert Production Staff
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The Peabody Public Relations Staff
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Sandra Tavali, (MM CM Performance ’99) poster and program design
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Graphic designed by Freepik.com
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Josh Armenta, developed software tools for Philomel rehearsals and performances in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York; assisted in concert conception and realization; suggested concert title.
Student Employee Yi-an Hwang
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“…fused into music…”