2020–2021
MUSIC AT EMORY
This virtual concert is presented by the Department of Music at Emory University. music.emory.edu
Photographs and Recordings Digital capture or recording of this concert is not permitted. Cover Photo By Mark Teague
2020–2021
MUSIC AT EMORY
Spring 2021 Composition Showcase A virtual concert featuring previously recorded performances from remote locations. Matthew Chau, Ivan Chen, Chris Fenger, Sawyer Gray, Tommy Greenler, Brian Le, Joshua MacLean, Rachel Ofotokun, Alex Petralia, Ann Felicia Sinsuan, and Yida Wang Adam Mirza and Katherine Young, program coordinators Saturday, May 8, 2021, 8:00 p.m. Performing Arts Studio Virtual Stage
Program This program features works by Emory student composers, created during the 2021 spring semester. In this period of unusual and difficult circumstances, students reimagined their creative processes and modes of music making. Challenges became opportunities, particularly through a spirit of collaboration and community throughout the Emory music department. Student composers had the opportunity to workshop and develop a piece for the Emory Symphony Orchestra, the Emory Wind Ensemble, or StageWorks. Others created collaborative works with student choreographers and visual artists that were presented earlier this semester as works-in-progress in CompFest 2021. Some wrote chamber pieces, including collaborations with student pianists, while others designed electroacoustic projects inspired by topics of personal interest. The pieces in this program showcase the stylistic diversity and compositional creativity of our students, as well as their skills at crafting, capturing, and mixing their own recordings and creating videos to accompany the works. We are proud of the work of all the student composers and performers this semester! —Adam Mirza and Katherine Young, program coordinators
Joshua MacLean (b. 1999)
Atop the Hillside
Instrumentation: Wind dectet and string bass Performed by: Emory Wind Ensemble, Tyler Ehrlich, conductor
Program Note and About the Composer Atop the Hillside is written for the Emory Wind Ensemble, scored for a wind dectet and string bass. With heavy inspiration from fantasy movie scores like The Lord of the Rings and video game music, I crafted this piece to portray a grand sense of fun and energy. I focused on creating roles for the instruments, such as making the string bass the rhythmic backbone, giving the bassoon the low-pitched melodic lines, or instructing the clarinets to color sustained chord tones. You will also hear an intentional repetition of melodic ideas—the main melody gets passed among almost all of the instruments and a playful bassoon line returns several times. Joshua MacLean is a senior graduating this May with a double major in math and music composition. He is using this showcase to present the wind ensemble piece that he composed this past semester, which became one of his favorite projects. He hopes his love of movie scores and rhythm comes across in the work and that you enjoy. 4
Serenade in D Major, “Spring”
Yida Wang (b. 1999)
Instrumentation: Electronic media Performed by: Yida Wang
Program Note and About the Composer I like listening to Bach and Mozart, and their styles of composition have had a huge influence on me. This work, Serenade in D Major “Spring,” was my first trial to mimic the style of Mozart. The prelude part was finished last semester, and I expanded that prelude into a complete serenade this semester. Before writing this piece, I carefully studied some of Mozart’s works, including Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Woodwind Quintet in D Major, and Posthorn Symphony. All of them provided me with inspiration on how to develop the theme, to write the accompaniment, and to orchestrate. The most significant thing to me is that after composing this piece, I have a much more comprehensive understanding of my own style. Yida Wang, born in China in December 1999, is a junior at Emory majoring in music composition. He especially likes pieces by Bach and Mozart and plans to pursue film music writing in the future.
Ivan Chen (b. 2000)
Passing Autumn Instrumentation: Piano Performed by: Marshall McCall, piano
Program Note and About the Artists This piano solo was inspired by fall 2020. During that season, I didn’t go out much because of online classes, so I observed the changes in the weather from inside. The whole piece is in A–B–A’ format. The first section is for the coming of fall and the last section is for the leaving of the fall. Ivan Chen is a junior at Emory, studying music composition. When not composing, he enjoys traveling and playing Nintendo games. Marshall McCall is a sophomore at Emory studying piano performance and environmental science. He’s been playing piano for 15 years and has participated in numerous festivals and competitions in his hometown of Boise, Idaho. Most recently, McCall won first place and a $20,000 scholarship at the Donald Runnicles Musical Arts Competition at the Grand Teton Music Festival in Jackson, Wyoming. 5
Joshua MacLean (b. 1999)
Sailing in the Clouds Instrumentation: Violin, viola, cello Performed by: Emory artist affiliates
Program Note and About the Composer Sailing in the Clouds is a string quartet that develops through the elaboration of rhythmic ideas and metric changes. The piece begins in 3/4 meter, which turns into a waltz. Then it evolves into a folky 4/4 rhythmically, which gets subdivided into 3 via a clave pattern. The clave idea really takes off, transforming into a 5/4 meter that feels like sailing music. Throughout the different sections, these related rhythmic ideas and unison pauses create continuity. I feel as if this piece captures the shifting essence of the clouds in the sky—sometimes clear, sometimes overcast, or sometimes even storming.
Shimmer
Matthew Chau (b. 1999) Instrumentation: Symphony orchestra Performed by: Emory University Symphony Orchestra Paul Bhasin, conductor
Program Note and About the Composer This piece illustrates a journey down a long, endless road. One side of the road is full of light and hope, and the other side in shrouded in darkness and despair. Most people live a life with both joy and sadness, bright and dark moments. Most of us never know what is awaiting at the end, if there is an end. Composer and arranger Matthew Chau is a senior at Emory pursuing a double major in math/computer science and music composition.
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Tommy Greenler, aka PAM (b. 1997)
Florida
Instrumentation: Electronic media Performed by: Tommy Greenler, aka PAM
Program Note Florida is a song I wrote just following a crazy faux-spring break trip that I took in March of this year. I was feeling a need to get out of the city and took a whirlwind 36-hour road trip to the Gulf Coast in the Florida panhandle. The lyrics refer to my experience during that trip, as well as my state of mind at the time. Tommy Greenler, aka PAM (b. 1997)
Dance With Me (Tonight)
Instrumentation: Electronic media Performed by: Tommy Greenler, aka PAM
Program Note and About the Composer An upbeat dance track that I wrote this spring as well. Having recently gone through my first break-up, I began to feel that too much of the music I was writing was sad and heavy, so I deliberately decided to write an upbeat track to which I could dance. I have always loved dancing and performing and I think the song perfectly reflects my attitude about dancing with and around people. PAM is the stage name of Tommy Greenler, a junior at Emory majoring in music composition. PAM has always had an interest in songwriting and music production, and decided this semester in MUS 349 to dive into this interest, writing and recording original song demos in multiple genres. Using Ableton Live as their primary DAW, PAM spent the semester learning many production techniques, including instrument building, vocal production, and use of audio effects. PAM was also challenged to start writing song lyrics in large quantities, and overall, created 14 partialto-complete song demos during the course of the semester. PAM hopes to continue honing their music production skills here at Emory, and plans to release a debut EP the end of spring semester in 2022.
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Chris Fenger (b. 1998)
Rocks and Trees
Instrumentation: Fixed stereo audio featuring voice Performed by: Chris Fenger, composer; Evelyn Sload, voice
Program Note and About the Artists Rocks and Trees is a stereo audio composition built from recorded vocals, field recordings, and MIDI. The piece sets a select number of lines of poetry from Mahmoud Darwish’s A Canaanite Rock in the Dead Sea, which are sung by the female vocalist and read by me. Darwish was regarded as the Palestinian national poet during his life, and as a Palestinian, I want to do my part in disseminating Palestinian culture, while also making people aware of the many struggles facing my people. In addition to references within the poem, the title of this piece is meant to convey the binary of Israel-Palestine, its recent history, and the living situations of the two peoples. Palestinians in Gaza are confined to the Western border of the Negev desert, and those in the West Bank, to the Judean desert. Israelis live in the arable regions of the country. Israeli settlers evicted and destroyed entire Palestinian villages and planted pine forests over them. These events no doubt inspired Darwish’s writing: All the prophets are my family. Yet heaven is still far from its land and I am still far from my words. And the sea descends below sea level so my bones float over water like trees. My absence is entirely trees The emotions and imagery of the poetry inform the tone of my piece. There is grief and anger, but also celebration. Most of all though, there is pain. The text is used with the generous permission of the Mahmoud Darwish Foundation and Museum. Thank you to Emory student vocalist Evelyn Sload for recording the vocal parts and improvisations on this piece, some of which became essential creative input. Chris Fenger is an Emory University composition student from Greensboro, North Carolina. By his estimation, his musical journey began when he was about five or six years old and was watching the animated movie Aristocats. In that movie, there was a large cat playing a double bass and he wanted to be just like that cat. So, he started taking cello lessons, not understanding the difference between the two instruments. He’s been playing ever since, also picking up guitar along the way. 8
Fenger started composing music at a young age on the guitar. He would come up with little tunes and riffs, memorize them, and then arrange them into songs in his head. As he grew older, his love for rock faded, and he started getting into hip-hop. Hip-hop inspired Fenger to learn to use digital audio workstations in order to make beats. This gave him confidence in his skills to arrange and edit audio, inspiring him to fully pursue music. While at Emory, Fenger has written many pieces for acoustic ensembles, as well as creating many works of recorded audio, including a sound installation featured at Emory’s Carlos Museum. He also participated in the 2019 Charlotte New Music Festival, where he premiered an early version of his string quartet Broken Transistor. Fenger hopes to continue composing after college with a goal of composing scores for movies and television. Evelyn Sload is a sophomore at Emory majoring in music and concentrating in vocal performance, studying with Bradley Howard. She is from Darien, Connecticut, and attended Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division. Sload is social media co-chair of Emory Concert Choir, member of the Music Advisory Board, Member at Large for Delta Phi Epsilon Sorority, president of Emory’s chapter of Mu Phi Epsilon (professional music fraternity), and a member of the Gathering a cappella.
Alex Petralia (b. 2000)
Dance, Siegfried. Dance! Instrumentation: Electronic media Performed by: Alex Petralia
Program Note and About the Composer This piece takes the Siegfried leitmotif from Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen and transforms it into an electronic dance music and IDM hybrid that stands as a unique piece. Alex Petralia, an Atlanta native, is a sophomore at Emory, pursuing degrees in both music composition and philosophy. His work focuses on combining aspects of instrumental music with modern electronic sounds. He is also a sound engineer and he co-owns Yuai Studios, an independent studio in Atlanta.
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Ann Felicia Sinsuan (b. 2000)
Ventures Across the Hellstar Phaunos
Instrumentation: Electronic media Performed by: Ann Felicia Sinsuan and John Huynh
Program Note and About the Artists This work is a collaboration between two artists bringing to life the reimagined world of Little Red Riding Hood. A crew known as “The Little Red” scours the hellish forest planet, Phaunos, in search of the Grandmother crew. In this expedition, the crew travels throughout otherworldly terrain, each with unique environments and creatures. Join “The Little Red” on their journey in search of what was lost. This collaboration features art by John Huynh and music by Ann Felicia Sinsuan. In the making of this work, John sent mood boards and concept sketches to Ann, who then created music samples that fit the art. This process of sending visual and audio sketches back and forth was a key factor in creating this piece. We hope you enjoy this experience! Ann Felicia Sinsuan is a junior at Emory double majoring in chemistry and music. She hopes to use music and art to communicate stories and messages filled with vivid emotion. In her free time, she enjoys drawing, taking naps, and not burning the house down while baking confections. John Huynh is an illustration major at SCAD on the concept art track. He draws and paints with a passion, but in his downtime, he enjoys playing video games and attempting to impress others with his signature curry dishes.
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Sawyer Gray (b. 1999)
Tell me when, just a little longer
Instrumentation: Guitar and drums Performed by: Sawyer Gray, guitar; Calvin Bruno, drums; Hayden Hubner, choreographer; Xavier Bell, dancer; Emilio Zurita Ontiveros, dancer
Program Note and About the Artists This composition elaborates on what your childlike perspective of the world is, verses what it actually becomes—also, that hustle and bustle of people passing by and meeting one another, keeping in mind that we are all constructions of memories and aspirations. Sawyer Gray is a junior at Emory majoring in music composition. In his work, he explores intersections of jazz, electronic, and pop music. Recently, he has been spending most of his creative time between Ableton Live, Sibelius, Zoom, pdf textbooks, and of course listening to everything he can find. In his free time, he enjoys going on walks. Hayden Hubner is a photographer and choreographer born in Nashville, now based in Atlanta. Hubner’s work stems from an interest in the ways dance and images function to communicate empirical truths about the human experience as no other inquiries do. By joining emotional inquiry and historical knowledge, Hubner seeks to convey personal, social, and political experience. By combining personal memory with an imagined future, this artistic research is an attempt to embody and understand emotional stories that are woven into experiences, memories, and dreams. Hubner transferred to Emory University in fall 2019 and is now a senior majoring in dance and integrated visual arts. Clavin Bruno is a junior at Emory. He began drumming at age four when his parents got him a drum set because they thought he had anger management issues. It has been 17 years since then—go Calvin!
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Rachel Ofotokun (b. 2000)
beetle
Instrumentation: Electronic media Performed by: Rachel Ofotokun, composer; Emilio Zurita Ontiveros, choreographer
Program Note and About the Artists This collaboration focuses on the underappreciated aspects of nature and sound as explored through ambient sounds and dance. Ontiveros’s choreography elicits ideas surrounding decomposers and their cycling of nutrients that sustains the ecosystem, yet often goes unnoticed. Similarly, the music for this collaboration is derived from the often unnoticed sounds produced from body movements, through dance and other daily activities. Together, we hope these overlooked details of nature and life work toward interesting connections. Rachel Ofotokun, from Lilburn, Georgia, is a junior at Emory majoring in music composition and African studies. Her interest in music began at a young age with piano lessons that blossomed into an interest in composition. She draws inspiration from many things, but generally nature, cinematic scenes, and body movement motivate her musical pursuits. Emilio Zurita Ontiveros was born in Mexico City, Mexico, in 1999. He is a junior at Emory majoring in dance and movement studies, with a second major in biology. As a biology major, he draws a lot of inspiration from nature, and he is interested in finding the artistic expression that can come from scientific concepts.
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Excerpts from Two Sisters: The Story of Tam and Cam
Brian Le (b. 1999)
Instrumentation: Voice and piano Performed by: Anna Ree, mezzo-soprano (Tam), Nic Bogan, mezzo-soprano (Cam), Andrew Johnson, tenor (narrator) Bradley Howard, director; Patricia Dinkins-Matthews, piano
Program Note and About the Composer Excerpts from Two Sisters features three songs from a 20-minute operetta that is loosely based on an old Vietnamese folk tale. The story of Two Sisters revolves around a sister and her step-sister as they fight for the freedom to escape their current lives. Tam seeks a more exciting life than her boring and repetitive bartering lifestyle. Cam wishes to escape her mother’s abusive tendencies that are done in secret. The two stumble upon a captain that is letting go of his ship to someone worthy. The three songs in the program, My Own Ship, Death to My Sister, and Finale, go through key character establishing songs that culminate in the duet. My Own Ship sets up Tam’s desires for fun and noble wishes to take Cam along for the ride. Death to My Sister shows Cam’s bitterness and resentment for her sister who had turned a blind eye to her abuse. Finale pits the two characters in their final confrontation as they sing one last time about their goals before a shocking climax. The songs follow a musical theater style with fun, catchy tunes. Brian Le is a junior at Emory studying business and society and music composition. He is a cellist in the Emory University Symphony Orchestra and the Emory Tango Ensemble. He is also involved in the Music Advisory Board, the First-Gen Low Income Partnership, Matriculate, and his podcast A Think or Two.
Texts My Own Ship (tam) There was a time when Cam and I spoke, but suddenly one day it felt like she broke. I think it was mother who took her away, I promise I’ll bring Cam a brand. New. Day! If I had a ship, my very own ship, I would sail the ocean blue. I would see the world, the land, the sea, I’d be free, and Cam would be too. I would finally see the talons, the wings of a dragon or maybe I’d see the tentacles, of our ocean’s kraken, but whom I admire the most is the beautiful moon spirit and maybe, just maybe, Cam’s voice. I’d hear it. All I need is my own ship. My own ship. My own ship. 13
Every day I have to barter and fish, I haven’t got one friend. From 9 to 9, just me and Cam, the same until life’s end. But Cam doesn’t wanna talk to me, I think she’s traumatized. I think she’s scared. I just want one person, one confidant, one bond to be shared! So, I want to leave this place and its boring day to day. No more fishing for some boss or a mother with nothing nice to say! Just you wait sister, you’re about to be set free. The world is our oyster once I get my own ship! My own ship! Death to My Sister (cam and tam) cam My own ship. What a dream. What a sad, down-trodden dream. For seven years, I’ve took the hit of my mother. She was hurt, sad, lonely . . . But never did she hit my sister. Was she too pretty? Was she not your daughter, too? Or could she just not afford to lose her brain cells? Well don’t mind me, I’ll just push her down some stairwells. Because if I’m too scared to speak, Tam’s life should be just as bleak. That’s why I wish death to my sister. Death to my sister. Death to you! I’m sure she meant well, but I also knew she couldn’t tell that my life was hell! Because every opportunity was stolen from me. By the prettier and stronger and more outspoken beauty. So, if this is my chance for my life to advance then don’t mind if I take that away from you. For the first time. For the first time. tam (Begin duet) For the first time For the first time cam You’ll have the worst time This is my cursed crime tam But you’re not weak cam But the only way for me to be free And the only way to cross the blue sea
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tam The world is our oyster cam Is if I bring death to you Death to my sister Death to my sister tam Once I get my own ship. cam Death. To. You. Finale cam You’re a lie. A fraud. You are always perfect. You cannot convince me that your side is correct. God, I wish you weren’t born That my parents weren’t torn You’re always being adorned So, I swear I will never mourn This is your last chance, you’re warned that I wish death to you Death to my sister! tam All I wanted was to save you cam You’re the root of all my problems tam I was going to take you with me Far away from mother, nowhere near this place Somewhere no one would ever dare to chase But if you’re going to be like this Well, I have my own dreams And here I thought I knew you Trying to save your soul But you just tried to kill me Death really takes a toll Get off my ship. tam My own ship cam My sister’s death. 15
tam That’s all I ever wanted. cam That’s all I ever wanted tam Sail across the pacific and make a new friend cam Finally bring this nightmare to an end tam See the world cam Just be heard tam Sleep under the stars cam Sleep without any scars tam That’s all I ever wanted. cam That’s all I ever wanted. tam Walk into a cafe and meet someone cam Wake up and know that I am someone . . . tam Go see the lanterns, I’ve dreamed of those lights cam . . . who doesn’t live in someone else’s shadow tam I just want to escape cam I just want to escape tam But if you’re being like this cam You’ve always been like this tam You’re not being yourself 16
cam Thinking about yourself tam And if the only way to live cam And if the only way to live tam Is to step back cam Is to attack tam Then let’s finish this. cam Then let’s finish this. tam Death to my sister! I bet you didn’t see that coming. You’ll have more than a blister From this vat of boiling water cam I hate you! Death to my sister! Death to my sister! Death to . . . tam I’ll finally be free! Because now I have my own ship!
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Music at Emory Music at Emory brings together students, faculty, and world-class artists to create an exciting and innovative season of performances and events. In a typical year, Music at Emory presents more than 150 events across multiple Emory venues; however, in this challenging season, we are committed to coming together virtually for a variety of musical offerings. For spring 2021 concerts, we remain steadfast in our mission and continue to present events virtually based on guidance from Emory University and public health officials. Please visit music.emory.edu for the most up-to-date schedule and announcements.
music.emory.edu