Eleventh Annual VCSU Composers Competition and Concert
7:30 p.m. Froemke Auditorium
7:15 p.m. Pre-concert talk with ASCAP Foundation mentor, J. David Moore
*Hellbent and Crazy
Andrea Swartz, vocals; Tommy Zinke, guitar
Lyle Hager, bass guitar; Beau Brusnvold, drums
Lyrics and music by the composer
Theme and Variations
video
Evan Busch, violin I; Hallie Thyr, violin II
Linda Weddle, cello; Salem Stegemiller, Linda Owens, harp; Emily Thyr, piano
The Age of Roaches
Courtney Pederson, Taryn Wallace, flute;
Tommy Zinke, horn; Sarah Rhyan, clarinet;
Jaime Namminga, piano
*I Need You Now
video
Nicole Babbitt, voice and piano
Lyrics and music by the composer
Selcouth
Taryn Wallace, flute; Jaime Namminga, piano
Choosing Joy
video
Josiah Caswell, voice; Rianna Caswell, piano
Sarah Caswell, flute
Lyrics and music by the composer
*Fear of What’s Real
Daniel Kietzman, vocals, guitar, and electronics
Lyrics and music by the composer
The Hope of a Nation
video
Monica Diaz, piano
Rebirth
Micki Buchholz, soprano sax; Bradyn Good, alto sax;
Danae Hoover, tenor sax; Ashely Gierke, baritone sax
Out to Sea
video
Betsy Richards, violin; Graham Richards, cello
Seth Richards, piano
*Run
audio
electronics and voice
lyrics and music by the composer
Life Has Loveliness to Sell
Kirci Wagner, Taryn Wallace, Katelin Wadeson, Andrea Swartz,
Micki Buchholz, Courtney Pederson, vocals; Sarah Rhyan, piano
Poetry by Sara Teasdale
*Beloved
Amy Daniel, vocals and guitar
Lyrics and music by the composer
video
*Pop Category Collegiate Competition; all others are in the Classical Category Collegiate Competition
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While judges deliberate
Reports
J. David Moore
Wind Chill
Flood
Dr. Leesa Levy, soprano
Dr. Sara Hagen, piano
If
Amy Jo Paukert
Karlie Matejcek, voice; Amy Jo Paukert, piano
The Music Box
Dr. Jorge Variego
Micki Buchholz, alto sax; Bradyn Good, alto sax;
Danae Hoover, tenor sax; Ashely Gierke, baritone sax
VCSU Public Service Announcement IT Mini Grant Competition
Entry #1 Online student
Entry #2 On campus student
The IT Mini Grants are available each semester to students, faculty,
or departments who wish to offer supplementary technology
activities or to explore and experiment with new technologies prior to
implementation. The grants are awarded through a blind peer review
process. The VCSU Department of Music received a grant to bring
Mr. Allan Molnar, a jazz percussionist and technologist from New
York City and the Lehman College to campus via videoconference to
instruct students through the process of developing a public service
announcement for VCSU.
AWARD PRESENTATIONS
Dr. Sara Hagen, Host
J. David Moore (b. 1962) has been in love with a cappella
singing and the romance of word and melody ever since high
school. Since then, he has written over two hundred arrangements
of vocal jazz, spirituals, barbershop quartet, Celtic mouth music,
Civil Rights marching songs, early American hymn tunes,
sixteenth-century madrigals, and folk music in Ukrainian, Gaelic,
Austrian, Brazilian Portuguese, French, and Latin. His own
compositions are shaped by his voracious appetite for music of
every era and style. He has written art song, oratorios, music for
percussion ensemble, string quartet, wind ensemble, baroque orchestra, and tuned wine
glasses. He has written music for worship, dance, and the stage, including the outdoor
spectacle Solstice River, created by choreographer Marilee Hardenbergh. David has
founded and directed two professional a cappella ensembles since graduate school:
Cincinnati-based The Village Waytes and St. Paul's Dare To Breathe, with whom he
performed, recorded, and was awarded the McKnight Fellowship for Performing Artists
in 2001. He has won numerous grants, awards, and residencies from many organizations
such as ASCAP, the Jerome Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, and the American
Composers Forum. He has been commissioned by many varied organizations. In addition
to his own company, Fresh Ayre Music, David’s music is published through Boosey &
Hawkes, Colla Voce, Earthsongs, Hinshaw, Mark Foster, Music for Percussion.
Transcontinental Music Publications, and Yelton Rhodes Music. He is currently the
Director of Music at Nativity Episcopal Church in Burnsville.
Mr. Moore was commissioned to write a piece for Dr. Leesa Levy
by Drs. Ted and Sara Hagen on her departure from VCSU after 13
years of dedicated teaching and service as Director of Choral Studies.
The piece, “Reports,” includes two short movements based upon
weather and news reports from Valley City. “Wind Chill” describes
a message over the radio, a rather ominous foretelling of a very cold
day using poetry from Mark Vinz. “Flood” is a humorous look at the
flooding in 2009 as adapted by Moore from an AGWEEK report.
Dr. Jorge Variego is a composer and performer from
Argentina who obtained his master’s degree with double major
in composition and clarinet performance from Carnegie Mellon
University where he attended as a Fullbright Fellow. He also
holds the Ph.D. in music composition from the University of
Florida and the JD equivalent from the National University of
Rosario. He recently released his solo CD “Necessity” under
the Albany records label from New York and it has received
several outstanding reviews. His dissertation piece, “Colors,” was premiered in August
of 2011 by the Symphonic Orchestra of Rosario, Argentina.
Dr. Variego assisted with the mentoring, providing video and audio feedback for their
draft works. He teaches theory, woodwind and composition at VCSU.
PROGRAM NOTES
Hellbent and Crazy
“I really wanted to sing a bluesy-country song and didn’t have the opportunity, so I
decided to write my own. It’s about a girl not relying on a guy anymore.”
Theme and Variations
This composition is built on a 4-measure theme in G major. Throughout the course of the
piece, the theme undergoes extensions, meter change, tonicizations in the dominant key,
the transfer of the theme to the relative minor, and embellishment through the use of
sequence-like patterns, non-chord tones, and arpeggiations of the harmonic progression.
The Age of Roaches
This piece depicts life on the high plains during the Cold War Era.
I Need You Now
“The words to the song came to me as a result of praying for a friend who was going
through a rough time. It considers how we search for answers and we question where
God is when we cannot see past our situation. In the end, hope and comfort are found in
knowing that God has defeated death and He will help us to overcome our situation as
well.”
Selcouth
This instrumental piece was composed from a twelve-tone row, or the technique of
serialism, which is when the 12 notes in an octave scale are played in a particular order
just one time, with no repeats of the tones until all of the others have been performed.
Then the row itself repeats. This type of music may be a bit jarring and unsettling, but
the composer tried to marry the strange bizarre style with some comforts of traditional
music.
Choosing Joy
This original piece for voice, piano, and flute seeks to express the truth that joy is a
choice; if we trust our unchanging God, our attitudes are controllable. Using imagery and
the medium of music, this piece is designed to make important truths palatable and
memorable.
Fear of What’s Real
This piece is about the loss of a loved one and the pain and fear of moving on. The
background electronics were prepared in the software, GarageBand , by the composer.
The Hope of a Nation
The Hope of a Nation was inspired by the saving grace of Christ who truly is the hope of
every nation. It is meant to depict the hardships in life but also to portray the hope that in
the end we can go home and be with our Lord. This song is dedicated to Samuel Cali aka
“Pa”. Though he had many hardships in life, he has arrived at last to the place he hoped
for. He now rests in paradise with Jesus Christ.
Rebirth
We are all born with a song of life: who we are, our gifts and talents all that we are meant
to be. We begin first as playful children but as we grow we may find ourselves
encountering hardships and difficulties that can change what was a simple playful life
into one of somber seriousness. We may spend our lives wandering and then lost,
copying others, trying to get back to our initial song- and one day we discover the source
of that song and we play our melody once again hence "Rebirth." In concurrence with
Bach. S.D.G Soli Deo Gloria
Out to Sea
“This classical cello and violin duet with piano accompaniment is my perception of the
haunting, fleeting, beauty of the great oceans. When a ship leaves port, the sailors leave
family, friends, and the security of the earth beneath their feet. They may be excited to go
on an “adventure” or they may be feeling the pangs of loneliness and longing for loved
ones, while those left behind may be anxious for their safety, and looking forward to the
happy reunion that lies at the end of the voyage. Through this turmoil of feelings and
emotions, one thing is constant and underlies everything else, the ocean. The moving
piano line is the basis and foundation for my “ocean voyage”. The cello and violin must
convey the range of thoughts and emotions that such a story must includeLife is much
like the sea because it is always moving. There are happy times, sad times, and even
meditative moments and yet life continues and moves forward always moving towards
the destination that each of us individually strives for, be it what it may. In other words
each of us is Out to Sea.”
Run
“Run” is the tale of two criminals whose love for one another has pushed them to a dark
and unforgiving world. The song was primarily inspired by David Lynch’s noir drama,
“Wild at Heart.” This electronic piece is a modern edge on progressive rock meant to
showcase a proficient understanding of multiple instruments. All parts were composed,
performed, recorded and mixed by the composer.
Life Has Loveliness to Sell
This song was composed in honor of Dr. Leesa Levy’s last year at VCSU. She has taught
every one of her students to love music and how to share the loveliness of music with the
world. The Sara Teasdale poem became the basis for the whole song, composing music
to best describe what the words were expressing.
Beloved
The composer’s name means “beloved” and God calls His church “beloved” in the Bible,
so this song is to encourage believers to “be love and be loved.”
If
“My piece is based on E.E. Cummings poem “If” written in 1910. I wanted the music to
have a naive feel to match the outward simplicity of the lyrics. However, the meaning
behind those seemingly simple words is much more complex.”