Contemporary Classics May 28- Composer Conversations with Bunny Beck

Roger Bourland’s Alarcón Madrigals, Book 3   No. 1, Cuerpo en llamas No. 2, Lamentarioa and No. 3, Como loca flor  

Ed Windels’  Peal Off for Brass Quintet  which is a three part single movement work which was commissioned and premiered by Gaudete Brass Quintet on Dec. 20th, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. Ed describes the genesis of this work when he was at  the New Music Gathering in Bowling Green, OH in May of 2017 in the following way: “as I was listening to Scott Tegge - tubist for the Gaudete Brass Quintet - participate in a panel discussion, and listening to his sonorous and evocative voice, got my brain to spinning and I found myself wondering how I would use my particular style and aesthetic for this timbral combination. Within minutes the entire opening span of the piece formed in my mind, almost exactly as it currently stands (with the happy later alteration occasioned by a slight misreading at the premiere. Never discount the benefits a mistake can produce!).”   

Arc Of Horizon by Harry Stafylakis, which was Commissioned by the Lake George Music Festival (Lake George, NY) and made possible by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts.  It was premiered by the Festival Orchestra conducted by Roger Kalia on August 26, 2015 at the Sacred Heart Church, Lake George, NY, conducing.  

David Mecionis’ Obstinate Duet. From the program note of the premiere “Obstinate Duet for flute and clarinet is built from a melodious 12-tone row. Each instrument states the row following a repetition of the first three notes. These ideas of cellular repetitions and intervalic relationships generate the rest of the "conversation." The piece owes its style to many early 20th-century 12-tone pieces, which I find have a certain élan and sense of discovery. In keeping with that period, I closely followed standard serialist procedures. I was reading Gustave Flaubert's unfinished final novel Bouvard and Pécuchet at the time of composition and I may have been unconsciously influenced by it, hence the double meaning of the title: it's a duet on an ostinato figure, while also perhaps a character piece on the theme of Flaubert's hilariously obstinate heroes.”   

Debra Kaye’s String Quartet No. 2 - The Howland Quartet.  This work was written in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Howland Music Circle, honors this musical community by “telling the story” of its founding, growth, and the ongoing spirit that sustains it and which remains an enduring legacy. It is in 3 movements:

Mov. I - A shimmering idea...you decide to follow.

Mov. II - The beauty of the dream upon reflection.

Mov. III – Danza Energico