Phillip Schroeder

Passage Through a Dream

Innova 781

Passage Through a Dream (2009) 12:28

Michael Henson, clarinet with digital delay

Phillip Schroeder, multi-tracked four-hand piano and digital delay

A Necessary Autumn (2007) 8:51

Marty Walker, clarinet

Phillip Schroeder, electric bass; multi-track piano with Digital Delay

Oceans of Green (2010) 10:03

Michael Henson, clarinet with digital delay

Jamie Lipton, euphonium with digital delay

Phillip Schroeder, multi-tracked four-hand piano and digital delay

On Occasion (2010) 7:47

Marty Walker, clarinet

Rick Dimond, accordion and vibraphone with digital delay

Phillip Schroeder, electric bass with digital delay

Sky Blue Dreams (1985, revised 1994 and 2010) 11:17

Erin Bridgeman, soprano

Jennifer Amox, flute

Michael Henson, clarinet/bass clarinet

Rick Dimond, vibraphone

Jane Grothe, harp

Phillip Schroeder, piano and digital delay

All instruments with digital delay

Recording: Harwood Recital Hall, Russell Fine Arts Center

Henderson State University, Arkadelphia, Arkansas

and Architecture, Los Angeles, California

March 2007 to January 2011

Recording Engineers: Scott Fraser, Phillip Schroeder, Drew Worthen

Editing, Mixing and Master: Scott Fraser, Architecture, Los Angeles, CA

Design, Graphics and Editing: Jim Fox

Photographs: Richard Friedman

Special thanks to Matthew Burrier, Drew Worthen, Jeri-Mae G. Astolfi,

Malissa Bain, Jim Fox, Scott Fraser and Liz Stillwell

All music licensed through BMI

Phillip Schroeder Passage Through a Dream

Passage Through a Dream

A Necessary Autumn

Oceans of Green

On Occasion

Sky Blue Dreams

Jennifer Amox, flute

Erin Bridgeman, soprano

Rick Dimond, accordion and vibraphone

Jane Grothe, harp

Michael Henson, clarinet and bass clarinet

Jamie Lipton, euphonium

Phillip Schroeder, piano and electric bass

Marty Walker, clarinet

I am often asked to describe my music. Although music is created in the contexts of spirit, emotion, and intellect, words don’t necessarily describe one’s experience of sounds. One simply tends to either like a sound (a musical moment) or not. While studying with Barney Childs, he suggested, “Composing is easy. You just write one good sound after another.” Turned on its head, that’s good advice for listening, too.

The techniques available through the use of a digital delay have long influenced my work, as they did the pieces on this recording. The layers of canonic repetition that result from music processed through a delay can create lush, kaleidoscopic textures. Yet, performing in tandem with such a device’s effortless echoes can initially be disconcerting. Once familiar with it, however, it can also be liberating—you know how the past will influence the present, and you know what will happen in the immediate future.

PS

Biography

Phillip Schroeder’s music for soloists, chamber ensembles, live electronics, orchestra, and choir, has been described by critics as ”wonderfully evocative,” “ethereal,” “rich in subtle detail,” and “full of elegant nuance.” He has appeared as a guest composer, lecturer, and performer at venues throughout the U.S. and Europe, and has performed his own works at more than 200 concerts.

Born in 1956 in Rancho Cordova, California, his musical life began early and paralleled the diversity of his surroundings—living in twelve states—playing trumpet in concert bands and electric bass in rock and jazz bands, singing in choirs, conducting orchestral and chamber groups, improvising with a variety of ensembles, and concertizing as a pianist. He received a BM from the University of Redlands, an MM at Butler University, and a PhD from Kent State University, studying music with Barney Childs, Larry Solomon, Michael Schelle, Thomas Janson, and Frank Wiley. Recordings of his music are available on the Innova, Capstone, Boston, Albany, Vienna Modern Masters, and Cold Blue labels.

Among the important influences on his life and work are Taoism and other mystical traditions, daily meditations, nature, stillness, and the love and patience of friends.

Player Biographies

Jennifer Amox is the Instructor of Flute at Henderson State University. She has performed with the Houston Civic Symphony, Little Rock Wind Symphony, Fort Bend Symphony, and Orchestra of the Pines. Pursuing a DMA from the University of Memphis, she is a member of the Morpheus Wind Quintet and principal flute with the University Orchestra.  Amox holds degrees from Henderson State University and Stephen F. Austin State University.  

Erin Bridgeman is a Vocal Education major at Henderson State University where she is a member of the Chamber Chorale and Concert Choir and the choral librarian. During her studies, she has competed at NATS conferences and performed as a soloist with members of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.

Rick Dimond, D.M., has taught at Henderson State University since the summer of 1984 and at the Arkansas Governor’s School since 2004. He is Principal Timpanist with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and performs with the Pine Bluff Symphony and other regional ensembles. He also plays keyboard instruments in the Arkansas Symphony Big Band and the klezmer band, Meshugga. Dimond has studied music since age 5, playing accordion, piano, oboe, English horn, percussion, as well as violin, viola, and harp.

Jane Grothe, born in Berlin, Germany, completed her undergraduate degree at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music (Berlin) and her Master’s at the California Institute of the Arts. She has studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and is a doctoral candidate at the University of Southern California. She has performed in many ensembles and taught harp at Master’s College in Santa Clarita and Plaza de la Raza in Los Angeles.

Michael Henson has played clarinet in the Pine Bluff Symphony Orchestra, Butler Symphony Orchestra, and the Butler Composers Orchestra. He holds a BM in Composition from Henderson State University, where he studied with Phillip Schroeder, and presently is pursuing a Masters degree at Butler University, studying with composer Michael Schelle.

Dr. Jamie Lipton is the professor of low brass at Henderson State University. She has won several major competitions, including the Leonard Falcone Festival and International Tuba/Euphonium Conference competitions. An active soloist and clinician, Lipton has appeared across the U.S. at numerous workshops and conferences. She is a Willson Performing Artist.

Marty Walker is internationally-known for his recordings and performances of new music. The Los Angeles Times has described his playing as "masterfully expressive;" El Nacional (Mexico City) wrote that it "took the audience to another musical dimension;" and Fanfare magazine stated that his work was "about as ego-free as one can find…indivisible from the compositions themselves."