Society for New Music
Music Here and Now from the Heart of New York
Innova 970
Disc A (65:47)
1. Rob Deemer
Cantos: Hammer; String; Wind 15:24
2. Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon
Jacaras: Canto; Son; Serenata; Jarabe; Huapango; Marcha; Zapateado; Nochera 8:18
Gregory Wanamaker
Music from A Story Within a Story
3. A Woman in Winter, Part I 5:36
4. A Woman in Winter, Part II 5:58
5. The Madding Crowd 7:33
6. Memorial 9:40
7. When all is said and done... 13:15
Disc B (62:50)
1. Zhou Tian
Morning After the Deluge 12:45
2. Jorge Villavicencio Grossmann
Whistling Vessels 16:09
3. Doctuh Mike Woods
Libations 7:27
4. Mark Olivieri
Concertino: Stress Test:
Glossolalia; For My Father; Hyperactive Sofa; For My Mother 26:28
Society for New Music. All Rights Reserved, 2017.
innova Recordings is the label of the
American Composers Forum.
www.innova.mu www.societyfornewmusic.org
Disc A
Rob Deemer (b. 1970) Cantos, 2012
Kelly Covert, flute; John Friedrichs, clarinet/bass clarinet; Ralph Dudgeon, trumpet; Dave DiGennaro, trombone; Ann McIntyre & Sonya Williams, violin, Kit Dodd, viola; Greg Wood, cello; Ed Castilano, doublebass; Rob Bridge, percussion; Adrienne Kim, piano; Cynthia Johnston Turner, conductor
Commissioned and premiered by the Society for New Music.
Recorded at Subcat Studios Syracuse NY - October 2014
Engineered by James S. Abbott
Edited, Mixed and Mastered by James S. Abbott
Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon (b. 1962) Jacaras, 2006
Hanna Hurwitz, violin; Ailbhe Mcdonagh, cello; Arthur Williford, piano
The recording was made possible thanks to a Professional Development Grant
from the Eastman School of Music.
Recorded at Red Creek Studio Rochester NY - May 2008
Engineered by Anton Machleder
Produced by Hanna Hurwitz and Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon
Gregory Wanamaker (b. 1968) Music from A Story Within A Story, 2011, rev. 2013
Kelly Covert, flute/piccolo; John Friedrichs, clarinet/bass clarinet; Ann McIntyre, violin; Gregory Wood, cello; Rob Bridge, percussion; Rob Auler, piano; Cynthia Johnston Turner, conductor
Commissioned and premiered by the Society for New Music with funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts & the New York State Council on the Arts
Recorded at Onondaga Community College Syracuse NY - November 2014
Engineered by James S. Abbott
Edited, Mixed and Mastered by James S. Abbott
Disc B
Zhou Tian (b. 1981) Morning After the Deluge, 2014
John Friedrichs, clarinet/bass clarinet; Ann McIntyre, violin; Blagomira Lipari, violin; Kid Dodd, viola; Gregory Wood, cello; Sar Shalom Strong, piano
Commissioned and premiered by the Society for New Music.
Recorded at Subcat Studios Syracuse NY - March 2015
Engineered by James S. Abbott
Edited and Mixed by Zhou Tian
Mastered by James S. Abbott
Jorge Villavicencio Grossmann (b. 1973) Whistling Vessels, 2013
Cadence I: oboe, clarinet -- Episode I -- Cadence II: violin, cello -- Episode II -- Cadence III: piano,
percussion -- Episode III
Ann McIntyre, violin; John Friedrichs, clarinet/bass clarinet; Emily DiAngelo, oboe/english horn; Greg Wood, cello; Ida Trebicka, piano; Rob Bridge, percussion; Mikaela Derby, Bennett Coughlin, Nicholas Shafer, whistling vessels; Jorge Grossmann, conductor
Commissioned and premiered by the Society for New Music
with a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts.
Recorded at Subcat Studios Syracuse NY - January 2015
Engineered by James S. Abbott
Edited, Mixed and Mastered by James S. Abbott
Doctuh Mike Woods (b. 1952) Libations, 2011
Rob Auler, piano; Blagomira Lipari, violin; Michael Woods, doublebass;
Jennifer Vacanti & Rob Bridge, percussion
Commissioned and premiered by the Society for New Music.
Mark Olivieri (b. 1972) Concertino: Stress Test, 2010
Rob Auler, piano; Kelly Covert, flute/piccolo; John Friedrichs, clarinet/bass clarinet; Ann McIntyre, violin; Gregory Wood, cello; Rob Bridge, percussion; Cynthia Johnson Turner, conductor
Commissioned and premiered by the Society for New Music
with funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Recorded at Onondaga Community College Syracuse NY - September 2014
Engineered by James S. Abbott
Edited, Mixed and Mastered by James S. Abbott
ROB DEEMER (b.1970) is a composer, conductor, educator, author, and columnist who advocates for composers of all ages and explores the role that contemporary concert music plays in todays society. His works have been commissioned and performed by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Presidents Own Marine Band, Jeffrey Zeigler, Cornelius Dufallo, Tony Arnold, Lindsay Goodman, Michael Mizrahi, Timothy McAllister, the Rasher Saxophone Quartet, Great Noise Ensemble, American Contemporary Music Ensemble, U.S. Army Orchestra (Pershings Own), Society for New Music, Brightmusic Ensemble, and Gaudete Brass. His film scores have been heard in the Cannes Film festival, Directors Guilds of America in both Los Angeles and New York, the Festivale Pan African du Cinema in Ouagadougou, Africa and festivals in Chicago, Austin, San Antonio, Las Vegas and San Diego. As an author, Deemer has become well known for his writings for NewMusicBox, Sequenza21, and the New York Times. He holds degrees from The University of Texas at Austin and Northern Illinois University and an Advanced Certificate in Scoring for Film and Television from the University of Southern California. Deemer is Head of Composition in the School of Music at the State University of New York at Fredonia and is the composer-in-residence with the Buffalo Chamber Players and Harmonia Chamber Singers.
Cantos was written in 2012 on commission from the Society for New Music. The 3 movements are I. Hammer II. String III. Wind. Having had years of experience scoring for films, this project was a unique experience. When scoring films the composer had a completed film with which to set music to and the resultant score would be subservient to the dialogue and structure of the film. In this case, his collaborator Courtney Rile worked with him in creating concepts for the three movements. They connected things like the percussive nature of raindrops to the hammer-like articulations within the ensemble (including the tubular bells being performed by a hammer itself), and the concept of wind as it relates to both creating visual beauty with clouds and creating aural beauty with a flute. Their intention with Cantos was to allow the music and visuals to exist simultaneously on an equal footing. Cantos with video by Courtney Rile can be seen on Youtube.
The music of Mexican-born composer RICARDO ZOHN-MULDOON is characterized by its meticulous sculpting, kaleidoscopic counterpoint, and lyricism. Literature has provided the point of departure for many of his compositions, such as the scenic cantata Comala, based on Pedro Pramo, by Juan Rulfo. He has also collaborated with distinguished artists from other disciplines, including cartoonist Jos Ignacio Solrzano (Jis), songwriter Alfredo Snchez, PUSH Physical Theater, and Garth Fagan Dance.
His works have been performed and recorded internationally, and received support from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Fromm Foundation, Barlow Endowment, Guggenheim Foundation, and Mxicos Sistema Nacional de Creadores de Arte, among other institutions in the U.S. and abroad. He received a Ph.D. in composition from the University of Pennsylvania, where his principal teacher was George Crumb. He is Professor of Composition at the Eastman School of Music.
Jcaras, commissioned by the Tro de las Amricas under the auspices of the National Endowment for the Arts of Mxico, is a set of variations woven from ideas extracted from Hebras, a song cycle that I composed in 2003. The variations treat the original ideas as melodic, harmonic, and voice leading archetypes that continuously recombine contrapuntally. Jcaras were popular ballads interspersed between the acts of a play to entertain the audience. Each variation in my own Jcaras evokes a type of folk music from Mxico.
Combining athletic virtuosity and lyrical expressionism, GREGORY WANAMAKERs music has been called achingly beautiful (Palm Beach Daily News), compelling (Audiophile Audition) outstanding (American Record Guide) cutting-edge (Tallahassee Democrat) and a technical tour de force (Fanfare). His music has been commissioned and performed all over the world by soloists, ensembles, and consortiums of musicians ranging from top professionals to university students to youth ensembles.
Fluent in all musical media, Wanamakers best-known works are his chamber works that exploit unique timbral characteristics and technical extensions of wind instruments. To date, his virtuosic Duo Sonata for clarinet and saxophone has received over 350 performances world-wide and is featured on five commercial recordings. His Sonata deus sax machina is one of the required pieces for finalists of the 2014 Adolphe Sax International Competition in Dinant, Belgium.
Gregory Wanamaker has collaborated with American photographer and visual artist Carrie Mae Weems and the British award-winning director and writer, Garth Bardsley, with whom he has composed several substantial works for chorus and orchestra. His commissions and collaborations have been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and several other public and private organizations.
Gregory Wanamaker has several recorded works on Innova, Albany, Centaur, Blue Griffin, Mark Custom, White Pine, and Summit. He publishes his own music, which is available exclusively through his website at www.gregorywanamaker.com. Wanamaker currently serves as Professor of Composition at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam where he has taught since 1997. He studied composition with William Averitt, Thomas Albert, Anthony Branker and Ladislav Kubk.
In its complete form, A Story Within A Story is a work for video, sound design, dancer (or dancers) and live musicians that reflects upon the persistent struggle for civil rights in the United States. Carrie Mae Weems powerful video takes us through the passing of history from one generation of women to the next, narrated by Weems, followed by a collage of found footage of civil rights gatherings and protests from 1963-1974. Carries self-shot film of her solo impromptu performance at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin ends the video portion of the work as a live dancer (or a group of live dancers) continue her performance.
As a stand-alone work, the music from A Story Within A Story takes its inspiration from my conversations and collaboration with Carrie, and are reflections of her provocative and moving videos about the past and current socio-political climate concerning overt and passive discrimination on the basis of gender, race, and religion in the United States. The music with video by Carrie Mae Weems, A Madding Crowd, is on Youtube.
A Story Within A Story was commissioned by the Society for New Music for their 2011--2012 season with generous support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts. It was premiered by the Society for New Music on October 23, 2011 in Hendricks Chapel, Syracuse, NY. The version heard on this recording is of the 2013 revision presented at the opening of the CRAVE Festival of the Arts by the Society for New Music and dancer Aisha Mitchell on September 20, 2013 at the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, NY. --G.W.
Described as absolutely beautiful and utterly satisfying (Fanfare), the works of Chinese-born American composer ZHOU TIAN (JOH TEE-en) have been commissioned and/or performed by major orchestras in the United States and abroad, including the Cincinnati Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and by leading soloists and ensembles such as Yuja Wang, Roberto Daz, Jason Vieaux, the Eroica Trio, the Arditti and Dover string quartets, the Empire Brass, and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. His newest work, Concerto For Orchestra, (stunning, tonal and engaging the Cincinnati Enquirer), commissioned by the Cincinnati Symphony, premiered in the orchestras 2015-16 season finale, conducted by music director Louis Langre. Critically acclaimed for his lush and distinctive musical voice, his music has been performed at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and broadcast on NPR and PBS. His large-scale symphonic suite for soloists, orchestra, and chorus, The Grand Canal, was performed during a nationally televised celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Peoples Republic of China. He holds music degrees from Curtis (B.M.), Juilliard (M.M.), and USC (D.M.A.), is a first-prize winner of Washington International Composers Competition, and held composition fellowships from Tanglewood and Aspen music festivals. He is an associate professor of composition at Michigan State University College of Music. Visit ZhouTianMusic.com for more.
Zhou writes: Some inspiration for Morning after the Deluge, a 13-minute piece for clarinet, piano and string quartet (adapted from an earlier work for violin sextet), comes from William Turners similarly-named painting from 1843, Light and Colour (Goethes Theory) -- the Morning After the Deluge -- Moses Writing the Book of Genesis. The painting depicts dawn emerging from the ruin of the great flood when Gods covenant with man was established. As a composer, I find it fascinating, as it is both visually expressive and suggestive of musical ideas. The shifting landscape dissolving into layers of mist against a rising sun inspired me to design the same for the music, which begins with a single melody shifted through different modes and slowly dissolves into a growing counterpoint of 2-part, 3-part, then 4-part, and so on; and when all six members of ensemble finally come together, we begin seeing the first light of the dawn. A new, lively motif emerges. Bright and colorful, the music bears influence from Chinese folk dances. The opening theme also formed the last part of the piece, which is reflective of a sunset. Here, the ensemble slowly fades, one instrument at a time, into the silence of the darkness. Morning After the Deluge was commissioned and premiered by Society for New Music.
JORGE VILLAVICENCIO GROSSMANN (b. 1973) has had his music performed throughout the U.S., Latin America and Europe by ensembles such as the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, National Symphony of Ukraine, Sao Paulo Symphony, Peruvian National Symphony, New England Philharmonic, Aspen Sinfonia, Kiev Camerata, Nouvel Enemble Moderne, Da Capo, Pierrot Lunaire Ensemble Wien, Society for New Music and Jack Quartet. His works find inspiration in a wide range of subjects, from medieval music to Latin American modern art. His awards include a Fromm Commission, Guggenheim fellowship, Aaron Copland Award, Charles Ives Scholarships (American Academy of Arts and Letters), Fulbright grant, and fellowships from Vitae (Brazil) and the Nevada Arts Council. His residencies include the Copland House, MacDowell Colony, Atlantic Center for the Arts, and Bogliasco Center.
His orchestral work Pasiphae was the recipient of the Druckman Award from Aspen, first prize in the New England Philharmonic Call for Scores, and honorable mention in the Lepo Sumera Orchestral Competition in Estonia. He has done guest-composer appearances in Europe, Latin America and the U.S. Recent performances include chamber works by Nomos Ensemble of Valencia, Spain; Boston Musica Viva, and a commission from the Sao Paulo Symphony (under Marin Alsop), Peruvian National Symphony and Percorso Ensemble of Sao Paulo. After studies in violin and composition in his native Lima and in Sao Paulo, Grossmann studied in the U.S., earning a DMA in composition at Boston University. While on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas faculty, he was co-director of N.E.O.N., Nevada Encounters of New Music. In 2010 he joined the faculty of Ithaca College, where he also directs the Ithaca College Contemporary Ensemble. He is also head of composition at the Valencia International Performance Academy in Spain.
Whistling Vessels, 2013 for oboe/english horn, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, and whistling vessels was commissioned by the Society for New Music and completed while in residence at the MacDowell Colony, 2013, funded by a grant from the New York State Council of the Arts via the Society for New Music and premiered Nov. 10, 2013 (whistling vessels are indigenous Peruvian 'singing vessels'). Whistling Vessels is comprised of six sections all of which are played without pause. The structure is as follows: Cadenza I: oboe, clarinet; Episode I; Cadenza II: violin, cello; Episode II; Cadenza III: piano, percussion; Episode III.
The cadenzas are written for instrumental duos, namely woodwinds, strings, and piano/percussion, all with the addition of whistling vessels. The episodes (the last of which acts as an epilogue) are, in turn, written for the entire ensemble. The central episode mirrors the structure of the entire piece. This central (and longest) episode is made of four sub-sections in which the main role (or leading layer) is assigned to each instrumental pair, one at a time, in the same sequence as the cadenzas. A climactic section, played by the entire ensemble, closes this central episode. The epilogue acts as an afterthought and leaves the piece open-ended, concluding with a question rather than a definite answer.
'Doctuh' MICHAEL WOODS (b. 1952) majored in composition and minored in string bass at Indiana University (MM) and the University of Oklahoma (DMA). He was the first African-American to receive a doctorate in composition from Oklahoma University. He also received an MM degree in jazz studies from Indiana University. Woods has written more than 600 compositions in various styles, including choral, orchestral, and chamber works, as well as jazz combo and big band charts. He has had his compositions performed by the Albany Symphony, North Arkansas Symphony, Society for New Music, Central New York Jazz Orchestra, and the Tulsa Philharmonic. Woods is director and bassist for the Zoe Jazz Band, and bassist for the Omniverse jazz ensemble. Both groups often perform his compositions. At Hamilton College Woods teaches courses in jazz history, jazz arranging and jazz improvisation, as well as directing the College's Jazz Ensemble.
Libations is written as if it were a drink used in a ceremony. However, the wine and/or the inebriation is the effect of the jazz solos. This is accentuated by the bass doubled with the scat vocal solo. The work is playful but challenging to perform. The solos for violin and vibes are written out. The solos for piano and bass are improvised.
MARK OLIVIERI (b. 1972) is a Professor of Music at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. A productive composer, Olivieri receives numerous commissions and performances of his work from artists throughout the U.S. and abroad. Olivieri's compositions are equally inspired and informed as much by Black Sabbath and Thelonius Monk as they are by traditional concert music. His experience as an improvising musician and jazz arranger also informs his work as a composer.
Olivieri's Spectacular Vernaculars for solo piano were recorded by pianist Nicholas Phillips for his American Vernaculars CD released in January 2014 on New Focus Recordings. Spectacular Vernaculars received high praise from the New York Times, describing Olivieri's contributions to the project as "glittering pop-infused etudes." His recently completed score for the 1920 silent film, The Mark of Zorro premiered at the Syracuse International Film Festival in the spring of 2016 by the acclaimed Society for New Music. Olivieri's newest commission, a triple concerto for flute, viola, and piano is scheduled to premiere in Medelln, Colombia with the Orchestra EAFIT in the spring of 2017.
"Concertino: Stress Test forges together Olivieri's experience as a performer of popular musical rhetorics such as rock, jazz, and funk and his deep knowledge of the concert music context. Stress Test is another example of Olivieri's ability to seamlessly weave through these diverse musical styles to create music that is altogether innovative, sophisticated and has a broad appeal to musicians and audiences." -- Trevor C. Bjorklund
I am grateful to Neva Pilgrim, Artistic Director for The Society for New Music, for providing me with an opportunity to write for the incredibly gifted group of performers who play with The Society for New Music. I would like to thank my family, especially my wonderful parents for whom I have dedicated the second and fourth movements of this piece, and to my wife, Alaina, for her unlimited support and encouragement. -- M.O.
JAMES S. ABBOTT, Engineer is a Professor of Practice at the Setnor School of Music Syracuse, NY, where he directs the Sound Recording Technology (SRT) and Music Technology Access Project (MTAP) programs. He holds degrees from the University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL (BS Music Engineering) and Syracuse University (MS Engineering). Over the span of 25 years as a professional in the industry, Mr. Abbott has engineered countless commercially released recordings in most musical genres. His work can be heard on NPR, PBS, Centaur, New World, CRI, Albany, GM, Sanctuary Classics (Black Box), Victor, Mark, Innova, Naxos, Koch Classics, Raven, Summit, Warner Brothers, and Endeavor Classics. His clients include well-known ensembles, organizations and musicians, including the Boston Brass, Albany Symphony, Cassatt Quartet, Corigliano Quartet, Thomas Lanners, Syracuse Children's Chorus, Glimmerglass Opera, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Society for New Music, Andrew Russo, David Cossin, James Ehnes, and Hilary Hahn.
Widely considered to be a specialist in the recording of new music, Mr. Abbott has recorded the work of many contemporary composers including Libby Larsen, Augusta Read Thomas, Gabriela Lena Frank, Ross Lee Finney, David Lang, Gunther Schuller, Aaron Jay Kernis, and John Corigliano. A 2007 release on Black Box, John Corigliano Violin Sonata Etude Fantasy with Andrew Russo and Corey Cerovsek, received a Grammy nomination in the Best Chamber Music Recording category. In 2010, Serendipity, a project Mr. Abbott engineered for the Society for New Music and released on Innova, won a SAMMY (Syracuse Area Music Award). Mr. Abbott is currently engineering projects that include orchestral film scores and orchestrated music video sessions for popular artists with hit songs (EastWest Studios, Hollywood, CA).
PERFORMERS
The award-winning Society for New Music is comprised of a core of dedicated professionals who live in the heart of New York State, but who are nationally and internationally renowned. Most have performed and recorded together for 15-20 years or more. These musicians have earned advanced degrees from the finest universities and conservatories, e.g. Indiana University, Eastman, Juilliard, Yale, Curtis, Cincinnati-College Conservatory, Univ. of Michigan, LSU, Ithaca College, and other comparable schools. They all bring their passion for new music to the enterprise.
Society for New Music: President Rob Bridge
Program Advisors: Sam Pellman, Neva Pilgrim, Steven Stucky
The large working board represents the diverse population of Central New York, including high school and college student composer representatives.
Society for New Musics mission is to commission, premiere & record new works by regional composers; advocate for new music via the website & Fresh Ink on WCNY-FM & its affiliates; provide regional musicians an opportunity to perform the music of their peers; encourage young composers via the Israel Prize, Rising Stars, Young Composers Corner and workshops; and bring new music to as broad an audience as possible through performances in a wide variety of venues plus composers-in-residence in the public schools.
CREDITS
These commissioned works and the Society for New Music are supported in part with funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Gov. Cuomo & the NYS Legislature, National Endowment for the Arts, the Copland Fund, Amphion Foundation, Richard Shineman Foundation, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Richard Mather Fund, Syracuse Sounds of Music Assoc., Inc., County of Onondaga, administered by CNY Arts, Jim & Juli Boeheim Foundation, the estate of Earl & Miggie George, the estate of Tressa Sopher, and private donations.
SNM Producer: Neva Pilgrim
Sculptures from Stone Quarry Hill Artpark:
Rodger Mack: Jazz Getz
Frank Gonzales: Gnomen
Photos: Bob Gates
Initial design concept: Peter Tschirhart
innova is supported by an endowment from the McKnight Foundation.
Philip Blackburn, director, design
Chris Campbell, operations director
Steve McPherson, publicist