Composition

CHA grant makes some ~Nois in the College of Music

Mariefaith Lane — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 20:34:03 +0000

CHA grant makes some ~Nois in the College of Music Mariefaith Lane Fri, 11/15/2024 - 13:34

Kathryn Bistodeau

Photo credit: Tilde Media

With support from a $15K �� Boulder Center for Humanities & the Arts (CHA) grant, the Chicago-based ~Nois Saxophone Quartet returned to the College of Music earlier this month as guest artists in our Faculty Tuesdays series and SoundWorks series.

“The composition department has been bringing ~Nois to campus for the last six or seven years,” says Carter Pann, chair of the composition department. “This is the first year that two studios hosted the quartet—composition and saxophone. The plan was for ~Nois to work with our student and faculty composers, and with students in [Assistant Professor of Saxophone] Nathan Mertens' saxophone studio.”

Indeed, the five-day residency was packed—in addition to Faculty Tuesdays and SoundWorks concerts, ~Nois also presented a master class, a guest lecture in the Department of Theatre & Dance and more. College of Music students had the opportunity to rehearse with members of the quartet, ask questions, and get feedback on performances and compositions.

CHA grants support projects that amplify the arts and humanities, and create community around campus. The College of Music's composition and saxophone departments were awarded more than they applied for, allowing for an extra house concert in a donor’s home.

“I believe that the application meets all criteria and that it is far ranging,” wrote CHA Director Jennifer Ho. “This is one reason I’ve increased the award—so that you may be able to think even more capaciously in creating programs that will involve multiple community members within the College of Music and across campus.”

The College of Music’s relationship with the quartet began with Pann’s musical connection with a family member of one of the musicians. “One of the ~Nois members, Jordan Lulloff, is the son of a very good friend of mine whom I have written lots of saxophone music for,” shares Pann. “A lightbulb went off and I realized that Jordan was in this new quartet of Northwestern University grads.

“It’s really useful and it’s a great opportunity for young composers to write for saxophone quartet. It’s a very enterprising endeavor because saxophonists in general clamor for new music.”

Through the years, ~Nois has become familiar on campus, and created even more and deeper connections. “They’re just game when they’re here,” adds Pann. “They end up seeing donors, seeing the dean, working with students, coming to classes…”

Pann hopes the residency inspired creativity among our students. “When students work closely with them, the ~Nois boys are so professional. They don’t skimp on anything. They will crash open the door to rehearse more with these students. They’re constantly teaching them what their instruments can do.

“These guys increase the learning horizon tenfold. When you see somebody that’s kind of close to your age breaking into this professional realm—it’s really inspiring to our students.”

With support from a �� Boulder Center for Humanities & the Arts grant, the Chicago-based ~Nois Saxophone Quartet returned to the College of Music as guest artists in our Faculty Tuesdays series and SoundWorks series. Says Composition Chair Carter Pann, “These guys increase the learning horizon tenfold.”

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Jazz Studies Lecturer Matt Smiley awarded prestigious MacDowell Fellowship

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Jazz Studies Lecturer Matt Smiley awarded prestigious MacDowell Fellowship Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 10/17/2024 - 00:00

MarieFaith Lane

Alumnus Matt Smiley (DMA ’22), a jazz studies lecturer at the �� Boulder College of Music, has been awarded a MacDowell Fellowship—one of the most prestigious, cross-disciplinary artist residency programs in the country. Set to take place over fall break, the fellowship aligns perfectly with Smiley’s teaching schedule, allowing him dedicated time to focus on his creative work without disrupting his commitments to students.

Smiley, who teaches a large 370-student jazz history class as well as a jazz combo, plans to use the fellowship to advance his compositional goals. His primary focus during this time will be composing a suite of octet music—a significant leap in scope from his usual compositions for smaller groups like trios, quartets and quintets. He’s looking ahead to spring 2025 when he hopes to record his new compositions with both Colorado musicians and other collaborators from across the country.

As a composer, Smiley’s work sits at the intersection of jazz and contemporary classical music, drawing on improvisational techniques that challenge the conventions of both genres. “The music I write is always too improvisational for the contemporary classical world but utilizes modern compositional techniques that are still foreign to most of the jazz world,” he explains. Smiley is inspired by composers such as Christian Wolff, known for creating compositions meant to be performed in different ways with varying orchestrations, ensuring that no performance is ever the same. This flexible, open form of composition has become a hallmark of Smiley’s approach which he’s excited to explore further.

While Smiley is accustomed to composing for small ensembles of musicians with whom he regularly collaborates, the MacDowell Fellowship offers an opportunity to expand his creative work to larger ensembles and broader collaborations—a challenge he’s ready to embrace while maintaining the intimacy and improvisational spirit of his works for smaller ensembles.

Smiley’s path to the MacDowell Fellowship was marked by persistence and inspiration from peers. Annie Booth (BM ’11, MM ’20)—a �� Boulder College of Music alumna and a successful local composer, pianist, educator and entrepreneur—encouraged him to apply for composition residencies. “I have never had planned time off from teaching, performing and working to sit down and focus solely on writing music,” Smiley notes. “I have a lot of goals to accomplish while I’m there.”

Especially, Smiley is eager to develop new compositions that embrace the unpredictability of improvisation while utilizing advanced compositional techniques. His work will undoubtedly continue to challenge the boundaries of both the jazz and contemporary classical music worlds—bringing fresh perspectives to both genres.

College of Music Jazz Studies Lecturer Matt Smiley has been awarded a MacDowell Fellowship enabling him to advance his compositional goals by exploring the intersection of jazz and contemporary classical music, and embracing improvisation and innovative composition techniques that challenge the boundaries of both genres.

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Meet the 2024 ECM artist assistance grants recipients

Anonymous — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Meet the 2024 ECM artist assistance grants recipients Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 06/17/2024 - 00:00

Kathryn Bistodeau

At the �� Boulder Entrepreneurship Center for Music (ECM), students can find the skills and tools they need for their music careers. Most recently, the ECM awarded $5,820 in artist assistance grants to support eight student-led professional development and community engagement projects including:

Josie Arnett

Josie Arnett
“I’m really picky about which pieces I release on streaming platforms because I’m 20 and need to be able to write really bad music … and then release the things that I really love,” says Josie Arnett, an undergraduate composition student.

“Last fall, I got the opportunity to write a saxophone quartet piece for a group that travels all over the United States. I was really happy with the piece and really proud of it, so I reached out to a faculty member who set me up with the �� Boulder graduate saxophone quartet.”

Sanitas Saxophone Quartet

Working with the Sanitas Saxophone Quartet, College of Music Recording Engineer Kevin Harbison and a mixing artist, Arnett recorded the piece for projected release on streaming platforms this summer. The ECM grant helped pay the artists and distribution fee.

Arnett says she learned a lot about how to interact in a professional recording setting and enjoyed collaborating within the College of Music. “It’s been fun to work with people that have a lot of energy, positive attitudes and are just really excited about what they do,” she shares.

Alice Del Simone
At the end of May, DMA student in voice performance and pedagogy Alice Del Simone was part of a workshop presentation at the Voice Foundation Symposium in Philadelphia titled “Legato Then and Now, Vibrato Edition: A Close-Up of What Happens Between the Pitches in the Classical Bel Canto Tradition.”

“The workshop offered a toolbox of exercises for how to teach the type of legato singing that was happening at the end of the 1800s, beginning of the 1900s when we started to have recordings available,” Del Simone says.

“It was my very first time presenting at a conference where there are often hurdles for a young academic to get an invitation to present. I’ve been lucky that I’ve been able to work with a group of people who are more prominent in the community than myself.”

During the symposium, Del Simone stayed at the conference hotel, partially funded by her ECM grant.

Zachary Howarth
Zachary Howarth, a DMA student in jazz studies, will go on the road this summer to record music in studios in Reno and South Lake Tahoe. Howarth also hopes to perform this music live in venues across Colorado and Nevada.

The project will involve a contemporary jazz quartet—trumpet, piano, bass, drums—writing and recording the music. The ECM grant will help the project get off the ground by assisting with studio fees, production costs and travel expenses.

“The opportunity to write, record and play music with such high-level artists is invaluable to my collaborative research in compositional tendencies in contemporary jazz mediums and fully improvised music,” Howarth says.

SeaJun Kwon

SeaJun Kwon
SeaJun Kwon, also a DMA student in jazz studies, likes writing compositions that push the boundaries of jazz music including “Avant Shorts”—10 etudes exploring micro tonalities and rhythmic concepts that aren’t commonly used in jazz compositions.

Kwon plans to compose these etudes and begin recording them over the summer, using a microphone setup funded by an ECM grant.

“I thought I’d write a bunch of super short compositions that focus on different ideas to develop myself and provide my community with these resources,” Kwon says.

By keeping them brief, he hopes to make the compositions more accessible and useful for his community.

“People are really busy, there are so many things that you have to do and also so many distractions,” Kwon says. “I think these short compositions put less pressure on people—they can work on them for 10 minutes and still learn from them.”

Er-Hsuan Li with orchestra

Er-Hsuan Li
Er-Hsuan Li graduated from the College of Music in May with a DMA in piano performance. In April, he held a concert featuring the world premiere of John Clay Allen’s “The Stone Harp” concerto for piano and strings along with Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1.

“It was a very fun event,” Li says. “Even though it was off-campus, it was really �� that made this possible because that’s how we connected.”

Many �� Boulder musicians participated including conductor and Associate Director of Orchestras Renee Gilliland, composition alumnus John Clay Allen, Anna Kallinikos—who’s majoring in trumpet performance and minoring in business—and the majority of the 18-member orchestra. The ECM grant assisted Li with compensating the performers and renting the venue.

“I had performed in front of an orchestra only once before when I was a high schooler,” Li recalls. “So it was really special for me that—after 13 years—I got to do this again professionally. And I would like to think that I am a better musician now compared to then!”

Ethan Stahl

Ethan Stahl
When Ethan Stahl discovered Nkeiru Okoye’s music, he knew he’d found something special. “I loved her music so much that I began working on it for one of my degree recitals,” he says. “Eventually, it became evident that I had enough material to create a lecture recital.”

To prepare, Stahl—who’s pursuing a DMA in piano performance—interviewed Okoye about her music. “We talked on the phone for a few hours and in that conversation, she proposed the idea of writing a piece for me to add to one of the sets of piano pieces that I was studying.” The ECM grant helped fund Okoye’s contribution.

Okoye’s music is already part of the American Music Research Center’s Helen Walker-Hill Collection; her upcoming composition will be added to the collection.

“Okoye is extremely novel in the world of piano composition,” Stahl adds. “I’ve never heard piano music that is similar stylistically to hers.”

Natalie Trejo
Artist Diploma student Natalie Trejo competed in the finals for the Austin Flute Society’s Young Artist Competition in April—and the ECM grant helped her get there.

“I submitted the preliminary recordings back in January. From there, they selected three finalists to perform in the live final round in Austin, Texas,” Trejo says. “It went really well. I ended up getting third but I was very happy with how I played and I was not nervous at all.”

Trejo performed Chen Yi’s “Memory” for solo flute and Frank Martin’s “Ballade” for flute and piano.

“I love doing competitions because I get to learn new repertoire, meet new flutists, make connections and get to know the other finalists—it’s very important and humbling, but still encouraging,” Trejo says.

Jonathon Winter
Another spring 2024 graduate, Jonathon Winter—who earned a DMA in violin performance—recorded four pieces to be compiled into an album titled “Origin: Music by Women of the Americas.” The pieces are “ko’u inoa” by Leilehua Lanzilotti, “Scratch the Surface” by Dana Kaufman, “String Poetic” by Jennifer Higdon and “Sueños de Chambi” by Gabriel Lena Frank.

“I picked some fiendishly difficult music to play but it was so worth it,” Winter says. “I learned so much about preparing for recordings and what that actually entails.”

Winter worked with pianist and Postdoctoral Lecturer Barbara Noyes, as well as Kevin Harbison to record all four pieces over the course of seven months. Winter will continue the project over the summer with the goal of finding a label to disseminate the recordings.

Congratulations to all grant recipients and our thanks to this year’s adjudicators: College of Music staff member Kathryn Bistodeau, Music Advisory Board member Laurie Hathorn and University of Denver entrepreneurship faculty member Neil Pollard.

At the �� Boulder Entrepreneurship Center for Music, students can find the skills and tools they need for their music careers. This spring, the ECM awarded $5,820 in grants to support eight student-led professional development and community engagement projects.

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Nurturing young singers with new opera

Anonymous — Fri, 31 May 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Nurturing young singers with new opera Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 05/31/2024 - 00:00

Marc Shulgold

Photos: Table Read of “Polly Peachum” with the full cast, composer Gene Scheer and librettist Bill Van Horn.

It’s an old cliché, but the image of great oaks-from-little acorns really does apply to �� NOW, the �� Boulder College of Music’s successful summer opera workshop that launched its 14th season on our campus this week running through June 16.

First, we should spell out its full title: New Opera Workshop. It’s a unique program that began with a modest, acorn-like suggestion in 2009, recalls founder/artistic director Leigh Holman.

“I was at an opera conference here [Boulder] and was visiting with composer Hershel Garfein,” says Holman, who also directs the college’s Eklund Opera Program. “He suggested the idea of young artists working on new works with their composers. It turns out young singers just loved sampling new music. I knew it would also be a wonderful experience for the composers since they could be here to work on their music.”

�� NOW debuted in 2010, becoming the nation’s first such program based at an academic institution, designed to bring together student singers and renowned composers in rehearsing and performing a new opera—all in three weeks. Since then, the likes of composers Mark Adamo, Jake Heggie, Gene Scheer, Libby Larsen, Mark Campbell, Garfein and Tom Cipullo have participated.

This year’s workshop brings together Gene Scheer—returning to �� NOW as guest composer, alongside collaborating librettist Bill Van Horn—and 14 auditioned �� Boulder graduate student singers, plus a trio of grad and undergrad composers as well as Eklund Opera Program staff. Emmy Award winner Gary Fry—arranger for “Polly Peachum”—will be in residence during the final week of the workshop as a resource for both our voice and composition students.

Participants are rehearsing six days a week on “Polly Peachum," a rollicking romantic musical comedy set in the early 1700s that depicts the intertwining worlds of government intrigue, London criminal life and the world of theatre. If the name in the title rings a bell, she’s a character in English composer John Gay’s 1728 hit “The Beggar’s Opera.”

“Gene wrote it with Bill about a decade ago and they recently reworked it,” explains Holman. The story concerns the creation of that old tale of London street life and lists characters such as Mr. Gay and historical figures Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, Robert Walpole—and Ms. Peachum herself.

“Our work is underway,” says �� NOW Music Director Nicholas Carthy of the new opera with old characters, staged in less than a month. The British-born conductor—music director of the Eklund Opera Program—joined �� NOW in 2023. He notes that he anticipates only “a few tiny adjustments” will be made to the score once Scheer and Van Horn observe rehearsals.

For the student singers, this marks their first true professional operatic experience. And for Carthy? “I’m prepared for whatever.”

But wait, there’s more to �� NOW: Running simultaneously with “Polly Peachum” is the Composers’ Fellow Initiative (CFI) which occurs every other year alongside �� NOW. Three student composers who had expressed interest in writing opera were chosen to participate in the program, directed by Bud Coleman. The trio—Alan Mackwell, Holly McMahon and Joshua Maynard—have been working with New York-based composer Tom Cipullo, creating music and librettos for 10-minute opera scenes that are being rehearsed, staged and costumed for a performance on June 15.

Holman said plans have already been made for �� NOW 2025: Mark Adamo will return with “Sarah,” a new work about famed Boston-based opera conductor Sarah Caldwell.

“Polly Peachum” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, June 14 and 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 16. Scenes by the Composer Fellows’ Initiative will be presented at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 15. Free and open to the public, all performances will be held in our Music Theatre. More info at �� Presents.

The College of Music’s 2024 New Opera Workshop (�� NOW) is underway, leading up to performances of Gene Scheer’s “Polly Peachum”—as well as performances of opera scenes presented by our Composer Fellows’ Initiative—in June.

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Fifth annual Persevering Legacy event promotes diversity in performance

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Fifth annual Persevering Legacy event promotes diversity in performance Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 02/28/2024 - 00:00

Sabine Kortals Stein + Kathryn Bistodeau

Historically, minority groups have been overlooked in classical music performance. Since 2019, the College of Music’s Persevering Legacy project—with support from the College of Music Diversity, Equity + Inclusion Endowed Fund—aims to bring such underrepresented artists into the spotlight.

On March 7, Persevering Legacy performances will showcase the talents of more than a dozen undergraduate and graduate students in a celebration of women-identifying composers from around the world. Selected from more than 20 submissions, the program will include works for bassoon, saxophone, French horn, trombone, violin, viola, piano, voice and electronic sounds in various combinations and featuring a range of musical styles.

Professor of Piano Pedagogy Alejandro Cremaschi has been coordinating the annual Persevering Legacy event and chairing the selection committee for the last six years. “I’ve always been interested in promoting and disseminating works by composers in underrepresented groups in the classical music field,” he says.

Cremaschi and Assistant Professor of Composition Annika Socolofsky comprised this year’s Persevering Legacy selection committee.

Many of the works to be performed come from the American Music Research Center’s Helen Walker-Hill collection including music by Black women composers such as Avril Coleridge-Taylor, Margaret Bonds, Florence Price and Mary Watkins, according to Cremaschi. “The program also includes a solo piano work by undergraduate composer Josie Arnett, to be performed by another undergraduate, Holly McMahon,” he adds.

Cremaschi further notes his excitement to discover how many students are interested in performing often neglected works. “The Persevering Legacy project is among the most successful DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] initiatives of the College of Music, creating awareness, excitement and engagement among our students and faculty for exploring amazing works that would otherwise be collecting dust,” he says. “Persevering Legacy concerts also create support around the women and women-identifying musicians and composers in our college.”

As part of this year’s Persevering Legacy event, alumnus Gregory Walker—son of the composer George Walker and Helen Walker-Hill, a pianist and musicologist who specialized in the music of Black women—will present a master class on March 5, 10:50 a.m.-12:20 p.m. (C125). Walker—a violinist, composer and American Academy of Arts and Letters Fellowship recipient, among other distinctions—is professor of music and entertainment studies at �� Denver.

Join us for Persevering Legacy on March 7 at 7:30 p.m. in the Imig Music Building, Chamber Hall (S102).

Join us on March 7 for student performances celebrating women-identifying composers.

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Remembering Fauré—a century later

Anonymous — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Remembering Fauré—a century later Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 02/13/2024 - 00:00

Marc Shulgold , Sabine Kortals Stein

Professor of Musicology Carlo Caballero remembers when he fell in love with the music of Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924): “It was when I heard his ‘Requiem’ as an undergrad at Pomona College [in southern California].

“I was so taken by the harmonies and I started looking at scores. I didn’t realize then that my career would become centered on Fauré.”

Pursuing a PhD at the University of Pennsylvania, Caballero’s graduate dissertation was on Fauré. From there, his love and admiration for the Frenchman’s music continued to grow. He’s since written books about Fauré and edited critical editions of the composer’s two piano quintets for “The Complete Works of Gabriel Fauré.” Yes, he’s also published studies on ballet music of the 19^th and 20^th centuries, and social continuities in French music from the 18^th to the 20^th centuries. But one composer remains close to his heart and his academic pursuits. Particularly these days.

This year marks a milestone for Caballero who—along with his academic partner Stephen Rumph, professor of music history at the University of Washington—will co-host the Fauré Centennial Festival in Boulder, Feb. 27-March 3. All festival events comprising this major, global gathering of �� Boulder faculty and student musicians alongside panelists from France, Canada, Israel, Brazil, the United Kingdom and the United States are free and open to the public although registration is appreciated from those who plan to attend the conference.

Self-caricature by Gabriel Fauré—under his signature at the end of a letter to Elizabeth Swinton—circa 1898. Private archive, with permission.

Before enumerating the impressive number of papers to be presented, concerts to be held and new works to be premiered, Caballero shares how the whole project began. “I visited Stephen in Seattle in the summer of 2021,” he recalls. The two men had worked together previously, co-editing “Fauré Studies” for Cambridge University Press. “We were strolling on the beach—talking about how 2024 was the 100^th anniversary of Fauré’s death—and Stephen said, ‘Why don’t we do a festival?’ That’s how it all started.”

In retrospect, Caballero points out, Rumph’s casual suggestion proved advantageous. Getting the ball rolling, and planning and sending out all the invitations and calls for papers so early, resulted in strong interest and a healthy number of acceptances.

There was much to do in the months that followed: Grants to write and submit, campus facilities to secure and—here’s a surprise—composers to commission. “The four festival recitals [including a Faculty Tuesdays recital on Feb. 27] will offer a kaleidoscopic experience, not just a look back,” Caballero explains. In addition to chamber music by Fauré in diverse instrumentations, the festival will feature works by his contemporaries—like Maurice Ravel, Mel Bonis and Cécile Chaminade—as well as nine new commissions by both professional composers and students.

“It was Stephen’s idea to connect these new works to the legacy of Fauré, but in the composers’ own style,” says Caballero, who further notes that 16 academic papers will be presented as part of the festival, including one of his own—“The Smith’s Harmonic Forge: Voice-Leading in the First Movement of Fauré’s Second Piano Quartet.”

Caballero is optimistic that the Fauré Centennial Festival will continue to raise appreciation of Fauré’s music. For him, the attraction is singular: “My academic career is fueled by the beauty of his music.”

The Fauré Centennial Festival—held on campus at the Imig Music Building and Macky Auditorium, and at Boulder’s First Congregational Church—is supported by the Dr. C. W. Bixler Family Foundation, the �� Boulder College of Music, the Center for Humanities & the Arts and the Research & Innovation Office.

This year marks a milestone for Professor of Musicology Carlo Caballero who—along with his academic partner Stephen Rumph, professor of music history at the University of Washington—will co-host the Fauré Centennial Festival in Boulder, Feb. 27-March 3.

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Celebrating winter graduates: Isabel Goodwin

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Dec 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Celebrating winter graduates: Isabel Goodwin Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 12/13/2023 - 00:00

Adam Goldstein

Isabel Goodwin sees a cosmic quality in their connection to the bassoon.

Goodwin graduates this month with dual Bachelor of Music degrees from the University of Colorado Boulder—one in composition and one in bassoon performance. During their four years at our College of Music, the instrument has served as a gateway to creative growth, personal connections and artistic expression. They performed with the entire bassoon studio for holiday concerts, composed works that have been performed by the Chicago-based ~Nois saxophone quartet and collaborated with the university’s dance department.

All of these achievements stemmed from a connection to an instrument that could very well be considered accidental. “I was in fifth grade and it was pick-your-instrument-night at school,” says Goodwin, recalling a pivotal moment in their native Texas suburb. “All the flute spots were filled and my next two instruments of choice were also filled,” they add, explaining how they landed on the bassoon. “Now I know it was fate.”

Goodwin soon fell in love with the instrument—its low range, its expressiveness, its unique role in the orchestra. “Bassoon just happened to be the reason why I made so many friends, too—it was my gateway into the orchestra world,” they say.

Playing the bassoon ultimately led to an interest in composition—a passion sparked in 8^th-grade orchestra class—that eventually helped steer Goodwin’s path from Texas to Boulder.

“I knew that I wanted to study both bassoon performance and composition,” Goodwin reflects. “I knew I wanted to go to a place where I was able to do both, where a well-rounded education was encouraged. The �� Boulder College of Music was one of the only schools I applied to that was flexible in terms of the course load.”

Indeed, our College of Music with its universal musician mission proved to be the perfect environment for Goodwin. In their eight semesters here, they not only successfully completed a double major, but also meaningfully connected with professors, peers and fellow musicians who helped chart their course in performance and composition.

Specifically, Goodwin credits Professor of Composition Carter Pann and Professor of Bassoon Yoshiyuki Ishikawa for their constant support and guidance, just as they offer thanks to their fellow College of Music students for consistent inspiration.

“I feel like I learned a lot about perseverance and endurance, in terms of training and learning and studying,” they say. “I also learned about attention to detail—I think I really expanded that skill in college. Those lessons are applicable to almost any field.”

Congratulations to Isabel and all our winter grads!

Isabel Goodwin graduates this month with dual Bachelor of Music degrees—one in composition and one in bassoon performance. During their four years at our College of Music, the instrument has served as a gateway to their creative growth, personal connections and artistic expression.

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Alumnus Dylan Fixmer—composer with a cause

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Alumnus Dylan Fixmer—composer with a cause Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/29/2023 - 00:00

Marc Shulgold

Not one to mince words, College of Music alumnus Dylan Fixmer gets right to the point: “I want music to have a purpose,” he says. But finding his purpose didn’t come right away.

Fixmer earned a bachelor’s degree in music education in 2010 and went straight into teaching. Which was fine. Still, he admits, “I’d been composing my whole life. I was always noodling on some sort of piece.

“Five years ago, my mom showed my wife [alumna Sarah Off] and me a song I’d written many years ago. I guess I’ve always been a composer.”

But first things first: With an undergrad diploma from �� Boulder in hand, he spent a decade teaching in small Colorado towns such as Hotchkiss and Rifle, also serving as a counselor at the YMCA of the Rockies. Along the way, he earned a master’s in music education from Indiana University. Truth be told, Fixmer got his biggest kick out of time spent in Hotchkiss, population 875.

“I put together a little 8^th-grade jazz band,” he reminisces, somehow managing to keep a straight face as he listed the instrumentation: “We had two tubas, a bass clarinet and drums. I played piano and there were some other instruments. But the best part was, they played my compositions.”

Are we starting to see a pattern here? Fixmer, 35, recalls that, yes, while pursuing his degree at our College of Music, he studied composition and theory with noted Professor of Composition Carter Pann. Even as he pursued his graduate degree in music education and found work in the classroom, life as a composer continued to beckon. “I was always going through textbooks on composing,” says Fixmer, exemplifying the college’s universal musician mission. “I wanted to expand my vocabulary.”

And so it came to pass, in a big and meaningful way. Fixmer not only found life as a composer, but he found a way of writing music with a purpose. “I’m not sure I’d ever want to write a piece of absolute music,” he admits, referring to a composition that is simply a collection of melodies with no storyline or subtext. Instead, Fixmer creates for a reason.

Consider his Violin Concerto, premiered by the Greeley Philharmonic in September 2022—in partnership with the Greeley Family House and other homelessness assistance organizations to increase support for the unhoused. This work has such an extraordinary backstory that it deserves a movie treatment. Off performed the premiere on an instrument once owned by Terri Sternberg—an accomplished musician who had fallen on hard times, became homeless and died in 2013. Learning her story propelled Fixmer to create a heartfelt concerto that generated critical raves, a radio broadcast on Colorado Public Radio and eventually helped bring attention to the cause of homelessness as far away as London and Paris.

His deep concern about people goes beyond writing a thoughtful piece of music, he stresses. “In Greeley, I’m on a homelessness task force. That’s part of my desire in identifying topics to write about—ones that focus on human connections.”

Those connections now include some of Fixmer’s neighbors in Northern Colorado. Recently, another of his orchestral works was premiered by the Greeley Philharmonic where he now serves as composer-in-residence and where he’s created an impactful education outreach program. His “Seven Symphonic Portraits: A Weld County Reflection”—commissioned by the Greeley Philharmonic and the Weld Community Foundation—was unveiled in October at the Union Colony Civic Center. “It’s for the people of Weld County,” he says, “to describe the experience of living here, of what brings people to this county.”

There’s not enough space to cover all that the JW Pepper Editor’s Choice Award recipient has to offer. No space to discuss his children’s Spanish-language opera, “Clara y los Cuarto Caminos” (“Clara and the Four Ways”). Nor to get around to his side career in a guitar-fiddle duo with his wife, appearing at folk festivals playing bluegrass and traditional foot-tapping Irish tunes. No time to write about a commissioned work aimed at increasing interest in mental illness.

Once again, Fixmer—with recent commissions and premieres under his belt from UC Health, Opera Guanajuato and the Crested Butte Music Festival, among others—doesn’t mince words. “I don’t want to be typecast,” he says.

Alumnus Dylan Fixmer’s variegated and prolific career aims to inspire empathy and advance community engagement.

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A harmonious blend of music + film: November residency with Alicia Svigals, Donald Sosin

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 02:39:07 +0000

A harmonious blend of music + film: November residency with Alicia Svigals, Donald Sosin Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 11/02/2023 - 20:39

College of Music

In a collaboration among the �� Boulder College of Music and Program in Jewish Studies—as well as the Boulder Jewish Film Festival, Boulder Jewish Community Center and Congregation Har HaShem—renowned klezmer violinist Alicia Svigals and celebrated silent film pianist Donald Sosin will present a “cine-concert” as part of a three-day residency, Nov. 7-9.

A “cine-concert” is a unique experience where a silent film comes to life with live music, all composed and performed by Svigals and Sosin. This main residency event—“The Man Without A World”—will be held Thursday, Nov. 9, at 6:30 p.m. at the Dairy Arts Center.

The residency includes two additional public events:

Tuesday, Nov. 7, 7:30 p.m.: Community klezmer workshop with Svigals at Congregation Har HaShem.
Wednesday, Nov. 8, 7:30 p.m.: �� Boulder SoundWorks will present Svigals and Sosin on a program including two of Svigals’ works arranged by composition alumnus Max Wolpert, and featuring an ensemble of �� Boulder string players directed by graduate student Enion Pelta-Tiller … and more.

As part of their residency, Svigals and Sosin will further present lectures, demonstrations and workshops for our string studios and composition seminar, and the Music in Jewish Cultures and Musical Styles & Ideas courses.

Svigals is returning to Boulder following several previous visits, including a 2017 screening of the silent film “The Yellow Ticket” with live music composed and performed by herself and pianist Marily Lerner; and the 2019 Archive Transformed residency, which included performances with Associate Professor of Music Theory Yonatan Malin and jazz pianist Uli Geissendoerfer, led by the late Professor of History and Jewish Studies David Shneer.

Violinist/composer Svigals is the world’s leading klezmer fiddler and a founder of the Grammy-winning Klezmatics. She has performed with and written for violinist Itzhak Perlman and has worked with the Kronos Quartet, playwrights Tony Kushner and Eve Ensler, poet Allen Ginsburg, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, Debbie Friedman and Chava Albershteyn. Her newest CD—“Beregovski Suite: Klezmer Reimagined” with jazz pianist Uli Geissendoerfer—is an original take on long-lost Jewish music from Ukraine.

Pianist/composer Sosin received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Denver Silent Film Festival and the Best Original Film Score award from the 2022 Mystic Film Festival. He has performed his scores for silent films—often with his wife, singer/percussionist Joanna Seaton—at Lincoln Center, MoMA, BAM and the National Gallery; and at major film festivals in New York, San Francisco, Telluride, Hollywood, Yorkshire, Pordenone, Bologna, Shanghai, Bangkok, Berlin, Vienna, Moscow and Jecheon, South Korea … as well as many college campuses. Sosin has worked with Alexander Payne, Isabella Rossellini, Dick Hyman, Jonathan Tunick, Comden and Green, Martin Charnin, Mitch Leigh and Cy Coleman, and has played for Mikhael Baryshnikov, Mary Travers, Marni Nixon, Howie Mandel, Geula Gill and others.

Supported by the Roser Visiting Artist Program and the Sunrise Foundation for Education and the Arts.

In a campus and community collaboration, we’re looking forward to an exciting residency featuring two outstanding artists–renowned klezmer violinist Alicia Svigals and celebrated silent film pianist Donald Sosin.

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Composition professor applies entrepreneurship to the arts

Anonymous — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Composition professor applies entrepreneurship to the arts Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 06/26/2023 - 00:00

College of Music

Professor of Composition + Entrepreneurship Center for Music Director Jeffrey Nytch.

We tend to think of entrepreneurship solely as a business endeavor, but Professor of Composition Jeffrey Nytch—who directs the �� Boulder College of Music’s Entrepreneurship Center for Music—considers the application of entrepreneurial principles as essential to his creative practice.

“Entrepreneurs create value for a product or service by addressing unmet needs in the marketplace,” says Nytch, recently awarded a MacDowell Fellowship, the preeminent artist residency program in the country. “In the arts, that means understanding the audience you’re trying to reach and creating works that speak to them in meaningful ways.

“There are boundless opportunities for musicians to bring their art to their communities, and the vast majority of them require some element beyond a performance in a concert hall.”

He adds, “It’s not enough for me to teach our students about building careers for themselves in the arts. I need to model that in my own work and lead by example.”

Indeed, Nytch has been taking an entrepreneurial approach to his creative work for more than a decade. His first symphony—“Formations,” commissioned by the Geological Society of America and premiered by the Boulder Philharmonic—depicted the geologic history of the Rocky Mountains and was paired with educational activities in the Boulder community. More recently, his multimedia string quartet, “For the Trees,” combined music, sound design, oral histories and projected images to engage audiences on issues of deforestation and climate change. Each performance of “For the Trees” is presented in partnership with local environmental groups and includes a discussion with the audience about how they can get involved.

As a MacDowell Fellow this fall, Nytch will tackle his next project—a concerto for his longtime friend James Rodgers, principal contrabassoonist for the Pittsburgh Symphony.

“My piece will celebrate the history and legacy of the steel workers and worker organizations who spearheaded the birth of America’s labor movement,” says Nytch. “It’s the human element I’m most interested in—these workers tended to be recent immigrants with little or no formal education, yet they quite literally built 20th-century America.

“That’s a history that I think is worth remembering today … and Pittsburgh is the place to do it. It’s incredible how much history of the labor movement unfolded there.”

He continues, “The early labor movement was marked by incredible violence, as well as heroism on the part of workers and their families. When I think about them, the phrase ‘gritty nobility’ comes to mind—put another way, ordinary people doing the extraordinary. That’s exactly how I would also describe the tone of the contrabassoon—earthy, sometimes unrefined, but also capable of great lyricism and beauty.”

The lower version of its better-known cousin, the bassoon, the contrabassoon is generally known as a supporting instrument for the bass section of the orchestra. As such, there’s little solo literature for the instrument and only a handful rarely-performed concertos. According to Nytch, “In addition to writing a piece that will tell an important story, it’s my hope that it will be a significant contribution to the woodwind repertoire.”

Nytch will be on sabbatical leave for the 2023-2024 academic year, during which he’ll advance his entrepreneurial/artistic pursuits, including the MacDowell residency and composing the contrabassoon concerto.

“This is truly a lifelong dream,” he says of the MacDowell Fellowship. To date, MacDowell Fellows have won 97 Pulitzer Prizes, 868 Guggenheim Fellowships, 117 Rome Prizes, 33 National Book Awards, 31 Tony Awards, 33 MacArthur Fellowships, 15 Grammys, nine Oscars and eight National Medals of the Arts.

Professor of Composition Jeffrey Nytch—who directs the College of Music’s Entrepreneurship Center for Music and who was recently awarded a MacDowell Fellowship—considers the application of entrepreneurial principles as essential to his creative practice.

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