On October 22, 2009, I attended my first New Music performance. At this performance, I grew to appreciate the uniqueness of New Music and how innovative it truly is. On Thursday, my fellow group members and I walked to the Cla-Zel to listen to the compositions of Nathan Davis and the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE). Going into the performance, I had a horrible outlook on New Music. I listened to Davis’s piece called “Crawlspace” earlier in the week, and I despised the song. However, I sat down at the performance and listened to the show. It was not what I expected, but I tolerated it better than I thought I would. I heard two alto flutes perform percussion with, and it did not sound all that bad. Another one that I liked was a guitarist who created sounds from the guitar that I did not know was possible. Finally, the last one that I truly appreciated was Davis’s piece my group did the project on, “Dowser.” It was amazing because the bass clarinet really sound like it could be a dowser – searching for the deepest note possible. Overall, it was a wonderful performance and exciting experience!
On Saturday, October 24th 2009 I attended one of the many New Music Festival concerts. My composer for my BG1000 project was premiering his work: Force of the Mind. His piece was by far the most “contemporary” of that concert. What I mean by this is that it used a lot of electronics and seemingly random pitches that are not aesthetically pleasing. However, if one takes the time to know a piece then one can understand these sounds more fully. Steve Ricks piece was based on the short story “Report on the Barnhouse Effect” by Kurt Vonnegut, and in this story. Considering the Barnhouse Effect is everywhere, I interpreted the irritating static and electronic noises to be the Barnhouse Effect. This story takes place after the Second World War, and Vonnegut speaks of the atomic bomb frequently. Toward the middle of the piece Ricks has both of the trombones sustain a note then slide down; one after another. I saw this to be bombs dropping. So as you can see, what maybe to some people just noise or just pitches, can really relate to something deeper if we just have the chance to understand it better.
On Thursday, October 22, 2009, I attended the Wind Symphony concert. The concert opened with “Three Love Songs” by David Froom. The piece was performed by a soprano and a pianist. There were three movements, and I didn’t particularly care for any of them. The next piece was “Orpheus Over and Under” by David Lang. This was performed by two pianists. There were two movements to this piece. I found this piecce to be drawn out and boring. The Wind Symphony performed “Lost Gulch Lookout” by Kristin Kustner, “Music For the Funeral of Queen Mary, after Henry Purcell” by Steven Stucky, “Hue and Cry” by Steven Stucky, and “Tower Ascending” by Wayne Oquin. I found all of these pieces enjoyable. There were some interesting percussion parts, which I found exciting. Overall, I think the show was a succcess and the Wind Symphony did a nice job.
I had the privilege of going to three concerts during the New Music Festival. My favorite concert was on October 24, 2009. The New Music Ensemble and the Bowling Green Philharmonia performed. Although I didn’t care for many of the pieces, I found on piece in particular that captured my attention. It just so happens that that piece is the one that Erica Muhl, the composer my group researched, composed it. I believe that the reason why I liked it so much is because it sounded the least “new.” I felt like there was being a story told instead of just some random-sounding parts put together. I cannot say that I hate new music, but I wouldn’t say that I prefer it either.
I believe that this festival helped me appreciate new music more. At the Electoacoustic concert on October 23, 2009, Deborah Norin-Keuhn performed Diaspora. Although the lyrics did not make sense, and the way the vocal part related to the lyrics didn’t make sense, I appreciated her talent of singing and the work that went into composing the piece. I, too, have had to perform a less-than-normal vocal piece. It is challenging to convey a story or emotion to the audience without real words or with words that don’t make sense. So, even though there wasn’t a melody for me to latch onto, and I didn’t understand the point of the lyrics, I still appreciated the piece.
On October 24th, 2009, I attended a performance of The 30th Annual New Music Festival in Bryan Hall. It was am amazing experience that I will never forget. I was excited to listen and see my composer, John Anthony Lennon’s piece but I was blown away by many of the performances. Though I may be biast, my favorite piece was “Still the Fire” by my composer, John Anthony Lennon. I had sat in a rehearsal before the actual performance and had enjoyed it very much but hearing it performed live was a whole new experience. The performer’s brought a new aspect to the performance that made it new and exciting. Another favorite of mine was “Unfoldings” and” So-Ri I”. The music had deep emotions in it that really expressed the feeling and meaning behind the piece. There were a few pieces that I personally did not enjoy as much as I thought I would. Even though I, personally didn’t like, I still appreciated the uniqueness of it and the feeling behind it.
The concert overall was an amazing experience. I feel as though I really learned how to appreciate music that I wasn’t as familier with and learn how to analyze it so I can understand the pieces to their full extent. Altogether it was an excellent performance that I was fortunate to be able to see.
On October twenty-fourth at ten o’clock am I attended a New Music Festival performance. The piece that started off the morning was called “FEXIV” by Per Bloland and performed by John Sampen on the Alto Saxophone. It was abstract and hard to listen to with a computer generated sound which was almost offensive to my ears. But then again i was very sick when i went to the performance so anything was a little hard to sit through. Finally towards the end of the recital there was a piece called “And the waves sing because they are moving” by Thomas Osborne and performed by Thomas Rosenkranz. This Piece was so unlike the first one. It opened my mind and heart to the beautiful water like melody. Upon arriving to this New Music recital i was wary and almost reluctant because i have never been a fan of the modern style. However there was such a variety of styles that it ended up being quite enjoyable and gave me a deeper appreciation for the creativity and originality these new music composers posses. It was a pleasure to experience these performances and what the music was communicating to me.
October 25th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
On October 22, 2009, I attended my first New Music performance. At this performance, I grew to appreciate the uniqueness of New Music and how innovative it truly is. On Thursday, my fellow group members and I walked to the Cla-Zel to listen to the compositions of Nathan Davis and the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE). Going into the performance, I had a horrible outlook on New Music. I listened to Davis’s piece called “Crawlspace” earlier in the week, and I despised the song. However, I sat down at the performance and listened to the show. It was not what I expected, but I tolerated it better than I thought I would. I heard two alto flutes perform percussion with, and it did not sound all that bad. Another one that I liked was a guitarist who created sounds from the guitar that I did not know was possible. Finally, the last one that I truly appreciated was Davis’s piece my group did the project on, “Dowser.” It was amazing because the bass clarinet really sound like it could be a dowser – searching for the deepest note possible. Overall, it was a wonderful performance and exciting experience!
October 26th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
On Saturday, October 24th 2009 I attended one of the many New Music Festival concerts. My composer for my BG1000 project was premiering his work: Force of the Mind. His piece was by far the most “contemporary” of that concert. What I mean by this is that it used a lot of electronics and seemingly random pitches that are not aesthetically pleasing. However, if one takes the time to know a piece then one can understand these sounds more fully. Steve Ricks piece was based on the short story “Report on the Barnhouse Effect” by Kurt Vonnegut, and in this story. Considering the Barnhouse Effect is everywhere, I interpreted the irritating static and electronic noises to be the Barnhouse Effect. This story takes place after the Second World War, and Vonnegut speaks of the atomic bomb frequently. Toward the middle of the piece Ricks has both of the trombones sustain a note then slide down; one after another. I saw this to be bombs dropping. So as you can see, what maybe to some people just noise or just pitches, can really relate to something deeper if we just have the chance to understand it better.
October 27th, 2009 at 11:30 am
On Thursday, October 22, 2009, I attended the Wind Symphony concert. The concert opened with “Three Love Songs” by David Froom. The piece was performed by a soprano and a pianist. There were three movements, and I didn’t particularly care for any of them. The next piece was “Orpheus Over and Under” by David Lang. This was performed by two pianists. There were two movements to this piece. I found this piecce to be drawn out and boring. The Wind Symphony performed “Lost Gulch Lookout” by Kristin Kustner, “Music For the Funeral of Queen Mary, after Henry Purcell” by Steven Stucky, “Hue and Cry” by Steven Stucky, and “Tower Ascending” by Wayne Oquin. I found all of these pieces enjoyable. There were some interesting percussion parts, which I found exciting. Overall, I think the show was a succcess and the Wind Symphony did a nice job.
October 27th, 2009 at 11:33 am
I had the privilege of going to three concerts during the New Music Festival. My favorite concert was on October 24, 2009. The New Music Ensemble and the Bowling Green Philharmonia performed. Although I didn’t care for many of the pieces, I found on piece in particular that captured my attention. It just so happens that that piece is the one that Erica Muhl, the composer my group researched, composed it. I believe that the reason why I liked it so much is because it sounded the least “new.” I felt like there was being a story told instead of just some random-sounding parts put together. I cannot say that I hate new music, but I wouldn’t say that I prefer it either.
I believe that this festival helped me appreciate new music more. At the Electoacoustic concert on October 23, 2009, Deborah Norin-Keuhn performed Diaspora. Although the lyrics did not make sense, and the way the vocal part related to the lyrics didn’t make sense, I appreciated her talent of singing and the work that went into composing the piece. I, too, have had to perform a less-than-normal vocal piece. It is challenging to convey a story or emotion to the audience without real words or with words that don’t make sense. So, even though there wasn’t a melody for me to latch onto, and I didn’t understand the point of the lyrics, I still appreciated the piece.
October 28th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
On October 24th, 2009, I attended a performance of The 30th Annual New Music Festival in Bryan Hall. It was am amazing experience that I will never forget. I was excited to listen and see my composer, John Anthony Lennon’s piece but I was blown away by many of the performances. Though I may be biast, my favorite piece was “Still the Fire” by my composer, John Anthony Lennon. I had sat in a rehearsal before the actual performance and had enjoyed it very much but hearing it performed live was a whole new experience. The performer’s brought a new aspect to the performance that made it new and exciting. Another favorite of mine was “Unfoldings” and” So-Ri I”. The music had deep emotions in it that really expressed the feeling and meaning behind the piece. There were a few pieces that I personally did not enjoy as much as I thought I would. Even though I, personally didn’t like, I still appreciated the uniqueness of it and the feeling behind it.
The concert overall was an amazing experience. I feel as though I really learned how to appreciate music that I wasn’t as familier with and learn how to analyze it so I can understand the pieces to their full extent. Altogether it was an excellent performance that I was fortunate to be able to see.
November 11th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
On October twenty-fourth at ten o’clock am I attended a New Music Festival performance. The piece that started off the morning was called “FEXIV” by Per Bloland and performed by John Sampen on the Alto Saxophone. It was abstract and hard to listen to with a computer generated sound which was almost offensive to my ears. But then again i was very sick when i went to the performance so anything was a little hard to sit through. Finally towards the end of the recital there was a piece called “And the waves sing because they are moving” by Thomas Osborne and performed by Thomas Rosenkranz. This Piece was so unlike the first one. It opened my mind and heart to the beautiful water like melody. Upon arriving to this New Music recital i was wary and almost reluctant because i have never been a fan of the modern style. However there was such a variety of styles that it ended up being quite enjoyable and gave me a deeper appreciation for the creativity and originality these new music composers posses. It was a pleasure to experience these performances and what the music was communicating to me.