The Newest Music in Texas

by Margaret on May 28, 2012

A few weeks ago, Voices of Change hosted its annual young composers concert. The works featured on this concert were the four winners of VOC’s “Texas Young Composers’ Project”, a composition competition for both high school and college-level composers. At the concert, the winners were called up to receive their awards. Judging by their excited smiles and young faces, a member of the audience might expect from them corresponding compositional quality. But their music told a different story.

I had the privilege and challenge of playing the piano for three out of the four composers’ works. Privilege, I say, because the pieces were marvelous. Challenge, I say, because I could barely keep up with the virtuosity, especially the virtuosity embedded in “Without Twilight or Compromise” for violin, cello and piano. This was the winning college-level work by Ross Griffey, from Rice University. The work was technically demanding, and what impressed me with Griffey was how knowledgeable his demands were. The challenge of “Without Twilight or Compromise” was not the result of a young composer’s lack of foresight (“You mean a person’s hand can’t reach a two-octave span?”) but rather the result of a composer who intentionally challenges a performer and yet respects that performer’s inescapable physical boundaries. The rushing sextuplets fell comfortably under the hand, the spacing of the chords was timely and elegant, the exploration of the piano’s range was logical. Tempo proved the biggest challenge, but Griffey had every right to set his metronome marking where he did. This was a young composer thinking of all the right details.

“Dissolutions” for clarinet, violin, cello and piano came next on the program. “Dissolutions” was composed by Hilary Purrington, another Rice University student. This work intrigued me, and I hope to hear more of Purrington’s work in future years. As a composer myself, in my weaker moments of general artistic angst, my thoughts sound something like this:

“All the good music has been written! There’s nothing more to say! John Cage wrote music for a CACTUS, for crying out loud, I can’t do ANYTHING new anymore!”

There are days of composing where no tonalities sound new (“I sound too Bartok” or “too Debussy”), no melodies intrigue (“people will think I stole from Lutoslawski”), and no textures feel innovative (“I’ve got to stop listening to Penderecki”). Such feelings can strike the desire to write dead in its tracks, because NEW music just doesn’t seem feasible.

But there was this moment in Purrington’s piece, where I had a glimpse of that “new” again! It was a section change: the clarinet burst through with insistent pulsing, the violin and cello weaved in and out of each other while the piano rang out minor chords, and I suddenly thought, “I’ve never heard anything like THIS before!” Pieces like Purrington’s renew my hope in the possibility of original music. Despite all that has been written, there will continue to be new sounds, new voices, new expressions. Purrington is certainly making her contribution.

In the high school division there was Kyle Barnes, from Abilene, and his “Sonata for Clarinet in Eb Major” for piano and clarinet. Barnes’ music was melodically driven, recalling something of Beethoven. I was impressed with Barnes’ classical knowledge, from his use of sonata form to his harmonic experimentation. Barnes obviously had a knack for Classical harmony. His chord progressions played upon the audience’s expectations and either cadenced appropriately or took pleasurably unexpected detours. How impressive for a high school student to know his way so well around a Classical medium!

Booker T.’s own Chase Dobson showcased “Edifice In the Clouds”, a multi-movement trio for flute, cello and violin. Dobson wrote admirably for the instruments, utilizing many extended techniques. Trills, note-bending, harmonics and tremolos filled the air, but every gesture came about so naturally the “extendedness” of the technique did not distract from Dobson’s mature musicality. This composer was the youngest in attendance, yet his music expressed a maturity that is rarely seen at sixteen years of existence.

In our culture, 18 years old is the age of idealism, uncertainty, and naivete. For a late teen or early twenty-year old, many mistakes and much maturing loom on the horizon. As those young composers took the SMU stage, I looked at their faces and still saw that sense of youth. But when I worked with their music… when I sat there, closed my eyes and heard the harmonies, textures and melodies emerging from their scores, I didn’t hear their youth. I didn’t hear their lack of experience. I heard eloquence, maturity, technique and some beautiful moments of risk-taking.  I understood why VOC features young composers every year. They are not just the next artistic wave to come: they are here now. They are not the voices preparing to be heard in thirty years, they are part of what we need to hear now. They are responding to our times and our world in the same way that seasoned composition professors at Indiana or Juilliard are responding to our times and our world. All of it needs to be heard, all of it says something to who we are today, so let us always remember to give both the oldest and the newest music we have a voice in our world.

Blog Post Number One!

by Margaret on April 2, 2012

So, it’s the first blog post for VOC. There is so much one could talk about: our recent performance of Luciano Berio’s “Circles” (I’m still hearing Laura Mercado-Wright’s sturdy mezzo resounding in my head), composers’ projects like Rapido and Young Composer’s Contest, or even Claude Baker’s visit to our upcoming concert in May.

But scratch the publicity for a moment. While VOC is about putting on fabulous concerts and premiering works that you (guaranteed!) won’t hear anywhere else in Dallas County, VOC is not just a faceless organization. Voices of Change is run by a group of diverse individuals who work together, work hard and work passionately to provide the music they care about to the public. And I think that deserves some inaugural blog attention.

My experience with Voices of Change began last July. I had moved to Dallas in June, and as a lonely composer I was desperate to get involved with the local new music scene. After doing some extensive research, it looked like Voices of Change WAS the local new music scene. I called their number and left a voicemail offering my services as a volunteer to the organization; General Manager Eileen McKee returned my call within a week. She invited me to come by the office and have a chat about how I could contribute.

I was open to contribute any way I could. I figured there would be the usual volunteer/intern services desired: copying, envelope-stuffing, filing… heck, as the new volunteer, I was even ready to go on coffee runs for uppity board members and busy musicians. I didn’t expect much: I just wanted to be around new music and felt happy to have the opportunity to work for such an established organization.

Eileen and I seemed to get along well, so she invited me to help on a regular basis. As expected, my first visit involved some copying and filing. Then Eileen asked me, would I like to help write a small publicist blurb? “Sure!”  Want to do some grant-writing? “Yup!” Care to meet the artistic director and superb violinist of the ensemble, Maria Schleuning, when she came in next week? “Yes!” How would I like to come to the next board meeting? “Absolutely!“

All of this was already a warm welcome from Eileen, but when I actually arrived at the board meeting the words “warm welcome” took on a whole new meaning. Eileen immediately introduced me to all the board members: Arend, (the host of the meeting, who welcomed me with a German handshake and a grin), Alex, Maria, Bill (treasurer extraordinaire), Terry, Francis (fellow composer and always a funny joke at hand), Karen, Francisco, Heather (warmest personality you’ll ever meet), Jack, and Harvey (VOC President). I was shown a seat at the main table, thanked profusely for my volunteer efforts, passed some wine and cheese and the meeting began.

Now I was seeing the real gears of the organization. For two hours, the Board under Harvey’s direction discussed current projects, evaluated budget options, and proposed new endeavors. The Board laughed, debated, and exercised their creativity for new ideas. It became clear within minutes that this was no stuffy confluence of big-wigs and self-important decision-makers: this Board possessed personable and caring members who all had a heart for new music and who passionately contributed to making that music happen in the Dallas community.

What’s more, as a twenty-five year old composer I expected the professionals to see me as the young rookie, present only to learn. But the VOC team asked my opinion about young audiences and valued my input in the discussion. Later, individual board members came up and expressed interest in getting to know me as a composer and as a person. After the meeting was over, I went home feeling welcomed, inspired, and wondering if I had perhaps found the professional community I was looking for.

So, ten months later and here I am, now a fellow board member of Voices of Change. I am lucky at such a young age to be a part of this board. In the last ten months, my first impressions of the group have been cemented into firm convictions. There is so much one can praise about the VOC musicians, concert events, educational endeavors and community contributions. But the public successes of the Voices of Change ensemble are what they are because of the fantastic group of individuals that run behind the scenes, and rarely do those folks get the praise for their hard work and dedication. Thank you, from one of your newest members, VOC Board, for teaching me the ways of a great organization and for exhibiting such passion not just for new music but also new people in the Dallas music community!