Out on 2/13 in the UK (and everywhere else on 3/6/12), “Jerk Driver” is the lead off single from Gabriel Prokofiev’sCello Multitracks, a CD that is his latest genre-bending release for the Nonclassical imprint. It features cellist Peter Gregson, a noteworthy genre bender in his own right, playing all nine cello parts, creating a swath of overdubbed strings that is then subjected to remixes by Paul Miller (DJ Spooky), musician/producer MaJiKer, and composer Marcas Lancaster. Check out a sample embedded below.
As Jerry Bowles points out on the homepage, Gregson and Prokofiev will be presenting the piece at Joe’s Pub in New York on 2/10. More US events are listed below: some of them include Prokofiev’s concert music; others, his work as a DJ!
New Jersey’s own Seth Haley records electronica under the moniker Com Truise. With a name that tropes on an eighties icon, it’s not too surprising that his source material reference dystopian sci-fi soundtracks, early synth pop, and a splash of trippy dark wave for good measure. Now, I know that, at this point, some readers might be warily edging their mitts towards the mouse. After all, this referential material is potent stuff to overuse: weaponized in the hands of the wrong creator. Fear not.
Thankfully, Haley keeps the various reference points in balance on Galactic Melt, his latest full length for the Ghostly imprint. Unlike the film actor whose name just might be morphed into Haley’s audio incarnation, Galactic Melt doesn’t seem overexposed. Haley provides enough thoughtfully mediated distance between the source material and its current day handling that the music (happily) never lapses into nostalgia nor stoops to broad parody. Recommended.
Check out a stream of the new single “Ether Drift” on the File Under ?Tumblr page.
Plus, courtesy of our friends at RCRDLBL, grab a download of album track “Brokendate” below.
On Sunday October 16 at 3 PM, the National Chamber Choir of Ireland will give a concert at Montclair State University in Montclair, NJ (ticket information here). Led by the esteemed conductor, scholar, and vocalist Paul Hillier, the choir’s program spotlights the work of British composer Tarik O’Regan, including the regional premiere of his Acallam na Senórach: “An Irish Colloquy.” Afterwards, O’Regan and Hillier will be on hand for a talkback.
This week, composer David Smooke (faculty, Peabody Conservatory) will be visiting Westminster Choir College on Thursday to talk about his music. In addition to his work as a composer, Smooke is active as an avant improviser, employing a somewhat unlikely instrument: the toy piano.
Here he is in a video excerpt of a recent trio outing with Bonnie Lander and Erik Spangler at the Highwire Gallery in Philadelphia.
I’m grateful to Stephanie Cupo and Joey Latka for premiering my Duo for Alto Saxophone and Piano at William Paterson University this past November. They put in a lot of hard work and I’m so glad that the results were recorded!
Stuart Deaver, a professor of piano at the University of Tulsa, is visiting Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey this week. On Thursday, February 10 at 11:30am in Talbott 1, he will present a lecture entitled “Musical Equivalency of Alphabetical Order in Michael Torke’s Telephone Book” at MCHaT Forum.
On Friday, February 11 at 7:30pm, Dr. Deaver will perform a piano recital on campus in Bristol Chapel. The program includes John Adams’ China Gates and Phrygian Gates, as well as works by Mozart and Portuguese composer Vianna da Motta. The recital is free and open to the public.
On November 29 (7:30 PM), the New Jersey New Music Series will present the premiere of my Duo (for alto saxophone and piano) at William Paterson University.
On January 24 (8 PM) Wendy Richmanwill be presenting “Viola Plus,” a solo recital at the Bushwick Starr Theatre in Brooklyn, New York. Wendy will be performing both voice/viola and viola/electronics pieces. Premieres by Smooke, Carey, and others TBA.
Immortal: the Gilgamesh Variations runs January 21-30, 2011 at the Bushwick Starr. I’ve composed incidental music for the play that features John Cage’s Sonatas and Interludes preparation (courtesy of the John Cage Trust).
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If you need more information about any of the above performances, please feel free to contact me.
For the past eight years, Graham Parker has been the Executive Director of Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Now, he’s going to work for New York’s classical music radio station.
It was announced today that Parker will be the new Vice President of Classical WQXR 105.9 FM and WQXR online. It appears that he’s been tasked with helping the station to develop its brand identity. For those who aren’t “New Yawkers,” this may require some explanation.
In 2009, New York’s National Public Radio Station WNYC acquired WQXR from the New York Times. WQXR’s frequency, 96.3 FM, was in turn traded to Univision’s WCAA, moving the classical station further up the bandwidth to 105.9. For those of us out in the ‘burbs, this has made it more difficult in many areas to get the station. Coverage routinely goes in and out on my commute down to Princeton as I get further from the city.
While signal weakness has been a concern for many listeners, there have been other growing pains associated with the move as well. Some of the music programming previously on WNYC, which was considered the station for more cutting edge fare, has been moved over to WQXR. Some longtime DJs from WQXR were kept on; others were let go to make room for their counterparts on WNYC. As a public radio station, WQXR also jettisoned commercials and religious programs.
The marriage of mainstream classical and public radio’s eclecticism has been a challenging balance to negotiate. The station’s 2009-’10 programming doubtless left a number of longtime WQXR listeners unhappy at the increased incorporation of new music into its mainstream broadcasts. WNYC listeners who hoped for the eclectic and innovative types of music heard on programs such as Soundcheck and New Sounds to be writ large on the rest of the schedule have probably been bummed out too. They’ve been subjected to far more Vivaldi and Telemann than they consider healthy!
A bright spot has been the station’s online new music programing at Q2. This week, they’re spotlighting the music of Xenakis. While one understands that this probably isn’t their best bet for “drive-time” fare, its too bad that more of Q2 hasn’t infiltrated the airwaves.
One hopes that enlisting Mr. Parker helps the station to find its footing and reassert the importance of classical radio – contemporary music and repertory favorites alike – in New York.
So, Sequenza 21 readers, its your turn. What should Parker focus on to make WQXR a better station?
A) Better signal quality/range/accessibility.
B) A more coherent vision for music programming.
C) Local identity and live events.
D) Limiting the amount of Vivaldi bassoon concerti played during any given four-hour period to no more than three.
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