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January 2017 Salon previews

Tom Baker Three Movements 2017 marks 25 years since the first public performance of a piece of mine called "The Green Guitar" for solo guitar. In that span, I have written many works for solo guitar, including this piece to be performed on the Salon: "Three Movements". This piece is in 3 movements, each of which is a study of a different kind of physical movement: Slalom, Butoh, and R.E.M. It will be premiered by Satchell Henneman, a senior performance major at Cornish College of the Arts. Andrew Olmstead Spooky Action Taking inspiration from comics and musicals, draftsman Elk Paauw and composer Andrew Olmstead combine mediums to tell stories. All sound and art is produced by hand in real time. The combination of music and visual art is intended to communicate more effectively with the audience and in more precise ways. The pace of development is tightly scheduled, but there is some room for improvisation is the thematic material. Spooky Action's short s...
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November Salon Previews

Keith Eisenbrey Corollaries A common trope of music criticism is the idea that the structure that generates, or that is presumed to generate, a piece should be perceivable and understandable by a listener. With new or difficult music this often arises in the form of a protest: “Nobody could hear that!”, followed by a detailed story of exactly how it could not be heard. The response is usually in the form: “I can”, followed by a detailed story of exactly how it could be, and of exactly how, presumably, it was, in fact, heard. Years ago, listening to some early Stockhausen or other, I realized that the least interesting aspect of it, for me, was the fact that it happened to be twelve-tone. I asked myself then why exactly it should matter that the generating structure (the chart) should be what we understand or perceive the piece to be. One of the underlying points made by Benjamin Boretz, in Meta-Variations: Studies in the Foundations of Musical Thought is the notion that carefull...
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September Salon previews

Sheila Bristow "The Finding" and "Leap into Love", for mezzo-soprano, cello, and piano Two songs from a cycle-in-progress, using poems about ecstatic dance from many cultures. "The Finding" is a contemporary Canadian poet's vision of a Sufi dance experience; "Leap into Love" is from the writings of 13th century mystic, Mechthild of Magdebourg. Performed by composer/pianist Sheila Bristow, mezzo-soprano Melissa Plagemann, cellist Nathan Whittaker. sheilagailbristow.com Carson Farley Contrasts for piano, violin, flute, and cello carsonicsproductions.com Jessi Harvey "Pieces of the Puzzle" is the second movement of my piano work, Eden Untamed , inspired by a speech about the issues faced and burdens borne by the 20th century composer and dedicated to Scott Muller. Continuing on from the first movement, "Themes Amuck", one of the original themes is warped and split into multiple pieces, recombined, and...
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July Salon Previews

Susan Maughlin Wood Sonatina for Violin and Piano, Parallel Plaid I. Stim II. Transist III. Off Script Spectratta "We are all on the spectrum." The inner world is complete unto itself, but invites understanding. I am adding a video element to my new sonatina Parallel Plaid to highlight ways in which people* anywhere on the ASD and so-called ADHD spectrums (i.e. everyone) both identify with, and to some extent are, ourselves, wind-up toys going about our lives single-mindedly. Focus is absolute, but fleeting in its direction. Intensity is laser-sharp, but short-lived and not easily controlled. *the complexity of people defies labeling, but insofar as labels exist, the spectrum model (think prismatic solid circle as opposed to single line) most closely represents our differences within a given shared aspect of humanity. For every aspect, the spectrum model is inclusive and shows that everyone shares certain traits and only differ in the degree to which they possess...
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