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January 2018 Previews

Carson Farley

Film Music, for piano, cello, and flute

Film Music was composed for a commercial video project for sculptor R. Carlson. Originally scored for piano, string quartet, and synthesizer, this version has been arranged for piano, cello, and flute. Though I am usually a structural composer, this piece was written quickly and entirely from a visual perspective to conform to the visual content of the video project. It has a very simple surface texture with themes, transitions, and modulations from section to section.

carsonicsproductions.com/

Aaron Keyt

Music for Wallace, for piano

While living in Somerville, MA for a couple years, we adopted an old, neglected spinet piano. We named the piano Wallace. I wrote an album of short, mostly simple pieces for Wallace, a few of which will be played at the Salon.

Ian McKnight

The Trees Awaken, for alto flute, cello, and piano

This tone poem describes a sleeping forest that comes to life with dancing tree folk before returning to its slumber. I used a mostly traditional tonality with an emphasis on open 5ths and 6ths and a folk tune like melody in the middle. The low open double stops in the cello help to evoke the breathtaking size of the forest while the alto flute plays a mysterious sounding melody. The tremolo in the piano describes the restlessness of the trees as they come to life. The middle section of the piece is labeled “Heavy Footed Dance”. The loud, low, and heavy repeated rhythm describes the impact of their heavy roots/feet. The piece winds down with quieter repetitions of the dance theme before returning to the peaceful theme from the beginning.

ianmcknight.bandcamp.com/releases

Patrick O’Keefe

Morning Stroll (revised), for clarinet quartet

Programmatically this piece depicts a person with a very short attention span going for a walk. He intends to get exercise but is distracted by everything he encounters.

Musically tries to be traditional in both sound and form but immediately gets lost and never finds its way again. This is a lighthearted work that never takes itself seriously. The listener should not, either.

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Salon - November 9, 2019

Composers' Salon | November 9, 2019 An evening of music and discussion with Seattle composers: Carson Farley Garret Fisher Satchel Henneman Clement Reid Curated by Tom Baker Friday, March 1, 2019, 8 pm Chapel Performance Space 4649 Sunnyside Ave N, 4th Floor $5-15 suggested donation Twitter Website The Seattle Composers’ Salon fosters the development, performance and appreciation of new music by regional composers and performers. At bi-monthly, informal presentations, the Salon features finished works, previews, and works in progress. Composers, performers, and audience members gather in a casual setting that allows for experimentation and discussion.

March 2018 Previews

Sarah Bassingthwaighte H20 , for soprano, flute, and guitar My piece is called H2O and will be performed by the Ecco Chamber Ensemble: Sarah Bassingthwaighte, flute; Stacey Mastrian, soprano; Mark Hilliard Wilson, guitar. The piece is written in graphic notation in the shape of a circle and the players rotate the circle as they go through 6 different forms of water: Snow, Droplets, Rain, Storm, Frost, and Ice. There is a lot of guided improvisation used by all of the players. It will be performed on April 21st at SOMA Towers as part of KING-FM’s Resonance Series. sarahbassingthwaighte.com Gavin Borchert Three songs Sagrada noche (4’) Cuando en el sol (4’) Una vez (7’) Gavin Borchert, piano; Michael Monnikendam, baritone Some time ago I discovered the song “Nacht und traume” by Schubert, which is now my favorite of all of his. Researching it I stumbled on a beautiful (anonymous) Spanish translation of Matthaus von Collin’s original German text, which itself seem

May 2018 Previews

Jay Hamilton My Muse, & Equal Temperament , cello and pre-recorded dialogue These two pieces are part of a work The End and Then…? presented on June 23rd at Velocity Dance Center Seattle. The show is mostly dance with music/dialogues begins with a funeral ends with a murder….and some of it funny. This is a one person performance (7 parts) I will be dancing during in the other 5 pieces sections. soundand.com/ Gavin Borchert Mazurka , for piano Berceuse , for piano Peter Nelson-King The Magpie’s Shadow , for solo piano The Magpie’s Shadow takes its inspiration from a poem sequence of the same name by Yvor Winters. Inspired by a line by Rimbaud - O saisons, o chateaux! - each poem is a single line of six syllables, a form invented by Winters. 28 poems are arranged in three sections, and my work has 28 aphoristic pieces based on each poem and grouped in the same section plan and same order. The poems depict mysterious, symbolic scenes in nature, possibly a dream