Andrew Sigler - Alquimia (piano)

In the Fall of 2015, Hillary Herndon stopped by my office and asked if I would write a piece for her. In planning a series of concerts featuring music from around the world, Hillary hoped to have a work for viola that in some way spoke to her experiences in Africa.  I have had exactly zero experiences in Africa, but I was very excited to write a piece for Hillary and so  I began researching a wide variety of African music, in particular the music of Tanzania where Hillary  has done a great deal of work. Of course, to attempt to write an "African" piece is as futile as  writing a "European" or "American" piece; the staggering richness and variety of music on the continent  was completely overwhelming and I soon realized that to co-opt any particular style would result in a  very mediocre work. Just as I was about to throw in the towel, I came across a series of birdcalls, among them that of the African Jacana. Though the Jacana is not exclusive to Africa, its call was quite compelling and I thought there might be something there. I didn't want to simply take the call and mimic it, so I ran the recording through some software and found that by slowing it down considerably a series of rhythms became evident. I took those rhythms as the basis of the work and the rest came along by and by. 

Jacana (viola and percussion)

After the Sheepdog Trials (violin and piano)

I grew up in Southwest Louisiana, and when we were kids my grandparents would drive down from Connecticut in a van customized by my grandfather. Consumer communications technology at the time was limited primarily to home phone
land-lines, but there were those like my grandfather who chose to augment their cross-country travel with the original mobile phone; the CB radio. In Citizens Band, each player vies for attention, their overlapping interjections leading to collective silences. These breaks between gestures recall the "break" called for by CB operators
hoping to signal availability of the channel while the eventual tutti speaks to the communications shared in those original chat rooms; the open American road.

Citizens Band was written for Alex van Duuren
and the University of Tennessee Brass Quintet

Andrew Sigler - Citizens Band

"Falling Color" was inspired by a work consisting of multi-colored satin cords on a red canvas entitled "Cord Painting 14" by Regina Bogat. 

Though I had a photo of the work I was not aware of its title or creator until after my piece was completed. However, it was such a striking image that for the first time in my life I had a title in mind before I started writing. Though "Cord Painting 14" is around six feet tall, I imagined instead that it was perhaps dozens or hundreds of miles high, and that each of the satin cords was a cliff diver trailing brightly colored cloth or smoke behind her as she dove. Though not specifically narrative, I imagined that the initial adrenaline rush of such a long dive would give way to other emotions and experiences, and those are reflected in the piece. 

"Falling Color" was written for the prismatx ensemble of Austin. It was premiered on Tuesday, September 26, 2017 at the Blanton Museum on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin.

Falling Color

Andrew Sigler - Jacana - violin and percussion

Treetops (wind quartet)

Through All Panics

The Gentle Churches

Sparrows Jump Nine Sandpipers (samples)

Andrew Sigler’s music has been commissioned, performed, and awarded by the Wellesley Composers Conference, Composer’s Inc. Suzanne and Lee Ettelson award, Earplay Donald Aird Composers Competition, Robert Avalon International Competition for Composers, SCI National Festival, NACUSA National Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, Seasons Festival, TUTTI Festival, and Fast>>Forward>>Austin, and his writing has been featured in Opera News and NewMusicBox. His music is published by Editions Musica-Ferrum and he serves as a board member of NACUSA. Andrew teaches composition, theory, film scoring, and audio recording at the University of Tennessee. Do you want to read more than 100 words? Go to andrewsigler.com.

Andrew Sigler Composer