June 2025

April 27, 2021; piano and pre-recorded ambience recorded in Ithaca, NY

“A Solemn Shyness” is a piece for piano and ambience inspired by a fragment of text Emily Dickinson wrote on the program of a concert she may or may not have attended in June 1873.

Of our deepest delights 
there is a solemn shyness

The appetite 
for silence
is seldom
an acquired
taste

The music is an abstraction of the harmony of a phrase from the Adagio of Mendelssohn’s 1st Organ Sonata. There is also an embedded gesture towards the hook from a Kanye West song (“run away fast as you can”) because I think Emily and Kanye might have something useful to say to one another.

- Eve Beglarian (@evbvd)

Eve Beglarian – A Solemn Shyness

Program Notes

Iridium is a hard, brittle, elemental metal and is the second-densest metal (after Osmium) with a density of 22.5. It is often alloyed with platinum. This creates a connection to Varèse’s Density 21.5 for flute alone, which has played a large part in my musical life. Iridium is one of the rarest metals found in the earth’s crust (found in Alaska, amongst other places); it exists mostly in the core of the earth. If Iridium were formed into the shape of a gold bar, it would shatter under its own weight. 

Iridium is in three short continuous movements, 6 minutes in total. We begin in the core of the earth: pulsating, molten, and hot. Metallic whooshes, pulses, and drones play against the live flute flutters, bends, and other special effects. After about two minutes, we emerge onto the earth’s surface into the mountains of Alaska in an ethereal, evocative mix of ocean waves, gulls, wind, whale songs, and celestial voices,  and the live and recorded flutes dance through the harmonic series on C. In about the fourth minute, the pulsating, ominous pressure returns, and gradually the Iridium shatters into many pieces. 

Iridium is composed for two flutes and fixed electronics. The electronics consist of 74 imported found sounds, 72 recorded flute clips, and 25 Ableton sounds Some of these shared the same track, so there is a total of 20 tracks against which the two live flutes play. The density of the sounds you hear is intended to reflect the density of the metal. The recorded flutes, which I recorded in my home studio,  serve as a bridge between the live flutes and the electronics.  The coordination is fluid and organic, with time marked in the score in seconds, and an approximation of the electronics notated in the score, and the performers are given flexibility.

Iridium for two flutes and electronics perf. by Sarah Bassingthwaighte

"Morning, Taipei 101" features the first 14 seconds of a theme from my orchestral piece "Urban Suite". Recently, I’ve been experimenting with Suno AI, feeding it melodies from my own works to see who make music better. So far, AI still has a way to go in modern music, but it might surpass human creativity in a year or two!
Visit my YouTube and watch the video I created:
https://youtu.be/pDohUCN5SDg?si=HjY7ah33YWhN3gl5

《Morning, Taipei 101》，前14秒的音樂動機來自我十年前創作的管弦樂作品《Urban Suite》第一樂章，由法國號獨奏開展，全曲描寫了我初次到溫哥華從機窗俯瞰的感受。近期開始使用Suno，將自己過去的作品主旋律作為seed餵養AI，與AI進行PK

Morning, Taipei 101

remnants

Nocturne (2014)
for orchestra

3222 / 4331 / timp / 2 perc / hp / strings
or 3333 / 4331 / timp / 2 perc / hp / piano (celesta) / strings

Nocturne for orchestra (2014)

New Music Ensemble: Chicago Introduction
Fulton Hall, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
Nov 5th, 2017

Daniel Pesca (Artist-in-Residence at University of Chicago), piano

Program Notes:
"Isles" resulted from my reading of "the Lost Salt Gift of Blood", a collection of short stories by the Canadian novelist Alistair MacLeod. Drawing inspirations from the writer’s hauntingly beautiful depiction of the Canadian maritime landscapes, this piece displays three musical “isles” in three movements set in contrasting landscapes and moods: shimmering and light, resoundingly violent, and silently turbulent.

I. As Birds Bring Forth the Sun

performed at the highSCORE Festival (Pavia, Italy), August 2015, by members of Ensemble 15.19

The sound of gentle, independent breathing, lightly amplified by the clarinets, forms a backdrop out of which wisps of a Bach invention surface and vanish. If Bach’s music, with its tight counterpoint, might be likened to harmony between souls, I hope that my effacement of it evokes such a harmony in an even tenderer, fragile space: two lovers whispering, or dreaming of each other.

– May 2015

highSCORE Festival 2015

each other (2015)

Recorded by Rodrigo Bussad at Fulton Recital Hall, at the University of Chicago, February 2018. 
Conducted by Barbara Schubert.
Performers:  Emma Hospelhorn (flute and alto flute), Zachary Good (clarinet in b flat and bass clarinet), John Corkill (Percussion), Myra Hinrichs (violin), Chris Wild (cello) and Daniel Pesca (piano).

Painting by Miles Henderson.
Follow the artist on Instagram: @yak.theartist

For the purchasing this score and other works, please visit:
http://www.rodrigobussad.com

©Copyright 2017 by Rodrigo Bussad, a member of BMI inc.

Vermilion

White Lace

(2018) for orchestra
recorded by Chicago Civic Orchestra February 5, 2019

patina

"hold" is a tape composition created for Chicago Civic Orchestra's 100 year anniversary live stream, March 29, 2020. 

It was created using samples of individual orchestra members playing their part to Tchaikovsky's 5th symphony along with other electronic sounds, including feedback bassoon sounds made with collaborator Ben Roidl-Ward.

This work is not only to celebrate Civic's 100 year history, but is also a reflection on the COVID-19 crisis, which is the reason the event was changed from a live performance to a live stream.

"hold" is meant to express the loss and frustration of so many arts activities that are currently on hold, the millions of people who are going to have a hard time holding on financially during and after this crisis, and a suggested way of comforting each other during this time.

hold

Recorded by the Civic Orchestra of Chicago Jan 2019

On Canvas

SAKURA SONGS – VOLUME II
four haiku songs/cycle for soprano or mezzo-soprano, flute, cello and piano
duration: 5:30
haiku: various
also included: arr. of Sakura, Sakura for flute/cello/percussion (played by singer) and piano
AvP 132

View on the CMC Shop: https://cmccanada.org/shop/61056/

Sakura (from Sakura Songs, Vol. 2)

Lumina (2020)
for orchestra (2222.4331.3perc.harp.pno.strings)

Performed by the USC Thornton Symphony (Donald Crockett, conductor)

Program note:

"Lumina" explores the spectrum of light and dark and the murkiness in between. Using swift contrasts between bright, sharp timbres and cloudy textures and dense harmonies, the piece captures sudden bursts of radiance amongst the eeriness of shadows.

Lumina

Based in Toronto, Canadian composer, musician, and teacher Alison Yun-Fei Jiang explores the intersections of cultures, genres, and identities through composing, performing, and teaching music. Through “musicking,” she connects and communicates with audiences, performers, and students of diverse backgrounds.

As a composer, Alison draws inspirations and influences from life experiences as well as an array of sources such as Asian aesthetics and philosophies, natural landscapes, art, literature, film and popular music, creating musical narratives and experiences in a lyrical, dynamic, and storytelling nature. She has served as the RBC Affiliate Composer with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (2022-24) and was a Carrefour Composer-in-Residence with Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra (2020-22). She has collaborated with ensembles, performers, and artists such as Esprit Orchestra, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, JACK Quartet, the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, Imani Winds, Molinari Quartet, pianist Daniel Pesca, carillonist Joey Brink, visual artist T.M. Glass, among others. Her music has been performed in Canada, the US, and Europe, featured on CBC Radio, the Royal Conservatory of Music 21C Festival, as well as the University of Toronto New Music Festival. Awards and recognitions come from the SOCAN Foundation, the Graham Sommer Competition for Young Composers, ASCAP, the American Prize, and International Alliance for Women in Music.

Aside from composing, Alison is a pianist and keyboardist in solo, chamber, and collaborative settings with a focus on performing contemporary piano music by living composers. She runs a pianist-composer concert series titled “Is It Theoretically Possible?” where she annually premieres and performs brand new as well as underrepresented piano works by living composers at the Canadian Music Centre. She also collaborates with composers on recording projects; upcoming recordings include albums by Amy Brandon and Steven Webb.


Performing at Massey Hall for the Roy Thomson Hall Youth Musician Commission (YMC) Charity Event

Alison also runs a private teaching studio where she teaches piano, music theory, composition, and musicianship to students ranging from children to adults from diverse backgrounds. Past teaching experiences include lectureships at the University of Chicago and guest lectures at Manhattan School of Music, University of Ottawa, McGill University, Carleton University, and University of Regina. She has served as a mentor composer for the TSO, NACO, Continuum, and the Roy Thomson Hall Youth Musicians Commission (YMC), and has given masterclasses for the Association of Canadian Women Composers (ACWC).  

Alison holds degrees in music from the University of Chicago (Ph.D.), New York University (M.M.), and Manhattan School of Music (B.M.). Her work has been generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, SOCAN Foundation, the RBC Foundation, the Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation, New Music USA, and the Johan Franco Composition Fund. Alison gratefully acknowledges the support of the Chalmers Family Fund administered by the Ontario Arts Council.

When not “musicking,” Alison enjoys listening to J-pop, taking long walks, reading, and grocery shopping in Asian supermarkets.

Association of Canadian Women Composers

The ACWC is a professional organization for Canadian women composers, their supporters, and the performers of their music.

I. As Birds Bring Forth the Sun

Alison Yun-Fei Jiang

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