World premiere of Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe by the Ensemble Eclipse at the Imagine 2000 Festival of New Music.

String Quartet No. 2: Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe

3 Fanfares for Orchestra

Electroacoustic

d.lance mixtape

This Glorious Cause

Premiere performance at Rhodes Less Traveled 2015 New Music Festival. Commissioned and conducted by Dr. Leah McGray.

Personnel:
Sabrina Hu, flute/piccolo
Courtenay Harter, oboe
London Shavers, clarinet/bass clarinet
Leander Star, horn
David Spencer, trumpet
Bianca Balderama and Daniel Gilbert, violin
Jane Schranze, viola
Weipeng Liu, cello
Bob Sunda, bass
Brian Chan, piano
John Ross, guitar
David Shotsberger, sampling/synthesis/synergy

"Relativistic Punishment Device" was commissioned by Dr. Leah McGray for the Rhodes Less Traveled 2015 New Music Festival. As a work for “any ensemble and electronic underscore,” R.P.D. is a modular composition comprised of seventeen “scenes” tied together by common electronic timbres and pitch material, i.e. PCS (013).  The electronic underscore is a collage of samples (speed metal drums, technonoise, and Gesualdo’s “Miserere” just to name a few), synthesizers (Massive, FM8 and “The Finger” plugin for Reaktor) and cicadas (the Magicada or “periodical cicada.”)  The sample of the Magicicada was procured via the iPhone app “iSaidWhat?!” during a 5-mile run through the countryside in Arlington, TN on May 25, 2015.  The overwhelming noise of these creatures coupled with the footsteps and heartbeat of the runner is the inspiration, foundation, and timbral pedal tone for the entire work.    

Relativistic Punishment Device

World premiere of Hammerfaust: Fanfare No. 3 by the University of Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Maestro PuQi Jiang, conductor. March 25, 2015. 

Hammerfaust

World premiere of Gehenna: Fanfare No. 2 for Orchestra by the University of Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Maestro PuQi Jiang, conductor.

Gehenna

World premiere of Vicious by < insert name of professional orchestra here > at Imagine 1999 Festival of New Music. 

Vicious

Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe: I. Purple Death

Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe: II. Freezing Torture

Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe: III. Walking Bombs

Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe: IV. Destroying Ray/Flaming Death

It's Gonna Rain feat. d.lance

Fade Away - This Glorious Cause

Humble And Hungry - This Glorious Cause

Sick Of Myself - This Glorious Cause

Only You - This Glorious Cause

Transformed - This Glorious Cause

toxicselfie_1

#nolivesmatter feat. d.lance and clownboy

1% feat. d.lance and clownboy

entertainus feat. d.lance

(:emojimusik:)

Performed by Blueshift at Rhodes Less Travelled, Rhodes College, January 28, 2017.

slushpump//deathgrip is the first installment in a series of works titled Grand Theft Audio: The Young Person’s Guide to Scrounging, Sampling and Stealing in the 21st Century. The original, borrowed and sampled parts coalesce into a Warhol-esque mélange of sound evoking the anxiety of a struggling trombonist vying to secure a position in the labor force of the modern orchestra, a struggle which is seemingly futile due to the ever-decreasing number of ensembles capable of paying a fair living wage to their core musicians. However, the aural affect is not as bleak as the previous description. The horn samples (including literal horn samples), grooves, and a strategically placed improvisation section (including optional audience participation) transform this pessimistic concept into a cynical and humorous commentary on the life of a performing artist in which the negativity of our craft (narrow job market, low pay, long hours, dense training and crippling self-doubt) is minimized as we find joy in those blessed moments when we can completely express ourselves through our natural and nurtured talents.

slush pump//deathgrip

dXm feat. d.lance and clownboy

All We Do Remix

World premiere of (:emojimusik:)on January 29, 2017 at Rhodes College, Memphis, TN

Personnel: 
Dr. Courtenay Harter, oboe
Dr. Brian Ray, piano
Dr. David Shotsberger, producer and electronic collaborator

(:emojimusik;) is the third installment in a series of works titled Grand Theft Audio: The Young Person’s Guide to Scrounging, Sampling and Stealing in the 21st Century.  Incorporating both original and sampled excerpts, this self-described kitsch piece for “solo instrument, piano, and electronic collaborator” ushers the listener along on an electronically-narrated journey through a brief playlist of stylistic novelties as well as classic and contemporary “hits.” While a notated version is available, the producer (i.e. the composer) offers the instrumentalists the freedom to choose their own excerpts as well as a moment of self-indulgent improvisation at the climax of the piece. 

Dr. Shotsberger would like to thank Dr. Harter for bravely commissioning this piece. He would also like to thank Dr. Harter and Dr. Brian Ray for indulging his eccentricities as they breathe life into (:emojimusik;).

God Rest Ye Gain Mix

God Rest Ye 12320

David Shotsberger is the Director of Creative Arts at Advent Presbyterian Church, Cordova, TN and an assistant professor of music at Rhodes College where he teaches music technology and composition. Dr. Shotsberger is an active composer, arranger and songwriter with domestic and international performances of his orchestral works by the Atlanta, Memphis, and Charleston Symphonies as well as chamber works performed by Relache (Philadelphia, PA) and the Ensemble Eclipse (Beijing, China). Recent recording credits include collaborations with Grammy- and Dove-award winner Bruce Carroll, A Band of Thieves, This Glorious Cause and EDM artist d.lance. He currently resides in the serene yet occasionally noisy countryside of Arlington, TN with his wife, Holly, and his children, David III and Lydia Rose. 

For scores, performing and speaking engagements, email davidshotsberger@gmail.com.

David Shotsberger

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