Live recording on April 18, 2010 in Tiedtke concert hall at Rollins college. Winter Park, FL. Performed by Ivonne Paredes.

Marinera

Primeros Pasos (First Steps) combines the unique rhythms of Festejo and the sophisticated harmonic language of Jazz.

The rhythms of Festejo are based on polyrhythms - the three-against-two feel  - and accents that fall on the first downbeat and then on upbeats. There are different permutations of the basic rhythms of Festejo throughout the piece, combined with extended chords - sevenths, ninths, and elevenths - that change in every section.

There are four well-defined sections in Primeros Pasos. The intro is slow and canonic, which represents the struggle that comes when we first try to walk. Dragging ourselves on the floor, falling down multiple times, and trying again and again until we can finally stand up and walk. The second section is upbeat and it represents the actual walking. The melodies in this section are inspired by Festejo standards that Paredes used to listen to when she was a little girl. The third section is more playful; we are running, jumping, and playing around in this one. There are more chord changes and broken-down melodies in this section than in others to represent playfulness. The last section after the climax takes us back to the second section when we were walking with some variations. The end is a reminder of when we started, and to not forget how far we have come.

This piece is dedicated to Ivonne Paredes's niece Zoe, who was learning how to walk at the time.

Commissioned by Arturo O'Farrill's Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra.

Performance on February 15th, 2014 by Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra in Symphony Space, New York. Featuring Freddy "Huevito" Lobaton on Cajón.





Primeros Pasos

Duet for tenor saxophone and electronics performed by Hunter Long (tenor) and Ivonne Paredes (electronics).

Performed on July 25, 2015 at Charlotte Street Studios in Kansas City, MO.

Toro

Duet for clarinet and electronics performed by Cayla Cuba (clarinet)with playback.

Performed on March 11, 2017 at the UNK New Music Festival in Kearney, Nebraska.

Toro - Live at UNK New Music Festival

Performance on 5/19/17 at Spectrum (NYC) by Adam von Housen (violin) and Ivonne Paredes (electronics) as part of the Sound Traffic Concert Series.

Cuerdas de un Pueblo Muy Lejano (Strings from a Town Far Away) is based on a Huayno melody that goes through different transformations. Huayno is a style of music that comes from the deep Andean regions of Peru.

Cuerdas De Un Pueblo Muy Lejano - Live at Sounds Traffic Series

El Sueño del Caiman is inspired by the poem with the same name by Peruvian poet Jose Santos Chocano, one of Ivonne's favorite poets. The piece is divided in four movements, and each one of them represents each stanza of the poem.

Performed by Meghan Ruel (violin) and Alexander Duke (cello)at Look and Listen Part II presented by GRIT Collaborative and Oh My Ears.

Performance on November 17, 2018 at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Phoenix, AZ.

El Sueño del Caiman - Live at Look & Listen

Selva is a work for large chamber ensemble and electronics. Selva (Jungle)uses sounds of the Amazon and is influenced by Amazonian Peruvian music.

Performed by Daniel Lemer (flute), Kimberly Dunning (clarinet), Hunter Long (recorder), Kenken Gorder (trumpet), Jacob Elkin (bass trombone), Jordan Curcuruto, Joanna Chen, John Smigelski (percussion), Zoe Hartenbaum (viola), Dustin Seo (cello), Rebecca Lawrence (bass), and Ivonne Paredes (electronics) as part of the Black House SoCal Intermedia Workshop 2019.

Performance on March 31, 2019 at the Experimental Media Performance Lab at University of California in Irvine, CA.

Selva Tercero

Selva Segundo

Selva Primero

Fantasmagoria is an electroacoustic trio where the glockenspiel is played with metal thimbles while auxiliary percussion and electronics are semi improvised. 

Performed by Torrell Moss (glockenspiel), Justin Gunter (percussion), and Graham Rosen (electronics) as part of a Fresh Perspectives Creative project.

Recording on August 21, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Fantasmagoria - Fresh Perspectives

Response is a collaboration between composers Kent Baker, Matthew Bridgham, Bang Lang Do, Ivonne Paredes, James Sherry, and Michael Shingo Crawford as part of Westben's 2020 Digital Performer/Composer Residency. 

2020 has been a challenging year for many. Each composer chose an individual word. Choose a word that speaks to you today. The choice is up to you. Listen to all, some, one, or none. 

Guilt - Ivonne Paredes
For the times I stayed silent
For the times I turned the other way
For the times I did nothing
Now it is time to take action.

Guilt performed by Michael Shingo Crawford (violin), Matthew Bridgham (toy piano), and Ivonne Paredes (electronics).

Response to Realization by Ivonne Paredes (electronics) featuring music by Kent Philip Baker.

Response to Explorations by Ivonne Paredes (electronics) featuring music by Michael Shingo Crawford.

Premiered on July 10, 2020 online at Westben's Digital Venue.

Response to Realization

Response : Guilt

Liberación (Liberation) is a poem by Magda Portal who was a Peruvian poet, feminist, author, political activist and leader. She was recognized in the vanguardia poetry literary movement in Peru and Latin America, and was one of the founders of the APRA (American Popular Revolutionary Alliance) political party. This poem talks about freeing herself from any kind of hardship and pain.

Performed by Ana Rege (soprano) and Angela Sutton (piano).

Live recording on March 5, 2020 at The National Opera Center.

Liberacion - Live At The National Opera Center

Oye (Listen) is a composition inspired by Peruvian singer-songwriter Eva Ayllon. Called "The Queen of Landó," Ayllon has a long history as a Festejo and Landó musician which are two popular styles of Peruvian music derived from African and indigenous Peruvian music. I always loved her music and the way she delivers it, she has such a passionate presence and penetrating voice. This is a tribute to her music, her legacy, and to Peruvian music in general.

This piece was initially for brass trio, then arranged for percussion.

Live recording on December 10, 2012 in Studio 312 at Brooklyn College, New York.

Performed by Paula Battista, Gerard Sullivan, and Ivonne P.


 

Oye For Mallet Trio

Ivonne Paredes is a Lima-born, Los Angeles-based composer and percussionist, whose rhythmic scores combine aspects of traditional Peruvian music with wide ranging contemporary influences. Upon relocating to the U.S., she studied with renowned percussionists Mike Davis and Beth Gottlieb, and went on to compose under Dr. Daniel Crozier at Rollins College (Winter Park, FL). A graduate student from CUNY - Brooklyn College, Ivonne has studied under the instruction of Tania León and Douglas Cohen. Her music has been performed across the Americas as well as in Europe and Asia. Some of the ensembles that have performed her compositions include forty/sixty, Periapsis, Black House Collective, JACOPERA, the Brooklyn College Symphony Orchestra, the Vanguardia Perú Big Band, the YMCA College of Hong Kong’s jazz ensemble, and Arturo O'Farrill's Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra.

Ivonne Paredes

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