Performed by the JACK Quartet at the University of Iowa on 12/4/2015.

Dissolution Parade

Premiered at the University of Iowa Composer's Workshop concert, May 8th, 2016.  Performed by Jeiran Hasan and Emily Duncan.

Cognatic

Performed by the new music ensemble at the University of Colorado - Boulder, at the 2016 Exchange of Midwest Collegiate Composers in Boulder, Colorado.

Octet

Premiered by the JACK Quartet at the University of Iowa Voxman Concert Hall on December 8th, 2016.

Viscosity & Segmentarity

Composed for the interdisciplinary collaborative work "here."  Premiered Dec. 1-3, at the Space Place Theater, University of Iowa.

III. Breathe

Composed for the interdisciplinary collaborative work "here."  Premiered Dec. 1-3, at the Space Place Theater, University of Iowa.  Text written and recorded by Aubrey Near.  Piano source materials composed and recorded by Joseph Mattingly.

II. Shadows

I. After Signs

Performance by Kelly Simmons and Jacob Simmons.  Premiered on May 1, 2017 at the Composer's Workshop Concert at the University of Iowa.

The implication of what is missing is a song about miscommunication and misunderstanding.  The text, written by the composer, is a cut up poem of a poetic reflection on this topic:

      I            slightly away
on the past each
	ephemeral
     stole a what you needed
downward and the other
   communication countertop
        looking, look at of what
  missing ephemeral unobserved
is but you were – didn't a story
        implication eyes glancing
     looking   I know you
ephemeral
                  I 
        you                        didn't 
                           I

The electronic component of this piece is derived from the shapes of the most prominent formants in the female voice (based on a recorded C4).  By building microtonal clusters, beginning with the approximated peak frequency and moving outward, the shapes of these clusters reflect the range and relative amplitude of the frequencies surrounding these peaks, which are transposed into an audible range.  Each formant based cluster is given a distinct texture and varied transformations of the recorded voice.  While the formant is literally the unheard frequencies that allow the ear to distinguish the timbre of a voice, metaphorically it represents the part of one's voice that is overlooked or unheard.

The Implication Of What Is Missing

Laura Canelo Cohen, flute/piccolo
Mauricio Silva, clarinets
Can Balcik Moretti, violin
Craig Hultgren, cello
Nicha Pimthong, piano
Nima Hamidi, conductor

Premiered at on November 11, 2017, at the Midwest Composers Symposium, in Hankinson Hall at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.

Program Note:

Chorale Variations explores a diversity of textural and timbral spaces.  Through both gradual transformation and sudden juxtapositions, the notions of gesture and continuity, and the varying degrees in between are explored.  Likewise, the contrast of simplicity and complexity functions as a source of drama throughout.  Though not truly a formal Theme and Variations, all pitch material is derived directly from a simple ten chord chorale.  Using various methods, such as serialization of melodic lines, pseudo-cannonic techniques, arpeggiation, and permutation, an array of melodic and harmonic materials is derived from this chorale.

Chorale Variations

Premiered by LOUi, the Laptop Orchestra of the University of Iowa, on May 4, 2018 at the Stark Opera Studio, University of Iowa.

I'm Your Huckleberry

Jacob P. Simmons (b. 1987) has recently received his Ph.D. in music composition at the University of Iowa, where he was a Graduate Teaching Assistant in Digital Arts, and the 2016-17 recipient of the Henry and Parker Pelzer Fellowship Award for excellence in the area of Music Composition. He has previously received a Master of Music degree in composition from Belmont University (Nashville, TN), and a Bachelor of Music degree in composition from Cornerstone University (Grand Rapids, MI), and is a member of the Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honors Society.  Jacob's music has been performed by groups such as the JACK Quartet, and the Center for New Music at the University of Iowa,  among other university affiliated ensembles, and has been featured at symposiums such as the Midwest Composers Symposium, the Midwest Graduate Music Consortium, and the Exchange of Midwest Collegiate Composers. Jacob has studied composition with David Gompper, Josh Levine, Nomi Epstein, Lawrence Fritts, Bill Pursell, Mark Volker, and David Culross. Additionally, he has participated in masterclasses or received individual lessons with Joseph Dangerfield, Luke Dahn, Dimitri Papageorgiou, Louis Karchin, Michael Fiday, Elainie Lillios, Ofer Ben-Amots, Caroline Shaw, and David Lang.

Jacob P. Simmons

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