Designated Cereal Hour is a musique concrète piece written in the summer of 2017 for an electronic music course taught by Sky Macklay. It was premiered in a 4-channel configuration with individual volume controls for each channel and live mixing; however, it is written in and intended to be listened to in dual channel. I recorded all of the sounds and manipulated them using the software Reaper.
	The title refers to an inside joke among my friends at the Walden School Young Musicians Program, where this piece was written. The camp had for a while hired a chef named John who had a reputation of being somewhat curmudgeonly. On one occasion, a friend of mine entered the dining area to grab a bowl of cereal for an afternoon snack, and John scolded him, saying it was “not the designated cereal hour.” My friends and I have since created several pieces of “cereal art” in reference to this event, including the picture taken above.
	Designated Cereal Hour takes formal and sonic inspiration, as well as samples, from actions such as opening the plastic cereal container, pouring cereal into a bowl, and pouring liquid into the cereal. The piece then partially dissociates these samples from their real-life counterparts by manipulating them in space, time, pitch, and timbre.

Designated Cereal Hour (Summer 2017)

Critical acclaim for Jimmy Levi:
"He's just a fantastically weird guy!"
"His music looks like it should be stupid, but it isn't."

From listening to 80’s pop music on repeat to singing in children’s choruses, Jimmy Levi has been making music for as long as he can remember. His love of music has led him to St. Olaf College, where he will earn his Composition degree this year. He also performs as a vocalist, violist, and viol-ist.
	Jimmy’s music has been performed by ensembles such as the Mivos Quartet and the Walden School Players. Most recently, his piece, The Alibi, was premiered by Saxophonist Allison Adams. His music explores motion, narrative, and play through the aesthetics of modernist-classical performance practice.