Excerpt from The Pillar (2013), 10:00

Composed in 2013, The Pillar is a 10-minute composition for amplified prepared Disklavier and electroacoustic sounds. The work utilizes text from the introduction of Vladimir Solovyov’s The Spiritual Foundations of Life (1885). 

Initially, I became interested in Solovyov when considering the parallels between Scriabin’s and Solovyov’s conceptions of 'all-unity' and 'wholeness.' According to Solovyov, "Perfect all-unity, according to its very conception, requires full equilibrium, equality of worth, and equality of rights between one and all, between the whole and the parts, between the common and the individual". He also wrote that, "In general, the meaning of human love is the justification and redemption of individuality through the sacrifice of egoism. 

(Meaning of Love, 1894, ed./trans. Vladimir Wozniuk)

These passages influenced the composition’s balance between the conventional piano and prepared piano timbres. My method involved implementing a primary and ancillary gamut (scale). In the primary gamut, certain pitches were fixed in a certain register. The remaining pitches were initially sieved out. They made up the ancillary gamut; four preparation techniques were applied to these pitches. For instance, muting the strings with non-stick putty, weaving small coins between the strings, weaving thin guitar picks through the strings, and weaving paper through the strings. Owing to Solovyov’s strong theological system, I felt it appropriate to name the composition after information gathered from an inflected practice of bibliomancy [= "foretelling the future by choosing a randomly chosen passage of a book, especially the bible", OED]. The Pillar is a reference to 'the pillar of cloud' mentioned in Deuteronomy. Finally, I wish to thank Tatiana Shustova for her beautiful rendering of Solovyov’s text.

Watch a video about this composition:
http://vimeo.com/73433367

Gaudeamus Musiekweek:
http://muziekweek.nl/programma/muziekweek13/13_09_07_04_GMW13_Disklavier_Plus.php

The Pillar (Excerpts)

"Headbanger" (2012), 1:05

Headbanger is inspired by the following John Cage quote:

"I certainly had no feeling for harmony, and Schoenberg thought that that would make it impossible for me to write music. He said, 'You'll come to a wall you won't be able to get through.' So I said, 'I'll beat my head against that wall.' "

Considering Cage’s influence on electroacoustic music, I felt it would be appropriate to make a reference to his first electroacoustic composition. Headbanger concludes with an allusion to the constant note record heard at the beginning of Imaginary Landscape No.1 (1939).

Download this track from cdbaby.
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/seamuselectroacousticmin 

Download this track on iTunes.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/seamus-electro-acoustic-miniatures/id595770490

Headbanger

Excerpt from "GATES" (2013), 8:20

Completed in 2013, "GATES" is an electroacoustic composition that was partly inspired the Pleiades constellation. A musical mapping of an image of the constellation occurs in the middle and at the conclusion of the composition. One can hear this depiction in the “wood block” timbres. The composition begins with a complimentary relationship between periodic and non-periodic sounds; the sustained sonorities are engraved with a variety of successive fleeting noises. Recurring timbre themes and the transition from ephemeral to sustained sonic activity suggests a binary structure. The composer is grateful for the many musicians who participated in recording sessions.   

GATES (Excerpt)

Two excerpts from "AGE" (2012), 8:34

AGE involves the elimination of narrative connections between the compositional world and the sonic world by treating sound sources (field recordings, etc.) as “found templates” that serve as points of departure and influence the general direction, pacing and proportions of the resulting composition. The templates serve to map new concrete sounds onto abstract experiences so that diverse timbres may combine in unlikely ways and retain the flow of the original experience. Critical moments in the creative process indicate when to employ “surprise tactics.” Thematic foreshadowing and recall generate cohesion and anticipation as tension builds. 

Find "AGE" on "Métamorphoses 2012" at The Electroacoustic Music Store: 
http://www.electrocd.com/en/cat/mr_2012/

AGE (Excerpts)

Excerpt from "Nothing That Breathes/The Lot" (2013), 2:03 

The human voice plays a significant role in this composition but it is not overbearing. In general, the vocal element progresses from occasional pure vocal tones, to extended vocal techniques, to processed voice. In each case, the voice is placed within varied sonic contexts. I am thankful for the many performers who contributed to this composition; in particular, the talents of lyric soprano Yoo Sun Na. I also wish to thank James Beauchamp for allowing me to record his Putney VCS3 and Sever Tipei for DISSCO/LASS/LASSIE; both were utilized as sound sources in this composition. Many of the sounds were recorded in the Experimental Music Studios directed by Scott Wyatt at UIUC. Originally an electro-miniature entitled "The Lot," the composition was subsequently revised and dramatically expanded to become "Nothing That Breathes."

Download this track from cdbaby:
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/seamuselectroacousticmin2

Download this track from iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/whats-left-behind/id857442573?i=857442798&ign-mpt=uo%3D4


Nothing That Breathes/The Lot (Excerpt)

Completed in 2015, "Nothing That Breathes" is an electronic music composition with underlying references to wind and breath. The title refers to both the predictable and unpredictable quality of nature, including humankind. Structured into two halves, the composition reflects the dual relationship between the “wind among the deities and the breath among vital functions” (Chandogya Upanishad, trans. Patrick Olivelle). This universal theme is also seen in the book of Ezekiel, “Say to the wind... Come from the four winds. O breath, and breathe...” (Chapter 37). The sustained sonorities in "Nothing That Breathes," which may be construed to symbolize the omnipresence of wind, are layered with quickly passing events. As the composition progresses, pulsing elements resembling the rhythms of breathing are introduced. Moreover, much of the sustained material is derived from the human breath in the form of wind instruments and singing. The composer is grateful to the many musicians (there are too many to mention here) that participated in studio recording sessions and contributed to this composition.

Nothing That Breathes (Excerpts)

Original Music by John Nichols III composed and recorded for "THE DAYS ARE SHORTER" by Corinne J. Kawecki at Pride Films and Plays in Chicago.

ORIGINAL SOUND DESIGN/COMPOSITION for "The Days Are Shorter"

Some of the ORIGINAL SOUND DESIGN/COMPOSITION (including a recorded voiceover by actor Eric Sorensen) for:  

Five Encounters On A Site Called Craigslist
Pride Arts Center - The Broadway 
4139 N. Broadway Chicago

Desperately hilarious and achingly bleak, Five Encounters On A Site Called Craigslist is an intricate and tender exploration of our attempts to encounter each other in a technologized world, performed by a single actor interacting extensively with the audience. The play follows a twenty-something man as he recounts, sometimes very graphically, five of the sexual hookups he had with men he met through Craigslist. He asks the audience to help him recreate those encounters, but in ways that are symbolic rather than realistic.
Thru - Mar 15, 2020

ORIGINAL SOUND DESIGN/COMPOSITION for "Five Encounters On A Site Called Craigslist"

ORIGINAL SOUND DESIGN/COMPOSITION for "Columbinus"

"THIS WORLD IS MAD" - ORIGINAL SOUND DESIGN/COMPOSITION for "Columbinus"

"WHAT IF" - ORIGINAL SOUND DESIGN/COMPOSITION for "Columbinus"

Two Actors. One has rehearsed the play. The second has never even read it.  Performed by a different person each night, the second actor will discover the play and their role at the same time as you do.

In this Midwest Premiere by Tim Crouch, An Oak Tree asks, how do we transform our world in order to survive our pain? How do we create our own reality? Anything can happen in this play that illuminates the magic of theater – a cheap trick and a genuine spell all at once.

THE FORMAT

The FIRST ACTOR or HYPNOTIST is being played by Gage Wallace. The SECOND ACTOR will be played by a different actor at every show.

"CLOWN MUSIC" - ORIGINAL SOUND DESIGN/COMPOSITION for "An Oak Tree"

BACH RECORDED BY NICHOLS - ORIGINAL SOUND DESIGN/COMPOSITION for "An Oak Tree"

"THE TRANCE" - ORIGINAL SOUND DESIGN/COMPOSITION for "An Oak Tree"

GAME SHOW BEDROOM VARIATION - ORIGINAL SOUND DESIGN/COMPOSITION for "An Oak Tree"

GAME SHOW VARIATION 1 - ORIGINAL SOUND DESIGN/COMPOSITION for "An Oak Tree"

"COME ON DOWN" - ORIGINAL SOUND DESIGN/COMPOSITION for "An Oak Tree"

JOPLIN RECORDED BY NICHOLS ORIGINAL SOUND DESIGN/COMPOSITION for "An Oak Tree"

ORIGINAL SOUND DESIGN/COMPOSITION FOR A BLUE ISLAND IN THE RED SEA: 

A Blue Island in the Red Sea is a world premiere devised work that presents a diverse cast of Chicagoans in a meta-theatrical live experience intended to open eyes and further the conversation about racism and racial healing in our city.

ORIGINAL SOUND DESIGN/COMPOSITION FOR "A Blue Island in the Red Sea"

ORIGINAL SOUND DESIGN/COMPOSITION for "Antigone" 

Violin: Elleon Dobias

Elgin Community College Theatre’s production of “Antigone” by French playwright Jean Anouilh and translated by Barbara Bray will be held Friday, April 26 through Sunday, May 5. The production is directed by Susan A. Robinson, ECC Theatre Instructor and Program Coordinator. Performances will be held at the ECC Arts Center located in Building H on the Spartan Drive Campus, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and at 3 p.m. on Sundays.

Based on Sophocles' ancient Greek tragedy of the same name, “Antigone” tells the story of a woman torn between doing what she believes is right and self-preservation. When her brother Polynices dies during a civil war in Thebes, Antigone is intent on burying his body despite a decree from newly crowned King Creon that anyone who buries or mourns Polynices will be put to death. Anouilh’s version of “Antigone” was first performed in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1944. 75 years later, the play and the moral ambiguities it explores remain provocative and timely.

Robinson discovered the play while she was in college and thought that it would resonate with ECC’s theatre students.

”I was drawn to Antigone’s fire and fury from the very beginning and as I studied it I was intrigued by the even handed nature of the argument between Antigone and Creon. I knew the students would latch on to the story of a young woman speaking truth to power.”
Echoing the play’s origins, Robinson chose to set ECC’s production during World War II and the French Resistance.

“I hope that the audience enjoys our immersion into the era of the French Resistance, I hope they appreciate the parallels of the play to the Greek play, France in World War II, and today’s political landscape. The play makes us consider two very different but compelling viewpoints and hopefully the audience will spend their time not being able to side with either Creon or Antigone until it’s done. That’s what a good play should do.”

Tickets for ECC Theatre’s production of “Antigone” are $11 for adults and $9 for students and seniors. Tickets for all performances at the ECC Arts Center are available online at tickets.elgin.edu or at the ECC Arts Center box office. Box office hours are noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday. To purchase tickets by phone, call 847-622-0300. All major credit cards are accepted. The ECC Arts Center can be found on Facebook at facebook.com/eccartscenter and on Twitter @eccartscenter.

“Antigone” (Anouilh/Bray) is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.

"DREAM BALLET" - ORIGINAL SOUND DESIGN/COMPOSITION for "Antigone"

A fierce, unrelenting, energetic modern work for Player Piano and Electronics by John Nichols III. The piano part is solo here, as the Electronics are in multi-channel sound and can only be experienced in live performance at this time. 

Do you think this work is valuable? Support John and send him a donation at PayPal: johnnicholsiii@hotmail.com. 

Your donation will help him to continue creating unique and compelling works like this one. He needs you.

STONES - NICHOLS III

John Nichols III is a composer of music that stimulates the imagination. Learn more at johnnicholsiii.com. 

electroacoustic, acousmatic, spatial, acousmatique, musique concrète, modern, contemporary, sound design, computer music, spatialization, 3D sound, fixed media, ambient, environmental, electronic, surround sound, electroacoustique, electric music, electronic music, organized sound, granular synthesis, additive synthesis, THX, DTS, Dolby, sonic art, sound art, audiophile, sound collector, cinematic, acoustic, sci-fi, electronica, glam electronica, new age, musica elettroacustica, fixed media, new music, film sound, sound effects, game audio, intense, sound immersion, meditation, space music, home theater, sub woofer, audio technology, processing, experimental, tape music

John Nichols III

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