(restless dreams before) THE BIG NIGHT (1989)
 - by Michael Schelle

Commissioned and premiered by the Kansas City Symphony
William McGlaughlin, music director and conductor

Additional funding from the Barlow Foundation (Salt Lake City)

The piece 'tells the story' of the restless, anxious dreams / nightmares (and prayers) of a young violinist the night before her first ever live performance with a major symphony orchestra playing the infamous (and fiendishly difficult) Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto . . . 

 . . . in the end, various mutated Tchaikovsky fragments are fused and confused (from c. 10:00 thru 13:30 .. the violin concerto, Nutcracker, Symphony No. 4, etc.) in a headlong race to the big finish - only to be followed by a dream / trance state coda (accompanied by a secret (until the end) upper balcony choir chanting "good night, sleep tight" ... ).

The 15:00 piece is often programmed w/ the Tchaikovsky concerto, as recently w/ the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and the 2014/15 Subscription Series concert season of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra.

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Michael Schelle's website: http://schellemusic.com/1.html

THE BIG NIGHT (1989) for orchestra

Tia Roper, Flutist performs CPE Bach d minor Concerto, Allegro di molto
Colette Valentine - piano

2011-04-12 1408

CPE Bach d minor Concerto, Allegro di molto

Tia Roper performs Charanga by Michael Colquhoun

Charanga by Michael Colquhoun

Arine is an Anglo-Saxon word meaning ‘touch’. The piece was created for the Okeanos Ensemble, for a concert at the Warehouse, London as part of Sound and Music's 2009 Cutting Edge series. The players were Clive Bell (shakuhachi), Melissa Holding (koto), and Robin Thompson (sho). It combines a modified Japanese sankyoku ensemble (substituting sho for shamisen) with live processing that mixes pitch tracking, granulation, grain filtering, bitcrushing, and spectral freezing of sound onsets.

In arine, I was thinking about how live sound processing can transform ensemble processes. The making of the piece centred on discussion, focusing on encounter: initially, each player’s physical encounter with their instrument, and the influence of physical ‘touch’ on musical affect. The word device became useful in thinking about this – in relation to the computer, and to instruments, but also in the sense of  'something yet to be revealed'. That the technology of playing leaves something in reserve, yet to be revealed, suggested an aesthetic of restraint.

'Encounter' also meant exploring each individual’s personal musical history, teasing-out how the players were drawn to these Japanese instruments. Dedicating time to this allowed the music to emerge from discussion rather than from any prescribed text - the text score reflects that process.

The piece is released on Never Come Ashore.

arine, for shakuhachi, koto, sho and laptop

Violist Rosemary Glyde, whom I met on my first day at the Aspen Music Festival, commissioned this and multiple other pieces for viola. Published by C.F. Peters, it was premiered by Rosemary on her debut concert at Tully Hall. The Strad wrote of this, and her other commissioned piece, Doxa:
Two works by Judith Shatin, her L’étude du Coeur for Solo Viola (1984) and her Doxa for Viola and Piano (a world premiere; both are dedicated to Glyde) proved musically riveting and brilliantly devised for the instrument.

L Etude - Du - Coeur

Premiere Performance Series, Embassy of the Netherlands, 1997
Allison Potter, fl; Michael Ellert, bn; Monique Buzzarte, trb;
Michael Rosensky, gtr; Eric Phinney, perc; Kristen Conn, pft;
Carolyn Stuart, vn; Elizabeth Derderian Wood, va; Elaine Boda, vc; Alexander Jiménez, conductor.

Trinity I. (entire mvt.)

Each movement of 'River Songs' for alto saxophone and piano was inspired by a cherished day trip experiencing the beauty of one of Florida's natural waterways. Whether daydreaming while lazily paddling along near-currentless crystaline water, or fiercely paddling to escape a  snouted beast whose prey has been unwittingly alerted, the feelings experienced while coexisting with fellow creatures in the wild are among life's golden moments.

The dreamy first movement, "Peace at Dawn," alternates between sections of very loosely notated music which gives the performers certain parameters within which to interact, and sections of traditionally notated music. The vivacious second movement, "Juniper Run," sports obvious jazz influence and has a homophonic underpinning combined with horizontal lines which sound almost improvisatory at times, but are strictly notated.

'River Songs' was written for Alan Theisen, alto saxophone; and Jennifer Reason, piano; and was premiered by them at the Festival of New Music (FeNAM) in Sacramento, CA, on November 11, 2016.

"Peace at Dawn" from 'River Songs' for alto saxophone and piano

Chiaroscuro (2016) for Wind Ensemble was commissioned by Dr. Brian Kaufman for the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Wind Ensemble.  This piece is a constantly changing kaleidoscope of colors from the various winds, percussion and piano.  It is a high energy piece combining powerful massed ensemble writing with  excursions into unusual timbres.

Chiaroscuro II

"Ritual Dances" for Percussion Quartet
Performed by Los Angeles Percussion Quartet

Ritual Dances

Live performance of the piano quartet "Thousandth Orange" by Caroline Shaw, performed on August 9, 2019 in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA as part of Manchester Summer Chamber Music.

Ryo Yanagitani, piano
Henry Wang, violin
Jacob Adams, viola
Jiaoyang Xu, cello

Thousandth Orange - Caroline Shaw

Heart and mind, body and soul, music that reaches wide through shades of light and dark. Inspired by acoustic and digital means, experiment and collaboration. Music that ranges from the immediate sounds and calls of our environment to meditations on hope and love to cries at the troubles of our times...

L Etude - Du - Coeur

Judith Shatin

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