Lament, for solo violin

Haley Leach, violin



Lament, for solo violin

Spider

"Chromatose II", a graphic score for chamber orchestra composed by Nicole DeMaio. 

Chromatose II

Clarinetist, Bradley Frizzell

Program Note: This work was composed for The New Jersey Arts Collective annual composition contest and was selected as the Grand Prize Winner. The work was inspired by Will Barnet's painting, "Strange Bird". Upon first viewing the work, I immediately felt a sense of odd humor portrayed through the harsh angles and drastically contrasting colors. What appeared to be the face of a rather disgruntled bird grabbing another creature was the most intriguing feature of the work and is the aspect that inspired me the most in my composition. A helpful quote from the description that accompanied the lithograph discussed “the influence of prehistoric Hopi pottery designs … in [a] humorous print based on Barnet’s experiences of a bird chasing a cat in the countryside of upstate New York.” From this I received clarification of what exactly the grumpy bird seemed to be loosing his feathers over and began working. I researched the traditional music of Hopi Native Americans and found frequent sudden meter changes to be a common characteristic in most of their folk songs, an idea that I integrated into my piece. The themes in my piece represent short, humorous exchanges back and forth that personify the bird and cat’s relationship in the picture. I presented the performer with adjectives such as “sneaky” and “wildly” to give a description of the character of each theme. Lastly, I attempted to utilize the entire range of the clarinet in order to bring different colors to the storyline that I had created and to show off the extreme versatility of the instrument. Extended techniques such as flutter tonguing, glissandi, and timbral trills are also included to give more emphasis and motion to many of the longer sustained notes.

Toucan't

Solo for Harp Alone
Performed by Anna Ellsworth

Solo for Harp Alone

"And The Song Was Wordless"
Performed by Matthew Fleisher, bass and Claire Chu, Piano
This work was composed as a part of the Brevard Music Center's "Song Project". All composers attending the festival were provided with the same text, "Everyone Suddenly Burst Out Singing" by Siegfried Sassoon and composed a piece for voice and piano. Performers included members of the Janiec Opera Company and the Collaborative Piano Department.

And The Song Was Wordless

"Solo for Bassoon Alone" was written for bassoonist Ethan Lippert at the Brevard Music Festival in 2016. The work fuses traditional melodic elements with contemporary extended techniques.

Solo for Bassoon Alone

This performance of "Lament for Solo Violin" was given by Sophia Han at the Brevard Music Center in 2016. 

Lament  for Solo Violin

"Six" was composed at the Brevard Music Center in 2016 and was performed by Chris Rueda: clarinet, Melvin Jackson: French Horn, Bri Tagliaferro: Cello, Patrick Fowler: Bass, Joe Stiefel: Piano, and Arthur Lin: Percussion.

Performed by members of Fifth House Ensemble and Fresh Inc. Participants.

Track

Bradley Frizzell, Clarinet
Nicole Parks, Violin
Julian Raharjo Drummond, Piano

Nicole DeMaio is a Boston based musician working to redefine the boundaries between performance, composition, and education. Nicole is the Director of the Black Sheep Contemporary Ensemble, which focuses on performing and commissioning new music and interdisciplinary collaboration. The ensemble aims to educate their audiences about contemporary music through community outreach, including “Black Sheep LIVE,” an interactive discussion about new music hosted through Facebook. As a composer, she has garnered many awards for her work, including the 2013 and 2014 Grand Prizes for the “Pictures Composition Contest” and has been selected twice as a winner of Vox Novus’ “Fifteen Minutes of Fame” Composition Contests. Nicole currently teaches music at Boston College High School, including a new course focused around music technology and building instruments. She received her MM in Composition from The Boston Conservatory and her BM’s in Music Education and Music Theory & Composition from Montclair State University.

Nicole DeMaio

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