Name: Upon This Rock for chamber orchestra (2009) by Teddy Niedermaier
Duration: 15 min 19 s
Description: Upon This Rock is a work for chamber orchestra (17 musicians). It was commissioned and premiered by the Indiana University New Music Ensemble, Roger Kalia, conductor.

Upon This Rock is a work for chamber orchestra (17 musicians). It was commissioned and premiered by the Indiana University New Music Ensemble, Roger Kalia, conductor.

Upon This Rock for chamber orchestra (2009)

Spe Salvi was commissioned by Juilliard violist Christina Wong. It is a dramatic single-movement work that unfolds as a continuous series of variations on the opening viola-cello duet. I wanted this music to be emotionally complex: hopeful, yet uncertain. This recording comes from my DMA recital in April 2009.

Spe Salvi (Saved by Hope) for piano quartet (2008)

This unaccompanied violin solo, The Lion and The Lamb, attempts to portray two main moods or characters: one aggressive, and one submissive or passive. The work was premiered in spring 2006 by Susan Paik at The Juilliard School's Paul Recital Hall.

The Lion and The Lamb for unaccompanied violin (2005)

Arirang Variations (2006) for piano solo is based on the famous Korean folk tune "Arirang," and actually incorporates several regional versions of this melody along with many different piano techniques and styles. The opening introduction uses inside-the-piano techniques (plucking, strumming, harmonics) to imitate the sound of a Korean traditional instrument, the gayageum. These sounds return at the coda. There are twelve variations. This recording is from my premiere performance at Indiana University in March 2007.

Arirang Variations for solo piano (2006)

This large work was composed for Robert Walters, English hornist of the Cleveland Orchestra and faculty at Oberlin. A fantastic musician, Robert asked for a long "journey" through music. This piece unfolds in four large sections (introduction, slow, fast, slow).

Morning Star for English horn and string quartet (2011)

Though written for the Great Highland Bagpipe, Krekhts is not a commentary on Scottish traditional music or Scottish piping. The piece is most immediately influenced by the wordless melodies of the Hasidim known as niggunim. These melodies are a very spiritual form of music, vocalized on nonsense syllables such as “buh- buh- bai” or “ai- ai- ai.” Sung with tremendous passion and devotion, niggunim are an essential component of the communal Hasidic celebration known as a tish, or “table.” According to tradition, niggunim are sung a cappella and accompanied solely by rhythmic table banging. When a niggun is sung, it is believed that the soul of the rabbi who created it appears in the room.

While all of the musical material in this piece is original, it is deeply influenced by the tradition and practice of niggunim as well as the traditions of the klezmorim. It follows that the bagpipe should be thought of as a voice in this piece, rather than an instrument.

Krekhts is Yiddish for “sob” or “weep.” It is also the name for the distinctive klezmer ornament that mimics a sudden choke in a vocal line, imitating a sobbing sound.

Performed by the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra in Hill Auditorium on February 9, 2014.

Krekhts, for Great Highland Bagpipe and Orchestra (2014) // EXCERPT

Teddy Niedermaier, Concerto for Piano and Winds (2015)

Premiere performance, Nov 3, 2015
CCPA Wind Ensemble, Roosevelt University, Chicago
Teddy Niedermaier, piano
Stephen Squires, conductor

Concerto For Piano And Winds (2015)

Grand Teton (2017)
commissioned and premiered by the Roosevelt University CCPA Contemporary Ensemble
premiere conducted by Alastair Willis
Ganz Hall, Chicago, March 3, 2017

Grand Teton for chamber orchestra (2017)

Cornell Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Chris Kim
Live performance, March 5, 2017, Cornell University Bailey Hall

Strange Sounds and Explosions Worldwide (2015-16) for orchestra

New York Classical Players
Madeline Fayette, cello
Dongmin Kim, conductor

Concertino on Themes of Haydn, commissioned by NYCP (2016)

1. Allegretto (00:07)
2. Largo: cantabile e mesto (07:14)
3. Menuetto (17:28)
4. Presto (20:14)

This work was inspired by Haydn's late String Quartet in D Major, op. 76, no. 5; I preserved all of the main themes from the Haydn, while adding new material and re-engineering the piece from the perspective of the cello soloist.

Premiered Feb 17-19, 2017, in New York and New Jersey. Beautiful video here:
https://youtu.be/qUEMvhcd1o8

Concertino On Themes Of Haydn For Cello And Strings (Madeline Fayette Cello) (2016)

teddycomposer.com
Composer, pianist, educator
Senior Budget Analyst, University of Colorado Boulder
University of Chicago Booth School of Business, MBA candidate 2021

Upon This Rock for chamber orchestra (2009)

Teddy Niedermaier

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