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"Mixing it up"

MUCO 542's class concert was held April 11th in the Wirth Opera Studio at 8pm.


"Emoto" - Anthony Tan                                  

Two percussionists

This piece takes advantage of the low C extension on the double-bass. in fact , there is a low C drone throughout the whole piece. My goal was to experiment with the listener's time conception; thogh the drone is ever present for five minutes straight , I wanted to make sure it didn't feel like it dragged on.

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"Enchantment Under the Sea" - Alec Hall                                 

trumpet

The tape part of this composition is a improvisation by Luke Fowlie based on a scale I wrote out. Reciprocal Altruism is a form of altruism in which one organism provides a benefit to another in the expectation of future reciprocation. It can also refer this term with vampire bat.

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"Break Zero Hue" - Eliot Britton                                  

trumpet

Basically in this composition the underlying themes are two "musical realms"; one very structured and the other quite chaotic. To build these realms, I felt it was essential to take material from both themes and layer them to emphasize which theme has taken presence. For example, a very rhythmic repeated pattern uses melodic material from an improvised jazzy lick. The rythm is created by random key clicks extracted from that very jazzy lick. The piece is in two parts laying out all thematic material and both worlds are superimposed in full near the end. The role of the solo saxophone is to touch upon both rhealms either in harmony with the realms or not. All material was used strictly from a 20 minute recording session, the only sounds used were of the saxophone.

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"Whirl" - Marie Claire Saindon                                  

recorder

Also known as "stythe", "black damp" is a mining term referring to a type of gas composed of nitrogen and carbon dioxide. It is usually found in coal mines that have poor ventilation and is one of the leading causes of death in mines around the world. The aim of Black Damp for French horn and tape is to emulate this kind of mysterious, heavy atmosphere using some of the sounds that one might hear in an old abandoned mine. Note: The raw sounds used for the tape part are all sounds that can be produced by the french horn.

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"Study" - Trevor Grahl                                  

guitar

After trying desperately for weeks to think up a clever name for a piece written for drums , I finally came up with one. I called Andrew Stewart immediately and told him my idea, to which he replied, "I thought you had written your piece for piano". We laughed about it, and then I suddenly remembered that he was right. Convinced that I could concieve of an equally clever, more befitting title for my piece, I have since then spent all my time attempting to do so. After many sleepless nights, I have at last thought of the perfect title for a piece written for drums, I give you: "Dr. Um". I hope you will enjoy it.

"Four Galactic Miniatures" - Lee Parkin                                  

saxophone

Drumfounded takes sounds from the components of the standard drum kit in an interesting journey through time and space. Certain sections of the piece aim to blur the distinction between the performer and the electronics, while other sections explicitly juxtapose the two. Through the use of electronics and the cross-synthesis of drum and cymbol sounds, results that typically cannot be produced by a drum kit are made possible --- for example, sustained pitches and surging decays. Don't be surprised if you find yourself "drumfounded" by the endless possibilities...

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"Pressure" - Leah Reid                                  

viola

The tape part of this composition is a improvisation by Luke Fowlie based on a scale I wrote out. Reciprocal Altruism is a form of altruism in which one organism provides a benefit to another in the expectation of future reciprocation. It can also refer this term with vampire bat.

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