Sigma Alpha Iota

62 ANNUAL AMERICAN COMPOSERS UPDATE SAI Member • Friend of the Arts • • Jazz Band; 3 songs: Where Have You Gone?, My Blue Notes Have Never Been So Blue, and Rush Hour by Mary Lou Shriber and the Astoria Jazz Band at the Louis Armstrong House Museum, in Queens, NY on 8/28/10. What Women Want, a set of 8 songs for soprano and piano, by Mary Lou Shriber, soprano, and Nancy Deutsch, piano at The Roslyn Library, Roslyn, NY on 10/3/10. String Quartet #6 at the Long Beach Library, Long Beach, NY on 12/5/10. MICHAEL MAULDIN • • NEWS: As a present for the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra, Karim Wasfi, Conductor, Mauldin wrote The Last Musician of Ur. In 1929 archaeologists discovered royal graves in what is now Iraq, from over 4,000 years ago. In the corner were the remains of the Gold Lyre of Ur, the earliest string instrument ever found, with the arm of its last player draped over it, as if she had played to the end. The piece includes a prominent part for pedal harp. Inspired by the story of a dedicated musician long ago, Mauldin offered the gift, with no obligation, from one musician to others. PERFORMANCES: Canyon Light: Four Scenes for Woodwind Quintet by The New Mexico Woodwind Quintet on the Music in Corrales concert series in Old San Ysidro Church, Corrales, NM on December 19, 2009. Grandfather Great Spirit by De Profundis, A Cappella Men's Ensemble, and organist James Rasmussen on 4/10/10 at St. Michael and All Angels Church and at Immanuel Presbyterian Church on 4/11/10, both in Albuquerque NM. Dawn at San Juan Mesa by The Albuquerque Youth Orchestra at Popejoy Hall in Albuquerque NM on 4/11/10. Canyon Light: Four Scenes for Woodwind Quintet by The New Mexico Woodwind Quintet in a concert presented by the University of New Mexico Robb Musical Trust for the Sister Cities International Annual Conference at the KiMo Theatre in Albuquerque NM in 7/31/10. Shaman's Power Song by Checky Okun, soprano, Jerome Jim, flute and Amy Greer, piano at Keller Hall on a benefit concert for the Blackhat Humane Society on the Navajo Nation in Albuquerque, NM on 8/21/10. PUBLICATIONS: Four late-intermediate piano books, Senior Pieces, Book 1, Senior Pieces, Book 2, Fiori Musicali: Five Preludes for Piano, and Annacarla Scenes for Piano all by M. Mauldin. RECORDINGS: The background, preparations and first performance of Earthsongs for Chorus and Orchestra, presented by intergenerational soloists and choirs with the Albuquerque Youth Symphony on 1/10/10, was included in the documentary The Making of Earthsongs, produced by Real Image Productions. WEBSITE: mmauldin.com DANIEL MCCARTHY NEWS: Daniel McCarthy has been appointed a Visiting Scholar in Composition at The University of Michigan School of Music and Ohio University School of Music. He received the Harvey Phillips Award for Composition Excellence for his composition Knock Yourself Out!, written for the United States Marine Corps. Tuba and Euphonium Ensemble. He recently completed commissions for the Solaris Quintet and Joseph Lulloff of the Brevard Festival and Michigan State University, for the compositions Wild and Peaceful and Black Belt, White Cadillac. He continues to chair the Composition and Theory Section at The University of Akron School of Music where he is director of The Akron New Music Festival and 32 PAN PIPES WINTER 2011 sai-national.org National Arts Associate • • • Honorary Member • • • • Akron New Music Ensemble. PREMIERES: Black Belt, White Cadillac (woodwind sextet) by The Solaris Quintet and Joseph Lulloff on 5/1/10. The 9's (timpani and CD) by Brian Frasier at mccarthy the American New Arts Festival, Akron, OH on 3/25/10. PERFORMANCES: Chamber Symphony No. 2 for Bassoon and Winds by University of Washington Northwest Concert Band, Seth Krimsky, bassoon on 1/31/10. Balance of Power by Jonathan Ovalle and Aaron Ziegler at the Festival of New Music 2010, The University of Toledo on 4/7/10. Comets in Winter Sky by Indiana University Summer Clinic Crimson Band on 6/19/10. Chamber Symphony No. 1 for Marimba and Winds by David Bessinger, marimba at Southwestern Oklahoma State University Marimba Camp on 7/6/10. KraftWerk, tuba and percussion by Becca Briguglio and Paul Nesper at Southwestern Oklahoma State University Marimba Camp on 8/1/10. PUBLICATIONS: Black Belt, White Cadillac (Woodwind sextet), C. Alan Publications, Greensboro, N.C. Flight (Solo clarinet), C. Alan Publications. Knock Yourself Out! (Tuba/Euphonium Quartet), C. Alan Publications. Lone-Wolf (Concerto for tuba and wind ensemble/ orchestra), C. Alan Publications. The 9's (Timpani solo w/CD), C. Alan Publications. Wild and Peaceful (Solo saxophone w/string trio and vibraphone), C. Alan Publications. RECORDINGS: Knock Yourself Out!, Daniel McCarthy, Potenza Music. Off Bass Brass, Tuba/Euphonium Quartet. The Harrington String Quartet: Daniel McCarthy, String Quartets No. 3, 4, 5. Albany Records. Towers of Power: Chamber Symphony No. 4 for Saxophone and Winds, Daniel McCarthy, Albany Records. The University of Arizona Winds Ensemble, Gregg Hanson, conductor, Timothy McAllister, saxophone. WEBSITE: dmccarthycomposer.com KIRKE MECHEM • • • NEWS: Jane Austen Society of America presented excerpts from Pride and Prejudice, opera in two acts on 3/20/10. Composer was interviewed and spoke on turning the novel into an opera. Singers and pianists were from San Francisco State University Opera Department. Blow Ye The Trumpet, from Mechem's opera John Brown, was performed by the Texas All-State Men's Choir performance at Austin, TX. Some 8,000 students performed this work in the preliminary phases of the competition on 2/13/10. PREMIERES: Once to Every Man and Nation: Variations on an old Welsh Tune for baritone, chorus and string orchestra by the Brookine (MA) Chorus and orchestra conducted by Dr.Lisa Graham on 5/15/10. From The Heartland: Song Cycle for Baritone and Orchestra by Topeka Symphony mechem Member Laureate • • • • • Orchestra and David Okerlund , baritone conducted by Dr. John Strickler on 1/15/11. PERFORMANCES: Songs of The Slave: suite from the opera John Brown for two soloists, chorus and orchestra by Mogan State University choirs and orchestra in Baltimore MD on 5/3/09. Songs of the Slave by Festival Singers of Florida conducted by Kevin Fenton in Orlando FL on 10/2/10. Tartuffe, an opera in 3 acts, by Capitol City Opera in Atlanta, GA on 9/10 – 9/12/10; by Arizona State University in Tempe on 10/1 – 10/9/10. Island in Space by Chanticleer, 72 cities on tour in Fall, 2010. Suite for Chorus, by New Amsterdam Singers conducted by Clara Longstreth on 6/2/10. Seven Joys of Christmas, chorus and orchestra (or harp), hundreds of performances in 12/09. MARGARET SHELTON MEIER PREMIERES: Suite for Two Musicians on 6/13/10. The title proved to be misleading because it is an orchestral suite (70 musicians) which celebrates the love and life of two musicians: James and Delphine Fahringer. The 20 meier minutes suite has three movements: 1. Romance, 2. Lament and 3. Fanfare. It is a tribute to James Fahringer, the conductor of the Claremont Symphony Orchestra, Claremont, CA for 50 years, and a memorial to his wife, Delphine, an outstanding singer, who worked to develop a Claremont youth orchestra in her later years and who died in 2008. PERFORMANCES: Romantic Passacaglia on a Twelve Tone Theme for organ by Frances Nobert at the Pitt Street Uniting Church in Sydney, Australia on 4/11/10. WEBSITE: meiermusic.com ANN MILLIKAN NEWS: I've been awarded a McKnight Composer Fellowship! These prestigious awards, which include $25,000 in unrestricted funds, are meant to acknowledge excellence in the field of music composition and to support composers who have reached a critical point in their career development. Beginning this fall I will be teaching composition at Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists. This is an innovative public milLikan high school that offers arts training by professional working artists using the conservatory model. They are in their 5th year and have not had a composition program before, so I will be developing the new program from the ground up. In April Theresa Sauer, author of Notations 21, interviewed me and wrote a wonderful article for her series, "Encounters with Contemporary Women Composers" on the IAWM Blog. Check it out here: http://iawm.wordpress.com/2010/04/09/encounterswith-contemporary-women-composers-part-2/ RECORDINGS: Ballade Nocturne, Bulgarian National

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