SPLICE Festival V 2023 Concert 1 Program
Thursday November 2, 2023
7:00pm EDT
David Friend Recital Hall, Berklee College of Music
921 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02115
Evan Williams : The Last Trumpet
Sam Wells, trumpet
Diego Peralta-Gonzales : little flower (harawi)
Diego Peralta-Gonzales, live electronics
Molly Monahan : Bloom
Waveform Collective, bass, marimba, crotales, and cymbals
Gabriele Vanoni : Job’s Journey
Sam Wells, trumpet
José Martinez : Do I Regret?
Noa Even, saxophone
NpHz : /Equations of Coltrane
SYO (Scott Oshiro), flute
OCH (Omar Costa Hamido), saxophone
Notes
Evan Williams: The Last TrumpetBetween 2013 and 2018, several witnesses around the world reported hearing the sound of discordant “trumpets” blaring in the sky. There are video recordings of this from rural villages in Europe to major cities in North America. As of this date, there is no widely accepted explanation for the phenomenon.
Many were quick to draw the obvious connection to Christian apocalyptic writings. Several instances of the end of the world heralded by the sound of the trumpet are found in the Bible, other religious texts, and music.
The Last Trumpet for solo trumpet and interactive electronics is inspired by this unexplained phenomenon. It employs musical references to apocalyptic trumpet calls from works such as Verdi’s Requiem, Britten’s War Requiem, and Handel’s Messiah.
The Last Trumpet was commissioned by a consortium of trumpet players led by Adam Gaines, Isaac Mayhew, and Sam Wells.
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Diego Peralta-Gonzales : little flower (harawi)
little flower is about acceptance and melancholy. When there is nothing else to do but to fall into the void. And then you realize you feel in peace, like you have not felt in a long time. The piece starts with tenuos and ambient sounds that evolve throughout the piece into a dense wall of noise. This process is contrasted by other elements such as melodic samples - inspired by the traditional Peruvian folk genre called "Harawi" - and piano chords that guide the piece to its inevitable end.
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Molly Monahan: Bloom
Bloom is meant to capture the mysterious beauty of an algal bloom, swirling colors, and textures that provoke a mixture of awe and disgust. From a distance, they look almost like a nebula, or a palette of watercolor paints spilled together. Up close, however, one notices the clumps of algae, seaweed, sediment, and creatures, alive and dead.
As the blooms flow between dense ecosystems of algae and clear waters, “Bloom” operates on patterns that arise, disappear, and morph unmetered and flowing freely. The clear chords of the marimba and frequent dissonances of the bass mimic the visceral, curious beauty of an algal bloom.
-Molly Monahan, 2022
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Gabriele Vanoni: Job’s Journey
I always found the “Book of Job” one of the most fascinating books of the Bible, because more than others, does resonate with our modern world. The story of a honest man, tested by the Devil through so many dramatic trials, including the loss of all his possessions and the death of his sons, brings forth one of the big questions we all have, whatever is our background: why does evil exist, and why is it so often that the ones to suffer are good people? My piece is a fairly short piece for trumpet and live electronics that explores the journey of a man that, like us, struggle with the challenges life puts ahead of him, and feels the loneliness, the anger, but also the hope and the determination that often come in those trying circumstances. This is the first of a series of multimedia pieces on the Book of Job, aimed at exploring more sides of this fascinating story.
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José Martinez: Do I Regret?
This piece pursues the impossibility of undoing what is already done, of traveling back in time and revisiting that moment that changed the path. The score involves improvisation and written music and achieves this utopia thanks to the help of technology. The performer is asked to create on the spot and these spontaneous creations are recorded, and later used to accompany themselves. Thus, every performance has a renewed sense and reflects the performer’s emotion at that specific moment. At the very end of the piece, the performer revisits these creations and has the power to modify, stretch, and mix their final creation, fulfilling the utopia of changing the past.
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NpHz: /Equations of Coltrane
Program: Fluidity (2023) Composed by SYO (Scott Oshiro) & OCH (Omar Costa Hamido)
/Equations of Coltrane (2023) Composed by SYO (Scott Oshiro) & OCH (Omar Costa Hamido)
Performers: SYO (Scott Oshiro) - Flute & Electronics OCH (Omar Costa Hamido) - Saxophone & Electronics
Quantum Systems Featured:
Lineage - Real time quantum improvisation systems, similar to that of George Lewis’ Voyager. This will be performed in a trio setting with Scott Oshiro on Flute and OCH on Saxophone.
Quantum Synthesizer - a quantum computing based synthesizer.
The QAC Toolkit - live coding quantum circuits with the new package for Max/MSP.
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Bios
Drawing from inspirations as diverse as Medieval chant to contemporary pop, the music of composer and conductor Evan Williams (b. 1988) explores the thin lines between beauty and disquieting, joy and sorrow, and simple and complex, while often tackling important social and political issues. Originally from the Chicagoland area, Williams currently resides in Boston, MA, where he is Assistant Professor of Composition at the Berklee College of Music. Williams’ catalogue contains a broad range of work, from vocal and operatic offerings to instrumental works, along with electronic music. He has been commissioned by ensembles including the Cincinnati and Toledo Symphony Orchestras, with further performances by members of the Detroit, Seattle, and National Symphonies.Williams holds degrees from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, Bowling Green State University, and Lawrence University.
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Diego Peralta-Gonzales (b.2000) is a Peruvian composer and pianist. Born in Lima, he began his piano studies at the age of 12 at the Universidad Católica del Perú. At the age of 18 he began his composition studies at the National Conservatory of Music of Peru, in which he would study with Alvaro Zuniga and Antonio Gervasoni. Since 2021 he is studying composition at The Boston Conservatory at Berklee, receiving classes from Timothy McCormack, Victoria Cheah and Mischa Salkind-Pearl. He has participated in important new music festivals in the United States such as the Divergent Studio at Longy School of Music and the Summer Institute of Contemporary Performance Practice (SICPP). His collaborations include works for Splinter Reeds, pianist Yundi Xu and the Divergent Quartet. In addition, Diego has been part of different organizations that promote new Peruvian contemporary classical music such as “Comunidad Peruana de Musica Nueva” (CPMN).
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Molly Monahan is a San Francisco-based composer. Her acoustic, electronic, and multi-media works have earned her numerous accolades and performances at renowned venues and festivals worldwide. She has been recognized with awards and recognitions such as the Ti;ME competition, NextNotes competition, YoungArts, the Christopher Newport University Young Composer's competition, and the Webster University Young Composer's competition. Molly has also participated in various music festivals and residencies, including the Hot Air Festival in San Francisco and the Estalagem da Ponta do Sol Residency for Contemporary Music and Electronics in Madeira, Portugal. Her work has been featured in collaborations with the ClimateMusic Project and the Latvian National Ballet.
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The Waveform Collective strives to create and expand the library of music for percussion and double bass. This initiative serves to nurture and grow an accessible community centered around interdisciplinary collaborations with artists of diverse backgrounds and identities.
The Waveform Collective is comprised of Maxwell Winningham; double bass, and Quincy Doenges; percussion.
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Gabriele Vanoni is an Italian composer, currently living in the Boston area. Born in Milan, he started his musical studies at the Conservatory of Milan, and continued his education with a Ph.D. in Music Composition at Harvard University, under the guidance of Julian Anderson, Chaya Czernowin and Hans Tutschku, as well as a two-year program at Ircam (Cursus 1-2). His music has been performed in several prestigious venues and festivals, such as Carnegie Hall (Weill Hall), Biennale di Venezia, ManiFeste, Moscow Conservatory, Royaumont Voix Nouvelles, June in Buffalo, IRCAM, BIT Teatergarasjen in Bergen, Festival Meridien in Bucharest and Accademia Chigiana di Siena, among many others. His music was performed by groups and solisists like Ensemble Intercontemporain, San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Talea Ensemble, Mario Caroli, Diotima Quartet, Les Cris de Paris, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, and many more. He is currently Assistant Chair of the Composition Department at Berklee College of Music. Recent and upcoming commissions include a multimedia opera, Ellis, written for Guerilla Opera, a new piece for trombonist Barrie Webb and a recording project with flutist Orlando Cela. He lives with his wife and children in Stoneham.
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José Martinez
José’s music incorporates a wide range of influences from Colombian folk tunes to contemporary composition techniques while borrowing from Latin music, heavy metal, and audio sampling techniques. His works range from solo pieces with electronics to orchestral works, passing through chamber ensembles, electroacoustic pieces, and interdisciplinary collaborations. Among others, his music has been performed by groups such as Alarm Will Sound, Wild Up, and Grammy award-winning quartet Third Coast Percussion. An alumnus of percussion and composition at the National University of Colombia, he studied composition at the University of Missouri and UT Austin. José was a visiting professor at East Carolina University and the New College of Florida. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor of Music at Colby College.
His music has also been presented by Spanish ensemble Taller Sonoro, LA-based Piano duo Hockett Duo, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s from New York City, Grupo de Cámara de Bogotá, and Austin-based percussion ensemble Line Upon Line, among others. Other collaborators also include Sarasota Contemporary Dance, Teatro del Valle (Colombia), and visual artist Yulia Lanina. He has participated in institutes and festivals such as the Banff Ensemble Evolution program, DeGaetano, Splice, SEAMUS, Missouri International Composer Festival, Line Upon Line Winter Composer Festival, ClarinetFest, and VIPA.
José is a recipient of the 2008 National Composition Prize for Young Composers, the 2011 “Ciudad de Bogotá” Composition Award, and the 2013 National Cultural Prize. In the US, he received the 2013 Sinquefield Composition Prize and the 2019 Rain Water Grant for Innovation.
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Based in Philadelphia, Noa Even is a versatile saxophonist dedicated to the creation of new music through close collaboration with composers, improvisation, and most recently, composition. Ongoing projects include atomic, a multimedia solo program exploring themes of human connection; an interview series called Talking Free Music; her duos, Ogni Suono and Patchwork; and The Saxophone Repository, a list of resources and music for saxophonists that focuses on living, historically excluded composers, musicians, and authors. Noa recently joined New Thread Quartet in New York City. In 2017, she co-founded Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project (CUSP), a non-profit organization that champions new and experimental music. Noa is Lecturer and Head of Woodwinds at Rowan University in New Jersey, a Conn-Selmer Artist-Clinician, a Vandoren Artist, and Treasurer of the North American Saxophone Alliance. You can follow her on Instagram @noaeven.music. For more information, visit www.noaevenmusic.com.
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Scott Oshiro
Scott is a Bay Area-based flautist and music technology researcher. As an African and Okinawan American, Scott’s creative and academic work incorporates influences from his heritage and combines them with Jazz, Hip Hop, and Electronic music. He is a 5th year Ph.D. Candidate at the Center for Computer Research in Music & Acoustics at Stanford University, where he researches the intersection between quantum computing, music, and culture. Scott is an Asian Improv aRts fellow, developing quantum computer music improvisation systems for an album featuring BIPOC artists from California, showcasing the connection between music and science.
https://linktr.ee/scottoshiro
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Omar Costa Hamido
OCH is a performer, composer, and technologist, working primarily in multimedia and improvisation. His current research is on quantum computing and music composition, telematics, and multimedia. He is passionate about emerging technology, cinema, teaching, and performing new works. He earned his PhD in Integrated Composition, Improvisation and Technology at University of California, Irvine with his research project Adventures in Quantumland (quantumland.art). He also earned his MA in Music Theory and Composition at ESMAE-IPP Portugal with his research on the relations between music and painting. In recent years, his work has been recognized with grants and awards from MSCA, Fulbright, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Medici, Beall Center for Art+Technology, and IBM. Currently, he is a Marie-Curie Fellow at CEIS20, University of Coimbra. https://omarcostahamido.com/
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Sam Wells is a musician and video artist based in Philadelphia.
Sam has performed throughout North America and Europe, as well as in China. He is a recipient of a 2016 Jerome Fund for New Music award, and his work, stringstrung, is the winner of the 2016 Miami International Guitar Festival Composition Competition. He has performed electroacoustic works for trumpet and presented his own music at the Bang on a Can Summer Festival, Chosen Vale International Trumpet Seminar, Electronic Music Midwest, Electroacoustic Barn Dance, NYCEMF, N_SEME, and SEAMUS festivals. Sam and his music have also been featured by the Kansas City Electronic Music and Arts Alliance (KcEMA) and Fulcrum Point Discoveries. He has also been a guest artist/composer at universities throughout North America.
Sam is a member of SPLICE Ensemble. Sam has performed with Contemporaneous, Metropolis Ensemble, TILT Brass, the Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra, and the Colorado MahlerFest Orchestra. Sam has recorded on the SEAMUS and Ravello Recordings labels.
Sam holds degrees in both performance and composition at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, graduate degrees in Trumpet Performance and Computer Music Composition at Indiana University, and a doctoral degree at the California Institute of the Arts. He is an Assistant Professor of Music Technology at Temple University.
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