Charles Amirkhanian Collection ➔ Composer-to-Composer Festival: Day 2 Discussions, Virko Baley, Steven Scott and Sarah Hopkins (August 17, 1988), 3 of 4
Digital Audio
Event Type
Lectures and Panel DiscussionsOrigin
C AmirkhanianIdentifier
CTC.1988.08.17.CProgram Series
Composer-to-Composer FestivalProgram Length
418 minPart
3 of 4Dates
| broadcast| 1988-08-17 | created
Description
A recording of the third session of private composer presentations during the 1988 Composer to Composer festival in Telluride, Colorado. August 17, 1988, afternoon sessions.Virko Baley (cont.), Steven Scott and Sarah Hopkins present.
The session starts off with Charles Amirkhanian making a few announcements before Virko Baley continues his presentation and talks about his cultural upbringing, and his view on distinctions between a conducting and performing composer. Baley, who at the time was a professor in the department of music at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, also shares his opinions about ineffective residency programs for composers within large orchestras and how a better outcome, financially and artistically, could be found in the adaptation of such programs by regional orchestras.
Some of the composers then share their own views about funding, orchestral programming, and the disparities between salaries for arts administration and the actual artists.
Two hot topics of discussion are then brought to attention by Charles Amirkhanian for the group to think about and collaborate on.
Next Stephen Scott starts his presentation with a few examples of his music; first an excerpt from “Rainbows” off the CD sampler “Portraits” published by New Albion. The second excerpt Scott plays is from “The Tears of Niobe”, recorded the previous year (1987) at the Sydney Opera House.
Scott then takes questions from the group about the compositions, techniques, the performing and recording process, and they discuss other artists working with similar techniques for the bowed piano.
After a short break Sarah Hopkins begins her presentation with a live performance of “Cello Chi”, an acoustic cello and voice piece inspired by the Australian outback and the Chinese martial art of Tai chi.
After the performance Hopkins talks about her classical training and merging her love for sound and visual art after being exposed to modern graphic and text scores. She also discusses her development as a composer/performer and working in improvisation and taking her whirly instruments and cellos to isolated and aboriginal communities throughout Australia. Hopkins then passes around some photos that show her work in the communities she just described as well as work with the whirly instruments.
Hopkins then demonstrates the harmonic whirlies with an unidentified piece composed in 1983. Following that she introduces and plays a recording of a tape piece co-written with Alan Lamb, called “New Journey”.
Next is a short piece for long deep whirly which is followed by a piece for voice into a long wire, “The Winds of Heaven”. Hopkins explains the long wire, and how the recording and installation of the wire piece came to be. Both pieces were also from Sky Song, a multimedia collaboration with Alan Lamb.
Genres
New musicMusical Selections
Rainbows Part I [excerpt] (1984) (5:38) -- The Tears of Niobe [excerpt] (1986) (5:55) / Stephen Scott -- Cello Chi (1986) (12:05) -- [unidentified piece for harmonic whirlies] (1983) (2:30) / Sarah Hopkins -- New Journey (1987) (7:23) / Sarah Hopkins and Alan Lamb -- Sky Song opening, The Winds of Heaven (1987) (3:45) / Sarah HopkinsPerformers
The Colorado College New Music Ensemble (Rainbows, Niobe)Sarah Hopkins, cello and voice (Cello Chi) ; whirlies (unidentified)
Subjects
OrchestrasComposers -- 20th century
Music patronage
Bowed Piano Ensemble
Cello solos
Harmonic singing
Tape music
Acknowledgment
Digitized with support from the National Recording Preservation Foundation, The Copland Fund, and the Association for Recorded Sound Collections.Related Event
Composer-to-Composer Festival, 1988Related place
Telluride (Colo.) (was recorded at)Related Entities
Composer-to-Composer FestivalTelluride Institute
The Colorado College New Music Ensemble
Amirkhanian, Charles
Baley, Virko
Spiegel, Laurie, 1945-
Scott, Stephen, 1944-2021
Hopkins, Sarah, 1958-
Lamb, Alan