tsdca composer/new music salons
From May, 2020 through August, 2021, during the pandemic,
I put together and hosted a series of 30 Composer/New Music Salons -
as a founding board member and West Coast Rep for TSDCA -
the Theatrical Sound Designers and Composers Association.
This was a free wheeling almost weekly discussion of music, sound, and composing -
looking at work by over 90 eclectic composers, musicians and sound artists -
with special visits from many interesting - even international - guests -
all meant to encourage our members and everyone to keep the discussion going
and keep on creating independent work in these complicated often maddening times -
Visiting Guest Composers & Artists: Sarah Angliss, Phillip Ewell, Patrick Grant, Margarete Huber, Jihye Lee,
Keram Malicki-Sanchez, Elliot Miles McKinley, Mattia Mauree, Raz Mesinai, Amy X Neuberg, Scott Patterson, Audri Phillips,
Carlos Rafael Rivera, Tom Richards, John Schneider, Nina Shekhar, Cristina Spinei, Ken Ueno, Jason Yeager
additional composers/musicians/sound artists discussed, TSDCA members & visitors included: Animals as Masters, Eric Backus, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Derek Bermel, Leonard Bernstein, Carla Bley, John Cage, Carly Callahan, Martin Carillo, Elliot Carter, Frederic Chopin, Paul Desmond, Richard Dworsky, Fidan Aghayeva-Edler, Justin Ellington, Mikhail Fiksel, Arshan Gailus, Golden Gate Quartet, Daniel Gonko, Gerard Grisey, Lou Harrison, Alex Hawthorn, Jimi Hendrix, Bernard Herrmann, Hildegard of Bingen, Katherine Horowitz, Natalie Houle, Charles Ives,
Megumi Katayama, John Lennon, Gyorgy Ligeti, William Lowe, Paul McCartney, Anna Meredith, Oliver Messiaen, Pat Metheny, Meredith Monk, Thelonious Monk, Jessie Montgomery,
John Moran, Conlon Nancarrow, Randy Newman, Daphne Oram, Harry Partch, Jessica Paz, Perotin, Serge Prokofiev, Dianne Reeves, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Annie Ross, MaeAnn Ross,
Michael Roth, Leon Rothenberg, Arnold Schoenberg, Hazel Scott, Raymond Scott, Jane Shaw, Dimitri Shostakovich, Judee Sill, Max Silverman, Paul Simon, Wadada Leo Smith,
Esperanza Spalding, Peter Sprague, Gertrude Stein, Pamelia Kurstin Stickney, Becca Stoll, Igor Stravinsky, Thomas Tallis, Jeanine Tesori, Virgil Thomson, Mel Torme, Was Not Was, The Who, Stevie Wonder, Aaron Woodstein, Henry Clay Work,
SALON 30! - NFTs
an examination & discussion -
with Patrick Grant, Keram Malicki-Sanchez, Audri Phillips, Cristina Spinei,
plus an epilogue with producer Carly Callahan from Seaview Productions
and some music by Elliot Carter
SALON 29 - JUNE 11 - SPECTRALISM and MUSIC BY MARGARETE HUBER
with Sarah Angliss and Tom Richards, a deep dive into the fascinating world of British composer Daphne Oram and Oramics
featuring extensive work with an Oramics Machine
SALON 27 - SPECIAL EVENT
TSDCA PLAYS RILEY'S "IN C" ONE MORE TIME!
5/22/21 - NEW VIDEO COMING SOON!
SALON 26.5 - SPECIAL EVENT
5/21/21 - RAZ MESINAI - SCORE DESIGN
VIDEO POSTED HERE - FOR TSDCA MEMBERS
featuring Jihye Lee's Big Band performing RELENTLESS MIND & SUJI; Ken Ueno's STRANGE FRUIT with Jennifer Koh & Davone Tines;
and the complete performance of Ueno's ON A SUFFICIENT CONDITION FOR THE EXISTENCE OF MOST SPECIFIC HYPOTHESIS
featuring music from THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT
work by John Cage, Charles Ives**, Leon Rothenberg, Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Woodstein, Henry Clay Work
**As I didn't have my Ives notes with me - a quick correction - UNANSWERED QUESTION was composed 1906-8. Ives had his first heart attack around then, after a few more over the next decade he essentially stopped composing, retiring from his insurance company, too. He revised UNANSWERED QUESTION in 1935, it was finally performed in 1946 - I'm not absolutely certain he wasn't there, but he didn't travel much at all at that point -
he did hear the radio broadcast of Bernstein conducting his 2nd symphony in 1951, and died in 1954, age 80.
work by Meredith Monk, Conlon Nancarrow, Randy Newman
the work of Harry Partch and Paul Simon - with our guest John Schneider
salon 15 - 9/30/20
the work of Thelonious Monk and Hazel Scott - discussion led by Jason Yeager
salon 14 - 9/23/20
thanks to our guest Nina Shekhar - for more on Nina's work, please visit her website
salon 13 - 9/16/20
a special discussion of MUSIC THEORY & WHITE SUPREMACY
featuring our guests Elliot Miles McKinley and Phillip Ewell
salon 12 - 9/9/20
salon 11 - 9/2/20
salon 10 - 8/26/20 - Terry Riley's IN C - a special performance
thanks to Eric Backus, Martin Carillo, Melanie Chen Cole, Alex Hawthorn, Andrew Lynch, Kevin McCoy, MaeAnn Ross, Leon Rothenberg,
Josh Samuels, Jane Shaw, Becca Stoll (playing the unseen trumpet), Jess Paz and our guests Paul Gibson and Jason Yeager -
who joined us to celebrate the 10th TSDCA salon and took part in our private, unrehearsed zoom performance of Terry Riley's IN C
salon 9 - 8/19/20
salon 7 - 7/29/20
salon 8 - 8/5/20
7/29/20 - work by Alex Hawthorn, Jessica Paz, Jane Shaw,
Leon Rothenberg & Terry Riley, the Golden Gate Quartet, Hildegard of Bingen and Perotin
PLEASE CLICK TO GO TO THE VIDEO LINK
8/5/20 - work by Anna Meredith, Perotin, Steve Reich, Jane Shaw,
Animals as Masters, and a bit of Mel Torme/Was Not Was
salon 5 - 7/15/20
7/15/20 - music by Derek Bermel and Judee Sill
salon 4 - 7/8/20
salon 6 - 7/22/20
7/15/20 - music by Pamelia Kurstin Stickney, Mattia Mauree, Katherine Horowitz
and a tribute to Annie Ross - with Lambert, Hendriks & Ross, Joe Williams, and Count Basie
Dr. West on music & other things - 7/10/20
7/8/20 - music by Esperanza Spalding and John Cage -
special appearance by Fred Astaire
salon 2 - 6/10/20
6/10/20 - music by Olivier Messiaen, Serge Prokofiev, Wadada Leo Smith
new music by Jane Shaw
theory class 3 - 5/19/20
5/19/20 - music by Lou Harrison, Charles Ives, Amy X. Neuberg
new music by Eric Backus, Mikhail Fiksel, MaeAnn Ross, Jane Shaw, Max Silverman, Becca Stoll
theory class 1 - 5/12/20
5/12/20 - the circle of fifths is also a tone row -
music by Ludwig Van Beethoven, Leonard Bernstein, Igor Stravinsky
salon 3 - 6/17/20
6/17/20 - music by Paul McCartney, Serge Prokofiev
new music by Alex Hawthorn, Megumi Katayama, Michael Roth
salon 1 - 6/3/20
6/3/20 - music by Olivier Messiaen
new music by Martin Carillo, Arshan Gailus
theory class 2 - 5/14/20
5/14/20 - what's the big idea - music by Leonard Bernstein, Frederic Chopin,
Steve Reich, Michael Roth, The Who, Stevie Wonder et al