UCF New Music Ensemble

FREE with UCF I.D. or if 18 & under if reserved by April 5 at 5 p.m.!

Enjoy original music by UCF student, faculty and alumni composers inspired from documentary video, personal journeys and social bonds in this concert of world premieres.

The Collide Contemporary Music Series presents the student-based New Music Ensemble in a concert of world premieres of original music by UCF student, faculty, and alumni composers, performed by UCF musicians.

 

PROGRAM

John Eric Copeland Tales of the Sea (world premiere)

Tiffany Connell It’s Just a Phase (world premiere)

Griffin Harvey And it eases me somehow to know that even this will change (world premiere)

Alex Burtzos pOwer trIo
     George Weremchuk, alto saxophone
     Thad Anderson, percussion
     Will Daniels, piano

INTERMISSION

Peter DeVita By Process (world premiere)

Michael Biscoglio Saudade (world premiere)

Melody Cook Loss (world premiere)

Will Daniels Eternal Entropy (world premiere)

 

PROGRAM NOTES

Tales of the Sea by John Eric Copeland

The deep blue sea and the sailors who have braved it serve as the inspiration for this composition that features various melodies and styles with a definite nautical theme. Included in the score are my own lighthearted directions, such as “Floating Along” and “Full Speed Ahead.” Perhaps partially inspired by my recent cruise to the Bahamas, Tales of the Sea features the flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano, all with their own solo and lead sections. Each tempo and mood change bring a new direction, from major key rollicking opening, to a chorale of “Calmer Waters,” to a hearty sea melody featuring flute and clarinet, to a darker seas, minor key version of the opening, to a final cruise into the safe melodic harbor of the coda.

It’s Just a Phase by Tiffany Connell

“Time is of the essence…” This phrase is the root of thought which established the meaning behind this piece. It’s Just a Phase is a personal reflection upon realizing how a single action can create a reaction of unpredictable size. It’s a lesson I have come to learn regarding time, in teaching that: we are not in a race with time. Time isn’t controlling; it’s factual and universal. The title emphasizes: all that life brings is temporary. Representing time are the repeated intervals and phases that carry the piece; therefore, through writing this piece, the realization is: time just passes and repeats. It has no new actions, thereby not capable of producing reactions. Time is the passive; people are the active.

And it eases me somehow to know that even this will change by Griffin Harvey

But I guess we’re always leaving even when we look the same,

And it eases me somehow to know that even this will change,

If you’ve still got some light in you then go before it’s gone,

Burn your fire for no witness, it’s the only way it’s done.

–Angel Olsen, White Fire

Alex Burtzos, pOwer trIo  

honey

     turn off  

the

     light  

NARRATOR has this ever happened to you SLEEPY MAN IN ROBE yowch NARRATOR presenting [insert product] lets your appliances turn on and off WOMAN IN BLUE SATIN ons/offs beethoven’s sixth NARRATOR it is easy A PHANTOM HAND [plugs in the device] GREEK CHORUS (offstage) [provides memorable jingle] NARRATOR for places hard to reach FESTIVE BUT UNUSUALLY SHAPED NOOK MAN convenient NARRATOR plus make your home more secure, turns on *minutes later* turns off, so MELODRAMA BURGLAR no thank you NARRATOR do you feel safe now THE COMPOSER yes GRANDMOTHER CONDUCTING THE CHORUS FROM THE BILLOWY CONFINES OF HER BED clap on clap off  

clap on clap off  

on

     off  

on

     off

on

     off

By Process by Peter DeVita

By Process explores the task of creating and running a hypothetical machine. The piece begins by creating core components of the machine through the creation of different patterns and rhythms, assembling it by placing these different components together, and then letting the machine run and seeing where it goes.

Saudade by Michael Biscoglio

Saudade is a word of Portuguese origin. It is approximately translated to “a deep state of nostalgia or melancholy, specifically in reference to an absence of something or someone.”  

Loss by Melody Cook

Due to distance, I was unable to attend the funerals of three of my grandparents. When the last one passed away, I was finally able to attend; and in a sense, I felt the loss of them all at once. Searching for a way to express my grief, I decided to put it into music. Loss is an expression of the sadness I was feeling and wanders occasionally into happy memories of times I will miss. I dedicate this piece to my grandparents.

Eternal Entropy by Will Daniels

The universe is in a constant state of decay, which seems to preclude any possibility of existing forever. Eventually, all beings must fall apart and lose their composition. A broken egg cannot become whole again, a fallen tree must decompose, and all stars will eventually die out, leaving an irreversibly dark and lifeless universe. Such is the claim of the second law of thermodynamics, the generalization that systems can never decrease in randomness and disorder, and so they constantly evolve toward maximal disorder, that is, maximal entropy. Yet, our world is governed by perpetual, cyclical processes: seasons, reproduction, ecological cycles, work and rest, engines, etc. These two opposing fundamental processes–linear and cyclical–create dynamic tension in our perspective of life and history. Some days feel like the same old routine, while some events irreversibly change the world. This basic human experience begs the question: How will it all end, or how will it all continue? Eternal Entropy is a fanciful imagination of the possible state in which life continues eternally and cyclically even as it undergoes change, evolution, and decomposition. It explores a brief window in such a state, cycling through sudden transformations in tempo, constantly accelerating, but never becoming unnaturally fast. Each sudden change introduces a feeling of development without the possibility of returning to previous material. It is better not to hear this piece with a beginning and end, but rather as a slice out of musical experience that is improvisatory, developing, and perpetually unsettled.

 

ABOUT THE UCF NEW MUSIC ENSEMBLE

Founded in 2017, the UCF New Music Ensemble is a performance-oriented chamber group focused on diverse repertoire from the 20th and 21st-centuries. The ensemble is used as a laboratory for instruction in chamber performance skills encompassing the various styles of conventionally notated works but will also introduce other contemporary approaches such as improvisation, electro-acoustic music, and graphic scores. The ensemble frequently rehearses and premieres newly composed works by resident students, faculty and visiting guest composers.

UCF composers come from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences, and it shows in the exciting and creative music they write. This concert features world premieres of new works created by students, performed by students. You will hear music that reflects inspiration from documentary video, personal journeys, and social bonds.

ABOUT MUSIC COMPOSITION AT UCF

UCF composers come from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences, and this is evident in the exciting and diverse music they create. They pride themselves on a dedication to craft, an openness to new ideas, and meaningful interaction with listeners. The UCF composition studio is thrilled to be a part of this second annual collaboration with the New Music Ensemble as part of UCF Celebrates the Arts.

 

UCF NEW MUSIC ENSEMBLE PERSONNEL

Thad Anderson, director

Isabel Aviles, flute

Ryan Boehme, percussion

Emily Champagne, violin

Tiffany Connell, piano

Jomar Cruz, cello

Jade Deatherage, alto saxophone

Michaelangelo Emmanuelli, bass clarinet

Theodore Jackson, percussion

Krister Lawlor, violin

Ema Pava, voice

Maria Picado, clarinet

Robin Thompson, piano

Paul Yorke, percussion