Hearing the Future
Two Concerts; Twenty-Nine World Premieres
Sunday, April 30 at 1:30 pm (PART 1) | Oregon Episcopal School Chapel
Fear No Music's Young Composers Project (YCP) provides groundbreaking composition training and mentorship for youth interested in composing as a professional career or life passion. Students grades 5 - 12 train with the region's top professional musicians and composers, developing their new works through a series of workshops and public concerts.
PROGRAM
Amir Avsker – Clarinet Trio in D Minor
Skye Neal – Romance in G:
I. Andante Espressivo - II. Allegro
Adelai Jeffrey – Revelation
Isaac Pendergrass – The Realm House
Metta Mayes – Minature Suite of Nordic Fiddle Tunes
Adrian Valenzuela – An Evening After School
A'shariá Pendergrass – Half-Truths Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Michael Mayes – Moor Melody
Elishiya Crain-Keddie – Waltz of the Departed
Lincoln Eames – A Forgotten Nation Part 1
Henry Stubbert – La Terre
Merle Mayes – 4:33 of Music
Xquenda Penrose – Oswald
Frazar Henry – Dies pro Nocte
Charles Martin – A Fantasy in Blue
Young Composers Project Musicians:
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Violist and baroque violist, Dr. Dana Rokosny regularly performs with the Oregon Symphony, Oregon Bach Festival, Portland Opera Orchestra, Oregon Ballet Theater, Eugene Symphony Orchestra, and numerous ensembles throughout Oregon. She is also a tenured member of the Oregon Mozart Players.
Dana is an enthusiastic chamber musician and performs frequently with the Portland based Stumptown String Quartet. She is the Instructor of Viola at Lewis and Clark College and has maintained a thriving private studio for over fifteen years of all ages and levels. Additionally, Dana is the newly elected president of the Local 99 American Federation of Musicians (AFM). She performs on a 2004 Guy Rabut viola
B.M., Ithaca College; M.M., Rice University; Professional Studies, Cleveland Institute of Music; D.M.A, University of Maryland College Park.
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Cellist Heather Blackburn has been lauded for her “burnished tone” (The Oregonian) and for “her gorgeous tone and playing unerringly in tune” (Seattle Post Intelligencer). Heather was appointed to 4 one-year positions with the Oregon Symphony and has performed as guest principal cello for Portland Opera, Symphony Tacoma and Tulsa Symphony. She has given Oregon premieres of works by Joan Tower and Esa -Pekka Salonen, has been a featured soloist with Portland Symphonic Choir, and has performed and recorded with Pink Martini, Portland Cello Project, soul singer Ron Artis and indie band Other Lives. Heather currently teaches cello and chamber music at George Fox University and University of Portland. Heather was invited to perform a solo recital featuring music by Amy Beach as part of the “Women in Music” series at Chadron State College, NE in March. Upcoming concerts include a livestream with cellist Diane Chaplin of works by Giovanni Sollima, a recital in her home state of New York and a solo performance with the University of Portland Orchestra.
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Performing in many genres, Kirt Peterson has been a freelance woodwind musician in Portland for almost 35 years, starting out performing in large and small jazz ensembles, Latin jazz ensembles and musical theater orchestras. Kirt performs regularly with the Oregon Symphony, and in 2016 and 2018, he was a featured soloist with the orchestra. Other local ensembles Kirt has performed with include Fear No Music, Third Angle New Music, Portland Chamber Orchestra, Pink Martini and the Young Composer’s Project. When not busy performing or working in his career in maritime logistics, Kirt lives in Beaverton with his wife and two cats, helping tend to their 250 bush rose garden.
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Dr. Stephen Lewis is pianist, composer, conductor, and music teacher living in Portland, Oregon. As a composer-pianist, Stephen performs traditional piano music with a composer’s urgent, expressive power, while bringing to avant-garde and experimental music a classical concert pianist’s devotion to beautiful sound. He searches for rawness and immediacy in his interpretations of Beethoven and Chopin, while winning over audiences with renditions of complex atonal works by composers like Schoenberg, Stockhausen, and Ligeti. Whether from the present or the past, Stephen performs music that he believes has important and touching implications for today’s world. Even the most demanding music, he argues, is an opportunity for connection, edification, and meaningful experience. Stephen teaches piano, composition, and music theory students in his private studio. His students include children, teenagers, and adults. Stephen emphasizes the development of creativity and a healthy relationship with music and the piano while also encouraging his students to pursue the highest levels of excellence. Stephen received his D.M.A. in Contemporary Piano Performance from the University of California San Diego, where he also received a Ph.D. in Composition. Stephen is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music (Composition and Piano Performance).
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Dr. Joel Bluestone is a Music Professor at Portland State University, where he has been the head of the percussion department since 1989. He is the Co-Founder/Percussionist with the Northwest premiere contemporary new music ensemble, Fear No Music. In 2016, after 25 years, he retired from performing with the group, but still remains on the board of directors. However, he continues to perform for YCP, which is dear to his heart.
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Nicholas Emerson is a composer, producer, and guitarist from Portland, OR. He studied composition and music production at Portland State University with a BS in Sonic Arts & Music Production. He is very active in the local classical music scene helping to cultivate the incredible wealth of youth talent in the Pacific Northwest and is involved with organizations including Fear No Music Young Composers Project, Portland Youth Philharmonic, Northwest Children’s Theater & School and many others. Along with Hip Hop, Nicholas has experience composing chamber music, vocal music and recently premiered a concerto for guitar and orchestra with guitarist David Tutmark and the Tillikum Chamber Orchestra.
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For his work with young composers, pianist and conductor Jeff Payne was awarded the 2022 Musical Hero Award by the Metropolitan Youth Symphony. He founded Fear No Music with percussionist Joel Bluestone in 1992, and has performed hundreds of concerts with the group across the United States. During his tenure as Artistic Director for the group he was responsible for presentation of twenty World Premiere or American Premiere performances of works by Pacific Northwest composers. In 1997 he founded the Young Composers Workshop, and continues as its Director, overseeing the development of aspiring young creative minds around the region. The 25tth anniversary of the Young Composers Project has been featured in articles in the Oregonian and Oregon Arts Watch.
Payne’s complete performance of Messiaen’s “Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant Jesus” was named one of the Ten Best Concerts of the year by the Oregonian. Heralded by the Boston Globe as “a pianist of chameleon abilities,” Payne has performed on WGBH National Public Radio in Boston, KING radio in Seattle, All-Classical and KOPB radio in Portland, at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Norton Gallery in Palm Beach, at the Seattle Spring Festival, at Eugene's Music Today Festival, the Ernest Bloch Festival, and the Oregon Bach Festival. He has performed as soloist with the Vancouver Symphony, and the Yaquina Chamber Symphony. Payne holds a law degree from Lewis & Clark Law School and is a Senior Assistant Attorney General with the Oregon Department of Justice.
Biographies & Program Notes
Amir Avsker
Clarinet Trio in D Minor
BIOGRAPHY
Israeli-born pianist, violinist, violist, composer, and conductor Amir Avsker has won numerous awards in composition and performance, including the 2019 OMEA Composition Competition in the middle school division and the 2023 MYS concerto competition and Cognizart Young Artists Debut! competition in the piano category. Amir is the 2023 Young Artist-in-Residence at All-Classical Portland. He plays violin and viola with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony and has been commissioned to write music for several MYS ensembles. In the summer of 2022 Amir traveled to Italy to participate in the InterHarmony International Music Festival. Amir's parents are Efrat and Mark Avsker. He studies violin with Kevin Lefohn, composition with Stephen Lewis, and piano with Maria Garcia. When he is not practicing, rehearsing, performing, or composing, Amir enjoys studying languages, a skill he hopes to use in professional life as a musician.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
My Clarinet Trio in D minor for clarinet, viola, and cello opens with a descending arpeggio sequence played in three octaves by all three instruments. After an eight bar introduction, the strings accompany the clarinet in a simple melody. Soon a descending fifths progression leads to a half cadence. A new melody begins in F major, with a less agitated feel. The development begins with the same arpeggiated sequence as the beginning of the piece but is extended with a syncopated chord progression and eighth note runs, soon followed by a call and response between the clarinet and cello. A short transition leads into the recapitulation, which expands on some of the themes from the exposition. A coda with a surprise D Major version of an early theme brings the piece to a powerful close.
Skye Neal
Romance in G
BIOGRAPHY
Skye Neal is a 13 year old composer and musician who studies composition with Mátti Kovler. Her pieces have won recognition by Music Teachers National Association, Oregon Music Education Association, National Federation of Music Clubs, and Tribeca New Music contests. This is her fifth year in YCP. In 2020, Skye was interviewed on All-Classical Portland’s radio broadcast “On Deck With Young Musicians;” Skye was the youngest composer to be featured on the program. In May 2021, the Portland Youth Philharmonic’s Young String Ensemble virtually performed her piece “Following The Stream,” and will be playing the live premiere in their 2023 Cushion Concert. In spring of 2022, her piece “Epiphany” was performed by the Metropolitan Youth Symphony’s advanced string ensemble as well as by the Tualatin High School string orchestra. In November 2022, her first full orchestral piece “Minuet” was performed by Metropolitan Youth Symphony’s advanced orchestra. Outside of music, Skye enjoys birding, rowing, and fencing.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
My piece is a two-part romance for viola and piano. A romance is a short, light, very lyrical piece often for voice or a solo instrument. The first movement, graceful and smooth, is written in ABA form, the middle section a sharp contrast to the flowing arpeggios of the beginning, with spiccato passages in the viola and the piano taking over the melody. The second movement follows a traditional sonata-allegro form, immediately jumping into a light, bouncing melody that grows and develops as the piece goes on. Later, we hear a second contrasting theme, with more chromatic patterns in the piano, and double stops in the viola creating tension. This tension eventually fades back into the original theme, which leads to a grand finale.
Adelai Jeffrey
Revelation
BIOGRAPHY
Adelai Jeffrey is a sophomore at Ida B. Wells high school in Portland. Her parents are Caleb and Rainey Jeffrey, and she has two sisters. This is Adelai’s first year in YCP, and she studies with Dianne Davies. Outside of composing, Adelai plays the piano, swims, runs and is part of an organization called PYCS.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
My piece is called Revelation. When I first started composing it my main inspiration was my mom but as I continued it turned into something more. It’s written in D major and in ABA form. Fun fact, I forgot I had to title it until after I first printed it out. I sat in my room for an hour trying to think of a name. Eventually I used a random word generator and that’s how I got Revelation.
Isaac Pendergrass
The Realm House
BIOGRAPHY
Isaac Alexander Pendergrass III is a fourth-grader at St. Francis Catholic School. Isaac lives in Sherwood, Oregon with his father and mother, Isaac and Kateshia, and his sister, A’shariá. He is a violinist, danseur, coder, and soccer player. He is working on his fourth video game that he plans to release in the Summer of 2023. Isaac just completed his second level Royal Academy of Dance ballet exam. He was selected to play soccer in the Barca Academy in Spain, where he competed with the Barca Academy against some of the best teams in the region. A violin student of Ruth Sadilek, Isaac was awarded a Violin Solo Cup in 2022 and is a member of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Overture Strings ensemble.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
“The Realm House” is about a girl and her dog that travel through realms to stop the Evil Forces’ plan to destroy all of reality. In the beginning, we meet Ara and her dog, Gothars (viola and clarinet). They stumble upon a house, in the woods, that has magical powers and encounter a magical iron ingot, known as The Realm Iron (wood block). They travel to the realm of the Evil Forces (alto saxophone). After a fierce battle, the Realm House escapes, but is almost completely destroyed. As Ara and Gothars begin to lose hope of ever seeing their home again, a portal opens in the sky, and a being flies through and repairs the Realm House . The being leaves, instantly. Later, they find out that his name is The Realm Father (violincello). With the Realm House stronger than ever and the Realm Iron’s power, they banished the Evil Forces to the depths of outer space. Ara and Gothars return to their home—but are the Evil Forces really gone?
Metta Mayes
Miniature Suite of Nordic Fiddle Tunes
BIOGRAPHY
Metta Mayes was born and raised in Seattle, Washington and moved to Cornelius, Oregon in 2020. She currently plays viola with the Portland Youth Philharmonic and is a theory teacher for the Portland Youth String Ensemble. She has studied composition with Todd Kovell for the last five years. Metta’s family includes her mother, Rhiannon Mayes, and her siblings, Merle and Michael. This is Metta’s second year in YCP and, in addition to her composing in the project, has written works for string ensembles, solo strings, and piano. Metta plans to attend Lawrence University next year as a viola performance major.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
“Miniature Suite of Nordic Fiddle Tunes” contains four original melodies in the style of traditional Scandinavian folk tunes. The first dance is the finnskog pols, a Norwegian variation on the traditional pols dance. The pols dance is a very old folk dance, traditionally in 3/4, which is not related to the polka in any way. The finnskog pols is interesting because of its short third beat, often notated in 8/8. The finnskog pols is traditionally faster and more heavily ornamented than the pols. The second dance, the humppa, is a Finnish social dance that is traditionally fast with a strong beat and consistent rhythmic pulse. Third is the vals, which is a Scandinavian waltz. The vals is very similar to the waltz, though it is often in a minor key. Finally, the schottische is a standard dance in Scandinavia. It is in a duple meter with a “hop” feeling. Variations on the schottische can be found around the world.
Adrian Valenzuela
An Evening After School
BIOGRAPHY
A junior at Jesuit High School, Adrian Valenzuela actively participates in school-wide activities - Coffee House performances, liturgy band, talent shows, choir, cross-country running, and track & field. Recently, for the school cultural assembly, Adrian and his fellow students performed Tinikling, a Filipino folk dance. Last year, Adrian was one of five young composers invited to create movements for a dance suite, part of Metropolitan Youth Symphony’s Authentic Voice partnership with YCP; MYS’s Symphony Orchestra performed the suite at their Fall 2022 concert. This is Adrian’s fourth year in YCP, and he has been inspired by all the compositions his peers present each year. He has been studying piano for 9 years with Ruth Sadilek. Adrian’s parents are Victor and Ruby Valenzuela.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
I named my piece “An Evening After School” not only because I work on it in the evenings after school but also because it tells the story of a typical day after school. Junior year can be taxing at times but enriching. This piece starts as I come home from sports practices and extracurricular activities. The music starts with an arpeggio as I do homework. The notes and chords take shape to get sharper as I work on and absorb the information of the assigned work. The parts then drop out except the piano, as this next part symbolizes my quiet and peaceful dinner time. Parts come back in succession as I transition back into my room to finish my assignments. Soon enough, I start to reach bedtime, when I read a book. I begin to wind down, which is expressed through the descending chromatic scales. I finally fall asleep, depicted at the end of the piece—but not before forgetting an assignment!
A’shariá Pendergrass
Half-Truths Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
BIOGRAPHY
A’shariá René Pendergrass is a violinist and freshman, with high honors, at St. Mary’s Academy, in Portland, Oregon. She has a musical background, which includes a flutist mother, a saxophonist father, and a brother, Isaac who also plays the violin. A student of Ruth Sadilek, A’shariá received a Violin Solo Event Gold Cup. She performs with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony, and the St. Mary’s Marians Orchestra. A’shariá is a forward on the 2008 Copa Girls team for the Westside Metros Soccer Club. During her high school soccer season, she assisted seventeen and scored eighteen goals of her own, earning her offensive player of the year. She is also an ardent chess player, and for the past 4 years, has enjoyed learning Latin, in her free time.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
“Half-Truths” is about half-truths, the ones that we are told and the ones that we tell ourselves. Throughout our lives, we are constantly told who we are and who we should be. In the piece, I explore how it feels to be made to feel lesser, by those that you consistently outperform, only to find that the half-truths we believe of ourselves are also to blame. The piece concludes in the realization that half-truths are complete lies and that we must live fully in our being to be truly whole. “Half-truths” has three parts, each symbolizing a part of my day where I am being told half-truths and telling myself half-truths. Each part gets progressively slower to symbolize the fact that half-truths can wear you down, mentally.
Michael Mayes
Moor Melody
BIOGRAPHY
Michael Mayes lives in Cornelius and is a sophomore in a home school program. My family includes his mother, Rhiannon, and two siblings, his older sister Metta, and his older brother Merle. This is Michael’s first year in YCP. Michael plays viola in the Portland Youth Philharmonic, does cross-country running, and enjoys gardening and baking. Michael’s teachers are Phylicia Morris (percussion) and Todd Kovell.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
“Moor Melody” is in the form of an estampie, a compositional form popular In Europe from the 12th to 14th century. “Moor Melody” was inspired by the idea of an English moor that was developed into a city and what animals still live there. It has one melody that continues throughout the entire piece with each stanza being a new variation of the original.
Elishiya Crain-Keddie
Waltz of the Departed
BIOGRAPHY
Elishiya Crain-Keddie is a 15-year-old sophomore at the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics in Washington. Composing has been a longtime passion of hers and she been writing music since she was in 5th grade. She earned how to use composition software in 6th grade, and wrote her first full orchestral piece in 7th grade. She plays cello in her school’s orchestra program (under the direction of Salena Walker), and has played in both the repertory and chamber ensembles, multiple smaller chamber groups/string quartets, the pit orchestra for the production of Once Upon a Mattress, and was selected for her district’s Honors Orchestra program two years in a row. The first movement of Elishiya’s String Quartet no. 1 in G minor won first place in the Washington State MTA Young Composer’s competition. In March 2023, “Waltz of the Departed” was performed in a master class by the Bang On A Can ensemble.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
“Waltz of the Departed” is a mysterious, mournful 19th-century style waltz in the key of D (primarily Dorian mode) for mixed ensemble, with two primary themes modulated and passed across the instrumentation for the duration of the piece. Some key classical inspirations for this composition include Shostakovich’s Waltz no. 2, Saint-Saens’ Danse Macabre, and the works of such film and TV composers as Hans Zimmer, Alexandre Desplat, and John Powell.
Lincoln Elwood Eames
A Forgotten Nation Part 1
BIOGRAPHY
Lincoln Elwood Eames is an 11-year-old composer who attends Glencoe Elementary and will be going to Winterhaven K-8 Stem School. His immediate family includes his mom, Jen Becker, his dad, Anthony Eames, and their dog, Zelda. He studies piano and composition with Sarah Collins. Besides composing, he like to cube (solving the Rubik’s Cube quickly), code, play video games, play tennis, and play competitively on basketball and baseball teams.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
“A Forgotten Nation Part I” is a score to a hypothetical video game based on one of Lincoln’s all-time favorite games, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The first section, taken at a very fast tempo, represents horseback riding with wood blocks providing the percussion rhythm used throughout the rest of the piece. It begins in F minor, then transitions to the second section by changing to the relative major, Ab major. The second section begins with a vibraphone solo, slowly crescendoing to the point where the viola, cello, and clarinet begin Ab arpeggios with the cello offbeat and playing in counterpoint. They repeat this pattern, with the vibraphone playing below, until the vibraphone closes the section with a variation of the Ab arpeggios. The third section begins with a peaceful line from the vibraphone and piano, then adds other instruments to keep the piece flowing naturally. The fourth section begins with the same theme, but the viola plays rapid sixteenth notes to give the piece an eerie tone while the piano moves downward in half steps. In the fifth section, the cello is joined by other instruments periodically creating an ominous feeling that leads back into a peaceful melody by the string, piano and clarinet. The horseback riding theme returns in the sixth part, although now heard in C minor. It leads to a hyped up entrance theme, ending in a heroic melody and using swing to bring us back to the village theme, but now in Ab minor with the same arpeggios. The finale, returning to F minor, concludes with two triplets on the snare drum, followed by an F minor chord in all of the instruments.
Henry Stubbert
La Terre
BIOGRAPHY
Henry Stubbert is a Junior in high school attending Lane Community College through the Baker Early College program. He is currently pursuing his AAOT in Physics, planning to complete the degree by the end of his senior year. He lives with his younger siblings and his parents- Kari (mother) and Courtney (father) in Eugene. Outside of music he runs a custom sneaker business and teaches Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu kid’s classes. This is Henry’s first year in YCP, and his piano/composition teacher is Alexander J. Schwarzkopf.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
“La Terre” is a small piece reflecting on the sounds of the ocean and the trees. It opens with a piano and cello playing a single tone which evolves into waves. The waves grow in intensity and complexity until a melody emerges in the clarinet. This is the sound of the trees, birds, animals, and stones. The sound of this piece is clear, yet chaotic, just as nature and time are constant, ever-changing, beautiful things.
Merle Mayes
4:33 of Music
BIOGRAPHY
Merle Mayes is a senior at in a home-school program through Oasis High School. He studies cello with Peter Williams and composition with Todd Kovell. He has two siblings: Mickey and Metta Mayes, both of whom are musicians, and his mother is Rhiannon Mayes. Merle plays cello with the Portland Youth Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Youth Symphony. This is Merle’s second year in YCP, and he will be attending Lawrence Conservatory of Music in the fall majoring in cello performance.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
My piece is called “4:33 of Music.” It uses a loose form and alternates between two themes. The themes appear throughout the piece, first intensifying and then dying away. It is inspired by the works of the atonal composer John Cage who wrote a piece with certain similarities. However, my piece utilizes concepts of tonal harmony and other musical techniques which are absent in Mr. Cage’s composition.
Xquenda Penrose
Oswald
BIOGRAPHY
Xquenda Penrose (she/her) is a producer and rapper who blends many musical genres in the quest for something for new. She began releasing original music at the beginning of the pandemic, and now has seven projects featured on all major platforms. You can find her music under the name X.P. Escobar(d). Her influences range from Aphex Twin and Merzbow to Playboi Carti and SOPHIE. As a child of two composers, Bonnie Miksch and Christopher Penrose, she is highly curious about music from the past sixty years and loves to collaborate with other musicians. She is active as a performer with the organizations Friends of Noise and Ladies of the Rose. Her instagram is @x.p_escobard.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
“Oswald” is my first work to combine electronica and chamber music. The title refers to a character from the cover of my most recent album, Emotions Without Words 2. The soundscape was inspired by the chaos that I imagined Oswald would cause. The piece has quick changes and doesn’t stay in any one musical place for long. I enjoyed exploring the sonic potential of live musicians to bring the piece to life.
Frazar Henry
Dies pro Nocte
BIOGRAPHY
Frazar Henry is a composer/pianist who would be finishing his Junior year in high school in Bonita Springs, Florida. In 2016 and 2018 Frazar won the ASCAP Foundation 2018 Morton Gould Young Composer Award. He was awarded 1st Place in the 2022-23 and 2nd Place in the 2021-22 & 2020-21 Community Music School of Webster University Young Composer Competition. Frazar was also awarded Winner - Choral Division and Runner Up - Band Division for the 2022 Hayes School of Music Composition Competition and 3rd Place in The Choral Project’s 2021-22 Rachel Moore Composition Contest. Although challenged (like everyone!) by the pandemic and the wake of its aftermath, Frazar is thankful to be lovingly supported by his parents Robert and Sara—as well as the Fear No Music family. Those twin pillars of support continue to seemingly make anything and everything possible! He is also thankful to be able to share his music with you today.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
The inspiration for “Dies pro Nocte” came to me from a Rachmaninov prelude in which he prominently features the classic Dies Irae (“Day of Wrath”) theme. His prelude inspired me to compose a theme in the style of traditional Gregorian chants. After studying a few Gregorian chants, I created the somber opening for Dies pro Nocte. Once I had the beginning, I took my thoughts to the piano and experimented with flourishes in a contrasting major key. Following these contrasting improvisations led me onto the lush path of the secondary theme with its interspersed flourishes. Now that I had my two contrasting themes, I highlighted the competition by alternating between the two main conflicting sections and trading various thematic elements back and forth between them. Ultimately, our journey concludes much like where it began, although, transformed. I brought back the Gregorian chant from the beginning but composed it to be played in all the instruments with newfound determination. The last sounds we hear are the opening flourishes— played with enigmatic brightness—as the piece fades like a rising dawn.
Charles Martin
A Fantasy in Blue
BIOGRAPHY
Charles A. Martin is an 11th grade homeschooler, composer and pianist who’s been composing for almost six years. He has studied with Kristy Moore for the past year, and under her teaching has represented the northwest in MTNA’s Composition Competition (Senior Division) for his piano music. He is so grateful to his parents, David and Tiffani Martin, who have supported him in all of his musical endeavors which include not only piano and composition, but also singing and acting in musical theater. Charles is very proud to call himself a composer, and is anxious to learn more about music and his craft!
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
“A Fantasy in Blue” is a nod to George Gershwin. Its main theme, which is woven throughout the piece, is completely original, while I have taken motifs that Gershwin wrote and developed them in my own way. You will hear this in the soft, 2nd melody. It gets its name from Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”
A special THANK YOU to Ronni Lacroute for sponsoring the 2022-2023 Fear No Music concert season.
Fear No Music is also supported by grants from: New Music USA, Oregon Arts Commission, Multnomah County Cultural Coalition, and Regional Arts and Culture Council.