Hearing the Future 2024
Two Concerts; Twenty-Six World Premieres
Sunday, April 21 at 4:00 pm (PART 2) | Portland State University, Lincoln Hall Room 75
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
Max Bishop — Flickering Flames
Ricky Lee — Zelodic Rag
Haruka Skiyama — Stars in the Sky
Isaac Pendergrass III — A Dragon’s World
Beckett Olson — Characters: A Story
Lillian Karns — Dawn
A’shariá Pendergrass — A Little Bit Off
Addison Kearbey — Cat and Bird
Charles Martin — Clouds
Amir Avsker — Rondo for Flute and Piano No. 1
Kate Andrews — The Rose and The Grave
Adrian Valenzuela — Bittersweet Sunset
Max Evans-McGlothin — The Tale of the Fools of the Forgotten Forest
Young Composers Project Musicians:
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John C. Savage (flutes and saxophones) has been compared to Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Herbie Mann, Noah Howard, Ian Anderson, and Colin Stetson. Savage has performed and recorded with, among others, Esperanza Spalding (for Bienestar Oregon), Cartridge (The Black Heron and the Spoonbill), the Andrew Hill Big Band (A Beautiful Day), Billy Fox and Mark Dresser (The Uncle Wiggly Suite) and releases on PJCE Records (Ekta, Demolition Duo, From Maxville to Vanport, Senses Sharpened). Savage frequently performs with poet Claudia Saleeby Savage as Thick In The Throat Honey, the free jazz trio Krüd, and Lie Very Still, which performs Savage’s compositions influenced by classical composition, improvisation, metal, and a dystopian future. He also performs with The Bundy Band, a twelve-piece New Orleans Jazz influenced group with a distinctly Pacific Northwest flavor. His chamber music group, Re:Soundings Trio, collaborated with NEA Jazz Master Roscoe Mitchell and may be heard on his release, Distant Radio Transmission (Wide Hive Records, 2020). Savage holds a Ph.D. from New York University with emphases in flute performance, improvisation, and music theory. He teaches both at Reed College and Mount Hood Community College. www.johncsavage.com
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Heather Mastel-Lipson began playing the violin at age seven. Since then she has performed in music festivals in the United States, Europe and South America. She is a regular member of Portland Opera and Oregon Ballet Theatre Orchestras, and has performed as concertmaster of several ensembles including the San Francisco Conservatory Orchestra, Eastman Philharmonia and the Brainerd Chamber Orchestra. Heather has performed with the Reno Philharmonic and the Oregon Symphony Orchestra. She is a member of the Northwest Piano Trio, and is in a violin and guitar duo giving concerts with both ensembles around Portland and the Bay Area. Heather enjoys teaching her private students, coaching chamber music and is a faculty member at Young Musicians and Artists Camp (YMA) at Willamette University. Heather holds a bachelor of music degree from the Eastman School of Music and a master of music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Heather lives in Portland with her husband and their three children.
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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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Dr. Stephen Lewis is a composer, pianist, and conductor living in Portland, Oregon, whose music inhabits the terrain between sound as physical sensation and sound as signifier of culture. Hailed as “delectable,” with a “constantly shifting sonic world [that] proved fascinating and effective,” Stephen’s chamber opera, Noon at Dusk, was premiered at UC San Diego in 2016. He has been commissioned by or written works for the Delgani String Quartet, Cascadia Composers, the Wellesley Composers Conference, red fish blue fish, UC San Diego's Palimpsest ensemble, the Diagenesis Duo, Gnarwhallaby, Trio Kobayashi, Aurora Borealis, and a number of individuals. Stephen has performed in solo and ensemble concerts at Miller Theater in New York, Severance Hall in Cleveland, the Walt Disney and Zipper Halls in Los Angeles, and at smaller venues throughout the United States. Stephen maintains a private studio of piano, composition, and music theory students. He completed the PhD in Composition at UC-San Diego in 2015, where he studied with Rand Steiger. Subsequently, he completed the DMA in Contemporary Piano Performance in 2017, where he studied with Aleck Karis. Stephen is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he majored in piano and composition.
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Dr. Joel Bluestone is a Music Professor Emeritus at Portland State University, where he was head of the percussion department until he retired last year. 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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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 was 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
Max Bishop
Flickering Flames
BIOGRAPHY
Max Bishop in in 9th grade at Clackamas Academy of Industrial Sciences (CAIS). He lives with his mother and father, Patrice and Mike Bishop, and his dog, Hitch. He is member of his school’s Robotics Team as well as a volunteer for a Lego Robotics Camp. Max has earned a gold cup in the Junior Music Festival and a silver medal in robotics. For the past 6 years he has studied piano with Laura McMillan.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
My piece is called “Flickering Flames.” It’s in A-B-A’ form. Before starting this year’s YCP I had been around with a melody that was in my head. Once I was given the opportunity to participate in this year’s YCP, I decided to use this melody as a starting point for my piece.
Ricky Lee
Zedodic Rag
BIOGRAPHY
Ricky Lee is in fourth grade at Oak Creek Elementar School. His parents are Huayu and Yuxin Lee. Ricky plays soccer and water polo. In 2023, he was a winner in the Tualatin Valley Oregon Music Teachers Association Composition Celebration. He studies composition with Dr. Gary Noland.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
My piece is called “ Zedodic Rag” for chamber ensemble. It is written in A-B-C-D-E-F form, and in all parts there are all major keys. Section A is graceful, happy and section B to section D is hot and cheerful (like racing down, running down the hill ). Section E to F has a very exciting feeling. The end wraps it up with a “gliss” on the piano to give it a jovial feeling.
Haruka Sakiyama
Stars in the Sky
BIOGRAPHY
Haruka Sakiyama, 17, is a Junior at West Linn High School. She was the winner of the 2020 and 2021 OMEA State Composition Contest and the 2022 National Federation of Music Clubs Junior Composers Competition. Haruka is in her second year in the Young Composers Project and her first work for full symphony was premiered by the Oregon Symphony in 2018, with many of her other works being performed by groups of the Portland Youth Philharmonic. In addition to composition, she has been playing the French horn for 5 years, and studies with Larry Johnson. She has also been playing the violin for 13 years, currently studying with Clarisse Atcherson. Haruka has been a part of the Portland Youth Philharmonic for 9 years playing both French horn and violin, currently playing first horn for both the Conservatory Orchestra and the Philharmonic Orchestra. She was a finalist for the 2024 Oregon Mozart Players Young Soloist Competition, and was a winner of the 2024 Jewish Community Orchestra Young Artist Competition, 2024 All Classical Young Artist Ambassador, 2024 Amadeus Orchestra Competition, and the 2024 Cognizant Metro Young Artist Debut. Outside of music, Haruka enjoys reading and ski racing. Her parents are Miyuki, whom she studies composition with, and Yuki Sakiyama.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
“Stars in the Sky” is a piece that depicts the scenery of a star-filled sky. Hinting at the melodies and themes of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, it starts with the flute mimicking the twinkling of the stars. As the piece progresses, the violins and cellos reflect the openness of the sky. The Allegro section depicts shooting stars and the liveliness of the stars as the night progresses, with the flute reiterating the theme of Twinkle Twinkle. “Stars in the Sky” closes with the return of the main theme and the violin reflecting on the vibrancy of the shooting stars.
Isaac Alexander Pendergrass III
Stars in the Sky
BIOGRAPHY
Isaac Alexander Pendergrass III is from Sherwood, Oregon where he is in the fifth grade at St. Francis Catholic School. Isaac found his love for composing during the pandemic when he and his sister A’shariá started collaborating to write the music they were creating on their violins. They soon expanded their scores and found that they enjoyed composition. Isaac added other instruments and found that he enjoyed creating. Isaac studies violin with Ruth Sadilek and composition with Andrew Poole Todd. This is Isaac’s second year in Young Composers Project and he has composed several pieces in the interim, but was excited to develop this piece in the program. Isaac is a Grade 3 danseur, and will complete his level three Royal Academy of Dance of Exam in April. Isaac is an avid soccer player and was invited to compete in the Porto Cup in Portugal. Isaac has qualified for the International Geography Bee and will compete in Vienna in August 2024. He also enjoys coding and creating video games; he spent his summer at an ID Tech camp where he created and programed a Battle Bot. His parents are Isaac Pendergrass Jr., and Kateshia Pendergrass.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
I wrote a piece composed of six different segments. The piece begins by introducing an evil king and his downtrodden empire. The people who are forced to work are represented by the squeaking violin, and the evil king’s voice is the persistent cello. Two dragons who escaped bondage sneak off into the night to find a tribe in the mountains, the tribe is represented by all the string instruments together to create an aura of resilience and importance. In part E we go back to the beginning, reintroducing the king, but it’s different. The melody changed and represents the tribe and the two dragons sneaking into the palace to stop the evil king. In part F it builds up every instrument into one big, grand finale, and then it ends.
Beckett Olson
Characters: A Story
BIOGRAPHY
Beckett Olson is a junior at Grant High School. He studies saxophone and composition with Mieke Bruggeman. Outside of composition, Beckett is an alto saxophone player and an avid rock climber. Beckett won the regional solo and ensemble competition on saxophone and will compete at the state level in late April.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
“Characters” is a polythematic piece with four main ideas. In this story, each theme represents a different character or emotion. The four themes blend into one another to tell the tale of an uncertain hero venturing out with the help of others to fight back against the evil in the world. In the end, our hero triumphs, life returns to normal, but our hero will never fully be the same again.
Lillian Karns
Dawn
BIOGRAPHY
Lillian Karns is 18 years old and a senior at Portland Waldorf School. She lives with her parents, Shawn and Marie, a sister, and four cats, Ember, Shadow, Snowflake, and Spark. In her free time, she enjoys composing, singing, playing video games, Dungeons & Dragons, and Magic: The Gathering.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
Dawn started as an idea late at night, that kept me up till the early morning. I refined it with my piano and composition teacher, Laura McMillian; with her help, it turned into something I truly love.
A’shariá René Pendergrass
A Little Bit Off
BIOGRAPHY
A’shariá René Pendergrass, violinist and composer, is in her 3rd year in YCP and studies composition under Andrew Todd. In 2023 she was chosen to create a piece, “Evenings End,” for the Camerata String Orchestra of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony. She also presented that piece in a masterclass to Dean of Julliard, David Ludwig. A’shariá also composed a cartoon piece with five other composers for the MYS Orchestra in 2023, which was performed by the Oregon Symphony in 2024. A’shariá is a sophomore, with high honors, at St. Mary’s Academy where she performs with the Marian Orchestra and is a letterman in varsity soccer and track. She is also a recipient of the Soccer Offensive Player of the Year award. Violin student of Ruth Sadilek, A’shariá has earned a Violin Solo Event Gold Cup. She shares the love of music with her little brother who plays the violin and is also a composer. A’shariá is a forward on the 2008 Copa Girls team for the Westside Metros Soccer Club, and was invited this summer to play with the Parish, a regional select team, at Surf Cup Best of the Best, a year up from her age group. She is also a rated chess player, and for the past five years, has enjoyed learning Latin, in her free time and in her senior level class.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
Have you ever felt off center, off-kilter, unbalanced or … A Little Bit Off. That is what my current piece is about. With its rhythm, choice of instrument, and notes it's meant to sound just a little bit off. One day there was a girl who woke up and saw the world seemed just a little bit off. In the morning the baby birds were no longer singing at her window like they usually did, and her organized bedroom was just a little messy. The school bus she rode every morning was a little bit early, which it had never been. So she went to school and no matter what she did everything still seemed a little bit off. The next morning everything was even stranger than the day before. Suddenly, she realized that everything was always this way. How can anything not be a little bit off if we are always changing?
Addison Kearbey
Cat and Bird
BIOGRAPHY
Addison Kearbey is in sixth grade at Valley Catholic Middle School. Her parents are Malinda and Brandon Kearbey. When not composing, Addison plays piano and soccer. She also plays violin in PYP’s Portland Youth String Ensemble. She enjoys traveling, reading, and drawing. She studies violin and composition with Ruth Sadilek and piano with Wilma Hawkins.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
My piece, “Cat and Bird,” is about a cat who attempts to catch a bird. It starts with the bird singing merrily in a tree, and the cat spots the bird and chatters. Then the bird flutters to the ground, and the cat begins stalking the bird. After a series of chords from the piano, the cat pounces and starts a wild chase for the bird. Eventually the cat catches the bird, and there is a funeral for the bird. The piece ends with the cat mocking the (dead) bird. “Cat and Bird” was inspired by my wish for a cat, despite having two dogs.
Charles Martin
Clouds
BIOGRAPHY
Charles Martin is a 18 year old homeschooled composer, pianist, actor, writer and musical entrepreneur and this is his second year in the Young Composers Project. He began taking piano lessons when he was 4 years old, and began composing at age 11, and since then has performed hundreds of times on the concert stage and recital halls. Charles’ music has been performed by Chamber Music Northwest’s “Young Artist Institute,” the Metropolitan Youth Symphony, and with fellow musicians in an organization that he has founded, the “Young Composer’s Concert Series,” the Pacific Rose Ensemble, the Portland Youth Philharmonic, and other groups from around Portland. He is even having music of his performed in the Ten Grands show June 28th, 29th and 30th. Aside from composing, Charles is also very active in a local theater group called “Commission Impact Theater” (of which he will be scoring their next play entitled “Saul: Son of Kish”) and he’s been performing in musical theater on and off for the past 11years. He would like to thank everyone in the Young Composers Project who’ve helped him tremendously to become a brighter and better composer than he was when he started. He would also like to thank his piano teacher Kristy Moore who has pursued opportunities for him and been a constant support in his composition endeavors, and Charles would last like to thank his parents David and Tiffani Martin for their overwhelming support in his pursuit of music as he knows all of the glory belongs to God.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
“Clouds” is a very interesting piece to me. I initially wrote it for piano dedicated to a friend in a much shorter, much more primitive form of which was entitled “Loss”, then arranged it for the ensemble available. The form is very simple: A-B-A. It’s the only piece I’ve written in which there are intentional representations. The opening Theme A represents the initial sight of a cloud and the beauty and superficiality observed. Theme B represents that cloud storming over the viewer. The return of Theme A represents a new perspective on that same cloud, as they have experienced the pain of the storm, and appreciate the cloud’s beauty in a new light.
Amir Avsker
Rondo for Flute and Piano No. 1
BIOGRAPHY
Israeli-born pianist, violinist, composer, and conductor Amir Avsker performs internationally as a soloist, a chamber musician, and an orchestra player. He was the 2023 Young Artist in Residence of All Classical Portland radio and a much sought-after accompanist, performer, composer, and arranger. His compositions have been performed by the Metropolitan Youth Symphony and by faculty members of Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. He has won numerous awards in composition and performance, and plans to pursue a career as a piano and violin soloist, and a conductor. Avsker is a co-founder of the Pacific Rose Ensemble, a chamber orchestra made up of young musicians, which performs music from the standard repertoire as well as works by young composers with limited outreach.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
This piece was originally written in 2019 as a sonata form movement for flute and piano. I came back to it after five years to make revisions, and I soon found it to work very well as a rondo. Many of the melodies in the piece are preserved from the original 2019 version, showing the style I had when I was younger. The harmonies and voicing of the new version are much more developed than the first version. The section I composed last is the transition to the final A section, while I was spending time with my sister’s cat. : )
Kate Andrews
The Rose and The Grave
BIOGRAPHY
Kate Andrews is a senior at Mountainside High School where she is very involved in the music program, playing clarinet in their wind ensemble and running sectionals. Kate also plays clarinet with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony, and has written orchestral pieces that have been performed by that ensemble. Outside of music she enjoys reading and fencing, as well as participating in a variety of school clubs. Kate will be starting at Princeton in the fall, where she plans on majoring in anthropology.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
The Rose and the Grave was inspired by a poem of the same name, written by Victor Hugo after the death of his daughter. I wanted to explore the ‘conversation’ that the rose and the grave have in this poem through the use of two melodies, as well as experiment in a new mode.
La tombe dit à la rose :
- Des pleurs dont l’aube t’arrose
Que fais-tu, fleur des amours?
La rose dit à la tombe :
- Que fais-tu de ce qui tombe
Dans ton gouffre ouvert toujours ?
La rose dit : - Tombeau sombre,
De ces pleurs je fais dans l’ombre
Un parfum d’ambre et de miel.
La tombe dit : - Fleur plaintive,
De chaque âme qui m’arrive
Je fais un ange du ciel !
—
The Grave said to the Rose,
”What of the dews of dawn,
Love’s flower, what end is theirs?”
”And what of spirits flown,
The souls whereon doth close
The tomb’s mouth unawares?”
The Rose said, “In the shade
From the dawn’s tears is made
A parfume faint and strange,
Amber and honey sweet.”
”And all the spirits fleet
Do suffer a sky-change,
More strangely than the dew,
To God’s own angels new,”
The Grave said to the Rose
Adrian Valenzuela
Bittersweet Sunset
BIOGRAPHY
Adrian Valenzuela is a senior and school ambassador at Jesuit High School, a pianist, and a singer. He received his 4th Piano Festival Gold Cup in the Spring of 2023, passed his level 10 piano syllabus in fall 2023. He has studied piano with Ruth Sadilek for over ten years, and this is his fifth year in YCP. Recently, he received an Honorable Mention for his OMEA Choral/Vocal Student Composition for “Remember,” and was an Honored Composer for the 2023 State Composition Festival for “An Evening After School.” In 2022, “Waltz in C# Minor” was premiered by the Metropolitan Youth Symphony as part of a “Dance Suite” at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. This year, he arranged one Jimmie Herrod’s songs, “I Want to Run,” for the MYS 2024 Downtown Concert Series at Newmark Theater. Besides being a school ambassador, Adrian is involved in multicultural celebration performances and danced the Philippine folk dance Tinikling at his school’s community celebration. He loves to sing, a baritone/bass singer in the school chamber choir and at the Filipino Chorale of Oregon and SW Washington. He has been accepted to multiple universities and plans to major in Computer Engineering with a minor in music. He enjoys making origami, hanging out with friends, running, and playing video games and basketball in his free time.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
I want to give a special shout-out to Young Composers Project for your mentorship, for developing my talent to compose music, and for allowing me to showcase, and premiere my music. I am forever grateful! I have made so many memories that I will forever hold dear. Thank you!
“Bittersweet Sunset” is a 4 part piece telling the tale of nostalgia and moving on. The first section is filled with several minor-resolving-major and major-resolving-minor chords. These signify the nostalgic feeling associated with good memories and experiences. Though the major keys convey how fun these experiences are, the minor chords quickly remind us how those moments will be missed. The next part, or the “solemn” part, switches to a minor key and a slower tempo, showcasing pizzicato from the violin and cello with a flute solo. This sadder part represents the fear of moving on and advancing to the future. It leaves a progression unresolved that will be referred to later in the piece. Then, the “playful” part leaves a more optimistic outlook on the future. With a bouncy and energetic cello theme and quick and light melodies from the other parts, this symbolizes all the fun possibilities the future holds. The piece then ends with the unresolved progression, giving an outlook of finally moving on from the past and looking forward to the things up
Maxwell Evans-McGlothin
The Tale of the Fools of the Forgotten Forest
BIOGRAPHY
Maxwell Evans-McGlothin is a 15 year-old native Oregonian who is currently a sophomore at Cleveland High School in Portland. Max began composing in Brooklyn, NY when he was in 4th grade and was selected to participate in the New York Philharmonic Young Composers program. Since being at Cleveland HS, Max has excelled academically and started a Dungeons and Dragons club with 30+students. He is currently working as a Youth Vote Organizer for Next UP to register students to vote. He was one of five composers who wrote “Music for an Imaginary Cartoon,” which was performed by the Oregon Symphony on April 13, 2024, after being premiered by the Metropolitan Youth Symphony in November 2023. Previous scores have been workshopped by Bang on a Can and commissioned by the MYS-Camerata. Max finds joy in playing co-ed soccer, learning how to screen print, renewing his passion for skateboarding, and continues to explore new hobbies. Max’s parents are Ms. Chanda Evans and Mr. Shannon McGlothin. Max studies composition with Dr. Ryan Francis and piano with Dr. Stephen Lewis. This is Max’s sixth year in Young Composers Project.
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
My newest piece entitled The Tale of the Fools of the Forgotten Forest, has been the most challenging yet rewarding process to date. The score relays a fantasy inspired theme based on the ever changing environment around us and the human disruption of the natural harmony in the world. In the first part of the score, you will hear raindrops falling, birds chirping, and trees swaying. The piano use of the stop note technique illustrates the sound of water falling on stone and the strings give the feeling of movement while the flute flutters like the sound of birds. This takes you on a journey where peace prevails and different elements of nature form and dissipate like snow on a mountain. Eventually, a uniform beat is echoed through the use of percussion as a band of adventurers make their way on their journey. Celtic themes start to emerge as this party twists and turns through the forest. Instruments slowly fade away as the party gains confidence and volume, where at least 3 instruments play the Celtic motif, until their luck runs out. A feeling of dread and shadow is cast over the adventurers, through the use of the Bass Drum, and dissonant chords, as they disturb an ancient slumbering creature. Upon waking the creature, it takes flight, as the piano plays a grand arpeggio, and the strings give depth to the anger. Finally, the ancient creature enacts their revenge upon the adventurers as a crescendo illuminates the ancient creature’s wrath of flame down on its tormentors. This unique sound is created using every note in the scale and played at once, giving the feeling of an explosion, or in this case, a Dragon’s breath. Once justice has been delivered, harmony is restored as the piano and cello play unresolved chords, before coming to a peaceful end, as the ancient creature once again returns to slumber.
A special THANK YOU to Ronni Lacroute for sponsoring the 2023-2024 Fear No Music concert season.
Fear No Music is also supported by grants from: Reed College, New Music USA, Oregon Arts Commission, Multnomah County Cultural Coalition, and Regional Arts and Culture Council.