WAC Newsletter, May 1997: Members' News

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Hildegarde Fischer

A recital of original works by Hildegarde Fischer was presented May 12 at the Broadway Theatre Center in Milwaukee. Included were Classical Variations and Fugue for Piano, Winds of Hope, Fantasy for Cello and Piano, Piano Sonata, and the premiere of Piano Quartet.

Jim Schwall

Jim Schwall's most recent composition, Desert Dance, was premiered on April 7 at Western Michigan University, where Schwall teaches composition. The multimedia work is scored for oboe and string trio and includes poetry and photography. It was also performed on April 26 at the WAC conference in Madison.

Present Music

Institutional member Present Music presented the United States premiere of John Adams' Gnarly Buttons at concerts in Madison and Milwaukee on May 22 and 23. The work is scored for clarinet soloist and chamber ensemble, and was co-commissioned by Present Music and the London Sinfonietta. The latter group premiered the work in England earlier this year to rave reviews. Soloist for the Present Music performances was William Helmers, clarinetist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and frequent performer with Present Music. Of the work, Adams wrote, " 'Gnarly' means knotty, twisted or covered with gnarls... your basic elder's walking stick. In American schoolkid parlance it takes on additional connotations of something to be admired: 'awesome,' 'fresh,', etc. The buttons... acknowledge our lives at the end of the 20th century being given over to pressing buttons of one sort or another."

Tigger Lee Streets

Three Surrealist Women on the Edge of Oblivion, a multidimensional arts endeavor with music by Tigger Lee Streets, was performed on May 23 and 25 at the Madison Civic Center. The work is based on a painting by Salvador Dali and includes choreography, sets, costumes, lighting, and sound. It was funded in part by grants from the Madison Civic Center Foundation and the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission, with additional support from the Madison Community Foundation.

Jon Welstead

Jon Welstead's most recent computer-generated composition, All in a Whisper, was premiered at the Electroacoustiques universite Concordia university Electroacoustics (E u C u E) Canadian Festival in Montreal on February 13. The work was performed again on April 10 at the Sixth Annual Florida Electroacoustic Music Festival at the University of Florida.

Yehuda Yannay

Yehuda Yannay's new compact disc entitled Music Now and From Almost Yesterday has been issued on the INNOVA label of the American Composers Forum. Included on the disc are the works Nine Branches of the Olive Tree, Seven Late Spring Pieces, Duo for flute and cello, and Trio for clarinet, cello, and piano. Also included is a track featuring the voice of the composer discussing a visit to Lisbon and the origins of the work Duo.

WAC Newsletter, May 1997
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