musiclarge ensembleLost Gulch Lookout (2008)wind ensemble (4232 4331, 3 perc, hp, 2 cb) Premiere: 26 February 2008, Hugh Hodgson Hall, Athens, GA Lost Gulch Lookout was commissioned by conductor John Lynch and received its premiere by the University of Georgia Wind Ensemble in February 2008. The music of Lost Gulch Lookout is reflective of the craggy, colorful landscape of Kristin Kuster's upbringing in Boulder, Colorado. Far from merely nostalgic, however, her forcefully lean and athletic writing style evokes the jagged nature of the raw terrain. Sounds consist simultaneously of hauntingly beautiful sonorities and tense dissonances. Kuster achieves this dichotomy by pairing open-sounding perfect intervals (such as fourths and fifths) with a decorating semitone that clashes with both members of the initial intervals. The piece has a modified binary structure, with the unfurling events of the opening repeated again at the work's midpoint, with even greater fervor. A cadre of percussion batter away unrelentingly, driving the work through its permutations until finally the piece implodes, shattering itself on the very rocks it had so immaculately colored. Boulder's Lost Gulch Lookout is an outcropping of rock on the razor edge of civilization--set atop precipices overlooking Boulder to the East, and beneath the great expanse of the Rocky Mountains from the West. The visceral, gritty energy of the very canyons themselves are, perhaps, nature's response to the incessant imposition of humanity into our few remaining unspoiled areas of nature. --program note by Jake Wallace The Trickster & the Troll (2008)chamber opera in two acts Premiere: 16 November 2008, Brookings, SD Beneath This Stone (2007)orchestra (3222 4231 timp, 2 perc, hp, str) Premiere: 21-22 March 2007, Annapolis, MD Beneath This Stone was commissioned by the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra for the Annapolis Charter 300 Young Composers Competition, with world premiere performances 21-22 March, 2008, under the baton of José-Luis Novo. Before beginning this piece, I visited Annapolis in early July 2007. While I was there, I felt a strong juxtaposition of layers of energy: there seems to be a surface level of the every-day bustle, a middle-ground rooted in the historical buildings that have stood since Annapolis’ beginnings, all of which is connected to the surrounding water with a slow rhythm that has been present even before people settled on the shore. The simultaneous activity and rhythms of the people and the place were very striking to me. The feel of the city seems to convey the past, present, and future at once. The music of Beneath This Stone captures the ebb and flow between the permanence and transience of historical renewal. The title comes from a plaque on a historical marker in Market Square with the title “History Stone.” The plaque explains that the granite block to which it is attached was the cornerstone of a proposed fountain dedicated on the 200th Anniversary of the Annapolis City Charter in 1908. The small monument moved me because of the contrast between the heaviness of the stone and (in my imagination) the lightness of the fountain which had never been built. That simple contrast of a living history, presented on a marker from a previous celebration of the city’s charter, served as the impetus for Beneath This Stone. Annapolis has many monuments, historical buildings, memories of significant events, and plans that look forward for development in the coming years; and it is my hope that my new piece Beneath This Stone can serve as a living musical monument and tribute to Annapolis’ rich past, present, and future. Special thanks to José-Luis Novo, R. Lee Streby, and Andrew and Odin Kuster for their artistry and kind support. Myrrha (2006)three sopranos, tbb choir & orchestra (3121 4020 timp, 3 perc, hp, str) Myrrha was written for the Underwood Emerging Composer Commission for American Composers Orchestra, Steven Sloane, Music Director; Robert Beaser, Artistic Director. Premiere: 3 May 2006, Carnegie Hall, American Composers Orchestra conducted by Steven Sloane, and the ACO Singers, Judith Clurman, conductor Myrrha, for three sopranos, male choir and orchestra, is based on the myth from Ovid's Metamorphosis about a young woman's forbidden love. Because of her overwhelming beauty, Myrrha was cursed by Aphrodite, the goddess of love, to lust after her own father. Myrrha tragically succumbed to her passion, and in vengeance the gods transformed the remorseful Myrrha into the weeping myrrh tree. Today, the drops of sap harvested for the perfume myrrh are said to be the tears of Myrrha. The text of Myrrha is comprised of excerpts taken from Ovid's Latin poem. The poetic fragments are woven together into non-narrative sequences and clusters, as though the listener passes through Myrrha's dreams and memories of her incestuous desire. The music of Myrrha expresses lamentation, memories of lust, and regret. Many thanks to Judith Clurman, Steven Sloane, Robert Beaser, and Andrew Kuster for their artistry and kind support. Myrrha was composed with the generous support of Mr. Paul Underwood for the American Composers Orchestra Underwood Emerging Composer Commission. Interior (2006)wind ensemble (3232 4221, 2 perc, hp, cb) Premiere: 2 February 2007, Hill Auditorium, University of Michigan Symphony Band conducted by Michael Haithcock The music of Interior reflects ideas or thoughts that lie, occur, or function within limiting boundaries. Just as we project our imagination onto the architectural space in which we live in order to find solace in our environment, so we also ponder the thoughts and memories that decorate our lives. Interior is intended as a subtle window into the concealed nature of those thoughts and memories. Interior was commissioned by a consortium of wind ensembles organized by conductor Michael Haithcock, University of Michigan Director of Instrumental Studies and University Bands; with additional participation by the University of Missouri Kansas City Conservatory (Steven D. Davis), and the State University of New York Potsdam Crane School of Music (Brian K. Doyle). Iron Diamond (2005)orchestra (3222 4321 timp, 3 perc, str) Premiere: 8 October 2005, Plymouth, MI, Plymouth Symphony Orchestra 60th Anniversary Concert conducted by Nan Washburn Iron Diamond was commissioned in 2005 by the Plymouth Symphony Orchestra to commemorate the orchestra’s sixtieth anniversary season. The PSO's Musical Director Nan Washburn asked me for a piece that would celebrate the historical and current presence of trains in Plymouth, Michigan. To get a sense of the trains in Plymouth, I spent time walking along the Plymouth Diamond—the quadrangle-shaped track arrangement where trains change direction—and listened to the trains from different areas in town. I was struck by the ever-present sounds and motion of the trains through Plymouth—a local man told me, "The trains mean that one always has an excuse to be late here!" Certainly, Plymouth's trains compel locals to stop their daily routines and ponder the distant places where each train car has been, or is going. I wanted my composition to have a particular "train-ness," without the music sounding like it used literal train sound references. The result is approximately six minutes of perpetual motion. At about two-thirds of the way through the piece is a brief stop, during which the listener is no longer propelled forward, but briefly changes perspective from passenger to observer. Special thanks to Allen Leonard for his generous support, the Do-It-Yourself Composer Train Kit, and the visit to see the trains at Greenfield Village. The Narrows (2003)orchestra (3233 4331 timp, 3 perc, str) Premiere: 24 May 2004, Columbia University, NYC, American Composers Orchestra Whitaker New Music Reading Session conducted by Jeffrey Milarsky The Wind Will Gather (2002)sixteen mixed voices & orchestra (2222 2220 timp, 2 perc, pno, str) Premiere: 11 January 2003, Ann Arbor, MI, recording session conducted by Chris Younghoon Kim, singers prepared by Andrew Kuster chamber ensembleHere, Leaving (2010)solo cello, 2 violin, viola, contrabass, 1 percussion Premiere: 12 April, 2010, New York City Midnight Mirror (2009)string quartet Premiere: 10 & 14 December, 2009, San Francisco, CA Perpetual Afternoon (2009)flute & piano Premiere: August 2010, at the National Flute Association Convention, Anaheim, CA Little Trees (2009)percussion quartet Premiere: 5 December, 2009, University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI Ribbon Earth (2008)flute, clarinet, bassoon & string quartet Premiere: 2 & 3 July 2008, Kansas City, MO Perpetual Noon (2008)flute & piano Premiere: August 2008, at the National Flute Association Convention, Kansas City, MO Ando: wind beneath rain (2006)clarinet & violin Premiere: March 2006, Granville, OH, Nicolas del Grazia, clarinet and Andrew Carlson, violin, Denison University New Music Festival Ando: wind beneath rain was inspired by the buildings of architect Tadao Ando. Ando's use of the hardest of materials—concrete, steel and glass—can appear severe, yet at the same time surprisingly gentle. For Ando, "architectural materials are not limited to wood or concrete that have tangible forms, but go beyond to include light and wind—which appeal to our senses." (Tadao Ando, Space Design, June 1921). Ando: wind beneath rain is the second in a series of pieces relating to the architect’s work, and begins where Ando: light against shade, for chamber ensemble, left off. Ando: light against shade was premiered at the Composers Conference and Chamber Music Center at Wellesley College in August 2003, with Efrain Guigui conducting. Many thanks to Dr. Andrew Kuster, Dr. Anatole Senkevitch, Dr. Nicolas del Grazia, and Dr. Andrew Carlson. fzg drzl; ptchs fog (2005)clarinet & piano Premiere: 20 April 2005, Granville, OH, Nicolas del Grazia, clarinet and Kristin P. Kuster, piano Jellyfish (2004)alto saxophone & piano Premiere: 11, 13 & 18 October 2004, Bluffton, OH, Granville, OH, Potsdam, NY, 45th Parallel: Timothy McAllister, saxophone and Lucia Unrau, piano. Jellyfish was commissioned by saxophonist Timothy McAllister. The piece is in three sections, each inspired by a different mode of jellyfishness: 1. “medusa,” after the full-formed stage of a jellyfish’s life; 2. “blob,” after an enormous, black, slow-moving deep-sea jellyfish; and 3. “thimbles,” after the tiny jellyfishes that swim in schools of thousands like swarming bees. Breath Beneath (2004)saxophone quartet Premiere: 11 & 13 June 2004, New York City & Philadelphia, PA, PRISM Saxophone Quartet Ando: light against shade (2003)flute, clarinet, violin, 'cello, piano & percussion Premiere: 24 August 2003, Wellesley, MA, Composers Conference at Wellesley College, conducted by Efrain Guigui. Ando: light against shade was inspired by the buildings of architect Tadao Ando. Ando's use of the hardest of materials—concrete, steel and glass—can appear severe, yet at the same time surprisingly gentle. For Ando, "architectural materials are not limited to wood or concrete that have tangible forms, but go beyond to include light and wind—which appeal to our senses." (Tadao Ando, Space Design, June 1921). Ando: light against shade was premiered at the Composers Conference and Chamber Music Center at Wellesley College in August 2003, with Efrain Guigui conducting. Many thanks to Dr. Andrew Kuster, Dr. Andrew Mead, David Schober, Carter Pann, and Dr. Anatole Senkevitch. Wright Spaces (2000)string quartet Premiere: 20 April 2001, Ann Arbor, MI, Rosseels Quartet Wright Spaces is based on three of Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian Homes. The architectural elements that make up the Usonian Style grew out of Wright's Prairie Home designs, but were streamlined in plan and scale to accommodate the new, more casual family lifestyle in the post-Depression United States. From 1936-1959 Wright designed some three hundred and ten Usonian Homes, of which one hundred and forty were actually built. My intent with Wright Spaces is to create a musical representation and interpretation of several architectural details of the Usonian style, as well as the serenity, joy and whimsy one might experience in inhabiting a Wright space. The piece consists of three connected movements played without pause that represent the Zimmerman House of Manchester, New Hampshire, the Hanna House of Palo Alto, California, and the Lovness House of Stillwater, Minnesota. The Zimmerman House movement depicts a long circuitous entryway, typical of many of Wright's homes. The movement is designed as an entryway into Wright Spaces, introducing the work's main themes and key areas. The sustained sonorities over both the opening cello line and the quasi-cadenza passage that follows depict the suspended plane of the roof, as well as Wright's tendency to deconstruct walls, or the delineation of multiple spaces within a home, allowing more freedom of movement throughout the structure as a whole. The Hanna House movement plays on Wright's use of a hexagon module as the architectural motif of this home. Musical motives are constructed around intervals of thirds and sixths. The perpetual sixteenth-note pulse, coupled with the glissandi passages, evoke the whimsy of the angles of the hexagons throughout the home, while the short melodic lines of the viola create the flow of natural light through the home's glazed walls and clerestory windows. The musical material of the Lovness House movement is derived from both the Zimmerman and Hanna movements, and placed within the context of one particular element of the Lovness House itself: large ceramic bells hung from its surrounding trees. The movement is meant to be a culmination of the wonder and joy of experiencing the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian Homes. Thank you, to the Rosseels Quartet of the University of Michigan, Michael Daugherty, Andrew Jennings, Anatole Senkevitch, Andrew Kuster and Patricia Peterson. vocal musicZephyrus (2009)choir (satb w/divisi), saxophone quartet Premiere: 16 May 2009, NYC Zephyrus was commissioned by Cantori New York and the PRISM Saxophone Quartet, with world premiere performances 16-17 May, 2009, conducted by Mark Shapiro. Before beginning this piece I spoke with Mark, and he asked for a lively springtime concert-closer. The music of Zephyrus captures the ebb and flow between the end of cold darkness and the beginning of warm light. The poetry by Catullus evolves within a strong juxtaposition of layers of musical energy: extended lyrical phrases in the choir float airily above the frenetically dancing saxophones. Throughout my life, having grown up in Boulder, Colorado, and now dividing my time between New York City and Ann Arbor, Michigan, it seems spring never comes quickly enough. Special thanks to Mark Shapiro, the virtuosic members of PRISM, and Andrew and Odin Kuster for their artistry and kind support. Redness (2008)choir (satb w/divisi) Premiere: 17 May 2008, NYC No (2008)tenor, piano written for American Opera Projects' Composers and the Voice Series How About It? (2008)bass, piano written for American Opera Projects' Composers and the Voice Series Long Ago (2008)mezzo soprano, piano written for American Opera Projects' Composers and the Voice Series Silken Branches (2007)baritone, piano written for American Opera Projects' Composers and the Voice Series Soon (2007)soprano, piano Premiere: 9 December 2007, Ann Arbor, MI Sorrow (2007)soprano, piano written for American Opera Projects' Composers and the Voice Series Dream Black Night (2007)soprano, piano written for American Opera Projects' Composers and the Voice Series Bleed (2007)choir (satb w/divisi), 1 percussion, harp, string quartet Lux fulgebit (2004)unaccompanied choir (satb) Premiere: 11 & 12 December 2004, Farmington Hills & Ann Arbor, MI, Vox Early Music Ensemble Lux fulgebit was commissioned by the Vox Early Music Ensemble for their December 2004 holiday concert. The Gregorian chant Lux fulgebit, which is associated with the Christmas Mass at Dawn, served as the impetus for the piece. For me, the text of the chant is about hope enlightening the darkness of the world, just as daylight returns after the Winter Solstice. Throughout the piece, I emphasize the word "lux" ("light") in an effort to capture the slow emergence of the first light of day after the darkest night of the year. I take some of the musical material for the piece directly from the Gregorian chant, which is well over a thousand years old, hundreds of years older than many of the pieces Vox typically performs. I transform that material through my own musical language and place it in a modern context by weaving element of the chant through varying harmonic textures and stretches of time. Rorate caeli (2003)unaccompanied choir (sssatbb) Premiere: 12 December 2003, Ann Arbor, MI, Vox Early Music Ensemble Rorate caeli derives its melodic material from the Introit for the fourth Sunday of Advent. Throughout the piece, the Gregorian chant recurs in original form and permutations, often embedded within a thick polyphonic texture. Rorate caeli was commissioned by Dr. Christopher Wolverton and Vox Early Music Ensemble, and I am honored to be Vox's first composer-in-residence. Many thanks to Dr. Wolverton, Dr. Andrew Kuster, and Carter Pann for their feedback and support. The Leaden Echo (2003)unaccompanied choir (ssattb) Premiere: 24 April 2003, Waterville, ME, Colby College Chorale, Steven Grives, Conductor Indoors Again (2001)soprano, piano Premiere: 12 February 2001, Ann Arbor, Jennifer Goltz, soprano and Kristin P. Kuster, piano Indoors Again was commissioned by soprano Jennifer Goltz in fall 2000. The piece was created in close collaboration between Ms. Goltz, poet Manu Chander and composer Kristin Kuster. The text reflects the confinements and empty comforts of apartment life, the isolation of the individual in the Age of Convenience. © Copyright 2009 Kristin Kuster, All Rights Reserved. |