Stephen Lias is a busy man! He has several exciting upcoming performances, just completed a new commission, and teaches full-time at Stephen F. Austin State University. We’re so happy he found time to share some of his thoughts with us! We work hard to just what he suggests; support works and provide opportunities for them to be heard in multiple performances!
Many of you may have heard his Sonata for flute and piano, which has achieved considerable popularity. Stephen’s work for solo flute, Flight of Fancy, was a finalist in the 2016 FNMC Composition Contest. Flight of Fancy was commissioned by the Texas Flute Society for the 2014 Myrna W Brown Young Artist Competition. Olivia Boatman will perform Flight of Fancy at the Florida Flute Convention on Saturday January 28th, if you’re attending don’t miss out on the opportunity to hear Stephen’s wonderful work!
 
Q&A with Stephen…
 
What about new music for the flute appeals to you?
One of the reasons that it is so fun to write for flute is how the community of flute players embraces and champions new music.  In general, instruments with older repertoire and longer histories (like horn or cello), tend to be less embracing of contemporary pieces, while younger instruments (saxophone and percussion) are naturally drawn to newer pieces.  Flutists are an exception to this trend.  I've attended many flute conferences and am always delighted with the number of world premieres and recent works by living composers.
 
Describe your musical background and current activities.
Although I don't consider myself a very old composer, my creative life has already gone through a number of phases.  My output has (at various times) focused on chamber music, or theatrical incidental music.  For the last eight years, however, I've been focusing on writing pieces inspired by wilderness and the national parks of the United States.  This new chapter has let me to serve as Artist-in-Residence at Glacier, Denali, Rocky Mountain, Gates of the Arctic, Glacier Bay, and other national parks, and the resulting pieces (both chamber and symphonic) have been performed all over the world.
 
Do you have any upcoming events that you would like our friends and followers to know about?
The most exciting upcoming performance will be in March when the Boulder Philharmonic presents my new piece "All the Songs that Nature Sings" at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as part of the SHIFT Festival of American Orchestras.  This work was commissioned with funds from the National Endowment for the Arts' "Imagine Your Parks" program and celebrates Rocky Mountain National Park.  There are lots of other performances coming up as well, and they can all be found at:  http://www.stephenlias.com
 
What advice can you give to flutists about approaching new music in practice?
The biggest request I always have of flute players who perform contemporary music is that they commit to helping the "life of the piece".  It is very fashionable to commission and premiere a new piece, but for a new work to get any traction within the flute community, it will need more than a premiere... it will need multiple performances and teachers willing to recommend the piece to their students.  The best collaborations between composers and performers come when the performers maintain a commitment to the pieces.
 
More About Stephen…
 
The music of STEPHEN LIAS (b. 1966) is regularly performed in concert and recital throughout the United States and abroad by soloists and ensembles including the Arianna Quartet, the Anchorage Symphony, the Oasis Quartet, the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival Orchestra, the Ensamble de Trompetas Simón Bolívar, the Boulder Philharmonic, and the Russian String Orchestra. His music is published by ALRY Publications, Brassworks 4, Cimarron Music Press, Alias Press, and Warwick Music, and appears on compact discs from Centaur Records, Teal Creek Music, Mark Records, and Parma Records. His pieces are regularly featured at major national and international conferences including the International Trumpet Guild, the North American Saxophone Alliance, and the ISCM World Music Days. Lias is also active as a composer of theatrical incidental music and served for eleven years as Composer in Residence and Music Director at the Texas Shakespeare Festival.
Recently, Stephen has become increasingly focused on being an adventurer-composer. His passion for wilderness and outdoor pursuits has led to a growing series of works about the national parks of the US. He has had residencies at Rocky Mountain, Glacier, Denali, Glacier Bay, Bering Land Bridge, and Gates of the Arctic National Parks, and has written over a dozen park-related pieces that have been premiered at conferences and festivals in such places as Colorado, Texas, Sydney, and Taiwan. Upcoming performances are planned for Fairbanks, New York City, Washington D.C. and New Hampshire. Among his current project is a new commission from the Boulder Philharmonic (funded by the National Endowment for the Arts) to create an original piece inspired by Rocky Mountain National Park. He is the founder and leader of Alaska Geographic's annual "Composing in the Wilderness" field seminar.
Stephen Lias received degrees from Messiah College, Stephen F. Austin State University, and Louisiana State University. His teachers have included Dinos Constantinides, Dan Beatty, and Darrell Holt. He is a Distinguished Arts Associate of Sigma Alpha Iota International Music
Fraternity and a member of ASCAP, NACUSA, the College Music Society, the Society of Composers, Inc, and the American Composers Forum. He is the Texas delegate to the International Society of Contemporary Music and serves as the Chair of the judging panel for the ISCM-IAMIC Young Composers Award. He currently resides in Nacogdoches, Texas where he is Professor of Composition at Stephen F. Austin State University.
 
If you liked Flight of Fancy…

Central Park Suite
Instrumentation: woodwind quintet
Duration: 12’
Year: 1991 rev. 2001
 
Forever Alive, Forever Forward
Instrumentation: flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and percussion
Duration: 6’
Year: 2016
 
The Ghosts of Mesa Verde
Instrumentation: for two flutes (doubling percussion)
Duration: 8’
Year: 2013
 
Glide
Instrumentation: woodwind quintet + alto sax
Duration: 6’
Year: 2007
 
Jeffrey Pine
Instrumentation: Pierrot ensemble
Duration: 6’
Year: 2016
 
 
Lechuguilla
Instrumentation: flute and clarinet
Duration: 5’
Year: 1995
 
Mélange of Neumes
Instrumentation: flute choir
Duration: 12’
Year: 2009
 
Sonata for flute and piano
Instrumentation: flute and piano
Duration: 20’
Year: 2003
 
 

Through the Composer Spotlight series, we’ve discovered that many of the pieces originated through a personal connection. Tutti Frutti (for Two-ti Virtuosi Flutti) by John Moody, is no exception. John composed it as a gift to his cousin, Turi Scilipoti, in honor of his graduation from Eastman in 2016. Tutti Frutti (for Two-ti Virtuoso Flutti) received an Honorable Mention in the Newly Composed Category in this year's FNMC Composition Competition. John was busy writing for flute in 2016, along with Tutti Frutti, he composed two other chamber pieces, Drip for woodwing quintet with piano and Falling Up for flute, oboe, synthesizer, and looper which was premiered January 9, 2017 in Spartanburg, SC.
 
We’re excited about two upcoming performances of Tutti Frutti!  FNMC members Kallie Snyder and Sarah Jane Young will perform the complete work at the Florida Flute Convention on January 28, 2017 and Emily Nazario and Brittany Trotter will perform select movements at the Mid-South Flute Convention. Don’t worry if you won’t be able to attend one of those performances, you can listen to a great performance on his website or SoundCloud page!
 
Q&A with John…
 
What about new music for the flute appeals to you?
The flute is a very nimble and versatile instrument, with a beautiful tone. It is also capable of several "special effects". When I write music for the flute I try to take advantage of these attributes!
 
Who is/are your favorite “new music” composer/s and why?
Lately I've been listening to lots of Unsuk Chin. I think her music is fascinating - it is virtuosic and full of special effects. In spite of the dissonance in her works there seems to be an intriguing tonality present in her music that I am trying to understand. I have also always liked the music of Jacob Druckman and John Harbison.
 
What is/are your favorite “new music” piece/s and why?
I think Unsuk Chin's Violin Concerto is amazing - as is her Cello Concerto. Jacob Druckman's "Aureole" was the first "New Music" piece that I ever really "liked". I first heard it back in the eighties when my wife played it with the Charleston Symphony. I was totally drawn in to the music, and after the piece I thought to myself, "Oh my, I think I actually LIKED that piece of New Music!" John Harbison's "Symphony No. 2" is a wonderful piece, as well as the "Mirabai Songs" found on Dawn Upshaw's amazing debut album.
 
Describe your musical background and current activities.
I have a BME in Choral Music from the University of South Carolina. I took a composition class and loved it. So, I went on to get a Masters Degree in Composition from USC, then we moved up to Boston, where I got my Doctorate from Boston University. When I graduated the college composition jobs were scarce. I found a wonderful High School choral job in Spartanburg, South Carolina where I have been for the past twenty years. I have always stayed very active in composition, however. Now that my children are out of the house, I am composing much more. Along with the composition and choral music I have also been an active jazz pianist.
 
What advice can you give to flutists about approaching new music in practice?
I advise musicians to approach New Music with an open mind. Also, dig deep into the piece and find the music that is in there. What I love is when a great performer finds something that I didn't even think about in my music. There is this possibility for synergy that is so great in music, and when it happens the resulting performances can be truly stunning! I think this is true regardless of the genre of music. I advise the flute player to approach New Music the same way they approach any other kind of music - try to find the emotion that is hidden in those written notes, and bring it out. Strive for that synergistic experience between composer, performer and audience!
 
More About John…
 
John Moody lives in Spartanburg, SC where he teaches AP Music Theory and Music Tech at Spartanburg High School and directs the Second Presbyterian Chancel Choir. John received his undergraduate and Master’s degrees from the University of South Carolina where he studied with Fred Teuber and Gordon “Dick” Goodwin, and his Doctorate from Boston University where he studied with Marjorie Merryman and John Harbison. In addition to teaching and composing John is an active jazz pianist in the upstate of South Carolina. He has received several commissions from wind ensembles, chamber ensembles and choirs. His piece, “The Open Road”, for Wind Ensemble and Jazz Piano can be found on the recording “The Speed of Heat”,by the United States Air Force Academy Band, and recently his piece “Drip” won the “Treefalls call for scores” competition, and was premiered at the November 20, 2015 “Espresso Chamber Music” concert in Spartanburg, SC.
 
For more information, please visit his website www.johnmoodymusic.com. It was created by his cousin Turi Scilipoti, for whom Tutti Frutti was written!
 
If You Liked Tutti Frutti…
 
Drip
Instrumentation:  wind quintet and piano
Duration: 6’
Year of Composition: 2015
 
Falling Up
Instrumentation: flute, oboe, synthesizer, looper
Duration: 9’
Year of Composition: 2016