Oregon-based composer Greg Steinke has twice been a finalist in the FNMC Composition Contest. In 2014 for his flute duo Van Gogh Vignettes and in 2015 for his flute quartet In Memoriam: Sacagawea. FNMC members have performed his compositions at the Florida Flute Fair and Kentucky Flute Society Conventions.
 
Q&A with Greg...
 
Describe your musical background and current activities.
I am a longtime composer/oboist/conductor who is still actively composing and occasionally performing on oboe and conducting.
 
What flutes, brands, and accessories (if any) do you like to perform new music on?
I prefer hearing my flute pieces performed on a Powell flute - it has always been my favorite.
 
When did you join FNMC and what attracted you to the organization?
Became a FNMC composer a couple of years ago - wanted to avail myself of performance opportunities for my flute compositions.
 
More About Greg…
 
Dr. Greg A Steinke is retired, former Joseph Naumes Endowed Chair of Music/Art and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Marylhurst University, Marylhurst, Oregon; Associate Director, Ernest Bloch Music Festival (‘93–97) and Director, Composers Symposium (‘90–97) (Newport, OR); served as the National Chairman of the Society of Composers, Inc. (1988–97). Composer of chamber and symphonic music and author with published/recorded works and performances across the U. S. and internationally; speaker on interdisciplinary arts, and oboist specializing in contemporary music. Dr. Steinke is the current national president of NACUSA and also serves on the NACUSA Cascadia Chapter Board.
Learn more at www.gregsteinke.com
 
If you liked In Memoriam: Sacagawea and/or Van Gogh Vignettes...

CROSS CURRENTS, (for Reciter and Chamber Ensemble (Flute/Native Flute, Violin, Trombone, Contrabass and Piano); 2004
 
ECHO POINT LOOKOUT An Australian Blue Mountain Triptych (Image Music XXXIX) (for Reciter, Flute/Alto Flute, Oboe d’Amore, Contrabass and Piano); 2013
 
EXPRESSIONS IV Fantasy on a Painting of Edvard Munch (Image Music XXXV) for Oboe, Violin, Violoncello, and Piano (also version for Flute, trumpet, Violoncello, and Piano) 2012
 
IMAGE MUSIC from Songs of the Fire Circles for Flute, Oboe, Trombone, and Contrabass, 1982
 
INQUIETUDE for Flute Solo, 1995
 
A JAPANESE FOLK SUITE, (for Reciter and Flute/Alto Flute or Oboe); 1992, rev. 2001
 
EIN JAPANISCHES LIEDERBUCH for Soprano, Chamber Ensemble (flute, violin, cello, harp, piano/celesta, percussion) and
slides, 1971

“LET US TAKE WHAT WE CAN FOR THE OCCASION,” (for Reciter, Flute/Piccolo, Contrabass and Piano); 2002

LYRIC FANTASY (A Music for Dance) for Flute, Alto Saxophone, and Guitar, 1980

Moments at CANYON DE CHELLY (Image Music XXVI) for Flute and Oboe Duet, 2005
 
Moments from WHITE BLOWING DAFODIL SEEDS (Image Music X-A) for Piano Trio, 2000, +o PUB; also versions for Flute,Violoncello and Piano, 2003 PUB, for Flute, Bassoon and Piano, 2004 PUB, and for Trumpet, Violoncello and Piano,2004
 
NORTHWEST SKETCHES II for Flute, Oboe, and Piano, 1980

NORTHWEST SKETCHES II-A for Flute, Oboe, and Wind Ensemble, 1982

NORTHWEST SKETCHES II-B for Flute, Oboe, and Chamber Orchestra, 1982

ONE BY ONE (Image Music II) for Flute and Harp, 1985

RANDOM BLACKOUTS III (Image Music XL) for Baritone, Flute, and 2 Percussion 2015

THREE SONNETS from William Shakespeare for Soprano, Flute, and Strings, 1962-64

TIP TOP TAP BALLROOM BONANZA for Alto Saxophone and Contrabass (also versions for flute, clarinet or soprano saxophone in B-flat and contrabass); 2014
 
TO GET TO FRESNO, (for Voice, Clarinet [or Flute] and Piano); 2004

TOMORROW ON YESTERDAY (Image Music IV) for Harp, 1989, @ (Carroll McLaughlin) + o PUB; as (Image Music IV-A) for Flute, Harp, Percussion, Harp Ensemble, and Trombone Ensemble, 1989
 
WIND RIVER COUNTRY for Woodwind Quintet, 1986

YAPONCHA - “Wind Spirit” (Image Music XX) for Flute, Viola and Harp, 2002

7 - 4 - 3 for Dancers and Chamber Ensemble (flute, cello, percussion), 1969

We’ve been fortunate to get to know composers from all over the world whom we might otherwise be completely unaware of through the FNMC Composition Contest. Cyrill Schürch is just such a composer. Cyrill lives and works in his native country of Switzerland, but he studied here in the US and in London, U.K. He was a finalist in 2014 for his flute choir work, Turbulence (8 flutes).
 
Q&A with Cyrill….
 
What about new music for flute appeals to you?
I love composing for the flute because it is such a versatile instrument. It is almost impossible to write unplayable passages, somehow the performers always find a way to play the notes and make it sound good. It is also equally useful as a solo instrument as well as in an ensemble context.
 
Who are your favorite “new” music composers and why?
There are many I like - and a few I dislike - at the moment my playlist features Rautavaara, Dutilleux, David Matthews, Harbison and Golijov. I like to listen to many different styles and ideas.
 
Describe your musical background and current activities.
I am a composer and pianist from Switzerland, I studied in the US for my BM and MM and got my PhD in London. I have been lucky to win a number of prizes in composition contests recently and I get regular commissions from soloist, ensembles and orchestras. I've written a flute sonata as well as an flute ensemble piece ("Turbulence" for eight flutes), and most of my instrumental music features the flute in some capacity.
 
Do you have any upcoming activities you would like our members and followers to know about?
Please have a look at my website www.cschurch.net for upcoming events, recordings and sample scores.
 
 
More About Cyrill…
 
Cyrill Schürch’s most recent orchestral work, Streaks, has been performed by the State Hermitage Orchestra in St. Petersburg (Russia) with Rainer Held, and has been on tour throughout Switzerland and Germany with the Novosibirsk Chamber Orchestra in early 2015.
2015 saw two wins at compositions competitions, in May 2015, Cyrill won the first Mario Merz Prize for composition and will compose a new work for the Camerata Bern as part of the prize, and in July his piece Three Seasons received 1st prize at the music festival at Povoa de Varzim, Portugal. In the past, Cyrill was prizewinner at the Swiss Children’s and Youth Choir composition contest and in 2012 his Les Quatrains Valaisans won a 2nd prize at the Alpenchorfestival Brig competition. He has earned awards and commissions from organizations such as the UBS cultural foundation, AURA contemporary ensemble, EnsembleSpektrum, Ayre Flutes London and Europa Cantat. His music is published by EMR Editions Switzerland and Carus-Verlag Germany which has recently agreed to publish most of Cyrill’s choral works.
He is also active as a pianist and chamber musician performing frequently as soloist or with pianist Daniel Vaiman in their Piano Duo. He has also collaborated with EnsembleSpektrum and plays regularly in a piano/violin duo with Leandra Wolf. Born in Lucerne, he has originally started learning to play the accordion and later also took up piano at age 10. Before starting his degrees he studied piano privately with Konstantin Scherbakov. Cyrill holds degrees with distinction in both piano and composition from the University of Houston Moores School of Music working with pianist Nancy Weems and composer Robert Nelson. During his summer at the Aspen Music Festival he studied composition with Sidney Hodkinson and George Tsontakis and piano with John Perry. Other teachers included David Del Tredici and David Olan during a year of postgraduate studies at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City. In 2008, he received a PhD from King’s College London studying with Robert Keeley and attended masterclasses with George Benjamin and Silvina Milstein. He is assistant director of the Musikschule Zug where he also teaches piano and composition.
 
If you liked Turbulence…
 
Introduction and Dance
Instrumentation:  fl, cl, perc, 2 gtr, vn, vc
Duration: 3’
Year of Composition: 2002
 
Loop
Instrumentation: fl, cl, hp, 2vn, va, vc
Duration: 8’
Year of Composition: 2004
 
Plasticity
Instrumentation: fl, cl, perc, pf, vn, vc
Duration: 8’
Year of Composition: 2009
 
Souirée
Instrumentation: fl, cl, perc, pf, 2vn, va, vc
Duration: 8’
Year of Composition: 2014
 
Sonata
Instrumentation:  fl, pf
Duration: 13’
Year of Composition: 2000
 
Yoga
Instrumentation: fl, cl, bn, hn, perc, pf, vn, vc
Duration: 2001
Year of Composition: 5’
 
 
 
 

As you’re preparing for the new school year and choosing repertoire for your advanced student flute quartet (or your own!), we suggest checking out Carleton Macy’s wonderful work Intensity. An honorable mention in 2015, Intensity for four C flutes (amplified) is available for free download on his website! www.carletonmacy.com
 
Q&A with Carleton…
 
What about new music for the flute appeals to you?
First, I am very drawn to the flute’s flexibility on so many levels: pitch range, textures, articulation, tone
qualities, and extended techniques including some available only through amplification. Second, and
perhaps most importantly, I am drawn to flute performers because they always tend to be very open to new
music.
 
Who is your favorite “new music” composer?
When I am composing, my favorite composer is myself (of course!). Between compositions my favorite
composers shift depending upon whose music has recently made the strongest impression upon me. The
composers who come to mind now are Michael Gordon (and his recently completed work “Van Gogh”,
Kevin Puts (especially his opera, “Silent Night”), and Silvestre Revueltas (a not so “new” composer) whose
CD is in my car. My favorite new music pieces are always those that have found new ways to say the same
old things.
 
Describe your musical background and current activities:
I grew up learning trumpet in public schools and then added trombone and switched to French horn because
horn music was more interesting and more substantive when playing in an orchestra. I studied music ed,
taught in Peace Corps (Ethiopia), and then went back to grad school to become a conductor and along the
way I became a composer. I taught theory/comp and directed a jazz band at Macalester College for 35
years Along the way I learned to play Renaissance wind instruments, Baroque and contemporary recorder
(mostly alto), swing and jazz drum set, and Chinese traditional instruments on which I performed with the
Minnesota Chinese Music Ensemble. I am now retired from teaching but remain very active as a composer
living in California, and once again loving performance on horn and bass drum (in a pipe band.)
 
How do you view the composing profession?
College faculty members are “required” to be professionally active which means actively seeking out
juried performance and recording opportunities. Making real money composing would be wonderful, but
the reality is that few composers can make more than a minimal honorarium and a small amount from
ASCAP and BMI sampled performances. This may have bothered me at one time, but now I prefer to give
my music away, which I do on my website: carletonmacy.com. On this site you may listen to and freely
download pdfs of scores and parts for most of my music. A good performance of a new piece is the best
pay! If a performer can get a grant to commission me, I’d be glad to share the wealth!
 
What advice can you give to flutists about approaching new music.
(1) expect to put in the same amount of time preparing a new piece that you would put into the preparation
of a piece from the standard repertoire. Standard repertoire often gets more prep time because colleagues
already know how it should be played, and thus performance expectations are higher. (2) Don’t hesitate to
contact and consult with the composer. This is so easy to do now: send a recording of a run-through, even
if recorded on one’s phone, or set up a skyped run-through. Most composers want to be involved with
performance preparation. (3) Always commit to an expressive point of view in all of the music, new and
old, that you perform….. and, of course, have fun while you are doing it!
 
More about Carleton…

I compose works ranging from vocal and orchestral to jazz and music for non-western instruments, often integrating a variety of historical and ethnic stylistic influences. My compositions have been performed throughout the United States, in Europe and Asia, and are recorded on INNOVA, Naxos, DAPHENO, and Latvian Radio. Macy’s Composition teachers have included William Bergsma, Robert Suderberg, and Donal Michalsky.
I am a Professor Emeritus of Music at Macalester College where I began teaching in 1978. In addition to teaching theory and composition courses I directed the MacJazz big band, the Macalester Collegium Musicum, and the Mac New Music Ensemble which specialized in improvised music.   I have an active interest in Non-Western music, having served as Artistic Director, conductor and sheng performer with the Minnesota Chinese Music Ensemble. I am presently an active composer living in Pacific Grove, California where I am also an active performer on French horn, alto recorder, and bass drum.

If you enjoyed Intensity…

A Little Fuguing
Instrumentation: fl, ssax(cl), elec gtr, mar
Duration: 5’
Year of Composition: 2006
 
Centering
Instrumentation: double woodwind quintet and piano
Duration: 20’
Year of Composition: 1984
 
Commentaries
Instrumentation: fl, ob, cl, bn, hn
Duration:14’30”
Year of Composition: 1988
 
Concertino
Instrumentation: fl, ob, cl, bn, hn, vib, mar
Duration: 8’
Year of Composition: 1993
 
Douce Dame
Instrumentation: Mez, fl, cl, pf, vn, va, vc
Duration: 11’20”
Year of Composition: 2012
 
Echoes
Instrumentation: picc, 2fl, afl, 3cl, bcl
Duration: 8’
Year of Composition: 2011
 
El Dia de los Muertos
Instrumentation: fl, cl, pf
Duration: 8’30
Year of Composition:2009
 
Equinox and Solstice
Instrumentation: 2fl, pf
Duration: 11’
Year of Composition: 1992
 
Flute Games
Instrumentation: Mez, fl
Duration: 12’30”
Year of Composition: 1982
 
FMV
Instrumentation: fl, va, man
Year of Composition: 2006
 
Friends in Time
Instrumentation: flute (amplified), elec gtr
Duration: 8’15”
Year of Composition: 1991
 
Mid-Summer Dreams
Instrumentation: fl, cl, vn, va, vc
Duration: 10”
Year of Composition: 2006
 
 
Monogram: Alexander George Macy
Instrumentation: solo flute
Duration: 4’
Year of Composition: 1983
 
Opera Venti
Instrumentation: fl, ob, cl, bn, hn
Duration: 12’
Year of Composition: 1990
 
Shades of Green
Instrumentation: fl, cl
Duration: 4’10”
Year of Composition: 2013
 
Three Flutes Quartets from Mozart
Instrumentation: 3 fl, afl
Duration: 9’45”
Year of Composition: 1988
 
Toute Ensemble
Instrumentation: 6fl (3rd dbl picc)
Duration: 10’30”
Year of Composition: 1978
 
Twigs: a Serenade for Woodwind Quintet
Instrumentation: fl, ob, cl, bn, hn
Duration: 13’
Year of Composition: 1980
 
Waves
Instrumentation: fl, ob, bn, pf
Duration: 10’30”
Year of Composition: 1984