Flutists obliviously enjoy João’s works; he has been our most frequent finalist! Three of his compositions have been finalists in the FNMC Composition Contest; A Escada Estreita for alto flute and electronics (or alto and bass flute and electronics) and Entre O Ar E A Perfeio, for flute, piano, and electronics in 2014 and Burning Silver for flute, guitar, and electronics was a finalist in the chamber music category in 2015. João is currently composing a flute concerto; we’re looking forward to hearing it!
 
Q&A with João…
What about New music for the flute appeals to you?
Flute is one of the most versatile and interesting instruments. It has an amazing richness of colors, timbres, and special effects. Composing for flute becomes almost like an adventure in an unexplored land, trying to find new landscapes, colors, and sound images.
 
Who is your favorite “new music” composer and why?
I have a great admiration for the music of Jonathan Harvey. His spirituality and inner self reflects in a very direct way in the music he composed. The treatment of timbres, the orchestration, and the work with electronics is one of the most successful in contemporary music.
 
What are your favorite “new music” pieces and why?
There are several. For example, Dhomont’s Le Trevail du Rêve is masterpiece of acousmatic music. Lachenmann’s Fassade has an amazing treatment of the timbre possibilities of the orchestra. Elliot Carter’s Symphonia Sum Fluxae Praetium Spei has an intensity of gestures and phrase relations that transmits a special energy to the listener.
 
Describe your musical background and activities.
Background in architecture and organ performance. Presently I am interested in the relation between sound and images, working on pieces with video or videomapping in instruments. For example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyuxBjw7C74
 
Do you have any upcoming events that you would like our friends and followers to know about?
I am preparing the composition of a flute concerto.
 
More about João…
 
João Pedro Oliveira studied organ performance, composition and architecture in Lisbon. He completed a PhD in Composition at Stony Brook University. His music includes one chamber opera, several orchestral composition, a Requiem, 3 string quartets, chamber music, solo instrumental music, electroacoustic music and experimental video. He has received over 40 international prizes for his compositions, including the prestigious Bourges Magisterium Prize, the Giga-Hertz Award, 1st Prize in Metamorphoses competition, 1st Prize in Musica Nova competition, etc.. He is Professor at Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil) and Aveiro University (Portugal). He published several articles in journals, and has written a book about analysis and 20th century music theory.
www.jpoliveira.com
 
João’s Additional Works for Flute…
 
Etude for Five Instruments
Instrumentation: flute, clarinet, piano, cello, percussion
Year: 1984
Duration: 12’
 
Le Chant de L’Oyseau-Lyre
Instrumentation: flute, oboe, clarinet, piano, percussion, violin, cello
Year: 2002
Duration: 11’
 
Prisma
Instrumentation: Flute, accordian, piano percussion
Year: 2008
Duration: 9’
 
…there are those who say that life is an illusion…
Instrumentation: flute, oboe, trumpet, percussion, violin, cello, electronics
Year: 1999
Duration:10’
 
Timshel
Instrumentation: flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, electronics
Year: 2007
Duration: 15’
 
Towdah
Instrumentation: flute, bass clarinet, piano, percussion, electronics
Year: 2009
Duration: 13’
 

It’s been such a pleasure to learn more about the background and inspiration of the FNMC Composition Contest finalist composers.  This week, we’re pleased to share our Q&A with Andrew Davis, composer of What’s Next for flute, bassoon and piano.
 
Q&A with Andrew
 
What about new music for the flute appeals to you?
The flute is one of the most, if not the most, versatile instruments.  There are so many possibilities.  Personally, I’m amazed at the range of character the instrument possesses.  I think most people often think of the flute as a bright and brilliant instrument, which it certainly is; however, the low register of the flute is capable of haunting beauty.  There’s a piece by this Danish composer, Hans Abrahamsen, called Winternacht that features an alto flute in its lowest register.  It’s incredibly evocative.  As composers, we are always searching for new modes of expression and the flute with its endless possibilities is a perfect conduit to that end.  
 
Who are your favorite new music composers?
Composers listen to as much “new music” as anyone so it’s difficult to single out just a few.  David Lang was a big inspiration to me when I was in college.  I grew up listening to rock and jazz and his music offered particular elements of those genres in combination with a modern classical approach.  It was a good foray into the world of “new music,” something I had not listened to until that point.  Currently I have been listening to an Italian composer named Fausto Romitelli, who similarly explores elements of rock but in a much different way.  So I guess you could say that I tend to be attracted to composers who are inspired by the music I grew up hearing.
 
Describe your musical background and activities
I grew up playing trombone in my local school bands and guitar in several rock bands and jazz combos.  In the latter half of high school, I became more interested in improvisation on guitar.  I was trying to learn to create my own guitar solos in the vein of Van Halen and Jimmy Page.  Improvisation is a form of composition, so it did not take long before I started writing my own songs on paper.  In college, I took an introductory composition class with this fantastic professor, Kathryn Alexander, and from then I was hooked.  Currently, I am pursuing my doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania in composition.  Most of the music I am composing now tends to be for chamber groups, though recently I have become interested in electroacoustic music.  
 
More About Andrew…
Andrew Davis is a composer, pianist, and electric guitarist in Philadelphia, PA who has written for a variety of media both acoustic and electroacoustic.  Davis’ early experiences in music were in local concert bands where he played trombone and in rock bands where he played electric guitar.  Fused with a strong background in popular music, his music seeks to explore a variety of different genres and musical aesthetics.
His works have been performed by groups such as the JACK Quartet, PRISM Quartet, Alarm Will Sound, Daedalus Quartet, the Argento Ensemble, counter)induction, the Boston New Music Initiative, the University of Texas Wind Ensemble, the Yale Concert Band, the Florida State Wind Ensemble, and the University of Texas New Music Ensemble.  He has received honors from ASCAP, BMI, the Mizzou New Music International Composers Festival, Vox Novus, The Lyra Society, and ISCM-Texas among others.  Additionally, his music has been heard at a variety of festivals including the Festival of New Music at FSU, the Manchester New Music Mini-Festival, New Music on the Point, and SEAMUS.
He earned a B.A. in music from Yale University graduating with honors and distinction in the major in 2009 as well as a M.M. in composition from the University of Texas at Austin in 2012. Currently, he is pursuing his doctorate in composition at the University of Pennsylvania as a Benjamin Franklin Fellow.
 Visit his website for more information: www.andrewdaviscomposer.com

If you like What’s Next? Check out these other works for flute…

Hummingbirds
Instrumentation: flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano
Year: 2015
Duration: 8 minutes
 
Sextet
Instrumentation: flute, clarinet, oboe, violin, viola, cello
Year: 2009
Duration: 7 minutes
 
Sing Sweetly, Run Swiftly
Instrumentation: flute, violin, viola, cello, harp
Year: 2015
Duration: 10 minutes
 

This weekend, I had the pleasure of listening to a delightful CD of Paul Salerni’s chamber music entitled “Touched.” His works are charming and the performances (by the groups who commissioned the works) are lovely. If you're a NFA member, I recommend you take advantage of the Naxos subscription and check it out!

His newest work featuring the flute, U-Turn for woodwind quintet, was premiered March 6, 2016 by the East Winds wind quintet at Lehigh University where he is a Professor of Music. Salerni teaches theory and composition, and conducts the Lehigh University Very Modern Ensemble (LUVME).

Paul was a finalist in 2014 for Bad Pets for Baritone, alto flute, and guitar.

Q&A with Paul….   
           
Do you have any upcoming events that you would like our friends and followers to know about?
 A performance of two movements of my woodwind quintet entitled "U-Turn" will be given by the East Winds quintet at the International Flute Convention on August 13 in San Diego. (Saturday at 2:30)
 
What pieces do you have with prominent flute parts and where can we find recordings:
 I would suggest the following pieces that appear on my Albany CD entitled "Touched."
1) Turns, flute, guitar, and string quartet (you can hear a movement of this piece on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_vEc1RPaew
2) Two Partita, flute and guitar (you can hear a movement of this piece on YouTube):
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmU-p_jL964
3) Bad Pets, baritone, alto flute and guitar. Bad Pets is one of my most popular pieces and there is an alternative version for mezzo soprano, alto flute, and guitar. If you'd like to see a charming performance of this piece please visit the following video on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/NK5WmycKAEY
 
Where can performance materials for your pieces be obtained?
 Contact me directly at paul.salerni@gmail.com.
 
More About Paul….

Paul Salerni’s music “pulses with life, witty musical ideas and instrumental color” (The Philadelphia Inquirer), and has been described by the New York Times as “impressive” and “playful.” His one-act opera Tony Caruso’s Final Broadcast won the National Opera Association’s Chamber Opera competition in 2007, and a definitive recording of the opera was released on Naxos in 2010. His second one-act, The Life and Love of Joe Coogan, an adaptation of a Dick Van Dyke TV Show episode, had its premiere in September 2010. Both one-acts are published by Theodore Presser. Salerni’s latest large-scale project was a ballet (FABLES) commissioned and premiered by RIOULT New York. Other recent commissions include Philadelphia Brass, Gabriel Chamber Ensemble, Cape Symphony, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, New Haven Symphony, Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta, and SATORI. ACD of Salerni’s chamber music (“Touched) was released by Albany Records in January 2015.
 
Salerni is the NEH Distinguished Chair in the Humanities and Professor of Music at Lehigh University. He received his Ph.D. in composition from Harvard University, where he studied with Earl Kim. Salerni has performed and lectured about Kim’s music in Korea, at the Kennedy Center, the 92nd St. Y, and the Aspen Music Festival. A dedicated educator, Salerni was the recipient of the Stabler Award, Lehigh University’s most valued acknowledgement of excellence in teaching. He served for seven years on the Board of Directors of the Suzuki Association of the Americas, including two years as its Chair.
 
For more about Paul, visit his website www.paulsalerni.com
 
Salerni’s Other Works for Flute
 
Chamber Works
 
Toddler Riffs
Instrumentation: flute, violin, cello
Commission: Animè
Year: 1990
Duration:  20 minutes
 
Turns
Instrumentation: flute, guitar, and string quartet
Commission: SATORI
Year: 2006
Duration: 13 minutes
 
Two Partita
Instrumentation: flute and guitar
Commission: Two-Part Invention
Year: 2008
Duration: 10 minutes
 
U-Turn
Instrumentation: wind quintet
Year: 2016
 
Witches and Rappings
Instrumentation: flute, clarinet, violin & piano
Commission: SATORI
Year: 2010
Duration: 10 minutes
 
Song Cycles
 
Bad Pets (song cycle on poems by Doty, Frost, and Gioia)
Instrumentation: for baritone, alto flute, and guitar (also version for soprano, alto flute, and guitar)
Commission: Two-Part Invention
Year: 2007
Duration:  10 minutes
 
Family Letters (song cycle on a poem by Dana Gioia)
Instrumentation: mezzo, flute, clarinet in A, violin, and violoncello
Commission: the family of Eileen Wavrek Wescoe
Year: 2015
Duration: 10 minutes
 
Sad Stories (song cycle on poems found in the New Yorker)
Instrumentation: mezzo-soprano, alto flute, mallet percussion, violin, cello
Year: 1991
Duration: 13 minutes
 
Speaking of Love (song cycle on poems by Dana Gioia)
Instrumentation: soprano, viola, piano/mallet percussion (also version for soprano, flute, and guitar)
Year:1993
Duration:  10 minutes