Tag: modern music

It starts with a downbeat

Manitou Winds

This post was originally published in preparation for our May 2016 performance. We’re sharing it again in anticipation of the world premiere of Jason’s first two works for symphony orchestra! We hope you’ll join us Saturday, July 9, as Manitou Winds joins with the… Continue Reading “It starts with a downbeat”

Conferring with the Sun

This post was written in preparation for our May 2017 concert, Music Speaks In our 2017 spring concert, Manitou Winds explores the meandering, mystical path connecting music and words. Words were created to communicate. Whether spoken or written, we need words to translate, convey,… Continue Reading “Conferring with the Sun”

New Voices: Jason McKinney

“I did not sit down, one day, and decide I would write “Three Narratives,” says Jason McKinney. “The piece just happened to come together during a very difficult time in my life. The structure of the piece, the melodies inside the structure—these were all comforts to me, a way of coping.”

New Voices: Laura Hood

Laura composed “First Flight” to honor her friend Rebecca Lessard, founder of Wings of Wonder, a raptor rehabilitation center and sanctuary based in Empire, MI.

New Voices: Daniel Baldwin

In Baldwin’s “Landscapes”, the music delves into the life story of the artist, evoking the symbolism of the imagery while translating it into the unique timbres of the quartet.

New Voices: Jenni Brandon

In “On Holt Avenue”, each of the four movements presents a small vignette from Jenni’s memories of daily life in her apartment in a particular Los Angeles neighborhood.

New Voices: Bonnie L. Cochran

The flute is capable of so many modern special effects and extended techniques that a large swath of modern flute music tends to explore these extra-musical sounds and effects rather than drawing the listener in. Bonnie’s music manages to be undeniably modern yet unquestionably musical.

New Voices: Deborah J. Anderson

“Five Songs for Kathleen” is a brilliant song cycle combining the often bittersweet imagery of the poets’ lines with Deborah’s signature warm and graceful melodic writing.

New Voices: The Art of Collaboration

One of the aspects we enjoy most about putting together one of our seasonal concerts is the opportunity to collaborate with a talented local artist in our area of Northern Michigan. But, what does it mean to “collaborate” with another artist—especially when you work in a completely different medium?

Woodwind Gourmet: Jason’s MĂĽesli

I have always been hesitant to call myself a composer. Looking through scraps of manuscripts saved from my college years and my high school journals, it’s obvious I’ve always aspired to be one. Thankfully, it wasn’t some misguided pursuit of fame or fortune that… Continue Reading “Woodwind Gourmet: Jason’s MĂĽesli”