A jazz combo comprised of (from left): Maze Drum (piano), Jared Reinard (bass), TyeRyan Burke (trumpet/flugelhorn) and Nigel Usiak (drums), shown performing at an earlier Student Composer Concert, will return to the stage in the first part of this year’s Student Composer Concert series.
So large and extensive is the sixth edition of this year’s Student Composer Concert series, presented by Ethos New Music Society and the Fredonia Music Composition Studio in Juliet J. Rosch Recital Hall, that it will be performed in two parts.
Concerts are slated for Saturday, April 20, at 4 p.m., and Monday, April 22, at 8 p.m.
The Student Composer Concert series features student composers and performers presenting world premieres of new pieces of music. All kinds of genres and styles are included.
The Ethos New Music Society is a student-run group on campus.
More than 60 performers will be featured in the two concerts that are free and open to the public. A second concert night was added due to the significant volume of music submitted by Music Composition majors and non-composition majors, organizers noted. Participation is open to students in all majors, including those outside of the School of Music.
The combined concerts will feature 23 different composers with 23 pieces, including some that are collaborative works with other composers. The ensembles feature diverse lineups that include a viola dectet, small chamber orchestra, voice and piano solo, high voice choir, fixed media (a fixed audio file), solo piano and jazz quartet, among others. Styles include classical, pop, metal, jazz and minimalism.
“I love seeing the music my friends put together. My composer friends are so creative, and hearing our performers put their own flare into it makes it so unique,” said Robin Esposito, a senior Music Composition major and treasurer of Ethos, from Massapequa, NY.
"Seeing so many different elements come together, both in the music and outside of it, is an incredible experience that you will not be able to find in many other places," added Nick Cristoforo, a junior Music Composition major and public relations chair of Ethos, from Patchogue, NY.
Students will perform in all pieces with the exception of one by Camber Beauchamp, the winner of the 2024 Composition Competition. This annual competition is for a solo work. Mr. Camber, a first-year student majoring in Music Composition, with a concentration in Piano and a Creative Writing minor, from Ambler, PA, won the competition with his composition, “Dawn.”
The prize for the winning piece is having it workshopped and performed by faculty. Beauchamp’s composition will be performed by Assistant Professor James Harrington (bass voice) and Adjunct Lecturer Sandra Leary (piano).
