Hello Everyone,

Today we’re going to talk about my composing dichotomy.

noun, plural -mies.

2.division into two mutually exclusive, opposed, or contradictory groups: a dichotomy between thought and action.

But first, some brief background to explain why I’m going into this:

As you all know, my collaborations with Dr. Benoit Granier and TIMI were the impetus and inspiration for my Con Edison/Exploring the Metropolis Composer Residency. Well, as it turns out, Benoit is working with the computer company Leonovo on a NYC project; he invited me to be a collaborator. The concert project–which should be held at the Soho Gallery for Digital Art on November 20–will feature a new work for me on saxophone plus guzheng and three cell phones live processed through laptops. The rest of the concert will be split between Benoit’s and my music. In honor of this event, I decided to write a new piece.

Here’s the dichotomy:

Being a composer/performer, I am referring now only to works I write for myself or ensembles I am playing in, not pieces for others or by commission. My compositions seem to fall into one of two categories, and this seems to be determined–and this hit me like in the last 48 hours–by what instrument I am playing. If I am playing clarinet, my pieces are very lyrical and tonal/modal; they also are firmly in the classical realm in-so-far as structure and being through-composed. My works such as Three Graces for Clarinet Solo, Gymnopaedia, Moonlight of Lost Dreams, and even the new Autumn Yearning that I am composing at this residency, fall completely into this category. Very conservative; very ‘classical.’ If I am playing flute or saxophone, the music is very indeterminate, improvisatory, more experimental. I use graphic notation (sketching gestures, symbols, text, geometric shapes, etc.) instead of standard music notation. These pieces have rather specific structures, but vary from performance to performance in-so-far as exact timing and content. Pieces like all three of my Interludes, …no longer to his father…, In Celebration of Sunrise, Paleo-Rock, the pre-recording ‘score’ of Corpus Apparatus, and my entire third CD, Sfumato, fall into this category.

So, in many ways, I have two rather distinct–and in many more ways, opposing–voices. Hmmmm…

I really don’t know why I do this. It’s funny: most US audiences (read: conservative) really like the more classical/lyrical pieces. I also am very aware that many boards and grant committees that do not include all composers tend to prefer such works (again, I’m amazed by the conservative nature of most visual, writing, and theater artists; it’s not a bad thing, just always surprises me). European and NYC audiences (experimental, progressive) tend to prefer the latter works and my success over seas is centered around these.

Well, anyways…considering the fact that the China/Soho project (as I am now want to refer to it as) is an experimental/computer concert, I decided this weekend to write a new improvisatory piece for me on saxophone. When I say ‘write’ in this case, I really mean sketching out a diagrammed improvisation. The new work, Soho Sophisticate, will blend bebop and free jazz elements with distinctive references to Ellington and Beat poetry. It’s also a tad melancholy. Kind of has the ‘aging hipster’ vibe to it, not unlike Steely Dan’s Deacon Blues…

…but it fits the scene…

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One of the other things that happened this weekend was that I had lunch with another of the resident composers, Paul Yeon Lee, an excellent and passionate composer who’s powerful orchestra piece Echo of a Dream was just premiered by the American Composers Orchestra at this year’s SONIC Festival.

Our conversation, not surprisingly, centered around writing for orchestra.

Mainly, we were discussing how writing for orchestra has become a lost art–I agree with this sentiment–but it also brings up a major question: is the orchestra still relevant? Now…I could go on at length about the the fact that the symphony orchestra is a 19th-century vehicle that is long past its prime–I won’t (but I WILL some day)–but I will talk about it in relation to me and other composer/performers. My music–most especially my improvisational music–does not lend itself to orchestra. My teacher Chinary Ung always said don’t write for orchestra (or opera, for that matter) unless you have a performance; otherwise, it will sit gathering dust on your shelf. I took this to heart. Also, as someone who primarily writes for himself, solo works and chamber ensembles make the most sense. When I’ve wanted large forces, I’d use electronics/computer.

It’s interesting, I think that the level of performers, the advent of technology, and the new(-ish) phenomenon of the composer/performer (remember, after Liszt there was like a ninety-year gap before this came into vogue again) has made our choices for creative vehicles exponentially more interesting.

Ever time I think that it’s time to bite the bullet and write a major orchestral work, I stop and ask ‘why?’…all the pieces I write now get performed, a lot…

…of course, if someone ASKS for one, well, that’s a different story…

Until soon,

Demetrius

There is a $35 discount rate for students and musicians/artists.

Best Buddies is a wonderful organization that pairs children and adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities, with friends (buddies) and jobs. I hope you can come and be a part of this special evening.

Warmest regards,

Demetrius

Elaine Kwon and Friends

Well, it’s down on paper…

I went into this weekend hoping to get at least the final ‘B section’ of Autumn Yearning done, and maybe get through the conclusion within the next week or two. Instead, I was able to plow through and write 2 minutes of music each day to finish the piece–or, at least to get everything down on paper; there is still a great deal of editing to do, but at least pretty much all of the notes are there.

The editing is the impatient part…far less creative than composing, I now must “dot the ‘I’s’ and cross the ‘T’s'”…meaning that I have to add dynamics, phrase marks, articulations, maybe a measure or two to smooth things out in the transitions…stuff like that. In other words, I have to make it ‘performance ready’ and ensure there are no ‘inconsistencies’ in the score or parts. I mean, I know what I need to do, but it still will take a lot of time.

My hope is that we will start rehearsing the piece in the near future. It will be premiered on my Flushing Town Hall concert on February 18, 2012. If you recall, I wrote the piece for clarinet, viola, and piano, the same instrumentation for my Mozart concert at Cornelia Street Cafe in January with Alexandra Honigsberg and Jed Distler. It seemed logistically to make the most sense, plus I really like the instrumental combination.

There is an incredible feeling of both exhaustion and satisfaction after finishing a piece. Kind of like giving birth…although the fullest feeling of satisfaction won’t really occur until after the editing when it is ‘publication ready’; of course, the premiere will be pretty darn satisfying, as well.

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One of the other great accomplishments of the weekend here at the residency was the reformatting and posting/publishing of my ‘Compositions’ page on my website.

http://www.dspaneas.com/compositions/

I had this page originally organized by year, but the wonderful folks at DOTDOTDOTMUSIC who are helping me reconstruct my website and branding suggested that I list everything by genre, which admittedly makes far better sense.

It’s funny…I only have listed my ‘mature’ compositions, starting from 2004′s As If for choir and chamber ensemble. I consider this the first piece of my mid-career period, the piece where my concepts finally solidified…I was 35.

There was a period in my life where I stopped writing. I refer to this as my ‘Dark Ages’…before this were my ‘student’ pieces, the works I wrote while studying with John Heiss and Robert Ceely and Chinary Ung and in the years immediately afterwards. Then during my Dark Ages my writing exclusively consisted of being a professional arranger and orchestrator…I was a good one, I wrote many, many of these, but no real original music other than working out ideas on paper.

Major life changes led to a moment where the original music needed to pour out again–it had been years, more than 8–I was scared, I must admit…As If was my salvation, my Prometheus…the fire was brought back to me and I could then give it to others…it needed to happen, and in many ways, I am very happy it did in this way…ever since, my work has been constantly flowing, as you can see from my composition page…

I also was never ‘imprisoned’ by either getting a degree in composition or trying to make my living exclusively as one. I was free not to have to subscribe to a philosophy or school of thought, and my teachers never made follow them, but had me learn to develop my own sound. I am grateful for this freedom.

I now have to decide about the early works…I don’t want to be like Alan Hovhannes and destroy all of my earlier works. I have this fantasy of taking all of the early works out of storage–and there are quite a few–and update and edit them for future cataloging and publication. I mean, I still mostly ‘sound’ the same, although the craftsmanship is definitely at an exponentially higher level. I have stolen from myself quite a bit recently; works have been reborn in completely different forms and genres 20 years later, which has been quite fun. But I think it would be fun to rewrite some of the pieces to stand with the recent works. Of course, I’d get these weird copyright dates of like 1989/2012, but that would be fun, too–and there would be a story of how/where it came from.

Maybe I can get a composer residency to do this someday….

Until soon,

Demetrius

Greetings All,

As I begin to write this, it has occurred to me that I have reached the half-way point of my residency here at Flushing Town Hall. I am looking back on seven weeks of excellent experiences, both creative and social, and am pleased with the progress on my project(s); I am also looking ahead and thinking “I better step it up here…running out of time…more composing and less leisurely lunches of noodles and dumplings…”

Even so, the residency has been wonderful not just for composing, but also for other creative/artistic work, like practicing. Practicing is big…the one major advantage that this residency has is that I can practice ‘loudly’…I am not constrained by the noise ordinance codes of New York City apartments (where, truth be told, I have mastered the art of practicing as quietly as possible…) and can ‘wail’ to my heart’s content. As my many solo/chamber concerts approach over the horizon, I am very lucky to have this…

That being said, I did spend a lot of this weekend beginning to prepare for the above-mentioned concerts. The one with the most logistical issues is the Best Buddies Carnegie Hall Concert on November 10. I mean, even though last year’s concert had me both playing unaccompanied jazz and conducting the New York Chamber Vituosi and soloists, it was logistically easier than what potentially was in store for this year.

Conducting tenor Enrique Pina and The New York Chamber Virtuosi, Puccini; Carnegie Hall, October 6, 2010 Photo by Akabueze Kamau

You see, I have learned with age and experience to make things as easy as possible when it comes to performance logistics, mainly in regards to what instruments I am playing. Now…on this upcoming Best Buddies concert, I had composed a new work, Around Monk-night, and arranged Piazzolla’s Libertango (for me and Elaine); both for tenor sax. The wild card on this concert was the live debut of the William Susman OCTET, in which I am both the (only) reed player and also music director.

Bill is great. He is a wonderful composer and a close friend and I am always delighted to work with him. We have had many interesting and unique collaborations over the years, many of which I have played multiple instruments on. One of the pros and cons of being a multi-wind soloist is that sometimes folks want everything, and many times I am surrounded on-stage by many feet of plumbing. For Bill, I have used flute, alto flute, clarinet, and soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones (many at the same time). Other composers have also had me bring out the big guns (baritone sax and bass clarinet) as well (but don’t give Bill any ideas; he’s said about some of his pieces in the past “wouldn’t this sound great on bari…?” ) For this concert, I had no idea which instruments Bill would have me on, and I was a tad concerned with playing very intense ensemble music on one (or six…) instruments and switching to another instrument quickly to be the featured soloist. The big ‘S’ on my chest is a tad more faded than it was when I was 25…or more likely, I now realize the pitfalls of such situations…

Now, not knowing the program logistics added to my uneasiness. Would I have to play solo on jazz tenor sax and then immediately have to sit down and sound like a classical flutist? Or, would the ensemble be first and I would have to solo on a cold horn (not to mention a dry reed…)? How much time would there be (if any!) to warm-up whatever I was playing where and when?

And I’ll be honest here…I had no desire to carry my entire woodwind arsenal through the subways of NYC…this would be not only a logistical nightmare, but I’d probably in all seriousness strain a shoulder or back muscle; not good before a solo performance…I also probably wouldn’t attend the reception because I would have nowhere to put them all…

Well, this week we got the new music from Bill. Alto sax…only. “That’s it?” I mused. “No contra-alto clarinet, piccolo, or Egyptian nai flute?”

So I thought “well, that’s easy…I can do this on two horns: alto for the ensemble music, and tenor for my solo stuff…” But then “wait a minute; why am I bothering to make this even that difficult?” I mused…I muse a lot…”why don’t I just rewrite everything for alto and be done with it, and I won’t have to carry two horns through the subway? One horn, easy, done, goodbye.”

And that’s what I did. Even though I conceived of both the composition and the arrangement for tenor, I adapted them this weekend for alto. Admittedly, the pitch level is a little different than what I originally wanted, but that’s OK. Alto is my ‘touring horn’ because it’s the most flexible for the most situations…my ‘go to’ horn. It’s really funny, I have been using the same basic alto set-up for about 25 years; it’s easy, it’s simple, it works…the mouthpiece is nothing fancy or super expensive, just a store bought Meyer 5. Nice and flexible, all-purpose.

Everyone should be happy.

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The other task I undertook this weekend was to begin exploring the Uilleann (Irish) Pipes for my composition Roots Music. As of now, the exact line-up of Irish musicians for next March’s Beijing concert is still a tad up in the air, but I was guaranteed a piper…this pleases me, I really wanted a piper.

These pipes are really amazingly beautiful. It must be remembered that every culture at one time or another had some form of bagpipes, although the Scottish (Highland) pipes are far the most famous, and by far the loudest…The Irish pipes a much softer, and also extremely flexible and also, as I just found out, completely chromatic.

Here’s a little bit on the Irish pipes from the website http://www.cranfordpub.com/articles/Bagpipes.htm

The full set of Uillean pipes were designed as a mini-orchestra, complete with melody, chordal accompaniment and drones. A lever allows the drones to be switched on or off as desired, and the regulator work is an individual style-choice, ranging from rhythmic hits to full chords. Because the fingering proceeds from a closed system, a wide variety of style and ornamentation is possible, giving the player much discretion in how he/she interprets the music. Laments and slow airs are especially effective and demonstrate the mature player’s mastery of technique. A multitude of fingering options coupled with effects produced by lifting the chanter ‘off the knee’ allow a broad range of personal expression, a quality which is expected of the advanced player.

I will spend a considerable amount of time exploring this instrument since it will be, along with me, a major soloist for Roots Music. The fact that it does have a two-octave chromatic scale gives me a tremendous amount of flexibility–I was actually under the impression that is was primarily a mixolydian instrument like the Highland pipes. You learn something new and exciting everyday…

Speaking of which, I want to leave you with this incredible recording of the great Irish piper Seamus Ennis. As I said, this is an amazing instrument that I’m enjoying getting to know:

Until soon,

Demetrius

I’m a formal composer…

What I mean by this is not that I sit at my piano wearing a top hat, white tie, and tails…no, amazingly…it does mean, however, that I consider form and structure to be the basis of a composition. The idea of sitting at the piano/computer waiting for inspiration to strike like a blue lightening bolt from Heaven is anthema to what I consider the real merit and skill of a composer: his/her craft. I believe that in any situation, a professional composer should be able to create without being hampered–as odd as this sounds–by something so etherial as an inspired idea. In other words, one’s craft should be strong enough to create whatever architecture is needed to build the rest of the piece on; with structure comes the ‘mass’ to fill in the empty spaces. This is why before I start the actual note-writing process of any piece, I spend the proper time deciding on the overall structure–the architecture, the form–that the piece is going to take. I know where the climax points are and where the ebbs of intensity occur well before I begin. This way, I have goal points where the rest of the ‘music’ fills in the pathways and staircases to achieve. Otherwise, as far as I’m concerned, one is just flailing around without direction…

…this being said, I got a little unexpected arrival this weekend…

My goal this weekend was to get the rest of Autumn Yearning–the piece I’m writing for clarinet, viola, and piano based on the Chinese traditional song 妝臺秋思–down on paper. Now, by no means did this imply that I would finish this work; it did mean that I would have all of the material down so that I could edit and tweak and organize later: there is always a measure or two to be added, another counterline to edit, performance markings, something, but the main piece would be down.

This didn’t happen…

This piece has been a bit of an enigma. The original idea was to make a relatively simple transcription of 妝臺秋思 for western classical instruments. Sure, I’d add counterpoint and what not, but the nature of it would still be a transcription. If you remember from an earlier blog about my residency, this new piece took on a life of its own from the introduction I wrote to bring in the theme. From that, I new that I had to step back and create a different structure since the piece could potentially be much larger than originally planned….so I did…

The structure that I came up with was a ‘free sectional’ form that restated the original theme at the end: A-B-C-A. A is the first theme, B is a lyrical contrast, C is an area of instability which would eventually resolve back at A. I like forms like this that ’round back’ to the original theme. I’m also a big fan of classical rondos (A-B-A-C-A; A-B-A-C-A-B-A) and many of my pieces follow this structure. Even my large work Gymnopaedia does through its five movements (A-B-C-B-A). For you non-musicians, when the themes are restated later, they are not exact replicas, but in many ways changed dramatically…they have to evolve.

So…last week, I wrote down the C section of Autumn Yearning and this week was going to assault the summit, so to speak. “OK,” I thought, “now I’ll just write a brief, couple measure transition to move back to A; easy.” Wrong again, Boy Wonder…the transition started to develop…and it became it’s own theme…a D section…one I didn’t plan for…whoa…

But I really like it…well, like isn’t the word…I expected the C section to be the tension, but it’s not, the D section really brings this intensity, this pathos, to a new level…I am quite amazed how darkly intense this section is…where did it come from?

Inspiration, perhaps…?

Regardless, this, of course, means that I have to restructure the piece to compensate for the new section…oh, boy…an A-B-C-D-A form seems to be quite unbalanced, most especially since C is intense and D is just downright overwhelming…can’t just go home to A after *that*, can I?

What I believe makes the most sense is to transit from the D (the most dark section) to B (the most light and lyrical section) just to give the listener (and me, believe me) somewhere to ‘breathe’…*then* I move back to the A and end it. A-B-C-D-B-A. I think this’ll work…

…of course, maybe ‘inspiration’ has other ideas…we’ll find out this weekend…

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The other accomplishment of the weekend was that I arranged Astor Piazzolla’s Libertango for saxophone and piano, for me and Elaine Kwon to perform at the Best Buddies fundraiser at Carnegie Hall. This is always an amazing and special event, and I’m always delighted to be able to be a part of it. Plus last year, I got to hang out with Charles Grodin, which was a trip…

Until soon,

Demetrius

2011 Composer-in-Residence Demetrius Spaneas

We chatted over email with 2011 Composer-in-Residence Demetrius Spaneas. Demetrius talks about his inspirations for cultural diplomacy, memorable travel adventures, and upcoming projects.

You’ve traveled the world as a cultural diplomat. When did your interest in musical diplomacy begin? And how did you come to work with the US Department of State?

Coming of age and beginning to mature artistically at the end of the Cold War made me passionately interested in Eastern European and Central Asian cultures. The possibility of contact with countries and cultures that had been off-limits for so long had a huge impact on the direction of my creative work. Studying the traditional music of these cultures while in my 20s – beginning in the Balkans and moving eastward – I sought out teachers and traditional musicians to learn from and perform with. In my own work as composer and improviser, I began to adapt this traditional music and combine it with Western European and American forms. This blending and adaptation continues to be my main creative focus. I continually seek traditional musicians to improvise with, and together we create a dialogue using our own musical languages, finding common ground and understanding within melodies and phrases. In my work, musical dialogue leads directly to cultural understanding.

Cultural diplomacy is really an outgrowth of this process. Becoming interested in the cultures and music naturally led to an interest in the individual artists. People want to communicate. They want someone to listen to what they have to say. Cultural diplomacy, for lack of a better word, gives people an opportunity to create dialogue. Diplomacy is really dialogue. Stimulating conversation is the key to any type of collaborative process, be it political or artistic. I want to help people be heard and give their ideas a voice. This is what any individual really wants.

I started making cultural diplomacy the focus of my career in the mid-2000s, mostly due to connections with musicians/artists through social media sites, especially MySpace. It was through this networking that led to many opportunities overseas, including a 15-country Eurasian tour while living in St. Petersburg, Russia for one year. It was at this time that I started working with the US Embassies – first as a lecturer and performer on American music and culture in Russia, then at other locations in the former Soviet Union, where they helped support my collaborations with local cultural organizations.

As an active concert performer and lecturer abroad, what do you choose to highlight?

All of it. My career has evolved me into a composite musician: composer, performer, and educator.  I can’t do one without the other. And now I am expected to do all, usually at the same time!  Leonard Bernstein said that when he was with composers he was a conductor, and when he was with conductors he was a composer. My situation is similar (of course, I still actually want to grow up and BE Leonard Bernstein…).

What have been your most memorable moments in your travels?

Well, there are two parts to this. The first has been the uneasy and somewhat dangerous situations I have been in – political settings and natural disasters. In Uzbekistan, I was trailed all over the country by the NSS (former KGB) and barred from lecturing and performing at many locations. They also threatened teachers, students, and journalists with arrest if they were to work with me. The official line was fear of me starting a “democracy riot.” I’m glad they think that an American jazz musician can have such a societal impact! They even threatened The Samarqand College of Music with arrest of the entire faculty and school shut down if I stepped foot on the campus. In terms of natural disasters – ice storms at 12,000 feet in the Pamir Mountains, no water or electricity, flash flooding, my plane crashing on the runway (yes, that happened).

But…the other side of this has been seeing not only the great impact my presence has had on locals, but their immense kindness and hospitality toward a foreigner. People are people. And many in the former Soviet Union – most especially the Islamic countries – are kind, courteous, and treat strangers as guests. They want to talk to you and know everything about you. They know what you’ve accomplished by going to the opposite side of the world to visit them, and they are incredibly grateful. This kindness and willingness to share and communicate is what keeps me going.

How does being a composer in NYC differ from the other cities and countries you’ve worked in?

New York is magnificent. Simple. The resources of music and musicians are better here than anywhere else in the world. This is especially true as a composer. There are many, many musicians and ensembles who are interested in exploring new music. And these are wonderful musicians who could play anything they wanted, but they choose what’s new and relevant.  No other city has this, anywhere.

One of your upcoming projects is “Roots Music,” which incorporates Irish, Chinese, European classical and jazz musical traditions. Please explain how you conceived of this amazing mix.

I didn’t! The piece is a commission from the Beijing-based TIMI Modern Music Ensemble and their director Benoit Granier. I have collaborated with this ensemble in recent years as both performer and composer here in NYC, Boston, and Beijing. The ensemble one of the few new music ensembles in China. And as far as I know, they are the only ensemble dedicated to both new classical music and traditional Chinese music. For that purpose, the ensemble mixes western classical and traditional Chinese instruments. In “Roots Music,” I will combine these two styles with American jazz – meaning me as “jazz” saxophone soloist – along with traditional Irish musicians who will be in Beijing collaborating with TIMI for the Beijing Irish Modern Music Festival in March 2012 (yes, it exists…).  My idea for the piece is to take traditional/folk music from each culture (such as Blues and Spirituals from America) and blend them into a large concert piece.  The work will not be a pastiche of styles, but a true blend in which they complement each other. The term “roots music” means music indigenous to a specific group or culture. Much of our roots music is very similar in the deepest layer. It is another way in which we are all connected.

For your Con Edison Musicians’ Residency at Flushing Town Hall, what do you hope to accomplish?

The main goal of my residency is to research and explore the music and traditions that I will incorporate into “Roots Music.” Needless to say, Chinese culture is very important to the makeup of Flushing, which makes it a perfect place to immerse myself into Chinese music and culture. I have been researching Chinese music and poetry styles, as well as mastering the Chinese dizi flute (I have a large collection of world music flutes). I have begun to meet with and play with local traditional musicians and educators, and will be exploring collaborations with them as well.

I am also composing another work for classical instruments (clarinet, viola, and piano) entitled “Autumn Yearning” that is based on the traditional Chinese music that I have researched. This piece, along with other works, including a possible collaboration with Chinese musicians, will be performed at my Con Edison Residency concert on February 18, 2012.

Any more travel plans?

Well, I will be in China for the premiere of “Roots Music” in March. I also have a premiere in Italy of my work “Love Letters in the Ether.”  It’s being scheduled for the spring by the Rome-based new music ensemble Piccola Accademia degli Specchi.  A concert or two in Russia is also in the works for 2012.

What’s next?

In November, I will appear as soloist and will also have a premiere in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall.  My work for solo saxophone - played by me – is called “Around Monk-night” and is an improvised-sounding toccata based on Thelonius Monk’s famous “‘Round Midnight.”  This event will be a benefit concert created by pianist Elaine Kwon for the charity Best Buddies. In December, I will be performing a solo/duo concert of my music for Composers Collaborative’s Serial Underground concert series at the Cornelia Street Cafe. I will be joined by CCi’s Artistic Director, the great pianist Jed Distler, for the premiere of two works that evening, ”The Love We Made” and “Giuffre Sketches,” the latter a tribute to my former teacher, the late Jimmy Giuffre.

To keep up with Demetrius, check out his website and blog.

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