I’m thrilled to share one of the recordings from my fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival and School this summer: this is the eighth movement, “KLEIO (She Who Speaks with Ancient Voice),” of my new sextet Nine Invocations. It is probably my favorite 90 seconds of music I’ve ever written, and the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble and Tim Weiss really made it shine!
Full score available on my website/full score video on my YouTube 🪈🎻
This is how I’ll remember two months in Aspen: sunlight and mountains, great friends to sit on the porch with, and often there was music
1: After hiking to the top of Aspen Mountain and 2: From the gondola on the way down
3: The composer cohort
4: You might have seen us on the porch
5: Reading of Proclaimer with @michelledirusso and the Aspen Conducting Academy Orchestra with mentors Chris Theofanidis, Nico Muhly, and Jessie Montgomery
6: From the dress rehearsal of Nine Invocations with Tim Weiss and the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble and 7: Bows at the end of the concert
8: Discussing Two Poems of Stephen Crane with @tivolitreloar and @_fengyi_wang and 9: The silence after the final chord
10: Aspen, as seen from a distance
It’s time for my biannual update post:
In a few hours, I’ll arrive in Colorado for my two-month fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival. Looking forward to working on three brand new pieces with the amazing musicians there!
In other news, I successfully defended my dissertation last week. I’m thrilled to be returning to Hofstra in the fall as Dr. Holcomb 👨🏫
This past weekend was the end of “Harmony and Dissonance” at the Guggenheim. It was such a joy to write two pieces on the occasion of this exhibit. How humbling it was to hear my own music in a place as magical as this 💙
Introducing another brand new piece, Carousel After Milhaud and Archipenko (Pianists: 👀🎹):
In writing Carousel After Milhaud and Archipenko (2024), I took as my point of departure Darius Milhaud’s Tango des Fratellini and Alexander Archipenko’s Carrousel Pierrot (1913). Tango des Fratellini, an extract from Milhaud’s ballet Le Bœuf sur le toit (1919–20), is based on Tristeza de caboclo (1919) by Brazilian composer Marcelo Tupinambá. My piece weaves together fragments of both Milhaud’s and Tupinambá’s material into a frenetic and off-kilter dance that suggests Archipenko’s clown-turned-carousel spinning out of control.
Composed on the occasion of Harmony and Dissonance: Orphism in Paris, 1910–1930, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, November 8, 2024–March 9, 2025.
I'm thrilled to share a brand new piece, Rapture After Schoenberg and Kandinsky! (Pianists: 👀🎹)
Rapture After Schoenberg and Kandinsky (2024) forms a bridge between two seemingly disparate works: Vasily Kandinsky’s Improvisation 28 (Second Version) (1912) and the final movement of Arnold Schoenberg’s String Quartet No. 2, “Entrückung” (1908). Although Kandinsky and Schoenberg may have held similar philosophies about art, each piece provokes in me a unique response. However, despite their differences, both works evoke the Biblical end times: Schoenberg’s title refers to the Rapture and Kandinsky’s painting suggests the subsequent apocalypse. In Rapture After Schoenberg and Kandinsky, I forge additional common ground between the two pieces by interweaving materials from “Entrückung” and sonic imagery implied by Improvisation 28 (Second Version): Schoenberg’s opening gesture becomes distant thunder and the subsequent melodies in the viola and cello parts become horn calls and, later, the bells I imagine sounding from the church in the upper-right corner of Kandinsky’s painting.
Composed on the occasion of Harmony and Dissonance: Orphism in Paris, 1910–1930, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, November 8, 2024–March 9, 2025.
Some life updates:
1. Today, I taught my first theory and ear-training classes as an adjunct at Hofstra University. So excited to see what adventures my time on Long Island will bring!
2. This summer, I passed my written PhD qualifying exam at the Eastman School of Music. When I’m not teaching, I’ll be working on my dissertation essay and composition throughout the year.
3. More information about a project in the city coming soon 🎹
📸: @meredithhartphotos
It’s hard to describe how incredible it was to spend this past week in San Francisco for the premiere of This City Was Once an Ocean with Eric Dudley and @sfcontemporarymusicplayers . I’m so grateful for the opportunity and for all the work these musicians put into bringing my work to life. Until next time, SF 🌁
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1–2: Eric Dudley and SFCMP in rehearsal at Herbst Theater
3: The view from Russian Hill
4: Lombard Street
5–6: Palace of Fine Arts
7–8: Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park
9: Calder exhibit at SFMOMA
10: One-Way Colour Tunnel at SFMOMA
Exciting news!🎉 Join us for the world premiere performances of 3 compositions for chamber orchestra by our 2023 Emerging Composer Grant Winners - Julie Zhu, Patrick Holcomb, and Bobby Ge
September 21st, Thursday at 7:30PM - Herbst Theatre (401 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco)
The works will be performed by members of the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, conducted by Eric Dudley✨
Admission is free so bring all your friends and family 🎶
The composers will also be there to introduce their work in person and answer any questions, see you all there!
Program:
Julie Zhu – as swiftly and fading as soon
Patrick Holcomb – This City was Once an Ocean
Bobby Ge – The Floating World
#sfconcert #bayareamusic #sfmusic #bayareaconcerts #studentlife #contemporary #musiciansofinstagram #orchestra
