WAPS COMPOSER OF THE WEEK

Please leave a comment. American composer Gabriella Frank was born in California in 1972. She is an active composer writing new music every day! Her music has been commissioned (she was asked to create new music) and performed by The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Los Angeles Orchestra, and The King's Singers just to name a few. She is also an excellent pianist and has made several recordings. Listen to these examples of her music: Elegia Andina -this is 11 minutes long and you should listen to all of it. Coqueteos Danza Peruana Los Sombras de la Apus and this is an interesting interview with the composer

Leave a comment. American composer Steve Reich uses Ostinatos in almost all of his music. He took piano lessons as a child but did not decide on a career in music until he was in college. Reich said this about his inspiration: "I became a composer because I'd heard the  Rite of Spring  of  Stravinsky , I'd heard  Bach 's Fifth Brandenburg, I'd heard bebop —  Charlie Parker ,  Miles Davis  — music that had a lot of rhythmic energy, music which was finally harmonic. I know the  Rite of Spring 's harmonic quality is not that of Charlie Parker. Neither are they that of Johann Sebastian Bach. But they all had what Stravinsky called the magnetic attraction, the polaric attraction of sound." (NPR-2016) He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the 20th and 21st century, introducing the use of pre-recorded music in a concert and the use of ostinatos. Radiohead gives him credit for some of their music. He won a Grammy in 1990

Remember to leave a comment. Caroline Shaw was the youngest recipient of the Pulitzer prize in 2013 at the age of 30! Her winning composition is titled: Partita for 8 Voices  (click the link to listen, Ms. Shaw is one of the performers) She is from North Carolina, and like many other composers, including Beethoven, her first teacher was a parent (Mother). She began playing the violin at two years old and composed her first music at ten! Interesting fact: Kanye West has used her music on one of his albums. Here are some more examples (they are really interesting): String Quartet Music in Common Time (very beautiful music) Its Motion Keeps (music for children's choir)