The Fifth Floor Collective

Season 2 Wrap-up

patrickgreenemusic — Thu, 24 May 2012 17:27:18 +0000

On behalf of everyone in The Fifth Floor Collective, I would like to thank everyone who was involved in our second season! It was a pleasure to host so many composers from outside our membership: John Aylward, Marcos Balter, Matthew Barnson, Dominick DiOrio, Arturo Fernandez, and Steven Snethkamp. Sincerest gratitude to all of the players that brought such artistry to the execution of each piece we featured. Special thanks especially to Matt Sharrock, who was unbelievably integral to the rehearsal and presentation of this season. And thanks to any and everyone who took the time to attend our concerts. It truly was a phenomenal season and we will see you all in the Fall.

Yours from the Fifth Floor,

Andrew Paul Jackson

Artistic Director, The Fifth Floor Collective

Interview with Steven Snethkamp, winner of our spring 2012 Call for Scores

patrickgreenemusic — Wed, 09 May 2012 17:21:37 +0000

Note: Steven’s Disembodied was selected as the winner of our Call back in March. This Friday (May 11), Steven will be in town to introduce his work in person. Be there for the Boston premiere of this wonderful piece! For details on the concert, click here.

FFC: What’s your background? How did you get started in composition?

SS: I’ve always been interested in music. From a young age, I played in various music groups with friends. We experimented with many types of musical styles (folk, experimental rock, jazz, blues, world music, noise, ambient, improvisation). We were also drawn to unusual sound sources such as found objects. Our goal wasn’t just to play songs, but to create a unique type of music that was a strange fusion of our various interests. As we became more advanced, I was continuously drawn to creating deeper organization to the music and notating it in a way that we could replicate it. Naturally, this drove me to learn more about theory and notation. In high school, when I became serious about going into music as a career, I started taking composition lessons. Looking back, it was really a natural progression for me. I’ve always had a love and curiosity for music, which drove a constant pursuit in developing my abilities. That’s what led me to composition. And of course I have my friends to thank for contributing to such a creative environment, and also my parents who let us make a lot of noise in their house.

FFC: Is Disembodied representative of your other work? Does it represent any new aesthetic directions?

SS: It really reflects a culmination of various interests. Some aspects of “Disembodied,” like the rock style and the spiritual concept, reflect my background. On the other hand, the use of microtonality is something that I’ve been really drawn to in recent years. I used a quartertone tuning in my large work for a sinfonietta ensemble, “Ritual : Irrational.” In my two video works, “Lunar Calligraphy 24“ and “Fractured Forest,” I use microtonality in a purely electronic idiom. LC24 utilizes 24-tone serialism. FF has gong sounds interacting in poly-tempo isorhythm. The ‘gongs’ are tuned to complex scales I created combining intervals from the overtone series with intervals tuned by a fixed number of Hz. In my 8-channel electronic pieces, such as “Melting,” I take a more spectral approach, creating blooming chords based on artificial overtone series, which I created. So yes, Disembodied does represent my other music. But really, I try to make all of my music representative of who I am, and therefore it’s all interconnected.

As far as “new aesthetic directions”… The landscape of young composers is rapidly changing from what it used to be. We are more diverse than ever, and therefore there are an incredible variety of aesthetic directions. That’s one of the most exciting things about todays “new music” scene. Composers with backgrounds in popular music are common, and rock influenced composition and instrumentation is clearly a current trend. However, I do the best I can to keep true to myself and to do something a little different. That’s why I compose microtonal art rock.

FFC: What are your goals? Where do you see your career in five years?

SS: Ultimately, I want to compose and have my music performed. I’m hoping to find a job teaching composition. Somewhere that I can incorporate electronic music would be great.

FFC: Have you worked with electronic music before?

SS: Yes. I’ve been fortunate to study at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where I’ve had great teachers and access to a fantastic studio. However, my interest in electronic music goes way back. In high school, a couple of friends and myself used a 4-track tape recorder to collect a wide variety of sounds such as machines at the coffee shop, leaves, ping pong and pool balls, nature, various social environments and ambient spaces, and miscellaneous found objects. Although we didn’t know it, we were essentially making musique concrete. We also recorded live instruments, singing, and even spoken word choruses (similar in effect to moments of Berio’s Sinfonia). I’ve also been interested in computers from a young age. So again, working with electronic music was a natural progression, and it’s something that I’ll probably always work with.

FFC: What/whom are your influences?

SS: There is so much that influences me… the smallest and largest structures of nature, music from other times and cultures, anything that contains interest in the domains of time and sound, human nature, and life in general. Of course I love many ‘classical’ composers. Bach, Beethoven, Ives, Messiaen, Ligeti, Crumb, Nancarrow, and Partch have all had a big impact on my music. I also love early music, as well as more contemporary movements such as spectralism. However, I always find myself going back to Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, and Radiohead.

Despite the wide range of my musical influences, the element they all have in common is the ability to be unique and truly special in some way. Their style can be emulated, but their essence can’t be replicated.

FFC: How did you choose your electronic sounds?

SS: I try to be fairly diverse. As I mentioned, recording and manipulating sounds from the real world is something I’ve always been drawn to. Basically anything that makes an interesting sound is fair game. Other sounds, I create from scratch. I have a few virtual instruments that I’ve made with max/MSP that generate various effects or textures. My favorite of these are “Electric Gamelan Machine” and “Cluster Sculpture.”

For “Disembodied,” I really wanted to create a musical interpretation of disembodied voices. To do this, I wrote a small composition to be played on acoustic instruments and recorded (this composition makes up Part I, and returns as a background layer in Part II). The texture is contrapuntal, which provides some independence to the voices. To get the haunting and wailing quality, I used a quartertone tuning system and embellished the lines with glissandi. Perhaps the most striking feature is that the recordings are played back in slow motion. In part one, I also distorted the recorded instruments to sound like electric guitars.

Sometimes the sources of my sound samples are metaphoric to the concept of the piece (when the trombone turns into an airplane, in Disembodied), other times it’s simply about the beauty of sound (rotary dial phones in Melting).

FFC: Do you have any advice for young composers?

SS: Don’t get caught up it what it seems like “new music” is supposed to be or what others want to hear. Know who you are and write what you want. Work hard, but don’t loose your enthusiasm and curiosity for music.

FFC: What’s your favorite Ninja Turtle?

SS: Donatello. I like his character. Plus, in the video game, his staff always seemed to have the best reach.

Season 2 Concert 3: SEASON IN REVIEW

patrickgreenemusic — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 21:30:59 +0000

Winner of the Second 2011-12 Call for Scores Announced!

patrickgreenemusic — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 12:13:38 +0000

The Fifth Floor Collective is proud to announce that the winner of our recent call for scores is Disembodied for Solo Flute and Fixed Media by Steven Snethkamp. Steven’s piece is fun, expressive, and innovative, and we can’t wait to program it into our May 11 concert at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in downtown Boston.

Steven’s piece will be premiered alongside music by John Aylward, Patrick Greene, and Andrew Paul Jackson. We hope to see you there!

Congratulations to Steven, and to all of the entrants. It was an absolute pleasure combing through the submissions.

Season 2 Concert 2: GIFT

patrickgreenemusic — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:38:49 +0000

Enter Our Second 2011-12 Call for Scores!

patrickgreenemusic — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:22:42 +0000

For complete guidelines, view the official primer: 2011-2012 Call for Scores2

Season 2 Special Engagement: Justin Dougherty

patrickgreenemusic — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 02:52:33 +0000

Join us for two special-engagement concerts with cellist Justin Dougherty. The first is January 27, 2012 at 8pm in The Concert Room at 8 The Fenway on The Boston Conservatory Campus, and the second will be the following day—January 28—at 8pm in the Carroll & Sons Art Gallery at 450 Harrison Avenue. A reception will follow the second concert of the pair. Admission to both concerts is FREE.

Featuring works by Marcos Balter, Joseph M. Colombo, Dominick DiOrio, & Andrew Paul Jackson.

Announcement: Winner of the Second CALL FOR SCORES

patrickgreenemusic — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:29:41 +0000

Arturo Fernandez, winner of the Call for Scores

The Fifth Floor Collective is very proud to announce that ARTURO FERNANDEZ of Boston has won the second Call for Scores with his piece Siempre la Misma Cosa Cada Vez.

Arturo’s score was selected from a diverse field of entries, and will be performed later in the season. For more details on the piece, the performance, and the composer, stay tuned!

A heartfelt congratulations to Arturo, and a sincere “thank you” to all who submitted.

Review of IN ABSENTIA in the Boston Musical Intelligencer

patrickgreenemusic — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 01:37:46 +0000

Check it out! Did you attend the concert? If so, what were your thoughts?

Review: Four Friends and More of the Fifth Floor

the Friends of the Fifth Floor Program

patrickgreenemusic — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 00:24:12 +0000

Have you considered becoming a Friend of the Fifth Floor? Your support will go directly to the creation and performance of new music, and you’ll get your name in our concert programs!