November 20, 2012 -- Ben Essick, tenor saxophone and Brandon Ford, vibraphone, will perform "Separation in the Evening" and "Fire in the Evening" (2011) from "Paul Klee: Painted Songs" in recital at the University of Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne. The recording will eventually be archived on the IPFW Music YouTube page A link to the recording of Mvt. II from my senior composition recital. Kristen Raygor, tenor sax. Link to Dr. Farrell Vernon, saxophone instructor at IPFW, playing Milhaud's "Dance." Ben Essick is a student of Dr. Vernon, who is scheduled to perform both movements in February at the Manchester New Music Festival.
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After one quarter of working with the middle school band, I have moved up the road and begun to teach both high school band and choir at Ripon High School.
In addition to my preparation of their current repertoire (Handel's Messiah, part 1, Saint-Saens' Bacchanale, Rimsky-Korsakov's Tsar's Bride, and others), I have begun to add my own band and choral compositions and arrangements. Jazz Band -- "Reinventing No. 13" -- An arrangement of Bach's 2-part invention (No. 13 in A minor) in a jazz style. Concert Band -- "ROMP Four Preludes for Band" -- A four movement arrangement of an original piano piece. We will focus on Mvts I, II and IV. Symphonic Band -- "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need" -- An arrangement for concert band, with some added strings, of an original piano solo based on the tune "Resignation" from the Southern Harmony hymn collection. Cantabile (SSA) -- "Ophelia Songs from Hamlet" A three-part women's chorus arrangement of the solos created for Dordt College's production of Hamlet in Spring 2012. Prima Voce (SATB) -- "Opening the Window" A setting of text by Oliver Wendell Holmes for SATB, div, unaccompanied. Bel Canto (SAB) -- "Sky Line" A three-part setting of Prescott Hoard's poem from 1923. Not all of the songs have been introduced yet, but some initial recordings have already been made. Hopefully, some of the selections will be programmed on upcoming concerts and will definitely be recorded and possibly uploaded to YouTube. Despite the intense amount of preparation involved in introducing these pieces, and the difficult rehearsals to come, I am immensely excited for this opportunity and gracious to the teachers at Ripon High School for letting me use my compositions as I complete my student teaching requirements in their classrooms. This summer I have the incredible opportunity to be music director for the Spencer Community Theatre in Spencer, IA. Involved in this internship is the being the music director for West Side Story! This show has always been among my favorite music theatre shows and has made a large impact on my development as a musician and composer. I absolutely love the music and the story! Over the past weeks I have really dug into the score (which is very complex -- even as a piano reduction!). We will have a cast by the end of the week and are putting together the orchestra!
Super excited to conduct and teach this landmark production! I have recently placed several recordings of my music on soundcloud. I know that a lot of them are already available on YouTube, but I was told the soundcloud community is very supportive of new music, especially contemporary classical music.
Also, something that you can find exclusively on soundcloud are recording for "Hamlet," a production at Dordt College that I completed a composition design for, recorded music, but never premiered. Hope you enjoy these recordings! http://soundcloud.com/jnthnpsthm/sets/music-from-hamlet/ May 1 - 5, 2012
My music for The Glass Menagerie will be used in the Swan Theatre Company's production in Bedford, England. So excited for my music to reach a wider audience and wishing the best for cast and crew this week! Link to Swan Theatre Company : http://www.swantheatrecompany.com/#2 Link to Finale from The Glass Menagerie : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE0kz_wkv9M April 17 - 22, 2012
What a great week! Very, very busy and a little out of my element in terms of technological ability. Had the opportunity to learn from great mentors, like Rob Kaplowitz (Tony Winner for "Fela"). Learned a lot about the basics of sound design, working with Q-Lab and other design programs. Received feedback on music for The Glass Menagerie, which was displayed in the design expo. In addition to meeting wonderful sound designers from across the nation, I also saw a wonderful production of "The Whipping Man" at the Jewish Cultural Center's Theatre J. Although its months after my recital, I will slowly begin putting the recordings onto my YouTube channel. Its not that the process takes very long, but I want each upload to receive a little bit of action before I post the next.
Thanks again to all of the wonderful performers! You really made my music come alive! Recent upload: "somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond" for soprano and glockenspiel |
AuthorJonathan Posthuma is a freelance composer living in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Archives
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