Oak Ridge Chorus: The Journey

Posted on by

On March 4th the Oak Ridge Chorus under the direction of Brenda Luggie will premiere my piece “What is home” for mixed choir and jazz trio.

Program notes:

What is Home poses a question about identity and personal roots. For many, home is not simply the house or the city that you were born, it is a complex idea that changes with time. Our childhood memories and multisensorial experiences of our upbringing make our “home”; people, places, foods, sounds, also identify our place in the world. A sound, a simple scent can place us there.

The piece has the form of a tune for mixed choir with jazz trio and transits the fine line between what’s familiar and what’s not.

More information and tickets:

https://orcma.org/thejourney

The journey is different for each of us as humans, but there are common themes. Hear the Oak Ridge Chorus sing about our journeys as humans in this uplifting concert. A special commissioned piece by composer Jorge Variego will be announced. The concert is part of our Penny4Arts programming offering FREE attendance for youths 18 and under.

Event Supported By

Oak Ridge Civic Music Association (ORCMA)
(865) 483-5569
office@orcma.org
http://www.orcma.org

Composing with Constraints is OUT!

Posted on by

Composing with Constraints: 100 Practical Exercises in Music Composition provides an innovative approach to the instruction of the craft of music composition based on tailored exercises to help students develop their creativity. When composition is condensed to a series of logical steps, it can then be taught and learned more efficiently. With this approach in mind, Jorge Variego offers a variety of practical exercises to help student composers and instructors to create tangible work plans with high expectations and successful outcomes.

Each chapter starts with a brief note on terminology and general recommendations for the instructor. The first five chapters offer a variety of exercises that range from analysis and style imitation to the use of probabilities. The chapter about pre-compositional approaches offers original techniques that a student composer can implement in order to start a new work. Based on lateral thinking, the last section of the book fosters creative connections with other disciplines such as math, visual arts, and architectural acoustics.

The one hundred exercises contain a unique set of guidelines and constraints that place students in a specific compositional framework. These compositional boundaries encourage students to produce creative work within a given structure. Using the methodologies in this book, students will be able to create their own outlines for their compositions, making intelligent and educated compositional choices that balance reasoning with intuition.

Get your copy:

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/composing-with-constraints-9780190057244?cc=us&lang=en&#

https://www.amazon.com/Composing-Constraints-Practical-Exercises-Composition/dp/0190057246/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=composing+with+constraints&qid=1634257587&sr=8-1

Hispanic Heritage Month on September 23

Posted on by

Schedule

9 AM – Jacky Avila. El Espectáculo on Stage and Screen: Evocations of the teatro de revistas in cine mexicano. SU 169 – Tiered Room.

10 AM – Maria Fernanda Castillo. LAMI: Proactiveness in promoting Latin American music and heritage. SU 169 – Tiered Room.

11 AM – Juan Luis Jurat-Fuentes. A brief history of Argentine tango music and dance. SU 169 – Tiered Room.

Noon – Donato Juarez & Julieta Julieta. Argentine Tango Master class at the SU Auditorium. Come dance!

4 PM – Live concert. New Music from el Rio de la Plata. Featuring the Domino Ensemble (Jorge Variego – saxophone and compositions, Matías Pedrana – bandoneon, Jon Hamar – double bass, Keith Brown – drums) and dancers Julieta Julieta and Donato Juarez. SU Auditorium.

Ciudad Vieja (string trio) premiered at the SSMF

Posted on by

My 2020 string trio “Ciudad Vieja” was premiered on July 3rd at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival with Lin He (violin), Hillary Herndon (viola) and Meghan Berindean (cello).

Program note about the piece:

In South America, the “Ciudad Vieja” is an emblem that today represents the neighborhood of a city where tradition and modernity coexist. The sounds of the string trio are folkloric sonorities arbitrarily metamorphosed with the help of an academic lens. Tangos, milongas, candombes are all there, all present all absent.

The score of the piece can be purchased in the Online store here.

Live video (recorded at the Guerry Auditorium – University of the South)

Another great review of “Goes Free”!

Posted on by

Domino Ensemble presents: Goes Free

July 2021 – Domino Ensemble is a band with a focus on creating a wonderful and dynamic sound by combining elements of genres as diverse as jazz, fusion, and even some progressive influences. The band’s sound is very varied and what makes it quite special is the fact that there are virtually no limits to the artist’s creativity and approach. The group thinks in terms of creating great songs rather than sticking to the rigorously bound confines of a music genre. As a result, anything goes as long as Domino Ensemble is able to achieve its desired results through music.

The band’s recent work, Goes Free, is a collection of performances and improvisational pieces based on compositions written by composers who were born into slavery, including Ignatius Sancho, as well as Thomas Green and Basile Bares. This record is a perfect example of what it means to keep an open mind musically, and the amazing results definitely pay off here. Hailing from Knoxville, Tennessee, the group set out to stray from the conventional path and craft outstanding music that feels exciting and liberation. Their most recent studio effort, “Goes Free,” contains five songs, shining a light on the band’s diverse approach and world-class musicianship. The opening track, “Just So in the North” is an extended jam, which dives deeper into the vast variety of sonic aesthetics that these musicians are so open to embrace. “Le Vieux Garçon (The Old Boy)” is another fantastic track, which is particularly striking due to the fascinating rhythmic patterns, bringing an experimental feel to the sound. “The Boy with the Axles in His Hands” is another exciting track, which provides a smooth insight into the band’s ability to approach classic-sounding melodic ideas in a more direct and personal way. The song “Jan” features a prominent lead sax performance that’s super evocative and spontaneous, while the final track, “La Lousianaise,” the band starts small, but then delves into a complex and intricate fabric of melodies and drones.

Domino Ensemble’s music should definitely be right up your alley if you enjoy the sound of contemporary jazz with a bit of an experimental vibe to it. At the end of the day, the band’s personality is creative and one-of-a-kind, and there’s something quite outstanding about its ability to think differently.

Find out more about Domino Ensemble, and do learn more about Goes Free, which is currently available on the best digital streaming services out there.

Read it HERE

“Tango de Arena” on Spotify

Posted on by

Acá una pieza nueva para trio que grabamos en diciembre pasado junto a Jon Hamar y Keith Brown. Tiene un sonido jazzero, pero intenta ser otra cosa. Si tenés un ratito, escuchalos a Jon y a Keith que se tocan todo! Flor de tango ☺ salió / Here is a new piece for trio that we recorded last December with Jon Hamar and Keith Brown. It has a jazzy sound, but it tries to be something else. Listen to Jon and Keith making it happen! Tangazzo ☺