With a population of close to 25 million and a size greater than many independent countries, Texas is home to an incredible variety of vibrant musical communities. Contemporary art music flourishes in disciplines ranging from experimentalism to concert music to film-scoring. While cataloguing the full extent of composing and performing in this diverse landscape would be a near-impossible task, it is our hope that this volume (and others that will follow) will begin to fill the conspicuous gap in the materials currently available.
Our decision to focus this first edition on thirty representative composers, along with some organizations and academic degree programs, was simply a result of needing a practical and achievable place to start. Texas is home to world-class symphonies, opera and ballet companies, performing venues, and countless other performers and ensembles that regularly feature new works. We hope that future editions will allow us to expand to include these things, as well as additional information such as recordings available and competitions within the state. Featured in this book:
Karin Al-Zand,
Mary Jeanne van Appledorn,
Larry Austin
David Bithell
Martin Blessinger
Anthony K. Brandt
BJ Brooks
Peter Fischer
Arthur Gottschalk
Donald Grantham
David Heuser
Michael Horbit
Pierre Jalbert
Richard Lavenda
Stephen Lias
Peter Lieuwen
John Mackey
Marcus Karl Maroney
Robert Nelson
William Owens
Russell Pinkston
Wieslaw Rentowski
Robert Xavier Rodriguez
Yevgeniy Sharlat
Rob Smith
Kurt Stallmann
Dan Welcher
David Ashley White
Steve Wiest
Stephen Yip
Contents on CD"Cadence - Fantasy on Rhythms on Nick Angelis (2009) by BJ Brooks. Performed by West Texas A&M University Symphonic Band, Don LeFevre, conductor. Available from Octatone. 8:54*"Whack (1994) by Arthur Gottschalk. Performed by The Shepherd Percussion Ensemble, Richard Brown, director. 4:50"Symphony for Winds and Percussion: Movement III, "Stomp" (2009) by Donald Grantham. Performed by the University of Texas Wind Ensemble, Jerry F. Junkin, conductor. Available from Piquant Press. 7:14"Turbulent Blue (2009) by Jon Christopher Nelson. 9:27"Four Observations for Saxophone Quartet: Movement 2, "Learning" (2008) by Walter Nichols. Performed by Walter Nichols. 3:26"Concerto for Orchestra (2006) by Rob Smith. Performed by the Texas Music Festival Orchestra, Giuliano Silveri, conductor. 21:43"Take This Hammer (2008) by Steven Snowden. Performed by Travis Pruitt and Kyle Rightly (euphoniums), and Mike Musick and Tony Rossi (tubas). Available from Talking Rocks Press. 5:47"Ice-Nine (2009) by Steve Wiest. Performed by the North Texas One O'Clock Lab Band, Steve Wiest, director. Available from Walrus Music. 6:01* """"""""
* Works selected to be presented at the 2011 ISCM World New Music Days in Zagreb, Croatia.