Doctor of Philosophy Student, Composition - University of California, San Diego
Fall 2009 to Present

Composition Instructors: Roger Reynolds (PhD advisor), Phillipe Manoury, Chinary Ung, and Lei Liang.

Course Work: Writing for Voice (with a focus on 20th Century Techniques) with Susan Narucki, a year long Survey of Electronics Music Techniques with Miller Puckette, Advanced Rhythm Reading with Edwin Harkins, Analysis and the Extrapolation of Compositional Principles, The Music of Edgard Varese with Roger Reynolds, Musical Cognitive Science with Jerry Balzano, Digital Signal Processing with F. Richard Moore.

Master of Music, Composition with an Emphasis in Technology - University of Colorado, Boulder College of Music
Fall 2006 to Spring 2009

Composition Instructors: Daniel Kellogg, Carter Pann, Michael Theodore, John Drumheller

Course Work: Arts Entrepreneurship, Orchestration After 1940 with Daniel Kellogg, Advanced Topics in Music Technology (SuperCollider) with John Drumheller, Renaissance Polyphony with Jeremy Smith, Interdisciplinary Performance with Michael Theodore, Balinese Gamelan with I Made Lasmawan

Post-bachelor Studies, Composition - University of Oregon School of Music
Fall 2005 to Spring 2006

Composition Instructor: Robert Kyr

Course Work: Special Studies in Orchestration, Oregon Composers Forum

Bachelor of Music, Composition - University of Oregon School of Music
Fall 2001 to Spring 2005

Composition Instructors: Robert Kyr, David Crumb, Jeffrey Stolet, Terry McQuilkin

Course Work: Music Core curriculum (Aural and Keyboard Skills, Theory, History, Analysis, Large Ensembles), Folk Music of The Balkans, Balinese Gamelan, 16th, 18th, and 20th Century Counterpoint, Schenkerian Analysis, Orchestration, Electronic Music Techniques I & II (Kyma and MAX/MSP), Advanced Electronic Composition

 

Graduate Teaching and Research Assistant - University of California, San Diego
Fall 2009 to Present

Section instructor for a variety of courses, with topics including basic musicianship and theory, songwriting, American music, 16th and 18th century counterpoint. Research assistant for Edwin Harkins as a videographer and web designer for the experimental performance duo Harkins-Larson [THE].

Production Manager, Pendulum New Music concert series - University of Colorado, Boulder
Fall 2006 to Spring 2009

Stage management and sound reinforcement, videography (FinalCut Pro), web design, advertising & graphic design, logistics, administrative assistance

Student Faculty, Music Technology - University of Colorado, Boulder
Fall 2006 to Spring 2008

Taught software music notation (Finale), basic recording techniques & digital audio sequencing (ProTools), MIDI sequencing (Garage Band, Reason), hardware synthesizers, web design (Dreamweaver), videography (iMovie, iDVD), basic acoustics and science of music technology, electronic music history

Assistant to the Director, Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium - Eugene, OR
Summer 2005

Transportation coordinator, conference and readings facilitation, audio recording engineer, logistics

Music Librarian Assistant, Knight Library, University of Oregon - Eugene, OR
Fall 2003 to Spring 2005

Research assistance, shelving, recording collection maintenance

Office Assistant, Band Department, University of Oregon School of Music - Eugene, OR
Fall 2002 to Spring 2003

 

Trail Crew Leader, Boulder County Youth Corps - Longmont, CO
Summer 2009

Supervised ten teenagers on front-country trail maintenance projects, taught portions of environmental education program, worked closely with Boulder County sponsors to meet project specifications.

Operations Staff & Driver, Graduate School of Banking - Boulder, CO
Summer 2008

Conference facilitation, office assistant, and driver.

Customer Service and Shipping, Outdoor Sportz - Eugene, OR
Summer 2005 to Summer 2006

Retail database and website maintenance, warehouse work, filling and shipping internet orders

Trail Crew Leader, Northwest Youth Corps - Summer Conservation Corps East - Eugene, OR
Summer 2003

Supervised ten teenagers on backcountry trail work projects throughout central Idaho, drove 12 seat van with trailer on primitive and unimproved roads, taught environmental education curriculum, worked closely with USDA Forest Service on trail project specifications

Leadership Development Team, Northwest Youth Corps - Eugene, OR
Summer 2002

Developed outdoor leadership skills on an adult backcountry trail crew with rotating crew leadership

Backcountry Leadership Program, Northwest Youth Corps - Eugene, OR
Summer 2001

Developed outdoor leadership skills on a teenage backcountry trail crew with rotating crew leadership

Summer Conservation Corps North, Northwest Youth Corps - Eugene, OR
Summer 1999

 

Memberships:

American Composers Forum
Fall 2007 - Present

Society of Composers, Inc
Fall 2007 - Present

American Music Center
Fall 2006 - Present

American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), writer member
Fall 2006 - Present

Society of Electro-acoustic Music in the United States
Fall 2006 - Present

Activities:

Keyboard and Electronics, Invisible College Quartet - Boulder, CO
Fall 2007 to Present

Gangsa & Rayong, CU Balinese Gamelan - Boulder, CO
Spring 2007 to Present

Artistic Director and Co-Founder, New Frontiers Chamber Symphony - Eugene, OR
Spring 2005 to Spring 2006

 

Music software:

Experience with both PCs and Macs, notation (Finale, Sibelius), digital audio sequencing and recording (ProTools, CuBase, Digital Performer, Audacity), MIDI sequencing (Logic, Garage Band, ProTools, Reason), sampling (Reason), digital signal processing and algorithmic programming (Kyma, MAX/MSP/Jitter, SuperCollider, Spear, Mammut, SoundHack, MetaSynth, ProTools), spectral analysis (Sonogram Visible Speech, Amadeus II), surround sound diffusion (MAX/MSP, ProTools HD).

Music and performance hardware:

Sound reinforcement (stereo, quadraphonic, 5.1, 7.1 and 8.1 surround), concert and studio recording, MIDI keyboard and hardware management, analog synthesizers, video projection.

Other software:

Web design (Dreamweaver and FrontPage, html, css), graphic design (Photoshop), videography (Final Cut Pro, iMovie, Jitter), MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

ASCAP Plus Awards
2007, 2008, 2009

ASCAP Morton Gould Student Composer Awards finalist
2008

Edward Levy Commissioning Prize, University of Colorado at Boulder
2007

MusicX eighth blackbird Composition Competition finalist, Cinncinati College-Conservatory of Music
2007

Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Work in Composition, University of Oregon
2005

Northwest Youth Corps Award of Acheivement
1999, 2000, 2002

2nd Place for Best News Story, Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association Collegiate Competition, 3rd Division
2001

Northwest Youth Corps Letter of Exemplary Performance
1999, 2000

USDA Forest Service Certificate of Appreciation
2000

 

Program Notes:

Mirages is an elaborate orchestral exposition and development
of two contrasting, four note motives. The primary motive is stated almost
immediately as a descending line in the first flute. Simultaneously, the
secondary motive is hidden in the string texture below the 1st flute, and is
actually used in slow-motion fugal imitation to create the entire harmonic
framework of the first section of the piece.

Throughout the work the two motives are set against each other in various
ways, each undergoing transformative and imitative processes, such as
inversion, augmentation, retrograde, and stretto. The harmonic language of
the piece is vertically composed of dense diatonic and whole-tone
sonorities, while the melodic, linear drive of the piece is powered by
unrelenting chromaticism. Inspiration from the 20th century for this piece
comes from works such as John Adams’ Harmonielehre and Gyorgy Ligeti’s
String Quartet No. 1 and Clocks and Clouds.

Performance History:

World Premiere: November 19, 2005

New Frontiers Chamber Symphony concert - Beall Hall, University of Oregon - Eugene, OR

Personnel: flute: Leeann M. Davis, Heather Cairns; oboe: Mari Hiner; clarinet: Blake McGee, Sarah Little; bassoon: Helena Kopchick, Chris Swan; horn: Leah Golden-Sea, Alice Codieck; trumpet: Kim Hannon, Dan Kocurek; trombone: Matthew Ertz; percussion: Alex Patterson, Chris Lay; violin: Rose Sciaroni, Leif Karlstrom, Marci Gordon, Heather Sanderson, Rose Barrett, Erin Carey, Arianne Shimanoff, Andrea Davis; viola: Samara Humbert, Kate Rogers; cello: Derek Newell, Nissha Calkins-Godfrey, Jesse Jones; bass: Benjamin Wheeler

Matthew Svoboda, conductor
Paul Hembree, artistic director & co-founder
Brian Johnson, co-founder
Robert Kyr, faculty mentor

 

Program Notes:

The Pacific Rim Gamelan is a composing/performing ensemble at the University of Oregon School of Music in which each member is both a composer and performer. Some of the music is composed by individuals, some of it is composed collectively, and some of it involves guided and/or free improvisation in the context of notated music.

The Pacific Rim Gamelan performs on the Gamelan Suranadi Sari Indra Putra, which may be translated as “Gamelan Holy Springs: Ascent of the Song of the God of Rain.”

The instruments of the gamelan (meaning “orchestra” in Indonesian) are: KANTILAN: 4 horizontal racks of 10 metal bars; PEMADE: 4 horizontal racks of 10 metal bars; JUBLAG: 2 horizontal racks of 5 metal bars; JEGOGAN: 2 horizontal racks of 5 metal bars; REYONG: a horizontal rack of 12 nipple gongs; KEMONG: small suspended gong; KEMPUL: medium-large suspended gong; GONG: large suspended gong; KENDANG: two-headed skin drum.

The beautiful instruments of the Gamelan Suranadi Sari Indra Putra were presented to the School of Music by John and Claudia Lynn in 1986.

Performance History:

World Premiere: April 12, 2005

Pacific Rim Balinese Gamelan concert - Beall Hall, University of Oregon - Eugene, OR

Personnel: Keri Bartow, John Cardwell, Miles Davenport, Andrew Eguchi, Jolyn Gisselberg, Paul Hembree, Jerry Hui, Brian Johnson, Kevin Kaufman, Mei-ling Lee, Mark Macomber, Nic Mitchell, Aaron Rosenberg, Katie Saxon, Jeremy Schropp, Nolan Stolz, Rosemary Woodward

 

Downloads: Score Preview (.pdf)

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Program Notes:

This is music about old gods and celestial mechanics. Nyx, the Greek goddess of Night, and Eris, the Greek goddess of Discord were chosen as titles for the two attaca movements because they embody the character of the musical elements in each - Nyx is calm, nocturnal, and mysterious, while Eris is raucously dissonant and extroverted. Though the harmonic language in both movements is very dense, there is almost no true atonality - harmonic fields, symmetrical scales and structures, and linear voice leading govern almost all pitched material, along with heterophony and closely woven imitiative polyphony.

Concerning celestial mechanics and astronomy: the recent discovery (in 2003) of a solar system object larger than Pluto, now named Eris, at a more distant, inclined and eccentric orbit, along with the discovery of other fascinating scattered disk and Kuiper belt objects, were major sources of inspiration for this piece.

Nyx & Eris was commissioned as part of the 2007 Edward Levy Prize by the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Performance History:

World Premiere: March 5th, 2008

Pendulum New Music series - Grusin Hall, University of Colorado at Boulder

The Arundo Winds: Cobus DuToit, flute, Sarah Mellander, oboe, Jerome Fleg, clarinet, Kaori Uno, bassoon, Megan Garrison, horn; The Tasman String Quartet: Anna van der Zee, violin 1, James Andrewes, violin 2, Chris van der Zee, viola, Miranda Wilson, cello; Alex Maynegre, piano, Brandon Houghtalen, conductor

Second Performance: January 29th, 2009

Lamont Subscription Concert Series - Hamilton Hall, Newman Center, Denver University

The Playground: Sonya Yeager-Meeks, flutes, Lara Gobins, oboe, Brian Ebert, clarinets, Leigh Townsend, bassoon, Christina Barrs, horn, Rebekah Durham, violin 1, Adrienne Short, violin 2, Donald Schumacher, viola, Richard von Foerster, cello, Heidi Brende Leathwood, piano, Jonathan Leathwood, conductor

 

Downloads: Score Preview (.pdf)

Program Notes:

This work is named after a late Jurassic-age predecessor to modern birds. The first movement is titled "Zoogenesis," which is a rarely used biological term referring to the evolution of animals. The material in this section evokes images of a profusion of ancient beasts -- both land and air born. "Fossilization" was chosen for the second movement because the musical material becomes metamorphosed and compressed in the same way fossils are formed. "Orogenesis," the title of the third movement, is the geological term for mountain building. The musical material goes through a series of metric upheavals in a fashion somewhat analogous to geologic faulting.

Musically, the work strives to synthesize myriad influences from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, including Oliver Messiaen, Igor Stravinsky, Conlon Nancarrow, Gyorgy Ligeti, Michael Gordon, Frank Zappa, George Crumb, and others. The work also contains imports from other arts, including several instances of humorous deus ex machina.

Reading: February 5, 2007

Pendulum New Music series - eighth blackbird reading session - Grusin Hall, University of Colorado at Boulder

eighth blackbird: Timothy Munroe, flutes, Michael J. Maccaferri, clarinets, Matt Albert, violin, Nicholas Photinos, cello, Matt Duvall, percussion, Lisa Kaplan, piano

World Premiere: May 25, 2007

1st Annual Colorado Composers Concert - Bethany Lutheran Church, Denver CO

The Playground: Cheryl Gooden, flutes, Brian Ebert, clarinet, Angie Dombrowski, violin, Richard von Foerster, cello, Jason Rodon, percussion, Alix Corboy, piano, Jonathan Leathwood, conductor

Ohio Premiere: June 15, 2007

Music07 Festival - Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Cincinnati OH

Seonhee Jang, flutes, Patrick Hanudel, clarinets, Wan-lin Tsai, violin, Ryan Child, cello, Davy Anderson, percussion, Yoon-Sun Song, piano, Albert Pinsonneault, conductor

3rd performance: September 18, 2007

Modern Miscellana - Hamilton Recital Hall, Newman Center for the Performing Arts, Denver CO

The Playground: Cheryl Gooden, flutes, Brian Ebert, clarinet, Angie Dombrowski, violin, Richard von Foerster, cello, Jason Rodon, percussion, Alix Corboy, piano, Jonathan Leathwood, conductor

4th performance: September 26, 2007

Pendulum New Music series - Grusin Hall, University of Colorado at Boulder

The Playground: Cheryl Gooden, flutes, Brian Ebert, clarinet, Angie Dombrowski, violin, Richard von Foerster, cello, Jason Rodon, percussion, Alix Corboy, piano, Jonathan Leathwood, conductor

 

Downloads: Score Preview (.pdf)

Program Notes:

Sirenenhexen is a German psuedoword that means "siren-witches." The witches theme in this piece comes from the specifications requested by the woodwind duo, Tartrazine. They asked for a duet that related to the witches scene in Henry Purcell's Dido and Aenaes, and some of the musical material from that scene is hidden throughout the piece. There is also a double meaning from the "hex" portion of the title - a "hexatonic," or six-note symetrical scale is used to organize most of the pitches in the piece. The overall mood of the piece is nocturnal and dire.

Sirenehexen was written for and premiered by the Oregon-based woodwind duo Tartrazine.

Performance History:

World Premiere: April 26, 2007

Student Recital Series - Beall Hall, University of Oregon - Eugene OR

Tartrazine: Sophia Tegart, flute, Helena Kopchick, bassoon, Hung-Yun Chu, piano

Downloads: Score Preview (.pdf)

Program Notes:

Song Without Words is literally that - an arrangement of my mezzo-soprano and piano piece, Whatever It May Be, for trumpet and piano. There is a tradition of arranging works for female voice for trumpet, particuarly from the operatic aria tradition, to develop a trumpeters sense of melody, and this piece does exactly that.

Performance History:

World Premiere: February 28, 2006

Oregon Composers Forum - Beall Hall, University of Oregon - Eugene OR

Daniel Kocurek, trumpet, Shaunna Eberhard, piano

Program Notes:

Self-Similar Knot for String Quartet, inspired by Iannis Xenakis' Metastasis, is a literal mapping of hand drawn fractal onto the pitch-space provided by a string quartet. There is no pitch quantization, which creates a texture made entirely of glissandi.

Performance History:

World Premiere: May 10, 2005

Hembree & Johnson Composition Recital - Beall Hall, University of Oregon, Eugene OR

Leif Karlstrom, violin, Rose Barrett, violin, Michelle Rahn, viola, Derek Newell, cello

 

Program Notes:

Reflections utilizes some of the same techniques that Blues Canons does, particularly interlocking ostinatos. However, instead of using canons that are the same backwards and forwards, I decided to build canons that are the same above and below an axis, but reflected (hence the title), or inverted. Thus, the two-part counterpoint you will hear in this piece is really one subject, played both right-side-up, and upside-down, simultaneously. There is also an extensive section of true polytemporal imitative polyphony near the end.

Performance History:

World Premiere: May 10, 2005

Hembree & Johnson Composition Recital - Beall Hall, University of Oregon, Eugene OR

Leif Karlstrom, violin, Rose Barrett, violin, Michelle Rahn, viola, Derek Newell, cello

 

 

Program Notes:

Blues Canons was inspired by the work of expatriate American composer, Conlon Nancarrow. The work features a blues tonal language combined with rigorous counterpoint and interlocking ostinatos. When I wrote it, I was obsessed with crab canons, which are imitative contrapuntal forms that are the same forwards and backwards. I designed the form of the piece to essentially “build” a double crab-canon by layering successive canons on top of one another, until in the final section, a complete double crab-canon is heard. No actual tempo-canons are used (tempo-canons occur when the canon’s subject is stated successively at different tempos, a hallmark feature of Nancarrow's player piano music); the polytempo feeling in this piece is merely implied by the polyrhythms that pervade the texture.

Performance History:

World Premiere: June 13, 2004

Eugene Composers Collective concert - Sam Bond's Garage - Eugene OR

Leif Karlstrom, violin, Lionel Thomas, violin, Michelle Rahn, viola, Derek Newell, cello

2nd performance: May 10, 2005

Hembree & Johnson Composition Recital - Beall Hall, University of Oregon - Eugene OR

Leif Karlstrom, violin, Rose Barrett, violin, Michelle Rahn, viola, Derek Newell, cello

 

Program Notes:

This is a very early work, written as a study in classical sonata-allegro form, though the harmonies often involve extended chords inspired by jazz and Radiohead.

Performance History:

World Premiere: June 6, 2003

Composition I Recital - Beall Hall, University of Oregon - Eugene OR

Justin Lasley, trumpet, Paul Hembree, trumpet, Matthew Socia, horn, Caleb Allen, trombone, Kevin Gore, tuba

 

Downloads: Score Preview (.pdf)

Program Notes:

This recent work was commissioned by University of Wyoming clarinet instructor Jerome Fleg.

Performance History:

World Premiere: TBA

Jerome Fleg, clarinet

 

Downloads: Score Preview (.pdf)

Program Notes:

Jökulhlaup is the Icelandic term for a sudden cataclysmic flood that sometimes follows a volcanic eruption under a glacier. English-speaking scientists have adopted the term for use describing any glacial outburst flood, such as the Missoula Lake flood, which destroyed all of what is now Eastern Washington State at the end of the last ice age.

I choose Jökulhlaup for the title of this piece because the idea of such an event best fits the progression of moods evoked during the piece. The lengthy introduction is a frozen landscape of jagged, dissonant gestures, interrupted by increasingly violent, ascending explosions of sound. Following the introduction is a short, unsettling walk through what might be a rural village, encrusted in ice and frozen in time. The melodic threads of this section are inspired by common practice tonality, though their sinister counterpoint recalls the icy atonal harmonic language of the introduction. Throughout the second half of the composition, the energy gradually builds by acceleration and dynamic intensification, evoking the melting of a glacier by volcanic eruption. In the final section, we hear frozen chunks of atonal material from the introduction, cascading over one another in an overwhelming inundation of sound.

Performance History:

World Premiere: July 7, 2007

Piano Reborn Recital - Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium - Beall Hall, University of Oregon, Eugene OR

Kate Campbell, piano

Minnesota Premiere: October 21, 2007

Redeemer Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, MN

Michael Ippolito, piano

Wisconsin Premiere: November 7, 2007

Guest Artist Recital - Morphy Recital Hall, University of Wisconsin at Madison

Michael Ippolito, piano

Florida Premiere: January 6, 2008

Temple Terrace Presbyterian Church, Tampa, FL

Michael Ippolito, piano

Colorado Premiere: April 25, 2008

2nd Annual Colorado Composers Concert - the Playground - King Center Concert Hall, Metropolitan State College of Denver, CO

Heide Brende, piano

 

Downloads: Score Preview (.pdf)

Program Notes:

The Diabolic and Celestial fugues were originally written as style studies in counterpoint. As the titles suggest, hellish and heavenly sound worlds are set in stark contrast to each other. Yet despite the differences between the blistering Diabolic theme and the serene Celestial theme, the two fugue subjects are actually reflections of one another.

Performance History:

World Premiere: November 9, 2005

Oregon Composers Forum - Beall Hall, University of Oregon, Eugene OR

Tyler J. Harrison, piano

 

Program Notes:

These works best represent my piano writing from my time studying with David Crumb. The goal in writing these works was to explore the musical materials that were developed in the late twentieth century, while testing the limits of the performer.

Chromatic Etude I was inspired by the music of Bela Bartok and Gyorgy Ligeti.  Most of the etude is a fiendishly chromatic double-canon that builds in rhythmic intensity toward an explosive, cascading finale. 
           
Pastoral features an original, modal “folk tune” with a simple accompaniment.
           
Alternate Planes was composed as a way of juxtaposing two completely different musical worlds simultaneously, in different meters and tonalities.
           
Wrong Notes at the Right Time is actually a set-class composition, though it stays fairly centric throughout.  The music was partially inspired by Oliver Messaien.
           
Chromatic Etude II is again inspired by Ligeti.  When slowed down, this piece takes on a bizarrely jazzy feel; however, when played at tempo, the harmonies fly by so fast that they become obscured as part of a churning contrapuntal machine. 

Performance History:

World Premiere: May 10, 2005

Hembree & Johnson Composition Recital - Beall Hall, University of Oregon, Eugene OR

David Frahm, piano

 

Downloads: Score Preview (.pdf)

Program Notes:

Passion, with text by German Expressionist poet Georg Trakl (1887 - 1914), offers a disjunct, hallucinatory narrative of shifting images and figures, juxtaposing Orphic and Christian myths, all tinged with death and sexual guilt.  This musical interpretation plays upon the fused dualities and fractured unities within the text.  Fragrant dissonances arise from the cross-pollination of equal-tempered and justly-tuned harmonies, while melodies spawn halos of encircling doppelgangers, only to draw them back in with a stony embrace.  The English translation is by Petra Watzke (PhD candidate, Washington University in St. Louis), who collaborated with the composer on the poem's interpretation. This piece was written as part of the composition jury process at UCSD, and was the result of a unique collaborative process between composers and performers.

Performance History:

World Premiere: Janurary 22, 2010

Meghann Welsh, soprano, Ariana Lamon-Anderson, clarinets, Mark Dresser, bass, Dustin Donahue, percussion - Conrad Prebys Concert Hall, University of California, San Diego - La Jolla, CA

2nd Performance: August 7, 2010

Meghann Welsh, soprano, Curt Miller, clarinets, Scott Worthington, bass, Dustin Donahue, percussion - San Francisco Community Music Center - CA

3rd Performance: August 8, 2010

Meghann Welsh, soprano, Curt Miller, clarinets, Scott Worthington, bass, Dustin Donahue, percussion - Swarm Gallery - Oakland, CA

Program Notes:

This short piece, written for a reading by the Portland-based Cappella Romana vocal group, attempts to capture the essence of the spirituality behind the working class haiku by Gary Snyder. The poem resonated with me through my memories of growing up in small Northwest logging and mining towns.

Performance History:

Reading: Spring 2006

Cappella Romana readings - University of Oregon - Eugene, OR

Program Notes:

The text of this song is by Alfred Castner King, an obscure, turn of the twentieth century prospector-poet who lived in Southwestern Colorado. The text is neutrally religious, and doesn't promote a specific faith. Though I am not religious, I wrote the piece at a time when I was studying and comparing Eastern and Western religions, and I found the text to be quite stirring and appealing to many faiths.

From Passing of the Storm, published 1907, now in the public domain

That faith is true whatever it may be,
      What ethics or traditions it may teach,
Whose whispers soothe the secret misery,
      And [comfort] with soft, persuasive speech.

That faith is true that lightens pain and care,
      That false, which adds one burden to the load,
Whate’er its ornaments of psalm and prayer,
      A travesty on reason and on God.

That faith is true that buoys the sinking breast,
      When in the throes of some great agony,
That comforts the afflicted and distressed,
      And reconciles the trembling soul to die.

That faith is true that when the chilling blasts
      Of final dissolution overwhelm
Life’s fragile bark, and shiver hill and masts,
      Sees but the hand of Love upon the helm.

Performance History:

World Premiere: May 10, 2005

Hembree & Johnson Composition Recital - Beall Hall, University of Oregon - Eugene, OR

Katie Saxon, mezzo-soprano, Sarah Botteril-Burch, piano

 

Downloads: Score Preview (.pdf)

Program Notes:

The poetry to Hymn for the Morning was excerpted from a poem by the same name, written by Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784), the first published African American poet.  The music very tonal, and full of juicy suspensions and dissonances.

Excerpted from:

A Hymn to the Morning (from Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, published 1786, now in the public domain)
  
Aurora hail, and all the thousand dies,
Which deck thy progress through the vaulted skies:
The morn awakes, and wide extends her rays,
On ev'ry leaf the gentle zephyr plays;
Harmonious lays the feather'd race resume,
Dart the bright eye, and shake the painted plume.

Ye shady groves, your verdant gloom display
To shield your poet from the burning day:
Calliope awake the sacred lyre,
While thy fair sisters fan the pleasing fire:
The bow'rs, the gales, the variegated skies
In all their pleasures in my bosom rise.

Performance History:

World Premiere: May 10, 2005

Hembree & Johnson Composition Recital - Beall Hall, University of Oregon - Eugene, OR

Sospiro: Katie Saxon, soprano, Lauren McGuire-Jennings, alto, Jerry Hui, tenor, Jeremy Jennings, bass

 

Program Notes:

Canon 3:4:6 is not a single canon, but four canons strung back to back, each representing a different type of poly-temporal imitative-contrapuntal method.  The text is my own, and isn’t necessarily very poetic, but does reflect what happens structurally during the piece.  The numbers 3:4:6 are mensuration symbols that identify the tempo ratios between the voices.

Performance History:

World Premiere: Fall 2004

Eugene Composers Collective - Cosmic Pizza - Eugene, OR

Sospiro: Katie Saxon, soprano, Lauren McGuire-Jennings, alto, Jerry Hui, tenor, Jeremy Jennings, bass

2nd Performance: May 10, 2005

Hembree & Johnson Composition Recital - Beall Hall, University of Oregon - Eugene, OR

Sospiro: Katie Saxon, soprano, Lauren McGuire-Jennings, alto, Jerry Hui, tenor, Jeremy Jennings, bass

 

Downloads: Score Preview (.pdf) | MAX 5 Performance Patch (coming soon)

Program Notes:

Descent Into the Amygdala is meant to be a virtuosic yet idiomatic work for amplified viola and computer. The mood is dark throughout, painting a sonic picture of what it might be like to immerse oneself in the amygdala, the part of the brain that is responsible for base emotions like fear and dread.

From a technical standpoint, a the computer creates a variable-speed delay line that casts a shadow of the viola into the performances spaces, always a few moments behind, and antiphonally opposed to the live player. By manipulating the length of the delay, imitative contrapuntal forms with rhythmic complexity reminiscent of Conlon Nancarrow can be created. This piece is essentially a series of polytemporal fugues, with unison points of repose. Without the computer (or a player piano, as in Nancarrow's music), the polyrhythmic ratios used in this piece would be impossible to play.

Depending on the player's preference, overdrive, bit-crushing and ring modulation can be added to the piece. The computer part is programmed in SuperCollider, a free audio synthesis language.

Performance History:

World Premiere: Fall 2007

Megan Edrington Master's Recital - Grusin Hall, University of Colorado at Boulder

Megan Edrington, viola, Paul Hembree, computer

2nd Performance: February 27, 2008

ATLAS Electro-acoustic Concert, Pendulum New Music series - Alliance for Technology Learning and Society Black Box Theater - University of Colorado at Boulder

4.1 surround sound digital audio media, Paul Hembree, computer

3nd Performance: March 16, 2008

Pendulum New Music series Showcase - Boulder Library - Boulder, CO

Megan Edrington, viola, Paul Hembree, computer

4th Performance: May 8, 2008

Mystery Cabal presents Soundscapes - Object + Thought galley - Denver, CO

Stereo digital audio media

 

Downloads: Score Preview (.pdf) | MAX 5 Performance Patch (coming soon)

Program Notes:

The Doppelgänger was conceived around the idea of an omnipresent "clone" of the contrabassoon, a doppelgänger, with which the performer dances in strange contrapuntal rituals. These ominous rituals are framed and interspersed with sections that feature menacing, buzzing machine noises that swoop about the stereo field. Like their parent doppelgänger, these noises are also clones of the contrabassoon, though their heavy distortion and extreme transposition render them as strange, mechanical aberrations of
the original contrabassoon sound.

All of the sound in this piece is generated live and in real-time from
the original sound of the contrabassoon – there are no pre-recorded samples. Much of the piece features a synthetic form of tube-amplifier overdrive, whereby the contrabassoon signal is intentionally rounded off,
producing a square wave like sound, rich in odd harmonics. The computer processing for The Doppelgänger was coded in SuperCollider, a free real-time audio synthesis language.

Performance History:

World Premiere: July 30, 2007

Aspen Underground Electro-acoustic Concert - Aspen Community Church - Aspen, CO

Helena Kopchick, contrabassoon, Paul Hembree, computer

 

Downloads: Score Preview (.pdf)

Program Notes:

Voltage Controlled Passacaglia explores the capabilities of a vintage analog synthesizer, enhanced with digital spatial diffusion via MAX/MSP. This work uses the baroque passacaglia form; two perpetually repeating ground bass lines are played simultaneously by two eight-step sequencers on the Moog. The ground bass lines are never quite in phase with each other, and constantly evolve through the manipulation of the performers to create a shifting kaleidoscope of electronic sounds. The audio is complemented with a live projection of an attached oscilloscope, which provides a backdrop of shimmering green lightning.

Performance History:

World Premiere: February 28, 2007

ATLAS Electro-acoustic Concert, Pendulum New Music series - Alliance for Technology Learning and Society Black Box Theater - University of Colorado at Boulder

Paul Hembree, Moog, Steven Snowden, Moog, Christopher Rippey, Moog, Curtis Peel, spatial controls

2nd Performance: October 13, 2007

New West Electronic Arts and Music Organization Festival, hosted by the Pendulum New Music series - Alliance for Technology Learning and Society Black Box Theater - University of Colorado at Boulder

Paul Hembree, Moog, Steven Snowden, Moog, Christopher Rippey, Moog, Curtis Peel, spatial controls

 

Program Notes:

The source material Meditation on a Spent .38 Shell is obvious from the title: an empty casing for a .38 caliber bullet. I grabbed many objects from my house in Autumn 2004 to sample in the Future Music Oregon studio for the creation of source sound material, and one of the most outstanding sounds was a .38 caliber shell dropped into a ceramic bowl. I decided to structure the content of the piece around my extra-musical associations with the shell itself and the sound of the shell. When transposed down several octaves, it sounds bizarrely like a Buddhist temple bell, so I decided to juxtapose that association with the shell's violent source: war. Thus, you will hear the sounds of Buddhist chanting and the sounds of war contrasted as you travel on an ear-cinema journey

Performance History:

Preview: May 10, 2005

Hembree & Johnson Composition Recital - Beall Hall, University of Oregon - Eugene OR

Stereo digital audio media

World Premiere: May 21, 2005

Future Music Oregon series - Room 198, University of Oregon School of Music - Eugene OR

4.1 surround sound digital audio media, Paul Hembree, computer

2nd Performance: Winter 2005

Eugene Composers Collective - Downtown Initiative for the Visual Arts - Eugene, OR

Stereo digital audio media

 

My email: phembree [at] ucsd [dot] edu

Visit my YouTube Channel.

University of California, San Diego Music Department

University of Colorado at Boulder College of Music

Pendulum New Music series

Denver Friends of Chamber Music

Alliance for Technology Learning & Society (ATLAS)

University of Oregon School of Music

Oregon Bach Festival

Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium

MusicX Festival

New West Electronic Arts & Music Organization

Mystery Cabal

 

Philippe Manoury, Professor of Composition, University of California, San Diego

Lei Liang, Assistant Professor of Composition, University of California, San Diego

Boulder Composers

Daniel Kellogg, Assistant Professor of Composition, University of Colorado at Boulder

Carter Pann, Instructor of Theory and Composition, University of Colorado at Boulder

Michael Theodore, Associate Professor of Composition, University of Colorado at Boulder

John Drumheller, Instructor and Director of Music Technology, University of Colorado at Boulder

Robert Kyr, Professor of Compositio and Theory, University of Oregon

Jeffrey Stolet, Professor of Music Technology and Intermedia Collaboration, University of Oregon

David Crumb, Associate Professor of Composition and Theory, University of Oregon

Terry McQuilkin, Adjunct Instructor of Composition, University of Oregon

Jeff Treviño, composer, electronic musician

Bob Pierzak, composer

Andrew Allen, composer, electronic musician, tuba player

Dustin Donahue, percussionist

Steven Snowden, composer, horn player

Greg Simon, composer, trumpet player

Chris Rippey, Boulder area bass & guitar player, composer

Brandon Vaccaro, composer, guitarist, educator

Curtis Peel, composer, sound / video artist, percussionist, guitarist

Christa Marie Evanski, composer

Jennifer Deann Scott, composer, performance artist, educator

Mark Arnett, composer, pianist, educator

Hunter Ewen, composer, music technologist, saxophonist, educator

Jerry Hui, composer, conductor, singer

Tyler J. Harrison, composer, pianist

Christopher Stark, composer

Michael Ippolito, composer, pianist, accordionist

Sam Tymorek, composer, electronic musician

Justin Armstrong, composer, pianist

Chris Thomas, Film composer, conductor

Matthew Svoboda (Oregon Festival Choirs website), composer and conductor

William Hembree and Chester Dickens, mechanical engineer / graphic artist & writer duo

 

The Playground, Denver-based new music ensemble

The Tasman String Quartet, Boulder / New Zealand

The Antero Winds, Boulder-based woodwind quintet

The Carpetbag Brigade, San Fransisco-based physical theater company

Alarm Will Sound

eighth blackbird, Grammy award winning Chicago-based new music ensemble

Fireworks, New York-based new music ensemble

Meet The Composer

Commissioning Music/USA

Music Alive Handbook

New Music, New Donors

Basic Guide to Commissioning Music

An Individual's Guide to Commissioning Music

Commissioning Music (Meet The Composer)

American Music Center Grants

The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc.

Ford Made in America, the best example of what a consortium commission can do

 

American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)

Society of Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS)

American Music Center

American Composers Forum

Society of Composers, Inc.

All audio and text on this website is © Copyright 2004-2008 Paul Hembree (ASCAP).
Most of the licensing agreements on the images below require that I release the items according to an identical license, so please email me at paul.hembree[at]colorado.edu if you would like a copy of any of the images I've created.

Background image (the Flatirons): Jesse Varner, edited by Schcambo (Creative Commons 2.5).

JW FLV Mediaplayer: Jeroen Wijering (Creative Commons 2.0).

Nyx & Eris thumbnail (planet and star): NASA (Public Domain).

Descent Into the Amygdala thumbnail (transparent head): Thomas Schultz (Creative Commons 2.5) and Patrick J. Lynch (Creative Commons 2.5). Edited by Paul Hembree (Creative Commons 2.5).

Archaeopteryx thumbnail (fossil): Mariana Ruiz Villarreal (Public Domain).

Jokulhlaup thumbnail (glacier): Andreas Tille (GNU Free Documentation 1.2).

Mirages thumbnail (sun): Mila Zinkova (Creative Commons 2.5).

Meditation on a Spent .38 Shell thumbnail (bullet): Malis (Public Domain).

Song Without Words thumbnail (shipwreck): Cheesy Mike (Public Domain).

Arcane Geometry thumbnail (colored woodcut): Heikenwaelder Hugo (Creative Commons 2.5).

Reflections thumbnail (mountain reflected in lake): Tinelot Wittermans (GNU Free Documentation 1.2).

Excerpts from the Lotus Sutra thumbnail (lotus flower): Steve (Creative Commons 2.5).

Blues Canons thumbnail (fiddler crab): Junglecat (Creative Commons 2.5).

Celestial Prelude thumbnail (angel): Twice25 (Creative Commons 2.5).

Diabolical Fugue thumbnail (devil): Ifernyen (GNU Free Documentation 1.2).

 

I am currently taking students in composition, songwriting, music theory, and electronic music, in the North County area.

I have experience as a music educator in a variety of settings, including classroom experience teaching music technology at the University of Colorado at Boulder, 2006 - 2009, and I currently teach basic musicianship and songwriting courses as a graduate assistant at the University of California, San Diego. I have taught private lessons in composition and theory since 2005.

Teaching people to approach music creatively by helping them search for their own voice has been tremendously fulfilling for me over the last several years. There is no prescribed approach to writing good music that applies to everyone; instead, I work with students to explore what they are passionate about in (and around) music, and I provide them with a set of analytical and technological tools for extrapolating principles from the music that they love. This method can be used to learn how to write anything from fat beats, to heavy metal, to classical symphonic forms.

I give in home lessons the following areas: Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Solana Beach, Del Mar, Rancho Sante Fe, Escondido, La Jolla, Mira Mesa, University City, Clairemont

- Study the art of writing solo, chamber, and orchestral music from the western european classical tradition, or its modern extensions, with time-tested methods such as species counterpoint.

- Perfect your songwriting skills in any modern popular music style, with an emphasis on the connection between language and music (prosody and melody), and a strong harmonic foundation.

- Any age or level of experience in songwriting and composition (though the student should have a little experience on an instrument, voice, or computer).

- Guided exploration into the style of the student's favorite bands or composers to learn the techniques that make their music work.

- Turn your computer into your instrument! I can help you with any piece of music software, from Garage Band to ProTools; or notation software such as Sibelius and Finale.

- In-home lessons, $40 / hour, with a free consultation.

Scores and Parts:

At some point I'd like to add some Buy-it-Now functionality to this webpage, but in the meantime, if you want scores or parts, contact me at phembree [at] ucsd [dot] edu.

Composition:

New concert music in a variety of styles for soloists or ensembles

Incidental music for theater or dance

Music for film, television, commercials or games

Sound Design:

Sound effects for film, television, commercials or games

Arrangement:

Arrangement of pre-existing music for any ensemble or soloist

Transcription:

Dictation of recorded music into standard notation

Engraving and Part Extraction:

Professional softare engraving using Sibelius

Part extraction using Sibelius

Web Design:

Functional and artful web design using Adobe Dreamweaver

Specialization in creating pages for performing artists

Fees vary depending on the project, and are negotiable. Please contact me with your needs and specifications.