Apoptosis
U.S. Premiere
Sofía Matus Cancino
Apoptosis (for percussion, live electronics & video) is a natural biological process in which a cell self-destructs in a controlled manner when it is no longer useful or has become damaged, without affecting the surrounding cells. Inspired by this phenomenon, this piece explores the three main phases of the apoptotic process (induction, execution, and elimination) through the progressive manipulation of timbral, rhythmic, and time-based material.
During the induction phase, when the cell receives an internal or external signal triggering its self- destruction, the timbre of almglocken bells is processed in real time. Initially, this processing traces the instrument’s tones to generate through additive synthesis, a series of frequencies based on the original partials present in the bells' sonic spectrum. The execution phase, in which the cell begins to fragment its components and activates special proteins that break down its internal structures, is musically represented through recurring rhythmic patterns and shifting accents. These changes across the measure drive the rhythmic narrative toward the piece’s turning point, reflecting the precision and systematic nature of cellular fragmentation. Finally, in the elimination phase, where the remains of the cell, known as apoptotic bodies, are absorbed by other cells, soft and enveloping sonic textures are employed, alluding to the absorption and final resolution of the process.
– Sofia Matus Cancino
Sofía Matus Cancino (b.1994) is a composer and digital artist whose work explores the convergence of visual music, embodied sound, and algorithmic composition.
Matus studied piano at the Conservatory of Music of the State of Mexico (COMEM, 2007-12). She graduated with honors from both the B.A. in Digital Art (UAEMEX, 2012-17) and the M.A. in Music Technology, at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. (2020-22).
She is a former member of the INTAC network (International Art Collaborations 2015-18) being the facilitator and mentor of the collective in Mexico. Within INTAC, she collaborated with students and faculty at several Universities, such as TAMK(FIN), OCADu(CAD), and the Osaka University of Arts(JP).
Her work has been showcased at contemporary music and visual art festivals such as SEAMUS, NodoCCS, Sound: Frame, Visiones Sonoras, PRISMS, and Music by Women Festival among others.
Sofía has studied with renowned composers such as Rodrigo Sigal, Hugo Solís, João Pedro Oliveira, and Fernanda Navarro. She has been honored with composition awards from Arizona State University and the Ministry of Culture of the State of Mexico. Currently, she is a Doctoral Candidate and a Teaching Assistant at Arizona State University, where she holds a Presidential Graduate Assistantship.
Grave Pastures
Ben Gaunt
Grave Pastures is a composition for (nearly) any melodic instrument and fixed media – this is the version for keyboard instrument (harpsichord, piano, synthesiser etc.) It is possible for a performer to interpret this piece by playing multiple keyboard instruments simultaneously.
Recordings were made at Marramatte Farm, Sledmere, on the 8th, 9th, and 10th of August 2023. Both the notated composition and the fixed media part were completed shortly after.
The fixed media part features field recordings of the local area (trees swaying in the wind), human interactions (footsteps), foley sounds (shaking wheat, breaking twigs), and recordings of instruments (nyckelharpa, melody harp). Occasionally, some of these recording practices were combined (for example, the piece makes use of the sound of tree pods being dropped onto the strings of the melody harp).
The word ‘Grave’ in the title refers both to the dead plants used in the construction of the piece, and the slow speed at which the melodic material should be performed. The word ‘Pastures’ reflects the rural genesis of the sonic materials.
The piece is written in a very free manner; dynamics, rhythms, and timings are not notated. Consequently, the player should listen to (and memorise) the fixed media part in order to devise the most musically satisfying interpretation of the piece.
The instruction “use these two notes to create a slow melody, swapping between them in any order” allows the player to shape the melody as they desire by incorporating rests, repeating notes, employing crescendos and diminuendos etc.
The instruction “use these four cells to create a slow melody, swapping between them in any order (notes within each cell must be performed in the order presented here)” is to be interpreted with a similar level of flexibility, except that the player cannot change the order of the notes within any of the cells, and each cell must be performed in its entirety.
The instruction “repeat this cell as many times as you like” again allows the player to experiment with note durations, dynamics, rests, and other parameters. They could, if they wanted to, repeat the cell enough times for the melody to extend beyond the end of the fixed media part. This should not happen accidentally, however, and should be a deliberate musical decision, practised by the performer.
There are no indicated durations for any of the sections, and it is up to the performer to decide how best to interact with the notated musical material and the fixed media part.
This can be performed in a higher or lower octave (to accommodate keyboard instruments), or in parallel octaves (on a single instrument or between multiple instruments). Any sounds/techniques can be explored if the player believes they improve the interpretation of the piece. Depending on the chosen keyboard instrument(s) this might include instrument preparation, pitch bend, plucked strings, synth patches etc. The player should keep in mind the title of the work when making these interpretive decisions; the performance must be both grave and pastoral.
–Ben Gaunt
Ben Gaunt is a UK-based composer, sonic artist, and improvisor. He has been nominated for an Ivor Novello Award and a British Composer Award. His music is performed frequently in the UK and around the world, and he has worked with London Symphony Orchestra, Grimethorpe Colliery Band, London Sinfonietta, Psappha, and many other outstanding professional musicians. He is Professor in Composition at Leeds Conservatoire. He recently studied Bouffon (clowning) at École Philippe Gaulier in France.
Described as “a force multiplier with more talents than time” (PATRON Magazine), whose music is “alternately celestial and dark” (John Schaefer, WNYC New Sounds), Anuj Bhutani is a quickly emerging composer, performer, vocalist, and producer whose music often features visceral grooves; ethereal, meditative spaces; a combination of acoustic instruments and electronics, narrative depth, and genre-fluidity. As a first-generation Indian-American, Bhutani’s work is focused on liminal spaces, and as such is often highly interdisciplinary, engaging with theater, dance, and film while drawing on his musical background in classical, emo/screamo, ambient, singer/songwriter, and electronic music, resulting in wholly unique, genre- and culturally-fluid pieces that that firmly situate the listener between multiple musical worlds at once.
His work has been presented by Beth Morrison Projects and LA Performance Practice, and at venues including National Sawdust, So Laboratories, the Banff Centre, Tuesdays @ Monk Space, Unwound Sound, the DiMenna Center for Classical Music, Oracle Egg, USC’s Visions + Voices series, and more.
Among other awards, he’s won Chamber Music America’s Classical Commissioning Grant, an ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award, and been selected for American Composer’s Orchestra’s Earshot, NewAm Composer’s Lab, Banff Centre’s Evolution: Classical, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival’s New Music Workshop at Yale School of Music. His work has been commissioned or performed by Ashley Bathgate, USC Thornton Symphony, Khemia Ensemble, 240 Northern, Raleigh Civic Symphony, Metropolis Ensemble, to name a few. He earned his master’s degree at University of Southern California where he was awarded Outstanding Graduate in Composition and his bachelor’s degree at University of North Texas.
To the Moon
Thomas Pennisi
The underlying idea of To the Moon is that of a profound reflection on the text being itself - first and foremost - sound: the different syllabic agglomerates are thus distinguished according to the various successions of consonants and vowels they are made of and subsequently connoted through the attribution - serial and arbitrary - of pitches. The syllabic structures included in the text are reducible to twelve morphological modules, therefore allowing to imply the chromatic whole but in a clearly unbalanced manner, where some specific pitches will inevitably be much more present than others, thus resulting in an unbalanced and functional harmonic field, with the presence - for example - of three individual pitches appearing only once: C - E - A♭, purposely placed at equidistant intervals. In this context, the flute proposes a reversed look on the traditional idea of ‘bel canto’ associated with the typical lyricism of the flute itself (cantabile/flautando), investigating on the contrary the implications of rumouristics in the voice through the exploration of the concluding consonants expressed in the text, reproposed as noise suggestions, almost percussive, within the mouthpiece of the instrument.
Thomas Pennisi approached music by the academic and private study of classical guitar ever since he was a child under the guidance of Luca Indelli, Aldo Guarisco and Stefano Di Fonzo. After his high-school duties he decided to enter the Composition class in the Conservatory of Como in 2018 and he’s currently attending his graduating three-year period as a composer, studying with Vittorio Zago, Federico Gardella, Pasquale Corrado (current tutor). As a student he has also attended masterclasses and laboratories in various fields of music and medias.
In 2022 he’s selected finalist in the “5th European Composer Competition” by the Franz Schubert Konzervatorium in Vienna and awarded the 2nd prize in the “8th Vienna Composer Competition 2022” by the Academia Musica in Vienna with his piece Synæsthesiæ – I. Silk for Bass clarinet and Cello.
In 2023 he’s selected by Divertimento Ensemble to participate in the guitar composition workshop followed by Elena Casoli with two final concerts in 2024 in Milan (Fabbrica del Vapore -Divertimento Ensemble headquarter) and Bern (Hochschule der Künste). In 2024 he is selected finalist in the “3rd call for scores” by the Cadenza Contemporary Orchestra in Baku and his music is workshopped in a public reading session at the International Mugham Center of Azerbaijan. In 2024 he’s awarded the 1st prize in the “2nd Mansurian International Competition” and invited to the Final Gala-Concert at the Komitas Museum Institute in Yerevan with his piece To the moon for Soprano and Alto Flute.
In 2024 he’s selected in the call for scores by Fundaciò ACA in Mallorca and is commissioned apiece for piano and cello for a concert in November during the Festival Encontres de Compositors -Composition Workshop Mallorca 2024. In 2024 he’s awarded the ‘special prize’ in the “4th Ise-Shima International Composition Competition” (Japan) with his piece Amigdala for String Quartet. In 2024 he’s awarded the ‘honourable mention’ in the “2nd musiCON International Composition Competition” by Mayflower Art Center and invited to the Final Concert in October at the National Opera Center in New York with his piece Amigdala for String quartet.
In 2024 he’s awarded the ‘honourable mention’ in the “43rd Premio Valentino Bucchi” by Accademia Filarmonica Romana with his piece Sei drappeggi dal mondo for solo classical guitar. In 2024 he’s selected for participation in the 7th edition of the composition masterclass “San Vito Musica Contemporanea” followed by Ivan Fedele and is commissioned a piece for String Quintet for a concert in December at the Teatro Sociale Arrigoni in Pordenone (Italy). In 2024 he’s awarded the first prize in the “3rd Aalborg Guitar composition competition” by Aalborg Guitar Festival in Denmark with his piece Sei drappeggi dal mondo for solo classical guitar which will be published by Bergmann Edition.
His music has been performed in Como, Milan, Baku, Bern, Yerevan, New York, Rome, Mallorca and Pordenone.
Flightpath
Anuj Bhutani
As a kid, I dreamed of being a bird. To me, they were truly free: soaring across the sky, singing, looking down at us from the treetops, nesting anywhere they liked. As I got older, I was fascinated by the stories of their epic migrations. I imagine that though the departure and arrival points of these migrations are probably similar, each journey must be unique; when one rests, how close to the flock one flies, and the weather must make each trip unique. My hope is that flightpath provides a similar experience, where one knows the points of departure and arrival, but is free to shape their individual journey.
–Anuj Bhutani
Described as “a force multiplier with more talents than time” (PATRON Magazine), whose music is “alternately celestial and dark” (John Schaefer, WNYC New Sounds), Anuj Bhutani is a quickly emerging composer, performer, vocalist, and producer whose music often features visceral grooves; ethereal, meditative spaces; a combination of acoustic instruments and electronics, narrative depth, and genre-fluidity. As a first-generation Indian-American, Bhutani’s work is focused on liminal spaces, and as such is often highly interdisciplinary, engaging with theater, dance, and film while drawing on his musical background in classical, emo/screamo, ambient, singer/songwriter, and electronic music, resulting in wholly unique, genre- and culturally-fluid pieces that that firmly situate the listener between multiple musical worlds at once.
His work has been presented by Beth Morrison Projects and LA Performance Practice, and at venues including National Sawdust, So Laboratories, the Banff Centre, Tuesdays @ Monk Space, Unwound Sound, the DiMenna Center for Classical Music, Oracle Egg, USC’s Visions + Voices series, and more.
Among other awards, he’s won Chamber Music America’s Classical Commissioning Grant, an ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award, and been selected for American Composer’s Orchestra’s Earshot, NewAm Composer’s Lab, Banff Centre’s Evolution: Classical, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival’s New Music Workshop at Yale School of Music. His work has been commissioned or performed by Ashley Bathgate, USC Thornton Symphony, Khemia Ensemble, 240 Northern, Raleigh Civic Symphony, Metropolis Ensemble, to name a few. He earned his master’s degree at University of Southern California where he was awarded Outstanding Graduate in Composition and his bachelor’s degree at University of North Texas.
Brittle Thoughts
Kerrith Livengood
I wrote Brittle Thoughts for my friends, saxophonist Chris Murphy and percussionist Nick Fox, who commissioned the piece for their duo (Altered Sound Duo) and premiered it in the spring of 2019 at the Music in Bloom Festival, run by my friend Clare Longendyke. I owe a lot to my friends for the creation of this piece.
In many ways, Brittle Thoughts is a pandemic piece, from right before the actual pandemic. I wrote it during a time when I felt pretty unmotivated to keep composing, and I sort of flailed around seeking inspiration. In the end, I created a percussion kit from whatever I had on hand, including amplified ceramic tiles left over from a bathroom remodel; wine glasses; toy glockenspiel bars; and a cajon given to me as a gift from another friend. Brittle Thoughts moves from panicked outbursts to groovy rhythms to delicate overtones to destructive blasts, with an intimate percussion relationship between saxophone and percussion evolving throughout.
–Kerrith Livengood
Composer Kerrith Livengood’s music has been described as "an escapade of wild effusions" (Bloomington Herald-Times) and "sketchy-seeming" (New York Times). Her music has been performed at SEAMUS, KISS 2018, ACO’s SONiC Festival, June in Buffalo, Bargemusic, CCM’s MusicX festivals, the North American Saxophone Alliance annual conference, the Atlantic Music Festival, the Contemporary Undercurrent of Song series, the Cortona Sessions, the Charlotte New Music Festival, and Alia Musica Pittsburgh’s Conductors Festival. She has composed works for the JACK Quartet, Third Angle Ensemble, Duo Cortona, Altered Sound Duo, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Beattie and pianist Adam Marks, soprano Amy Petrongelli, Harry Partch's Adapted Guitar I performed by Charles Corey, Ligament, and the h2 Quartet. Kerrith’s music features unexpected musical forms, controlled randomness, lyricism, improvisation, noise, and humor. Kerrith has been composer-in-residence at the Charlotte Festival of New Music, Music in Bloom Festival, Artists at Albatross Reach, the Osage Arts Community, I-Park, and Copland House. Her solo album of ambient electronic Sailor Moon-themed pieces, In The Name of the MOON, recently was released on Neuma Records. She is a co-founder and original flutist for the new music collective Alia Musica Pittsburgh, and has premiered many new works by young composers alongside members of the JACK Quartet, eighth blackbird and the American Modern Ensemble. Kerrith is also an adventurous experimentalist who has played bird songs while sitting in a tree, started a “noise cult”, worn a towel as concert attire, and performed in concert with Anthony Braxton and Renee Baker. She is a native of Springfield, Missouri; graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, where she studied with Eric Moe, Mathew Rosenblum, Amy Williams and Marcos Balter; and previously taught at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign). Kerrith is Managing Director of the New Music On The Point Festival, an annual summer festival for young composers and performers.
Supra Temps Amalgamat*
*World Premiere
Arnau Brichs
Supra Temps Amalgamat (Supra Amalgamated Time) is a song cycle for autotune soprano, ensemble and electronics, structured in three distinct movements.
The piece is built around the composer’s own poetry, which examines different notions of “time” or temporality within various contexts of daily life, expressed through a range of contrasting musical styles.
The electronics are integrated to interact seamlessly with the ensemble. They amplify, extend, and manipulate instrumental resonances in real time, creating a unified soundscape.
The first movement is concise and focused, reflecting on the idea of the present from an internal, bodily perspective.
The second movement begins with a repetitive synth riff that transitions outward into the external world. Here, dreamlike elements merge with walking and breathing sounds, evolving fluidly. The riff transforms into a subdued techno-like beat, which recurs in varied forms before the movement concludes by returning to an introspective state.
The final movement, significantly longer than the others, explores extremes of temporality through a journey across contrasting musical landscapes. Its textures often forgo pulsation, with resonances appearing and fading unpredictably. The soprano lines rise and fall unexpectedly, manipulated by strange melodic forces.
–Arnau Brichs
Arnau Brichs is a composer, pianist, and electronic music producer from Barcelona. His music explores a wide range of expression, from intimate piano and synthesizer pieces to the vast soundscapes of symphonic orchestras. His classically inspired compositions blend acoustic instruments with experimental electronics, both digital and analogue.
Arnau studied contemporary classical composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he graduated with first-class honors as a full ABRSM scholarship holder. His work has earned international recognition, including the PRIX ÉLAN 2024 in Paris, where his orchestral piece Degrees of Presence won unanimous praise from the jury, orchestra, and audience. He has also received accolades such as the WCSMS Promising Young Composers Competition (Philadelphia, USA) and the Eric Coates Prize (London, UK). His compositions have been performed by ensembles including the Orchestre National d’Île-de- France (Paris), the Uusinta Ensemble (Finland), the Locrian Chamber Players (New York City, USA), and the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra (Switzerland).
As an electronic musician, Arnau works with modular synthesizers, drum machines, and custom-built digital tools that allow him to manipulate acoustic sounds in new and innovative ways. He has coined terms like “aural deepfakes”, “presence” and “invisible electronics” to describe his approach to sound. His open-source software, developed for his own music, has become widely popular online, with over 10,000 downloads to date.
Arnau began his musical journey with jazz piano mentorship under Chano Domínguez and Marina Albero, and classical training at the IEA Oriol Martorell in Barcelona. As a performer, he has appeared at venues such as the Ateneu Barcelonès, Fundació Joan Miró (Festival Lluerna), CaixaForum Barcelona, UTOPIA 46, and the International Music Festival of Cadaqués.
Currently, Arnau is a Composer in Residence for 2024-2025 at the prestigious IRCAM in Paris, where he is developing a new work for oboe, symphonic orchestra, and electronics to be premiered by the Orchestre National d’Île-de- France at Festival ManiFeste in June 2025.
Bent Frequency
Founded in 2003, Atlanta-based Bent Frequency brings the avant-garde to life through adventurous and socially conscious programming, cross-disciplinary collaborations, and community engagement. One of BF’s primary goals is championing the work of historically underrepresented composers - music by women, composers of color, and LGBTQIA+. Hailed as “one of the brightest new music ensembles on the scene today” by Gramophone magazine, BF engages an eclectic mix of the most adventurous and impassioned players.
BF has partnered with internationally acclaimed ensembles, dance groups, and visual artists in creating unique productions ranging from traditional concerts to fully staged operatic works, to concerts on the ATL streetcar, to a band of 111 bicycle-mounted, community performers. BF’s programming, educational outreach, and community events aim to be inclusive of the diverse and dynamic communities they are a part of.
BF is ensemble in residence at Georgia State University and run by Co-Artistic Directors Jan Berry Baker and Stuart Gerber.
Credits:
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