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Presenters: Dr Matthew James Noone, Nick Roth, Asako Hirabayashi, and Edwin McLean
Chair: Dr Yonit Kosovske
This seminar will explore unique artistic perspectives on composition from multiple genres. Drawing upon musical thinking from Western Classical music, contemporary music on historical instruments, Opera, maqam, free improvisation, Indian raga, Irish traditional and electroacoustic music, this discussion will explore the function of music as a translative epistemology. Each speaker will give a prepared presentation on their work followed by a chaired open discussion with the audience.
Asako Hirabayashi is a harpsichordist and composer. Her recording ‘Music for Harpsichord’ (Albany Records) features her compositions and performances as a solo and collaborative keyboardist. The album was selected as one of the 5 best classical CDs of the year 2010 by Minneapolis Star Tribune, one of the top 10 albums of the year 2018, the Gold Medal Award by the Global Music Awards, and it received 7 favourable international reviews. She has won numerous grants and awards as both a soloist and composer, including two McKnight Fellowships, Jerome Fund for New Music by American Composers Forum, Schubert Club Composer Award, Opera America’s Discovery Grant, MNiatures - Tiny Operas, Big Ideas by MN Opera, and several first prizes in the Aliénor International Harpsichord Composition Competition. She has composed 30 chamber pieces and 4 operas, and her compositions have been performed in more than 14 different countries. She has appeared as a featured guest soloist in international festivals and concert series worldwide since her New York debut recital at Carnegie Hall. She holds a Doctoral degree from the Juilliard School.
Nick Roth is a saxophonist, composer, producer and educator.His work seeks the liberation of improvisation from composition, the poetic syntax of philosophical enquiry, and the function of music as translative epistemology.
Edwin McLean is a composer living in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in the United States. He is a graduate of the Yale School of Music, where he studied with Krzysztof Penderecki and Jacob Druckman. He also holds a master’s degree in music theory and a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from the University of Colorado. Mr. McLean has authored over 200 publications for The FJH Music Company, ranging from The FJH Classic Music Dictionary to original works for pianists from beginner to advanced. His highly-acclaimed works for harpsichord have been performed internationally and are available on the Miami Bach Society recording, Edwin McLean: ‘Sonatas for 1, 2, and 3 Harpsichords’. His 2011 solo jazz piano album ‘Don’t Say Goodbye’ includes many of his advanced works for piano published by FJH. Mr. McLean began his career as a professional arranger. Currently, he divides his time between editing, composing, and painting.