by Kristine H. Burns as published in the IAWM Journal, June 1997, pp. 28.
The Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI) National Conference took place March 5-8, 1997 at the Florida International University (Miami, FL). The conference host, Orlando Jacinto Garcia, is to be commended for arranging presentations and performances by such a diverse group of composers, theorists, researchers and performers. We were pleased that women were so well represented. A number of visiting performers and professional ensembles were in residence, including Andiamo, Continuum and The Miami String Quartet, and two local groups, The Bergonzi String Quartet and The Other Music Ensemble (University of Miami). In addition, the conference received a great deal of support from Florida International University ensembles and soloists.
The conference schedule was filled with events from morning till night, including a gala banquet with Donald Erb as the Keynote Speaker. A special presentation was made to Greg Steinke, the outgoing SCI President. Each morning, two installations were available for listeners/viewers to explore: CD-ROMs by Elizabeth Hinkle-Turner (Full Circle) and Kristine H. Burns (Dido and Anais). Papers were presented by Deborah Weagel ("Schenker, Schoenberg, and Form"), Elizabeth Hinkle-Turner ("Digital Notation Representation and Online Retrieval of Music Information: A Discussion of Current Options and Practices"), and Sally Reid ("Women Composers in Cyberspace: Tools for Networking"). The Committee on Minorities, with Marshall Bialosky presiding, had two presentations: Dolores White, "Composing Black," and Cherilee Wadsworth, "Being a Female Composer in the US Navy." The latter marked the first time in SCI's history that a member of the armed forces spoke at a National Conference! Her engaging paper is presented in this issue of the IAWM Journal.
The twelve concerts featured more than 60 compositions in genres ranging from string quartet to chorus to electronic music. The first performance was Karen P. Thomas's Over the City (in memory of the victims of the bombing of Hiroshima), for SATB chorus and chamber ensemble. The composition offered a wonderful balance of contrasts between homophonic and polyphonic textures. Sonnets for a Solitary Oboe by Elaine F. Lebenbom was a panoply of extended oboe techniques. HyeKyung Lee's Sonatina, for soprano saxophone and piano, featured Lee at the piano with Todd Yukumoto as soloist. The composition as well as the level of performance made this work one of the highlights of the conference. Songs of Ana Akhmatova by Judith Shatin was an extraordinary, lush composition, beautifully performed. In Margaret Brouwer's Diary of an Alien, for solo flute, each of the four movements represented various aspects of alienation that ranged from serious to comical. The performance by Ulla Suokko-Hixon was quite theatrical. Sue Dellinger's Awakening for solo cello was a somber and reflective work, masterfully performed by Darrett Adkins of Continuum. A work of contrasts, Elena Ruhr's Black and White, for clarinet and piano, was both angular and melodic. The Plain Presentation of It, for soprano, flute, and violin by Beth Wiemann, was expertly written and was well executed by members of Continuum.
Pamela Madsen's The Red Shoes, for solo percussion with spoken text, was unusual and innovative and featured an outstanding performance by Patti Cudd. The work made use of rotational sets of rhythms in both the percussion part and in the text by Anne Sexton. The Blue Melody, for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano by Kui Dong, was skillfully composed and was particularly effective in the interaction among the ensemble members. Elisenda Fabregas, pianist, performed her Sonata No. 1 for flute and piano. Through repetition and cellular development this expansive sonata provided challenging parts for each of the players.
Other performances included Ursula Mamlok's Die Laterne, for soprano, flute, violin, clarinet, piano and cello; Melissa Maier's Der Geist von Schlegel Klaviertriosatz, for violin, piano, and cello; Margaret Fairlie-Kennedy's Windrider/Final Ascent, for flute and piano; Dorothy Hindman's Echo, for solo horn; and Laura Elise Schwendinger's Cascade Range, for cello and piano. Jacob Druckman's Death Be Not Proud for chorus, was a touching tribute to the late composer (1928-1996), who was a long-time member of the Society of Composers, Inc.
The 1997 SCI National Conference offered a marvelous amalgamation of compositions, performances and research interests. Congratulations should go to Frederick Kaufman (FIU School of Music Director), Elizabeth Hinkle-Turner (technical coordinator), and most especially, Orlando Garcia. Their hard work and organization were much appreciated at this very special conference.
Kristine H. Burns is the Artistic Director and Composer of the performance art group [schwa]. She is owner and editor of WOW'EM, Women On the Web-ElectronMedia (http://music.dartmouth.edu/~wowem), a web site devoted to young women with interests in the music and visual art technology. Her intermedia compositions have been performed throughout the United States, Canada and Europe, including the Ninth International Congress of Women in Music (Vienna); the FUTURA Festival (Drome, France); SEAMUS National Conferences; and SCI National and Regional Conferences.