IU Southeast Concert Band will present WORLD PREMIERE during free concert April 10
NEW ALBANY, Ind. (Mar. 10, 2022) — The Music Department at Indiana University Southeast will present the IU Southeast Concert Band on Sunday, April 10, 2022 at 3 p.m. in the Richard K. Stem Concert Hall in the Paul W. Ogle Cultural and Community Center on the IU Southeast campus, 4201 Grant Line Road in New Albany. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated. To donate online, visit go.iu.edu/GiveToIUSMusic.
Under the direction of conductor, Philip A. Thomas, the band will perform “King Karl King” March by Henry Fillmore, English Folk Song Suite by Ralph Vaughan Williams, La Mezquita de Córdo by Julie Giroux, Two Movements from “Miniature Suite” by Steven Bryant, and Undertow by John Mackey.
The highlight of the concert will be the world premiere performance of Firefly for Solo E-flat Clarinet and Concert Band by IU Southeast Associate Professor of Music, Erich Holt Stem with clarinetist Carrie RavenStem as soloist.
Carrie RavenStem is the clarinetist and co-founder of contemporary chamber ensemble A/Tonal and clarinet duo La HERmandad. Her mission includes introducing audiences to living composers, commissioning new works, and creating an inviting space for others to experience contemporary music. Carrie recently commissioned four local composers to write new pieces for her and A/Tonal, works by composers Daniel Gilliam, Frederick Speck, Jeremy Beck, and Erich Stem. These works premiered at the Kentucky Center for the Arts in May of 2018. A fifth work, Perceptions of Strife, was written for her by Peter Felice and premiered in 2011. It was performed at ICA’s ClarinetFest 2019 in Knoxville Tennessee. She and A/Tonal had the distinct honor of performing her commission by Daniel Gilliam for American novelist and poet Wendell Berry, whose text was used in the work, The Porch over the River.
A/Tonal has been performing throughout Kentuckiana in venues such as The Kentucky Center, 21c Museum Hotel, Paul W. Ogle Cultural and Community Center, and various universities including University of Louisville, Bellarmine University, and Centre College. For two years, A/Tonal was featured on WUOL’s The Unheard series, promoting the works of female composers Jennifer Bellor and Alex Shapiro. In the summer of 2016, A/Tonal partnered with Longleash trio as guests of the Loretto Project. The group’s premiere EP, Starting Point, featuring composers Erich Stem and Daniel Gilliam, was released on April 2, 2017 at A/Tonal’s Kentucky Center debut. A/Tonal has also partnered with the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts in June 2017, offering a candid Q&A discussion on paving a path in music. The group completed their residency at the University of Louisville for the 2018–19 school year, with six new works written for them by student composers. A/Tonal is composed of several musicians around the Kentuckiana area, including Carrie on clarinet, and IU Southeast faculty members Jessica Litwiniec Dorman on piano, Jon Silpayamanant on cello, and resident composer Erich Stem.
La HERmandad clarinet duo with Adria Sutherland made their virtual debut in Spring of 2021 at the International Clarinet Association’s Clariedoscope Virtual Festival. They have commissioned a new duet by Jenni Brandon and will present the world premiere at the International Clarinet Association’s Clarinetfest 2022 in Lake Tahoe.
Ms. RavenStem has performed with several orchestras and ensembles including the Louisville Orchestra, Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, Louisville Chamber Winds, Sacred Winds, the Louisville Ballet, and the Kentucky Opera. Carrie recently performed at the world’s first virtual woodwind festival, WoodWindFest 2020, as a guest artist of Silverstein Works. She is an adjunct lecturer at Indiana University Southeast, where she is also an alum of the Music Department, and teaches aural skills classes. She is honored to be a Backun Performing Artist and Silverstein Performing Artist.
Erich Holt Stem’s music has been described as “sophisticated and intriguing” (The Washington Post), “unique and beautiful” (Boston Theatre Review), and as having a “fluent and chaotic exchange that breaks minimalism apart” (A Closer Listen). His music has been performed live around the globe in places such as New York City, Boston, San Antonio, Los Angeles, Miami, England, the Netherlands, and Romania and can be heard on albums by critically acclaimed groups such as counter)induction, Aurelia Saxophone Quartet, SOLI Chamber Ensemble, and A/Tonal. His commissions also include music for recognized artists such as saxophonist Johan van der Linden and flutist Lindsey Goodman.
Groups such as the Minnesota Orchestra, Richmond Symphony, West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, and many others have performed/broadcasted his orchestral works in venues such as Minnesota’s Orchestra Hall, The Carpenter Theatre at CenterStage, WUOL 90.5FM’s Brave New World, and WCVE 88.9FM’s Whitlow Concert Series with Bobbie Barajas. In 2013, his affinity for the history and towns of the United States led to a larger orchestral project called America By: A Symphonic Tour. A consortium of American orchestras has commissioned and performed works from Stem during the tour, including the Bainbridge Symphony Orchestra, West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, University of Portland Orchestra, Arlington Philharmonic, and the James Madison University Symphony Orchestra. His most recent project, Solo Series, takes the touring concept of America By, but focuses on concertos written for various soloists. In 2022, Stem will tour the first piece of the project, Firefly, for Eb Clarinet and Concert Band by Backun artist, Carrie RavenStem. The project will wrap up the 2022 season with the second piece of the series, Kayak, for percussion and orchestra, featuring National Symphony Orchestra’s percussionist, Scott Christian.
Stem has also made the promotion of today’s art music an important part of his career. He was the founder, director, and resident composer of New Dynamic Records, a contemporary music label that recorded and released music by 60 living composers worldwide, including 42 world premiere recordings. He is currently the co-founder and resident composer of A/Tonal, an ensemble dedicated to the music of living composers and their connections to the past.
Free parking is available in the Dogwood lot directly in front of the Ogle Center and in the Hickory lot directly behind the Ogle Center from one hour prior to the start of the performance until one hour following the conclusion of the performance. Vehicles parked in other locations and/or at other times will be subject to ticketing.
COVID PRECAUTIONS
In accordance with Indiana University policy, beginning March 4, 2022 the wearing of face masks is OPTIONAL within campus buildings. For more information, please see Indiana University’s COVID-19 Campus Visitors Guidance.
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