STUDENT CONCERT HITS AND MISSES

Cannell and van Gilluwe lead the way with moods and concepts.

By Steven Robles- October 31, 2009

Fresno State’s Student Composer’s Concert Wednesday in Wahlberg Recital Hall lived up to its billing with a mixture of compositions by both developing and advanced students. The program featured works by Bryce Cannell, Carlos Gamboa, T. J. Herrington, Evelyn Shu, David van Gilluwe and Mark Zimmer, with a focus on jazz and jazz-atonality. Bryce Cannell’s selection was the only jazz-free atonal work. All of the music on the program was composed and performed by students.

Cannell’s piece, based on the Robert Frost poem “Fire and Ice,” was one of the shining moments of the concert. It started out with a line in the cello that conjured a mood that the piece followed for the most part. Its slow and precise development showed Cannell’s creative use of percussion and the other instruments used. Although I feel both the composer and vocalist could have taken more of a cue from Stravinsky and his use of vocal tone color, it was a great setting of the poem with great phrasing and a fitting form. This work is ready for a broader audience.

The program included pop songs that fall beyond the purpose of this review. The first composition on the program was “Streetlights” for wind quintet by Carlos Gamboa. The work began with a good rhythmic motif that made its way around the ensemble over time. Gamboa presented a clear thematic idea and included a variety of techniques such as flutter tongue and horn mutes, but there was not enough variation in the thematic material to justify its length.

“Technology Failing” for flute, clarinet, cello and piano by T. J. Herrington had an interesting concept behind it and some interesting melodic ideas, but the piece lacked direction with its unrefined form filled with concepts that nearly defeated his original idea. Further, some performance flaws in the cello and flute made the music difficult to appreciate and follow. Sometimes the best musical intentions are lost in the mechanics of performance.

Following the technical failings of “Technology Failing,” Mark Zimmer’s Trio for Oboe, Horn, and Piano was a relief from the rough start of the night mainly because of three musicians who could handle the music’s difficulty, emotion and grace. It started out with a strong melody in the horn that slowly set up the entrance for the oboe part that stole the show with its beautiful lines, thrilling speed and tone. This piece ended leaving me hoping for a second and third movement with more likeminded concepts and something for the piano other than supporting textures and the unique counterpoint used in the piece.

After some more pop songs, a saxophone quartet played Carlos Gamboa’s “Cruisin’ Network.” This work followed a standard ABA’ form with plenty of jazzy low vamps and fast melodies. Like “Streetlights,” it had an interesting rhythmic motif, but it did little else of note other than boasting the first successful question and answer phrase of the night and elevating at least one listener’s need for more rhythmic variation in the lower end of the piece.

Finally, David van Gilluwe’s first movement of his work “Concepts” has premiered in Los Angeles and is scheduled to be performed in San Francisco as well. Instantly I sensed that this was a work by a skillful composer with a clear sense of direction. What started as a fast-paced theme in the flute slowly developed until it reappeared in a new yet familiar form like an atonal rondo. The thematic development and complex melodic lines drew in the listener throughout the performance. Its fast-paced texture was interesting and grabbed me from the start.

Overall the concert was enjoyable and featured students at various stages of their development.

--Steven Robles studies composition with George Warren. His works include music for orchestra, string quartet, wind quintet, and various ensembles and solo instruments.

Share your thoughts about the concert here.

If you missed a review, you can read them all in the archive.