Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble

Rob Deemer, Vigils (trumpet, violin, viola and cello):  Dr. Rob Deemer (b. 1970) is well-known in central Oklahoma, not only from his teaching at the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma City University, but also from his KCSC radio show, “The Composer Next Door,” about living composers and their music.  Rob’s creative talents have found expression in solo, ensemble, band and orchestral music.  He has composed for the concert hall, theatre, dance and more than 30 films and documentaries.  An author and educator, Dr. Deemer currently serves as Composition Department Chair in the School of Music at the State University of New York – Fredonia.  Vigils was inspired by Rob’s work with Brightmusic trumpeter Michael Anderson at OCU.  It is based on the tradition of morning and evening prayers, and the historical role of the trumpet to signal the beginning and end of the day.  Financial support for this Brightmusic commission was generously provided by The Meinders Foundation.

John Harris Harbison, Twilight Music (horn, violin and piano): Harbison (b. 1938) is a prominent and prolific American composer.  He studied composition with Walter Piston and Roger Sessions, and has been a professor of music at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for many years.  His compositions include symphonies, operas, concertos, numerous chamber music works, a ballet, solo vocal works and many choral works.  He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1987 for his cantata The Flight into Egypt.  Harbison’s artistic credo is “to make each piece different from the others, to find clear, fresh large designs, to reinvent traditions.”  Twilight Music (1985) was commissioned by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.  Harbison’s premise is that “the horn and the violin have little in common,” and when they share material, this work shows “how differently they project it.”  Twilight Music, according to Harbison, “shelters abstract structure origins beneath a warm exterior.”

Bill Douglas, Suite Cantando (clarinet, bassoon and piano):  Douglas (b. 1944) is a Canadian-born composer, pianist and bassoonist who lives in Boulder, Colorado and teaches at the Naropa Institute.  He has a large discography, including 11 CDs for Hearts of Space Records.  Douglas describes his philosophy of music as that music “can be helpful to the world.  It can evoke such positive emotions as compassion, tenderness, strength, nobility, upliftedness, and joy.”  Douglas performed in Norman last June as part of the International Double Reed Society Conference.  Suite Cantando (2006) was commissioned by 51 clarinetists, bassoonists and pianists.  According to Mr. Douglas, “Although much of the music in this suite was influenced by jazz and world music, the players are instructed to sing expressively (‘Cantando’) throughout, as though they were playing Mozart or Bach.”

Edward Knight, Beneath a Cinnamon Moon (clarinet, viola and piano):  Dr. Edward Knight is a Professor of Music, Composer-in-Residence and Director of Composition at Oklahoma City University.  He has composed works for orchestra, symphonic band, percussion ensemble and piano trio, as well as a clarinet sonata, cabaret songs, two fanfares and two original, full-length romantic musical comedies.  Ed’s works have won many prestigious awards.  He is well-recognized as a creative force in our region’s cultural and artistic scene.  Brightmusic commissioned him to compose Beneath a Cinnamon Moon, a series of reflections on chapters in the history of the Great Plains, in honor of the Oklahoma Centennial.  That work premiered at Brightmusic’s January 2007 concert and was performed again at the 2007 OK Mozart Festival in Bartlesville.  Dr. Knight serves as a member of the board of directors of Brightmusic.

Kris Maloy, Overture to the Great American Songbook (violin, viola, cello, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, horn and piano):  Dr. Kris Maloy is Adjunct Professor of Composition and Saxophone and Director of Jazz Studies at Oklahoma City University, as well as a music faculty member at the University of Central Oklahoma.  He has composed for orchestra, wind ensemble, chamber orchestra, chamber ensemble and solo instruments.  During our 2007-08 season, Brightmusic commissioned Kris’ composition Quartet in Four Actions for Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano, which received its world premiere at Brightmusic’s January 2008 concert and its Carnegie Hall premiere in 2010.  This season, Brightmusic commissioned Dr. Maloy to create an arrangement of American folk songs for premiere at this concert, which developed into Overture to the Great American Songbook, which illustrates the diverse body of music that America has contributed to the world.  Overture ends with a foot-tapping romp based on “The Orange Blossom Special.”