Annual American Composers Update
Sydney Hodkinson
Sydney Hodkinson, of Ormond Beach, FL, is working on two
commissions: a chamber trio for the Texas clarinetist
William Lipman, and a choral cantata for the University
of Evansville (IN). He was recently appointed to the Artistic
Policy Committee of the Daytona Beach Symphony Society
and continues to teach composition and conduct the Contemporary
Ensemble at the Aspen (CO) Music Festival and School.
Premieres
In Apr. 2000,
Stony Brook Jam, for flute, clarinet,
percussion, piano, violin, and cello, was commissioned
and premiered by the Contemporary Chamber Players, Paul
Vaillancourt, conductor, at SUNY at Stonybrook, and at
St. Stephens Church, New York, NY. In Jan. 1999,
Skitter,
for harp, flute, and viola, was played first by the Debussy
Trio, in Pasadena, CA and in Sherman, TX.
Chaconne
in B-Flat: Jazz Reflexion for Four Trios was presented
in 1999, with Musica Nova, under B. Lubman, in Rochester,
NY, (Mar.); and with the Aspen (CO) Contemporary Ensemble,
conducted by the composer (June). R. Cary led the University
of Kentucky Wind Ensemble in the first performance of
Symphony No. 9 ". . . epiphanies . . .", for orchestra
minus strings, Apr. 1999.
Performances
In Sept. 1999,
God is My Shepherd, for SATB choir,
was sung by the Vancouver (BC) Chamber Choir, John Washburn,
conductor, at Ryerson United Church. An American Harp
Society Conference program included
Hit and Run,
for harp and percussion, with Grace Wong and Jim Tiller,
percussion, June 2000 in Cincinnati, OH. Heard in July
2000 at the Aspen Music Festival were
Clarion,
for two trumpets, with Ray Mase and Kevin Cobb; and
Tilt,
with the Aspen Festival Orchestra, Mikko Franck, conductor.
Kerberos, for snare drum, had 1999 performances
with J. R. Beck, at the North Carolina School of the Arts,
in Winston-Salem (Jan.); and with Florian Conzetti, at
the Eastman School of Music, in Rochester, NY (Mar.).
In Jan. 1999, the Eastman Brass played
Ellington Song
Book, for brass quintet, in Rochester.
Publications
:
. . . A La Valse; etude for solo clarinet;
Stony
Brook Jam; variations for sextet;
Steps of Time;
trombone or cello, strings, and percussion;
Soliloquy;
solo viola with optional harp;
Vignettes; French
horn and trombone;
Flageolet; flute with optional
harp;
Clarion; two trumpets;
Trio: Epitaph and
Scherzo; violin;
Trinity; treble instruments;
Adam Lay Ybounden; mezzo-soprano and English horn;
Minor Incidents; piano;
Chaconne; jazz reflection
for four trios; all from Merion Music (
Presser).
Wind Sculptures; two miniatures for marimba; Smith
Publications.
Summerwood; harp and chamber quintet;
Winter Waltz; marimba and harp;
Trauermusik;
trombone, piano, and percussion;
Papillons, Book 3;
organ;
Thread; solo violin;
Symphony No. 9;
orchestra minus strings;
Roethke Lieder; soprano
and orchestra;
Two Poems; cello, piano, and optional
percussion;
Surprise; a Haydn Symphony No. 94 mismanagement;
all by
Theodore
Presser.
Skitter; flute, viola, and harp; MFV
Ink/
Presser.
Recordings
Alte Liebeslieder, Book 4, for mezzo-soprano, cello,
oboe, percussion, and piano; Jan DeGaetani, R. Sylvester,
P. West, Beck, and R. Spillman, Hodkinson, conductor;
Albany Records
TROY 261.
Further Information
