Paul Elwood

During spring 2006, Paul Elwood held a fellowship in music composition at the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France, where he worked on a chamber opera titled Cast Out Devils; Alleghenies of Dreams for banjo and cello, commissioned by cellist Madeleine Shapiro; and The Silence is My Own, for voice and piano, commissioned by soprano Ilana Davidson. Elwood recorded improvisations on five-string banjo in Marseille, France, with guitarist Jean-Marc Montera, electronic composer Michael Edwards, and pianist Karin Schistek, and in September he toured with Andrew Bishop’s Hank Williams Project with dates in Ohio and Michigan. In the summer, Elwood held a fellowship at the Frank Waters Foundation of Taos, NM, where he composed a commission from Roger Landes for solo bouzouki and chamber ensemble; he also completed a commission for the North Carolina Symphony. In the fall of 2005 and winter of 2006 he held a fellowship at the Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico where he completed BorderRadioX, an interactive work for banjo and computer. Elwood is currently an associate professor at Brevard College in Brevard, NC.

Premieres

BorderRadioX, an interactive work for five-string banjo and computer, was introduced in a January 2006 concert for SOMOS (the Society of the Muse of the Southwest) at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House, Taos, NM. Two works were heard in April 2006 at the Camargo Foundation Cassis, in France: The Silence is My Own for soprano and piano (Marie Prost, Karin Schistek) and Cast Out Devils for soprano, piano, banjo, baritone (Prost, Schistek, and the composer). Overlooking Glass Falls was first heard in a February 2007 performance by the North Carolina Symphony, Raleigh, NC.

Performances

Among Vanished Aviators, for banjo, voice and two-channel playback, was heard in June 2006, in Lawrence, KS. The newEar Ensemble performed Stanley Kubrick’s Mountain Home for soprano, chamber ensemble, and bluegrass band in Kansas City, MO. Edgard Varese in the Gobi Desert, for velcro tap-dancer, percussion, and piano, was heard in performance at Jacksonville (FL) University, November 2006.

Publications

Le Splendide-Hôtel et le Chaos de Glaces, solo orchestra bells; The Inevitable Descent of Heaven, solo orchestra bells, high metals, and electric fan; both by Smith Publications.

Recordings

As performer (five-string banjo) and composer with Andrew Bishop’s Hank Williams Project. September 2006, Envoi Records.

Further Information

• 2004-2005 American Composers Update
• SAI's Composers Bureau Online