王曉嵐 Hsiao-Lan Wang

Before Sunrise 即將黎明 是旅美台灣作曲家王曉嵐為孫綾與小森邦彥特別為2012合作演奏會所作的木鐵琴二重奏。王曉嵐與孫綾在國立台北藝術大學時期的即為同窗，在大學畢業後兩人分別前往美國深造，小森邦彥在美求學其間與孫綾展開多年的合作關係，並在美國經由共同認識的樂界友人而與王曉嵐相識，三位居住於三個不同國家的音樂家能有機會合作，印證了世界的距離是能克服的，音樂能連繫世界不同角落的朋友，三人經由面對面的演奏示範跟網際的訊息往返，始得將此委約創作圓滿完成。

作曲者的靈感取自於黎明前黑暗中，海邊的雲霧與浪潮默默地霑濡著岸邊沙石，既隱約又切實的反覆牽動，是本曲的主要意境。

Premiere:

National Recital Hall, Taiwan (Taipei, Taiwan, 12/04/2012)
Ling Sun 孫綾, vibraphone
Kunihiko Komori 小森邦彥: marimba

In 2003, I wrote Trio for viola, vibraphone, and piano. It explored the idea of relationship among the three instruments. In 2011, Blue Mirror, Green Mirror, Red Mirror follows a similar approach to examine the perspective from each instrumental part. It is like telling the same story from three different angles. In many ways, the two trios will be sister works. My personal fascination with the number “3″ translates directly into the word “relationship”. I guess you may say when you have three people involved in anything, you have a social issue.

Some important influences and inspirations for this new composition come from the Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Three Colors Trilogy: Blue, White, Red, German director Tom Tykwer’s film Run Lola Run, and Japanese writer Haruki Murakami’s novel Hard-Boilded Wonderland and the End of the World. All of these works deal with chance, incidental convergence, and re-shaping your perception of the world through different lenses. I admire these works, and they have taught me a lot in my own creative projects.

Premiere:

National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra “Establishing of Music Composition and Marketing Platform” Concert (霧峰 Wufeng, 台灣 Taiwan, 08/12/2011)
Chia-Hung Ho 何嘉浤, violin
Hui-Chuan Huang 黃惠專, cello
Chao-Yi Chou 周兆儀, piano

Instrumentation: 3 trumpets, 3 horns, 3 trombones, & 2 percussionists

Like a fable, a magical moment takes place in this piece of music. Yet more important to me, was how to create a musical environment where magic would appear. Whether the “gold” exists or not is a different story entirely…

Premiere:

Faulk Scholars Concert (Denton, TX, 02/19/2007)
Stephanie Lee, Misha Garcia & Beth Peroutka, trumpets
Brad Flint, Natalie Phillips & Erin Schilling, horns
Nick Laufer, Alex Dubrov & Michael Jordan, trombones
Brady Spitz & DiMitri Higginbotham, percussion
Hsiao-Lan Wang, conductor

In the fall of 2005, I started to develop ideas for a piece whose main subject is abortion. I became deeply sympathized with women who face the tough decision of abortion, for whatever reasons. In Tale of an Unborn Child, the perspective comes from the woman, who experiences confusion, joy, struggle, hope, and guilt about the pregnancy and the idea of abortion. This work is really about a woman’s battle within herself and the music aims to reflect her state of mind through her journey. As I started writing this piece at the end of year 2005, I found out I was pregnant. The baby would be born in summer 2006.

Performances:

Faulk Scholars Spectrum Concert (Denton, TX, 2/13/2006)
Cecilia Hamilton, flute
Daniel Zajicek, piano

Feminist Theory and Music 10 (Greensboro, NC, 5/27-31/2009)
Julie Smith, flute
Deborah Hollis, piano

Winner of 2007 Athena Festival Chamber Music Composition Competition

Trio is written for viola, vibraphone, and pianoforte in two movements. The two movements share similar formal structures but carry different conversations among instruments. In many ways, Trio is a study of the relationships among voices: they sometimes act as soloists, as pairs, as contrasts, as conflicts, or do not have any relationship at all.

Performances:

Spectrum Concert (Denton, TX, 11/25/2003)
Christopher Williams, viola
Josh Jennings, vibraphone
Alice Kan, piano

Society of Composers Region VI Conference (Joplin, MO, 2/9/2007-2/10/2007)
Musica Nova, new music ensemble of University of Missouri-Kansas City
Laura Lee Crandall, vibraphone
Shoko Nakamura, piano
Allison Richards, viola

Athena Festival (Murray, KY, 3/7/2007)
Murray State University Faculty Chamber Ensemble
Sue-Jean Park, viola
John Hill, vibraphone
Stephen Brown, piano

Instrumentation: string orchestra – 3,3,2,2,1 minimum
Finalist in the 2011 Miami ISCM Youth Orchestra Composition Competition
Finalist in the Composers Competition by Chamber Orchestra of Denton

Rugged Edges is composed for intermediate-level string orchestra although it is still possible to be performed by a professional one. The main concept in this piece is that modern music does not have to be difficult. Through specially considered notations, the players will be able to carry out non-traditional and complex musical thoughts without having to stress about extended techniques, although some are indeed included. Textures are the most important elements here and the transformation of textures is to be decided by all the players’ ears. It is hoped that through the rehearsals, players will open their ears to different elements in music such as timbre, intensity, articulation, intonation, and timing.

The conductor is given a vital role when executing this work and should bear clear images of the sounds in mind to lead the performers since the conductor often decides the exact lengths and shapes of gestures. I believe that everyone has musical talent that can be brought out by certain kinds of inspirations, and Rugged Edges provides a different way to approach modern music for the intermediate-level string orchestra.

Premiere:

Chamber Orchestra of Denton (Denton, TX, 03/14/2004)
Dax Stokes, conductor
First United Methodist Church, Denton, TX

Star Gazer explores the serene quality of the flute in an extended tonal style. The approach to this composition is an attempt to achieve pitch organization without applying traditional tonal system. The pitch B serves as the center of the material, which creates gravity to the movements. If listening without noticing these ‘background theories’, one can still enjoy this piece of music as it breathes through different phrases of timbres and articulations. The role of computer in this piece is to aid to the sounds of the flute without covering it. It is my hope that the performer and audience of Star Gazer listen to the music itself instead of the presence of technology.

Performances:

Test performance: Real-time Computer Music class final concert (Denton, TX, 05/08/2003)
Cecilia Hamilton, flute

Premiere: 2003 LaTex Electroacoustic Music Festival (Denton, TX, 11/08/2003)
Cecilia Hamilton, flute

2004 Gamma UT conference (Austin, TX, 04/10/2004)
Cecilia Hamilton, flute

2004 Electronic Music Midwest (Romeoville, IL, 09/18/2004)
Laurel Tempas, flute

2004 Society of Composers Inc. Region IV Conference held at Winthrop University (Rock Hill, SC, 11/11 ~11/13/2004)
Jill O’Neill, flute

Sunday Night Multimedia Series (Bozeman, MT 10/19/2008)
Karen Leech, flute

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A golden leaf just left its branch beginning a journey alone. As the warm air brushes the surface of the cold placid water, the leaf winds its way past the many wonders of nature. A Golden Leaf Drifts Downstream draws associations between the peaceful sounds of the tingkliks and various natural settings.

Performances:

Interactive Computer Music Class Concert (Denton, TX, 03/27/2003)
Hsiao-Lan Wang and Chapman Welch, Indonesian xylophones

Centerpieces Concert series (Denton, TX, 04/21/2003)
Hsiao-Lan Wang and Chapman Welch, Indonesian xylophones

Electronic Music Midwest (Kansas City, MO, 10/31/2003)
Hsiao-Lan Wang and Daniel Zajicek, Indonesian xylophones

I have always been fascinated by the timbres of brass instruments but have delayed the writing of a brass quintet because I honestly cannot play any brass instruments. Eventually, I gathered enough knowledge (and courage) to compose for this beautiful set of instruments.

The “transformation” in this work focuses on the timbral aspect of composition. Trumpet, French horn, trombone, and tuba all have their unique timbres in certain registers, but have very similar tone quality in other registers. I play with this idea of “changing timbral relationships” in the creation of this work as well as the spatial arrangements. Different instruments work together to complete a single line, and through this process, spatial rotation is achieved. The different degrees of directionality residing in these instruments are also employed to increase the depth of the aural landscape.

Performances:

Premiere: Spectrum Concert Series (Denton, TX, 10/21/2002)
Eddie Phillips and Jeff Norman, trumpets
Ryan Palmer, horn
Bo Clifton, trombone
Brian Honsberger, bass trombone
Tony Baker, conductor

SCI Region VI Conference (Huntsville, TX 4/16/2008)
Sam Houston State University Faculty Brass Quintet

Festival of Women Composers (Indiana, PA 3/20/2010)
Hoodlebug Brass