Composer Happy Hour - Presented by whateverandeveramen.

Amy Gordon is a composer, arranger, singer-songwriter, and vocalist in Los Angeles, CA. She is an active choral composer, including being the composer-in-residence for Nova Vocal Ensemble. She has been commissioned to write and arrange pieces for Choral Arts Initiative, Loyola Marymount University Concert Choir, Nova Vocal Ensemble, The Los Angeles Belles, The South Bay Chamber Singers, Ramona Convent Secondary School Chamber Choir, Graham Middle School Vocal Ensemble, and more. Her music has been described as melodic and accessible, yet with surprising harmonic twists. She is influenced by the musical styles of Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, and Steve Reich. She loves setting poetry to music and bringing out the meaning of the text through music. She has won multiple awards, including the first annual Jim MacMillan Prize in Composition, 2nd place in the Corinfesta International Competition for Choral Composition, and multiple ASCAP Plus Awards.

In addition to composing classical and choral music, she is also an active media composer and singer-songwriter. She composes for films and web broadcasts. Her score for The Turner Exhibit (2018) won best film score by The Monkey Bread Tree Film Awards. Her song “One Door Opens” was named a finalist in the SongDoor International Songwriting competition.

She is an active educator and teaches Bachelor-level Music Theory, Songwriting, and Music Education classes. She received her M.M. in Composition from California State University, Long Beach and her B.A. in Composition from Loyola Marymount University.

Jocelyn Hagen joins us for episode 13 of the Composer Happy Hour. Jocelyn is a prolific composer with many fabulous works, but what I think I admire most about her are her passion and enthusiasm for poetry, and her strong interest in collaboration. Her collaborations with hip-hop artist Dessa and electronic musician Spearfisher bring unexpected voices to choral music, and she performs together with her husband (choral composer Tim Takach) as Nation, an a cappella duo that often performs "pop" music. Her love of poetry is readily apparent just by seeing the poets she has illuminated in her choral music, but hearing her talk about the poems (or even read them aloud) reveals sincere admiration for the work of these other artists. On this episode, we discuss poetry, pop music, and whether or not Frasier is suitable binging material.

Jocelyn Hagen composes music that has been described as “simply magical” (Fanfare Magazine) and “dramatic and deeply moving” (Star Tribune, Minneapolis/St. Paul). She is a pioneer in the field of composition, pushing the expectations of musicians and audiences with large-scale multimedia works, electro-acoustic music, dance, opera, and publishing. Her first forays into composition were via songwriting, still very evident in her work. The majority of her compositions are for the voice: solo, chamber and choral. Her melodic music is rhythmically driven and texturally complex, rich in color and deeply heartfelt.

In 2019 and 2020, choirs and orchestras across the country premiered her multimedia symphony The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci that includes video projections created by a team of visual artists, highlighting da Vinci’s spectacular drawings, inventions, and texts. Hagen describes her process of composing for choir, orchestra and film simultaneously in a Tedx Talk given at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, now available on YouTube. Her dance opera collaboration with choreographer Penelope Freeh,Test Pilot, received the 2017 American Prize in the musical theater/opera division as well as a Sage Award for “Outstanding Design.” The panel declared the work “a tour de force of originality.”

In 2013 Hagen released an EP entitled MASHUP, in which she performs Debussy’s “Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum” while singing Ed Sheeran’s “The A Team.” She is also one half of the band Nation, an a cappella duo with composer/performer Timothy C. Takach, and together they perform and serve as clinicians for choirs from all over the world.

Hagen’s commissions include Conspirare, the Minnesota Opera, the Minnesota Orchestra, the International Federation of Choral Music, the American Choral Directors Association of Minnesota, Georgia, Connecticut and Texas, the North Dakota Music Teachers Association, Cantus, the Boston Brass, the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and the St. Olaf Band, among many others. Her work is independently published through JH Music, as well as through Graphite Publishing, G. Schirmer, ECS Publishing, Fred Bock Music Publishing, Santa Barbara Music Publishing, and Boosey and Hawkes.

Thank you for coming back for another episode of the Composer Happy Hour. My guest for episode 11 is Matthew Lyon Hazzard. Matt and I had previously only met in passing - he remembers this a bit more clearly than I do - but it was at a bar in Kansas City where I was sitting at a table of other choral conductors enthusiastically discussing the merits of a solo we had just heard in a performance. Needless to say, I am happy to finally have a proper conversation with him. Matt is a writing some really wonderful stuff - rhythmically vibrant, and filled with lush soundscapes. He is also, I have a discovered, a very kind and genuine guy. Our conversation covers craft cocktails, driving through the dessert, and books about sword-fighting rodents (seriously).

Matthew Lyon Hazzard is an award-winning Filipino-American composer, conductor, singer, and educator. Praised for his “exquisite text-setting” and for creating “stunning landscapes of sound,” Hazzard’s music has garnered numerous accolades. He was named the winner of the 2017 American Choral Directors Association Raymond W. Brock Student Composition Competition, a prize winner of the International Choral Composition Competition Japan 2016, and the inaugural winner of True Concord’s Stephen Paulus Emerging Composers Competition. His music is increasingly performed by collegiate and professional ensembles around the world, including the Metropolitan Chorus of Tokyo, KC VITAs, the Vancouver Chamber Choir, the Bob Cole Chamber Choir, and others.

Hazzard earned his M.M. in Choral Conducting with honors from the Bob Cole Conservatory at California State University Long Beach, and his M.A.T. and B.M. in Music Composition from East Carolina University. Before pursuing his graduate studies, Hazzard taught at Greene Central High School (NC) for four years. His choirs received numerous awards, consistent superior ratings, and were invited to perform on the stage of Carnegie Hall under his leadership. He is now pursuing his D.M.A. Choral Conducting at the University of Houston Moores School of Music, where he continues to write for voices.

All Recordings Used By Permission of the Composer:

"There is No Sea" (2018)
i. The Prow
ii. The Ocean Between Us
iii. So Much To Seek
CSULB Bob Cole Conservatory Chamber Choir

"Flight" (2020
Portland State Chamber Choir

I am so excited to welcome my friend Eric Barnum as our guest for Episode 10 of the Composer Happy Hour. Eric and I have known each other for a bit, having initially been connected through the University of Washington, where we each studied at different times. I have come to admire Eric greatly as a composer, as a thinker, and as a person. We have spent our fair share of time chatting and debating late into the evening during ACDA conference weekends, and this alone would be reason enough for me to want him on the show. It also helps that I really love the music he writes. If somehow you don't know his music - listen, listen, listen - and I know you will love it too. On today's show, we discuss Starbucks, Minnesota winters, and whether or not Mozart is actually any good.

A conductor and composer, Eric William Barnum continues to passionately seek new ground in the choral field.  Working with choirs of all kinds, his collaborative leitmotif endeavors to provide intensely meaningful experiences for singers and audiences.

Barnum is currently the Director of Choral Activities at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa and previously, the Director of Choral Activities at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh.  He holds a DMA in Choral Conducting from the University of Washington (Seattle, WA), under the direction of Dr. Geoffrey Boers.  He has an advanced degree in conducting from Minnesota State University (Mankato, MN), primary study with Dr. David Dickau, as well as BAs in Composition and Vocal Performance from Bemidji State University (Bemidji, MN).  He has appeared as a conductor across the United States and the International stage, and has worked with some of the most innovative minds in the choral field.

His compositional voice and vision continue to gain popularity around the globe with performances from choirs Internationally.  He composes for choral ensembles of all types, from professional to youth choirs, and has received numerous awards and prestigious grants such as a Bush Foundation Artist Fellowship and a McKnight Foundation Grant.  He has also held residencies with such ensembles as Choral Arts (Seattle, WA), Cantus (Trondheim, Norway), The Rose Ensemble (St. Paul, MN), Kantorei (Denver, CO), Magnum Chorum (Minneapolis, MN), Coro Vocal Artists (Tucson, AZ), as well as with many high schools and collegiate choirs.

Hi friends! Welcome back to the Composer Happy Hour. If you are reading this, you are likely a fan of the show and/or an avid supporter of whateverandeveramen. Thank you so much for your ongoing support - we really do appreciate it. If you haven't already, please rate and review the podcast here or on your chosen streaming platform (or both!). This is most appreciated.

Our guest this episode is Jennifer Jolley. I had a chance to work with Jenn back in 2016 when she was in a residency with my choirs. I was quickly impressed with her as a composer, but also as a human. She is very kind and supportive of young musicians, and incredibly humble. So humble, in fact, that she has an entire blog dedicated to her own musical rejections. Her choral music often sets texts that address a fairly specific moment in time or experience. This is in stark contrast to the "tradition" of setting pretty poetry by dead white people, that seems to aim for timelessness, but too often ends up not being very good even in the moment. In this episode we discuss baseball, how to give directions in California, and why f*ck is such a great word for choral music.

As always, if you like what you hear - buy us a beer! Your contributions will help to fund future projects by whateverandeveramen.

Jennifer Jolley (b. 1981) is a composer, blogger, and professor person. She is also a cat lover and part-time creative opera producer.
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Jennifer’s work draws toward subjects that are political and even provocative. Her collaboration with librettist Kendall A, Prisoner of Conscience, has been described as “the ideal soundtrack and perhaps balm for our current ‘toxic… times’” by Frank J. Oteri of NewMusicBox. Her piece, Blue Glacier Decoy, written as a musical response to the Olympic National Park, depicts the Pacific Northwest’s melting glaciers. Her partnership with writer Scott Woods, You Are Not Alone, evokes the fallout of the #MeToo Movement.
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Jennifer’s works have been performed by ensembles worldwide. She has received commissions from the National Endowment for the Arts, the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music, the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, Quince Ensemble, and many others.

Jennifer deeply values the relationship that is created between composers and the communities with whom they collaborate. She has been composer-in-residence at multiple institutions. She promotes composer advocacy through her opera company NANOWorks Opera and her articles for NewMusicBox & I CARE IF YOU LISTEN. Also, she is on the Executive Council of the Institute for Composer Diversity and the New Music USA Program Council.

Jennifer joined the Texas Tech School of Music composition faculty in 2018 and has been a member of the composition faculty at Interlochen Arts Camp since 2015.

Hi friends - thanks so much for listening to Episode 6 of the Composer Happy Hour. Hopefully you have a drink in hand, and you are ready to relax and enjoy a great conversation. Also - a quick plug here: if you aren't already following us on social media, please take a second to check us out (IG: @whateverandeveramen / Twitter: @whateverchoir). Your follows mean a lot to us. I'd also like to ask that if you have Apple Music, consider finding the podcast there and giving us a 5-star rating. This helps us out a lot!

Our guest for this episode is Jake Runestad. If you are a choral music fan or participant, I imagine you already know some of Jake's music. He has been prominently featured on the program at just about every recent ACDA conference, and his music has been collected on albums by Conspirare and Kantorei. When I first met Jake in person, I knew we would get along well because we have several shared interests: we both enjoy a good old-fashioned, consider ourselves to be "foodies," and have a shared fondness for the music of Ben Folds. We discuss all of that and more in the episode. I hope that as you listen to each episode you find you are getting to know these composers more as people - understanding their influences, their personality, etc. - and that this might give you a greater appreciation and understanding of their music. Grab a drink and enjoy!

As always, if you like what you hear - buy us a beer! Your contributions will help to fund future projects by whateverandeveramen.

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Hi friends - thanks so much for listening to Episode 5 of the Composer Happy Hour. Hopefully you have a drink in hand, and you are ready to relax and enjoy a great conversation. Also - a quick plug here: if you aren't already following us on social media, please take a second to check us out (IG: @whateverandeveramen / Twitter: @whateverchoir). Your follows mean a lot to us. I'd also like to ask that if you have Apple Music, consider finding the podcast there and giving us a 5-star rating. This helps us out a lot!

Our guest for this episode is Eric Malmquist. Eric and I met a few years ago when one of my ensembles was preparing a couple of his pieces for a concert. We were fortunate that Eric new some folks in Toledo and decided to come to town for the performance. Right away I could tell he was someone I would get along with - and I'm sure you'll feel the same way when you listen. I love his sensibilities when it comes to choral music. We also had opportunities to discuss a lot of Chicago related material - if you've ever been, you will appreciate Eric's love letter to the Windy City.

As always, if you like what you hear - buy us a beer! Your contributions will help to fund future projects by whateverandeveramen.

Eric Malmquist (b. 1985) writes earnestly heartfelt and engaging music. He draws on a deep love of early music and modern influences to produce works that are focused and emotional.

Welcome to Episode 4, and thank you so much for listening. I imagine that many of you listening to this episode, have also listened to the first three episodes. It means so much to me that you keep coming back for more episodes. I have been fortunate to have conversations with some really fascinating people - who are all amazing composers. Evidently you agree.

First time listeners - welcome! If you don't already have a drink, get one - you deserve it. In fact, if you follow us on social media (Twitter: @whateverchoir; Instagram: @whateverandeveramen) you can see recipes for the drinks shared by the guest for each episode. They have brought some fun stuff and that would be a great way to engage in the episode.

Our guest for this episode is Dale Trumbore. I think I first became aware of Dale when I picked up a copy of her piece "The Whole Sea in Motion." At the time, it was far too advanced for the choirs I was conducting - but I quickly sensed that she was creating special music and knew that I would be programming her music in the near future. That was 2013. Fast forward to 2021 and Dale is one of the more popular and in demand composers around. She is also a very fine, and very accomplished writer. Her book "Staying Composed" is a must read for anyone creating art of any kind. We discuss everything from why California is wonderful to the perfect party music to the best way to set the word "yeasty" to music.

Composer Happy Hour - Episode 2: Joshua Shank

You came back for Episode 2! Welcome back and thanks for listening. If you missed episode one, don't worry - they aren't sequential - but you should definitely go back and check it out when you are done here. It was a good one.

If you are a first time listener: this show features conversations with composers, and yes, it is about their music - but mostly it is an opportunity to get to know them as people. We will be sharing a drink and just talking about things that interest us. I hope that this feels a little bit less like an interview, and more like a casual conversation at a bar during happy hour. Consider this an invitation to pour yourself a drink, sit down, relax, and join us.

Episode 2 features a conversation with Joshua Shank. I've always admired Josh's work, so I was very excited to have an extended conversation with him. Josh is a great guy, and somehow I always suspected we might have a lot in common. In this episode we discuss our mutual admiration for Ben Folds, growing up in the Midwest, and the "darker" side of choral music.

As always, if you like what you hear - you can buy us a beer! Visit us at www.buymeacoffee.com/whateverchoir and click "Support." Your contribution goes to supporting future projects by whateverandeveramen.

The music of Boston-based composer, Joshua Shank (b. 1980), has been called “jubilant…ethereal” (Santa Barbara News-Press), “evocative and atmospheric” (Gramophone), and “emotionally charged” (Boston Classical Review).  He has been commissioned by organizations such as the Lorelei Ensemble, the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, the Choral Project, the American Choral Directors Association, and the Association for Music in International Schools. From 2004 to 2014, he served alongside fellow Composers-In-Residence Jocelyn Hagen and Abbie Betinis for the Minneapolis-based professional choir, The Singers, where he collaborated annually to expand and invigorate the repertoire for professional-caliber ensembles through innovative programming as well as new works written specifically for the ensemble.  In 2002, he became the youngest recipient ever of the Raymond W. Brock Composition Award from the American Choral Directors Association. The winning piece, Musica animam tangens, was premiered in Avery Fisher Hall at the Lincoln Center, and has since been performed and recorded from Los Angeles to South Africa.  A native of Minnesota, his music was recently featured in a documentary about the extensive choral tradition in the upper Midwest, Never Stop Singing, and his published works have sold over 150,000 copies worldwide.