Faculty Artist Concert Series (FACS)
ASA Album Release Concert: In Memoriam
August 30, 2022
UCO Jazz Lab

Tess Remy-Schumacher, Cello
David Forbat, Piano
Ben Davis, Piano (Mendelssohn)
Xinyu Pan, Voice

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Program

Kitt Wakeley
ASA (Electronica Remix and Cello) (recording) *

Kitt Wakeley
ASA For Cello Solo *
Dedicated to the Foster Children of the World in memoriam Lynn Harrell April 22, 2020

Michael Hoppe
Some Other Time For Carl Sandburg for Cello and Piano

Charles Henning
Passage For Cello Alone: Soli Deo Gloria *
Five Verses:
Slow and chant like, very free
Moderately, brighter feel
Slow, misterioso
Slightly faster, uneasy feel
Faster, but not too much-Like a Chorale-Tempo I

Bryan Mitschell
The Artist In The Family *

Samuel Magrill
Beethoven Deconstructed For Cello Solo *

Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)
Sonata For Cello and Piano in G Minor, Op. 65
Largo
Dedicated to Ma                                            

L. Keith White/ Johann Sebastian Bach
Prelude From Suite For Cello Solo, BWV 1007, with added Electronic By L. Keith White (recording) *

Intermission

Mstislav Rostropovich (1927-2007)
Moderato For Cello Solo
Dedicated to David

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809-1947)
Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 2 in D major, Op. 58
1.     Allegro Assai Vivace
2.     Allegretto Scherzando
3.     Adagio
4.     Molto Allegro e Vivace

*Premiere Performance

CDs are available for a donation of your choice to the UCO Drs. Horst und Susanne Remy- Marjie and David Morris Scholarship to benefit Foster Youth.

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Program Notes and Biographies

 

 Kitt Wakeley

As the latest inductee into the Indie Music Hall of Fame, and with a fearless, unapologetic approach to life and career, Kitt has developed a reputation in the industry for being able to create and capture an emotional melody for any setting, whether he is writing and producing for himself, other artists, TV, film or trailers.
He has developed a reputation for creating a hybrid of orchestra, rock, EDM and piano, resulting in a cinematic epic vibe that evokes a variety of emotions. With the success of his album “Midnight in Macedonia”, Kitt’s follow-up album “Symphony of Sinners and Saints”, promises to surpass the expectations of his fans. Recorded with the London Philharmonic and London Voices at Abbey Road Studios, the album also includes featured artists such as Joe Satriani, Paige Harwell, Brent Berry and Ryan Miller.
“Midnight in Macedonia” has received worldwide acclaim. The album was recorded with the award-winning Macedonia Orchestra and Choir, along with a myriad of other notable talents from around the world. In all, 5 different Grammy winners participated in the project. Currently, the album has had over one million streams on various platforms such as Spotify, iTunes, Amazon and more; and ended up on the Grammy ballot in four different categories.
During his live performances, Kitt likes to seduce the audience into an emotional journey and appeal to as many senses as possible. With epic music, video, lights, special effects, and his engagement with the audience via monologues throughout the performance, no one leaves disappointed.
When Kitt isn’t writing for himself, he is producing pop, rock and country for other artists which are featured on various streaming sites and retail outlets. He finds satisfaction in seeing or hearing the appreciation and excitement of the artists when he has finished a project on their behalf. Finding himself in high demand, he’s been fortunate to pick the kinds of projects to produce on his terms.
Working with musicians from around the world allows him to collaborate with those who provide the same magic for the biggest artists in the industry These names include Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Katy Perry, Motley Crue, Michael Jackson, Eminem, Steve Vai, Dr. Dre and many more.

ASA is dedicated to the Foster Children of This World, In Memoriam Lynn Harrell, April 27, 2020.

 

Michael Hoppé

Michael Hoppé is a GRAMMY-nominated composer with exceptional melodic talent and distinctive evocative style. He has an extensive background in both pop and classical music which his recordings reflect.
Hoppé’s music is performed and heard internationally including HBO’s “The Sopranos”, Oprah Winfrey Show, Michael Moore’s documentary “Sicko”, David Volach’s “My Father, My Lord”, “Misunderstood” (starring Gene Hackman), and the multi-award winning short “Eyes of the Wind” which reached the Oscar nomination shortlist.
Also, there are over 9,000 videos utilizing his music on YouTube.
His music is extensively used by such renowned authors/teachers as the celebrated environmentalist Jane Goodall, Julia Cameron (“The Artist’s Way”), Sarah Breathnach (“Simple Abundance”), Robert Cooper (“The Emotional Intelligence”), and others, in their workshops.
Hoppé’s music has been recorded by a variety of singers and instrumentalists including Vangelis, the Prague Symphony, Tim Wheater, Martin Tillman, Zamfir, Frank Mills, Eliza Gilkyson, Cecilia, Louise Di Tullio, Lou Anne Neill, Eugene Fodor, Lily Haydn, Heidi Fielding, Dwain Briggs, Alyssa Park, Libbie Jo Snyder, Mitsuki Dazai, Joe Powers, AnDee Compton, Giuditta Scorceletti, Janinto, Pedro Cartas, David Mendoza, Alfredo Muro and others.
His endeavors in the music industry have brought him several gold and platinum records, and “The Yearning” won “CD OF THE YEAR”, and “Afterglow” was voted Best Album for the Crossroad Music Award, for the AFIM Award, and featured as a pick in The OprahMagazine in 2013.
Also “The Lover “won the visionary Award, and Hoppé’s GRAMMY Award-nominated CD “Solace” was featured in Clint Eastwood’s ‘Flags of our Fathers’ documentary. “Solace” was also voted as “30 Greatest New Age Albums of All Time” by the influential New Age Review.
After “How Do I Love Thee?” an album of love poems narrated by Michael York, Hoppé recorded “Requiem”, a solo piano album “Romances”, and “Nostalgie” Romances for Harmonica featuring Joe Powers.
Hoppé has performed in Korea numerous times and performed his Requiem in Prague.
He scored the multi-award-winning Short Film “Nous Deux Encore” which won the Best Score Award at the International Monaco Film Festival. The music features Mitsuki Dazai the virtuoso koto player with whom Hoppé produced “Far Away…” Romances for Koto.
Recent releases include “Nightingale” songs sung by Giuditta Scorceletti, “Serenity” Viola and Keyboard Improvisations with Harold Moses, (2014 Top Pick by reviewer Kathy Parsons, and Best album 2014 New Age Review), “Grace” (2013 Top Pick by reviewer Kathy Parsons)“Tapestry”, and “Prayers-A Personal Selection” (Audie Award nomination) read by Michael York, and “Café Champagne” (performed and arranged by Scarlet Rivera and Tommy Eyre)Previously, Hoppé founded InterConnection Resources, a music business consultancy.  He was also a senior executive at PolyGram responsible for signing such diverse talents as Vangelis, Kitaro, The Who, Jean-Michel Jarre and ABBA to the label.
Recent releases include “Amistad”, and an album of choral works “Peace & Reconciliation” performed by the Sedona Academy of Chamber Singers, and the Tetra String Quartet, conducted by Ryan Holder (Top Pick by reviewer Kathy Parsons).
“Some Other Time” was written for cellist Martin Tillmann as part of “Poet”, a cycle of soulful Romances” for Cello and Piano. Each Romance individually is dedicated to a celebrated poet and was inspired by one of their poems. “Some Other Time” was written for Carl Sandburg.

 

Charles Henning

​Charles Henning was born in 1993 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. His interest in music began at age 16 while living in Oklahoma when he began to learn the viola. Charles attended The University of Central Oklahoma where he studied under Dr. Ralph Morris, Dr. Tess Remy-Schumacher, and others before transferring to New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where he completed his music education degree in viola under Mr. Jorge Martinez-Rios.
​Charles is a lover of historically informed performance practices, and during his education at UCO served as president of the Brisch Center for Historical Performance Student Activity Group. His musical interests include works of the Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical periods in addition to the more recent music of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. His favorite composers include Joseph Haydn, Antonio Vivaldi, and especially J.S. Bach. Along with these well-known composers, Charles enjoys rediscovering the music of lesser-known and even anonymous composers of the 17th and 18th centuries. Charles also enjoys popular genres such as “Old-time” fiddle music. He plays the fiddle and has competed in fiddle contests in Lovington, New Mexico.
​Compositionally, Charles enjoys writing music for the viola as well as for other instruments such as cello and flute. He most enjoys writing unaccompanied solo works, because of the liberty of expression allowed to an individual musician and the direct connection between the player and the listener. Although born into the Baptist tradition, Charles is now an ardent Confessional Lutheran and draws much inspiration from scripture and the traditions of the Church. Hymn-writing is another of his favorite compositional outlets.
​When not involved in musical activities, Charles enjoys studying history, poetry, woodworking, and outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing, and hiking. In more recent years, He has also begun to study historical fencing, learning and using techniques found in medieval and renaissance manuals of arms.

Passage For Cello Alone: Five Verses
Compositional Process
​When composing “Passage” Henning converted text into a tone row by using a specialized process of his own design. The technique involves numbering the twenty-six letters of the alphabet in base 7 and then converting the resulting numbers into one of the seven interval classes.
​Unlike counting in Base 10, where one uses ten Arabic digits (0-9) that signify numbers in places based on multiples of 10, Base 7 uses seven digits to signify numbers in places based on multiples of seven. In Base 7 one would write count to ten likewise:
1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12 13
​The importance of numbering the alphabet in this way is because it assigns each letter of the Latin alphabet one or two of the Arabic digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6. These digits then correspond to an interval class in Musical Set theory. Given a text and a starting note, the composer is provided a tone row that is the basis for the composition.  Below is a reference table of the twenty-six letters of the Latin alphabet assigned a number in base 7.
A 1​B 2​C 3​D 4​E 5​F 6​G 10​H 11​I 12​J 13​K14​L 15​M 16
N 20​O 21​P 22​Q 23​R 24​S 25​T 26​U 30​V 31​W 32​X 33​Y 34​Z 36
​The chosen text is written out and the proper numbers are assigned. The resulting row is then realized as intervals according to interval class as described in Music Set Theory. Below is a table of the digits as they relate to interval class.
0 perfect Unison, perfect octave​​1 minor second, major seventh​
2 major second, minor seventh​​3 minor third, major sixth
4 major third, minor sixth​​5 perfect fourth, perfect fifth
6 tritone
Thus, the name “Bach” would be rendered in this system as:
2 1 3 11
As in most other forms of serialism, the composer has the freedom to choose note duration, dynamics, and other musical qualities in addition to the starting note. In this system, he also chooses which of the two intervals in the interval class to use (for example, for a 1, either a minor second or a major seventh is permissible) and whether to go higher or lower in pitch. If the composer started on the note C5, the name “Bach” might be musically rendered as such:
A short row such as this can also be used as the basis for a tonal composition or input into a matrix.  The Text used for “Passage for ‘Cello Alone” was taken from The King James Bible, the Gospel of St. John verses one through five. At times the line was “broken” and restarted on a different pitch for musical reasons. The text is presented below:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”

 

Bryan Mitschell

Bryan Mitschell is a professional sound technologist and a new music composer and songwriter in the Oklahoma City area. His poetry has been published in numerous creative writing journals across the United States, and through his songwriting endeavors, he specializes in compelling lyricism. A classically trained percussionist, Bryan has sat behind a drum set for numerous performing groups spanning from traditional country to aggressive punk rock, but ultimately would earn his master’s degree in music production from the nationally proclaimed jazz studies programs at the University of Central Oklahoma. He serves as an Oklahoma City Chapter Coordinator for the Nashville Songwriters Association International and actively writes music for pitch to a major label and indie artists alike. His songs have been recognized for NSAI’s “Ones-To-Watch” list five times between 2019-2021, and three times in the same period for the “Most Wanted” list on SongTown, another global trade association for songwriters. Bryan enjoys attending music industry conferences all over the country and has had the good fortune to shake hands with hit songwriters from a myriad of musical genres.” 

The Artist In the Family
Music and lyrics by Bryan Mitschell, © 2021, Armchariot Music (ASCAP).  All rights reserved / Used by permission.
The Artist in the Family is an homage to my mother and the influence she had on my musical development when I was a child.  Despite no one in the family being a musician, we had an upright piano in the house where I grew up, and the first song I ever composed in my head was one I pecked out on that piano.  I would play it from memory on quiet days and my mother, so encouraging, would tell me every time how much she loved it, which gave me great pride.  And it was my mother who, without hesitation, turned the car around one day when we passed a garage sale and I hurriedly asked her if we could buy that ramshackle burgundy-colored drum set I saw sitting sadly on the grass.  It’s hard to know how pivotal those moments of support may have been for me, but The Artist in the Family explores my suspicion that they were life-defining.  Enshrined in this piece is the original melodic theme from that first childhood composition she was so fond of.

All of my loved ones, they swear I have a gift
But no one knows why
I’m from a long line of tradesmen…
Down-to-Earth, uninspired

They think I’m a mystery:
The artist in the family
Only one so it seems
But that voice in my mind’s eye
It’s an aria and it’s not mine
She sings

Memories of Mom like a warm snow
That falls in my ears
Echo of words, they still sound so clear

Mom never did get all the credit she deserved
Of that I’m sure
She had a kid for a canvas
And I?  I had her

If it’s “nature versus nurture”
As to which one grows our wings…
The world circles like a music box
When our mothers wind the spring

So, all of my loved ones, you’re so right, it’s a gift
But not the innate kind
Mine was a seed that was planted
Given ground, given sky

Am I really such a mystery
If an artist in the family
Preceded me?
This life’s a pretty painting
I can call it “mine”
But there’s my Mom’s name
At the bottom-right

They say I’m an anomaly
The artist in the family
But it’s not only me
Cuz that voice in my mind’s eye
It’s an aria and it’s not mine
She sings

 

Samuel Magrill

Samuel Magrill is a coordinator of Graduate Studies, Professor of Music and a Composer-in-Residence in the School of Music at the University of Central Oklahoma, where he has taught music theory and composition since 1988. Previously, he taught at the University of Wyoming and California State University, Long Beach. He obtained his Bachelor of Music in Composition from Oberlin Conservatory and his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Composition from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.
Magrill has written more than one hundred compositions for a variety of instruments, from solo piano and chamber music to choir, wind ensemble and symphony orchestra. His works have been performed throughout the United States and abroad and at many regional and national conferences including the Society of Composers, Inc., the National Flute Association, the North American Saxophone Alliance and the College Music Society. His CDs include electro-acoustic music (“The Electric Collection”), his four operas, wind symphony compositions (“Oklahoma Bandscapes”), and collections of music for cello and other instruments.  He has received numerous awards and commissions, including ones from the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Music Center, the Mid-America Arts Alliance, the Illinois Arts Council, ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), the Oklahoma Music Teachers’ Association, the American Composers’ Forum’s Continental Harmony Program and faculty research grants and merit credit awards from the University of Central Oklahoma. Dr. Magrill is also an active collaborative pianist.
Recent compositions include “Concerto fantastique” for solo flute and chamber orchestra (2017) written for Mira Magrill and the Chelsea Symphony (2017); “Five Bagatelles” for flute, violin, cello and piano (2018) written for brightmusic; “Destiny 31.89” for alto flute (2019) written for Mira Magrill; and “Out of Thyme” for one piano, six hands (2019) written for the 100th anniversary of the Oklahoma City Pianists’ Club.

Celloklavier: Beethoven Deconstructed (2020)       
Early in 2020, Dr. Tess Remy-Schumacher asked me to write a composition for solo cello commemorating Beethoven’s 250th birthday.  I proceeded to write a composition reminiscing about Beethoven’s five sonatas for violoncello and piano. These works are not really duets but trios—the cello part, the piano right hand and the piano left hand. The familiar melodies are played by the right hand of the piano and the solo cello. I thought that taking snippets of the neglected left hand of the piano and setting it for solo cello would be an interesting project, thus creating a “Celloklavier” as it were. To celebrate all of Beethoven’s cello sonatas, I systematically used material from all five chronologically starting with the first. Each sonata is sampled backwards with the last movement first. Instead of a work for violoncello with piano accompaniment, this work is for solo cello playing the accompaniment, that is, that the accompaniment has become the solo. As one listens to material from all five of Beethoven’s cello sonatas together, one hears new motives in consistencies which, through deconstruction, create a larger unity. The work is a rhapsodic homage to Beethoven on his 250th birthday.

 

L. Keith White

Dr. Keith White is a composer of electro-acoustic music, electronic music, performance art and multimedia compositions. His “Vital Signs” series, of which there are five, have been performed throughout the United States. The pieces include actors, dancers, painters, sculptors, musicians, and electronic tracks. He has most recently been a featured composer at the “International Electronic Barn Dance Festival” in Jacksonville, Florida. He was also a composer in residence at Xinghai Conservatory of Music in Guangzhou, China during their 55th-year anniversary celebration. He is currently a Professor of Music at the University of Central Oklahoma.

Prelude From Suite For Cello Solo, BWV 1007, With Added Electronic
When asked to add electronics to Bach’s 1st suite for Cello for a collaborative concert of historically performed music and electronics, I was skeptical. How could electronics be added to Bach and not interfere with the musicality of Bach? With a little encouragement, I agreed to try. I used Pro Tools with a Zebra II plug-in to create the electronic tracks. I have been assured that Bach is smiling.

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