TY ALAN EMERSON   Composer 5 Depot Road Sandown, NH 03873 603-887-2769   email: [email protected]

Ty Alan Emerson received his Bachelors degree in music education from the Conservatory at Shenandoah University in the spring of 1994.  His principle composition instructor was Thomas Albert.  Emerson continued his studies in composition at the Louisiana State University, where he worked with Dinos Constantinides and Stephen David Beck.  His Thera for band was performed at the 50th annual Festival of Contemporary Music at LSU in 1995.  Emerson completed his Master of Music degree in composition in 1996.

Currently pursuing the Doctorate of Musical Arts degree at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, Emerson is a student of Morris Moshe Cotel.   Since arriving at Peabody, Emerson has completed several works including his Concerto for Alto Saxophone, "Passerby," a song cycle for mezzo-soprano, baritone and piano, and his first symphony entitled New Hampshire Symphony.  In November, Emerson traveled to England for the premier of his Trombone Quartet at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.  This performance, as well as a lecture on American music at the Royal Academy, was part of a project Emerson organized called !BLAST! with English composer Joe Duddell.  !BLAST! will have several performances in London in January and February and will travel to Baltimore for a two-week tour in March, 1999.

Emerson has won awards from the Louisiana Music Teachers Association, the Music Teachers National Association, the Southeastern Composers League as well as ASCAP standard awards.  Emerson has received several commissions, most recently from Kirsten Taylor for his Dedications for piano trio.  He is a member of NACUSA, ASCAP and the American Composers Forum.

Education:
Peabody Institute, DMA in Composition, thesis/composition New Hampshire Symphony
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, MM in Composition, May 1996
Shenandoah Conservatory, Winchester, VA, BM in Music Education, May 1994

Primary teachers:  Morris Cotel, Chen Yi, John Spitzer, Eileen Soskin,
Dinos Constantinides, Stephen Beck, Wallace MacKenzie,
Thomas Albert, Joe Eckert, David Zerull

Lectures/Master class:  George Rochberg, John Corigliano, Morton Subotnik,
Milton Babbitt, Elliot Schwartz, Joan Tower, Nancy Van de Vate

Teaching Experience:
Adjunct Instructor of Composition, Shenandoah Conservatory, spring 1999
Adjunct Instructor of Composition, Shenandoah Conservatory, spring 1997
Teaching Assistant in Music Theory, LSU, 1995-96 academic year
Jazz Instructor, Handly High School, Winchester, VA, 1993

Professional Experience:
Associate Composer in Residence, Texas Shakespeare Festival, 1996 season
Commission for Dedications by Kirsten Taylor, 1998
Commission for Entr'acte by Timothy J. Zifer for the Evansville University Wind Ensemble, 1996
Commission for Psalm 150 by the Broadmore United Methodist Church, 1994

Awards:
ASCAP Young Composer Awards, 1999
The National Society of Arts and Letters, Washington Chapter, winner, 1999
ASCAP standard award, 1998
The Rothschild award in composition, Peabody Institute, 1998
Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), national finalist, 1996
MTNA, southern region, winner, 1996
Southeastern Composers League, second place, 1996
MTNA, southern region, runner-up, 1995
Louisiana Music Teachers Association, winner, 1995

Upcoming and Recent Events:
Performance of Night Music, Gavin Farrell, Marimba, April, 1999
Performance with the Peabody Wind Ensemble, March 1999
Premiere at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Huddersfield, England, November, 1998

Professional Organizations:
National Association of Composers, USA
American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)
The American Composers Forum

Concerto for Harp (with Wind Ensemble, 1999)

*Night Music (solo Marimba and Chamber Orchestra, 1998)

New Hampshire Symphony (1997)

*Concerto for Alto Saxophone (with Wind Ensemble, 1996)

*Entr'acte (Symphonic Band, 1996)

The Tale of Harry (ballet for Orchestra and Narrator, 1996)

*Variations on a Theme by Greig (Symphonic Strings, 1994)

*Thera (Symphonic Band, 1993)

Damnation (Chamber Orchestra, 1993)

Preparation (Symphonic Strings, 1992)

*Dedications (Piano Trio, 1998)

*Trombone Quartet (1998)

*Quartet No. 2 (Flute, Trumpet, Percussion, Cello, 1995)

Sonata (Bb Clarinet, Piano, 1994)

*In Us (Percussion Sextet, 1994 revised 1996)

String Quartet (1994)

*Trio (Trumpet, Alto Saxophone, Piano, 1993)

*Premonition (Brass Quintet, three Percussionists, 1993)

*Conjuration (Woodwind Quintet, Alto Saxophone instead of Horn, 1992)

Bassoon Suite (1996)

*Scena I, II, III (solo Flute, 1995)

*5 Pieces for Trombone (1995)

5 Piano Pieces (1994)

*6 Pieces for Piano and Chocurua (1994)

*Short Piece for Violin (1994)

*Conversations (solo Horn, 1992)

The Way of the Tao (Choir, Children, Soloists, Percussion, Piano, 1996)

*Psalm 150 (Youth Choir, Piano, 1995)

*Songs Without Words (Women's Choir, 1993)

*"Passer-by" (Song-Cycle) Poems by Edgar Allen Poe (for Mezzo, Baritone, Piano, 1997)

*The Playwright's Muse (Chamber Opera) Libretto by Roger Brunyate (Soprano, Baritone, Piano, 1997)

*A Cut Flower (Art Song) Poem by Carl Shapiro (Soprano, Oboe, Cello, Piano, 1993)

Conversations for Solo Horn (1992)
A monophonic work utilizing various modes to convey five distinct conversations ranging from lyrical to bombastic.  Performed in 1993 at Shenandoah University.

The Ritual (1992-3)
I. Preparation - String Orchestra
Read by the Timberlane Regional High School String Orchestra - Louise Pajack, conductor.

II. Conjuration - Woodwind Quintet (Alto Sax instead of Horn)
Performed in 1993 at Shenandoah University.

III. Premonition - Brass Quintet and three Percussionists

IV. Damnation - Three preceding groups combined
Read by the LSU Symphony Orchestra - Michael Butterman, conductor.

Songs Without Words (1993)
A work for women's choir with an emphasis on color and line.  First performed at Shenandoah University, 1994.

Trio for Trumpet, Alto Saxophone and Piano (1993)
This six-minute work is designed to display the virtuosic as well as the ensemble playing of the three instruments.  First performed in 1993.

A Cut Flower (1993)
A serial work based on the poem by Karl Shapiro for soprano, oboe, cello, and piano.   First performed in 1995.

Thera  (1993)
This work for wind ensemble incorporates various styles including pop, jazz, and traditional western art music.  It features the English horn, the trombone section, and the percussion section, as well as large ensemble passages.  It was premiered at Shenandoah University in 1994, and was also a featured work at the 50th Annual Festival of Contemporary Music at LSU.

Variations on a Theme by Grieg (1994)
This work for string orchestra explores a variety of stylistic genres, from Bartok to Beethoven, to tango.  Performed in 1994 by the LSU New Music Ensemble.  Winner of the MTNA State and Regional Competition (1996).

6 Piano Pieces (1994)
Free atonal pieces.  Performed at LSU in 1995.  Winner of the MTNA Young Composers Competition, and first alternate at the regional level.

Short Piece for Violin (1994)
An intense virtuosic work utilizing extended techniques with an aggressive character.   Performed in 1995.

5 Pieces for Piano (1994)
These pieces are atonal and utilize clusters and plucking the strings of the piano.   The pieces range in character from meditative to gregarious.

Chocurua - for Piano (1994)
This work is a short panorama of the lake in New Hampshire.  Performed in 1995.

String Quartet (1994)
A 15-minute work making use of extended techniques.  The first movement is ferocious and syncopated with a contrapuntal texture.  The second resembles the Bagatelles of Webern.  The third begins as a jazz waltz, and then moves into a hard bop style.   The final movement begins with a canon, then returns to the ferocity of the first.

5 Pieces for Solo Trombone (1995)
These 5 character pieces explore the virtuosity of the solo trombone.  The third of which, entitled 'Duet', makes extended use of multiphonics.  First performed in April 1996.

In Us (1994, revised 1996)
This work for percussion sextet is an essay on the human condition.  It employs instruments of indefinite pitch, and makes use of a wide variety of battery from finger cymbals to piano.  Performed by the Peabody Percussion Ensemble, Johnathan Hass, Conductor, December, 1997.

Laudate Dominum (1995)
For SAB youth choir and piano.

Sonata (1994)
A major work for Bb clarinet and piano which ranges in character from a riotous jazz scherzo to a supple, lyrical adagio.

Quartet No. 2 (1995)
This work for flute, trumpet, cello, and percussion explores color, metric modulation, and the percussive aspects of the non-percussion instruments.  It won second place in the Southeastern Composers Guild 1996 Competition.

Sceneca I, II, III (1995)
These three works, for piccolo, flute, alto flute, respectively, are programmatic and explore extended techniques.  First performed in April, 1996

The Tale of Harry (1996)
A full-scale ballet based on Shakespeare's The Life of Henry V.  The orchestral writing ranges from chamber to sound-mass.  Available as a large tone poem with Narrator.

Entr'acte (1996)
Commissioned by Timothy J. Zifer and the Evansville University Wind Ensemble, this work is a grade 4+ featuring small solos for the clarinet, alto saxophone, oboe and percussion.  There are 4 percussion parts, 3 of which are multiple percussion parts.  It is approx. 5 minutes long.

The Way of the Tao (1996)
A cantata based on 18 poems from the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu, this work utilizes a mixed choir, children's choir, soloists, piano and percussion (and all combinations thereof).   The vocabulary is diverse but the essential idea is an organic approach to harmony (ie. voice-leading).  The movements range from solo and piano to divisi choir sound mass.  The movements may be extracted from the larger work should the performance require it.

Concerto for Alto Saxophone (1996)
This is a large work in three movementswith wind ensemble.  The writing for the saxophone is powerful and effective.  The piece travels through many characters and guises including an aggressive opening, a shuffle, a folk tune, and a fun waltz.  This work will have its world premiere in March, 1999, Peabody Wind Ensemble, February 25, Harlan Parker, conductor, Jason McFeaters, soloist.

The Playwright's Muse (1997)
A chamber opera for soprano, baritone, and piano.  This 10-minute work, on a text by Roger Brunyate, takes a look at a marriage made in the theatre.  This work was performed at the Peabody Conservatory in April, 1997 with Ah Hong and Alok Kumar (singers) and Jeff Pollack (piano).

"Passer-by" (1997)
A song-cycle for mezzo soprano, baritone, and piano on text by Edgar Allen Poe.  The work is a setting of 10 poems, most of which are solo songs.  The subject matter is one close to Poe's heart: love.  The emotional statements range in dynamic from pastoral happiness to insane guilt and despair.  Included in the cycle are Annabel-Lee, Eulalie, Bridal Ballad, Serenade, and Silence.   The songs are challenging for both the vocalists and pianist.  The total cycle is approximately 35 minutes in length.  Individual songs from the cycle are also available.

New Hampshire Symphony (1997)
This is a large work set in five movements.  The first movement is The Shore (the Storm at North Hampton).  It takes the shape and energy of a storm at the beach.  The second movement, The Woods (A Fantasy in Sandown) is a freer work, which takes the idea of fantasy (musical and mental) as its starting point.   This movement begins light in character and, throughout the course of the piece, becomes more and more violent.  The third and fourth movements should be played attacca.  The Rivers (Hiking Cold Brook) and The Lakes (On the Banks of Lake Chocurua) are both water images with very different characters.  The Rivers is fast and light, joyful and playful, whereas The Lakes is more contemplative, meditative, patient.  The finale, The Mountains (Mt. Washington) takes the fantasy as its starting point.  Filled with anger, the movement rages through its opening.   The piece settles into a slower tempo, and from this fanfares emerge.  This movement is about losing one's fears and anxieties, the fanfares are about glory and joy.

Trombone Quartet (1998)
This piece was written for the Royal Academy Trombones in a joint project between the Academy and the Peabody Institute.  Premiered in England, November, 1998.

Dedications (1998)
This is a five movement work for violin, violoncello and piano.  Each movement is dedicated to someone special in my life.  An eclectic piece which makes use of some extended techniques.  Commissioned and premiered by Kirsten Taylor on October 19, 1998.

Night Music (1998)
This concerto with chamber orchestra was written for Gavin Farell, marimbist and Shawn Storer, conductor of the Mt. Vernon Chamber Orchestra.  It is approximately 15 minutes, and incorporates materials from popular music.

Concerto for Harp (in progress)
This concerto is with a reduced wind ensemble.  It is to be premiered next concert season at the Peabody Institute.