The Vibraphone Project
2022 April Newsletter
Greetings and welcome to the April 2022 Vibraphone Project Newsletter. In this edition we have exciting news to share about the 2021 Composition Competition results, new videos, the VPI Commissions, VPI members, new projects for 2022, and upcoming events.
If you'd like to learn more about The Vibraphone Project, please visit our website (where you can subscribe to this newsletter), and follow us on Facebook, Instagram & YouTube for the latest updates.
Latest News from the Vibraphone Project
This year, the Vibraphone Project has several new projects underway. Later this year we will present our newest Legacy Awards inductees. As a reminder, these awards are dedicated to those whose lifetime contributions have helped advance the instrument. Next, we will be hosting an online performance competition. Details are being worked out but expect more information soon. Lastly, later this year we will start our podcast. The plan is for several to be released in the second half of the year.
Pedagogy and Education Videos
The Pedagogy and Education committee have been busy since the last newsletter and have three new educational videos available.
Jon Metzger’s clinic “How to Listen” talks about listening; listening to recordings, listening to how others play, and most importantly how to listen to ourselves and how we can improve our sound! The video is available through this link:
Stephen Solook's clinic on "Bow Technique" covers the basics of bows, and their technique, as well as Steve's technique for holding two bows in one hand.
Jerry Tachoir’s latest clinic discusses motion and touch. Jerry talks about his technique and ways to prevent injuries. The video is available through this link:
2021 Composition Competition Results
The inaugural Call for Scores marked the beginning of a new century for the vibraphone; we've celebrated the last 100 years with repertoire of the past, but now we are looking forward to ushering in new works for the instrument as we start living in the next 100 years of the instrument.
In order to reach a wide array of musical styles and composers from all backgrounds and ages, we didn't have any strict parameters as to what type of works could be submitted; all we asked was that the vibraphone be the focal point of the composer's work. The majority of works submitted were vibraphone solos, but there were works that featured the vibraphone as a soloist within a chamber music / concerto setting.
We felt it would be better to not charge an entry fee and consider the potential economic hardships that it may have in addition to navigating the difficulties caused by the COVID pandemic. Our mindset from the beginning was that this was not to be a composition contest, but to serve as the beginnings of a community of vibraphone enthusiasts, be they composers or performers.
The Call for Scores Committee created varying levels of recognition that composers would be awarded based on the quality of their composition: 1) online amplification in a soon-to-be-released database; 2) a print and bound compendium of top tier compositions and; 3) a very few number of works that will be premiered at a VPI event in the coming year.
In the interest of fairness and impartiality, the scores were evaluated through a double blind process; composers who submitted their works also submitted an anonymous score to hide their identities. From there, our committee evaluated their work and the submittees were informed of the results in mid-December.
The soon-to-be-released, searchable database will be a valuable resource for performers who can search for new vibraphone repertoire, and view samples of both audio and the scores. From there, the performers can reach out to the composers to inquire about purchasing / receiving the full score, and making a connection that could turn into a much longer friendship / collaboration.
Here are the results:
Seventeen additional compositions were selected for online amplification!
There were fifty-five submissions in total.
We’re thrilled with the results of our first composition competition! The details of the showcase concert and print and bound compendium are still being worked out, so expect more updates in upcoming newsletters. Full results can be found at this link:
https://www.thevibraphoneproject.org/callforscores.html
VPI Commissions Project Update
The Vibraphone Project is seeking consortium members to join our two current commissioning projects:
Robert Honstein - Vibraphone and String Quartet
Celebrated for his "waves of colorful sounds" (New York Times) and "smart, appealing works" (The New Yorker), Robert Honstein will contribute an exceptional fusion of colors in a chamber work for vibraphone and strings. Robert Honstein is already a celebrated composer within the percussion community, with the notable success of his trio "An Index of Possibility" for the group TIGUE, and this solo vibraphone work "An Economy of Means" performed by Doug Perkins in this iteration. His writing for the instrument already demonstrates out-of-the-box innovation, indisputably befitting VPI's endeavor to set the stage for decades to come.
Learn more:
https://www.roberthonstein.com/
Pamela Z - Vibraphone Solo with tape
Pamela Z's expertise in combining art forms, rejecting the limited connotations of labels such as "electronica," and "multimedia" in lieu of something broader: experimental music, electroacoustic music, or "intermedia," validates her exceptional relevance to this project. Her creativity and versatility are world-leading, alighting to the creation of a new work that will be a truly new contribution.
Learn more:
http://www.pamelaz.com/
By commissioning and presenting these works, VPI hopes to inspire professionals, students and enthusiasts to seek out collaborations with artists of diverse backgrounds; to meaningfully contribute to the global repertoire with pieces that are achievable to program; and provide a platform for percussionists to work with other instrumentalists in contemporary classical performance.
We have been fortunate to receive partial funding for these two works from New Music USA, however our own fundraising progress has been slowed down significantly as a result of the COVID pandemic and numerous cancelled events. We are now hoping to build a small consortium to complete these commissions, and bring these two pieces to life for the vibraphone community.
About the Consortium: Consortium members will have their name printed in the score, receive formal recognition of their support on our website and social media channels, have exclusive performance rights until September 2023, and receive a copy of the score (and any accompanying media).
You are welcome to participate in one or both consortiums. We will add new members to these consortiums until composer fees have been covered (currently $1500 to go), and we will notify you if our target has already been met. We are using a sliding scale for donations:
Honstein: Minimum $80 to participate, suggested $80 for students and $150 for professionals/educators
Pamela Z: Minimum $60 to participate, suggested $120 for professionals/educators
For full details, please get in touch by contacting vibraphoneprojectinc@gmail.com.
Member Spotlight
Joseph Van Hassel
Joseph Van Hassel is based in North Carolina where he is an Assistant Professor of Music at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. He can be heard on recordings for the Innova, Mode, Equilibrium, nobrow.sounds, and Ohio Percussion record labels, and has released solo CDs on Soundset Recordings and Chen Li Music. He is published in Percussive Notes and endorses Yamaha Percussion, Innovative Percussion sticks and mallets, Black Swamp Percussion Products, Sabian Cymbals, and Remo Drumheads.
In the past few years, I have commissioned and premiered several vibraphone solos, including works by Christian Wolff, Peter Garland, Dan VanHassel, Drew Krause, Mara Helmuth, and in 2023 I will premiere a multiple-movement work by Mark Saya. I also recently released a CD of David Macbride’s works for percussion on Chen Li Music, which includes Ever Inward and Full Nelson for solo vibraphone. Furthermore, I am co-owner of Media Press, Inc., a sheet music publishing company that focuses on percussion solo and chamber music, particularly older works that have never been published or have gone out of print. We publish a number of works from the Blackearth Percussion Group and Percussion Group Cincinnati repertoire, as well as several works for vibraphone in solo and chamber settings. Lastly, I chair the Percussive Arts Society New Music/Research Committee and write new music/literature reviews for Percussive Notes.
Links:
Gloria Yehilevsky
Gloria is a percussionist, composer, and educator, engaging internationally in cross-disciplinary and traditional settings as a soloist and collaborative musician. She is co-founder and co-artistic director of Sounding Eye, and a Black Swamp Percussion Concert Artist.
“four” by Olivia Murphy
I recently recorded a video featuring a solo vibraphone arrangement of “four” by exceptional British jazz composer and saxophonist Olivia Murphy. This piece was originally part of the “Afterglow of a Dream Suite” written for Olivia’s ensemble “Paper Shaped People.” I asked her if an existing composition might work on solo vibraphone, and she arranged this piece, which I’ve played a few times since, and has even been taken up by other percussionist-friends who enjoyed it.
Coming out of the pandemic, my musical workload has been so low compared with prior years, so I purposefully planned a smaller project that felt achievable. It turns out, even with a two-minute-long piece, it was no small logistical undertaking, yet completely worth it!
The video was filmed in February at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego’s downtown location, with my good friend Alex Henshaw recording and editing visuals. We filmed aside a stunning painting by Ilana Savdie, who gave us permission to do so. Alex and I have worked together many times when we were both studying and living in Birmingham, England, so it felt quite special working on another project together years later in southern California. The audio was mixed and mastered by long-time friend and collaborator Samn Johnson. I’m looking forward to sharing Olivia’s amazing composition in the coming weeks, and hope both the percussive community will enjoy both the audio and video.
Follow Gloria at:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gloriaymusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gloriaymusic/
Facebook: @gloriaymusic
Links:
Sounding eye website: www.soundingeye.com
Olivia's "Paper Shaped People" video:
Dal Segno
This new section will be dedicated to following up on stories or information that was previous presented.
In the September newsletter John Mark Piper was raising money to design and gift a vibraphone to Jen Martinez-Bre. I am thrilled to report the “Tiny Vibe” was fully funded, and the instrument is now in Jen’s possession! Piper is continuing his “Good Vibes” donations and is currently seeking funds to help student Destin Ramos redesign and build a vibraphone frame to create the “Tall Vibe”. They have already raised $800 of $1000. If you are able and interested in helping out, more information can be found here: https://www.pipervibe.com/post/good-vibes-resonating-destin-ramos
Upcoming Events
April 24 @ 7:30pm EST- Stephen Solook with Aurora Borealis - Amherst, NY, University at Buffalo, Slee Hall - World premieres by Stuart Saunders Smith and Christian Wolff
May 2 @ 1:25 pm EST - Jerry Tachoir - Blacksburg, Virginia, Virginia Tech - clinic
Vibraphone Project Chairs
President - Brian Graiser
Vice President - Lindsey Eastham
Business/Admin - Harlan Graiser
Call for Scores - Boyce Jeffries
Commissions - Gloria Yehilevsky/Lindsey Eastham
Legacy Awards - Brian Graiser
Newsletter Editor - Stephen Solook
Online Competition - Matthew Lau
Pedagogy/Education - Jerry Tachoir
Podcast - Patrick Overturf
Research Project - Quintin Mallette/Brian Graiser
Social Media/Marketing - Lindsey Eastham
Members
Sean Andres, Dimitris Angelakis, Anders Åstrand, Andrew Baldwin, Jim Bailey, Aaron Butler, Rosie Cerquone, Lindsey Eastham, Matthew Geiger, Mucsi Gergő, Behn Gillece, Josh Gottry, Brian Graiser, Harlan Graiser, Jade Hails, Boyce Jeffries, Matt Jordan, Matthew Lau, Tanner Leonardo, Terry Longshore, Quintin Mallette, Jen Martinez, Jon Metzger, Tony Miceli, Tessla Michael, Marciano Moreno, Ben Norton, John Mark Piper, Oscar Roca, Joshua Smith, Stephen Solook, Shilo Stroman, Jerry Tachoir, Saverio Tasca, Joey Tierney, Joseph Van Hassel, Morgan Walbridge, Gloria Yehilevsky
Get Involved
Donate - The Vibraphone Project is always accepting donations to support our cause. All funds received will go directly into projects that support the vibraphone; such as commissions, performances and event, and educational endeavors. Your support is appreciated! Visit www.thevibraphoneproject.org/donate to learn more
Share - Let us know about your vibraphone-related performances, commissions, and projects! Our goal is to uplift the entire vibraphone community, and we do that by promoting all projects related to the instrument. Email us at vibraphoneprojectinc@gmail.com
Volunteer - We are always on the lookout for passionate people, eager to donate their time to The Vibraphone Project. Our volunteers gain practical experience working within a music non-profit organization, while supporting the vibraphone community. Click here to learn more.