The late Abram Plum honored by new composition.

IIllinois Wesleyan’s New Music Series to Present The New Music Café

Oct. 31, 2002

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.—Special events are planned for this year’s New Music Café at Illinois Wesleyan University as part of the university’s 2002-2003 New Music Series.

Free and open to the public, the concert will be held on Thursday, November 7 at 8 p.m. in Westbrook Auditorium of Presser Hall, 303 E. University Ave., Bloomington.

The New Music Series, coordinated by David Vayo, professor of composition and theory at IWU, captures the musical elements of the early part of the 20th century to the present.

In honor of Dr. Abram M. Plum’s legacy, who passed away in May of this year, Robert Mangialardi, lecturer in music, will present the world premiere of "Three Poems of Thomas Hardy," which was written for him by Plum.

A gifted and highly respected composer and pianist, whose music has been performed in France, the Netherlands and throughout the United States, Plum joined the Illinois Wesleyan faculty in 1965 and retired in 1991. Originally from Oskaloosa, Iowa, he taught composition, music theory, electronic music, piano, and Japanese music at IWU. In 1996, he returned to the university to serve as an accompanist in the music department.

Also, as part of the special events at the concert, former composition alum David Wolff, class of 1995, will be at the concert to hear performances of his compositions "From Canto XV," performed by soprano, Julia Morrison, a junior music theory major from Arlington Heights, with Vayo on piano, and "White Oak (Fantasia on America the Beautiful)." Conducted by Mario Pelusi, associate professor of composition and theory and director of the IWU School of Music, this piece will be performed by Chris Curtin, a freshman music major from Elk Grove Village, David Hartley, a sophomore from St. Eitzen, Minn., on trumpets, Daniel Vendt, a sophomore music composition major from Ballwin, Mo., on horn, Patrick O’Connor, a senior music education major from Lexington, South Carolina, on trombone, Paul Nesper, a junior music performance major from Tinley Park, on the tuba.

Wolff, who works for the American Composers Forum in Minneapolis, St. Paul, as its associate director of chapters, received his Bachelor of Music in composition with an emphasis on Piano Performance from IWU, graduating with Research Honors. This was the first time the university awarded the prize for composition. He received his Masters in Composition degree from the University of Minnesota.

"Network Slammer," a composition for amplified flute and University of Illinois graduate student Chih-hsien Chien will perform electronic sounds by Zack Browning.

Browning, who received a Bachelor of Music degree in composition from Florida State University and a Masters of Music degree and Doctor of Musical Arts degree in composition from the University of Illinois, is an associate professor of music composition and theory at the U of I. He was awarded an Arnold O. Beckman Research Award from the U of I for his work in computer music composition and has received grants from Meet the Composer, National Endowment for the Arts, ASCAP, and the Georgia, Illinois, and North Carolina Arts Councils. His music is published by Manduca Music Publications and Brixton Publications and recorded on Calcante Recordings, Capstone Records, Coronet Records, and Veriatza Records.

Chien received a bachelor’s degree in Flute Performance from the National Taiwan Normal University in Taiwan. She graduated with academic honors and received her Master’s degree in flute performance from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and was the winner of the National Flute Competition and the National Concerto Competition in Taiwan. She is currently a candidate for a Doctor of Musical Arts in Flute Performance at the University of Illinois, and serves as an assistant for the John Philip Sousa Archives.

Guest composer Michael Schelle’s "Struwwelpeter Songs," which are said to be hilarious in nature will also be performed. The following evening, the Illinois Wesleyan Civic Orchestra will perform an orchestral work by Schelle, who is bringing two of his colleagues Steven Stolen and Catherine Bringerud from Butler University for the performance. Bringerud has been Stolen’s regular musical partner for 12 years, and have collaborated on nearly 60 different programs.

According to Vayo, "Struwwelpeter Songs," whose texts come from German children’s books about what happens to children who behave badly, "is one of the funniest pieces of music I have ever heard in my life, said Vayo."

Schelle, who is composer-in-residence in music theory and composition at Butler University, was born in Philadelphia and raised in New Jersey. His degrees are from Villanova University in theatre, Butler University, the Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford in Connecticut, and he has a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. His works are published by MMB Music, Inc. (St. Louis), Indiana University Press, Moon of Hope Press, American Composers Edition/American Composers Alliance (New York City). — by Sherry Wallace, 309/556-3181.