This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, July 8, 2011 - When you think about modern post-classical music, it's natural to think of the east coast, New York City and composers such as Philip Glass, Steve Reich and others who have followed. Then, too, the West coast has spawned composers like John Adams, Terry Riley and La Monte Young.
But plenty is happening in terms of new music right here in the Midwest and Missouri. A prime example is the Mizzou New Music Summer Festival, which debuted in 2010 on the campus of the University of Missouri Columbia -- and returns July 11-16 with a full week of concerts, workshops, presentations by composers and open rehearsals of works that will have their world premiere at the closing concert of the festival on July 16.
This year, the festival will feature renowned guest composers Roger Reynolds and Anna Clyne, acclaimed resident ensemble Alarm Will Sound and eight resident composers, selected from more than 100 composers who applied for the festival from around the world. The Mizzou New Music Summer Festival is just the most visible result of the work of the Mizzou New Music Initiative, which was funded in 2009 through a $1 million donation from the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation.
The goal was, in the words of Robert Shay, director of the MU School of Music in a press release at the announcement of the donation, "... To establish the School of Music as a center for new music, a destination for the best and brightest young composers, and a place where they can pursue their craft in a uniquely supportive environment."
In addition to funding scholarships for composers and performances by a graduate-level new music ensemble at the university, the donation also funds the summer festival -- and the ability to bring together such composers as Reynolds, who has won a Pulitzer Prize for music, and Clyne, who is the composer in residence for the Chicago Symphony.
The donation also funds bringing in the eight composers whose works will be performed at the event. And thanks to an additional grant from the ASCAP Foundation, the top notch, 20-member group, Alarm Will Sound, can serve as the primary performing ensemble for the festival.
One of this year's resident composers, Patrick Clark, has only a short commute to the festival. A native of St. Louis, Clark earned his undergraduate degree in composition at Mizzou, and then recently returned to continue work on a master's degree in conducting at the university.
Clark, who received the 2011 Sinquefield Prize in music composition at the university, conducted the University Philharmonic Orchestra in his own composition, "A Fantasy on Themes of Mussorgsky" in a concert at Jesse Hall on campus.
He recently spoke to the Beacon about his evolution from a journalism major to composer, his decision to begin conducting music, and his excitement about this year's Mizzou New Music Summer Festival schedule.
"I really did not have much of a musical background growing up," Clark says during a phone conversation from his Columbia home. "I did take violin lessons, but I really didn't take playing music seriously. It was more of an extracurricular activity. I was a typical teen -- listening to current rock and roll for the most part."
But during Clark's sophomore year at Mizzou, he rediscovered an interest in classical music -- and changed his major from journalism to composing music.
"I was living in a dorm, and one day I saw a friend who was a physics major walking out with a French horn under his arm," recalls Clark. "He told me he was going to a rehearsal of the student orchestra. I thought that sounded like fun, so I ended up digging out my violin and went along to the rehearsal. But I found out very quickly I was ill-prepared to play."
Although Clark was disappointed in his ability to keep up with the other students in the orchestra, hearing a violinist play a Bach fugue left a strong impression on him. And that experience helped him gain a new perspective on composing music.
"When I heard the violinist play that Bach fugue, I came to a realization," he explains. "Up until then, I looked at the music of Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and other revered composers as something like the Grand Canyon. It seemed like it was a natural phenomenon that was always there -- not something that was actually created and written down. I decided that, since I wasn't as talented as others at playing music, composing music would be more of a level playing field for me. So I changed my major from journalism to composition. I figured you only live once."
With his undergraduate degree at MU in hand, Clark soon realized he needed an advance degree if he really wanted to make headway as a composer. He applied and was accepted in the graduate program at the University of Arizona, where he studied with Dan Asia -- and really found a focus for his composing efforts.
"When I began working on my master's, that's when things really accelerated for me in terms of my composing," says Clark. "It seemed like I found a tremendous energy to really do the work."
After gaining his M.A., Clark studied composition at Rice University, and at the Royal Conservatory in the Hague in Holland before working as a composer and writer in Los Angeles and Albuquerque, N.M. Eventually he decided he needed to add conducting to his abilities as a composer to truly get the most out of his musical experience.
"I always saw that there was a clear relationship between composing music and conducting it," explains Clark. "And since I wasn't a professional musician who could perform my music, I felt a real separation there -- seeing my music being conducted, but having to watch from a distance. So I decided to return to Mizzou and get a degree in conducting."
That decision paid off when Clark had the opportunity to conduct the University Philharmonic Orchestra on March 14 at Jesse Hall, leading the musicians in a performance of his own work. But it was clearly a learning experience for the musicians -- and Clark. "First of all, the music was new to the musicians. But it was also very new to me as well," says Clark. "I had just finished composing the piece right before rehearsals started. And I was also new to the conducting experience. So the piece found its way very slowly. I certainly learned that the composer often doesn't have all the answers -- especially when dealing with new music."
Thanks to his selection as one of the eight resident composers for the festival, Clark will return to his role as a composer rather than a conductor for the next week. And he looks forward with great anticipation to working with the musicians in Alarm will Sound during rehearsals of the work he composed for them to play at the fest.
"At the Saturday concert, Alarm Will Sound will be playing new pieces written by the other seven resident composers as well as myself," says Clark. "My composition is called 'Ptolemy's Carousel,' and I wrote it specifically for Alarm Will Sound. I'm really looking forward to the rehearsal with them on Friday, because I'm sure they'll have some very interesting perspectives to add to the music."
In terms of interesting perspectives, Clark encourages everyone to take advantage of the opportunity to attend many of the free events beyond the four concerts that will take place during the week.
"Possibly the most interesting perspectives at the festival will happen at the presentations by the composers about the new pieces that will be played -- and at the rehearsals," he concludes. "The composers will play excerpts of their work, then discuss the ideas behind what they wrote. And I'm sure it's going to be fascinating to watch the rehearsals and see how the music evolves toward the Saturday performances."
Terry Perkins is a freelance writer who has long covered music.