Shifting Silence – Consortium
I am excited to announce a new consortium: Shifting Silence – Five new contemporary clarinet compositions focusing on grief. I have experienced grief many times throughout my life, and I never had a space where I could work through my emotions in a healthy way.
I have commissioned five composers to write five different pieces on Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s “Five Stages of Grief.” The goal of this project was to create a space to work through difficult emotions in a healthy way. I hope that encoding these pieces in this way will help people work through the emotions rather than ignore them or repress them: grief is a universal human experience, and we should feel free to explore the emotions associated with this trying process.
While the five stages of grief are not a universally accepted process and grief is not linear, I wanted to explore these core emotions because they are relevant in some form during the grieving process. The pieces and composers are as follows:
- Denial – Luke Ellard: fine all fine
- Anger – Theresa Martin: Release
- Bargaining – Natalie Groom: Insurmountable
- Depression – Samuel Hunter: Looking Through the Closed Door
- Acceptance – Jenni Brandon: Acceptance
About the Composers and Pieces
Luke Ellard
Clarinetist, composer, educator, and new music collaborator Luke Ellard strives for art that continually reaches out, valuing a relational spirit, informed engagement, and unapologetic authenticity.
For Luke, collaboration is what gives music life. As a clarinetist, they have performed with members of Bang On a Can All Stars, Eighth Blackbird, International Contemporary Ensemble, Fifth House Ensemble, Arkansas Symphony, and Lone Star Wind Orchestra. As a composer, their music has been performed and commissioned by ensembles such as North Texas Wind Symphony, HOCKET, New Trombone Collective, Barkada Quartet, among others. Their current performance projects center around their self-produced solo cross-genre/electronic band LE, and commissioning new exciting works for the clarinet.
Dr. Ellard joined the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in the Fall of 2023 as Visiting Assistant Professor of Clarinet, having previously served on faculty at the University of Oklahoma and Midwestern State University while teaching privately and performing in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Luke earned their Doctor of Musical Arts in Clarinet Performance with related studies in Contemporary Music and Music Entrepreneurship at the University of North Texas, studying under Kimberly Cole Luevano. Additionally, Luke has earned degrees from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (James Campbell & Eric Hoeprich), the University of Texas at Austin (Yevgeniy Sharlat, Dan Welcher, & Donald Grantham), and Louisiana Tech University (Lawrence Gibbs, Joe L. Alexander).
“fine all fine” for Clarinet and Piano* (the clarinetist also plays the piano part)
fine, all fine is about denial. It’s a space we can live in, trying to convince ourselves and others that we’re okay. In a way, that’s our culture.
“How are you?” “Oh I’m good!”
But the external presentation of being good or fine often doesn’t reflect what’s going on underneath, there’s a tension there. Musically, this piece puts the performer in that uncomfortable gray area, playing the clarinet and piano at the same time. There are moments of hope and light and also anxiety. There is a sense of things left unfinished. The work has to continue and staying in denial is a loop unless we are able to break free and grow beyond it.
Theresa Martin
Theresa Martin is an internationally renowned contemporary composer of orchestral, band, and chamber music whose works have been performed worldwide and are available on several recordings. She draws her inspiration from literature, images, nature, faith, pop culture, and personal experiences. Through her music, she wants to create an experience which provokes thought, stirs emotions, and allows people to find a common ground through their shared human experiences. Her music connects with both audiences and performers through her sophisticated rhythms and melodies, and intriguing titles and concepts. Dr. Martin also freelances on clarinet and piano, and has a private music studio in Appleton, Wisconsin. In a 2019 online article, she was named one of history’s top 100 female clarinetists, and she is also the Wisconsin State Chair of the International Clarinet Association. When not composing or performing, she enjoys reading, outdoor activities, and spending time with her family.
“Release” for Clarinet, Soprano and Piano
Confusion. Frustration. Pain. Raw emotions are abundant during a time of loss. We ask the philosophical questions, “Why God?” Anger erupts inside. Reality sets in. Grief takes us deep into the depths of our soul, and in our moment of profound grief we don’t understand why we must suffer. When we come face to face with what is dark and painful, we may lash out at God in anger to release our emotions, and it is then that we begin the healing process. Through the words of Psalm 13, crying out to God, we will come to trust in Him. For the answer is not a why, but a “Who.”
– “But I have trusted in your merciful love” Ps. 13:5
Natalie Groom
Dr. Natalie Groom is a clarinetist, educator, composer, and arts administrator in Maryland where she is the clarinet professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and Towson University. A few of Natalie’s performance career highlights include being a concerto soloist with the White Mountain Symphony Orchestra and performing at The Kennedy Center, AMP by Strathmore, New World Center, The Anthem, Phillips Collection, Austrian and Spanish Embassies, and Goethe-Institut. She has toured China with the Fred Fox Wind Quintet and performed with the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet, Annapolis Symphony, Annapolis Opera, and Tucson Symphony.
As a composer, Natalie’s music has been performed at the American Single Reed Summit, International Clarinet Association Conference, District New Music Coalition Conference, Mississippi Music by Women Festival, University of Maryland, The Anthem, and Smithsonian American History Museum. April 22nd, an unaccompanied clarinet piece, was featured in the International Clarinet Association Journal in 2022.
“Insurmountable” for Clarinet solo
Movement 1, Nauseous, is about the literal physical bodily response felt when recalling trauma, even when it’s in the distant past. Timbral trills represent the onset of nausea.
Movement 2,Passing Notes, is about intimate thoughts and feelings we’re comfortable sharing as long as it’s not face-to-face, like through texts, passed notes, letters, etc. This movement is a soothing lullaby, an expression of care to comfort someone in distress and feeling vulnerable.
Movement 3, Swallow, is about suppressing feelings or downplaying their intensity. As a result, sometimes they snowball and burst out when you don’t mean for them to. This movement is grounded in the tritone interval, indicating something alarming bubbling under the surface.
Movement 4, Heavy Limbs, is about how a state of grief or depression physically alters how your body feels. You might feel like you’re trapped under a weighted blanket—just turning your head can feel like an insurmountable task. The movement is meterless to evoke how time feels suspended in this state.
Movement 5 is about situations so horrific that the brain literally cannot fully process them. Sometimes it’s too overwhelming to try and make sense of tragedy. Quarter tones are used to show a distorted and disturbing reality.
Samuel Hunter
Samuel Hunter (b. 1988) is a composer of a wide variety of music whose works have been performed across the United States and internationally. He has received commissions from Vox Cordis, Furman University’s Chancel Choir, Pastyme, the Association of Anglican Musicians, and the AURA Contemporary Ensemble, and his music has been performed by Coro Città di Roma, the Association of Anglican Musicians Conference Choir, the Furman University Chamber Choir, and many others. In addition to his work as a composer, Samuel is an experienced arranger and orchestrator, and is the Principal Orchestrator and publisher of Frances Pollock’s critically acclaimed debut opera Stinney: An American Execution. Samuel is currently the Instructor in Music Theory and History and Composer in Residence at the Fine Arts Center in Greenville, South Carolina. Samuel holds degrees from Furman University and the University of Houston. He is married to répétiteur Hailey Anthum Hunter, and they currently live in Flat Rock, North Carolina, with their cat Dinah.
“Looking through the Closed Door” for Clarinet and Piano
Commissioned by Roddy Terrell as part of the Shifting Silence project which aims to explore elements of grief. This work examines my own experiences with depression, which has at times encouraged me to sink into the comfort of prolonged isolation, ignoring my responsibilities and the people I love. I imagine this work as a look back at a younger version of myself who couldn’t see a way out of that solitude, and the transformation into the person that I am now with the support structures I have cultivated.
Jenni Brandon
An award-winning composer and conductor, Jenni Brandon’s music has been performed from Carnegie Hall to Taiwan. Her storytelling-style approach to writing music and collaborative focus is a hallmark of her compositions, garnering her commissions and awards from ensembles and international organizations. As an entrepreneur she runs Jenni Brandon Music, overseeing publishing and worldwide distribution of 70-plus works, with additional works published by companies like Boosey & Hawkes. Recordings of her music appear on over two dozen albums, and several are required repertoire for international competitions and university auditions. As a conductor Jenni has directed musicals, operas, choirs, and ensembles, including her award-winning opera 3 PADEREWSKIS at the Kennedy Center, University of Southern California, Paderewski Festival, and Aula Nova Akademii Muzycznej in Poland. When she is not composing or conducting, Jenni enjoys travelling with her husband to scuba dive in tropical waters.
“Acceptance” for Bass Clarinet and Piano
Acceptance for Bass Clarinet and Piano is the final movement from a project called “Shifting Silence – Five new contemporary clarinet compositions focusing on grief.” This project, created and commissioned by Roddy Terrell, creates a space where grief can be explored and an acknowledgement that grief is a universal human experience.
In exploring ideas for this work about Acceptance, or the final stage of grief as defined by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her book “On Death and Dying,” I wanted to bring to life the emotions that often permeate this phase of grief. From reverence to agitation, to hopefulness and joy in finding a new path after a long journey, this work is a celebration of what we’ve been through and how we can look to the future with hope and carry with us the experiences that have brought us here.
Throughout the work there are descriptions in the music that reflect a variety of fluid emotions in this stage of grief. They include: delicate and reflective; like a beautiful memory; agitated, questioning; steady, with resolve; finding the joy; struggling in this new world, trying to find the balance; with hope; moving forward, a new path. And while everyone experiences their own unique emotions when dealing with grief, I hope this work will be a reminder that we are not alone.
It is an honor to be a part of this powerful project and to collaborate with Roddy on creating a space for reflection and hope.
The consortium will consist of two tiers with the following prices:
- Student (individuals currently enrolled in a higher education program) – $150
- Studio/Individual non-student – $250
With joining the commission, you will receive:
- All five pieces of music will be delivered in digital form.
- Physical copies will cost an additional $35 for printing and shipping. I will need that information at the beginning so I can plan accordingly.
- Exclusivity to call your performance a premier for one year.
- The consortium will run from February 15th to May 15th, 2024. The end date for premieres will be June 1st, 2025.
- Your name will appear as a consortium member in each of the five scores.
- Commercial Recordings of the pieces will not be permitted until June 1st, 2025, or until you receive confirmation from me that the initial recordings have been released.
Once you join the consortium, you will receive a contract outlining the relevant points in this proposal. Those will need to be signed and returned to me. Once that is completed, I will send along an invoice. All contracts and invoices must be completed by May 15th, 2024. Digital and physical scores (if purchased) will be sent out on June 1st, 2024.
I am so excited to share these new pieces with all of you! Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions you may have, and I will be sure to answer as I can!
Reservation Form
