The UMW Jazz group was featured at the Friends of the Rappahannock’s 22nd Annual Riverfest.  The group, led by Senior Lecturer Doug Gately on flute,  included Professor David Long on drums and Instructor Bruce Middle on guitar.  Recent Department of Music graduate Joanna Smith, bass and sophomore Music Major Judi Jackson on vocals.  The event raises funds to promote and maintain the water quality and scenic beauty of the Rappahannock River and its tributaries.

For more information:
http://riverfriends.org/Events/Riverfest2012/tabid/91/Default.aspx

Assistant Professor of Music Mark Snyder’s multimedia work Harvey for processed clarinet, electronics and video was performed in Kansas City by the newEar contemporary music ensemble on the opening concert for their 20th season.

The Kansas City Star wrote  “Mark Snyder’s Harvey conveys well his shock and incomprehension of the sheer, random brutality of the Harvey family murders in his hometown of Richmond, Virginia in 2005. It’s a tribute to the human capacity to wrestle meaning and even beauty from evil.”

Assistant Professor of Music Mark Snyder’s band Nature Boy Explorer is featured in the weekend section of the Free Lance Star.

“The attitude and sound of their songs can shift from ‘testosterone-fueled aggression to soft and delicate.’ And it’s this juxtaposition—the harp in the rock band, the students and the teacher, the atmospheric valleys between the rough-edged ridges of rock ‘n’ roll—that makes Nature Boy Explorer something worth exploring.”

http://blogs.fredericksburg.com/weekender/2012/09/12/sounds-nature-boy-explorer/

The Free Lance Star also reviewed the EP.

“Overall, these four tracks give a great example of what Nature Boy Explorer is. It might still be difficult to understand the music, and even harder to explain it to a friend but it will be clearer. They’re definitely doing something different from most any other band, especially any band around Fredericksburg, and if anything, it’s worth giving the album a listen to be able to sing along at a live show, which is where Nature Boy Explorer really shines.”

http://blogs.fredericksburg.com/therumble/2012/09/12/nature-boy-explorer-ep-review/

Assistant Professor of Music Mark Snyder’s remix of cold winds was released on let the waves carry us by the bell monks on Mine All Mine Records.

let the waves carry us is the culmination of a year-long recording project, throughout 2011, for which bell monks wrote, recorded, and released a 2-track mini-album each month (nearly 2 hours in total). at the end of the year, friends and musicians were invited to remix some of their favorites. the finished album, let the waves carry us, includes 9 of the original 24 songs, with some re-recorded and new additional parts, and is being released along with 12 remixes, most of which are dramatic re-imaginations of the original tune.

Assistant Professor of Music Mark Snyder’s composition Harvey for processed clarinet, electronics & video will be performed by Eric Honour on Thursday, July 26 at the Kansas City Fringe Festival Experimental Music Showcase.

The KC Fringe Festival — now in its eigth year — is jam-packed with live theater, dance, performance art, visual art, spoken word, puppetry, storytelling, film and fashion. The 2012 festival, like its predecessors, is a celebration of local, regional and national artists, presenting events at venues throughout Kansas City.

More information can be found here.

Mark Snyder, assistant professor of music, will have his composition Messy for processed clarinet, electronics & video performed by Andrea Cheeseman on Saturday, March 31 at Christopher Newport University for the Society of Composers, (SCI) Region III Conference  .

More information can be found here.