May 7, 2024

Mark Snyder’s Nature Boy Explorer Featured in FLS

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/

Mark Snyder’s Nature Boy Explorer EP Release

Assistant Professor of Music Mark Snyder’s CD release for Nature Boy Explorer will be held this Saturday, September 8 at 909 Saloon in Fredericksburg, Va . The EP contains four songs that were recorded from March to April of 2012. UMW students and alums, Becky Brown, Hunter Wooten, Paige Naylor, Katherine Preseren and Natasha Smoot performed on the CD as well.

Nature Boy Explorer makes music about love, lobotomies, death, dirty politicians and concrete deities with an energetic and emotional blend of rock/pop that puts on no airs.

The show starts at 8:30 and will also feature Paul Ivey and the Rubes from Richmond and The Crypts from Fredericksburg.

David Long’s Composition Performed in Slovenia

Professor of Music and Composer-in-Residence David J. Long’s composition Homage to Normandy was performed on August 22, 2012  by the Prekmurska godba Bakovci in Slovenia.

Homage to Normandy is a tribute to all the soldiers who lost their lives during the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. The first movement, ‘Elegy: For All of the Fallen,’ is a beautifully powerful chorale that builds to a glorious climax before calming again. The second movement, ‘In Resolution: Toward the Final Victory,’ captures the brute force of the battle and drives all the way to the end in this fitting homage.

Mark Snyder’s “cold winds staffco remix” Released on Mine All Mine Records

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.

Mark Snyder’s “Harvey” to be Performed @ Kansas City Fringe Festival

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’s Composition Performed in Thailand

Assistant Professor of Music Mark Snyder’s composition Butterfly for processed clarinet, electronics & video was performed by Cheryl Melfi on Wednesday, July 11 at the Thailand International Composition Festival (TICF).

This year, TICF will continue in the tradition of excellence, established by previous years. The featured composers for 2012 will include some of the leaders in contemporary composition, namely: Zhou Long (Kansas City, USA), Eric Moe (Pittsburgh, USA), Xiaogang Ye (Beijing, China), and Narong Prangcharoen (Bangkok, TH and Kansas City, USA). It will also feature an international group of ensembles: the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra (Bangkok, Thailand), the Tetris String Quartet (New York, USA), Hong Kong New Music Ensemble (Hong Kong, China), Contemporary Enclave (Bangkok, TH), Salaya Modern Ensemble (Bangkok, TH), the Mahidol University Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band (Bangkok, TH), the Armrein/ Henneberger Duo (Switzerland and Germany), the Integrated Percussion Ensemble (Bangkok, Th), Tomoko Honda (Belg. and Japan), Michael Hall (USA), Luisa Sello (IT), Cheryl Melfi (USA), and many other performers. The festival will also feature regional and world premieres of works by composers from around the world.

More information can be found here.

 

Kevin Bartram is Featured Guest on Radio Program

Kevin Bartram, director of the UMW Philharmonic Orchestra, will be a featured guest on Classics Radio’s “Fine Arts This Week” to discuss the Philharmonic’s upcoming performances at the American Music Concert Series and the Independence Day Spectacular concert.

The interview will air Saturday, June 30 at 8 a.m. and Sunday, July 1 at 1 p.m. on WWED FM 89.5 Fredericksburg and WWEM FM 91.7 Lynchburg.

A concert by the UMW Faculty Brass Quintet, of which Bartram is a member, will be broadcast on Classics Radio on Friday, June 22 at 9 a.m., Saturday, June 23 at noon and 5 p.m. and Sunday, June 24 at noon. The quintet’s recent performance at Historic Market Square in Fredericksburg was captured by Classics Radio as the group performed music by contemporary American composers including George Gershwin, John Phillip Sousa and Leonard Bernstein. The ensemble features Bartram and UMW adjunct instructors Jim Ford and Gary Carper, along with musicians David Mersiovsky and Jeremy Cucco.

Operafest Auditions Next Weekend

University of Mary Washington’s Department of Music will hold auditions for its annual summer Operafest on Saturday, April 14 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in Pollard Hall, Room 304. Students who wish to audition should prepare an operatic aria or a classical song. An accompanist will be provided.

The Operafest program, now in its 13th year, is a performance-based class for serious singers of all voice types who want to expand their repertoire in opera or gain on-stage performance experience. In the fast-paced, five-week course students will learn scenes from various operas with staging and costumes. The course will culminate with opera performances on Friday, June 22 and Saturday, June 23 at 7:30 p.m. in George Washington Hall, Dodd Auditorium.

Rehearsals will be held over the summer on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5 to 8 p.m. beginning on Monday, May 21. Operafest can be taken as a three-credit course or audited for $300. Members of the community as well as UMW students are encouraged to audition. For more information about Operafest or auditions, call (540) 654-1012.

Mark Snyder’s Composition to be Performed at Conference

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.

Mark Snyder’s Composition to be Performed

Mark Snyder, assistant professor of music, will have his composition Butterfly for processed clarinet, electronics & video performed by Cheryl Melfi on Saturday, February 18 at West Virginia University.

In addition to Mark’s piece, Melfi will be performing works from  Daniel Eichenbaum, Elainie Lillios, Alex Mincek, David Taddie and Alexander Lepak. The concert will be held in the Bloch Concert Hall at the Creative Arts Center.