Lois V Vierk
Encyclopedia
Lois V Vierk is a "post-minimalist" or "totalist
" composer who lives in New York City
.
She received a B.A. degree in piano and ethnomusicology from UCLA in 1974. She then attended Cal Arts, studying composition with Mel Powell
, Leonard Stein, and Morton Subotnick
, receiving her M.F.A. in 1978. She has conducted extensive study of gagaku
music, studying for ten years with Suenobu Togi in Los Angeles, and for two years in Tokyo with Sukeyasu Shiba (the lead ryūteki
player in Japan's Imperial Court Orchestra).
She has written many chamber works for different ensembles which are multiples of the same instrument. Her work uses glissando
prominently and builds exponentially
in level of activity. More recently she has written for mixed instrument ensembles, such as in her piece Timberline (music) commissioned by the Relâche Ensemble, and Red Shift which appeared on the CD Bang on a Can
Live Vol. 2.
She has also composed for gagaku ensemble.
In 1993, she was awarded a grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts
Grants to Artists Award.
Totalism
In music, totalism is a term for a style of art music that arose in the 1980s and 1990s as a developing response to minimalism—parallel to postminimalism, but generally among a slightly younger generation, born in the 1950s....
" composer who lives in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
She received a B.A. degree in piano and ethnomusicology from UCLA in 1974. She then attended Cal Arts, studying composition with Mel Powell
Mel Powell
Mel Powell was a jazz pianist and composer of classical music.Mel Epstein was born to Russian Jewish parents, Milton Epstein and Mildred Mark Epstein, and began playing piano as a child. He performed jazz professionally in New York City as a teenager...
, Leonard Stein, and Morton Subotnick
Morton Subotnick
Morton Subotnick is an American composer of electronic music, best known for his Silver Apples of the Moon, the first electronic work commissioned by a record company, Nonesuch...
, receiving her M.F.A. in 1978. She has conducted extensive study of gagaku
Gagaku
Gagaku is a type of Japanese classical music that has been performed at the Imperial Court in Kyoto for several centuries. It consists of three primary repertoires:#Native Shinto religious music and folk songs and dance, called kuniburi no utamai...
music, studying for ten years with Suenobu Togi in Los Angeles, and for two years in Tokyo with Sukeyasu Shiba (the lead ryūteki
Ryuteki
The is a Japanese transverse fue made of bamboo. It is used in gagaku, the Shinto classical music associated with Japan's imperial court. The sound of the ryūteki is said to represent the dragons which ascend the skies between the heavenly lights and the people of the earth...
player in Japan's Imperial Court Orchestra).
She has written many chamber works for different ensembles which are multiples of the same instrument. Her work uses glissando
Glissando
In music, a glissando is a glide from one pitch to another. It is an Italianized musical term derived from the French glisser, to glide. In some contexts it is distinguished from the continuous portamento...
prominently and builds exponentially
Exponential growth
Exponential growth occurs when the growth rate of a mathematical function is proportional to the function's current value...
in level of activity. More recently she has written for mixed instrument ensembles, such as in her piece Timberline (music) commissioned by the Relâche Ensemble, and Red Shift which appeared on the CD Bang on a Can
Bang on a Can
Bang on a Can is a multi-faceted classical music organization based in New York City. It was founded in 1987 by three American composers who remain its artistic directors: Julia Wolfe, David Lang, and Michael Gordon...
Live Vol. 2.
She has also composed for gagaku ensemble.
In 1993, she was awarded a grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts
Foundation for Contemporary Arts
Foundation for Contemporary Arts , originally known as Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, is a nonprofit based foundation in New York City founded by artists Jasper Johns , John Cage, Elaine de Kooning and others in 1963. FCA offers financial support and recognition to contemporary...
Grants to Artists Award.
Films
- New York Composers: Searching for a New Music (1997). Directed by Michael Blackwood. Produced by Michael Blackwood Productions, in association with Westdeutscher Rundfunk.
Discography
- SimoomSimoom (album)Simoom is an album by experimental totalist artists Lois V Vierk which was released in 1990.- "Simoom":# "Go Guitars for 5 electric guitars David Seidel, guitars" – 12:06# "Cirrus for 6 trumpets Gary Trosclair, trumpets" – 18:43...
(1990, Experimental Intermedia XI 102) - River Beneath the RiverRiver Beneath the River (album)River Beneath the River is an album by experimental totalist artists Lois V Vierk which was released in 2000.- "River Beneath the River":# "River Beneath the River" – 14:13# "Into the Brightening Air" – 24:15# "Jagged Mesa" – 21:349...
(2000, Tzadik TZ 7056)
Further reading
- Zorn, John, ed. (2000). Arcana: Musicians on Music. New York: Granary Books/Hips Road. ISBN 188712327X.
External links
- http://loisvvierk.com loisvvierk.com
- Living Composers Project: Lois Vierk
- recording of Blue Jets Red Sprites
- Lois V Vierk: Slideways Published: January 1, 2008. In conversation with Frank J. Oteri
- http://xirecords.org/102.shtml Experimental Intermedia page for Simoom
- http://www.tzadik.com/volume.php?VolumeID=56 Tzadik Records page for River Beneath the River