Vipisa Trio Music of Humboldt Composers: The Program
Vipisa Trio: Cindy Moyer, violin
Virginia Ryder, saxophone and clarinet
John Chernoff, piano.
Rhubarb for violin, alto saxophone, and piano by Halim Beere
Set-Rows-Free for violin, alto saxophone, and piano by J. Brian Post
Set
Rows
Free
Mr. Distinguished for violin, alto saxophone, and piano and pre-recorded electronics by Dante De Silva
Trio for violin, saxophone, and piano by Justino Eustacio Pérez
Trio for violin, saxophone/clarinet, and piano by John Chernoff
Allegretto
Nocturne: Andante
Misterioso
Theme and Variations
Meet the Composers:
The music of
Halim Beere explores the three intersecting worlds of purely acoustic instrumental composition, electro-acoustic fixed media works, and real-time computer generated compositions, such as interactive computer music and livecoding. Raised in Eureka, Beere received his Bachelor’s from Humboldt State University in violin performance and composition, studying under Cindy Moyer and Brian Post. He completed his Master’s in composition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he is currently a doctoral candidate, studying under Erik Lund, Stephen Taylor, Heinrich Taube, and Scott A. Wyatt.
In addition to writing chamber and concert music, he has composed for theatrical productions (The Five Dollar Show) and a feature length film (The Milk Can). The ARMAC orchestra commissioned and premiered Gambol for Orchestra at Carnegie hall in 2009. Pangæa, his commissioned first symphony, received its world premiere in October of 2010. Further commissions have come from the MEANS Ensemble, the Belden Trio of Chicago, Mise-en of New York, and the Illinois Modern Ensemble. The award winning saxophone duet Ogni Suono recently premiered Roya on a European tour, and his compositions have also been read by the JACK quartet and the Ensemble Dal Niente, and programmed on concerts with Bang on a Can. His electronic works were featured at SEAMUS national conferences, at Electronic Music Midwest, and on Measures of Change, a recent CD release of electro-acoustic works by University of Illinois graduate composers. Kinetosis for eight-channel fixed media will also be heard at the upcoming 2013 SEAMUS conference in April.
John Chernoff, a native of Santa Cruz, is the staff accompanist at Humboldt State University. He studied piano at the San Francisco Conservatory, the Peabody Institute, and Johns Hopkins University. John’s performing activities are extensive, including solo recitals, concerto performances, collaborating with faculty and guest artists, and accompanying student ensembles and soloists. In his free time John enjoys composing, working with computers, and playing chess.
Dante De Silva, a southern California native, studied composition at Humboldt State University (B.A.), UC Santa Cruz (M.A.), and UCLA (Ph. D.), where his principal teachers were David Lefkowitz, Paul Reale, David Cope, and Paul Nauert. He also studied piano with Deborah Clasquin and percussion with Eugene Novotney at Humboldt State University.
His compositions have been performed by such wonderful performers as Gloria Cheng, the Talea Ensemble, Phyllis Chen, Ryan MacEvoy McCullough, Arizona Women in Tune, Composer’s Inc., as well many others. He was the composer-in-residence with the Definiens Project (2005-2007) and the Tonoi Ensemble (2006-2007).
Recent premieres Scratch Record for toy pianos and other toy instruments performed by Phyllis Chen, The Absurd ABC for wind trio and pre-recorded electronics performed by the Vientos Trio, and Rejuvenated Heart for women’s chorus and chamber ensemble performed by Arizona Women in Tune which was performed at the 2012 GALA Festival in Denver, CO.
In the 2012-2013 season, he will have a number of new premieres: Wake the Dead for the Saguaro piano trio, Drive-Thru Etudes Bk. 1 by Ryan MacEvoy McCullough, and the reading of his opera Gesualdo: Prince of Madness by San Francisco-based Ensemble Parallèle in June.
He is currently working on Engine Room, a piece for the Humboldt State Percussion Ensemble, a Concerto for Steel Drum, a Piano Concerto, and EP, a large work for 2 electric guitars, electric bass, and drum set. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife, two sons, and two cats.
Justino Pérez premiered himself on June 1, 1990, in the unpretentious city of Porterville, CA. Rising past a difficult childhood and family background, he discovered music in his later teens, and it has since become a great passion of his life. Currently. Mr. Pérez studies piano, cello, and composition at Humboldt State University with Dr. Daniela Mineva, Carol Jacobson, and Dr. J. Brian Post, respectively. There he has been honored as a Presidential Scholar and recipient of both the Van Duzer and Fulkerson scholarships.
Always excited about learning and sharing his passion, Mr. Pérez loves to work with students to cultivate their music and composition skills, and is working with Dr. Cindy Moyer to develop a new series of supplemental theory courses, which he teaches for the Music Department. Recently, Mr. Pérez studied composition with renowned instructors Stacy Garrop and David Rakowski, and participated in a master class with Dr. Chen Yi. Over the summer, he contributed to the Fresh Inc. Festival for New Music. There he premiered two new works: “Trio” for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano (Performed in the Ravinia Music Festival), and “I Just Lost to Myself at Hide and Seek” (written for The Eclipse Trio).
An active member of the National Association of Composers, Mr. Pérez has been featured in their concerts. He also participates in the local musical community as principle cellist of the Humboldt Symphony, and performer in both the Eureka Symphony and Humboldt Light Opera Company. He teaches private cello and composition lessons, and hopes one day to be a professor of theory and composition.
Dr. J. Brian Post has been teaching composition, music theory and music technology classes at Humboldt State University since the fall of 1998. He has a BA in piano performance from California State University, Hayward, a MM in Theory and Composition from the University of Northern Colorado, and a DA in Theory and Composition from the University of Northern Colorado. Prior to his position at HSU, Dr. Post taught at Emporia State University, the University of Northern Colorado, the Rocky Mountain Music Technology Workshop, the Midwest Music Camp, the Interlochen Arts Camp, and the International Music Camp.
Recent works include; composing the film score for the dramatic full-length feature film
The Music Inside, a dramatic full-length feature film, “Stricken,” a cross discipline work that incorporated dance, digitally enhanced audio files and midi instruments with multiple performances given in Spain. Most recently Dr. Post composed incidental music for the ancient East Indian play,
Shakuntala which had eight performances in November and December 2012.
Other works by Dr. Post have been performed nationally by the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, Cal State Hayward Big Band, Interlochen Lab Band I, Interlochen Concert Band, Emporia State University (ESU) Wind Ensemble, Eranis Flute Ensemble, ESU A Cappella Choir, ESU Opera Company, Greeley Children's Chorale, ESU Faculty Jazz Combo the HSU P. M. Band and the HSU Wind Ensemble. He has recordings released on the Mark and IAC labels.
