A New Dissonance

John Cage documentary

Jon Roy — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 22:09:48 +0000

A classic documentary on American composer John Cage (1912-1992).

“American Masters” John Cage: I Have Nothing to Say and I Am Saying It (1990)

Vivian Perlis (writer)
TV Series: “American Masters” (1983)
Original Air Date: 17 September 1990
Country: UK
55 min

The player will show in this paragraph

Ben on Working with John Cage

Jon Roy — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 04:46:40 +0000

Ben Johnston on meeting John Cage and their subsequent work together.

Toccata

Jon Roy — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 04:18:46 +0000

Toccata (1994), for Solo Cello. Performed by Franklin Cox of Wright State University.

“Prayer” and “Dirge”

Jon Roy — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 03:59:33 +0000

More selections from the Wright State concert. “Prayer” was originally written by Ben Johnston in 1966 for SSA chorus and “Dirge” is from 1953. Arrangements by Sylvia Smith and Gerald Noble. Performed by Gerald Noble, Mike Minarcek, and Benjamin Kipp.

The Tavern, March 14, 2010

Jon Roy — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 03:39:46 +0000

Ben Johnston’s setting of Rumi, The Tavern, with both vocal and microtonal guitar parts performed by John Schneider at Wright State University.

Happy Birthday, Ben

Jon Roy — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 04:20:04 +0000

Our dear Ben Johnston has just celebrated his 84th birthday this week. Ben has been a constant to me as a dear friend, inspiring mentor, challenging teacher, and willing collaborator, and I was happy to be able to see him for the occasion of a colloquium held in his honor at Wright State University this past weekend. The event, American Innovators Series, 2010 Microtonal Weekend, actually featured two colloquia, one on the tuning practices of Owen Jorgensen, and one on Ben Johnston and the American Just Microtonal Tradition. The event was planned and organized by Dr. Franklin Cox of Wright State’s department of Music, who did a fine job in rounding up a diverse and insightful group of presenters and performers. The presentations included:

Master Class on Just Intonation by John Schneider

Reminiscences of Owen Jorgensen by Dr.Charles Larkowski,
Professor of Music, Wright State University

Overview of Historical Tuning Practices and Prospects for Research by Dr. Franklin Cox,
Assistant Professor, Wright State University

An Assessment of Owen Jorgensen’s Tuning by Fred Sturm,
Piano Technician, The University of New Mexico

What Owen Jorgensen Got Right by Momilani Ramstrum, Ph.D.,
Associate Professor, Mesa College

Living in Ben Johnston’s Expanded Universe by Dr. Kyle Gann,
Associate Professor, Bard College Conservatory of Music

An Afternoon with Ben by Stuart Saunders Smith,
Professor of Music, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Johnston’s eight-pitch scale: implications for conventional chord progressions, triadic harmony, and parallel thirds and sixths in his String Quartet No. 10 by Daniel Huey
Ph.D. candidate, The University of Massachussetts

The Re-recognition of Ben Johnston’s Quintet for Groups by Sandy Tabachnick

Music and Meaning in Ben Johnston’s Songs of Loss by Dr. Richard Pressley,
Adjunct Professor of Music, Indiana Wesleyan University

A Contrapuntal Cinema
by Jon Roy

Schisma and Kleisma in Ben Johnston’s String Quartet #7: Variations by Timothy Ernest Johnson,
Instructor in Theory-Composition, Roosevelt University

Blues Intonation in an Equal-Tempered Worldview by Jack Ballard, Jr., Ph.D.,
Associate Professor of Music, Malone University

H-Chroma: quantitative tone chroma and its uses for Just Intonation composition and instrument design by Andrew Aaron Hunt
H-Pi Instruments, www.h-pi.com

Workshop in Extended Just Intonation with John Fonville
Professor of Music, University of California, San Diego

Upcoming concert in New York…

Jon Roy — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:28:21 +0000

It was just announced that the opening concert of next season for the League of Composers will feature Ben Johnston’s String Quartet No. 4:

On Sunday, February 28, 2010 (3 PM), the Chamber Players of the League perform at New York’s intimate Tenri Cultural Institute. The inimitable ensemble of New York freelancers present a program featuring Mark Berger’s 2009 League of Composers/ISCM prize-winning string trio alongside Samuel Barber’s Sonata for Cello & Piano (premiered by the League in 1933), Ben Johnston’s Amazing Grace, and Eric Moe’s Strange Exclaiming Music.

Video of String Quartet No. 9

Jon Roy — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:31:48 +0000

A video of the Nov. 3rd performance of Ben Johnston’s String Quartet No. 9 by the American Modern Ensemble in Brooklyn. Enjoy!

Also check out the positive review of the performance from the New York Times here.

String Quartet No. 9 in Brooklyn!

Jon Roy — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:18:15 +0000

The American Modern Ensemble is performing Ben Johnston’s String Quartet No. 9 next Tuesday November 3, 2009, at the Galapagos Art Space at 16 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY. The piece is part of a program called m&ms (microtones & minimalism) which also features works by fellow composers Philip Glass, Ingram Marshall, Steve Reich and Spencer Topel.

Ben will be participating in an on-stage discussion with the composers following the performance. I will be there to help out and collect some documentation of the event–so look forward to some photos and videos next week. Or better yet, if you live in the New York area, come out and support new music!

American Modern Ensemble

Galapagos Art Space

Ben’s Take on “The Tavern”

Jon Roy — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 06:42:23 +0000

This is an interview I conducted with Ben last year, in which he describes the background for “The Tavern.”