Student Composers' Forum

Program

If I Told Him (2025) | Christian Glascock
Piano, Fixed Media (electronics)
Nathaniel Brown (piano)

If I Told Him was inspired by the works of JacobTV and Ben Nobuto. I came across a recording of Gertrude Stein reciting her poem If I Told Him: A Completed Portrait of Picasso. After years of collaboration and friendship, Stein and Picasso became estranged. About a decade later, Stein learned of Picasso's troubling behavior in his personal life—knowledge that fueled her to write this sharp, rhythmic, almost slam-like poem about him.

When I first heard the recording, I was in awe—not only of the poem's intricate craftsmanship, but also of how fearlessly Stein dismantles Picasso through her words. What resonated most with me was the sense of female empowerment and her unflinching callout of misogyny. This energy inspired me to compose a cubist-style piece to accompany Stein's recitation—fragmented, layered, and bold—reflecting both the complexity of her words and the defiance behind them.

Whispers of Light (2025) | Szu-An Chen
3 Violins
Mary Jo Johnson, Brayan Cabeza, Benjamin Christiaansen

It is common for people to make wishes for things that shine, sometimes by lighting a candle or gazing at a shooting star. They entrust their wishes and hopes to these internal or external lights. I'd like to write a piece that captures this feeling, creating an atmosphere in which light whispers into your ear. May all sincere wishes come true. In terms of the idea of "brightness" in the piece, I imagine it beginning with a starry sky, then focusing on individual stars and shooting stars, and concluding with a meteor shower (which can also be pictured as raindrops or tears falling gradually). Finally, it ends with the flame of a candle light in silence, with the final wisp of smoke drifting away, leaving behind a sense of peace and ethereality.

In this piece, I use harmonic glissandi as the main techniques, creating bright, ethereal sounds and blurred pitches to evoke a variety of sonic images. For example, the continuous ascending and descending glissandi generate the image of a sparkling starry sky; meanwhile, the descending glissandi are like shooting stars streaking across the night sky, or tears sliding down the cheek. In addition, I experiment with different timbral changes, like playing the same note on different strings, alternating between harmonics and regular tremolos, and combining arco and pizzicato techniques.

Trip the Light (2025) | Peyton Gray 

2 Percussion, Piano
Chris Harris, Jacob Koch (percussion); Niayesh Javaheri (piano)

Trip the Light uses mixed meters and phasing rhythms to create minimalist textures and an energetic mood. The title is based on the phrase "trip the light fantastic" which means to dance lightly and elegantly to music. Although this piece isn't consistently elegant, it captures the intertwined relationship of music and dance.

there's glasses now with a brain in it | Collin McEneaney
Snare drum, Electronics
Collin McEneaney

this piece is about desire and gratification.

~INTERMISSION~

DJ set but with Plain Noises instead of Actual Songs | Noah Simon 
Computer, Voice, Electronics
Noah Simon

Instead of playing songs like in a normal DJ set, I will just play noises. It's like baking: I put the dry ingredients (noise generators) together in Pure Data on my computer and mix the wet ingredients (mixer feedback, mic, and delay) on my mixer. I combine them to make a batter (the DJ set) so it can go into the oven (y'all's ears), where it cooks. This is your brain; this is your brain on my DJ set made out of plain noises instead of actual songs. 🍳

Verschollen (2024) | Brayden Adamisin 
String Quartet
Lexi Jones (violin 1), Benjamin Christiaansen (violin 2), Natalie Holstine (viola), Jack Cook (cello)

verschollen - German - adjective: lost, missing, or forgotten

Volcanic Slide (2025) | Silas Nietz
Piano
Silas Nietz

Hot lava slide. Cool idea. I'm sure one of those RedBull guys did it.

Solo for Snare Drum and Ebow | Orson Abram 
Snare drum, EBow, Electronics
Orson Abram

solo for snare drum and ebow

Raccoons at Night (2025) | Will Hermanowski 
2 Oboes, English Horn, 2 Bassoons, Contrabassoon
Martha Hudson, Kathryn Swanson (oboes); Leah Piccirillo (English horn); Jordan Wier, Audrey Boyles (bassoons); Cruz Stock (contrabassoon)

An exploration of double reeds and organized improvisation.