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duet 4 1

MEET OUR COMPOSER

Sage Bronson

Sage Bronson_headshot.JPG

Sage Bronson is a freelance musician who currently resides in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her recent musical work has been composing instrumental music and electronic music. Her composition style is influenced by World Music genre, experimental electronics, and her time studying music in academia. She received her undergraduate degree in Music Theory from the University of North Texas in 2019, and continued with graduate studies in Music Composition at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In academia, she enjoyed participating in a variety of performance ensembles such as contemporary instrumental music, vocal jazz, indian music (studying the sitar), middle eastern music, and performance improv. In 2020 she had the opportunity to premier Duet 4 1 (performed by Karen Bronson), a piece for bass clarinet, electronics, and isolation headphones. The piece is a great demonstration of how Sage aims to create music that experiments with the performer's perception of themselves making music in order to yield a more meditative music making experience. In the more recent years Sage has began making electronic dance music, using synthesizer and drum machines to create angsty but yet chill beats. Her songs are currently on youtube under the name Sage -_-

COMMISSION DATE: 2020

INSTRUMENTATION: bass clarinet and media

LENGTH:  10 minutes

PREMIERE: November 7, 2020
Midlands New Music Symposium (virtual)
Nottingham Forum for Artistic Research (NottFAR)
University of Nottingham
Performed by: Karen Bronson

Program Notes:

Duet 4 1 is an improvisation based piece for solo bass clarinet and playback that experiments with performer isolation. When playing this piece the performer listens to the track through headphones (preferably isolating headphones) and performs the instructions in the video part. This changes the realization of the piece in two ways: (1) it decreases the amount that the performer is criticizing their own sound while performing; (2) it increases cohesion with the playback track. The combination of these changes opens the door for the performer to more intimately feel the state of active playing while engaging their instrument.

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