this is where I am right now: The Music of Chris Cresswell

The Music

this is where I am right now** (2021)

Loren Loiacono, piano

of even the beautiful** (2019)

Diane Jones, glissando flute

Means both sanctioned and forbidden** (2024)

Floris Van der Veken, baritone saxophone

Too Late in the Evening** (2023)

Katie Weber, mezzo soprano

Diane Jones, alto flute

in search of distant, guiding suns* (2022/2024)

Ben Ellis, classical guitar

all that’s left is dirt and sky (2019)

Katie Weber, mezzo soprano

Floris Van der Veken, alto saxophone

Another Morning of Music Ramblings* (2024)

315 Ensemble

Chris Cresswell, electric guitar

Ryan Sparkes, bass clarinet

Andrea Scheibel, percussion

*World Premiere

** NY Premiere

Note about the cover art:

The Voyage of Life: Manhood (1842) comes from Thomas Cole's renowned four-part series that traces the journey of an archetypal hero along the "River of Life " Confidently assuming control of his destiny and oblivious to the dangers that await him, the voyager boldly strives to reach an aerial castle, emblematic of the daydreams of "Youth" and its aspirations for glory and fame As the traveler approaches his goal, the ever-more-turbulent stream deviates from its course and relentlessly carries him toward the next picture in the series, where nature's fury, evil demons, and self-doubt will threaten his very existence The artist may have been issuing a dire warning to those caught up in the feverish quest for Manifest Destiny: that unbridled westward expansion and industrialization would have tragic consequences for both man and nature.

The Music

this is where I am right now** (2021) - piano & fixed media

Although it was finished in January 2021, this is where I am right now, was primarily written over the course of 2020 In a review of Anne H Goldberg-Baldwin’s album, Permutations, PopMatters called the piece “the sonic equivalent of an eloquent, barely controlled nightmare” This feels as accurate of a program note as any I could write on my own Featuring sparse piano, sine waves, staticky drones, processed field recordings, and looping run out grooves sampled from old vinyl, this is where I am right now embraces a tense stillness, reflective of the time it was created

The world premiere took place at the Society of Composers, Inc., Region V Conference at Ohio University on November 3rd, 2023, with Aiden Shreves on piano. It was written for Anne H. GoldbergBaldwin and is available on her 2023 record, Permutations, available on all major streaming services.

of even the beautiful** (2019) - glissando flute & fixed media

of even the beautiful is, in part, a love letter to Lake of the Woods, Michigan, a small lake near Kalamazoo where I lived in the summer from 2014-2018 I knew the summer of 2018 would be my final summer living and working at the recording studio at Lake of the Woods and Greenwoods Summer Camp Ultimately, that summer turned out to be a pivotal moment in my life: I was ready to let go of all that had happened in my 20’s, the good, and the bad, I decided not to move back to England to pursue a PhD, and I met a girl of even the beautiful is a meditation on this “change in seasons ”

Written for glissando flute and fixed media, the work features processed field recordings collected from around the camp There is an out of tune piano that lives outside at the camp, which became the source material for much of the latter half the piece. It was written for flautist Tammy Evans, who performed the world premiere on November 5, 2020 at the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center, South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD.

Means both sanctioned and forbidden** (2024)baritone saxophone, live processing & fixed media

Means both sanctioned and forbidden is built around material generated with a no-input mixer The noinput mixer uses residual noise of a mixing board to create feedback loops that can range from soft static to harsh, aggressive feedback I recorded several improvised sessions, which became the basis for the piece

The title comes from Wassily Kandinsky’s Concerning the Spiritual in Art: “The artist must be blind to distinctions between “recognized” or “unrecognized” conventions of form, deaf to the transitory teaching and demands of his particular age He must watch only the trend of the inner need, and hearken to its words alone. Then he will, with safety, employ means both sanctioned and forbidden by his contemporaries. All means are sacred which are called for by the inner need. All means are sinful which obscure that inner need.”

Written for Floris Van der Veken, he performed the world premiere at the North American Saxophone Alliance Conference at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma on March 16, 2024.

The Music

Too Late in the Evening** (2023) -

mezzo soprano, alto flute, live

processing & fixed media

The poem, Too Late in the Evening, comes from Tim Carter’s "Remains", a book of documentary poetry based on the life of his mother, who passed away in 1995. The poems are written from interviews, letters, news clippings, and pictures Tim collected over the years. Tim gave me access to the cassette recordings of conversations and other ephemera from his childhood, which form the basis of this work.

In the cassette recording we hear a conversation between a young Tim and his father, where his father asks him to “tell a story” and “to think about what it is you want to say, before you say it ” This is interspersed with the singer singing Tim’s poetry, written nearly two decades later, which tells that story

Too Late in the Evening was premiered by Savannah Gentry and Alize Francheska Rozsnyai on June 30th, 2023 at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI as part of the 2023 SPLICE Institute

Too Late in the Evening

Tim Carter

If we forget how she chewed her food, how her hand clasped the back of her neck, then her body will become cottony gauze If her body is cottony gauze, then she will be no more than a voice fluttering in the window, a voice that touches nothing of consequence. If the voice touches nothing, then the names of those we loved will fade, and with them, the choreography of the heart, until we forget even that we have forgotten. Then we will be left standing in a cold hallway by an open window, and it will be too late in the evening for anyone ever to be alive.

in search of the distant, guiding sun (2022/2024)classical guitar & fixed media

When I was in grad school I had a pivotal composition lesson with one of my professors, Joe Cutler He looked at my viola concerto, the inner workings of a throat exposed, a work which is very much bifurcated in two parts: a driving, minimalist inspired first movement, and a contrapuntal second movement, and said “why don’t you do both things at the same time?” This moment stands in stark contrast with earlier composition professors who told me I had to choose between different sides of my musical personality My creative output in my 30s has been defined by this long walk back to myself: embracing who I am as a musician and what I love about music

The title comes from a letter that Beethoven wrote in response to a young aspiring pianist: “Do not only practice art, but get at the very heart of it… The true artist is not proud, he unfortunately sees that art has no limits; he feels darkly how far he is from the goal; and though he may be admired by others, he is sad not to have reached that point to which his better genius only appears as a distant, guiding sun ”

Those distant, guiding suns appear implicitly, and explicitly, throughout the work: my favorite trichord [014], a key harmonic feature in the second movement, is presented alongside a pulsing 808 kick drum. There are references to British folk singer Nick Drake, processed, ambient field recordings, noise music, and more Structurally, the work is inspired by J S Bach and harmonically the work is a series Beethovenesque I-V-I’s, albeit with more chromaticism

The Music

Commissioned by Ben Ellis, with funds from CNY Arts, a version of the first movement premiered on December 16, 2022 at WCNY Today represents the world premiere of the most current version of the work The work is dedicated to Ben, whose patience and musicianship has allowed me the opportunity to get closer to those “distant, guiding suns ” then I have in a long time

all that’s left is dirt and sky (2019)mezzo soprano, alto saxophone, & fixed media

Half remembered, half from dreams, all that’s left is dirt and sky looks at love and intimacy through the prism of loss. Each movement is a fragment, a wisp, of what was, what is, what might be. After letting go of memories, of expectations, all that’s left is dirt and sky

Originally written for the Byrne:Kozar:Duo, the original version of the work can be heard on their 2023 release, It Floats Away From You, released on New Focus Recordings and available on all major streaming services This piece is dedicated to the memory of Joe Chromy

all that’s left is dirt and sky

Chris Cresswell

I.

lonely, the sound of his heartbeat half asleep lost in the dreams the salty taste of his memory

II.

light, horizon’s calling light, the twilight's yawning light, the sky is burning a sunrise? a sunset?

I yearn for home

III.

the disillusioned communist still sells books on the corner

what propels us forward? the memory the promise

there was a cardinal outside my window the steam rises from my coffee

I can hear the sound of your laughter in the other room echoing into the horizon

Another Morning of Musical Ramblings* (2024)bass clarinet, electric guitar, percussion, live processing & fixed media

I spent much of my early musical life thinking of myself as a folk musician In the folk tradition, it is common practice to borrow musical or lyrical ideas, twist and transform them into your own songs In hip-hop, this practice is referred to as sampling or ‘crate digging’ In classical music this practice is called ‘quotation’ Charles Ives “sampled” the sounds of passing marching bands to recreate the experience of rural New England Another Morning of Musical Ramblings samples sounds of forgotten advertisement jingles, early radio and old Arthur Murray records to create a musical kaleidoscope.

The Performers

The music of Loren Loiacono has been described as “plush elusive” (New York Times), “vivid and colorful” (Albany Times Union), “dreamy, lilting” (Pioneer Press), and “quirky and fun” (Bad Entertainment- Twin Cities) An emerging orchestral voice, Loiacono has received commissions and performances from such nationally esteemed ensembles as the Detroit Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Sacramento Philharmonic, Lexington Philharmonic and the American Composers Orchestra. She frequently collaborates with the Albany Symphony, partnering with them to create new concerti for Sandbox Percussion (2022) and pianist Vicky Chow (2018). Dr. Loiacono also served as the Albany Symphony’s Mellon ComposerEducator-in-Residence for the 2017-18 season

Loiacono served as Executive Director of the internationally-acclaimed MATA Festival from 2019-2021, and is a co-founder of New York’s Kettle Corn New Music concert series A native of Long Island, New York, she holds degrees from Cornell University (D M A ) and Yale University (M M /B A ) She has held teaching positions at Colgate University, SUNY Purchase, and the Kaufman Music Center, and currently serves as Assistant Teaching Professor at Syracuse University’s Setnor School of Music

Diane Jones' music has been performed by Mélomanie, The Relâche Ensemble, The Da Capo Chamber Players, Trio Casals, and Flautet. Diane's music reflects her rich, eclectic influences and her love of line and rhythm She is featured as both composer and performer on four Samba Laranja CDs, three of which (Native Orange in 2011, Pathways in 2015, and Guaraná in 2019) have won SAMMY awards Her four piano trios were recorded by Trio Casals for their "MOTO" series of CDs, and have been broadcast throughout the US and internationally

Diane is the mid-day host and Program Manager on WCNY-FM, Central New York's Classical Radio Station, and the host and producer of "Feminine Fusion," a nationally-syndicated weekly program highlighting women in classical music

Active as a performer as well as a composer, Diane regularly performs with Samba Laranja, plays contrabass flute with the Central New York Flute Choir, and is a core member of the 315 Ensemble She has played flute and piccolo in regional orchestras, and was one half of the flute duo, Flutes of Fancy

Floris Van der Veken is a Belgian saxophonist and performance artist currently residing in Rochester, NY His performances are characterized by a strong emphasis on contemporary repertoire and interdisciplinary collaboration

At the moment he pursues the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Eastman School of Music with Dr. Chien-Kwan Lin. He received his Master’s degree as well as a postgraduate specialization degree in performance, both with highest distinction, at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp, Belgium, studying under Hans de Jong. During an exchange year he studied under Rodrigo Vila at the Conservatori Superior de Música de les Illes Balears in Mallorca, Spain.

Floris specializes in contemporary and experimental repertoire, often working together with composers to highlight new works He participated in many masterclasses with renowned saxophonists such as Timothy McAllister, Arno Bornkamp, Ryo Noda, Lars Mlekusch, Vincent David, Joonatan Rautiola, Jérôme Laran, and Nicholas Prost

The Performers

Mezzo Soprano Katie Weber is a dynamic and moving performer, with a commitment to text, musicality, and communication through music "Weber possesses a formidable instrument, with a highly melodious but penetrating timbre ”(Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)

Prioritizing vocal flexibility and genre fluidity, Katie successfully weaves in and out of classical, musical theater, and popular music genres She made her Off-Broadway Debut in Sweetee A New Musical directed by Emmy Award Winner Pat Birch at the Signature Theater at Pershing Square Theater Complex

Katie has been invited regularly to perform with her home town orchestra, The Syracuse Orchestra, both as their featured Pops Soloist performing everything from famous songs from James Bond films, to opera arias, and as a soloist for their yearly Messiah concert She made her New York City 54 Below cabaret debut performing with Icon/Idols

Born and raised in Syracuse NY, Katie received a double bachelors from the Eastman School of Music in Voice Performance and Music Education. She expects to graduate in May 2024 with a Masters of Music in Vocal Pedagogy from Syracuse University.

Ben Ellis programs recitals that explore all the unexpected corners of the guitar repertoire Programing and pairing works from 18th to the 21st century, Ellis finds the surprising threads that connect contrasting works His programs have included pairing transcriptions of violin music by Ysaye and Bach as well as the standard “When You Wish Upon A Star” arranged by Chet Atkins paired with an homage to Walt Disney by contemporary composer Darragh O’Neil His performance credits include solo recitals for the Great Lakes Guitar Society, the Skaneateles Library Concert Series, and the Classical Guitar Society of Upstate NY

Ellis holds a master’s degree from Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Fredonia He currently resides in Syracuse, NY where he maintains a large teaching studio An active freelancer, Ben has also performed with the Syracuse Symphony and the Syracuse Opera

Formed in Birmingham, England in 2016, 315 Ensemble is led by composer/guitarist Chris Cresswell and is dedicated to performing electro-acoustic music Revived in 2021 in its namesake community, 315 Ensemble“ blurs the boundaries between industrial and organic, soothing and suspenseful, introspective and anxious” (International Clarinet Association) A chamber quartet, the group features Diane Jones on flutes, Ryan Sparkes on clarinets, Chris Cresswell on electric guitar, and percussionist Andrea Scheibel.

Committed to performing new music that embraces contemporary classical, ambient, and electronic musical worlds, 315 Ensemble has commissioned and championed exciting composers from around the world, including Emily Levy, Patrick Ellis, and Jamie Elless. It also serves as the primary vehicle for Chris Cresswell’s work as a composer and sound artist.

They have performed at the Frontiers Festival in Birmingham, England, have been featured on the International Music Council’s Window on the World radio program, and released their debut EP on Ravello Records in 2018

315 Ensemble is invested in, and supported by the Central New York arts community They have received support from the New York State Council on the Arts, CNY Arts, WCNY-FM, and Birmingham Conservatoire

Chris Cresswell

A composer/sound artist, singer/songwriter, guitarist, educator, and radio host, Chris Cresswell is a curious musician whose work betrays his affection for sonic wanderlust. With an ear that incorporates all sorts of sounds, from pitch set theory and baroque counterpoint, to field recordings and a singer/songwriter at an open mic night, Cresswell’s music has been praised for its '“textural variety” (Gramophone) that “ … blurs the boundaries between industrial and organic, soothing and suspenseful, and introspective and anxious” (International Clarinet Association), creating “ a truly immersive, dreamlike atmosphere” (PopMatters) He has shared the stage with a Pulitzer Prize winning poet and a Top 40 country star (two different occasions) and his music has been heard in coffee shops, concert halls, and venues around the world, from chic Brooklyn spots like Areté Venue and Gallery and The Firehouse Space, to Birmingham, Englands’s renown Symphony Hall and the Paleis voor Schone Kunsten in Brussels

After learning how to play a few basic chords in his 8th grade music class, Cresswell bought his first guitar in the summer of 2001 He almost immediately began writing songs and shortly thereafter started recording them Two decades later the interdependence of exploring the idiomatic possibilities of an instrument and using the recording studio as a creative sandbox, ultimately as a means of personal expression is a hallmark of his work Whether stretching the capabilities of an instrument, pushing into the extremes of harsh noise, ambient stillness, or somewhere in between, Cresswell’s music retains an emotional core rooted in his experience as a singer/songwriter

Cresswell graduated from Syracuse University and the Birmingham Conservatoire. He is an occasional fill-in host at WCNY-FM, where he will launch a new radio program, A Curious Ear, which explores the unlikely between disparate musical worlds. When not doing musical things, he can be found running the streets and trails of Central New York, watching St. Louis Cardinals baseball or Syracuse basketball, and spending time with his wife Amber and their adorable kitty, Eloise

Upcoming Performances

April 29, 7 pm - 315 Ensemble Reading Session at Colgate University (Hamilton, NY)

315 Ensemble reads through student works and shares their creative process

May 18, 7 pm - 315 Ensemble at Route 20 Sofa Company (Nelson, NY)

315 Ensemble celebrates their official relaunch with special guests Decho Ensemble and Ben Ellis

May 26, - Solo Electric Guitar & No Input Mixer Set (Syracuse, NY)

Chris Cresswell shares the stage with Flesh Shuddering, Will Bollinger, and other noise artists

June 5-8, Too Late in the Evening at New Music on the Bayou Festival (Ruston, LA)

Too Late in the Evening will be performed as part of the 2024 New Music on the Bayou Festival.

June 23-29, Sometimes I Get a Feeling premiere at SPLICE Institute (Kalamazoo, MI)

The world premiere of Sometimes I Get a Feeling, written the RE:Duo.