presents the Composition Studio Recital
Students of Clifton Callender, Eren Gümrükçüoğlu, and Liliya Ugay
PROGRAM
Stream of Unconsciousness (2025)
March Jeongmin Seok, piano
Saudade (2024)
Undertow (2025)
Tinkerings (2025)
Charlotte MacDonald, clarinet
Emelia Ulrich, viola
Kyle McDonald, piano
Friday, October 3, 2025 7:30 p.m. Dohnányi Recital Hall
March Jeongmin Seok (b. 2001)
Darcie Ogando (b. 2001)
Kyle McDonald (b. 2002)
Emelia Ulrich (b. 2000)
Emelia Ulrich, viola
To Ensure An Enjoyable Concert Experience For All…
Please refrain from talking, entering, or exiting during performances. Food and drink are prohibited in all concert halls. Recording or broadcasting of the concert by any means, including the use of digital cameras, cell phones, or other devices is expressly forbidden. Please deactivate all portable electronic devices including watches, cell phones, pagers, hand-held gaming devices or other electronic equipment that may distract the audience or performers.
Florida State University provides accommodations for persons with disabilities. Please notify the College of Music at (850) 644-3424 at least five working days prior to a musical event to request accommodation for disability or alternative program format.
The Old Piano Book (2025)
Lee Anderson Book I (b. 2004)
I. Bells
II. Shades
III. Games
IV. Spectres
V. Intermezzo
Whispers of a Sunflower (2024)
Daniel Farias, piano
Kaitlyn Calcagino, flute; Sarah Ward, oboe Taylin Hamilton, clarinet; Jeason Lopez, horn; Hannah Farmer, bassoon
Insomnia Suite (2023)
I. Dignifying
II. Humbling
III. Expanding
IV. Struggling
V. Resurrecting
VI. Endowing
Justus Smith, Mikhael Bradshaw, Brian Junttila, trombone; Jacob Zussy, bass trombone
Justin Gruber (b. 2002)
Stream of Unconsciousness is a short piano solo that delves into the spontaneous emotions and thoughts that emerge from the composer’s unconscious mind. The piece seeks to capture the fluid and unfiltered nature of inner experience, where multiple feelings coexist and shift freely without a clear boundary.
– March Jeongmin Seok, composer
I wrote Saudade inspired by relationships that never quite develop into something romantic, even though romantic feelings exist between both parties. The word saudade conveys a deep sense of longing—often for a person or place— but it’s more complex than simple nostalgia. It carries with it the weight of something meaningful that was never fully realized. Even though nothing ever happened between them, there is still saudade.
– Darcie Ogando, composer
Undertow is an indeterminate piece made up of isolated groups of measures in which the performer chooses the order and number of repetitions. The subtle changes in textures weaving around the lower range of the piano are meant to evoke the sense of motion of ocean currents. Over the muddy texture a simple melody appears at the top of the gestures, driving the harmonic tension in the piece.
– Kyle McDonald, composer
Tinkerings was originally written as a solo cello work for Gabriel Cabezas through the 2025 New York New Music Intensive, run by Alyssa Weinberg. The idea of this work is a rediscovery of one’s instrument through the lens of an inventor, thinking of new ways to conceptualize something that has been used in one way for so long.
– Emelia Ulrich, composer
The Old Piano Book, Book I
The materials within this collection of short piano pieces originate from some of my earliest surviving work, the earliest of which date back to 2018. I wanted to give these early pieces new life using all of the experience and knowledge gained since then.
– Lee Anderson, composer
Whispers of a Sunflower for wind quintet is a brief yet evocative piece, painting the serene and vibrant imagery of a sunflower swaying in the gentle breeze. With a duration of around four minutes, the composition explores nature’s subtle beauty and rhythmic dance, blending lyrical lines and intricate textures to create a fluid musical landscape. The work opens with a solo flute, introducing a rhythmic motor reminiscent of a soft gust stirring the petals. This motor is soon passed to the oboe, which takes on a slightly warmer tone, adding depth to the initial idea. As the rest of the group joins, the quintet collectively paints the image of a sunflower turning slowly towards the sun, each instrument representing a different aspect of the flower’s elegance. The horn provides a grounding element, evoking the strength
of the stem that supports the sunflower’s movements. Rhythmic fluidity is a central feature throughout the piece, with lines weaving in and out of each other, creating a sense of ebb and flow. The tempo subtly shifts, reflecting the changing nature of the wind, from calm, almost static moments to gentle accelerations. Phrases are elongated or clipped to add a touch of unpredictability, mirroring the irregular yet harmonious patterns found in nature. The music’s harmonic language emphasizes modal shifts, with lush tonal colors that evoke the golden yellows and deep greens of the sunflower. Occasionally, the instruments create a shimmering effect, simulating the sunlight dancing on the petals. As the piece draws to a close, the motifs fade, leaving a quiet, lingering resonance, as if the sunflower has settled once more, awaiting the next breeze.
–
Justin Gruber, composer
Insomnia Suite for trombone quartet is a journey through the restless mind—a late-night meditation on character, forged in the quiet hours before dawn. As someone who often wrestles with sleep, I find these moments filled with reflection, questioning the intricacies of human morality and my own motivations. This suite captures that inner dialogue, moving seamlessly from one movement to the next, each a chapter in the evolution of the self. The order unfolds as Dignifying, Humbling, Expanding, Struggling, Resurrecting, and Endowing—a cycle of introspection and transformation, where the music breathes, struggles, and ultimately ascends.
– Justin Gruber, composer