Spinning Gears (2024)
Riko Hirata, flute
Jayden Laumeister, oboe
Tristan McMichael, saxophone
Jordan Wier, bassoon
Jordan Wier, voice, piano
Jordan Wier (b. 2003)
Jordan Wier, bassoon
Through Her Eyes (2024)
A Child’s Dream
A Mother’s Wish
A Dreamer’s Truth
Mia Janosik, mezzo-soprano
Maya Chung, piano
28/78 Improvisation Ensemble
Mitchell Amos, Jane Damon, Jayden Laumeister, Tristan McMichael, Don Parker, Skylar Warren, and Jordan Wier
Jordan Wier, voice, piano
This recital is presented as a degree requirement for a Bachelor of Music in music composition
Jordan Wier thrives in the musical community with a curiosity that compels her to explore all kinds of music. Currently an undergraduate studying music composition and bassoon performance at University of the Pacific, Wier is a member of the 28/78 New Music Collective, Pacific Orchestras and Pacific Wind Bands. She also leads the first student-run improvisation ensemble at the Conservatory. Additionally, Wier displays an interest in creating and performing electronic and electroacoustic works.
Notes by the composer
This piece started out with the fixed media track that I improvised using the Buchla synthesizer in the composition studio. This track had a lot of very robotic and wind-like sounds, so I thought that there is no better description for the track aside from parts of a machine, hence the title Spinning Gears. When writing the parts for the ensemble, I decided to incorporate little graphics describing timbres that can be related to but are not exactly the same as some of the sounds happening in the track. Together, the ensemble and media are creating a soundscape that changes with every performance.
Broken Reflection is a song I started writing when someone incredibly close to me was struggling mentally and having a hard time seeing the good side to themselves. This song became my way of saying “I wish you could see yourself the way I see you” while acknowledging that self-love is a battle that we cannot fight for someone else no matter how much we wish we could. To anyone who is struggling with self-love, this one goes out to you.
One thing I’ve never done until now is write something for myself as am bassoonist. Wanting to incorporate my passions for electroacoustic music and improvisation, I created a fixed media track and essentially improvised the bassoon line into existence. Most importantly, this piece is the official start of my mission to create more repertoire for the bassoon that incorporates electronics.