Hartt Composers' Seminar Welcomes Hartt Comp Faculty Members Ken Steen and Gilda Lyons
Hartt Composition welcomes faculty members Ken Steen and Gilda Lyons to Composers' Seminar this Wednesday, Oct. 6 at 5 p.m. ET (Bliss, Fuller Music Center). Each will present on chamber operas commissioned and premiered during the time of COVID-19—which include APART/MENTAL (Steen) and Sourdough: Rise Up (Lyons)—and other recent projects.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
GILDA LYONS, composer, vocalist, and visual artist, combines elements of renaissance, neo-baroque, spectral, folk, agitprop Music Theater, and extended vocalism to create works of uncompromising emotional honesty and melodic beauty. A fierce advocate of contemporary music, Lyons has commissioned, premiered, and workshopped new vocal works by dozens of composers. Laura Strickling’s 2021 release of Lyons’ Songs of Lament and Praise (Yarlung) was described by Opera News as “quietly devastating.” As vocalist, Lyons’ collaboration with Laura Ward (Naxos), was described by Opera News as “winning delivery, full of character.” David Shengold of Opera, UK writes “Gilda Lyons's clear soprano compels admiration” of her performance in Daron Hagen’s “Shining Brow” (Buffalo Philharmonic/Falletta/Naxos). Lyons currently serves as Co-Chair of Composition at Wintergreen Music Academy and as Assistant Professor of Composition at The Hartt School. She is Executive Director of the Richard P. Garmany Chamber Music Series, Founding Director of The Phoenix Concerts, NYC, and serves on the Board of Advisors of Composers Now, the Steven R. Gerber Trust, and Sparks & Wiry Cries. Lyons’ works and performances are available on the Clarion, GPR, Naxos, New Dynamic, New Focus, Roven Records, and Yarlung Records labels; her music is published by Schott, E.C. Schirmer, and Burning Sled Media. www.gildalyons.com
KEN STEEN's music and sound art is recognized internationally for its authentic vitality, remarkable range, and distinctive personal vision: from Mumbai to Tripoli, Buenos Aires to Reykjavík, Melbourne, and NYC. Whether acoustic, instrumental or vocal, electronic, or some multimedia combination, his work has been characterized as seductively gorgeous, featuring sumptuous textures of gradual yet unpredictable evolution. Since 2012 Steen's multifarious sound works have enjoyed over 100 performances worldwide. Most recently, his 7.1 surround soundwork í efternär after, premiered at the 2021 Bernaola Festival in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, and his video puppet opera APART/MENTAL was named winner of the 2020 Bury Court Opera Award (U.K.). Steen is Professor of Composition and Theory at the Hartt School. www.kensteen.com
The session will take place in-person, free of charge, in:
Bliss Music Room
Fuller Music Center
University of Hartford
Wednesday, Oct. 6 at 5 p.m. ET
All members of the University of Hartford and Hartt School communities are welcome.