Clareidoscope 2024: Student Presentations

Student Presentations – Saturday March 16, 2024 –3:30pm

Providing Opportunities for Under-Resourced Composers
Evan Erickson

My name is Evan Erickson, and I seek to enrich the world of new music by using my musical privileges to provide opportunities to budding composers. Soon entering its fourth year, I host
the Evan Erickson Music “Call for Scores” annually, aimed specifically at talented composers around the world with no resources to hear their works performed. This opportunity began by fundraising just $250 through GoFundMe and promising a performance of the winning pieces, but it was amazing how much impact and attention I was able to make for my cause (21 newly composed works, 51 submissions, 2.5k website visits). In 3 years, it has grown to receive over 400 international submissions, received sponsorships by Dorico, Finale, and Noteperformer, fundraised over $9,500 in prizes, and helped 14 amazing composers receive one of (if not) their first-ever live premieres.

The inspiration for my call for scores stems from my own background of being raised in a low- income family, unsure if I would have the resources to pursue a music degree. Every musician has a story that drives them forward, and as musicians, we embody a level of privilege in our craft. With brainstorming, there are endless resources available to us in this digital age which can allow us to connect with and give back to an ever-growing world of under-resourced composers. Through my resources, it is my goal to share my story with performers around the world to inspire others to begin their own journey with promoting new music so we can continue building and innovating our world through music.

Journey through the Zodiacs: Expanding the Clarinet Repertoire
Samuel Hsieh

Founded in 2022, East Zodiac came about as I was searching for graduate audition pieces for clarinet that had an Asian influence. After realizing how little music there was, I had the idea of commissioning clarinet-focused pieces by Asian composers. After discussing with three of my colleagues, we created East Zodiac with the mission of highlighting Asian composers and their voices through pieces that feature clarinet. Currently, the organization is focusing on a 12-year zodiac-inspired set. Through this program, a brand new work featuring the clarinet will be commissioned and premiered each year to correspond with the animal of the year in the Chinese Zodiac.For the 2023 “Year of the Rabbit”, we successfully commissioned and premiered a new work by Chris Nguyen, a composition student at Kennesaw State University. For 2024 “Year of the Dragon”, we have selected Daixuan Ai, a DMA composition student at Indiana University, as our next composer. As we prepare for this year’s premiere concert in April, we have been seeking opportunities through the University of Michigan’s concert series to promote this new composition. We hope to generate excitement around works by Asian composers while providing students and audiences with a pool of clarinet-focused works from an often neglected demographic. As an immigrant from Taiwan, I strongly believe it is important to relate dialogues between Eastern and Western music education. By highlighting Asian culture in clarinet works, we will further expand the repertoire and lift their voices, creating collaboration within both communities.

Student Presentation Biographies
Evan Erickson (b. 2003) is a clarinetist, composer, and engraver currently studying clarinet with Robyn Jones and composition with Kamran Ince. As a composer, Evan was a finalist for the 2023 ASCAP Morton Gould Award, awarded 2nd place for the Kazakh University of the Arts 5th International Composer Competition in the 2nd Division, and participated in the 2023 Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival. Through the Möbius Duo (Evan Erickson, clarinet & Becca Tank, saxophone) Evan has been invited as a presenter and performer at multiple national conferences through his annual “Call for Scores” opportunity.

Samuel Hsieh spent his childhood in Taiwan but did the majority of his education in Texas. In 2020, Samuel was the recipient of the Presser Scholar Award. He has been invited to play at the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest® in Knoxville, TN, Louisiana Music Educators Association, South Carolina Music Educators Association, and Carnegie Hall. Samuel earned his bachelor’s in Clarinet performance from Furman University and Master’s in Clarinet performance from Louisiana State University. He now is pursuing a Specialist degree in clarinet at the University of Michigan. His primary teachers include Cecilia Kang, Stacy Christofakis, Dan Gilbert, and Chad Burrow.

Program PDF

When: 03/16/2024 | 3:30 pm

Featuring: Evan Erickson, Samuel Hsieh

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