Last updated 7/23/2010 OTHER RECENT PERFORMANCES MISCELLANEOUS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Daniel Adams appeared as a guest lecturer for the Directors Forum of the Nord-Amerikanisher
Sangerbund held at the Germania Singing & Sport Society in Columbus, Ohio on July 16 and 17. Adams discussed the process of converting computer-assisted music notation files to sound files for individual practice and led a discussion on commissioning composers to provide new choral works. He also presented scores and a recording of his recent composition Of a Just Content.
Concerto for Euphonium and Percussion Quintet was performed at the 2010 International Tuba Euphonium Conference at the University of Arizona, Tucson on May 27. Dr. Brian Meixner was the euphonium soloist, accompanied by the Slippery Rock University Percussion Ensemble conducted by Dr. David Glover.
Transmorphic Variationsfor concert band with euphonium solo received its premiere on May 2 as part of the St. James Episcopal Church 2010 Music Festival in Houston, Texas. The Gulf Coast Concert Band performed the piece under the baton of Benjamin Butler II. Dr. Grady Hallman was the euphonium soloist.
Centrifugal Fanfare for saxophone quartet was premiered by the Texas A and M, Commerce Saxophone Quartet on April 20 under the direction of Dr. Todd Goranson as part of "An Evening of Chamber Music" held at the First United Methodist Church, Commerce, Texas.
Of a Just Content for percussion solo with spoken and sung text received its premiere at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, College Park Maryland on April 18. The piece was performed by Lee Hinkle, for whom it was composed. The spoken and sung texts are based on the writings of Louisa May Alcott and Henry David Thoreau.
Daniel Adams presented a poster entitled Vocalization, Body Percussion, and Parody in Selected Compositions for Hand-clapping Ensemble at the South Central Regional Conference of the College Music Society, held at the Downtown Campus of the University of Texas at San Antonio, March 11-13.
Diffusion One for marimba quintet has been released on a CD entitled Music for Keyboard Percussions recorded by the McCormick Percussion Group, Robert McCormick, Director. The recording is available on Ravello Records, a division of Parma Records.
Extremities for xylophone solo was released in March by Bachovich Music in the Massachusetts Percussive Arts Society Chapter Xylophone Collection.
Adams received several world premieres of his compositions during the first quarter of 2010.
Intrusions for oboe, bassoon, and piano was premiered by Trio 488 at Texas State University, San Marcos, February 2. Trio 488 subsequently performed Intrusions, again at Texas State University for the NACUSA Texas Chapter Conference on February 26.
Brett Dietz performed Five Marimba Miniatures on February 6 at the Southern Regional Conference of the College Music Society held at Loyola University in New Orleans. This performance included the premiere of three miniatures composed especially for Dr. Dietz. Robert Guilford the miniatures also performed by at the Texas NACUSA Conference on March 27.
From a Visible Darkness for contrabass solo received its world premiere on February 26 at the NACUSA Texas Chapter Conference held at Texas State University, San Marcos. Frank Murry was the bass soloist.
Daniel Adams received the world premiere of Camouflage for contrabass solo and percussion trio on November 23 in Tampa, Florida at the College of Fine Arts of the University of South Florida. The USF Percussion Ensemble, conducted by Robert McCormick, performed Camouflage. The contrabass soloist was Dee Moses, principal double bassist of The Florida Orchestra.
Concerto for Euphonium and Percussion Quintet was performed at Slippery Rock University (Pennsylvania) on January 24 as part of a Faculty Euphonium Recital. The concerto was also performed on January 29 the United States Army Band Tuba-Euphonium Conference held in Ft. Myer, Virginia. Dr. Brian Meixner was the euphonium soloist for both performances, accompanied by the Slippery Rock University Percussion Ensemble conducted by Dr. David Glover. Soloist Seth Fletcher also performed the concerto with the Emporia (Kansas) State University Percussion ensemble under the direction of Tracy Freeze on March 27 as part of the Great Plains Chapter conference of the College Music Society.
The University of Puget Sound Percussion Ensemble performed Camaraderie for timpani solo and percussion ensemble in Tacoma, Washington on March 5 as part of the Society of Composers, Inc. Region VIII Conference. Amy Putnam conducted the performance. Hamiruge, the Louisiana State University Percussion Group, also performed Camaraderie on November 12 as part of the New Literature for Percussion Ensemble session at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention held in Indianapolis, Indiana. The performance was conducted by Brett Dietz with Shawn Galvin as solo timpanist.
Cameron Longabough performed Double Nostalgia for tenor saxophone solo on March 26 at the SCI Region VI conference held at Kansas State University (KSU), Manhattan. The KSU Percussion Ensemble as part of the Region VI conference performed Diffusion Two for snare drum quartet on March 27.
Daniel Adams is the author of two entries published in the Oxford University Press Encyclopedia of African-American History 1896 to the Present. The titles of the articles are Composers and Miami.
The entry on composers begins with the early contributions of Harry T. Burleigh and other early twentieth century African-American composers who wrote music based on Negro spirituals. The article traces the development of African-American music through the twentieth century and addresses the unique challenges and obstacles that Black composers faced in presenting their music to the general public. The contributions of William Grant Still, Scott Joplin, Ulysses Kay, Hale Smith, and others are discussed and a section on African-American women composers includes mention of Florence Price and Margaret Bonds. The article concludes by acknowledging the diverse influences on modern African-American classical music.
The entry on Miami discusses the social, political and cultural aspects of life in the city since its incorporation in 1896. There is discussion of educational desegregation, Jim Crow laws in Miami Beach, and the historic entertainment venues in Miami's "Colored Town" where musicians such as Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, and Josephine Baker performed. The tense relations between law enforcement and Miami's black community is discussed with a particular emphasis on the 1980 riots that followed the acquittal of four police officers accused of beating black motorcyclist Arthur McDuffie to death. The article concludes with a discussion of African-Americans' co-existence with Miami's diverse immigrant population.
Adams's Concerto for Marimba and Percussion Ensemble was cited in an article by Geary H. Larrick entitled "The Concerto on Percussion: Discussion and Bibliography"published in the Winter 2008-09 issue of theJournal of the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors.
The Solo Snare Drum: A Critical Analysis of Contemporary Compositional Techniques, originally published by HoneyRock, has been republished by Daniel Adams,the author. It is available from Steve Weiss Music.
Daniel Adams received an ASCAPLUS Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors,and Publishers for 2009-10.
The library of the Percussive Arts Society,located in Indianapolis, Indiana, has established the Daniel Adams Collection. The collection is an archive consisting of the composer's sketches, notes, and several original manuscripts. Additional information is available at the PAS website
Percussive Arts Society