I recently presented my music theoretical research at The College Music Society Pacific Northwest Chapter 30th Regional Conference at Capilano University in North Vancouver, British Columbia. I found a warm welcome, was inspired by colleagues, and expanded my network. In addition to my own paper, there were a variety of workshops, lecture-recitals, forums, and concerts that were of service to the academic and music communities (e.g., "Transformation and Distortion - Modern Variation Technique in Ligeti's Sonata for Solo Viola" by Kevin Nordstrom of Wright State University). The keynote speaker was David Cutler who currently teaches at Duquesne University where he also serves as the Director of Music Entrepreneurship. Conference Composition Committee Chair Brian Cobb did a great job of programming the composer's concert which included Tom Baker's (Cornish College of the Arts) electronic Doubt and David Peoples' (University of North Georgia) Buford Dam Bop for trombone and electronics. The double-bass source material of Baker's Doubt was obvious, but the composer successfully abstracted from that in a way that gave the entire piece an improvisatory quality, while Buford Dam Bop's fixed-media electronics were reminiscent of Morton Subotnick's Silver Apples of the Moon with unmistakable elements of jazz fusion.
PNW's Exploration of National Topic "Reflect-Celebrate-Innovate"
ZANE GILLESPIE
After six years as Minister of Music at Mount Pleasant United Methodist Church (UMC) in Holly Springs, MS, I was recently called to continue to work to address public engagement in music participation as Director of Music Ministries at First UMC in Water Valley, MS. I am a Composer, Theorist, and member of both The College Music Society as well as The Poe Studies Association (PSA). I am also an active pianist and vocalist, specializing primarily in church music. My paper entitled ““Mesmeric Revelation”: Art as Hypnosis” has been published by the international, peer-reviewed journal Humanities. In addition, another paper of mine entitled “A Model of Triadic Post-Tonality for a Neoconservative Postmodern String Quartet by Sky Macklay” has been submitted to the peer-reviewed Music Theory journal Perspectives of New Music. At the end of February 2015, I served as Chair for the session entitled “Aesthetics and Philosophy” at The Fourth International PSA Conference in New York City. On June 21, 2014, my Quartet for Alto Saxophone and Strings, a commission from concert saxophonist Walter Hoehn, was performed as part of Concert V of the Eighth Annual Belvedere Chamber Music Festival held at Grace-St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Memphis, TN. Characteristically neo-romantic (in the original sense of the word), my music earned me the Nancy Van de Vate Award for Composition three times from the University of Mississippi Department of Music. A native of Pontotoc, MS, I hold degrees from the University of Mississippi (BM; MM), and the University of Memphis (DMA) where I was the 2011 recipient of the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music's Smit Composition Award. I live in Memphis, TN.