Making music is a collaborative process. Just as a string quartet relies on its individual players, so too can composers turn to their audience for ideas.
The music department’s Process Series kicked off Thursday night with an open rehearsal of two new musical works by Chapel Hill composers Allen Anderson and T.J. Anderson (who are unrelated).
The Process Series presents new compositions in open format, encouraging the audience to provide feedback after the works are performed.
An intern with the series called the series a “preview of things to come.”
During Thursday’s performance, the audience was receptive, letting the composers work with their ensembles.
“The greatest interaction we’re going to see is between conductors, musicians and the composer,” said Alex Van Gils, a UNC alumnus and leader of the UNC New Music Ensemble, the group that performed the new pieces.
The rehearsal began with both audience members and musicians singing happy birthday to the conductor Stefan Litwin.
After a brief introduction, T.J. Anderson’s piece, “In Front of My Eyes: An Obama Celebration” was performed.
The piece featured vocalist and UNC professor Louise Toppin and 9 other musicians from the New Music Ensemble. Poet Robert Pinsky wrote the lyrics for the piece.
T.J. Anderson is a storied musician, playing a broad range of instruments.
“I have experience in jazz, I was a classical violinist at the start of my career, I played French Horn — I play a number of instruments,” T.J. said.
“We live in a time when international diplomacy and global perspective becomes extremely important if we’re going to exist in the 21st century.”
After his piece, T.J. gave advice to the performers, urging them to play with passion.
“This piece reflects the spirit of the nation when Obama went as President,” he said. “It shows the enthusiasm of the country.”
After a short break, Allen Anderson’s piece “Removal/_____” was rehearsed. Allen explained that the piece is based on the forced government displacement of Cherokee Indians in the 1830s.
Allen’s piece currently only has two movements, but he said that he expects to write many more.
The first is a curse performed by a baritone vocalist accompanied by dissonant sounds from the strings and woodwinds.
The second movement of the piece is a series of short scenes of the Trail of Tears.
The two pieces were rehearsed for the “Hopes, Dreams, Realities (Revisited)” concert in Memorial Hall. The concert will take place Nov. 13.
Though the audience was mostly quiet, the experience was a fascinating look into the creation and revision of contemporary classical music.
“It’s a unique opportunity to have the composer here,” Van Gils said.
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