Artists

DAVID TADDIE, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, spent his teenage and young adult years playing in rock bands, serving as a church organist, arranging and performing on radio and TV commercials, finally beginning his formal studies in music theory and composition at Cleveland State University at the age of 20. He received his BA and MM from CSU, where he studied composition with Bain Murray, Rudolph Bubalo, and Edwin London. From 1985-1992, he served as pianist with the Cleveland Chamber Symphony. He also composed for, and performed with, the New Music Associates in Cleveland, performed as a duo-piano team with his wife, Karen, and was active as a theory and piano teacher. After a decade of working as a freelance composer, performer, and music teacher, he moved to Boston in 1992 to attend Harvard University where he received his Ph.D., studying composition with Donald Martino, Bernard Rands, and Mario Davidovsky.

Taddie has written music for band, orchestra, choir, solo voice, piano, and a wide variety of chamber ensembles as well as many electroacoustic compositions. His music has been widely performed in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia by numerous soloists and ensembles. Among his awards are those from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Koussevitzky Foundation, the Fromm Foundation, and the Music Teachers National Association. He currently resides in Morgantown, West Virginia, where he is Professor of Music, Coordinator of Composition, and director of the Electronic Music Studio at West Virginia University. Prior to his faculty appointment at West Virginia University, he served on the faculties of UMass-Dartmouth, Cleveland State University, and Cuyahoga Community College.

n 2010, Greg Harrison and Jonny Smith created the percussion duo TAKTUS while pursuing Masters Degrees at the University of Toronto. With a wide range of musical influences - from classical to electronic - Taktus seeks to create music that crosses borders between genres and is relevant to contemporary audiences. Their premiere project is set of marimba duet arrangements of Glass Houses - a seminal work of Canadian minimalism by composer Ann Southam. Their performances have been described as "virtuosic" (Gapplegate Music), "impeccable and articulate" (The WholeNote Magazine), and ”daring" (I Care If you Listen). 2015 was a break-out year for Taktus with the launch of their critically acclaimed debut album, Glass Houses for Marimba (Centrediscs). The album gained national recognition by earning spot on CBC’s “Top 10 Classical Albums of 2015” and a nomination for "Classical Recording of the Year” at the 2017 ECMA’s. Taktus has performed in a wide variety of venues ranging from classical music concert series to contemporary/experimental music festivals. Highlights include performances with the Music Gallery, Toronto Summer Music in the Garden, Musique Royale, Din of Shadows, Intersection, Lupercalia, and FUZE Fest. Taktus’s music has also been licensed for use in contemporary dance and visual art projects. Their recording of Glass Houses No. 13 was choreographed by the Artistic Director of the Toronto Dance Theatre, Christopher House, and featured in dance performances across Canada and internationally. Taktus also performed live with the TDT in the finale of the theatre’s 50th Anniversary Season. Through every avenue, Taktus aims to connect with a diverse array of audiences, providing them with a fresh perspective on minimalist music.

taktusduo.com

Michael Sidney Timpson's musical beginnings were borne out of playing baritone saxophone and "electric" bass clarinet with a strong interest in American improvisational forms, especially Free Jazz and Fusion; this would later evolve into incorporations American popular genres, such as Funk, Hip-Hop, and Alternative Techno. A child of the multicultural era in Northern California, he was intrigued with East and Southeast Asian traditional musics, these seeds that would eventually bear a lasting impact on his musical style. With his research on Chinese instruments, he has also become an improviser on various Asian woodwinds.

A composer in virtually every medium, many of his recent compositions are for percussion ensemble and for orchestra; he has also composed many works for Chinese and Korean instruments. A winner of multiple composition awards, recorded on major labels, and with significant publications, his works continue to be featured throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia. Timpson won the ASCAP Grant for Young Composers, the BMI Student Composers Award, the DownBeat Magazine award for extended composition, and was twice nominated for the American Academy of Arts and Letters composition award. He also won the Brian M. Israel Prize (The Society for New Music and the New York Federation of Music Clubs), the Lee Ettelson Composer's Award, National Federation of Music Club's Youse competition, second places at the Music From China International Competition and in NACUSA's composition competition, very highly commended in England's Kathryn Thomas Flute Competition, and honorable mention at the National Federation of Music Club's Beyer competition. His orchestral works have received performances and recording by the Kiev Philharmonic, the Czech Philharmonic, the Florida Orchestra, the Jacksonville Symphony, the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, and the National Orchestra of Korea. Timpson's works continually appear on radio shows throughout the U.S., Asia, and Europe and have a strong visibility on the web.

He is an Associate Professor of Music Composition at at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, Korea. He was a Senior Fulbright Research Scholar in the Humanities in Taipei, Taiwan in 2009 for research on his forthcoming book on orchestration and compositional philosophy on Chinese instruments for western composers (for which he has already published two articles.) He has also been on the music composition and electronic music faculty at the University of South Florida, Rhodes College and the University of Kansas. A student of Samuel Adler, William Albright, William Bolcom, Donald Crockett, Morten Lauridsen, Frederick Lesemann, Milcho Leviev, Andrew Mead, and Joseph Schwantner, he earned his undergraduate composition degree at the University of Southern California, his master's at the Eastman School of Music, and a doctorate from the University of Michigan. www.michaelsidneytimpson.com

Originally from the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Joshua Tomlinson is a composer, sound artist and teacher specializing in electroacoustic music and technology. His background is in rock music with subsequent classical training in voice and guitar, and his compositions incorporate a range of musical styles, instrumentation and media. Joshua serves on the steering committee of the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival and he has participated as a composer and audio technician at NYCEMF since 2012. His compositions have also been performed at the PARMA, NSEME, SEAMUS, and EMM music festivals.

Recently he was commissioned to compose a ballet titled Sand, which premiered at the 2018 Puterbaugh Festival. It was based on the short story of the same name by German author Jenny Erpenbeck and produced in collaboration with choreographer Boyko Dossev. Joshua is an adjunct professor at Mid-America Christian University in Oklahoma City, and is currently completing his D.M.A. in Composition at the University of Oklahoma. His primary instructor is Dr. Konstantinos Karathanasis. When he isn’t composing or teaching music he enjoys surfing, diving, and traveling with his wife.

Inspired by the image of winds and wood flying through the air, Ricardo Climent and Paul Wilson conceived THE TORNADO PROJECT: a set of commissioned works for flute, clarinet and computer-generated sound, to be performed by American wind virtuosi Esther Lamneck (clarinet) and Elizabeth McNutt (flute). Tornado performances have taken place in New York, Manchester, Belfast, Aberdeen, Phoenix AZ, Denton TX, Cincinnati OH, and at the SEAMUS Conference, International Computer Music Conference, and New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival. The first Tornado Project event was the opening of the NOVARS Research Centre at the University of Manchester, England, in 2007, and included the Climent, Wilson, May, and Lyon works on this album. The repertoire of the project has grown with each performance. www.tornadoproject.xyz

Inspired by the image of winds and wood flying through the air, Ricardo Climent and Paul Wilson conceived THE TORNADO PROJECT: a set of commissioned works for flute, clarinet and computer-generated sound, to be performed by American wind virtuosi Esther Lamneck (clarinet) and Elizabeth McNutt (flute). Tornado performances have taken place in New York, Manchester, Belfast, Aberdeen, Phoenix AZ, Denton TX, Cincinnati OH, and at the SEAMUS Conference, International Computer Music Conference, and New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival. The first Tornado Project event was the opening of the NOVARS Research Centre at the University of Manchester, England, in 2007, and included the Climent, Wilson, May, and Lyon works on this album. The repertoire of the project has grown with each performance. www.tornadoproject.xyz