Catalog

ESSAYS AND SKETCHES is an album unreleased works of American composer and longtime Sam Houston State University faculty member Newton D. Strandberg. Featuring performances by orchestras and ensembles from around the globe, the four pieces on this recording—Essay for String Orchestra, Amenhotep III, String Trio, and Acts for Orchestra—serve as an astute collection of Standberg's output as a composer. More than a musical release alone, ESSAYS AND SKETCHES serves as a retrospective of Strandberg's prolific career, housing a collection of writings, visual art, scores, and more, all compiled by Strandberg's peers, students, and admirers from SHSU.

"With the arts we can keep faith with our ancestors, speak for justice, and even address the most tragic and painful issues. If you are hurt and angry don't use violence — write a poem or a song. Use your feelings to create something." These words by late composer Philip Koplow (1943-2018) perfectly encapsulate both his life mission as a composer and the mission of FOR THE PEACE OF CITIES. Released posthumously, this collection features Koplow’s masterpieces for orchestra as well as three 20th-century works that commemorate the lives lost in war tragedies.

THE LEAP from composer Richard Carr is a bold collection of works for violin, piano, electronics, and orchestra. Carr’s adventurous career as a musician has led him to perform a broad range of genres on stage — from rock and folk to classical and jazz, with plenty of stops along the way. Carr invites us to imagine each of this work’s six sections as portraying a step in the act of creation, from the forming of initial ideas (Gathering Light), to giving those ideas their form and shape (Confluence), and finally to the breakthrough of Frontier. THE LEAP is an undaunted exercise in creative risk-taking, fusing traditional orchestration technique and modern digital sound design enhanced by multiple improvisations on both violin and piano.