Queer Composer's Concert 2025: Alchemy

The Queer Composers’ Concert: Alchemy William Kilcoyne, producer Audio Recordings by Daniel Flores Program: You’re Fire - Sam Jacobs (b. 2003) lead vocals, Sam Jacobs electric guitar, Cliff Robbins-Sennewald bass guitar, Nino Ciampa alto sax, Mae Czuba trumpet, Henry Shifrin trombone, Parker Lewis bari sax, James Lewis drums, Michael Spanedda Mergings - Joseph Dunkelberg (b. 2004) piano, Juan Rodriguez Mr. Matter - Emily Spence (b. 2004) guitar, vocals, Emily Spence Nocturne on The Lunar Eclipse - Ethan Perez (b.2005) I. The Eclipse II. Festival III. Dawn Eb clarinet, Minghan Di Bb clarinet, Augustus Cullivan bass clarinet, Tyler Magyar Okay :) - Val Orsatti (b. 2008) electric guitar, Val Orsatti For Now - Domenic Fusco III (b.2002) cello, Andrew Craner from Tres Colores Porteñoes - Claudia Montero (1962-2021) Rojo classical guitar, Kendra Terra Liversidge The Six Murders of Charles Ives - Sebastian Bottone (b. 2000) piano, Sebastian Bottone Rite of the Keepers of Sunset - Shai Chiappetta (b. 2005) flute, Jenna Bashjawish alto sax, Mae Czuba trumpet, flugelhorn, Henry Shifrin french horn, Olivia Depatie trombone, Parker Lewis euphonium, Katherin Garcia violin, Kayla DeCaprio cello, Kyle Formato piano, Shai Chiappetta Skittling - William Kilcoyne (b. 2004) piano, William Kilcoyne PROGRAM NOTES Mr. Matter This song not about a real man, but the voice in my head that is discouraging, mean, and pessimistic For Now For Now was first started in Fall of 2022, during my junior year of my bachelor’s degree. The piece was my first venture into writing solo instrumental music, and upon completion it was left sitting for years, never performed or shown anywhere. When I rediscovered the piece, it became my goal to revitalize what I originally strove for three years ago and make something extremely close to the heart. Before I began composing the piece, I was tasked with coming up with a setting for it. I chose to go with “inside a cabin in the woods during a thunderstorm”. Scattered throughout the four minute piece, you may hear some of this in the high pizzicato strings, representing rain falling down, as well as the low tremolos, representing the thunder outside the cabin. While rain is one of my favorite things in life, in this piece it also represents a feeling of hopelessness, being trapped in an unfamiliar place with no way home, and the emotions that go alongside it. The Six Murders of Charles Ives The Six Murders of Charles Ives represents a journey of anger, confusion, grief, numbness, and fear…all of which I experienced while on a trip to Denver, Colorado in November 2024. While Denver is one of my favorite places on earth, it is still not immune to the struggles of daily life. Alarmed that I was not enjoying most of my time here, I began writing what was to be a satirical work, inspired by the one thing keeping me going during this time: Charles Ives’ piano music. As I continued composing, I found that the output was, in fact, not satire…but rather a genuine experience of being human. The piece closes with a restorative murmur; tranquil and unhurried. It embodies my return back to Rhode Island, where, for the first time in my life, I felt joyful to be back home. Skittling Skittling is based on the idea of addition and recontextualizing an atonal passage against a stark triadic framework. The premise was composed around the idea of 1, 2+2, 3+3+3, and so on in a 12-tone system. From there, notes from a B major chord are added to superimpose an idea of tonality to the written melody. Once done, the idea is transformed using retrograde, register shifting, and so on. This leads to passages of distinct dissonance and consonance. Adding the ping pong balls into the piano continues the idea of addition, compounding it in a different dimension of tone quality. A message from Drs. Lyons & Grimm: Hello, and welcome to the spring 2025 Queer Composers’ Concert. We in Hartt Composition are committed to the continued celebration of community and individuality through music. Tonight’s entirely student-run event is a powerful product of collaborative work rooted in community that shines a light on individual voices. Special acknowledgement to William Kilcoyne for organizing and producing this event, and cheers to all of the composers, performers, and artists represented on tonight’s concert. And thanks to everyone for joining, both in-person and via livestream. Welcome to all, Dr. Gilda Lyons Associate Professor of Composition & Program Chair & Dr. Kyle Grimm Assistant Professor of Composition & Director of Studio D

Added 3 Aug 2026