Chris D. Burton

Piano Piece selected for New Pieces Project

admin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:13:25 +0000

The University of Central Missouri hosted a New Pieces Project where composers were asked to write for young players to give them new repertoire and a chance to learn how to analyze and practice new music. The Mild Conundrum of Mr. Fliverty Chase, telling the story of the adventures of mysterious individual, was chosen for this project. It will be prepared by one of their students and recorded for an April recital.

I’ll tell you a little bit about the piece: I wanted to give the younger player something to use their imagination on. This piece actually has no set story line and, as you can see, a lot of story (or maybe just a little story) can be inferred from the title. I want the students who play the piece to figure out what they think Mr. Chase’s conundrum might be. I plan to continue the “Fliverty Chase” story-line at some point, so more keep an eye out for that.

Red Note Music Festival

admin — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 01:28:21 +0000

String Quartet No. 1 was recently chosen as a finalist selection for the Red Note Music Festival at Illinois State University. Though I did not win the contest, I was among the top 18 choices of 285 total entries. Congrats to Joseph Turrin:

The winning work is “Riffs and Fanfares,” by Joseph Turrin of Clifton, New Jersey. Mr. Turrin will receive the $750 prize, and a performance of his work by Fulcrum Point New Music Project during the RED NOTE New Music Festival in March 2012.

“String Quartet No. 1,” by Stylianos Dimou, of Rochester, NY, was named Runner-Up.

Honorable Mentions were awarded to:

“Ten Variations,” by Gilad Cohen of Princeton, NJ
“Parachute Dance,” by Stephen Feigenbaum of Winchester, MA
“Credo,” by Heeyoung Yang, of West Lafayette, IN

Christmas Cantata

admin — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 06:45:45 +0000

Last night, Parkway Presbyterian Church put on our annual Christmas cantata. This year, I chose a piece with combined choir, handbells, percussion, and string quartet. The ensembles at Parkway put in a lot of work this year and we were all rewarded with a nice performance. I wanted to share links to the videos from last night.

A Ceremony of Lessons and Carols

by Anna Laura Page and Jean Anne Shafferman
Instrumentation by Lloyd Larson

Links to the rest of the movements:

Additionally, enjoy our children’s Pageant from our morning worship service.

Merry Christmas!

UNO Composers Reading Session – November 17th

admin — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:39:58 +0000

There are not many composition students at the University of New Orleans but they are hardworking nonetheless. Last semester, we brought in a string quartet to read some of the students work and this year we will be continuing that tradition by bringing in a woodwind trio.

I truly feel that one of the best things for a young composer is to have their music read and be able to interact with the performers to actually find out exactly what works and what doesn’t, but not only that, to be able to see why. This is a fantastic opportunity for our students.

The reading will be held in the Performing Arts Center Recital Hall on November 17th from 11:00 to 12:30.