Batture Contemporary

Chasing Baby Bumblebees is an adaptation of the finale from the composer’s Etudes for Harp. It tests the virtuosity of the quartet through very fast tempi, extended instrument ranges, and ensemble interaction. The title comes from events of the composer’s early childhood. He was often found in the backyard chasing, gathering, and petting bumblebees… that is, until one little bee stung him.

Stephen David Beck (b. 1959) teaches music composition and electroacoustic music at Louisiana State University, where he is the Derryl & Helen Haymon Professor of Music. He received his PhD in music composition and theory from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he studied with Henri Lazarof, Elaine Barkin, Paul Reale, Alden Ashforth, and Roger Bourland. In 1985, he studied computer music at IRCAM with the support of an Annette Kade/Fulbright Fellowship and joined the faculty at LSU in 1988. Since 2003, he has held a joint faculty position at the Center for Computation & Technology, where he established the Cultural Computing group and led the development of the PhD program in Experimental Music & Digital Media.

Rhythmic systems function on a large scale in Plumb. Duration patterns were built from the measurements (width and length) of each sax, which were then projected over the span of the piece, where rate of speed binds the music structurally. Distinctions between these proportions unfold through the intervallic relationships related to the acoustics of each instrument.

Composer Mara Gibson originally from Charlottesville, VA, graduated from Bennington College, and completed her Ph.D. at SUNY Buffalo. She has received grants and honors from the American Composer’s Forum, the Banff Center, Meet the Composer, the National Endowment for the Arts, the International Bass Society, ASCAP, Virginia Center for Creative Arts, the MacDowell Colony, Yale University and the Recording Academy of the US. Internationally renowned ensembles and soloists perform her music throughout the United States, Canada, South America, Asia, and Europe. Dr. Gibson has had performances of her works at prestigious festivals and universities around the country and the world and she currently leads the composition program at Louisiana State University.

Tracers uses the spectral analysis of saxophone tones as the harmonic template for the entire ensemble. Specifically, spectral data of ring modulated saxophone multiphonics is mapped onto the ensemble. Gradually, these harmonies are fragmented and distorted in different ways as a way of defining a sort of organic form of the entire work. The work is viewed as an ongoing project of expansion (with new versions for saxophone quartet alone (Tracers II), and for saxophone quartet and piano with electronics (Tracers Ia)).

Philip Schuessler’s music, ranging from soloists to orchestra, often has sense of delicate urgency and rhythmic energy that is characterized by intricate instrumental writing and subtle timbral design. He takes inspiration from a variety of sources, including popular and rock music traditions, experimental improvisation, spectralism, natural and scientific processes, and countercultural political theater.

He is currently an instructor of music theory and composition at Southeastern Louisiana University where he was honored with the President’s Award in Artistic Excellence. His music is published by his own Pendula Music publishing company, as well as Society of Composers, Inc., Alea Publishing, T.U.X. People’s Music, Murphy Music Press, and Potenza Music, and recordings of his compositions can be found on the Aucourant, New Focus, Centaur, Navona, Janus, Curvepoint Media, and Capstone labels. Most recently Glow in the Dark Valu-Pak, an album of psychedelic-tinged synth music, was released on Bandcamp.

The Pentagonal Square was premiered on October 23, 2002 at Louisiana State University and was awarded second prize in the 2004-2005 UMKC Chamber Music Composition Contest.

I dedicated this work to a dear friend of mine, Jennifer Foret. This idea for the title came from a conversation with Jennifer about oxymorons and other types of self-contradicting phrases which led to discussing the impossibility of a pentagonal square as a geometric shape. 

The piece contains several aspects that are not necessarily intended for the audience to understand. There is somewhat of a strong basis on the fact that this object cannot exist in physical, geometrical, mathematical form, but may present in the sense of musical computation. The piece is in 5/4 time/meter which was originally meant to indicate some sort of pentagonal being, but does not take the final “shape” until measure 92 when 4/4 is then juxtaposed over the duration of five beats. The piece ends with a low, grumbling chord progressing upward to chaos and suddenly screeching to a very shrill halt…”

Ben Stonaker identifies as: a chronic sonic manipulator, instructor of all things relating to sound and acoustics, seasoned composer with an expensive doctorate, microtonal ambassador, mad skills on clarinet and anything with a keyboard, promoter and advocate for mindfulness, wellness, and mental health awareness.   

Adagio Notturno was commissioned by and dedicated to the Mana Saxophone Quartet. This superb ensemble has my deepest gratitude for their excellent performances of my compositions.

ALAN THEISEN (b. 4 October 1981) is a composer, saxophonist, author, and educator. Influenced in his youth by the careers of Leonard Bernstein and Quincy Jones, Theisen soon established his personal ethos of creating and sharing new music with joyous enthusiasm across multiple artistic endeavors. He continues this commitment to comprehensive musicianship by tirelessly combining the disciplines of composing, performance, scholarship, conducting, advocacy, and pedagogy.

The Great Boil Escape is:

• a loose narrative about a crawfish who attempts to change its fate of being eaten as a part of a New Orleans backyard boil
• a continuation of my journey to compose works that give performers agency to showcase their individual artistry and personality within a clear framework of my creative voice.

The Great Boil Escape was commissioned by and written for Quartetto Obrigado for the inaugural Batture Contemporary new music festival. Its creation was in part thanks to a residency at the Sitka Cente for Ecology and Arts facilitated by Licity Collins and the SynchroLicity Collective.

Mendel Lee (he/him) (b. 1975) is a New Orleans-based composer whose career oscillates between composition and artistic entrepreneurship. Since exiting his long career as Assistant Director of Tulane Bands in 2022, his creative practice has been split between his work as a composer and his role with Versipel New Music as Executive Director. Additionally, Mendel serves as Board Vice President of Rhythm X.

Driven by a merger with his founding organization nienteForte, Versipel New Music has quickly expanded its new music profile under his leadership, including the launch of Batture Contemporary, a Louisiana-focused new music festival. As a composer, Mendel’s music explores both the evolution of singular ideas over a long period of time and layered syncopated rhythmic patterns and hemiolas over an underlying groove. Recognized as a VCCA Fellow and an NPN Take Notice Fund grantee, he is committed to using his creative practice and entrepreneurial spirit to strengthen collaboration between composers, performers, and audience to show that new music can be for everyone.

Quartetto Obrigado was formed in 2013 as an enthusiastic group of saxophonists who enjoy coming together to perform new music for saxophone quartet. They have performed extensively across the United States in Ohio, Illinois, Texas, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Indiana, and New Mexico, and internationally in Strasbourg, France, and Zagreb, Croatia. As residents of Louisiana, they frequently perform within their home state.

The quartet has a strong history of collaboration, working with composers and other musicians on various projects. Notably, they have been featured with the Red Shift Choir and have performed at prestigious conferences including those of the North American Saxophone Alliance, the World Saxophone Congress, the Music Teachers National Association, and the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. A highlight of their career includes performing twice with renowned saxophonist Branford Marsalis. In April of this year, Quartetto Obrigado performed to a sold-out crowd as part of the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra (BRSO) chamber group series.

• Executive Director – Mendel Lee
• Executive Team – Kari Besharse (founder), Philip Schuessler (co-founder), Stephen Montalvo
• Artistic Directors
  • Batture Contemporary – Mendel Lee
  • Versipel Collective – Kari Besharse, Philip Schuessler
  • nF Residency Series – Mendel Lee (founder, interim), Maxwell Dulaney, Sixto Franco
• Production Director – Rick Snow
• Communications/Marketing – Kevin Mah, Drew Farrar
• Board of Directors – Kari Besharse (president), Philip Schuessler (vice-president), Megan Ihnen (secretary), Jeff Albert, Rick Snow

Batture Contemporary was created and is run by Versipel New Music. The festival is supported in part by:

• a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council, as administered by Arts New Orleans. Funding has also been provided by the National Endowment of the Arts.
• a grant from the New Orleans Theatre Association
• Acadiana Instrument Repair

Batture Contemporary and Versipel New Music would like to give our heartfelt thanks to the following outside people who have offered their time and resources to make this festival possible: