Commissioned Composer of the Year: April 2024
Louise Nedela, WSMTA Commissioned Composer of the Year Chair
Mission Statement: The WSMTA Commissioned Composer of the Year is the Washington State segment of the MTNA Composer Commissioning Program. MTNA is dedicated to encouraging the creation of new works by American composers, and annually assists its affiliated State Associations with the generation and performance of new music through the national Composer Commissioning program. A newly commissioned work receives its premiere performance at the convention of the State MTA, which is then submitted to a panel of recognized composers for selection of the MTNA Distinguished Composer of the Year.
Nathan Campbell, WSMTA Commissioned Composer, 2024
Our 2024 Commissioned Composer of the Year, Nathan Campbell, composer, pianist, and music educator in Bellingham, Washington, will present his commissioned work at the June Conference. A reminder of his background, Nathan earned a BM in Composition at Chapman University, and completed his MM in Composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Nathan was the winner of the 2013 San Francisco Shanghai International Chamber Music Competition. He also was the winner of the 2014 Highsmith competition, and the 2023 Marsha Wright Sonatina Festival. He has worked with such groups as Friction Quartet, FEARnoMUSIC, The Bellingham Symphony Orchestra, The SFCM Orchestra, The Firebird Ensemble, Beyond Pluck, Phonochrome, and the International Low Brass Trio.
More about Nathan and his music can be found on his website and on SoundCloud:
https://soundcloud.com/nathan-campbell-composer
Nathan’s commissioned work for the WSMTA 2024 CCOY, to be performed at the 2024 WSMTA Conference, is titled Orbits, for cello and piano. It will be performed by cellist Ben Workman Smith, with the composer on the piano. Ben earned a cello performance degree from Western Washington University, and is currently enrolled in the masters of Music Education program there. A description of the piece:
“Having watched a few recent interviews with the crew of NASA’s next Artemis mission, I’ve found myself spending more time gazing up at the stars and thinking about the planets and their orbits around the sun. I’ve found myself comparing our own routines to the orbits of planets. We pass in and out of each other’s lives on a daily, weekly, or yearly basis, but yet somehow, we remain connected through the influence of these orbits as our routines bring us in and out of each other’s lives.”
“Orbits is a piece for cello and piano and is designed to create a space for reflection on our routines in life and the relationships that result from those routines. The piano creates a minimalistic texture of overlapping harmonic progressions moving at different speeds, with each progression representing an orbit. Over this, the cello presents a melodic line highlighting the shared notes of each progression. The melody acts as a representation of the connection and influence between the orbits.”
Other CCOY news:
Note: The process for selecting the WSMTA Commissioned Composer of the Year has changed. By members’ request, and as one of the preferences indicated in the member survey in 2020, the CCOY committee will appoint a Commissioned Composer for 2025. That appointment will be announced in the September edition of the Clarion. If anyone wishes to nominate a composer (especially those who might not see the Clarion), please contact me with your nomination.
Attention past CCOYs: We would like to include your commissioned piece on the WSMTA website via a link. Please contact louisenedela@gmail.com for more information. We look forward to compiling the compositions of past CCOYs!
