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JOSEPH PEHRSON

JOSEPH PEHRSON, composer-pianist, (b. Detroit, 1950) has written works for a wide variety of media and they have been performed at numerous venues including Merkin Hall, Weill Recital Hall, Symphony Space in New York and throughout the U.S., Eastern Europe and Russia. Since 1983, Pehrson has been a founding director of the Composers Concordance in New York. He studied at the Eastman School of Music and the University of Michigan (Doctor of Musical Arts 1981). Pehrson visited St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia, in March 2008 for a series of concerts. In St. Petersburg, he participated in a Festival "From the Avant Garde to the Present Day," with a performance at the "House of Composers" in St. Petersburg. Linda Past-Pehrson also danced to three electronic pieces in alternate tunings as part of this festival. In Moscow, he had five chamber pieces presented at the "Jurgenson Salon" and Linda Past-Pehrson danced to six electronic pieces in alternate tunings at the "Fireplace Hall" of the "Central Building for Workers of Art, (TsDRI)." In 2009 Italian trumpeter Ivano Ascari toured the U.S. with a piece Pehrson wrote for him. In 2008 and 2009 several chamber works were presented by the Composers Concordance, the New York Composers' Circle and Dan Barrett's "International Street Cannibals." Pehrson has works recorded on Capstone and New Ariel CDs and several pieces are published by Seesaw Music, Corp., now a division of Subito Music. For more extensive bio or see below: Pehrson bio

Recent news!:



SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2012, 3PM, Pehrson presented his Melangefor bass clarinet, guitar and piano at the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, with Gene Pritsker on Guitzr and Michiyo Suzuki on bass clarinet..

JUNE 8, 2012, Fantasy for Brasswas performed at the Austrian Cultural Forum with John Clark, horn, Wayne Du Maine, trumpet, Franz Hackl, horn, Mike Seltzer trombone..

JUNE 3, 2012, Rap-sody for solo piano was performed at Jed Distler's Cornelia St. Cafe concerts with the composer at the piano.

APRIL 2, 2012 Interplay for duo was performed at William Paterson University with Gene Pritsker, electric guitar, and Peter Jarvis, percussion.

FEBRUARY 6, 2012, Sound Vessel for ensemble was performed at William Paterson University by Robert Dick, flute, MIchio Suzuki, bass clarinet, Peter Jarvis percussion, Gene Pritsker, acoustic guitar.

JANUARY 31, 2012 Night Crawler was performed at the club Nublu by John Clark, horn, Patrick Grant, synth, Gene Pritsker, elect. guitar, Dan Cooper, elect bass, Lynn Bechtold, violin.

AUGUST 4, 2011 Motorfogger was performed by the New York Composer's Circle at Symphony Space, with David Snow, cello.

MAY 31, 2011 Altered was performed at St. Sava Cathedral with Christopher Cullen, clarinet, Lynn Bechtold, violin, Jennifer DeVore, cello, Dimitri Dover Piano.

2010



AUGUST 24, 2010, Just in Time was performed at the University of Rosario, Argentina, with Wimm Hoogewerf, independently-fretted guitar.

AUGUST 20, 2010, Black and Jillwas performed at the Independent Media Center in Urbana Champaign, with Wil Hoogewerf, independently-fretted guitar.

JUNE 27, 2010 phone was performed by Christina Ascher at the Tenri Cultural Institute.

SUNDAY, JUN. 27, 2010, 1PM, Rob Voisey's and Douglas DaSilva's "Composers Voice" series presented Mating for electric guitar and cello with Greg Baker, electric guitar, and Dan Barrett, cello at the Jan Hus Church, 351 East 74th St., NYC.

Also, the same day, SUNDAY, JUN. 27, 2010, 8PM, Phone for contralto was sung by Christina Ascher at the Tenri Cultural Institute 43 W 13th St, NYC.

MONDAY, JUNE 21, 7PM, Pehrson presented PRUDENDURANCE WET for ensemble as part of Patrick Grant's "H2Opus" at Waterside Plaza, NYC, 23rd St. and the East River. This concert was part of "Make Music New York 2010." Performers were Lynn Bechtold, violin, Dan Cooper, 7-string electric Bass, John Ferrari, drums, Patrick Grant, keyboards, Marija Ilic, keyboard, Joseph Pehrson, keyboard, Gene Pritsker, electric guitar, Kamala Sankaram, accordion and Kathleen Supove, keyboard.

TUESDAY, MAY 25, 2010, 8PM, the New York Composers Circle presented phone for contralto with Christina Ascher. The location was St. Peter's Church at Citicorp 619 Lexington Avenue at 54th Street.

FRIDAY, MAY 14, 2010, 7:30PM, Composers Concordance presented Pehrson's short 1 minute ensemble piece in conjunction with Vox Novus "60x60" at the Parkside Lounge, 317 East Houston, between Ave. B and C. The piece Parkside Meter was performed by 5 composer-performers, all of whom wrote and played 5 one-minute pieces: John Clark, horn, Charles Coleman, baritone, Dan Cooper, bass guitar, Gene Pritsker, guiter, Joseph Pehrson, synthesizer. Pehrson's crawlerbaby, another short 1 minute electronic piece was also heard as part of a 60x60 "Burgundy" electronic Mix of 60 composers on this program which was choreographed by 7 dancers, including Linda Pehrson.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2010, 8:30PM, the International Street Cannibals presented Blacklight for cello and electronics in the near-just-intonation tuning system of "blackjack." Dan Barrett was the cellist and Linda Past choreographed the work. The location was St. Mark's Church in the Bowery, 131 East 10th Street, (Second Ave. and 10th Street) NYC.

TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 2010, 6PM Pehrson's microtonal Hexy Baby for electronics was presented on a joint collaboration between 60x60 "60x60" and UnTwelve at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cafe in Chicago.

MONDAY, APRIL 19, 2010, 8PM The Nature of the Universe II for flute and narration with text by Lucretius was presented by the International Street Cannibals at the Player's Theatre, 115 Macdougal Street with Margaret Lancaster, flute. Linda Past choreographed and danced the piece and Joseph Pehrson narrated.

Saturday, March 27, 2010, 8:30PM at the "Parkside Lounge" Mating for electric guitar and cello was performed by Greg Baker, electric guitar and Dan Barrett, cello, a benefit for Haiti relief. Co-production of Composers Concordance and The International Street Cannibals. Photos of the event are here: To Parkside Photos

Pehrson performed his Prudendurance, a variation on a well-known Beatles song at the Club Drom on Sunday, January 31, 2010 as part of the Composers Concordance huge "Composers Play Composers" marathon.

2009

Pehrson's Toast for contrabass was performed November 11, 2009 in Ekaterinburg, Russia on a concert of a new music ensemble organized by composer Olga Victorova. Italian trumpet player Ivano Ascari performed Pehrson's Trump-It! for trumpet and piano on a tour of the United States, always at the end of his concert program: locations included Western Michigan University School of Music, Kalamazoo, MI, 10-07-2009, Texas Christian University School of Music, Fort Worth, TX, 10-14-2009, South Carolina Governor's School of the Arts, Greenville, SC 10-20-2009 and Furman University Department of Music, Greenville SC, 10-27-2009.

October 28, 2009, 8PM three of Pehrson's Lewis Carroll Songs were sung by Helene Williams with Leonard Lehrman at the piano on a concert celebrating the great American composer Elie Siegmeister, at New York University.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009, 6PM, Pehrson performed his solo piano work Prudendurance written for Jed Distler and the Composers Collaborative at the Cornelia Street Cafe, 29 Cornelia Street in Greenwich Village.

A new piece for flute, clarinet and piano, Lunar Tunes was premiered at a Composers Concordance concert Wednesday, June 10, 2009, 7PM at the CHELSEA ART MUSEUM 556 West 22nd Street at 11th Avenue. It corresponded with paintings currently on exhibit: "On the Moon and Beyond" featuring Eduardo Kac. Performers included Margaret Lancaster, flute, Esther Lamneck, clarinet, and Paul Hoffmann, piano

Sunday, March 15, 2009, 3PM Dan Barrett's "International Street Cannibals" (group title from essay by Montaigne) featured the Manhattan premiere of a new piece written for the extraordinary trombonist Dave Taylor called I Won't Get Any Higher. Additionally, Pehrson premiered a new piece in a Reggae-influenced style, for horn, bass trombone, electric guitar, bass guitar, violin and cello called Night Crawler. all at the Church of St. Marks in the Bowery, 10th St. and Second Avenue.

Sunday, February 1, 2009, 5PM cellist Jennifer DeVore and violinist Lynn Bechtold premiered a work especially written for them called Slick Clicks at the Roerich Museum, 319 W. 107th Street, NYC.

Sunday, January 11, 2009, 3PM, a new work for flute, clarinet, trumpet, violin, cello and steel-string guitar called Good Time was premiered at the historical St. Mark's Church in the Bowery, (est. 1795) Tenth Street at Second Avenue (131 E. 10th St.), NYC by Dan Barrett's "International Street Cannibals." (Group title after an essay by Montaigne). The work was choreographed by Alan Good.

Friday, January 2, 2009, 8PM, three of Pehrson's Lewis Carroll Songs were sung by Helene Williams with Leonard Lehrman at the piano on a concert celebrating the great American composer Elie Siegmeister, at Bargemusic in Brooklyn. Pehrson gave a short talk on the important influence of Siegmeister on his composing.

2008

December 6, 2008, 8PM, Pehrson's Windjammer for woodwind quintet was performed on a concert of the New York Composers' Circle at the Baruch Performing Arts Center by the Sylvan Winds. November 7, 2008, Transpian for piano and electronics was performed by Cesar Vuksic, piano at a Composers Concordance/New Music Connoisseur Fundraiser and celebration of the Composers Concordance 25th year: Greenwich House School of Music 46 Barrow Street, NYC, 8PM. May 20, 2008, Pehrson's microtonal microproj was presented at the NYU Loewe Theatre by the New York Composers Circle and danced by Linda Past.

Pehrson visited St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia, in March 2008 for a series of concerts. In St. Petersburg, he participated in a Festival "From the Avant Garde to the Present Day," with Panoply for solo flute performed by Mikhail Pobedinsky and a new piece Quixoddities based upon Cervantes' Don Quixote for piccolo and bassoon, performed by Mikhail Pobedinsky with bassoonist Maxim Karpinsky at the "House of Composers" in St. Petersburg (March 19, 2008). Linda Past-Pehrson also danced to three electronic pieces in alternate tunings as part of this festival at the "Smolny Institute" (Hexy, Inner Voices, microproj) March 17, 2008.

In Moscow, he had five pieces presented at the "Jurgenson Salon" on March 22, 2008: Chab for solo cello performed by Olga Galochkina (who had played it before in 2001), Chambers Music for toy piano performed by Mona Haba, Toast for double bass (a premiere) with Evgeny Sinitzyn, Stringing for violin and piano with Maria Margorina, violin and Olesya Kozachenko, piano, and Spinner for clarinet, bassoon, viola and cello. Performers were Alexander Filatov, clarinet, Sergei Grashchenkov, bassoon, Anastasia Ponochevnaya, viola and Lydia Zinchenko, cello who are members of the Moscow-based chamber ensemble "Twentieth Century", "Dvadtsaty vek" directed by Maria Khodina and affiliated with the M.M. Ippolitov-Ivanov Music Institute. The day before, March 21, 2008, Linda Past-Pehrson danced to six electronic pieces in alternate tunings at the "Fireplace Hall" of the "Central Building for Workers of Art, (TsDRI)" including Hexy, Inner Voices, microproj, Blacklight, Blackjack, Beepy.

Here is a video of the performance of Spinner at the Composers' Union Concert Hall in Moscow. Performers are Alexander Filatov, clarinet, Sergei Grashchenkov, bassoon, Anastasia Ponochevnaya, viola and Lydia Zinchenko, cello who are members of the Moscow-based chamber ensemble "Twentieth Century", "Dvadtsaty vek" directed by Maria Khodina and affiliated with the M.M. Ippolitov-Ivanov Music Institute.

March 3, 2008, the brass trio B3+ with Dave Taylor, trombone, Franz Hackl, trumpet and John Clark, horn, premiered Pehrson's B's Company as part of a Composers Concordance concert at the Settepani Restaurant in Harlem, NYC.

2007

Spinner for clarinet, bassoon, viola and cello was performed December 25, 2007 in Moscow at the Composers' Union Concert Hall, with a rehearsal/performance December 23rd at the Central Building for the Workers of Art in Moscow. Both performances were by the "20th Century Chamber Ensemble."

Pehrson's Windjammer for woodwind quintet, was performed on a Composers Concordance concert at the Greenwich House Music School Renee Weiler Auditorium on Friday, November 9, 2007. Performers were Erin Lesser, flute, Laura Covey, oboe, Tibi Cziger, clarinet, Gina Cuffari, bassoon and Alana Vegter, horn.

Another quite different woodwind quintet, Blackjinn, in the near-just-intonation 21-note scale of "Blackjack" was premiered by the American Festival of Microtonal Music at the Bowery Poetry Club on Wednesday, May 2, 2007, 10PM.

April 30, 2007, 7:00 PM, Gerardo Levy performed Pehrson's Profondo for bass flute at a concert honoring Dinu Ghezzo's retirement and 38 years of working in the U.S. in a concert of his pieces and that of his associates at the Romanian Cultural Center, 200 E. 38th St.

April 28, 2007, 5 PM, Pehrson's new electronic work, microproj in the near-just-intonation 21-note "Blackjack" scale was presented at a "Retirement Concert" honoring the Director of the NYU Composition Program, Dinu Ghezzo. The concert was at Loewe Auditorium, 35 W. 4th St. (between Greene Street and Washington Square East). Actress-dancer Linda Past performed a visual rendition to the work.

Pehrson's Trump-It! for trumpet and piano was performed in Moscow March 26, 2007, at the "Jurgenson Salon," through a recommendation by composer/organist Kirill Umansky. Performers were Vladimir Goncharov, trumpet and Mikhail Dubov, piano who is a member of the acclaimed Moscow Ensemble for Contemporary Music.

Wim Hoogewerf performed Pehrson's Just In Time for an unusual, independently-fretted quitar at the UK MicroFest 2 at Walton-on-Thames, Surrey (near London) on March 4, 2007. This piece is in a just intonation scale devised by the performer.

Pehrson's string quartet contribution to the Composers Concordance Suite, Slacker Cracker played by Plantain, was heard at the Cutting Room on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2007, 8:30PM

2006:

Peter Jarvis and April McCloskey of the "DoubleStop Percussion Duo" performed Pehrson's Inner Voices II at Connecticut College on December 12, 2006.

A review has appeared on Seen and Heard International's website of Levitations for viola and piano as performed by the American Modern Ensemble: "In a savvy bit of programming, the Silverman seemed spiritually linked to Joseph Pehrson's Levitations, which followed. The levitating here began with arpeggios for viola and piano, in a mostly tonal landscape, rising to moments of glistening beauty, and again Ms. Hartman and Mr. Chung were most impressive." -- Bruce Hodges. The entire review is here: To Seen and Heard International's Review

Victoria and Robert Paterson's American Modern Ensemble To The American Modern Ensemble Website!, presented Levitations for viola and piano on Saturday, October 14, 2006, 8PM at the Tenri Cultural Institute, 43A W. 13th Street, NYC.

Gene Pritsker's Sound Liberation performed Liberations for two guitars, bass guitar, cello and drums Thursday, June 15, 2006, 10PM at Desmond's Tavern, 433 Park Ave. So, in Manhattan.

The New York Composers Circle presented Flautando for flute and guitar on Tuesday, June 6 at St. Peter's Church at the Citicorp Center (Lexington Ave. at 54th St.). Performers were Oren Fader, guitar and Mary Barto, flute.

Pianist Juny Jung performed Three Pianopieces (1991) in Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall on Friday, May 19, 2006 as part of the Simon's Pond New York Festival.

A premiere of a recent work for two percussionists and electronics Inner Voices II was performed at William Patterson College on Friday, April 28, 2006, 7:30PM by the "DoubleStop Percussion Duo" of Peter Jarvis and April McCloskey. This piece uses software synthesizers with microtonality in a tuning system called "Blackjack" which closely emulates just intonation (non-beating chords).

Dan Barrett and Sean Satin performed Pehrson's Runnion With It for cello and electric guitar at the Cutting Room, NYC on Feb. 13, 2006.

Pehrson's Forest of Winds for double wind quintet was performed Jan. 15, 2006 by Gerardo Levy's St. Cecelia Ensemble at the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew on 86th St. NYC.

2005:

Kirill Umansky performed Pehrson's Organum for solo organ at the Moscow Autumn Festival on November 2, 2005.

Ivano Ascari performed Pehrson's Trump-It! for trumpet and piano at the University of Illinois school of music on Wednesday, October 5, 2005 as part of Ascari's Guest Artist residency.

On Thursday, June 16th, 2005, Dinu Ghezzo and the NYU Composition Department featured Pehrson's Bass Desires, for bass clarinet and piano, a commission which was part of the NYU Tonemeister Summer rehearsal/recording series.

Trumpeter Ivano Ascari performed Pehrson's Trump-it! for trumpet and piano at the Philharmonic Hall in Trento, Italy on Thursday, May 19, 2005.

Pehrson's BlackandJill for soprano and electronics in the near-just-intonation "Blackjack" scale was premiered by Meredith Borden on a concert of the American Festival of Microtonal Music at the Faust/Harrison Piano Studios on 58th St. in NYC, April 8, 2005.

Organum for solo organ was performed for the second time on Jan. 31, 2005 by Carson Cooman at Houghton College, Houghton, NY.

2004:

In June, 2004, Pehrson traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia to participate in Sergei Oskolkov's festival, "Sergei Oskolkov and Friends." Pehrson's microtonal solo bassoon piece using 8th tones called One Small Step for Man was performed there on June 8th, 2004. Additionally, two electronic pieces in "alternate" tunings, Beepy, in the Bohlen-Pierce scale and Blacklight, in the near-just-intonation "Blackjack" scale were heard and danced to by Linda Past-Pehrson on the same concert.

June 6th, 2004, Pehrson's ensemble piece for mandolins, Mandolini Majestici was performed by the New York Mandolin Ensemble with Dan Barrett, conductor.

November 19, 2004, Organist and composer Carson Cooman premiered Pehrson's Organum for solo organ at Christ & St. Stephen's church near Lincoln Center.

October 25, 2004, the Archaeus Ensemble of 7 players conducted by Liviu Danceanu performed Pehrson's Wild, Wild West in Bucharest, Romania (first performance since 1999).

2003:

ASCAP reports that during the period 2000-2003 Pehrson had five works played on South Korean radio Doodle Doo, Hexy, Patina, Profondo and Wild, Wild West) with Patina, a wind ensemble piece, performed live on Korean television.

Flautando for flute and guitar was performed on a Composers Concordance concert 11-14-03 and the electronic piece in 19-equal tuning, Verklaerte Neunzehn was heard in Kazan, Russia at the Gubaidulina Contemporary Music Center on 12-17-03.

On October 20th, 2003, violist Lev Zhurbin premiered a new Pehrson work specifically requested by him, Levitations, for viola and piano with pianist Leonard Lehrman at Mannes School of Music in a concert sponsored by the New York Viola Society.

On May 29, 2003, Blacklight for cello and electronics in the near-just-intonation "Blackjack" scale was performed on a Composers Concordance concert at the NYU Loewe Theatre by cellist Dan Barrett and Barrett also performed Pehrson's CHAB for solo cello at the World Turning Festival, August 20, 2003 at the Medicine Show Theatre on W. 52nd St. on a concert curated by composer Evan Hause.

On April 8, 2003, Pehrson's Panoply for solo flute was performed in Moscow at the Russian Library of Foreign Literature by Vassily Soloviev and on April 12, 2003, famed theremin performer Lydia Kavina played Pehrson's W-u-u-u-u for solo theremin at the Contemporary Arts Festival in Brynsk, Russia. Three additional works were played in Russia during 2003, all at the Moscow Conservatory: On the Nature of the Universe II on May 19, 2003 with Irina Obolonskaya recorder and Anton Rovner, narrator, W-u-u-u-u on June 12, 2003 by Ayako Sato, theremin (a Lydia Kavina student), and a repeat performance of On the Nature of the Universe II on June 12, 2003, this concert organized by composer Anton Rovner at the prestigious Rachmaninoff Hall.

2002:

In December 2002, pianist/composer Jeffrey Jacob released a commercial recording of Pehrson's Three Pianopieces on the New Ariel label and there was a repeat performance of the brass quintet Fuoco on December 18, 2002 in Kazan by the Kazan Ensemble.

June 5, 2002, Pehrson's work for two pianos, Chromotions was performed at the Oskolkov Festival in Oranienbaum, Russia near St. Petersburg and his brass quintet Fuoco was performed November 28, 2002 in Kazan, Russia by Sergei Belikov's Kazan Ensemble for Contemporary Music.

Pianist Jeff Jacob, noted for his George Crumb work, played Pehrson's Three Pianopieces at New York University on April 29, 2002 and May 28, 2002.

Pulse Ensemble Theatre presented a repeat four-week run of Shakespeare's The Tempest, with Pehrson's music, mid April, 2002. Pehrson also had his piece Blackjack in the near-just-intonation "alternate tuning" of the same name for trombone and electronics presented on Johnny Reinhard's American Festival of Microtonal Music, May 25, 2002 at Roulette, NYC and his Violahexy for solo viola and electronics in another "alternate tuning" on a Composers Concordance concert, May 30, 2002 at NYU Frederick Loewe Theatre.

On March 15, 2002, Jean Luc Darbelley presented Pehrson's Spectral Harmony for French horn and saxophone, with Olivier Darbelley, horn and Marc Sieffert, saxophone in Bern, Switzerland. The piece was repeated March 17, 2002 in Mulhouse, France.

2001:

August 2001, the Pulse Ensemble Theatre produced Shakespeare's The Tempest to music composed by Pehrson (Listen here)

On April 9, 2001, Pehrson traveled to Los Angeles to participate in the Claremont College Microfest where two of his new electronic pieces in alternate tunings Verklarte Neunzehn and Hexy were heard in a "listening room" as part of a three-day festival. Hexy was also performed on April 20, 2001 on a "Sonic Circuits" concert at Roulette, sponsored by the American Composers Forum. Actress/dancer Linda Past also danced to the piece at that event.

In March, 2001 Pehrson travelled to Russia for a series of concerts. One full-length concert of his works was presented March 17, 2001 at the DOM performance space in Moscow, including pieces Profondo for bass flute, Three Pianopieces, for piano solo, Doodle Doo, for clarinet and piano, Panoply, for solo flute, On the Nature of the Universe II for recorder and speaker, Chambers Music for toy piano, Violahexy for alternately tuned viola and electronics, and three electronic pieces in alternate tunings: Unheard, Verklarte Neunzehn and Hexy danced by Linda Past. Another concert at the "Naschokin House" sponsored by the Club of Sergey Berinsky, featured Pehrson's CHAB for solo cello and Stringing, for violin and piano. Two additional works, Chromotions for two pianos and Panoply for solo flute were played as part of a contemporary music festival at the city of Bryansk, outside Moscow.

1999-2000:

Moscow-based theremin virtuoso Lydia Kavina premiered Pehrson's W-u-u-u-u for theremin at the Eastman School of Music (Mar. '00), repeating the piece in Kaluga, Russia and at the Lincoln Center Summer Festival as part of a lecture-demonstration (July '00).

The Meridian Arts Ensemble performed Fuoco for Brass Quintet (Mar. '00).

Tuba Miracle for solo tuba was premiered at a fundraiser for the New Music Connoisseur magazine (Sept. '00), Stringing for violin and piano was premiered (Oct. '00) by the Composers Concordance, and Just in Time, written in just intonation, was premiered (Nov. '00) by Wim Hoogewerf at the American Festival of Microtonal Music on an unusual guitar with individually-movable frets.

Four Pehrson works Slices, Lewis Carroll Songs, Three Pianopieces and Profondo were featured at New York University under the auspices of Dinu Ghezzo (Sept. '99). Two vocal pieces, Slices and Lewis Carroll Songs were presented by Golden Fleece Opera productions (Nov. '99).

A piece, One Small Step for Man, for bassoon in "1/8 tones," an unusual tuning system, was premiered by Johnny Reinhard in New York 05-27-99. Reinhard subsequently took the work to Moscow for the "Alternativa" Festival and to Kazan, Russia where he presented it at the Composers Union.

A repeat (third) performance of Pehrson's Wild Wild West for seven instruments at the "International Festival" in Bucharest, Romania by Liviu Danceanu's Archaeus ensemble (Feb. '99) and a performance in Moscow of Spectral Harmony for saxophone and horn (Mar, '99).

1997-1998:

Other performances included The Nature of the Universe II for baroque flute (performed twice, Apr. '98, Oct. '98 in New York on concerts organized by flutist Andrew Bolotowsky), a piece for rock band, Twang, (Oct. '98, performed in New York), and Transcendence for harp and violin (Nov. '98 on the Composers Concordance series in New York)

A performance of Exhilarations at the University of Chicago and at the Three Arts Club in Chicago by the Chicago Ensemble (Apr. '98). Exhilarations was a winning score in a competition of over 300 submissions.

A performance of Lustspiel at the University of Colorado, Boulder (Mar. '98) as part of a festival honoring the memory of Ross Lee Finney, one of Pehrson's teachers.

Performance of Three Pianopieces by Jeffrey Jacob in Ohio and Rees, Germany (Jan. '98)

The solo flute piece, Panoply, was performed by Gerardo Levy twice (Apr. '97, May, '97). A new work for chamber ensemble, Wild, Wild West was premiered and prominently featured by Liviu Danceanu's Archaeus Ensemble in Bucharest, Romania at the International Contemporary Music Days in Bacau, Romania (Jun. '97) It was then repeated at the Days of New Music International Festival in Chisinau, Moldova. (Oct. '97)

A residency (May, '97) at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music under composer Darrell Handel where Fuoco for Brass Quintet was performed.

Performances include: Forest of Winds for wind ensemble by Gerardo Levy's St. Cecilia Ensemble (May '95, repeated May '97), Lustspiel for clarinet, violin, cello and piano by the Absolute Ensemble (Mar. '96)

Performance (Apr. '97) of a commissioned work Trumpet in a New Surrounding by the St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble with Chris Gekker, trumpet, a recommendation by composer Eric Ewazen

1995-1996:

Hornorarium for four horns by the New York Art Ensemble (May '96), two performances of Chambers Music for toy piano by the composer and toy piano virtuoso Wendy Mae Chambers in New Orleans and New York, (May, July. '96), a performance of Confessions of the Goliards for tenor and ensemble produced by the Absolute Ensemble (Jun. '96).

A premiere of the brass quintet Fuoco by the Walden Brass Quintet in New York (Apr. '96). This piece was also performed (Jul. '96) in Constanta, Romania.

A performance in Bucharest, Romania of Pehrson's Windwork for woodwind quintet by the Romanian Radio and Television (April '96)

There were also three performances of Etheroscape for 8 flutes, two by the NYU Flute Ensemble (Oct. '96, Dec. '96) and one at C.W. Post College (Jul. '96)

1992-1994:

In 1994, Pehrson became contributor to New Music Connoisseur magazine, an activity he continues. He is currently involved with several other contemporary music organizations, including the New York Composers' Circle and the American Festival of Microtonal Music. He has pieces published by Seesaw Music Corp. (Now a subsidiary of Subito Music Corp.) and (the former) Soundspells Editions and has three scores in the circulating division of the New York Public Library at Lincoln Center, as well as 23 of his works fully catalogued in the research division of the NYPL. Pehrson has been listed in several biographical anthologies, including Who's Who in the East, Who's Who in Entertainment (both Marquis) and the International Who's Who in Music, Cambridge, England.

Pehrson's Thanatopsis was performed (Oct. '94) by the Long Island Composers Alliance. This piece was recorded and released on Capstone records.
Mr. Pehrson was invited as guest composer to the University of Akron, Ohio, (Mar. '93) by composer David Bernstein, where his work Fractio Modi for vibraphone, bassoon and cello was performed.

Performances included a presentation of several works at the Greenwich House as part of Frank Wigglesworth's Village Variations series (Nov. '92)

Performances of Etheroscape for eight flutes by students of Gerardo Levy at New York University as a repertoire item (every two years)

Performance of the Confessions of the Goliards for tenor, flute, violin and cello, a commission by Jim Blanton's Goliard Concerts for their Warwick Music Festival in Warwick, NY, (Oct. '92) on recommendation by composer Eric Ewazen. In addition, Goliard Concerts presented three other works, Ariadne, piano trio, Caprice, flute and piano, and Thanatopsis, baritone, violin and piano, as part of the Festival. Following the Warwick Festival, the Pehrson works Ariadne and Caprice were performed by the Goliard Chamber players at three locations on a tour of Southern states, (Oct. '92), and at three locations in Metropolitan New York (Nov. '92, Jan. '93).

1987-1991:

Performances at that time included the Manhattan Plaza Orchestral Painting by the Lake St. Clair Symphony Orchestra, St. Clair Shores, Michigan, (Apr. '89) along with a teaching residency at the University Liggett School, Etheroscape for eight flutes premiered by the New York Flute Club (Jun. '91), and Windwork for woodwind quintet by the Pegasus Winds (May '91), repeated four other times in the New York area by that group.

The Belgian horn player Francis Orval commissioned several works including the Concertino for Horn which was performed at the University of Delaware with Mr. Pehrson conducting (Apr. '87). It was repeated in New York, and again (Jan.'91) by the North-South Consonance Ensemble. Nature's Harmony, a work for two horns in just intonation, one of Orval and Pehrson's shared interests, which Francis Orval and his wife Ruby Miller commissioned and took on a tour of several Western states in 1987, was repeated on a concert of the American Festival of Microtonal Music (May '88). Harmonic Etude, a virtuosic work for solo horn in just intonation, was commissioned and performed by Orval in Merkin Hall (Feb.'88) and was repeated by Orval at the International Horn Convention in Potsdam, NY (Jun. '88). Hornucopia, a work for ten horns, was commissioned for the Delaware Horn Ensemble with Orval conducting, (Apr.'89). This work was repeated in Budapest, Hungary by Orval (Jul. '89) and in Donaueschingen, Germany, (Nov. '92).

1980-1986:

After student performances, Pehrson came to New York in 1980. His music was performed by NACUSA, with his Fractio Modi (Aug. '81) at Symphony Space, and North-South Consonance, which presented his Approaches for solo trombone (Apr. '82) and his Arecibo for piano and percussion (Jan. '85). His music was also performed regularly at Composers Concordance concerts, a composer-presenting organization that Pehrson started with Patrick Hardish in 1983. He also appeared with Hardish on a series of radio shows, WKCR-FM, Columbia University and WNYC-FM, hosted by Tim Page, New York Times critic.

Joseph%20PehrsonQuantcast

LIST OF WORKS

WORKS FOR ORCHESTRA:

  • Regions (1973) 7' (S)
  • Sinfonia Concertante (1980) 20'
  • Manhattan Plaza Orchestral Painting (1988) 5' (S)
  • Chromakkordion (1995) Orch: 3333,4331. 15'
  • Short Circuit (2010) Orch: 2222,2221. 1'
  • Indie (2012) Chamber Orch: 1111,1111. 5'

WORK FOR CHORUS:

  • Choral Confessions (1997) 17' SATB, flute, violin, cello, tambourine, based on chamber piece Confessions of the Goliards

WORKS FOR CHAMBER ENSEMBLE:

  • De Rerum Natura (1974) for flute, oboe, clarinet, mandolin, tenor voice, perc., 2 cellos. 20' (S)
  • Entropic Latitudes (1974) for flute, oboe, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, piano, 2 percussion, 2 violas, 2 cellos & contrabass. 10'
  • Patina (1977) for wind ensemble. 10' (S)
  • New York Suite (1983) for flute, oboe, clarinet, trumpet, piano, viola & cello. 15' (S)
  • Concertino for Horn & Eight Instruments (1987) for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, solo horn, violin, viola, cello, contrabass. 12' (S)
  • Hornucopia (1988) for ten horns. 7'(S)
  • Etheroscape (1989) for eight flutes. 5' (S)
  • Windwork (1990) for woodwind quintet. 8'(S)
  • Confessions of the Goliards (1992) for tenor voice, flute, violin & cello. 17' (S)
  • Fuoco (1993) brass quintet. 13' (S)
  • Lustspiel (1993) clarinet, violin, cello, piano 16' (S)
  • Forest of Winds (1994) for wind ensemble 6' (S)
  • Hornorarium (1994) for 4 horns. 7' (S)
  • Trumpet in a New Surrounding (1996) for trumpet and string quintet. 17' (S)
  • Wild, Wild West (1997) for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, piano, percussion, violin, cello. 8' (S)
  • Twang (1998) for rock band. 4'
  • Blackjinn (2003) for woodwind quintet in the near just intonation "Blackjack" scale 7'
  • Mandolini Majestici (2003) for mandolin ensemble (plus recorder and concertina) 5'
  • Liberations (2006) two electric guitars, bass guitar, cello and drums 9'
  • Windjammer (2006) Woodwind quintet 11'
  • Cracker (2006) flute, alto sax, perc, pno., elect. guit., bass guitar, violin, cello 5'
  • Slacker Cracker (2006) String quartet 5'
  • Spinner (2006) clarinet, bassoon, viola, cello 9'
  • Prudendurance (2008) flute, trombone, viola, cello, piano 6'
  • Fire in the Evening (2008) oboe, bassoon, guitar, viola 6'
  • Good Time (2008) flute, bass clarinet, trumpet, guitar, violin, cello 6'
  • Night Crawler (2009) horn, bass trombone, electric guitar, bass guitar, violin, cello 4'
  • Parkside Meter (2010) baritone, horn, electric guitar bass guitar, synth, 1'
  • Sound Vessel (2012) flute, clarinet, percussion, acoustic guitar, keyboard, violin
  • Fantasy for Brass (2012)brass quintet 5'

DUOS AND TRIOS:

  • Arecibo (1976) for piano & percussion. 12' (S)
  • Entelechies (1977) for clarinet and 2 violas. 9' (S)
  • Fractio Modi (1979) for vibraphone, bassoon & cello. 12' (S)
  • Rites of Passage (1981) for bassoon & piano. 12' (S)
  • Changing Fantasy (1983) for flute, viola & piano. 15' (S)
  • Caprice (1984) for flute & piano. 4' (S)
  • Ariadne (1985) for piano trio. 17' (S)
  • Thanatopsis (1985) for baritone voice, violin & piano. 7' (S)
  • Romance (1985) for horn & piano. 8' (S)
  • Nature's Harmony (1987) for 2 horns in just intonation. 5' (S)
  • Chromotions (1988) for 2 pianos. 8' (S)
  • Violarimba (1988) for viola & marimba. 10' (S)
  • Tonreiter (1989) for clarinet & piano. 8'
  • Lewis Carroll Songs (1986/90) for soprano & piano. 7'(S)
  • Windfall (1993) for wind trio. 7'
  • Exhilarations (1993) for clarinet, cello and piano. 11'
  • Transcendence (1994) for violin & harp. 11' (S)
  • Spectral Harmony (1997) for alto sax and horn. 7' (S)
  • Doodle Doo (1999) clarinet & piano. 12' (S)
  • Slices (1999) soprano & piano. 4'
  • Stringing (1999) violin & piano. 12' (S)
  • Three Musicians (2002) guitar, violin & viola. 10'
  • Mating (2002) electric guitar & cello. 9'
  • Flautando (2002) flute & guitar. 9'
  • Levitations (2003) viola & piano. 9' (S)
  • Trump-it! (2004) trumpet & piano. 9'
  • Consonantics (2004) 2 cellos in the Blackjack scale. 9'
  • Bass Desires (2005) bass clarinet and piano. 6'
  • Aura (2005) bassoon and percussion. 9'
  • Inner Voices II (2005) electronics and 2 percussionists (non-pitched) 10'
  • Quixoddities (2007) piccolo and bassoon 9.5'
  • B's Company (2007) trumpet, horn, trombone 4.5'
  • Slick Clicks (2008) violin, cello 8'
  • Lunar Tunes (2009) flute, clarinet, piano 8'
  • Altered (2010) clarinet, violin and piano 9'
  • Interplay (2012) guitar and drum set 7'
  • Sound Motion (2012) violin, horn, piano 3'
  • duodrama (2012) cello and piano 10'
  • Melange (2012) bass clarinet, guitar and piano 8'
  • Combine (2012) drumset, guitar, piano 3'

WORKS FOR SOLO INSTRUMENTS:

  • Approaches (1976) for solo trombone. 10' (S)
  • Piano/Dance Sonata (1981) piano solo. 7' (S)
  • Etude Moderne (1981) for harp solo. 7' (S)
  • Harmonic Etude (1987) for solo horn in just intonation. 5' (S)
  • Three Pianopieces (1991) 10' (S)
  • Chab (1991) for solo cello. 5' (S)
  • Panoply (1992) for solo flute. 5'
  • Lake Fantasy (1993) for solo oboe. 4.5'
  • Chambers Music (1996) for toy piano. 8'
  • The Nature of the Universe II (1998) baroque flute. 12' (S)
  • One Small Step for Man (1998) microtonal bassoon. 10'
  • Profondo (1998) bass flute. 8' (S)
  • Just in Time (1999) guitar in just intonation. 10'
  • Tuba Miracle (2000) tuba. 10' (S)
  • Violahexy (2000) viola and electronics. 13'
  • Blackjack (2001) trombone and electronics in near just intonation "Blackjack" scale 10' (S)
  • Blacklight (2002) cello and electronics in near just intonation "Blackjack" scale 11' (S)
  • Organum (2002) organ 10'(S)
  • BlackandJill (2003) soprano and electronics in near just intonation "Blackjack" scale 10'
  • Transpian (2006) piano and electronics in near just intonation "Blackjack" scale 10'
  • Toast (2007) Contrabass 7.5'
  • Prudendurance (2008) solo piano version 6'
  • I Won't Get Any Higher (2008) bass trombone 8'
  • Phone (2009) alto voice 7'
  • Motorfogger (2009) electric cello 8'
  • HiJack (2010) violin and electronics in near just intonation "Blackjack" scale 9.5'
  • Trappings (2010)drumset 9'
  • Rap-sody (2012) piano 13'

ELECTRONIC

  • Alignments (1974) U. Mich. elect studio. 5'
  • T & Serial (1990) MIDI. 5'
  • Wuuuu (1997) for solo Theremin. 7'
  • Unheard (2000) MIDI in 1/8 tones. 7'
  • Verklarte Neunzehn (2000) MIDI in 19 tones per octave. 6'
  • Hexy (2000) MIDI using a 1.3.5.11 hexany 6- note tuning on 1.11. 6'
  • Beepy (2001) MIDI using the Bohlen-Pierce scale 6'
  • The Tempest (2001) Music for Shakespeare's play (MIDI) in meantone tuning produced by Pulse Ensemble Theatre ca. 30'
  • Blect (2002) MIDI in the near just intonation "Blackjack" scale 7'
  • Inner Voices (2005) for "z3ta+" softsynth in the near just intonation "Blackjack" scale 10'
  • microproj (2007) for "z3ta+" softsynth in the near just intonation "Blackjack" scale 9'
(S) = Seesaw Music Inc., a division of Subito Music

Scores from Seesaw Music Corp. are presently available through Subito Music Corporation. SUBITO MUSIC (SEESAW)

Other scores not marked will be made available through Subito Music Corporation upon request: Subito Music Corporation, 60 Depot Street, Verona, NJ 07044, (973) 857-3440.

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