Lois V. Vierk (born August 4, 1951 in
Hammond, Indiana) is a
post-minimalist composer who lives in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
.
She received a B.A. degree in piano and ethnomusicology from
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
in 1974. She then attended
Cal Arts, studying composition with
Mel Powell
Mel Powell (born Melvin Epstein) (February 12, 1923 – April 24, 1998) was an American Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, and the founding dean of the music department at the California Institute of the Arts. He served as a music educator for over ...
,
Leonard Stein
Leonard David Stein (December 1, 1916 – June 24, 2004) was a musicologist, pianist, conductor, university teacher, and influential in promoting contemporary music on the American West Coast. He was for years Arnold Schoenberg's assistant, mu ...
, and
Morton Subotnick
Morton Subotnick (born April 14, 1933) is an American composer of electronic music, best known for his 1967 composition '' Silver Apples of the Moon'', the first electronic work commissioned by a record company, Nonesuch. He was one of the foun ...
, receiving her M.F.A. in 1978. She has conducted extensive study of ''
gagaku'' music, studying for ten years with Suenobu Togi in Los Angeles, and for two years in Tokyo with
Sukeyasu Shiba (the lead ''
ryūteki
The is a Japanese transverse '' fue'' made of bamboo. It is used in gagaku, the Shinto classical music associated with Japan's imperial court. The sound of the ''ryūteki'' is said to represent the dragons which ascend the skies between the ...
'' player in Japan's Imperial Court Orchestra).
She has written many chamber works for different ensembles which are multiples of the same instrument. Her work uses
glissando prominently and builds
exponentially
Exponential may refer to any of several mathematical topics related to exponentiation, including:
*Exponential function, also:
**Matrix exponential, the matrix analogue to the above
*Exponential decay, decrease at a rate proportional to value
*Expo ...
in level of activity. More recently she has written for mixed instrument ensembles, such as in her piece ''
Timberline'' commissioned by the
Relâche Ensemble, and ''
Red Shift'' which appeared on the CD ''
Bang on a Can Live Vol. 2''. She has also composed for ''gagaku'' ensemble.
Vierk received a 1993
Foundation for Contemporary Arts
The Foundation for Contemporary Arts (FCA), is a nonprofit based foundation in New York City that offers financial support and recognition to contemporary performing and visual artists through awards for artistic innovation and potential. It was ...
Grants to Artists Award.
''River Beneath the River''
''River Beneath the River'' was released in 2000. The album contains music written over a ten-year span including the title track originally commissioned by
Kronos Quartet
The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for almost 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classic ...
though not played by them. The liner notes were written by
Robert Carl
Robert Carl (born July 12, 1954 in Bethesda, Maryland) is an American composer who currently resides in Hartford, Connecticut, where he is chair of the composition program at the Hartt School, University of Hartford.
Music
Carl studied with J ...
. Track listing:
# ''River Beneath the River'' – 14:13 - Eva Greusser (violin), Patricia Davis (violin), Lois Martin (viola), Bruce Wang (cello); commissioned by the Barbican Centre for
Kronos Quartet
The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for almost 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classic ...
# ''Into the Brightening Air'' – 24:15 - Eva Greusser (violin), Patricia Davis (violin), Lois Martin (viola), Bruce Wang (cello); commissioned by Karen Bamonte Danceworks with support from Meet the Composer
# ''Jagged Mesa'' – 21:349 - Gary Trosclair (trumpet), Bruce Eidem (trombone), Christopher Banks (bass trombone); commissioned by Risa Jaroslaw & Dancers with support from Meet the Composer
# ''Red Shift'' – 12:16 -
Ted Mook (cello), David Seidel (electric guitar),
Jim Pugliese
James Pugliese (born Newark, New Jersey, 1952) is an American percussionist, drummer, composer and international recording artist on over 150 CDs of experimental, jazz and rock music.
His performing experience is diverse. As a freelance percussio ...
(percussion), Lois V Vierk (synthesizer); commissioned by
Experimental Intermedia with support from the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust
''Simoom''
''Simoom'' was released in 1990. The liner notes, written by Arthur Stidfole, contain a short introduction to the composer, descriptions of the compositions, and biographical information on the performers. Track listing:
# ''五 Guitars (Go Guitars)'' for 5 electric guitars; David Seidel (electric guitars) – 12:06
# ''Cirrus'' for 6 trumpets; Gary Trosclair (trumpets) – 18:43
# ''Simoom'' for 8 cellos;
Theodore Mook (cellos) – 20:34
Films
* ''New York Composers: Searching for a New Music'' (1997). Directed by Michael Blackwood. Produced by Michael Blackwood Productions, in association with
Westdeutscher Rundfunk
Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (''West German Broadcasting Cologne''; WDR, ) is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the conso ...
.
References
Further reading
*
Zorn, John, ed. (2000). ''Arcana: Musicians on Music''. New York: Granary Books/Hips Road. .
External links
*
LoisVVierk.com'
*
, ''Composers21.com''.
*
Experimental Intermedia page for Simoom
Tzadik Records page for River Beneath the River
Listening
Lois V Vierk interviewed by Charles Amirkhanian at the Exploratorium's ''Speaking of Music'' series in San Francisco, 23 April 1987)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vierk, Lois V
1951 births
Living people
20th-century classical composers
21st-century classical composers
American women classical composers
American classical composers
People from Hammond, Indiana
Musicians from New York City
American women in electronic music
21st-century American composers
20th-century American women musicians
20th-century American composers
21st-century American women musicians
Classical musicians from New York (state)
20th-century women composers
21st-century women composers