• Source: Lois V. Vierk

Lois V. Vierk (born August 4, 1951 in Hammond, Indiana) is a post-minimalist composer who lives in New York City.
She received a B.A. degree in piano and ethnomusicology from UCLA in 1974. She then attended Cal Arts, studying composition with Mel Powell, Leonard Stein, and Morton Subotnick, 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 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 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 Grants to Artists Award.




Compositions


Kana (1976) for 3 Tenor Voices and 3 Bass Voices
Small Shadow in the Desert (1978) for 3 Clarinets
五 Guitars (Go Guitars) (1981) for 5 Electric Guitars
TUSK (1981) for 18 Trombones
Dark Bourne (1985) for 4 Bassoons and 4 Celli
Manhattan Cascade (1985) for 4 Accordions
Simoom (1986) for 8 Cellos
Cirrus (1987) for 6 Trumpets
Attack Cat Polka (1988) for Vocal Soloist, Accordion, Violin, Cello, Percussion
Red Shift (1989) for cello, electric guitar, piano/synthesizer, percussion
Jagged Mesa (1990) for 2 Trumpets, 2 Trombones, 2 Bass Trombones
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah (1990) for Piano
Timberline (1991) for Flute, Clarinet, Bassoon, Viola, String Bass, Piano/Synthesizer, Percussion
Devil's Punchbowl (1993) for Orchestra
Hexa (1993) with Anita Feldman, for Solo Tap Dancer on Tap Dance Instrument (patented); Cello and Marimba
River Beneath the River (1993) for String Quartet
Into the Brightening Air (1994) for String Quartet
To Stare Astonished at the Sea (1994) for string piano (played entirely inside the piano)
Swash (1994) with Anita Feldman, for 2 Tap Dances and 2 Singers (High Voice)
Spin 2 (1995) for 2 Pianos
Blue Jets Red Sprites (1996) for Accordion
Demon Star (1996) for Cello and Marimba
Silversword (1996) for Gagaku Orchestra
Io (1998) for Amplified Flute, Amplified Marimba, and Electric Guitar
Words Fail Me (2005) for Cello and Piano




Discography






= 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 though not played by them. The liner notes were written by Robert Carl. 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
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 (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.




References






Further reading


Zorn, John, ed. (2000). Arcana: Musicians on Music. New York: Granary Books/Hips Road. ISBN 1-887123-27-X.




External links


LoisVVierk.com
"The Living Composers Project: Lois Vierk", Composers21.com.
recording of Blue Jets Red Sprites
Lois V Vierk (November 30, 2007). "Slideways". NewMusicBox (Interview). Interviewed by Frank J. Oteri (published January 1, 2008).
[1] Experimental Intermedia page for Simoom
[2] 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)

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