Theorbo soloist Adam Cockerham plays "track ii" by Kyle Hovatter, composer

Описание: Commissioned by Adam Cockerham and Mutable Music. Recording from the Interpretations series at Roulette in Brooklyn May 5, 2016

Program Note: In the Fall of 2015 I wrote a solo piano piece for Sarah Cahill titled “track”. That work was inspired by this quote often credited to Henry David Thoreau: “As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.”

When granted the opportunity to write a work for Adam Cockerham this text still lingered in my mind. I have since discovered that my book had misattributed the text to Thoreau when in fact it was written by Wilfred Arlan Peterson who was rehashing a concept he claims to have gotten from Thoreau’s “Walden”. While this new theorbo work shares some features of the piano piece written for Sarah Cahill, it may be more appropriate to do my own paraphrase of Luciano Berio. “The completed work is the ritual and commentary of other works preceding it, of more works that will follow. The question does not provoke a response but rather commentary and new questions”.

Adam Cockerham bio:
Early music artist Adam Cockerham specializes in theorbo, lute, and baroque guitar. He has performed with ensembles such as Trinity Baroque Orchestra, NOVUS NY, Philharmonia Chamber Players, New York Baroque Incorporated, El Mundo, and J415. He has been involved in modern world premiere performances of 17th-century operas with companies such as Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik (Le nozze in sogno), Ars Minerva (La Cleopatra, Le Amazzoni nelle isole fortunate), and world premiere performances of new operas with companies like the Prototype Festival (Pulitzer Prize-winning Angel’s Bone) and Opera Saratoga (A Long Walk).

Cockerham is currently a doctoral candidate at The Juilliard School after completing his Master of Music degree in Historical Plucked Strings, studying with Charles Weaver and Daniel Swenberg. He also holds Master and Bachelor of Music degrees in Classical Guitar Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of music where he studied guitar with Sérgio Assad, David Tanenbaum, and Lawrence Ferrara, and early plucked strings with Richard Savino. Partnering with acclaimed mezzo-soprano Danielle Sampson, he founded voice and guitar/lute duo Jarring Sounds, which released its first album in 2014.

Kyle Hovatter bio:
Championed by players across Europe and the United States, San Francisco based composer Kyle Hovatter (b.1986) designs music for classical and unusual instruments. He has been recently commissioned by large ensembles including Blueprint Ensemble and San Francisco Renaissance Voices as well as more personal collaborations with soloists like theorboist Adam Cockerham. In addition to his composing, Kyle regularly performs at the piano and organ as Director of Music at Zion Lutheran Church in San Francisco. As curator of the refugee support series “Benefit Concerts at Zion”, Mr. Hovatter fosters collaboration between artists and Interfaith Refugee Welcome.
With his catalog spanning orchestral, choral, chamber, and electronic genres, Kyle’s recent collaborators include Earplay Chamber Ensemble, Sarah Cahill, sfSound, Jeff Anderle, Blueprint Ensemble, Susan Nelson, Soo Yeon Lyuh, Nonsemble, Amy Foote, Jarring Sounds, the International Low Brass Trio, the Silver Keys Trio, and Nicole Paiement. A collection of his works have been published by Potenza, Imagine Music Publishing, and Forton Music and his music has recently been featured at Clarinet Fest.

Originally a chemistry major, Kyle Hovatter studied with Robert Coburn and Francois Rose at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. After graduating, he spent two years as the Director of Music at St. Peter School in Lodi, CA before moving to San Francisco to study with Elinor Armer at the San Francisco Conservatory and privately with Belinda Reynolds. He serves on the board of the Bassoon Chamber Music Composition Competition, is an active musician in San Francisco, a member of the International Orange Chorale, and a student of Dan Becker’s. Mr. Hovatter has a private piano studio and works as the organist and Director of Music at Zion Lutheran Church in San Francisco.

http://www.adamcockerham.com
http://www.kylehovatter.com