The November 10th, 2019 National Association of Composers/USA (NACUSA) concert at Mississippi University for Women (otherwise known as The W) not only saw Dr. Alan Goldspiel featured prominently but also premiered two of his pieces.
Goldspiel first appeared on stage performing Ken Davies’ piece Imprints for solo guitar. Davies’ piece was inspired by and written for Goldspiel.
Immediately following that performance, Goldspiel returned to the stage to perform the first movement, Of Venus, from his new work for solo guitar, In Dreams. In Dreams is a three-movement composition based on the art work of Salvador Dali and the surrealist’s perspective of time, the absurd, and the interesting juxtapositions of characters and space.
Towards the middle of the concert, Goldspiel returned again to give the world premiere of Richard Montalto’s piece entitled Odyssey for solo guitar.
Immediately following the performance of Odyssey, Goldspiel’s electronic playback piece, Golus II, had its World Premiere to the W’s audience. Goldspiel stated:
“Golus II continues a musical exploration of exile, alienation, and abandonment. The word golus is Yiddish for exile and it refers to the diaspora of the Jewish people. Diaspora Studies, in general, reflect on overcoming tremendous hardship, the ongoing growth of the diasporic phenomenon, and the cultural, social, political, and economic contributions of such peoples to their new homeland hosts. The musical work Golus II with its repeated call of the sampled Shofar (a ram’s horn used by ancient Jews in religious ceremonies and as a battle signal) and chimes tuned to a Klezmer scale (D, Eb, F#, G, A) centers itself around the notion of leaving a place – sometimes willingly, sometimes not.”
At the end of the concert, Goldspiel returned to the stage with Diana Peoples (piano) to perform, yet another world premiere, David R. Peoples’ piece Sky River. The three-movements of the piece were Floating Clouds, Moonrays and Nocturnal Shadows, and Crying That Liquid Sunshine.
Other composers represented at the NACUSA concert were Joe L. Alexander, Olga Harris, and Valentin Bogdan.
Other performers were Joe L. Alexander (tuba), Ren Garrison (trombone), Earl Marshall (trombone), Demarcus Smith (trombone), Valentin Bogdan (piano, melodica), Ken Davies(trombone), and Julia Mortyakova (piano).