Daniel Koppelman -- Current and Recent Projects

In April and May, 2008, duo runedako performed six times in various venues in Odessa, Kyiv, and Simferopol, Ukraine. For more information about my Fulbright activities, see our Fulbright blog.
In September, 2008, I recorded Christopher Dobrian's Cycles Interrupted, together with soprano Tamara Matthews and saxophonist Matt Olson, for a future Dobrian release.
In November, 2008, duo runedako made its third appearance on the Gluck Chamber Music Series in La Jolla, CA (previous appearances were in 1995 and 2003).
The duo runedako recording of David Gillingham's Interplay (for piano four-hands and orchestra), made in 1996 with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, is finally going to be released by MMC recordings on a CD entitled "Perspectives."
I have been awarded a Fulbright grant to Odessa, Ukraine for February - June, 2008.
Everglade Records has accepted Escapement for publication, in an updated and revised edition. This release will feature new 5.1 mixes of the repertoire.
duo runedako performed at the North Charleston Arts Festival in North Charleston, SC in May, 2007.
I performed at the Sonorities Festival in Belfast in April, 2007.
duo runedako performed at the Florida Electroacoustic Music Festival in Gainesville, FL in April, 2007.
duo runedako performed at the Temple of Israel in Greenville, SC in January, 2007.
duo runedako performed with the Greenville Symphony Chamber Players in November, 2006.
duo runedako performed at UC San Diego in La Jolla, CA in November, 2006.
duo runedako performed at the International Computer Music Conference in New Orleans, LA in November, 2006.
duo runedako performed at the Furman University faculty showcase in Greenville, SC in October, 2006.
Christopher Dobrian and I presented a paper -- "The ‘E’ in NIME:
Musical Expression with New Computer Interfaces" -- at the NIME Conference (New Interfaces for Musical Expression) in Paris on June 7, 2006.
LiSaFest06@Furman took place at Furman University from May 15-19, 2006; for the concert on May 19 I was assisted by Tamara Matthews, Matt Olson, Ruth Neville, and Daniel Schorno, performing works of Christopher Dobrian, Mark Applebaum, Benjamin Broening, William Kleinsasser, Daniel Schorno, and Daniel Koppelman.
duo runedako performed at the festival "Two Days and Two Nights of New Music" in Odessa, Ukraine, on April 21, 2006.
I gave a presentation at a conference on electroacoustic music sponsored by NITLE in Chicago on March 10, 2006.
duo runedako performed on the "Music at the Forefront" series at Bowling Green State University on February 27, 2006.
duo runedako gave a recital at Furman University on February 2, 2006.
The second Live Sampling commission has been completed: William Kleinsasser's Protean Profile, for two pianos, computer, and interactive sampling instrument. The composition is a "second path through the musical design of the piece Innocent Proteins", a concerto for two pianos and chamber orchestra, which duo runedako premiered in March, 2005.
"Escapement" (my new CD/DVD) received a nice review in the December, 2005 issue of Keyboard Magazine, where I was named the "Unsigned Artist of the Month."

The first commission for my Live Sampling project has been completed: Mark Applebaum's on the nature of the modern age, for piano duo and electronics. The work was written "in loving memory of John Silber, compassionate mentor and intrepid experimentalist." duo runedako will premiere it in February, 2006.

"Escapement" is finished! My 2-disc set (CD plus DVD) of music for piano and electronics is now available from Horizon Records. Below is a shot of the front cover of the box. For more information on Escapement, click here.


cover art by Chris Cantrell    

duo runedako will perform on the "Music at the Forefront" series at Bowling Green State University in February, 2006.

Things are shaping up for my Live Sampling project in 2006. I have commissioned pieces from Christopher Dobrian, Benjamin Broening, William Kleinsasser, and Mark Applebaum. I am also composing some music for duo runedako and for my trio with Tamara Matthews and Matt Olson. Daniel Schorno of STEIM in Amsterdam will be in residence at Furman for a week in Spring, 2006 to help prepare the commissioned pieces; he will also give performances and master classes.

I performed William Kleinsasser's Quintuple Escapement in April, 2005 at the SEAMUS National Conference in Muncie, IN. This was my first performance with my new MOTU Traveler interface -- a nice addition to my arsenal. As a warm-up for SEAMUS, I played Quintuple Escapement on March 30 at the annual "Modern Music" concert presented by the Phi Mu Alpha brothers at Furman.

In March, 2005 in Baltimore, duo runedako premiered William Kleinsasser's Innocent Proteins, a chamber concerto for two pianos and ensemble. The duo performed in March on the Furman Faculty Chamber Music series at Gunter Theatre in Greenville, and in February on the "Winter Classics" series at Christ Church, also in Greenville.

In January, 2005 I received funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for a Career Enhancement grant to explore live sampling together with Furman colleagues Tamara Matthews and Matt Olson. The project will take place in 2005 and 2006. There is an article about this project in the Associated Colleges of the South newsletter.

My students in Music 45 (Project in Music Technology) presented a concert of music for live performer plus technological resources on February 10 on the Furman campus. I performed my composition "Solecism" at a CLP event entitled "Music as a Mirror" at Furman on January 6.

I'm currently putting the finishing touches on my CD/DVD "Escapement", which documents the work I did during my sabbatical in 2003. The DVD will have videos of live concert performances, excerpts from lectures/demonstrations (about my work with the Tactex MTC Express touchpad and Oxygen 8 controllers, as well as some background on performing with technology), recording studio footage, information on the composers and their works, and some extra goodies. The CD will have edited and mastered versions of the repertoire. Here's a sneak peak at a couple of the menus:

"Escapement" repertoire:
Benjamin Broening, Nocturne/Doubles, for piano and computer
William Kleinsasser, Quintuple Escapement, for MIDI controller and computer
Daniel Koppelman, digitalisman, for piano, MIDI controller and computer
Eric Lyon, Psychic Driving, for piano and computer
James Mobberley, Voices: In Memoriam, for piano and computer
Christopher Dobrian, Unnatural Selection, for Tactex MTC Express and computer
Wayne Peterson, Four Preludes for Solo Piano

Some activities during Fall, 2004:

Artist-in-Residence for the Hutchison Keyboard Weekend at
   St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY;
   played a solo recital and gave a lecture/demo.
Performed at the International Computer Music Conference in Miami, and
   Third Practice Electroacoustic Music Festival in Richmond.
Gave a 'mostly solo' recital at Furman
   (including Roscoe Mitchell's Not Yet for sax and piano, with Matt Olson)
Submitted a grant proposal for a Live Sampling project
   involving soprano Tamara Matthews and Matt Olson.
Redesigned personal website.

Fall repertoire included:
Benjamin Broening, Nocturne/Doubles, for piano and computer
Richard Festinger, Variations for Piano
Daniel Koppelman, Solecism, for MIDI controller and computer
Mario Davidovsky, Synchronisms #6, for piano and tape
   (Davidovsky was the featured composer at Third Practice.)
William Kleinsasser, Quintuple Escapement, for MIDI controller and computer.
Paul Rudy, Church Keys, for piano and tape.
James Mobberley, Voices: In Memoriam, for piano and computer.

Some activities during Summer, 2004:

Composed Solecism, using LiSa and my new Novation ReMote 25 controller.
   The piece is based on audio clips from infamous Congressional testimony
   (Oliver North, Anita Hill & Clarence Thomas, John Dean, etc.).
Gave a 'mostly solo' recital as part of Furman's Summer Keyboard Institute.
Worked with composers on getting recent repertoire transferred to OS X versions.
Learned Apple DVD Studio Pro and Final Cut Express;
   worked on DVD authoring of "Escapement" project (see above).
Family vacation trips to:
  New York City (to visit cousin Pete Rosenblum)
  Elk Rapids, MI (Neville family reunion), and
  London, England (with Ruth and our two moms).