Curriculum Vitae
Creative Work and Research
TECHNOLOGY
Software
2009 Unpulser 3.0.2: An Environment for Pre-compositional Planning and Analysis with Additive Rhythms. With Ian Saxton (2007-2008).
Blog
2008 “Hearing Time Freely: a computational approach to non-periodic additive rhythms.”
PUBLISHED WRITINGS AND CREATIVE ACTIVITIES
Independently Produced
2009 Anahistoric: Music of Ben Leeds Carson. Live recording (complete) of the of the same name, a Special Event for the Columbia University Music Performance Program. Engineered by Eric Parson and Josephson Studios.
2008 Takes to the Stage: An experiment in form and memory, for solo cello in concert. Video with animation, featuring cellist Franklin Cox at April in Santa Cruz Festival of Contemporary Music. 62’00”.
Compact Discs from Professional Recording Labels
2009 [Accepted, release projected 2010 from Centaur Records] Pieces, Threaded, 1999-2009: Piano Music of Ben Leeds Carson.
2009 [Accepted, release projected 2010 from Albany Records] A is for Azimuth and Arnica: Music for Percussion by Ben Leeds Carson
Articles in Professional Journals and Other Periodicals
2009 “Writing At The Piano.” Accepted for publication and forthcoming from Viz. Inter-arts Journal II. Berkeley: Small Press, 2010
2009 “Schoenberg’s ambivalent thought: subjectivity in ‘Du lehnest wider eine Silberweide…’” In Search Yearbook: Anthology of New Music and Culture, 2009-2010 (forthcoming from Edwin Mellen Press, 2010)
2007 “Perceiving and distinguishing simple timespan ratios without metric reinforcement.” Journal of New Music Research, 36/4 (December 2007), 313-336.
2006 “What are Musical Paradox and Illusion?” Review Essay, in American Journal of Psychology 120/1 (Spring 2007), 123-139.
2003 “John Adams and a Certain Counterpoint of Contemporary Reasoning: The Los Angeles Philharmonic’s El Niño, March 2003,” Echo V/1 (http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/echo/volume5-issue1/reviews/carson.html).
2003 [With Christopher Williams] “On the Piano Music of Benjamin Carson: A Correspondence of Essays.” Open Space Magazine 5 (Fall 2003), 231-250.
Compositions
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2009 |
Lesser Myths III: Atalune for unspecified instruments. Composed for the occasion of the Columbia University Music Performance Program’s Special Event “Anahistoric: The Music of Ben Leeds Carson” (03/26/09), and performed there in conjunction with other compositions below. |
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2008 |
Mediations/Tenors for vibrophone and marimba. Commissioned by the Georgia Institute of Technology Percussion Ensemble. Performed by Ian Antonio and Russell Greenberg at SUNY Stony Brook (03/09/09), Columbia University (03/26/09), UCSC’s “April in Santa Cruz” Festival (04/15/09), and for the Islip Arts Council on Long Island (06/07/09). A is for Azimuth and Arnica, for one percussionist. Commissioned by Chris Froh of San Francisco Sound. Performed by Chris Froh at Classical at the Freight (Berkeley, CA 05/27/09), Davis/Sacramento Percussion Concert (CSU Sacramento, CA, program included). To be performed (separately) by Ian Antonio and by Russell Greenberg, at the 2nd Annual You Are Here Festival (Brooklyn, NY 09/22/09), and recorded by Aiyun Huang (Montreal, QB 09/26/09) Works for singing contrabassist: “Magpie”, “Cold On Him”, and “I cannot walk in the solitude of night…” Performed at Columbia University (03/26/09), at the Gerngesehen Festival in Cologne (05/08/09), at the monthly Electric Possible sonic art show in Washington D.C. (06/10/09), at the Panic Research Gallery space (6/14/09), and at the annual conference of the International Society of Bassists at Pennsylvania State University Harrisburg (06/08/09). Lesser Myths I: Anonyme, for solo saxophone. Commissioned by Rhonda Taylor. Performed at Columbia University (03/26/09), and at UCSC’s April in Santa Cruz Festival of Contemporary Music (04/05/09) |
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2007 |
Pieces, Theaded, for piano: i. A pulse and a Perónist [1’30”], ii. Sixty long years later [2’40”], iii. Biene Herz [5’40”]. Premier (05/14/08): UCSC Takes to the Stage for solo cello. Commissioned by Franklin Cox. Premier (05/29/07): UCSC’s “April in Santa Cruz” festival. “Hysterics / Reminiscences” [4’20”]; “Ana Agnosis / Paranoia” [4’00”] for solo piano. |
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2006 |
The Whole Gamut of Human Emotions. Multi-media collaboration with anthropologist Shelly Errington, in progress. Sparagmos [3’40”] and Dissemblance [6’30”] for solo piano. |
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Arionanum [11’00”] for contrabass with violin, harmonium, and harpsichord. |
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Two Manyoshu Fragments, for bel canto tenor solo and 12-15 voices. |
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2004/5, revised 2007/8 |
Anahistoric [10’30”] for cello, three voices, and two percussionists with celeste and self-amplified electronic keyboards. Commissioned by UC Davis’ Empyrean Ensemble. Premier (05/15/05): UC Santa Cruz “Pacific Rim” festival. Revision for Yarn/Wire [Score: Item 6b, CD: Item 6a, track 1], performed 03/26/09 at Columbia University and 04/15/09 at the “April in Santa Cruz” Festival of Contemporary Music by Yarn/Wire. |
2004 “Penance for Hunters: Six Pieces for Piano.” Commissioned by Erika Arulananthum.
“Fors Seulement, fors seulement condition…” for piano, premiered by Carson at UCSC’s April in Santa CruzSummer Institute for Contemporary Piano Performance (08/12/04) by John Mark Harris (institute faculty member). Revised score performed by Jacob Rhodebeck at Columbia University (03/26/09), and at UCSC’s April in Santa Cruz festival (04/15/09). Performed at New England Conservatory’s Summer Institute for Contemporary Piano Performance (08/12/04) by John Mark Harris (institute faculty member). Revised score performed by Jacob Rhodebeck at Columbia University (03/26/09), and at UCSC’s April in Santa Cruz festival (04/15/09).
2003 “X. temper, rain.” For piano, contrabass, and two percussionists. Performed (1/xx/96) by Ivan Raykoff, piano; David Gergen, contrabass; Terry Longshore and Brett Reid, percussionists.
2002 “When all of us find peace, there will be time for other things,” for tenor saxophones and unspecified rhythm section. Commissioned by HDKKR (Lindsay Vickary and Darren Moore). Performed by Sylvain Carton, Joel Ford, Patrick Richey, and Ben Carson at the “April in Santa Cruz” festival (5/21/06).
2001 “Detáler”, for contrabass and eight instruments. Performed by Christopher Williams, Aiyun Huang, Jeff Nevin, Ivan Manzanilla, Yvonne Lee, Susan Ung, Geoffrey Gartner, Robert Zelickman, and conducted by Harvey Sollberger (11/9/02), at University of California, San Diego
“Arion,” for contrabass with violin, harmonium, and harpsichord. Performed by Charon Rosner, David Ryther, and La Banda Bastarda (01/15/02) at University of California, San Diego.
2000 “Persistent Names of Lost Spaces” (Formerly “The Self and Its Pleasures”), performed by John Mark Harris (03/26/01) at University of California at San Diego.
“Plain Clothes Cop”, performed by John Mark Harris at UC San Diego (04/10/00) and at State University of New York, Buffalo’s 25th-Anniversary June in Buffalo Festival of Contemporary Music (06/14/00).
1999 “Coda: ‘You Are Not I’”, performed by John Mark Harris (6/14/00) at State University of New York, Buffalo. Performed by Jacob Rhodebeck at Columbia University (03/26/09), and at UCSC’s April in Santa Cruz festival (04/15/09).
“True/False Phrase” for chamber orchestra. Reading by the La Jolla Symphony (1999), University of California, San Diego.
1998 “Janus Images” (8 recorded improvisations). University of California, San Diego.
“Tenors/Mediations” for vibraphone, marimba, and miscellany; commissioned by Steve Schick, performed (1998) with Red Fish Blue Fish, University of California at San Diego.
1997 “Piano and Percussion” for two players; commissioned by Patti Cudd, performed (1998) at the University of California at San Diego.
1996 “Etude-Mandala,” for piano; commissioned by Ivan Raykoff.
1996 “Pari Passu” (revised 1999), for two violins, viola, and two cellos, premiered at Round Top International Festival Institute by Jorja Fleezanis, Laura Park (soloists), and Harvey Sollberger (Summer 1999).
1994 “One Trombone” for solo trombone; commissioned by Kevin Karnes, performed (1995) at Brechmin Auditorium, Seattle, Washington.
1992 “Slowly a Sweetness” for Baritone and six instruments, premiered at Aspen Summer Music Festival (1992).
1992 “A Dream Before Sleeping,” for seven instruments, premiered by Steven Mosko and members of the Portland New Music Ensemble (1993).
Scores Published
2003 “Plain-clothes Cop,” for piano in The Open Space Magazine 5, fall 2003 (236).
Public Lectures, Symposia, and Conference Presentations
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2008 |
Lecture: “Schoenberg’s Compositional Economy.” Columbia University Music Theory Colloquium, February 25. Lecture: “Mathematical Determinants of Unpulsedness.” Columbia University Electroacoustic Composition Seminar, March 2. Lecture: “Hearing Time Freely: Explorations of Rhythmic Heterarchy.” Current Issues Colloquium, UCSC Department of Music. May 8. |
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2007 |
“Perceiving and distinguishing simple timespan ratios without metric reinforcement.” Read at the annual national conference of the Society for Music Theory. Baltimore, November 15-18. |
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2005 |
“Stream Segregation and Rhythm Perception.” Read at the Psychonomic Society’s “Auditory Perception, Cognition, and Action” Meeting. Toronto, November 10. |
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Lecture-recital “Subjectivity and Collectivity in Late 20th-Century Piano Music.” Musicological Society of Australia’s Music and Social Justice Conference. Sydney Conservatory, October 2. |
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2004 |
Lecture “Compositional Economy and Self-Identical Bodies in New Music.” Oakes College, UC Santa Cruz: Cultural Studies Colloquium, May 26. |
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2002 |
“Subjectivity and Action in Schoenberg’s ‘Du lehnest wider eine Silberweide…’” Read at the California Chapter meeting of the American Musicological Society. Stanford University. |
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2000 |
“Rhythm and Stream Segregation: a Multi-dimensional Approach.” Read at the Society for Music Perception and Cognition meeting at Toronto 2000: Musical Intersections, November 1-5. [A joint international conference of the AMS, CMS, SE, and SMT.] |
Selected Activities as a Performer
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2008 |
Taiheyo (Pacific). Monica Lynn. World Premier, May 2008. |
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2006 |
Two Works for Piano. Daniel Brown. World Premier, December 2006. |
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2005 |
Subjectivity and Collectivity in Music for the Piano. A lecture-recital at Sydney Auditorium, for the Musicological Society of Australia. October 1, 2005. |
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2004 |
Anahistoric (see “Compositions” above). Guest conductor with the Empyrean Ensemble, performing April in Santa Cruz, 2005 |
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2002 |
Quintet for Piano and Strings Op. 114 in A Major “The Trout,” Franz Schubert. May 2003, with members of the La Jolla Symphony. HDDKR, Lindsay Vickary. Pianist, with winds and percussion trio. November 16, 2002. San Diego, California. Amahl and the Night Visitors. Musical and Artistic Director: Claremont Small Opera’s Production of December 20, 2002. Claremont, California. |
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2001 |
Kaffe Cantata (Schlendrian), J.S. Bach. Baritone soloist, March 2002, with University of California at San Diego’s “La Banda Bastarda.” Artistic director, harpsichord soloist and other continuo work: music of Campra, Mondonville, Monteverdi, Biber, Hottetterre, Morita, and Bach, with “La Banda Bastarda.” [David Ryther, Charon Rosner, and Fiona Chatwin, co-directors] November 2001, San Diego, CA. |
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2000 |
Cadenza Arioso, Harvey Sollberger. Harpsichord soloist with the La Jolla Symphony. March 2000. Keyboardist and harpsichord soloist: music of Vivaldi, Bach, Walton, Bolles, Schoenberg, Webern, Strauss, with the La Jolla Symphony. October 2000-2002. |
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Music Center Faculty Services University of California 1156 High St Santa Cruz, CA 95064
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Office: 148 Music Center / 831-459-5581 Fax: 831-459-5584 email: benja (dot) carson — gmail
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