The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) recently awarded three ASCAPlus awards to Dean of the Meadows School of the Arts José Bowen, Professor of Composition Simon Sargon and Associate Professor of Theory and Composition Robert Frank for their contribution and achievements in musical composition.
“We are especially proud of ASCAP members like José Bowen, Robert Frank and Simon Sargon who, while affiliated in an educational capacity with noted institutions such as SMU, also continue to be active composers creating valuable additions to the catalogue of American contemporary works,” Director of Awards at ASCAP Ken Cicerale said. “We are most appreciative of our partnership with SMU in recognizing and supporting the continued growth and development of our nation’s musical heritage.”
All three composers have won other accolades for their works during their career, including several other ASCAPlus awards. In addition, the professors are also involved in various activities such as lectures, musical performances, writing and technology.
“My composition ‘Figaronacht’ was selected by an international jury in an anonymous judging contest and was premiered by the Kremlin Chamber Orchestra on a live concert on Mozart’s 250th birthday last year,” Frank said. “This concert was broadcasted on Russian State Radio and over a live Web cast on the Internet. It received its U.S. premiere in Carnegie Hall in New York last October.”
Frank was inspired by Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” (A Little Night Music) and “The Marriage of Figaro,” which is the overture to his opera.
“Combining the main themes from each, I created a composite work similar to artist’s use of ‘found objects,’ hence the title Figaro+nacht=Figaronacht,” Frank said. “This work was originally written in a slightly larger version titled ‘Figaronacht Overture’ for the ensemble ‘I Paupiti’ who premiered it in the Mozartium in Salzburg the summer before. The competition had a 250- second time limit (one second of music for each year since Mozart’s birth), so I reduced it and shortened the title.”
Bowen says he usually composes when he is playing with a group or is commissioned. He said that he never started out intending to be a professor or a dean. Bowen also stated that he still thinks of himself as a “musician with a day job.”
“I love to compose, but have little time for it,” Bowen said. “Virtually everything I have ever written has been either for a commission or for a group I am in. You get to hear everything that way.”
Jampact, Bowen’s current jazz group, which features Bowen on the piano, will be performing at the Owens Art Center tonight at 8.
“My last CD is all originals and the concert is all original compositions,” Bowen said. “Music and composition are a sort of experimentation for me. Risk. What happens if I try this?”
Unlike Bowen, Frank discovered his desire to be a professor during his freshman year in college when he was asked to fill in for his physics professor. Frank had worked with him on several science fair projects during his high school career, where he was a two-time International Science Fair finalist and one of 13 finalists in the international science research paper competition.
“After a disastrously under-prepared first day, the second day I started connecting with the class, and saw ‘the light bulbs going on’ so to speak,” Frank said. “I distinctly remember going home that night thinking, ‘Oh my, I’m a professor,’ and knew this was my calling. The ‘composer’ realization came about one semester later, and I haven’t had a doubt ever since.”
Frank says he strives to compose music that directly connects with listeners on a personal, universal level.
“Although there is sometimes a ‘story’ to the music, like in movie music, more often I will strive for a larger, more general, artistic vision that varies depending on the portion of the human condition I am focusing upon in that work,” Frank said. “I hope that the deeper, meaningful, encouraging, positive and even sometime ‘fun’ nature of life comes through in my music.”
