Free and open to the public!
Social Time: ~7:15PM PST / Presentation begins: 7:30PM PST
Presenter: Kevin Lay
Bio: When 15 years old Kevin Lay set WB Yeats’ Song of the Wandering Aengus for classical guitar, his own voice, and his twin brother’s. He hasn’t stopped searching for that perfect blend of music and poetry over the next 50 years through Millay, Stafford, Blake, Levertov, cummings, Shakespeare, Joyce, Roethke, Tolkien, and many others. In 2019 the Light Opera of Portland performed his musical We Met In Moscow. In 2023 his cantata The Wisdom of Columbia County was performed by the Columbia Chorale. Kevin is an avid listener, and is certified to teach Deep Listening by Pauline Oliveros. His formal musical training was in the 80’s and 90’s at the University of Akron. Other interests include writing, hiking and miraculous life. Kevin is honored to serve as president of Cascadia Composers, a group of more than one hundred talented composers centered in the Pacific Northwest.
Topic: In celebration of Artistic Director David DeLyser's generous NACUSA-wide score call, featuring the (Portland based) Choral Arts Ensemble (CAE), we will discuss some common pitfalls of composing for chorus. It’s a bit of a negative approach because rather than teaching good composition practices I’ll be pointing out a few things NOT to do, for which I’m surely qualified. For example, I’ll share mistakes I made in at least two past choral scores. At best this presentation might help you avoid them or suggest how to find your way out if you’ve already fallen into one. There will be time at the end of the presentation for others to share pitfalls they may have fallen into