Lexington’s Logan J. Blackman or the upsurge of a music orchestra conducting expert: When Blackman got to the University of Kentucky, he started working on adapting “Prayer” into an orchestral work, at first simply transcribing it. But then, he started to do more, and the work attracted attention. “He joined the orchestra as an undergraduate bassoonist, and it soon became clear that his interests were wider than just playing the bassoon,” UK Symphony Orchestra director John Nardolillo says. “I knew he composed, and he asked me if I would look at the score to this piece he’d been working on. Then he asked if he could take some conducting lessons. So he was working on conducting and I looked at the score, and the score is interesting, and his level of commitment and involvement and interest in conducting, composition and performing is quite high. The story of the piece is compelling, and it seemed like we were in a position to help him with those things. Find extra information at Logan Blackman.
Let’s start by having you describe your sound to our readers… Logan J. Blackman : Symphonically, my sound is very grand and cinematic. However in my chamber works, I tend to take a much lighter tone. My Bassoon Duets, “The Logic of a Mad-Man” is nothing but one big satire/comedic piece. Is it true you’ve been making music since you were a child? Logan J. Blackman : Yes! I have been making music since I was 12, but I began writing at around 14.
Doors for the UK Symphony Orchestra concert open 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, with music beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for general admission, $5 for students, and free for UK students with a valid ID before the day of the performance (only purchase in person at the Singletary Center ticket office). A processing fee will be applied to tickets upon completion of transaction. Tickets are available through the Singletary Center ticket office online at www.scfatickets.com, by phone at 859-257-4929, or in person at the venue.
Before the performance of the second work, Benediction from Concerto for Orchestra conducted by Sey Ahn, Nardolillo provided some context for what was not originally a part of the Concerto but later became its final movement. Benediction was written in 1986 for the grand reopening of Carnegie Hall where Bernstein had debuted 43 years earlier as a substitute conductor for the New York Philharmonic when he was asked at the last minute to step in for conductor Bruno Walter. The personal prayer he uttered to himself that night before raising his baton became Benediction. The Benediction began with the brass, sounding at first like a call to arms but then a soulfulness prevailed building steam as it progressed from the oboe to the clarinet and the strings. At the conclusion, baritone Taeeun Moon’s contemplative vocalization of Bernstein’s prayer, in Hebrew, asks God to keep us safe, shower us with his grace and light, and bless us with peace. It seemed like a blessing for the evening’s program as well.
The UK Symphony Orchestra February concert will feature Robinson accompanied by the UK Symphony Orchestra on Carl Nielson’s Clarinet Concerto, Op. 57. The orchestra will also perform Gustav Mahler’s First Symphony and Logan Blackman’s “Prayer of a Broken Heart.” Blackman’s “Prayer of a Broken Heart,” a tone poem, was originally written for a wind ensemble back in 2012 following the sudden death of the composer’s parents in October 2011. “It was my reaction to their death describing what I had been through and what my future had to hold,” Blackman said. Read even more information on https://undermain.art/performing-arts/celebrating_a_century_of-bernstein/.
Who is Kentucky’s Logan Blackman and some of his music orchestra conducting work
September 28, 2022
Music
Comments Off on Who is Kentucky’s Logan Blackman and some of his music orchestra conducting work
Donald Rump
Lexington’s Logan J. Blackman or the upsurge of a music orchestra conducting expert: When Blackman got to the University of Kentucky, he started working on adapting “Prayer” into an orchestral work, at first simply transcribing it. But then, he started to do more, and the work attracted attention. “He joined the orchestra as an undergraduate bassoonist, and it soon became clear that his interests were wider than just playing the bassoon,” UK Symphony Orchestra director John Nardolillo says. “I knew he composed, and he asked me if I would look at the score to this piece he’d been working on. Then he asked if he could take some conducting lessons. So he was working on conducting and I looked at the score, and the score is interesting, and his level of commitment and involvement and interest in conducting, composition and performing is quite high. The story of the piece is compelling, and it seemed like we were in a position to help him with those things. Find extra information at Logan Blackman.
Let’s start by having you describe your sound to our readers… Logan J. Blackman : Symphonically, my sound is very grand and cinematic. However in my chamber works, I tend to take a much lighter tone. My Bassoon Duets, “The Logic of a Mad-Man” is nothing but one big satire/comedic piece. Is it true you’ve been making music since you were a child? Logan J. Blackman : Yes! I have been making music since I was 12, but I began writing at around 14.
Doors for the UK Symphony Orchestra concert open 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, with music beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for general admission, $5 for students, and free for UK students with a valid ID before the day of the performance (only purchase in person at the Singletary Center ticket office). A processing fee will be applied to tickets upon completion of transaction. Tickets are available through the Singletary Center ticket office online at www.scfatickets.com, by phone at 859-257-4929, or in person at the venue.
Before the performance of the second work, Benediction from Concerto for Orchestra conducted by Sey Ahn, Nardolillo provided some context for what was not originally a part of the Concerto but later became its final movement. Benediction was written in 1986 for the grand reopening of Carnegie Hall where Bernstein had debuted 43 years earlier as a substitute conductor for the New York Philharmonic when he was asked at the last minute to step in for conductor Bruno Walter. The personal prayer he uttered to himself that night before raising his baton became Benediction. The Benediction began with the brass, sounding at first like a call to arms but then a soulfulness prevailed building steam as it progressed from the oboe to the clarinet and the strings. At the conclusion, baritone Taeeun Moon’s contemplative vocalization of Bernstein’s prayer, in Hebrew, asks God to keep us safe, shower us with his grace and light, and bless us with peace. It seemed like a blessing for the evening’s program as well.
The UK Symphony Orchestra February concert will feature Robinson accompanied by the UK Symphony Orchestra on Carl Nielson’s Clarinet Concerto, Op. 57. The orchestra will also perform Gustav Mahler’s First Symphony and Logan Blackman’s “Prayer of a Broken Heart.” Blackman’s “Prayer of a Broken Heart,” a tone poem, was originally written for a wind ensemble back in 2012 following the sudden death of the composer’s parents in October 2011. “It was my reaction to their death describing what I had been through and what my future had to hold,” Blackman said. Read even more information on https://undermain.art/performing-arts/celebrating_a_century_of-bernstein/.