Natural Melodies | The Music

Cleveland Institute of Music composition students took inspiration from the Museum collections and exhibits. After finding their inspiration, each student composer recorded their original compositions with CIM student musicians in CIM’s studios.

While listening to these original compositions, imagine yourself surrounded by artifacts and specimens from throughout the ages.

 Cosmos

Composer: Michael Bratt
Written for: Reinberger Hall of Astronomy
Performed by: Elizabeth Phelps, violin; Erik Peterson, viola; Cheryl Losey, harp; Jeremy Collins, guitar

“Cosmos” is a musical description of a celestial body that shuttles toward the listener and passes by – intense and detailed when close, prolonged and stretched as it moves away. This electro-acoustic piece mixes computer sounds with live instrumentals – the end result a combination of sounds unlike anything the two would be on their own.

 Adaptation

Composer: David Kim
Written for: Sears Hall of Human Ecology
Performed by: David Kim, piano

“Adaptation,” composed for the piano, looks at the concept of evolution – how things change over time. Taking notes from measures two to five, recycling them throughout the piece with variations on the theme, represents how the Earth and its organisms have changed over time. Pitch and rhythms seem similar to previous measures, but are transformed as they become new ideas revolving around motifs.

 Candles of Corpses

Composer: John Thompson
Written for: Ohio Burial Mounds Exhibit
Performed by: Matthew Castillo, horn; Ian Petruzzi, horn; Clara Conrad, trombone;  James Wright, trombone; Jeffrey Meyer, tuba

“Candles of Corpses” explores the concept of death and how ancient cultures interpreted death – was it a deeply saddening experience or a joyful celebration? The piece reflects neither, but rather sound that is simply sonorous, thoughtful and contemplative. The piece is a dense, gurgling chorale whose title is taken from one of Tolkien’s books.

 A Song for Lucy

Composer: Mark Nowakoski
Written for: Kirtland Hall of Prehistoric Life
Performed by: Madeline Lucas, flute; Erik Peterson, viola; Derek Tywoniuk, marimba; Jung Eun Oh, soprano

“A Song for Lucy” takes its inspiration from the famous cast of Lucy – the Museum’s iconic hominid display. The piece reflects awe at the immensity of creation, joyful yet bewildered by God’s timeless brush strokes. It also explores humans’ role and how we must be joyful and optimistic stewards of the world entrusted to us.

 Iridescence

Composer: Alexandra T. Bryant
Written for: Wade Gems & Jewels
Performed by: Nicholas Tavani, violin; Alexandra Bryant violin; Rebekah Newman, viola; Josue Gonzales, cello

“Iridescence,” written for string quartet, is quite simplistic, yet also reflective of the atmosphere of this exhibit. Stagnant in its harmonic structure, the piece is driven primarily by its textural and timbrel changes. By using harmonics, trills and arpeggios, it captures the brilliant, glistening characteristics that these miniature natural wonders possess.

 Origins

Composer: Matthew Smith
Written for: Reinberger Hall of Earth and Planetary Exploration
Performed by: Alan Keller, trombone; James Wright, trombone; Clara Conrad, trombone;  James Trichilo, bass trombone

“Origins,” for trombone quartet, catalogs the birth of the universe to the formation of planets. The concept behind the piece is not the Big Bang, as one might expect. Instead, it focuses on the idea of something being created out of nothing. The "nothing" at the beginning of the piece, long notes played very close together, expands to a marginally tonal ending:  the "something."

 Cuyahoga Creatures

Composer: Jeremy Allen
Written for: Perkins Wildlife Center 
Performed by: Andrée-Anne Perras-Fortin, piano; Madeline Lucas, flute; Jared Hawkins, clarinet; Matthew Smith, trombone; Elizabeth Phelps, violin; Benjamin Grabell, bass

“Cuyahoga Creatures” was composed to reflect the wild, playful and majestic native Ohio animals in this exhibit who offered endless possibilities for the use of color, movement, excitement and beauty. With the use of a quasi-American style, using varied layers of texture throughout the piece to ultimately communicate life, the composer invites you to become a kid again and imagine the animals in their native setting.