Eight Sounds, Two Continents: A Conductor’s Analysis of Ba Yin by Chen Yi
Dr. Isaac Brinberg
Augusta University
Elm Fork I
Friday, March 28th
9:30 am
Clinic Synopsis
Chen Yi is part of a compositional school that fuses traditional Chinese music practices with Western compositional techniques and currently serves as the Lorena Searcy Cravens Millsap Missouri Distinguished Professor of Composition at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory. A significant body of research examines different facets of Chen’s craft in Western and Chinese music practices, yet there is little research on her compositions for wind ensemble and chamber winds. This presentation investigates the compositional methods Chen implements in Ba Yin (2001/2015) that illustrate the liminal synthesis of her cosmopolitan musical studies with traditional Chinese folk music. In this presentation, frameworks of post-tonal analysis, musicological study of source material and discussion of interculturalism are combined with supporting material to illustrate her unique compositional style. In addition, because the work was originally for saxophone quartet and string orchestra and later rescored for chamber winds/percussion, the orchestrations of two versions are compared and performance practice considerations are outlined. This session explores a work for chamber winds not previously analyzed in depth and serves as a guide for performers of this work and others by Chen Yi.
Biography
Dr. Isaac Brinberg is a committed musician who pursues artistry with passion and creates meaningful connections with collaborators, students, and audiences. He currently serves as the Wind Ensemble Director and Tuba Instructor at Augusta University in Augusta, GA. He completed his Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Before Illinois, Isaac received his Master of Music in Wind Conducting at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory and earned his Bachelor of Music Education with a Minor in Wind Conducting from Indiana University, studying tuba with Daniel Perantoni.
Isaac has presented at the CBDNA North Central, Southwestern, and Southeastern Division conferences, the College Music Society Great Plains Regional Conference, and the Georgia Music Educators Association In-Service Conference. His scholarship has been published in the Journal of Band Research, WASBE Journal, NBA Journal and he has contributed to The Instrumentalist, Georgia Music News, and The SC Musician. Isaac is a member of CBDNA, WASBE, NBA, GMEA, and a Lifetime Member of Kappa Kappa Psi, Nu Xi Chapter.
Outside of the wind band world, Isaac is a member of the Columbia County Rotary Club of Georgia, Webb Lodge No. 166 F. & A.M. He and his fiancee love to cook, volunteer for Make-A-Wish Georgia, and both serve on the board for the Young Professionals of Augusta. Isaac is also an avid golfer and has worked at The Masters, achieving a lifelong dream of seeing Amen Corner and the hallowed grounds of Augusta National Golf Club in person.