Koch's faculty recital to feature contemporary works

· 3 min read

Koch’s faculty recital to feature contemporary works

Nathan Koch in portrait
Nathan Koch

Nathan Koch, assistant professor of bassoon and music theory at the Glenn Korff School of Music, will present a faculty recital at 7:30 p.m. April 6 in Westbrook Recital Hall, room 119.

The concert is free and open to the public with a virtual live webcast option. On the day of the performance, the webcast link will be posted on the Glenn Korff School of Music website.

Koch will be joined by collaborative pianist Catherine Herbener and Paul Haar, associate professor of saxophone at the school of music, for this recital.

The program includes Jeff Scott’s “Elegy for Innocence” (2009); James Lassen’s “Strange Interlude” (1998); Libby Larsen’s “Jazz Variations” (1977); and Jenni Brandon’s “Places We Are From” (2021), all works by contemporary living composers.

“I chose each of these pieces to showcase the wide range of technical and expressive capabilities that the bassoon has to offer the listener,” Koch said. “I’m really looking forward to performing with my friends and colleagues.”

Scott is the newly appointed associate professor of horn at the Oberlin Conservatory and a former member of the woodwind quintet Imani Winds for more than 20 years.

“’Elegy for Innocence’ was written in 2009 for the bassoonist in the quintet, Monica Ellis, and premiered at the conference of the International Double Reed Society that same year,” Koch said.

Lassen is co-principal bassoonist in the Bergen Philharmonic and is active as a symphonic and jazz bassoonist.

“He incorporates a wide variety of influences into this piece, including his own experimentations on the Japanese shakuhatchi flute, traditional canons, Eastern European traditional country dances, and American rock and roll,” Koch said.

Larsen wrote her “Jazz Variations” for a friend’s degree recital at Juilliard.

“She found herself drawn not to the harmonic and melodic elements, but specifically the rhythmic flow of John Coltrane, which she explores in this piece for unaccompanied bassoon,” Koch said.

Koch was part of a commissioning consortium that was engaged with the composer Brandon for a new trio, which she titled “Places We Are From.” According to the program notes, this piece “explores the idea of identity and where we come from both geographically, physically and spiritually.”

In demand as a clinician and soloist, Koch has presented and performed at the conferences of the Texas Music Educators Association, the Texas Bandmasters Association and the International Double Reed Society. He has served as a recurring adjudicator for the Texas State Solo and Ensemble Competition, as a regional audition proctor for the prestigious National Repertory Orchestra summer festival, and as a section coach for the Omaha Area Youth Orchestra.

He is also a member of the Glenn Korff School of Music resident faculty ensemble, the Moran Woodwind Quintet.

Currently, the university no longer requires face masks inside campus buildings. Details, exclusions and updates can be found on the university website.

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