Nebraska native Caitlin Gilmore did everything musical in high school — from marching band to jazz choir. And, that love for all things musical led Gilmore to study music composition in UNL’s Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts.
One of Gilmore’s compositions is playing alongside those of other select students in the Glenn Korff School of Music’s “Wet Ink” performances, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 12-13 in 119 Westbrook Music Building. The Wet Ink recitals feature the work of undergraduate music composition students. The program is run by Eric Richards, assistant professor of composition and jazz studies.
For Gilmore, a junior at UNL, this is the third year her work has been included in Wet Ink.
“It’s a good chance for composers, especially those of us that haven’t had our music played by other people,” Gilmore said. “My freshman year it was a really big experience for me. It’s a great opportunity. You work with the other departments because you need to ask the other instrumentalists to play your music. You get to meet them and you get to talk with the professors and as a freshman you don’t really know anybody. You have to ask who can play for me? It’s a good way to make friends and connections.”
In high school, Gilmore wrote music for her friends, family and piano teacher.
“I would write songs and run them by my piano teacher, who was a saint and also happen to be our accompanist in high school and ask her if they sounded OK,” Gilmore said. “I didn’t know anything about theory. I just wrote by ear. I wrote by hand because I didn’t know notation software existed since I was from a small town and no one told me.”
As a junior, Gilmore won a Nebraska Young Artist Award — a program organized by UNL’s College of Fine and Performing Arts — for one of her compositions. That’s when she began to consider her music writing ability as a future area of study and possible career.
“I didn’t realize I was good at composition until I won the award,” Gilmore said. “I didn’t think I was going to be a composer till I got here (UNL). It worked out really well.”
The Wet Ink performances are geared toward smaller ensembles. Students are given about three weeks to prepare for the event. The composers oversee all elements of their individual performance — from writing the music to running rehearsals and organizing musicians.
“They want us to be presenting music that we’ve worked on that semester or recently,” Gilmore said. “It’s our newest music. It’s a really nice thing. UNL is one of just a few schools that do something like this. It’s a showcase for the composers.”
Gilmore’s composition for this edition of Wet Ink is “Stagnation.” It is a solo for double bass played by Sam Loeck.
Admission to the Wet Ink concerts is free and open to the public.
For more information on School of Music performances, go to http://events.unl.edu/music/upcoming.
