ALVIN ETLER: SONIC SEQUENCE
Alvin Etler was born in Battle Creek, Iowa, in 1913. Before the age of twelve he had learned to play a few musical instruments and had composed several elementary music pieces. By high school he had experimented with playing every instrument in the orchestra before specializing in oboe, the instrument he later played professionally with the Indianapolis Symphony.
Etler received three Guggenheim Fellowships and studied composition with Arthur Shepherd and Paul Hindemith. He taught at Yale, Cornell, the University of Illinois, and served as Professor of Composition at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts from 1949 until his death in 1972.
Among Alvin Etler's twenty-two chamber music works are two pieces for brass: his 1963 Brass Quintet, and Sonic Sequence written in 1967. The Sonic Sequence derives from a five-note sequence introduced by the horn. The work touches on both non-strict serial techniques and microtonality and explores wide ranging timbral and textural elements before it recedes into the ultimate silence from which it came.
Etler received three Guggenheim Fellowships and studied composition with Arthur Shepherd and Paul Hindemith. He taught at Yale, Cornell, the University of Illinois, and served as Professor of Composition at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts from 1949 until his death in 1972.
Among Alvin Etler's twenty-two chamber music works are two pieces for brass: his 1963 Brass Quintet, and Sonic Sequence written in 1967. The Sonic Sequence derives from a five-note sequence introduced by the horn. The work touches on both non-strict serial techniques and microtonality and explores wide ranging timbral and textural elements before it recedes into the ultimate silence from which it came.
Alvin Etler's Sonic Sequence (1967)
May 27, 1987
Concert at the National Gallery
Washington, DC
by the
Annapolis Brass Quintet
Robert Suggs, trumpet; David Cran, trumpet
Arthur Brooks, horn; Wayne Wells, trombone;
Robert Posten, bass trombone.
This performance was broadcast live on WGMS Radio.
Duration: 05' 03"
To listen Tap > Below
(There may be a slight delay before sound begins.)
May 27, 1987
Concert at the National Gallery
Washington, DC
by the
Annapolis Brass Quintet
Robert Suggs, trumpet; David Cran, trumpet
Arthur Brooks, horn; Wayne Wells, trombone;
Robert Posten, bass trombone.
This performance was broadcast live on WGMS Radio.
Duration: 05' 03"
To listen Tap > Below
(There may be a slight delay before sound begins.)
FOSTERING BRASS CHAMBER MUSIC
The score and parts for Alvin Etler's Sonic Sequence, along with the entire ABQ music library, are available for research and performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music Library.
Direct access to the Annapolis Brass Quintet Special Collection @ Oberlin
Tap Here
The score and parts for Alvin Etler's Sonic Sequence, along with the entire ABQ music library, are available for research and performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music Library.
Direct access to the Annapolis Brass Quintet Special Collection @ Oberlin
Tap Here