Composed in Oklahoma was conceptualized in Fall of 2021 and is the result of several situations coinciding to make this idea a reality. With the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic still affecting everyone's lives, I was talking with several colleagues about the damage done to our once impressive performer networks. Being at the early stage of our careers, many of our networks were heavily reliant on face-to-face contact with others between classes in a college setting and the pandemic made this extremely difficult if not impossible. My situation, having just finished before the pandemic hit was no better. If we couldn't easily share music in the halls, surely there might be a better way to present our music to the public as a united front.
Separately, for the past year or so I kept seeing a common theme in young composers' commentary on the state of new music. Many comments had to do with the pandemic eliminating most opportunities to get music heard by traditional means. Others were in relation to not knowing how to get music seen by new eyes when face-to-face contact is becoming increasingly difficult. I then remembered how great it was when I would be at a music store and see an anthology that I was unfamiliar with. I'd take it home, study the scores, and learn a great deal by doing so. I then remembered my time with La Monte Young's Anthology of Chance Operations and made a mental note to pick up a copy sometime soon.
It was then that the thought dawned on me to create my own anthology, representative of a collection of composers and their work, acting as a sort of snapshot in time for an area's concert music scene. I immediately knew that I wanted to focus on young and emerging composers, as I decided that I want this anthology to be a continuation of the premise for the Composing Tomorrow concert series I managed (and renamed!) while at the University of Oklahoma.
This anthology is not a look back at what the past year has been musically, as the pieces included are from various points in the past five years. Composed in Oklahoma is a look at the future of concert music as told from the perspective of these nine Oklahoma composers across seventeen pieces of music. This curated collection includes music as intimate as solo piano, and large-scale as an orchestra. The type of music presented ranges from traditional art song to improvisatory music, and even extended performance techniques. This snapshot of our future will act as a record to show what the young and emerging composers of Oklahoma were writing at this time. It is my pleasure to compile this music, to see what my friends are writing, and hopefully introduce a reader of this anthology to a composer they've never heard before.
