What a day! We departed Duino at 8 for the train station in Monfalcone and arrived in Venice around 10:30. I was fortunate to spend the day with Jessica Paul, my friend and colleague from Luther. We began by exploring the Jewish Ghetto, the oldest in the world. Although the population living in this area has dwindled considerably in the past two centuries, it is still a vibrant and active community. We saw several interesting exhibits at the Hebrew museum, and then had a treat at a wonderful bakery. Next... Read The Rest →

Today we began a small composition project–compose a set of variations for organ, based on a popular tune from the Friuli region of Italy, “Stelutis Alpinis.” Stefano and I will perform this new, corporate work on Saturday in Udine, where we have an IMFA concert in a baroque church. After lunch, I decided to take a long walk, down the Rilke path towards Sistiana, where there is a nice beach and a colorful marina. I didn’t have the right gear to go in the water, but I enjoyed the walk... Read The Rest →

Another full day of fun adventures at IMFA! We began with a sound check of our electronic pieces at 9:30, then I slipped next door to the local church, San Giovanni, to attend a 10:00 mass in Slovenian. I could follow most of it, and even recognized a few of the hymns. We had a wonderful concert at 11 in the auditorium, featuring composers, instrumentalists and singers. Here are some sound clips of the electronic works: Neil Quillen, “We, giants to some, ants to others”[esplayer url=”https://brookejoyce.com/wp-content/uploads/wegiants.mp3″ width=”200″ height=”25”] Ben Davidson, “Sea... Read The Rest →

We offered our first concert in the Duino Castle today at 11:00 for a group of happy and excited tourists. This is the first of three such “preview” concerts we’ll offer each Saturday as a way of getting the word out about our festival. Monte (violin teacher) and I went on a nice hike this morning to the Mithraeum, an ancient cave used as a pre-Christian worship site. It was not open for visitors, but we at least saw where it was. Hopefully, we’ll be able to go there later... Read The Rest →

We are about to end our first week of IMFA. Our first concert, featuring each member of the IMFA faculty, is tonight at 8:30, and the weekend will feature two concerts of composed and performed by students. We listened to our electro-acoustic etudes this morning in the hall and got a sense of the acoustic space. This afternoon, two students will have their second lessons with Stefano. In other news, I was shocked to learn that the postage for sending postcards to the US from Italy is 2 euros, or... Read The Rest →

Today in seminar, we continued our perusal of one another’s music with listening and discussion of works by both me and Stefano. Second versions of our etudes were shared, and plans for the coming weeks are beginning to take shape. But the big event of the day, for me, was my first experience swimming in the Adriatic, accompanied by four IMFA participants. The water was chilly but refreshing, and the view of the cliffs and surrounding environs was breathtaking. I hope to come back to this spot most days!

Today began with the promise of warm, sunny weather, perfect for a walk to the beach and a swim, but by the afternoon, storm clouds rolled in and the showers began. Fortunately, we have enough to keep ourselves busy. In seminar this morning, we listened to everyone’s first attempt at an electro-acoustic etude using the sounds that were collected on Monday. We also continued our perusal of one another’s previously composed music, listening to works by Evan and Ben. Some composers who came up in our discussion included Giorgio Battistelli,... Read The Rest →

This week in our composition seminar, we are getting to know one another, both musically and personally. One way we can do this is by listening to each other’s music. Today, we heard pieces by Neil and Jamie. We also discussed possible ways to begin an electro-acoustic piece using the sounds we collected yesterday. For tomorrow, students will create an etude using these sounds. We are also beginning to think about possible collaborative projects to get us working with our performer colleagues at IMFA. This week, we begin private lessons,... Read The Rest →

Today, an extra post from Neil Quillen, recent Luther grad and IMFA composition student: I’ve never followed a Pakistani girl I just met through a forest for hours to get to a hidden beach before this trip. Nor have I stayed up late on a cliff face overlooking the Adriatic Sea playing games with people I just met the day before. But I think the real joy in the trip is the coalescence of old friends with new. I’ve studied, worked, and had adventures with many of the Luther students... Read The Rest →

Our first day of IMFA began with a typical Italian breakfast of hard rolls, jam, and strong coffee. After some orientation awnd a short Italian lesson from Stefano, who will also teach composition with me, we had our first seminar. This week, we are focusing on music and sound in place. We took a short walk along the Rilke Trail, which begins just outside the UWC campus, and continues along the coastline. This is the same path that Maria Rainier Rilke walked in 1912 and which led him to write... Read The Rest →