ListN Up is a series of artist-curated playlists that offer an intimate sonic portrait of contemporary artists by showcasing the diverse and stylistically varied music that influences their creative practice.
Lauren McCall is a composer, music technologist, and educator from Atlanta, Georgia. She enjoys collaborating with other artists and developing works for chamber ensembles, electronic music, and extended reality.
Hi, my name is Lauren McCall, and I am excited to share with you my ListN Up playlist, which is a mix of different chamber ensemble compositions that have inspired me as a listener and a composer. I hope you enjoy it!
still motion by Ted Moore, Performed by Matt Gold
I selected Ted Moore’s composition still motion because it was such a cool piece to see in person. It combined live percussion with video snippets of the percussionist being sampled. It was interesting how the percussionists improvised and created new rhythms and beats as they played along with the video snippets of themself.
String Quartet No. 2 by Eleanor Alberga, Performed by Natsuki Kumagai, Catherine Schubilske, Gareth Zehngut, and Silver Ainomäeb.
I selected Eleanor Alberga’s string quartet because I liked her use of color and timbre in this composition. A fellow composer introduced me to this work a couple of years ago.
Carrot Revolution by Gabriella Smith, Performed by the Aizuri Quartet
I picked this piece because of the wide range of sounds and rhythms that can come out of these string instruments. The percussive sounds are fantastic!
Postludes for Bowed Vibraphone by Elliot Cole, Performed by Sō Percussion
Over the past few years, I have been learning more about percussion and the wide range of performance practices, timbres, and sounds that these instruments can produce. I just love the sound that can be created by bowing vibraphone bars.
“Ascension” from Augustine’s Pear by JohnPaul Beattie, Performed by the University of the Arts Choir
I decided to share this piece because I went to school with JP, and he composed a lot of really cool spatialized compositions. So make sure to check out this work and others on his SoundCloud!
Gloria and The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi, Performed by The Goede Hoop Marimba Band
I wanted to include this South African arrangement of Vivaldi’s Gloria and The Four Seasons because I loved it! The Goede Hoop Marimba Band brings so much joy to playing this piece. It really lifts my spirit!
Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor by Dmitri Shostakovich, Performed by Leonidas Kavakos, Gautier Capuçon and Yuja Wang
When I first started studying music composition, Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No. 2 was one of the first pieces I studied. I learned a lot from his compositional process and am still inspired by it today.
Victory Dance by Ezra Collective
I learned about this song last fall when one of my jazz combo members arranged this for us. I really love this song!
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