July 4, 2024

Russell N. Avellanosa, Natalia Rojcovscaia-Tumaha

Hello Everyone,

If you have not already, I encourage you to use the following link to listen to the most recent episode of the TCC Podcast, featuring the composer Russell N. Avellanosa and his piece Lavender in a London Fog.

https://www.tccollaboration.com/13-lavender-in-a-london-fog-russell-n-avellanosa/

Russell is a great friend of mine and a phenomenal composer, someone who I have had the pleasure to study alongside for two years at University of Florida. One of the fun little elements of Lavender in a London Fog was that I was one of the orchestral players who recorded the piece in the UF Symphony Orchestra. I also have performed another one of Russell’s pieces, Pock-It, however, that time it was on Viola and not Violin! Out of all the people that I have had the pleasure to meet in my journey through academia, Russell is someone that I have uniquely valued as a friend, but I have also learned so, so much from his perspectives and ideas. Another part of Russell that I appreciate both as a person and professional is how much he cares for the people performing his music. As highlighted in the episode, it almost seems trite to see this as a unique idea, but having seen Russell’s creative process as a friend and colleague, he is thinking about everyone involved at every level of the writing process. It was an absolute pleasure to share my conversation with Russell on this past episode.

Thank you again to Russell N. Avellanosa for coming onto the podcast alongside his piece Lavender in a London Fog.

I am excited to preview that the next featured guest on the TCC podcast will be the composer Natalia Rojcovscaia-Tumaha and her piece Philosophy of a Miracle. Natalia is a composer that I have known as a fellow student at Florida State University, but not someone I really was able to properly meet until recently. I have seen a good handful of her pieces performed at this point, and one of the greatest parts of Natalia’s artistry is her respect and considerations for all aspects of the art world. Almost every work from Natalia that I have seen has some element of visual or performance art, or even a combination. If not in the actual performance of the piece, there is at least a heavy inspiration in the conception of it. Philosophy of a Miracle is no exception, as it is an overture for an operatic work sourced from the Shakespeare work The Tempest, which is also the subject of Natalia’s doctoral dissertation at Florida State. In this upcoming episode we discuss programmatic writing in an operatic setting and Natalia’s humanistic approach to music, which is something that I am an enthusiastic supporter of. There is much more that I want to share, but you all will have to wait for the release of the full episode this coming Monday. You certainly won’t want to miss it!

I am also excited to tease that the next guest after Natalia Rojcovscaia-Tumaha is the composer Mary Denney and her piece Voice Memories, a unique work with emotional connections and abstract programmatic writing which creates, especially for myself, a deeper listening experience. More on this in next week’s blog post!

Again, don’t forget to listen to the most previous episode if you missed it, featuring the composer Russell N. Avellanosa and his piece Lavender in a London Fog. Make sure to follow our social media links below and the podcast streaming platform of your choice to keep up-to-date on new episodes and blog posts from the TCC. Additionally, set your calendar and/or streaming subscriptions to this coming Monday, July 8^th for Natalia Rojcovscaia-Tumaha and her piece Philosophy of a Miracle. You won’t want to miss it, and we’ll see you there!

- Aaron

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Aaron D'Zurilla

TCC Founder/Music Theorist

Hello, my name is Aaron D'Zurilla and I am the primary host and founder of the Theorist Composer Collaboration. I created the Theorist Composer Collaboration out of a love of the connection between the artist and their art. Music theory, in my view, is a lens and avenue in which to understand people and their experiences. Often, as music theorists, and individuals attempting to find success in a historically hierarchical field, we find ourselves turning-away from modern music and artists when choosing what to study. As many academics could attest, the decision to study or analyze a work goes beyond that simple decision. It is a choice to highlight, spotlight, platform, and even promote the continuation of a commodity or idea, even if it is in a critical light. While there is plenty of space for such scholarship, and new inventive work in the field of music theory is developed everyday across the world in numerous topics, there is a stark lack of attention to the new music of today.

My personal rationale can be surmised in that we should not wait for music to be 40,50,80+ years old to begin pondering the creation of the art of today. Why wait to engage with literal generations of new composers, creating worlds of novel sounds and experiences everyday across the world? Generally, when looking at where composers and their compositions find support, it is within the composition community, across academia, festivals and through online platforms specific to the field. The hope of the TCC is to expand the support for modern, living compositions outside of these ar… Read More

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