Preparation, Performance, and Recording of 12 Memorized and Choreographed Works for Four Flutes

Juan Carlos Narvaez,* Lydia Moenssen,* Ethan Nylander*and Nina Assimakopoulos, College of Creative Arts, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506

Field (Broad Category): Music/Music Therapy (Visual & Performing Arts) 

Student’s Major: Flute Performance 

The Aether Quartet is comprised of four WVU School of Music undergraduate flute performance majors. Aether Quartet’s research during the 2019-2020 academic year has focused on preparation, memorization and choreographed performances of 60 minutes of music for four flutes spanning the years of 1140 to 2020. This research has culminated in the submission of recordings to prestigious music competitions, public performances (campus, regional, and national), and an audio and video production project leading to the publication of the ensemble’s first compact disc which includes five world premiere recordings. Works included in the ensemble's research feature contemporary extended playing techniques (flute beat-box, singing and playing, etc.), newly commissioned works, and the arrangement of pre-Renaissance and Renaissance hymns. The ensemble has successfully submitted entries to three international competitions: Fischoff International Chamber Music Competition, the Kentucky Flute Association Chamber Music Competition (currently in the final round), and the Great Composers Music of the Americas competition (currently in the final round). They were the First Prize undergraduate winners of the WVU ChaMP Chamber Music Competition and performed at the 2020 Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention. The ensemble research has also included public relations, branding, social platform building and content creation, supporting the successful launch of an Instagram platform (480 followers) with goals of crowd-funding campaigns and the booking of professional performances. Aether’s vision includes being a force in a movement to redefine “classical” chamber music performance through dynamic presentations of works that span over 1,000 years of western art music. 

Funding: 

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: WVU's Research Apprenticeship Program (RAP) & accompanying HONR 297-level course