Nathan Koch faculty recital April 6 presents contemporary works
calendar icon23 Mar 2022
Lincoln, Neb.—Glenn Korff School of Music Assistant Professor of Bassoon and Music Theory Nathan Koch will present a faculty recital on Wednesday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m. in Westbrook Recital Hall Rm. 119.
The concert is free and open to the public. It will also be live webcast. Visit https://music.unl.edu/webcasts the day of the performance for the link.
Koch will be joined by collaborative pianist Catherine Herbener and Glenn Korff School of Music Associate Professor of Saxophone Paul Haar for this recital.
The program includes Jeff Scott’s “Elegy for Innocence” (2009); James Lassen’s “Strange Interlude” (1998); Libby Larsen’s “Jazz Variations” (1977); and Jenni Brandon’s “Places We Are From” (2021), all works by contemporary living composers.
“I chose each of these pieces to showcase the wide range of technical and expressive capabilities that the bassoon has to offer the listener,” Koch said. “I’m really looking forward to performing with my friends and colleagues.”
Scott is the newly appointed Associate Professor of Horn at the Oberlin Conservatory and a former member of the woodwind quintet Imani Winds for more than 20 years.
“’Elegy for Innocence’ was written in 2009 for the bassoonist in the quintet, Monica Ellis, and premiered at the conference of the International Double Reed Society that same year,” Koch said.
Lassen is co-principal bassoonist in the Bergen Philharmonic and is active as a symphonic and jazz bassoonist.
“He incorporates a wide variety of influences into this piece, including his own experimentations on the Japanese shakuhatchi flute, traditional canons, Eastern European traditional country dances, and American rock and roll,” Koch said.
Larsen wrote her “Jazz Variations” for a friend’s degree recital at Juilliard.
“She found herself drawn not to the harmonic and melodic elements, but specifically the rhythmic flow of John Coltrane, which she explores in this piece for unaccompanied bassoon,” Koch said.
Koch was part of a commissioning consortium that was engaged with the composer Brandon for a new trio, which she titled “Places We Are From.” According to the program notes, this piece “explores the idea of identity and where we come from both geographically, physically and spiritually.”
In demand as a clinician and soloist, Koch has presented and performed at the conferences of the Texas Music Educators Association, the Texas Bandmasters Association and the International Double Reed Society. He has served as a recurring adjudicator for the Texas State Solo and Ensemble Competition, as a regional audition proctor for the prestigious National Repertory Orchestra summer festival, and as a section coach for the Omaha Area Youth Orchestra.
He is also a member of the Glenn Korff School of Music resident faculty ensemble, the Moran Woodwind Quintet.
Currently, UNL no longer requires face masks inside our campus buildings. Details, exclusions and updates can be found on the UNL website at https://covid19.unl.edu.