Ravello Records proudly presents the digital single PIECE BY PIECE, the PARMA debut of composer Beth Mehocic (ma•ho´•sick). Her work of the same name is scored for flute, bass clarinet, trumpet, bass trombone, violin, contrabass, and percussion and is performed by the Moravian Philharmonic Chamber Players. Piece by Piece was commissioned by the Erick Hawkins Dance Company of New York City in honor of their former director and composer-in-residence, Lucia Dlugoszewski. Dlugoszewski is known for her developments in avant-garde music technique and experimental music; thus, Mehocic includes a number of these techniques in the piece, including pitch bends, rapid glissandi, muting techniques, and extreme ranges. These effects are made all the more striking by Mehocic’s kaleidoscopic orchestration—brassy wails, brittle string snaps, and nasally trumpet pervade the piece. Piece by Piece also creates the illusion of free rhythm and meter in a completely metered setting, with an energy that is constantly shifting. The rhythmic and timbral play result in a spirited, kinetic work, with each instrument always interacting with another. Each sound dances around, or with, or against the next—a vibrantly patterned collage of musical color. HIGHLIGHTS Composer, poet, visual artist, filmmaker, and author Beth Mehocic is currently the Composer-in-Residence, Music Director, and Full Professor for the Department of Dance at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She received her M.M and Ph.D in Music Composition from Michigan State University Mehocic is deeply involved with the intersections between dance and music. Her music for choreography has been performed in Scotland, Australia, and Korea. Notably, her dance poem Shadows and video dance poem Hands were awarded a “Gold Medal in Innovation” for digital poetry, dance, and music at the 2005 International Taishan Congress of Cultures and the 19th World Congress of Poets in China. Her multimedia, multi-artistic pursuits were synthesized in her one-woman exhibit Poetic Visions in Las Vegas Mehocic is a founding member of the International Guild of Musicians in Dance, the first guild in western history devoted to the advancement of concert dance music and musical education of dancers. She was also the editor for the Guild's Journal for three years Piece by Piece was commissioned by the Erick Hawkins Dance Company of New York City in honor of their former director and composer-in-residence, Lucia Dlugoszewski Mehocic has been proclaimed “Distinguished Composer” of the City of Las Vegas, and has been awarded the First Performing Artist's Fellowship in Music Composition from the State of Nevada
