1 of 22 · 1218 Bay Ridge Rd. Madison WI 53716 [email protected] clocksinmotionpercussion.com OFFERINGS Performance - Clocks in Motion is a world-class

1218 Bay Ridge Rd. Madison WI 53716

[email protected] clocksinmotionpercussion.com

Megan Arns Matthew Coley Christopher G. Jones Sean Kleve

Hailed as “nothing short of remarkable” (ClevelandClassical.com) and “the most exciting addition to Madison’s classical music scene” (The Isthmus), Clocks in Motion is a percussion quartet that performs new music, builds many of its own instruments, and breaks down the boundaries of the traditional concert program. Formed in 2011, Clocks in Motion is quickly becoming a major artistic force in today’s contemporary music scene. Among its many recent and upcoming engagements, the group served as performers at the Interlochen Arts Academy (MI), The Stone (NY), The Overture Center for the Arts (WI), Muhlenberg College Contemporary Music Festival (PA), University of Michigan (MI), Cleveland Contemporary Players (OH), The Stoughton Opera House, (WI), Western Michigan University (MI), and Studio Z (MN).

With a fearless and uncompromising ear to programming challenging and adventurous contemporary percussion ensemble repertoire, Clocks in Motion performs classic pieces from the past century alongside newly commissioned works. Clocks in Motion’s ever growing instrument collection housed in a charming rehearsal facility outside of Madison, WI now includes in addition to a huge arsenal of standard percussion instruments, a set of 88 microtonal steel pipes known as the Galvitone, a microtonal marimba known as the Quarimba, six sets of Sixxen, large metal microtonal keyboard instruments built for Xenakis’ 1979 masterpiece, Pleiades, and a four-octave glass marimba known as the Aquarion. These instruments serve as a great resource and inspiration for composers when writing new works for Clocks in Motion.

As an ensemble priding itself in curating new music for percussion quartet, Clocks in Motion passionately collaborates with composers and artists from all disciplines. The foundation of these successful collaborations are deep and meaningful personal relationships. The quartet’s most recent commissioning initiative called Clock Shop reflects a commitment to a single composer over time. Jennifer Bellor is the first Clock Shop composer and she will be writing four new percussion quartets specifically for Clocks in Motion in close collaboration over the course of a three year period. In addition to Clock Shop, the quartet currently has ongoing commissioning projects with composers David Colson and Andrew Rindfleisch.

Working to promote a variety of musical styles from different cultures, Clocks in Motion places the hammered dulcimer in center-stage played by group member Matthew Coley who arranges music from around the world on his custom built instrument. Clocks in Motion has a growing library of repertoire that features Coley’s virtuosity in both folk and contemporary musical styles.

Not only known as a virtuosic performing ensemble, Clocks in Motion works passionately to educate young audiences through master classes, residencies, presentations, and school assemblies. The individual members of Clocks in Motion’s unique skill sets and specialties contain an impressive mix of musical styles including, rock, jazz, contemporary classical music, orchestral percussion, marching percussion, and world music styles. Clocks in Motion works regularly with all age groups in accessible hands-on workshops.

1 of 22

mailto:[email protected]



OFFERINGS Performance - Clocks in Motion is a world-class performing ensemble. Evening-length concerts featuring new, original repertoire by living composers alongside classic works for percussion ensemble are our specialty. Clocks in Motion prides itself on making contemporary music accessible for its audiences by speaking openly about the compositions and giving them interactive ideas to help with listening. Our group also presents original programs, installation pieces, and theatrical events featuring hand-made instruments. Our varied repertoire makes for an exciting and memorable experience for audiences of all age groups and familiarity with contemporary music. Clocks in Motion is now expanding its repertoire to feature the Appalachian Hammered Dulcimer among its original instruments.

Masterclasses - Clocks in Motion offers masterclasses to percussionists of all levels, elementary to pre-professional musicians. The members of Clocks in Motion have degrees from some of the most prestigious music institutions in the world including Manhattan School of Music, Northwestern University, and the Eastman School of Music. In addition, each member of the ensemble has completed a doctorate degree in the field. Clocks in Motion brings its collective expertise into masterclasses, coaching students in chamber music, orchestral excerpts, contemporary music, multi-percussion, marimba performance, world music, and popular music styles.

Artistic Collaboration - Clocks in Motion believes that the foundations of any successful collaboration are deep and meaningful personal relationships. As a result, Clocks in Motion seeks composers, dancers, documentarians, designers, and other artists of all types who are looking for long-term commitments to our ensemble in creating meaningful and lasting contributions to our artistic landscape. Bringing new art to life through close collaboration is our passion.

2 of 22




SELECT RECENT ENGAGEMENTS Muhlenberg College, Contemporary Music Festival (Allentown, PA)

● World premiere performance of Jennifer Bellor’s first Clock Shop composition, “Of Maker and Movement.” ● Presented two masterclasses and concert.

Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo, MI)

● Two world premiere performances and pre-concert lecture featuring the music of David Colson in collaboration with pianist, Lori Sims

Minnesota Percussion Association Day of Percussion (Minneapolis, MN)

● Four masterclass presentations covering basic marimba technique, advanced marimba technique, careers as a professional percussionist, and instrument building reaching over 500 students

● Evening concert reaching over 1000 students “Gifts of Music” Concert Series (Rocky River, OH)

● Performance for local concert series Valparaiso University (Valparaiso, IN)

● Evening performance at University Studio Z (Minneapolis, MN)

● Two performances in hip downtown arts space, the home of Zeitgeist New Music Ensemble University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Milwaukee, WI)

● Masterclass/performance for percussion studio Outreach at Rosemount High School (Rosemount, MN)

● Six masterclass/performances throughout school day reaching over 800 high school students Cleveland Contemporary Players (Cleveland, OH)

● World premiere performance and recordings of Andrew Rindfleisch’s new Mallet Quartet, “Atomic Atomic” and percussion quartet, “Chroma”. Residency at Cleveland State University composition department.

● Student composer readings Heartland Marimba Festival Academy (Cedar City, UT)

● Ensemble in residence performing and teaching during week-long academy. The Stoughton Opera House (Stoughton, WI)

● 90-minute performance in collaboration with composer, Marc Mellits The Stone (New York, NY)

● Concert including world premieres by composer Matthew Welch Queensboro College (New York, NY)

● Concert and masterclass

3 of 22


http://www.jenniferbellor.com/

https://wmich.edu/composition/directory/colson

http://www.andrewrindfleisch.com/

http://www.marcmellits.com/

http://blarvuster.com/matthew/



New York University (New York, NY) ● Masterclass and performance for percussion studio

The Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition Semi-Finals Round (New York, NY)

● Clocks in Motion advanced to the semi-finals round of the competition The Traverse City Dance Project (Traverse City, MI)

● In collaboration with composer Son Lux and Jennifer Lott. New music for percussion with dance. THE COLLECTORS SET - an exhibition by Jeannine Shinoda (Madison, WI)

● Performing the world premiere of composition written by group member, Sean Kleve ● In collaboration with ceramicist Jeannine Shinoda

WATCH/LISTEN Atomic Atomic - Andrew Rindfleisch, a Clocks in Motion commission Fantezie - Sergiu Creţu/arranged and edited for cimbalom and piano Valeriu Luţă/arranged for dulcimer and percussion by Matthew Coley

● Featuring hammered dulcimer soloist, Matthew Coley Gravity - Marc Mellits, a Clocks in Motion commission Third Construction - John Cage THE COLLECTORS SET - Music by Sean Kleve, in collaboration with ceramicist Jeannine Shinoda

DISCOGRAPHY Escape Velocity (2014)

Track Listing 1. Gravity - Marc Mellits (10:37)

2. “At Loose Ends: - Herbert Brün (14:19)

3. Duplum - Filippo Santoro (10:50)

Allhallows - John Jeffrey Gibbens

4. I. Prelude (7:56) 5. II. Witness (8:39) 6. III. Nocturne (2:59)

Percussion Quartet - Charles Wuorinen 7. I. Eighth Note = 72 bpm (11:37) 8. II. Leggiero (7:37) Total Playing Time: 74:40

4 of 22


http://music.sonluxmusic.com/

http://yukinoshinoda.com/index.php/about/

https://youtu.be/vUp3mNDZ0sw

https://youtu.be/5EeK1sBiGYI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTRw_rsg9HM

https://youtu.be/CN9OS1GxAUw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG6-y8kFhYw

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/clocksinmotionpercussion?SourceCode=widgetbaby

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/clocksinmotionpercussion?SourceCode=widgetbaby



CLOCK SHOP “Clock Shop” is Clocks in Motion’s new composer-in-residence commissioning model in which we develop an ongoing relationship with a single composer for a number of years, creating new quartets to perform and record. Our current Clock Shop composer is Jennifer Bellor. From 2018-2021, Bellor will be composing four new percussion quartets for Clocks in Motion. Completed works: Of Maker and Movement (Premiered at Muhlenberg College Contemporary Music Festival, March 2019)

1. Pendulum Surround 2. Dance of Hands 3. Quartz Revolution

Jennifer Bellor is a versatile composer whose works have been presented by Washington National Opera, American Composers Orchestra, Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra (SWOJO), Las Vegas Philharmonic, Lviv Philharmonic, Eastman Saxophone project, UNLV Wind Orchestra, Elevate Ensemble, and many others in the US and abroad. Bellor’s music draws on a variety of influences, and has received recognition for her jazz/cross genre compositions such as Midnight Swim (DownBeat), Noir (SWOJO), Chase the Stars (The American Prize) and self-released debut album Stay on NewMusicBox’s 2016 Staff picks. Bellor holds a PhD in music composition at Eastman School of Music, a Master of Music degree in composition at Syracuse University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in music at Cornell University. She is Visiting Lecturer at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and artistic director of the new music series Nextet. Currently, she is the Composer-in-Residence for the percussion quartet, Clocks in Motion. Her music can be found on iTunes, Spotify, SoundCloud, YouTube, JW Pepper, among others. For more information, please visit her website, www.jenniferbellor.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS Facebook - ClocksinMotionPerc Twitter - @clockmotionperc Instagram - @clocksinmotionperc Youtube - clocksinmotionperc Soundcloud - clocksinmotionperc

5 of 22


http://www.jenniferbellor.com/

http://facebook.com/clocksinmotionperc

http://twitter.com/clockmotionperc

http://instagram.com/clocksinmotionperc

http://youtube.com/clocksinmotionperc

http://soundcloud.com/clocksinmotionperc



INSTRUMENT ENDORSEMENTS

Clocks in Motion is a Marimba One “Ensemble Artist” and performs exclusively on Marimba One marimbas and vibraphones.

REVIEWS AND PRESS

Review: Clocks in Motion Percussion Ensemble at Drinko Hall, Cleveland State University (September 23, 2019) October 1st, 2019 by David Kulma, ClevelandClassical.com

The Madison-based powerhouse Clocks in Motion, one of the percussion quartets currently making a name for themselves, returned for their third visit to Cleveland on Monday, September 23 on CSU’s Cleveland Contemporary Players series at Drinko Recital Hall. Clocks — Megan Arns, Matthew Coley, Christopher G. Jones, and Sean Kleve — have taken seriously their mandate to bring new work to life, and offered four works written over the last five years On a stage strewn with both familiar and unique instruments, Clocks showed off the myriad ways one can strike an object musically. Each work revealed the group’s collective rhythm, and their finesse in pitch-based sound environments. Their control and clarity were sonorous treats, and they underlined their enjoyable concert with helpful words from the stage to place the new music and the unfamiliar instruments in context. Two short, propulsive works bookended the evening. Named for the arrangement of tones on steel pans, Adam Silverman’s Spiderweb Lead (2016) is a bustling piece for marbima, vibraphone, steel pan, and hand drums. Opening and closing with drumsticks on the rim of the pan, it fanned out into intricate harmonic textures with a pleasant, continuous pulse. Anders Koppel’s Mechanical Ballet (2014) for two marimbas, vibraphone, and xylophone was full of wickedly strange and off-kilter ostinatos in the vein of a dark Danny Elfman film score, making one smile at its musical hijinks. Clocks’ precision in both works was captivating — they made the complex seem effortless. Jennifer Bellor’s three-movement Of Maker and Movement (2018-19) created ethereal sounds with various mallet instruments, sometimes approaching an ambient aesthetic. Marimba, vibraphone, and glockenspiel were joined by two instruments created by the group: the Aquarion — a glass marimba with an otherworldly quality when rolled — and the Galvitone — tuned steel pipes. The simple, yet detailed beauty of the sounds, some motoric, others melodic, was arresting. By the third movement, the driving rhythms with transitions instigated by cymbal rolls gave it the whiff of stereotypical wind band music. Bellor

6 of 22


https://www.marimbaone.com/



writes ravishingly and imaginatively for percussion, and Clocks in Motion have made her their resident composer. Three more quartets will come from her pen in the near future. Andrew Rindfleisch’s Chroma (2019) is a large-looming and captivating half-hour of quietness. Written for two marimbas, a quarter-tone-flat marimba the Clocks call a Quarimba, vibraphone, two sets of almglocken (tuned cowbells most familiar from Mahler), a huge set of Thai gongs, a gamelan, tamtam, and bass drum — this work verges on the meditatively disturbing. It seems like something out of La Monte Young or the Wandelweiser Group. The sound of minutes-long soft rolls that slowly rise from the bottom of the four main mallet instruments create an unsettling three-dimensional microtonal buzz that hangs in the air. The various sections create a large arc that leads to a single, dissonant clang and back to the hushed atmosphere. The ensemble handled the work with great care, so much so that the recurring silence took on an air of imposing stillness.

Tick tock, round the clock: Muhlenberg College Presents Clocks in Motion March 21st, 2019 By Lauren Mazur, The Muhlenberg Weekly

Imagine if you could be forever in time, in rhythm, in beat, in pattern with the world around you; in time to such a point that you find yourself no longer counting but instead being, and for some, creating. This is only partially the emotions I felt while watching the touring group Clocks in Motion perform on Muhlenberg’s campus last week. Described as a percussionist ensemble, the group was formed in 2011 in Madison, Wisconsin. Originally they were larger, having up to twelve ensemble members in order to perform the enormous repertoire of some older percussion pieces. As time went on however, the group shrunk, and shifted towards a different approach to their art.

‘Different,’ however, is not the best word to use to describe this music. It’s more complex than that. Their opening piece, Mark Mellits’ “Gravity,” is a good place to start. Featuring marimbas, vibraphones, and other various percussion instruments, the piece began with a fast start. Using various mallets to create certain soundscapes, the composition grew in tension through the rhythms as well as the harmonies. It was hard to breathe with how thick the texture they created was. Shifting from singular mallets in each hand to two at a time, the goal of the piece was undeniably atmosphere—and all that applies with such a word. The rise and fall of pressure, the weightlessness, the heaviness, space, and the constriction. For me, it was experiencing an entirely new sound pallet—but how does one describe this in mere writing? Well, then there is the virtuosity in question. Performers Matthew Coley, Chris Jones, Sean Kleve, and Megan Arns demonstrated mastery over their craft. As they jumped and twisted from placement musically to placement physically, perfectly in sync with one another mind, the piece only seemed to grow in complexity and wonder. I couldn’t turn away—visually or otherwise.

The next piece I want to mention is John Cage’s “Third Construction.” Explained as the oldest piece in their repertoire that night, the composition consisted a series of not only drums but soup cans, symbols, shakers, wood blocks, and even a conch shell. This was mainly due to the piece’s construction at the time. Percussion instruments were (and still are) expensive, so Cage found and used what he could to create the piece he had in his head. Due to this, he couldn’t find any percussionists to play his piece as a majority of them wished to stick to classical repertoire. Because of this, the piece was performed by mainly dancers and pianists.

It was my personal favorite as well, honestly. The composition is just extravagant in both its instrumentation and score. While to some it may have seemed improvised and almost random, Kleve asserts that not a single aspect of

7 of 22


https://muhlenbergweekly.com/arts-culture/tick-tock-round-the-clock/



“Third Construction” is improvised. Every part, rhythm, and sound is played intentionally at a specific time and place. Specifically to demonstrate its namesake, ‘construction.’

“I don’t know that I have ever heard John Cage’s “Third Construction” live before…” Dr. Andrew Ardizzoia lamented, “that piece struck me because it is so wild…We think of John Cage as a sort of…calm a tranquil guy, but the early stuff is so rhythmically vital. It has such vivacity to it.”

As the coordinator of the Contemporary Music Festival, Dr. Ardizzoia had an idea of what he wanted demonstrated and expressed throughout his program.

“We have a very strong choral program. We have a strong instrumental program. Most of the programing in those two areas is devoted to music that is a little bit older…” Dr. Ardizzoia explained, “what we do with the contemporary music festival intends to be a little bit more on the beaten path in terms of its accessibility.”

Dr. Ardizzoia then continues to explain part of the festival’s primary goal is to play and share music of living composers as well as composers who encompass a variety of genres. Including such repertoire as Clocks in Motion.

“The important thing about the contemporary music festival is creating that space where we can experience all of these different types of music that are of our time but maybe are wildly different from one another,” Dr. Ardizzoia continues, “that’s one of my goals with the contemporary music festival; to make sure we’re representing a diverse range of both composers with diverse aesthetic outlooks and also performers who are interested in a lot of different things.”

Dr. Ardizzoia also stressed the value of diverse repertoire in the festival—diversity in a sense that is both in tangent and seperate from the classics that we have all come to know and love.

“To me the diversity is a really important part of what we do. If we had a mission, I think diverging aesthetic view points would be really important part of what we’re talking about.” Clocks in Motion also featured the work of Jennifer Bellor, a composer who is currently writing for their ensemble group. Her piece, Of Maker & Movement, was a composition of three movements. “I thought Jennifer Bellor’s piece was the strongest on the program—just in terms of the surface level sounds that she’s working with. She has such an ear for timbre,” said Dr. Ardizzoia. The production was a success. Truly outstanding and one of a kind in nature. The festival of course continues with its next ensemble Atlemos. Be sure not to miss it Mar. 29 in the Recital Hall of the Center for Arts. “The program alone is enough to make people sort of sit up and take notice—but it is also going to be performed at such a high level,” Dr. Ardizzoia continued, “I think you would be silly not to be there if you have any interest in singing, wind instruments, chamber music, any of that sort of thing. It’s going to be a great day.”

Matthew Welch Music: Three Residency Concerts December 18, 2015 By Jean Ballard Terepka, Theaterscene.net

8 of 22




The 8:00 show on Thursday, December 10 was a more traditionally formal concert than either the 10:00 on Wednesday or the 10:00 performance later that same evening. Billed as Clocks in Motion plays the percussion works of Welch, the concert featured four Welch pieces. This show was part of Clocks in Motion’s New York City debut. This virtuosic percussion group, an affiliate ensemble with the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, consists of four musicians – Sean Kleve, Dave Alcorn, Michael Koszewski and James McKenzie – all of whom have entirely mastered a wide-ranging vocabulary of instruments, world music styles and historical and contemporary percussion genres. These four musicians are composers and arrangers as well as daring performers. The first three pieces they performed were their arrangements of Welch pieces written between 2009 and 2012; the fourth piece, premiered on this evening, was written by Welch for the percussion quartet and bagpipe. From one piece to the next, the Clocks in Motion musicians changed instruments. Having played the marimba, one percussionist might move to the vibraphone, while another, having started on glockenspiel might then move to xylophone; sometimes, someone would play a regular rock-n-roll drum kit. In the first three pieces, the arrangements of Welch’s compositions for bagpipe were fascinating and exciting: the audible presence of bagpipe tunes and traditions in percussion instruments was not merely a sweet magic feat but also a substantive exploration of transformation processes. The fourth piece, “The Sound of the Waves Against the Castle of Duntoon,” featuring all five musicians together, made alternating water-and-shoreline movements of crash and calm completely visible in the mind of the listener. Water and waves – dominant images in the music of both Ireland, called up by the bagpipes, and Indonesia, evoked by the percussionists – are universal sources for human inspiration and subjects for works of art in all genres. In this evocative and witty piece, Welch added to the historical references of the British Isles and South East Asia the relatively recent twentieth century thump and sway of California surf rock. In this concert, the four musicians of Clocks in Motion demonstrated a compelling artistic vision: their absolutely secure technical control, intellectual discipline and commitment to imaginative daring make them thrilling to listen to. All formally and rigorously trained, these percussionists are committed to both classical and contemporary music, but they also clearly relish challenging themselves to heady, edgy creativity and presenting themselves in performance with such openheartedness that they turn audiences into colleagues in exploring the new.

Classical music: Percussion ensemble Clocks in Motion joins UW-Madison ceramic artist in making an MFA installation a "smashing success." May 21, 2015 by Mikko Utevsky, The Well-Tempered Ear blog

On Sunday, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music graduate percussion ensemble Clocks in Motion performed as part of artist Jeannine Shinoda’s MFA Exhibition “The Collector’s Set” in what can only be described as a smashing success. Shinoda’s exhibition consisted of a room filled with ceramic plates, cups and dishes suspended from the ceiling by strings, which the attendees were invited to cut, sending the dishes crashing to the concrete floor.

9 of 22




The performance took place in an adjacent room, where it was counterpointed by the occasional crunching noise from the exhibition. The four core members of Clocks played an assortment of bowls, plates, cups, spoons and ceramic-shard wind chimes in a four-movement composition – his Opus 1 — by music director Sean Kleve. Composed as a set of rhythmic patterns and relative pitches before the instruments were chosen, the creatively scored work was orchestrated cooperatively by the ensemble for this eclectic assortment of pottery, played mostly with chopsticks. It was structured in four movements. I quite enjoyed the lively second one in particular. A slightly eerie third movement made use of threaded metal rods that were scraped along the edges of the instruments to produce a sustained tone, and wind chimes made of broken plates and ceramic spoons. One of the curiosities of the piece was discovering the range of sounds that can be produced from kitchenware — in particular, the gradual acclimation of the ear to the variety of pitches produced. The music seemed to coalesce out of the clatter of dishes and smashing china from the other room, emerging in minimalist rhythmic patterns and creative imitative passages. All four parts were of equal importance, and each player could be seen taking the lead at various points — a sense of equality that is a hallmark of Clocks performances. The fourth movement introduced a couple of small gongs, as though signaling that the grand finale was at hand. As the rest of the ensemble played, Dave Alcorn solemnly crossed in front and began the ritualistically choreographed conclusion — slowly and deliberately smashing the instruments. The other three joined in with equal gravitas, sending plates and cups and bowls alike crashing to the ground. (The performers and audience, seen below, were equipped with protective eyewear for this portion of the work.) As the last of the instruments were reduced to shattered fragments, the four musicians — straight-faced among stifled laughter from the audience — produced brooms and proceeded to sweep the remains into a single pile in the center of the stage, leaving the rooms silently when finished. They returned moments later to a standing ovation. Here in his first work, Kleve demonstrates a sophisticated ear for texture and a shrewd understanding of pacing, both key to crafting a musically satisfying work that does not leave the listener feeling that the whole thing was just a setup to the final gambit of breaking dishes — an admitted risk with such a performance piece. One of the wonderful gifts of Clocks in Motion is its ability to focus the ear on the sounds of “found objects” — whether they are plates or brake drums or cow jawbones — and provide a framework for listening to them as musical. And, as is so often the case with Clocks in Motion, their strength of commitment and musical integrity is such that the enthusiastic audience is drawn into the fabric of even the most outwardly implausible works — their striking “Percussion is Revolution” program in September 2013 was a powerful example. It is a testament to Madison’s musical community and to the School of Music percussion program that we continue to host such a remarkable performing ensemble, and this innovative performance is just the latest feather in their collective cap.

10 of 22




Fifteen memorable 2014 concerts in Madison and its Midwestern neighbors December 29th, 2014 by Marc Eisen, the Isthmus newspaper

Clocks In Motion, "Drumming" by Steve Reich, Promenade Hall, Nov. 8 What a marvelously ambitious program by a bright new Madison percussion group. This landmark minimalist piece (from 1970-71) is thoroughly mesmerizing. I saw it performed a few months earlier by Steve Reich himself at the Brooklyn Academy Music. (Phillip Glass shared the bill.) And the Madison kids, in the exuberant confidence of youth, nailed it! "Drumming" is built on three or four musicians playing repetitions of simple musical phrases. First its bongo players, then marimba players, then the glockenspiels get a work out. A flutist and two female singers add to the bizarreness. In the last section, everybody is on stage. Magic happens in each grouping. The music seems to lock into your brain waves, and you're carried away in amazement at how the subtlest un-syncing of these repeated patterns -- by one musician slightly changing tempo -- animates the whole piece. It finally glided to an end at about the 80-minute mark -- and there was a moment of silence at the wonder of it all. Followed by a standing ovation. To my untutored ears, Clocks in Motion is the most exciting addition to Madison's classical music scene since the Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society debuted in 1992. How fitting that BDDS' impish co-founder Stephanie Jutt played flute in "Drumming".

Music: The fast-moving hands of Clocks in Motion January 27, 2014 by Gayle Worland, Wisconsin State Journal

If you think percussion music is only about drums, you haven’t met Clocks in Motion. The UW-Madison-based percussion ensemble is breaking ground by reviving rarely performed works, commissioning new music and even inventing its own instruments. Self-run, ambitious and highly talented, Clocks in Motion is also a group in motion, with a schedule that in the next four months includes seven performances in Madison and a Midwestern tour. “What this group is doing is something that’s quite inspiring, and tremendously unique,” said UW percussion professor Anthony Di Sanza, who is teaching or has taught each of the young musicians who make up Clocks in Motion. “I see almost all of their programs,” he said, “and every time I stop in to hear them in a rehearsal, it just makes me very happy and excited for them.” Clocks in Motion began in 2010 as a “graduate percussion ensemble,” assembled by Di Sanza to give graduate students a chance to explore difficult music together. Sean Kleve, today the music director of Clocks in Motion, fellow percussionist Joseph Murfin and other members of the group decided to take the ensemble on the road — and give it a memorable name.

11 of 22




“Clocks in Motion” refers to Einstein’s theory of special relativity, explained Murfin, who is also a mathematician. The faster an object moves, the slower time progresses for that object in relation to a stationary observer — as when an atomic clock placed on a jet racing through the air “ticks” more slowly than an atomic clock at rest. So it is with Clocks in Motion’s yen for bending time and exploring space with experimental music. The harder the piece, members said, the more fascinating it is to learn, master and perform. On Feb. 1, for example, Clocks in Motion will perform “Earth and the Great Weather,” John Luther Adams’ piece written to evoke the Arctic landscapes of northern Alaska and featuring percussion, strings, chorus, spoken voice and recorded natural sounds. On Feb. 8, it will premiere 21-year-old Ben Davis’ “Night,” using microtonal sixxens — a metal, marimba-like instrument fashioned by members of Clocks in Motion themselves. Even more instruments built by the group will be featured in a concert of world premieres May 30 at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery. Percussion groups that play experimental music are rare and are required to look to the future rather than the past, since there is not a lot of “classical” music in their genre, Kleve said. Most music written for percussion ensembles dates only to the 1960s and ’70s. “Before that, (percussionists) were specifically orchestral players, or they were pianists and dancers,” Kleve said. “So there’s only been one or one and a half generations of percussionists before us to lay that groundwork for what we’re doing today.” The six core musicians of Clocks in Music range in age from 24 to 40, with most in their late 20s. “We’re kind of a mixed bunch,” said Jennifer Hedstrom, a pianist who has learned to use her classical instrument in unconventional ways while performing with Clocks in Motion. “Some of us are still earning our graduate degree,” she said. “Some of us have finished and are pursuing our own music careers.” As a resident ensemble, Clocks in Motion can use rehearsal and performance space at the university and can borrow percussion instruments to supplement those that members own. “We’re not the only resident ensemble here, but we’re the only resident ensemble that’s dedicated specifically to commissioning new music and playing the music of our time,” Kleve said. “Our earliest pieces in the repertoire are from the 1920s and ’30s ... but you compare that to the string quartet repertoire, which is centuries old.” Unlike most classical music, percussion music does not have a standard format — meaning that players first have to figure out what kind of sound the composer wanted to create and then devise a way to make that sound. Percussionists also play multiple instruments, often shifting quickly from one to another in a sort of choreography that’s fascinating for an audience to watch. “Any instrument in here, pretty much any of these percussionists could play,” said Clocks in Motion’s Michael Koszewski, pointing to the rows of gongs, cymbals, vibraphones, wood blocks, drum kits and vibe-like instruments in the group’s practice space in the Humanities Building. “You go to a gig and your job is (to make) any sound that can be produced by striking two objects together,” he said. “And you’re responsible for making it sound good. We’re not single instrumentalists; we just follow a set of rules that make us percussionists.” The members of Clocks in Motion spend so much time together that they have an ingrained musical understanding of one another, they said. Matthew Schlomer, based at Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, conducts the group for pieces that require a conductor. But often the group rehearses or performs cooperatively, with no designated leader. Each member also has other responsibilities for the group, such as lining up concerts, scheduling rehearsals, running the website, marketing and graphic design. This spring, Clocks in Motion will release its first album, which includes three world premiere recordings written for the group. Clocks in Motion recently received a $1,400 grant from the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission but mostly relies on donor support — and members’ day jobs — for its operations. On tours, the musicians are also their own roadies, hauling their heavy and bulky instruments in a U-Haul trailer hitched to a donated cargo van. Setting up on stage can take hours.

12 of 22




After performances, the group welcomes the audience on stage to examine — or even try to play — their unusual instruments. Among them: the Galvatone, built by member Dave Alcorn with 96 lengths of galvanized pipe. (The Galvatone’s name, he said, was coined “by the lady at Home Depot who helped me cut so much pipe.”) That sort of inventive spirit makes every Clocks in Motion concert a “sonic experience,” said member James McKenzie. “We hope,” he said of the group’s fans, “they’re not going to expect what we’re going to do next.”

Clocks in Motion invites Casper to play with them January 20, 2014 by Elysia Conner, Casper Journal

Can seven musicians play 100 instruments in one concert? Clocks in Motion does all the time, and that’s what the group will do here next week, Casper College percussion instructor David Alcorn said. Some of the instruments are one-of-a kind, including a 96-note instrument he built from galvanized pipes. With a unique sound born of an unconventional approach to music, the group aims to break down barriers, Alcorn said. “We’re always looking for ways for the audience to be part of the concert event,” Alcorn said. “And we’re trying to get rid of that notion that the performers are up on stage, and there’s kind of a wall between what’s happening on stage and what’s happening in the audience.” Clocks in Motion started three years ago with Alcorn and his fellow graduate school percussion ensemble classmates at University of Wisconsin-Madison. They yearned to perform more than just once a semester for college credit. Now the group-in-residence at their alma mater performs throughout Madison and the Midwest. At first, they worried few would enjoy the music, while the most might be impressed but feel they don't really get it, Alcorn said. But reactions turned out to be quite the opposite as the group managed to make complex music accessible. “We’re presenting it in a way that I think anybody in the world could ... find it really interesting and fun to watch and listen to,” Alcorn said. The group plays classic and modern percussion music, much of it composed for them by established to emerging artists. But they don’t take the conventional approach of asking composers to write for their instruments. They instead ask composers to write anything they imagine, and the group finds or creates a way to play it, Alcorn said. That method not only gives them great music, but inspires

them to either use instruments in new ways or make their own.

13 of 22




Clocks in Motion plays standard percussion instruments such as drums, cymbals, xylophones and marimbas. But among their rare instruments is what’s called a quarimba — a marimba modified with 24 tones per octave instead of 12. The group creates quirky sounds by stacking the marimba's and the quarimba’s quarter tones, Alcorn said. Alcorn’s pipe instrument also mixes whole tones with quarter tones. The pianist adds the unexpected mix too. She takes the lid off of her instrument to pluck the stings and places objects among them to make strange sounds when she strikes the keys, Alcorn said. She also plays a toy piano. The group always invites the audience on stage after the show to tinker with their instruments and find out how they work. The show will feature several pieces from the group’s new album they finished recording last week. “I would safely say that every piece of music we’ll perform has never been performed in Wyoming before,” Alcorn said.

Classical music: Ringing cell phones and coughing made Saturday's concert by the UW-Madison's Clocks in Motion enthralling and unforgettable. September 23, 2013 by Mikko Utevsky, The Well-Tempered Ear blog

When we go to a concert, we go to listen and to watch. Perhaps with the very best performers we hope to be touched by the music, for the musicians on stage to speak to us through their playing. But the role of the audience in classical music is generally passive: we expect to sit quietly, clap when a piece ends, cough politely between movements. We certainly do not walk in the doors expecting to be part of the performance. At Saturday afternoon’s free performance in Mills Hall of “Percussion is Revolution” by UW-Madison resident ensemble Clocks in Motion, however, all this was turned on its head, and the result was an experience unlike anything I have ever witnessed. The ideas of John Cage and his colleagues have not penetrated the conscious of the concert-going public, by and large, and we are comfortable with our music on its pedestal, secure in the rituals surrounding a symphony concert or string quartet recital. The opportunity to see it toppled, however briefly, is notwithstanding an event not to be missed. I, like many audience members, was slightly skeptical about the idea of a participatory concert. I went unsure of what to expect, but I had thoroughly enjoyed the ensemble’s other concerts I had attended, and thought it best to approach with an open mind. After an exciting opener of “Pulse” by Henry Cowell, the group’s music director Sean Kleve explained the structure of the remainder of the program to the audience.

14 of 22




The next four works, all by John Cage, would be played without break and without applause. However, they would be separated by interludes of audience sound. We were asked to make sure our cell phones were turned ON – unthinkable in any other context – and permitted to make one call to another audience member during the course of the performance of Cage’s notorious 4’33″ that would follow the next piece. At another juncture, we were asked to read from the program notes in a whisper. Elsewhere we were invited to make noise using whatever we had in our pockets, and later to cough and clear our throats, as inevitably occurs between movements during a conventional classical music concert. A video would be projected on the back wall during the performance – a potpourri of more or less random short clips (rain dripping from a rooftop, a turtle, a can rolling off a table, quotes on the nature of music, screensaver-like digital images) – which Kleve informed us had not been timed to match the music, nor had it been viewed by any members of the ensemble other than Dave Alcorn, who assembled it. Our role as audience, then, was to experience. We had music to listen to, video to watch, spaces to participate (as well as permission to accept accidents – a phone ringing, dropping a program – as part of the concert), and an ensemble of visually engaging performers to observe. The effect was totally immersive, hypnotic, and utterly enthralling. I have never experienced such a powerful performance, or been so completely engaged by the performers on stage. Clocks in Motion is a virtuosic ensemble, made up of incredibly talented and dedicated musicians (including multiple Collins Fellows). Their performances are unfailingly engaging, energetic, and executed with a precision befitting their excellent training and intense rehearsals. Not a piece on the program was dull, though there were highlights: Cage’s “Imaginary Landscape 1″ and “First Construction in Metal” were personal favorites, along with the Cowell opener. During “Imaginary Landscape 1,” I could not tell at one point whether the synthesized pitches were coming from in the room or inside my own head. Elsewhere, this would have been disconcerting; here, it simply allowed me to immerse myself in the landscape the performers were inviting me to imagine with them. I think John Cage would approve, both of the effect and of the superb performances of so much of his music. I realize it is difficult to write authentically about music such as this without sounding trite or ridiculous, and that I may come across as such here. Discarding the accumulated pomp and circumstance with which we dress our music in the classical world does not come easily, at least when reading about it, and if indeed my assessment seems laughable, so be it. The risk of being laughed at is one worth taking for music like this. For a young musician such as myself, performances like “Percussion is Revolution” are formative experiences – albeit few and far between. For the veteran concertgoer, perhaps they are powerful enough to challenge the rituals of concert music, at least for an afternoon. If (when?) the program is offered again, it is not to be missed. Attend with an open mind, and be prepared to take part and to accept your experience as a kind of music not played at a symphony concert. And if you laugh a little, you’re among friends.

15 of 22




Reinventing classical music: These six ensembles are breaking boundaries in Madison May 5, 2013 by Sandy Tabachnick, the Isthmus newspaper

The UW's Clocks in Motion are a contemporary percussion ensemble that started when Sean Kleve began his DMA studies in 2010. Today there are seven other percussionists and a pianist as well. At concerts, gongs, marimbas, chimes, drums and cymbals clutter the stage in a logic only Clocks understand. With a blur of mallets and drumsticks, they unleash contemporary music that has been quarantined in music libraries for decades. The group plays devilishly difficult music, so it's not surprising that Iannis Xenakis' "Pleiades" has become their calling card. Clocks built a special instrument to play this challenging piece. Called a sixxen, it's a 19-pitched, keyboard-like instrument that's made from blocks of aluminum and tuned microtonally. The performers also wear earphones with part-specific tracks to maintain an accurate tempo throughout the piece. Clocks have performed "Pleiades" at universities across the country, and it has come to represent their fearless approach to complex repertoire.

Review: Clocks in Motion Percussion Ensemble at Waetjen Auditorium, CSU (March 25) March 27, 2013 by Robert Rollin, ClevelandClassical.com

Clocks in Motion, the ensemble in residence for the University of Wisconsin-Madison percussion studio, appeared at Cleveland State’s Waetjen Auditorium, Monday evening March 24, presenting an exceptional new music program. The group, established in 2011, is on its second Midwest tour. There are nine professional percussionists in the group, one of whom also serves as pianist. According to its mission statement, Clocks in Motion, is “dedicated to performing modern chamber music and commissioning new repertoire.” The ensemble’s membership ranges from undergraduate and graduate students to those with the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in percussion. At the concert all the performers evidenced a remarkable professionalism, skillful performance, and prompt, careful organization and structuring of the complex percussion resources. The evening’s highlight was Lou Harrison’s Concerto for Violin with Percussion Orchestra (1940-1959) with guest soloist Evan Kleve. Already in the rapid first movement, Allegro maestoso, Kleve evidenced great preparation and virtuosity as he tossed off difficult passagework replete with mixed metrical groupings. The accompanying percussion parts included mallet percussion, membranephones, metalliphones, and wooden instruments judiciously laid out around each of the five percussionists. Given the percussion instruments’ potential dynamic power, the balance between soloist and ensemble was nothing short of remarkable.

16 of 22


http://clocksinmotionpercussion.com/



The second movement, Largo; cantabile, was more lyrical, delicate, and expressive, as greater reliance was placed upon the strange setup of a string bass on its back being hit with percussion mallets to create a gamelan-like effect. Harrison is noted for his interest in Far Eastern music, and this connection was clearly present in the piece. The third movement,Allegro, vigoroso, poco presto, was again fast and excited. Even more asymmetrical groupings took place here, with the added technique of intricate cross rhythms. Violinist Kleve was excellent throughout and the balance of accompaniment was consistently fine. In addition to the concert, the group had spent an afternoon looking at Cleveland State student composers’ works. Though not listed on the program, the group selected student Buck McDaniel’s Different Parts for a same day concert performance. The two-movement piece used three percussion parts and piano in a colorful mélange featuring mallet percussion, tenor drums, wood blocks, snare drums, gongs, and other non-pitched instruments. Herbert Brün’s At Loose Ends: (1974) for piano and three percussionists was a single movement piece employing diverse coloristic resources. Pianist Jennifer Hedstrom’s part was itself diverse. Several times she changed off to celesta, adding a soft ringing timbre. She also strummed the piano strings in an extended inner piano passage, and hammered the chimes in a sizable passage. Marimbas and non-pitched percussion dominated the accompaniment. At one point interesting spatial effects took place as each percussionist played snare drum rolls in a conversation with the others. A similar technique focused on simultaneous marimba rolls in each mallet part. Other timbral diversities included use of a large rack of temple blocks, several flexitons, and extended use of woodblocks and high-pitched log drums. Hedstrom started the concert with a fine performance of John Cage’s Bacchanale (1940) for prepared piano. This was largely a perpetual motion piece. The second section periodically slowed to quasi cadences. Like Harrison’s special use of the string bass in his Violin Concerto with Percussion Orchestra (1940), Cage demanded a prepared set up in which several gamelan-sounding sonorities take place. This gave the piece an Eastern cast. The concert’s entire second half contained experimental composer Iannis Xenakis’ fort-five minute Pléïades (1979) in four movements. Xenakis is known for using the computer and information theory to help generate his music. The piece employed six performers. Any order of movements is allowed, as long as Mélanges is played first or last. The performers wore headphones with click tracks to help maintain tempo and ensemble.Claviers, or Keyboards, the first movement, employed only mallet percussion for a rapidly flowing bright piece. Very fast-moving unison passages among the five players created a remarkable color and musical flow. The precision was truly amazing. Métaux, or Metaliphones, the second movement, used six specially created glockenspiel-like instruments. Xenakis himself specified the need for these instruments, but never got involved in their creation. He also requested that pitch distances between adjacent metal bars never be closer than three-quarters of a tone. This produced an intense sonorous kinship to the metal gamelan instruments native to Southeast Asia. The piece ranged from piercingly loud fortissimos to intriguing diminuendos to pianissimo. The fortissimo passages’ dominance made the movement difficult to endure. One might say the composer missed several good chances to quit. Notwithstanding, the performance was meticulous. Various drums dominated Peaux, or Membraniphones. Bongos, tenor drums, timbales, bass drums, timpani, and more, were used exclusively here. Again the movement seemed a bit too long, and again use of periodic diminuendos was a mitigating factor. Mélanges, as the title implies, intermingled all features of the preceding movements. This made for a lively conclusion to a piece that dragged in the middle. Clocks in Motion played with uncanny precision all evening.

17 of 22




Preview: "Clocks in Motion" percussion ensemble to play at Baldwin Wallace and Cleveland State Universities March 19, 2013 by Mike Telin, ClevelandClassical.com

If you have never had the opportunity to hear the magic that a percussion ensemble can bring to a stage, here is your chance. On Sunday, March 24 in Gamble Auditorium at Baldwin Wallace University and Monday, March 25 in Waetjen Auditorium at Cleveland State University, Clocks in Motion presents concerts featuring the works of Reich, Cage, Xenakis and Brün. The program also features violinist Evan Kleve as soloist in Lou Harrison’s Concerto for Violin with Percussion Orchestra. Formed in 2011, Clocks in Motion is a contemporary percussion ensemble dedicated to performing modern chamber music and commissioning new repertoire. The group were the featured performers at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery 2012 Science Fair and the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMOCA) Gallery Night for the opening of a new exhibit by painter Robert Lostutter. In addition, the group served in residency at Rhapsody Arts Center (Verona, WI) in January of 2013 to teach students in grades K-12 about contemporary music and percussion and will be the ensemble in residence at the Interlochen Arts Academy in May 2013. Clocks in Motion began as an extension of the University of Wisconsin at Madison’s Graduate Percussion Group, and now serves as the ensemble in residence for the institution’s percussion studio. We spoke with percussionist David Alcorn by telephone. Mike Telin: Thanks for talking. Tell me about this very interesting program. Dave Alcorn: This is all repertoire that we’ve been playing for the past couple of years that we know doesn’t get played all that often. We are trying to expose people to this music who otherwise might never get a chance to hear it. For example, Herbert Brün’s At Loose Ends. As far as we are aware, our performance of it [in February] was only the third time it had ever been performed. It was written for Black Earth Percussion in the 70’s and I don’t know how many times they performed it, but they did record it. And when the group disbanded Brün actually stated that the piece most likely would never be played again. I don’t think it was — until a couple of years ago at the University of Illinois, where he taught composition for many years, and the University percussion ensemble performed it as part of a celebration of his music. Beyond that, I think our group is the only one who ever played it. At least I cannot find any record of it being performed. MT: Interesting, and why do you think that is? DA: The piece uses a lot of equipment, most notably something called a corimba, which is not a typical western instrument. It’s like a marimba. It’s a keyboard instrument made from rosewood, and it looks exactly like a marimba, but the bars are tuned a quarter tone flat. You stack it with a regular marimba, and by that I mean the corimba sits in front of the marimba, so you have four levels and one person plays both instruments, which creates a twenty-four tone scale instead of the normal western twelve-tone scale.

18 of 22




MT: How did you become interested in the music of Brün? DA: I’ve been a fan of his music for a while. He wrote three works for percussion that I have played. I also wrote a paper on him last year that focused on those works. As I was writing the paper I was also looking at his other music for percussion and I discovered the piece, and it turns out that the U of Wisconsin at Madison had it. I saw it was on a CD of his music so I got that as well. The piece is so interesting that I knew we had to play it. MT: How many players are needed to perform it? DA: Five people — four percussionists and one pianist who also plays celesta and chimes. MT: The Xenakis “Pleiades” is one of my favorite works of all time for any ensemble. And speaking of odd instruments: the sixxen. I understand a couple of people in the group built them? DA: They were built before we were officially Clocks in Motion, but Bret Walter and Sean Kleve did built them over a summer. There are some plans in the Percussive Arts Society magazine. They also found some people who had built them, so they got in touch with them as well. They modified them a little bit because they would work better for the group. The original sixxens are quite large and these and easier to travel with. You need six sets and even with the smaller size they are still extremely heavy. MT: In what order are you going to perform the movements? DA: We’ll start with Claviers and end with Mélanges. It’s all about how you want the sixxen to be introduced to the audience. I love the way Métaux begins with the unison d, then things begin to slowly expand. MT: I do know the Reich, Music for pieces of wood. But I don’t knowHarrison’s Concerto for Violin with Percussion Orchestra. DA: Both Harrison’s violin concerto and Music for pieces of wood have been performed more often but they are amazing pieces in the literature that many people probably have never heard. The Harrison is difficult because you have five percussionists with loud instruments against the solo violin, so you need to take all of the fortissimo markings with a grain of salt.

MT: When the group is rehearsing, is it a democratic process? DA: It is somewhat democratic in that we all have input. Everybody does speak their minds, and we do get into friendly arguments. If five out of six people are in agreement then that one person graciously agrees. Many times we don’t even talk about it — one person kind of takes charge. But things are very organized. Sometimes when someone is not playing they will listen and give comments. MT: Do you all contribute to programming decisions? DA: Sean kind of figures out which pieces go on which concert and what the order should be. And while he does take care of that, if someone thinks we should do a piece, nearly 100% of the time it does get programmed. MT: And then there is the job of finding all the instruments you need for a performance, and that is not an easy task.

19 of 22




DA: That’s for sure. For this tour we e-mailed percussion teachers told them what we were thinking of and if they expressed interest we asked them what instruments they would have available to borrow. We do have contingency plans if some instruments are not available, although we do bring quite a bit of our own gear. As a percussion ensemble you do have to be able to adapt to the situation and if you can’t, you ultimately will not be performing at a lot of venues. And when you’re performing pieces like these, that require so many instruments, you kind of have to expect that a lot of venues are not going to have exactly everything that you need.

Percussion group comes to Verona on Jan. 12 January 3, 2013 by Victoria Vlisides, ConnectVerona.com

A new concert experience for many Veronans is coming Jan. 12. Clocks in Motion is a contemporary percussion ensemble group that plays a mix of classics, contemporary and pieces composed from local musicians. Not only are they performers but the group is passionate about teaching. They’ve had sessions teaching youth as well as doing college lectures after some of their concerts. The group is leading two free percussion workshops for Verona youth in the afternoon and then performing a concert for the community that night at Salem United Church of Christ. Rhapsody Arts Center is sponsoring the event and director Mickey Lytle said bringing in Clocks in Motion was a way to reach out to the community and have an all-ages concert. “They specialize in education, and they love performing,” she said. “I’ve never met anyone who didn’t respond to the sounds of drums.” The ensemble of 10 people formed in 2011 as an extension of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Graduate Percussion Group and now serves as the ensemble in residence for the UW-Madison percussion studio. During workshops they help kids find their inner rhythm and work with different percussion instruments to get sounds you might not always expect. For example, Lytle mentioned they use the strings of a piano to get different effects and sounds you wouldn’t expect. They’re also technically adept to help more advanced kids who can do more intricate percussion work, Lytle said. Clocks in Motion even makes and modifies their own instruments and has commissioned composers to write pieces incorporating these instruments. In the 2011-12 season, the group performed 10 programs of contemporary chamber music, and began its second season in September with their “New Beginnings” concert. Still fairly new, Lytle said the group’s not too well known yet, but “their momentum is growing really quickly.”

20 of 22




Clocks in Motion will perform at 8 p.m. Jan. 12 at Salem United Church of Christ. Tickets are $10, $5 for students and seniors. Registration for the youth workshops ended on Jan. 2, but if space allows, Rhapsody may take late registrations, Lytle said.

21 of 22


Documents

1 of 22 · 1218 Bay Ridge Rd. Madison WI 53716 [email protected] clocksinmotionpercussion.com OFFERINGS Performance - Clocks in Motion is a world-class