Kathryn Blake

Composer | Advocate kathryn-blake.com

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Threnody for the Prematurely Departed (2021) by Kathryn Blake

Performed/recorded by Christian Hartman, cello.

This piece was featured by the Hong Kong Cellist Society's blog, "Why You Should Learn this Piece".

Program Notes (read more)

Threnody for the Prematurely Departed was composed in honor of the late Braydon J. Chambers, somebody who held a special place in my family’s heart. We wish that he has found peace and no longer must suffer. This work is comprised of five movements that use the same set of pitches as palette to express each movement’s character. While composing the piece, I reflected on my initial process of grieving and the emotions I went through, and how they came in waves. It is well known that the “five stages of grief” (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance) is a myth and is not the typical experience that people face when grieving, I used this widespread cultural knowledge of this model to act as my framework for my composition on grief. Each movement is a character piece of my interpretation of the emotions in this five-stage model. The pitch set I used throughout the piece was devised by assigning pitches to numbers, and creating my pitch set from a phone number. The phone number used is [phone], the National Suicide Prevention Line, better known as the Suicide Hotline. People struggling with mental illness and/or their mental health deserve as much help as those with physical illnesses; those who struggle deserve love and support from those around them. We can help brighten their lives and make them feel loved and wanted. Please take a moment to reach out to the ones you love and express how much they mean to you, see how they are doing, and find something you can do to help them. Even the smallest action can make a big difference. “If you or anyone that you know is going through a mental health battle, I encourage you to try and receive help. You deserve to live a quality life, and to live it happily. You are not a burden to those around you, and you are worthy of so much love and kindness. Rest in peace love.” – MB If you would like to donate to the Brayden James Chambers Memorial Fund to help spread awareness and increase support for those struggling with depression, please follow this URL: tinyurl.com/BraydonChambersFund

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Blake, Kathryn- Just Ordinary, for solo percussion

Publishing contemporary music since 1969.

Hi all! So, exciting news: my work for solo percussion, Just Ordinary (2019) is published through Media Press Music!

You can purchase the score on their website!

Listen to the piece on Soundcloud

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Neurotransmitters for a Trio (2021) - Kathryn Blake

for clarinet, violin, and piano

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I received the recording for my senior piece, Neurotransmitters for a Trio, for clarinet, violin, and piano. This is the link to my favorite movement, Oxytocin. You can listen to all the movements here if you would like.

The piece was recorded by the Strata Trio on April 9th in the UMBC Linehan Concert Hall.

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Just Ordinary (2019) - Kathryn Blake

solo percussion

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In the midst of a stressful period, a listen to the world around me helped create this piece. I based Just Ordinary on the sounds I heard and catalogued on a typical day – doors opening and closing, cars and busses driving by, chatter, insects, wind, and birdsong – and reinvented them into a percussive world for a solo performer. The piece mixes these sounds which were taken from morning to night, and layered them on top of one another, leaving some sections quiet and gentle, while others are lively and full of color. I gave the performer the freedom to select the instruments based on loose descriptions of a desired sound (e.g., wood, resonant and non-resonant metals), thus giving them the freedom to design their personal interpretation of the world around them. This piece provides an opportunity to reflect on the environment in which we live, to notice how we view the world through different lenses, and to appreciate the things in life that we think are Just Ordinary. 

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In To and Out Of: PART TWO by Ann Sofie Clemmensen

Dancers: Emily Godfrey & Devin Fuller

Music composer & performed by Kathryn Blake

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Ella (2019) by Kathryn Blake

flute, viola, harp

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Kathryn Blake’s newest work for brass quintet, The Face in the Water. 

When you look down at the water, it can be like a mirror. You’ll see the blue sky, and the clouds that wind in and out. You’ll even see yourself. The wind will come along and water ripple. The images you see with alter, change, and become distorted for a slight bit. Eventually, when the wind calms, the images become clear again. Similarly, the main idea in this piece is introduced and is altered by the ripples and it comes clear again.

Visit Kathryn’s website to learn more about her and her music.

kathryn-blake.com

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Premiere of Kathryn Blake’s “Ella” at the Constellation Chicago on June 15th, 2019 as part of the Fresh Inc. Festival. 

Flute: Carolyn Kelley, Viola: Sixto Franco, Harp: Grace Cross

Learn more about Kathryn and her music at kathryn-blake.com

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Shots from the premiere of Ella for flute, viola, and harp at Constellation Chicago on June 15th, 2019. Performed by Carolyn Kelley (flute), Sixto Franco (viola), and Grace Cross (harp). Photography by Aleksandr Karjaka.