Cornell-trained composer defies labels
Cornell-trained composer defies labels
The work of composer John Fitz Rogers, DMA '96, has been described as postmodern. "I don't know what that means, honestly," he says with a chuckle. "I listen to all kinds of music and I've had formative experiences in classical, jazz, rock, pop, and also West African drumming, which I studied while working on my master's. I believe in drawing on different kinds of music as a painter might paint with many different hues."
Rogers is an associate professor of composition at the University of South Carolina, where he is also artistic director of the Southern Exposure New Music Series. That position, he says, puts him in contact with many other composers and performers who share his love for music that is both compositionally adventurous and engaging for listeners.
Once Removed, Rogers's recent CD on the Innova label, showcases his chamber music. The opener, "Blue River Variations," is a solo piano piece colored by myriad influences, from Franz Schubert and Erik Satie to Scott Joplin and Keith Jarrett. There are also two suites: "Sonata Lunaris," for violin and piano, and "Memoria Domi," for violin, piano, clarinet, and cello. But the most arresting piece is the title track, a sort-of-minimalist work for two marimba players who perform while listening to click tracks rather than each other. (A click track is like a recording of a metronome, used to give the performer the correct tempo.) "The two musicians are not listening to the same click track," explains Rogers. "One is slightly behind the other, which means you get a rapid 'pinging,' because if they stay locked to the clicks there are only two spots where they play a note together." The effect is mesmerizing, with shifting melodies and slippery rhythms that intertwine like the multicolored threads of a tapestry.
At Cornell, Rogers studied with Steven Stucky, DMA '78, and Roberto Sierra. "They both have great ears and the ability to bring out the best in students," he says, "and also to gently point out areas where you might be able to develop further." Rogers wrote his dissertation on Igor Stravinsky and says that the Russian composer has had a lasting effect on his work. "He has always been important to me, not only from a rhythmic dimension but also because of his beautifully balanced sense of form. I think very much about form and pacing in my pieces."
As for being postmodern? "I'm not really concerned with labels," Rogers says. "The most important question to me is, am I creating the best piece that I can?"
For more, go to: www.johnfitzrogers.com