Happenings « drewschnurr.com

Drew Schnurr is a composer, sound artist, and performer from Los Angeles whose work blurs traditional lines in music, media, and sound.

As a composer for media, Drew has produced music and sonic branding for numerous world brands and media conglomerates. He is also an active concert composer and sound artist with a diverse range of international commissions and exhibits.

Revered by his peers, industry professionals, and critics, his work has been called both “rare” and “remarkable.”

“This composer bends and stretches rules within his own aesthetic, weaving his musical ideas in harmonious waves that threaten to drown, yet gently tumble the listener forward with intrigue and anticipation.” -Adam Rosenthal review for Persee: Orchestrated Perception

VISUAL MEDIA PORTFOLIO
CONCERT PORTFOLIO
BIO

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Hyperventilations

for Piano with Four Hands [cat. sc26]

Hyperventilations of a Fire Dragon harnesses music from my early career as a performer in latin bands, jazz ensembles, funk bands, and rock and metal bands. The underlying fervency of these influences is felt throughout the work, leveraged by the power and agility of the piano, driving the performance often to the edge of playability. This piece initiates a compositional renaissance, a drilling down into the musical cores of “fire” that constitute the music of my youth. It comes from the gut—quite literally, was breathed into life. The melodic and rhythmic motives are all derived from vocal inflections (and hyperventilations) improvised, recorded, transcribed and re-composed by the composer.

DREW SCHNURR (2015)

Premiered by Vicki Ray and Aaron Kallay — Hear Now Festival, Los Angeles, May 2015.
Video performance by pianists Kookhee Hong and Minji Noh.

watch HYPERVENTILATIONS

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Hear Now Music Festival

05/04/15

Drew Schnurr’s Hyperventilations of a Fire Dragon premieres at Hear Now festival in Los Angeles with pianists Vicki Ray and Aaron Kallay.

hearnowmusicfestival.com

Circumsolar 3

09/30/14

CircumSolar, Migration 3, 2013. Single channel video by Rebeca Mendez projected at architectural scale, color, sound by Drew Schnurr. REALSPACE, Williamson Gallery, Pasadena, California, October 3, 2014–January 18, 2015.

video @ rebecamendez.com

Chamber Music Festival of Lexington

05/21/14

Feature performance of “Of Mother and Daughter” at the Chamber Music Festival of Lexington with Karen Slack (soprano), Nathan Cole (violin), and Allegra Lilly (harp).

chambermusiclex.com

Four String Gambits Recording

02/12/14

Four String Gambits for string quartet recorded at Allegro Recordings in Burbank, January 27, 2013.

CircumSolar, Migration 3

01/17/14

CircumSolar, Migration 3 with video by Rebeca Mendez at Icebox Project Space, Philadelphia, January 9-26, 2014.

Of Mother and Daughter Recording Session

08/23/13

Of Mother and Daughter for soprano, violin, and harp recording session at Robert Irving’s studio in Los Angeles, August 13, 2013.

Guillaume Sutre (and his daughter), Drew Schnurr, Kyunghee Kim-Sutre, Jamie Chamberlin, and Richard Sparks.

7 AGES PREMIERE

04/18/13

7 AGES: Of Mother and Daughter premieres at Providence New Music Premieres in Providence, RI.

Performers:
Soprano – Blithe Walker
Violin – Alexey Shabalin
Harp – Hyunjung Choi

Program notes:

This collaboration with Richard Sparks comes to fruition just weeks before another life begins, that is the life of my first born child. I cannot help but wonder how this pending event worked in my subconscious while setting Richard’s text to music. However it may be, the music came, and in the best way for a composer where it feels like the ideas and words speak the music unto themselves. I’m so grateful to Richard for his artistry in creating such a beautiful text.

The important women in my life: my wife, my mother, step-mother, mothers-in law, and grandmothers all speak through this music which is dedicated them in honor of who they are as mothers, daughters, grandmothers, and all women of heart and substance. My love and gratitude goes to them as their influence undeniably resonates in this work.

DREW SCHNURR (2013)

IN MEDAIS RES AT SCHOENBERG

05/11/12

IN MEDIAS RES for Clarinet, Cello, and Amplified Guitar was premiered at UCLA Schoenberg Auditorium on May 9, 2012.

Performers:
Bass Clarinet – Phil O’Connor
Cello – Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick
Amplified Guitar – Justin Smith

Program notes:
The composition in five movements, each one is inspired by a sculpture by the great artist Rodin. I love the movement in Rodin’s work. It may seem strange to describe statues as having “movement,” but I think it applies. Rodin’s works seem alive to me – reaching, breathing, groaning, and also in a state of suspended life. It is this feeling that inspires the music. It also inspires the title for the piece, which is a Latin expression meaning “…into the middle of things.” The phrase IN MEDIAS RES denotes a Greek literary technique where a dramatic tale is told starting not from the beginning, but rather from the middle or end of a story. This is just as Rodin’s statues seem to me. They are frozen in time, but alive in the midst of their own narratives.

This piece was a commission by clarinetist Phil O’Connor, and is dedicated to him with sincere gratitude for his friendship and inspiring musical collaboration.

May, 2012 by Drew Schnurr

CONFESSIONS U.S. PREMIERE

04/26/12

CONFESSIONS OF AN ECO-TERRORIST, an environmental documentary produced and directed by Peter Brown with music by Drew Schnurr, premiered in the U.S. on Hulu, iTunes, Amazon VOD, and Cable Video-On-Demand on Earth Day, April 22.

http://confessionsfilm.com/

HYUNDAI INTERACTIVE

03/02/12

Hyundai premiered their new Sonata Hybrid at auto shows in Los Angeles and Detroit in November 2011 and January 2012. Drew Schnurr collaborated with visual design firm WILDLIFE to create the interactive “UI” presentation for Hyundai.