Department of Music Lecture: "Luminous Striations: Composing with Justly Tuned Unison Canons"

Connor Elias Way, Visiting Lecturer in Electronic Music and Composition, Washington University in St. Louis

Title:
Luminous Striations: Composing with Justly Tuned Unison Canons

Abstract:
In this talk, I will show some recent compositional work in which I’ve sought to create gradually morphing clouds of resonant harmony through densely layered, justly tuned unison canons and heterophonic counterpoint.  

Biography:

Connor Elias Way is a composer based in Brooklyn, NY whose work explores the tactile, sensuous presence of sound. His music has been performed by groups such as the Minnesota Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, JACK Quartet, Aizuri Quartet, Contemporaneous, So Percussion, Arx Duo, Bergamot Quartet, and the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, among others. Recent projects include a new work for multitracked violins written for Austin Wulliman which awaits a debut recording in 2025 on Sello Pasmoso Records, and a song cycle for the Irish singer Iarla Ó Lionáird and harpist Parker Ramsey which premiered in Dublin at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in 2024 thanks to a commission from the Arts Council of Ireland.

Connor holds a B.M. from Georgia State University (summa cum laude) and an M.M. from Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University where he was presented with the Gustav Klemm Award in Composition. He is currently a PhD candidate at Princeton University, where he has taught courses in theory, music technology, and composition. Connor is the composer-in-residence at the Luzerne Music Center and a visiting lecturer in the Music Department at Washington University in St. Louis.