Fourth River Music Project to Feature Works by Composer David Borden

The music and works of composer David Borden will be the focus of the Mary Pappert School of Music’s Fourth River Music Project concert on Thursday, Feb. 27, at 7:30 p.m. in the Dr. Thomas D. Pappert Center for Performance and Innovation.

Borden is spending this week through Friday, Feb. 28, with Duquesne students and faculty as a Composer in Residence at the music school. “An American minimalist composer, David worked closely with inventor Bob Moog and formed the first synthesizer ensemble of classical music in the world, Mother Mallard’s Portable Masterpiece Co.,” said Lynn Purse, associate professor of music technology and co-director of the Fourth River Music Project.

As a Composer in Residence, Borden has been teaching classes and working with composition students. The campus community is invited to attend a presentation by Borden on his work and experiences today, Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 3 p.m. in the music school’s PNC Recital Hall.

Borden’s compositions Variations on a Theme of Philip Glass and Earth Journeys will each be performed by a trio of performers using keyboards and laptop computers at Thursday’s concert, said Purse. “I performed and recorded as a member of Mother Mallard for several years in the 1990s as a keyboardist and vocalist, and continue to champion David’s work,” said Purse, whose piece Terrible Things, from the opera she composed Out of the Air based on the life of Leon Theremin, will also be featured at the event.

The Fourth River Music Project started in the fall of 2012 in response to an opportunity to work with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s Composer of the Year Mason Bates, according to Purse. “Mason is known for his work with electronic and symphonic music, and we had an opportunity to present a concert of chamber music curated by Mason, which would take advantage of our outstanding performers and technology resources,” explained Purse.

The project is a collective of student, faculty and alumni musicians presenting original works. “In addition to pieces by Mason, we performed several pieces by Duquesne faculty members, all of which had an electronic or multimedia aspect,” said Purse.

Dr. Patrick Burke, co-director of the project and assistant professor of composition and music technology, coined the name Fourth River Music Project in reference to the fourth underground river in Pittsburgh as a metaphor for the underground river of electro-acoustic music that is celebrated and performed within the School of Music.

A $10 donation is suggested for admission to the Fourth River Music Project concert. For more information, contact the music school at 412.396.6083.