David Kirkland Garner (Ph.D., Composition, 2014) releases new CD, "Dark Holler"

Dark Holler was recorded November 3-4, 2013 in Baldwin Auditorium on Duke's East Campus as a collaboration between the Department of Music and Duke Performances.  The album, released from New Focus Recordings on July 28, features members of the yMusic ensemble, as well as many Duke alumni and faculty, including: Tim Hambourger, piano (Ph.D., Composition, 2012); Sarah Griffin, violin 2 (Public Services Coordinator, music library); and Jamie Keesecker, horn (Ph.D., Composition, 2017).  Verena Mösenbichler-Bryant, Assistant Professor of the Practice of Music & Director of the Duke University Wind Symphony, was the conductor. The album was designed by Dan Ruccia (Ph.D., Composition, 2012), and Matthew Somoroff (Ph.D., Musicology, 2014) edited the program notes.

Written in six movements for large chamber orchestra, Dark Holler is informed by Garner's fascination with the musical traditions of the South, which have long been a subject of his research.  "Garner’s incorporation of folkloric material from the U.S. South is a natural blend between a Bartokian deconstruction of materials, a more Coplandesque penchant for nostalgia and expansiveness, and perhaps John Adams’ driving economy of means. Dark Holler is a strong statement by an American composer who embraces the music tradition of his surroundings while integrating it into his compositional process."

Listen to Dark Holler:
http://www.newfocusrecordings.com/catalogue/david-garner-dark-holler/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072YHZBJ4
https://newfocusrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/david-garner-dark-holler
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/david-kirkland-garner-dark-holler/id1…

David Kirkland Garner has worked with world-renowned ensembles including the Kronos Quartet, which commissioned a work based on the music of the Scottish diaspora. Awards include a Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts & Letters, an ASCAP Young Composer Award, and first prizes in the OSSIA, Red Note, and NACUSA competitions. His music has been performed by the Imani Winds, Ciompi Quartet, Vega Quartet, San Deigo Symphony, Locrian Chamber Ensemble, the Wet Ink Ensemble, the Boston New Music Initiative, and the yMusic ensemble.  He is currently an Assistant Professor of Composition and Theory at the University of South Carolina.