Just before 7:30 p.m. on November 8, 2023, 11 college students from across the state of New Hampshire filed into Keefe Auditorium in Nashua. All music majors, they were the finalists chosen to represent their schools at an “orchestra read session.”
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The team from Keene State College (KSC) connected with me through Dr. Heather Gilligan, Professor of Music, and coordinator of composition, theory, and aural skills. An active composer and performer in her own right, she immediately saw the value for students in the KSC music department.
Senior Zach Keenan emerged as the student liaison for this Ink Link News, Arts and Culture project. He had just become the arts media editor for KSC’s school newspaper, the Equinox, and had begun to interview the other participating Keene music composition students.
The team from Keene engaged the whole student body, held a listening party, and packed their finalists off to the competition in style.
Symphony New Hampshire’s Concerto was meant to build bridges across the state and the team from Keene led the way. When they arrived in Nashua, they were primed and ready… Check out this short video to see their energy:
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A Composition Competition – Creating new music for orchestra
Imagine taking college level classes in musical composition or performance and getting offered the opportunity to create a piece for live orchestral performance. To start, create a 90 second excerpt – much like the way new music is found and promoted these days in the anonymity of the internet. This time, however, it is not going up on TikTok but will be heard and performed by a symphonic orchestra.
The top submissions got their
composers (creators, in social media influencer speak) a chance to hear a
live read (performance, in non-musician speak) with personal feedback from the conductor and orchestra. Each of the students that traveled to Nashua also received a professionally recorded digital copy of their excerpt with comments from the orchestra, conductor and judges.
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Who else does this?
“Hey Zack, do you want accents in the oboe, bassoon?” Maestro Roger Kalia
Imagine hearing the orchestra, pause after the first play through, and have musicians ask questions of the composer – make suggestions or comments as they notice a gap or to help flesh out the intentions of the composer.
HUMAN MUSICIANS NOT SOFTWARE
Deanna Hoying, Executive Director of Symphony NH, wanted to create exactly this opportunity for NH undergrads. She wanted to do something for the college undergrads here in NH that don’t have that opportunity outside of a student group or a MIDI to really hear their work.
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She says, “young composers, particularly now, hear everything in MIDI and what you envision is very different than when you put it in the hands of a person and the timbre (tonal quality) changes. There are these subtleties that you might not get in (software programs) the same as a person playing that tangible wood or metal (instrument).” There was no MIDI here – no machine fed work -Just a human to human interaction. A mini mentoring opportunity and role play in real time.
Meet The Team from Keene
(L to R) Alex Royce, Simon Furze, Miles Johnstone, Dr. Heather Gilligan, Zach Keenan. Photo | Keith Spiro
ZACHARY KEENAN – Keene State College Class of 2024. Senior. Music Tech, and Multimedia Director for the KSC Equinox.
Zach was the first person to reach out to me to participate and share with all of us what this experience is like – to be an undergrad – invited to write a short piece, perhaps a whole movement for a real orchestra –
Zach Keenan. Photo | Keith Spiro
How did you first get interested in music as a career?
My name is Zach Keenan and I got interested in music as a career through the hobby of writing and recording my own music which I then developed an interest in the field of music technology.
What was your first impression when you learned about your opportunity to participate at the reading in Nashua?
My first impression was “this is a cool opportunity to hear what I wrote played live”
What was it like to go through the reading with a live Orchestra?
It was very cool as I had only been able to listen to the piece on composition software before and hearing it with real people and real instruments injected life into the piece.
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How did it feel to get real time feedback from musicians and Maestro Roger Kalia?
It was nice to get feedback from a complete outside source and get their honest reactions to what I had written.
Several people commented and compared the experience to the current practices of using MIDI. Thoughts you might want to share here?
As I said before, MIDI playback gives you certainly a rough estimate of what your piece sounds like, but nothing compares to the real thing and real people playing music together.
What are two highlights from the process that might change your approach going forward?
I had forgotten some accents on a part and when asked for clarification on what I wanted (I did want those accents) it completely changed how that bar flowed
I had forgotten some accents on a part and when asked for clarification on what I wanted (I did want those accents) it completely changed how that bar flowed so I suppose I would remember to make sure everything is consistent.
Another highlight was that I got to hear my fellow composers and see their works come to life too. It was a special moment that the 4 of us each got to experience each others works come to life and cheer each other on during the readings.
Zack went on to interview his fellow composition students.
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You can watch the interviews here and what follows is an excerpt of their Q & A
Simon Furze ‘24 – double major in music composition and music technology (senior) His work Mountains was selected as part of the NH Concerto Alexander Royce ‘ 25 Music composition Major (junior) Miles Johnstone ’25 Music composition Major (junior)
Dr. Gilligan reached out to most of the composition students – announcing a search for undergraduate students to write a piece – and perhaps get to work with an actual orchestra and hear their work played by an orchestra. Most had never written an orchestration before.
“An interesting journey for me” says Alexander Royce.
Process of writing the piece:
Furze: composition sometimes fighting a current but here “seamless work” Gets a basic idea down. Listening & hearing for him is a natural basis of writing.
For Royce: slow start. Had to write more vertically and longer lines – adding what helped him start was ‘imagery’ as a composer – looked up pictures of NH to give an image and a setting.
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Johnstone: – at first daunting – had to write out for a whole number of instruments – but soon figured out a melody line and put it into an instrument and went from there.
Inspiration for the piece:
Furze: “It is an ode to Mt Monadnock. A composition that reflects the mountain’s towering beauty.” Representing stability, because, growing up, it has always been there for him.
Royce: Image setting is a train ride in the fall in Northern NH. The leaves are colorful, and you are constantly moving.
Johnstone: Inspiration is a ghost story out of Benton NH about Dr. Thomas Benton. The legend was that his fiancé died. He became odd and almost crazy. Then strange things happened to the town’s livestock and people went missing.
What influences your compositional voice?
Furze: Tries to be original for his compositions. Tries not to take ideas from other composers but rather he works with his authentic, self-originated ideas.
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Royce: says it is good to get ideas listening to others performing or composition of peers. Finds it great to see how different their compositional voices are. But, then he reaches out of his own compositional bubble to try new things.
Johnstone: Is a big fan of movies, and TV soundtracks. Horror movies especially influence his voice. He wants to compose for TV and movies in the future. Finds himself really inspired by Peter Gundry.
What do you hope to do next?
Furze: finishing up his senior year. Then taking a gap year. He’s hoping to get into a master’s program in composition and work toward a doctorate and teaching at a university.
Royce: nobody knows what will happen next but he would like to start a piano studio and teach piano while hopefully getting some commissions. Composition for bands, personal artists, and film. Music scouts please note: Anything he can get his hands on, he is willing to do. He’s hungry to get out there and start.
Johnstone: wants to continue writing for large ensembles – once he got over it being overwhelming st its actually really fun. He is hoping to start a composition for big band jazz band next semester and hopefully a concert band semester after that. Then continue composition into grad school and go into the industry of TV and film composition.
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Learn more about the team from Keene:
Dr. Heather Gilligan
“Gilligan has helped transform New Hampshire’s Keene State College into a magnetic sanctuary for concerts of new musical works and workshops with veteran composers.”
She guided and with Zach in the lead, they created a community around this team from Keene and the excitement and visibility showed in everything they did.
Miles Johnstone
Miles Johnstone following along on his piece, The Alchemist of Moosilauke. Photo | Keith Spiro
Simon Furze
(L to R) KSC professor, Dr. Heather Gilligan, Conductor Roger Kalia, KSC student Simon Furze asking questions not yet knowing he’d be the one selected. Photo | Keith Spiro
https://www.instagram.com/simonfurze/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGdGfPgdkNg Hear his interview with Zach at KSC Equinox after being notified he was selected for the Concerto.
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The New Hampshire Concerto premieres April 20, 2024
The New Hampshire Concerto premieres at Symphony New Hampshire’s New World Concert, April 20, 2024 The concert opens with the NH Concerto and introduces work by Simon Furze (KSC), Grace Chen (Dartmouth), Wesley Coffin (UNH) and Tyler Nadeau (Plymouth State).
The concert ends with Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, “From the New World.” Inspired by the spirit of African-American spirituals and Native American music that he heard during his travels in America, the work is a fitting tribute to New Hampshire, the spirit of the people who have come before, and those that will come after us.
Read the 3 earlier installments of this multi-part series of A 21st Century approach to 19th Century Music:
Jude Morris New Voice Classic Performance
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The lads of UNH Wesley Coffin, Kyle Cook and Michael Crowley
Grace Chen – The One from Dartmouth College
The stories of Good people doing Great Things.
Two people are facing charges after they allegedly broke into a New Hampshire home on Tuesday wearing black masks and armed with baseball bats, all while a 12-year-old was inside.
Danville police said they received a call around 9 p.m. Tuesday for a report of a home invasion on Beatrice Street. A 12-year-old was home alone on a video chat with his friend when three people wearing black masks and armed with baseball bats broke through his front door. The 12-year-old’s friend quickly called 911.
According to police, the three people were attempting to locate the child’s father and threatened the father with serious bodily injury.
An officer soon arrived at the scene, set a perimeter, and called in two K9 units.
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A search of the area didn’t initially turn up anything, but a K9 track led officers to another nearby home. Police interviewed the resident of the mobile home, identified as Nathan Wilder, who denied any involvement in the home invasion.
As the investigation continued, police learned that the original caller had heard from some other friends that one of the suspects in the home invasion had bragged about being involved. They determined that Nathan Wilder, John Wilder and a juvenile were the three people who had broken into the home.
John Wilder admitted to police that he had broken into the home on Beatrice Street and said that Nathan Wilder and a juvenile had assisted him.
Police were able to locate and seized three baseball bats, two ski masks and a few articles of clothing used in the crime.
John and Nathan Wilder were arrested and the juvenile who was involved was released to a parent.
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John Wilder is charged with burglary with a weapon, criminal threat with a deadly weapon and criminal mischief. Nathan Wilder is charged with with burglary with a weapon and criminal threat with a deadly weapon. Both men are currently being held at the Rockingham County Jail awaiting arraignment.
A former New Hampshire state representative was sentenced to more than 33 years in prison for involvement in a child exploitation case — almost double the mandatory minimum.
Stacie Marie Laughton, 42, pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual exploitation of children after soliciting and receiving nude photos of three toddlers from an ex-girlfriend who worked at a daycare.
Lindsay Groves, 41, of Hudson, N.H., was sentenced to almost 22 years in prison earlier this month after pleading guilty to the same charges as well as an additional count of distribution of child pornography.
According to court documents, Groves took the photos of the victims in 2023 at Creative Minds daycare in Tyngsboro, where she was a teacher, during designated bathroom breaks and nap times.
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She then sent the photos to Laughton, who requested the images and asked that Grove touch one of the minor’s genitals. In the conversation included in the records, the pair sexualizes the victims.
“Did the girl give you an issue,” Laughton texted after receiving the photos.
“No… the boy didn’t either,” Groves texted back.
In a sentencing memorandum, Laughton’s counsel had argued that she should receive a shorter sentence than Groves and asked for the minimum mandatory sentence, which would have 15 years for each count to be served concurrently.
“Stacie Laughton is a complex 42-year-old woman,” the memo said, noting that she was the first openly transgender woman to be elected to the New Hampshire legislature.
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The filing described Laughton’s history of mental health, substance abuse, sexual abuse, and trauma as mitigating factors the judge should consider.
“One of the few consistencies in Ms. Laughton’s life is her challenges with mental health illnesses,” the memo said. “She began receiving mental health treatment at the age of four and has been in and out of extensive treatment programs ever since.”
The death of Laughton’s wife in 2020 and a tumultuous relationship with Groves also added to her mental health struggles, the memo said, stating that the defendant drank every day and had tried heroin for the first time leading up to her arrest.
A doctor quoted in the filing said that Laughton likely had a low IQ, tied in part to her premature birth, as well as “normal sexual interests.”
“This finding shows both how caught up Ms. Laughton was in her relationship with Groves that she participated in activity counter to this and is … an important factor in considering whether Ms. Laughton would be a future threat upon release,” the memo said.
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The filing described Laughton’s actions as “horrendous, reprehensible, and shocking,” but said that even though the crimes were “utterly inexcusable,” she should still receive a shorter sentence than her codefendant out of a sense of justice.
However, in their own sentencing memo, federal prosecutors requested Laughton receive 40 years in prison.
“These crimes only came to light when Laughton reported them in an apparent attempt to punish Groves for ending their relationship,” prosecutors wrote. “The defendant, of course, did not disclose her own role in the creation of the imagery.”
“She ultimately admitted that she told Groves to touch one child’s penis, and claimed that she was feeding Groves’s attraction to children,” their memo said.
The prosecutors said that Laughton’s voice was the “more prominent one” in the conversation about exploiting children.
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In addition to her prison sentence, Laughton will also serve five years of supervised release.
Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement that she felt the sentence fit the crime.
“The victims in this case were toddlers – children who were not yet old enough to care for themselves and, in some cases, not even fully verbal. Everyone who learns about the conduct in this case should be outraged,” United States Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement. “The sentences imposed reflect the depravity of the conduct and the seriousness of the crimes. My office will seek the most serious charges and the stiffest sentences for anyone who preys on children.”
Three people suffered injuries in a two-vehicle collision early Tuesday morning in Hooksett, New Hampshire.Courtesy of New Hampshore State
Three people suffered serious injuries Tuesday in a two-vehicle crash in Hooksett, N.H., police said.
The head-on collision happened around 5:40 a.m. on Interstate 293 northbound, State Police said.
Police said that Timothy Hubbard, 43, of Rome, Maine, was traveling south when he lost control of his car and crossed the median into oncoming traffic, police said.
Hubbard, his passenger, and the other driver were taken to hospitals to be treated for serious injuries, police said. The injures were not believed to be life-threatening.
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Police said speed was believed to be a factor in the crash, which is under investigation.
Hannah Goeke can be reached at hannah.goeke@globe.com.
