Liza White, composer
© David Gottlieb 2011
"Her piece “Step!” absorbs hip-hop and the synchronized form from which it takes its name, her “Ballad of the Mean Angry Jazz Hater Monster!” likewise draws from the genere claimed by its title, and her elegant “Groove” series suggests a melodically incisive derivation of minimalism — all accomplished with an acquisitiveness that is refreshingly lacking in quotation marks."
disquiet.com 6/27/12
"It opens with suspended strings and arhythmic accents from horns and percussion, before the crux of it hits: a hard, almost robotic, ever surprising shuffle. (For the record, this is a website where “robotic” is a compliment.) The strings and horns are extensions of, compatriots of, the drums, the whole thing syncopated like Leonard Bernstein or Alex North at their most rhythmically vibrant and succinct."
"The drums managed to echo White’s hip-hop influence without injecting hip-hop into the classical backdrop in a gimmicky way... the piece worked quite well."
joshmcneill.com 4/21/10
joshmcneill.com 4/21/10
NEWS:
October 3, 2012: It's amazing what can happen in a year. On September 22nd, the Chicago Composers' Orchestra performed my piece Step! at Ganz Hall. This concert was my first performance in Chicago! It was a pleasure to meet and work with conductor Matthew Kasper and all of the musicians, who learned to perform choreographed step-team moves.... CONTINUE READING
October 3, 2012: It's amazing what can happen in a year. On September 22nd, the Chicago Composers' Orchestra performed my piece Step! at Ganz Hall. This concert was my first performance in Chicago! It was a pleasure to meet and work with conductor Matthew Kasper and all of the musicians, who learned to perform choreographed step-team moves.... CONTINUE READING
