Jason Treuting

Jason Treuting brought many interesting compositional approaches to Composer's Forum this week. Jason is very dedicated to his approach – giving performer’s lots of creative control and working with processes – which makes sense given his background as a percussionist. As he mentioned, percussionists are often given vague guidelines such as “metal: high and low” and left to decide what that means. Though some performers may desire more direction, Jason loves this creative control and wants to give the same to his performers. However, in the world of open-parameter composition, there are many fine lines to take into consideration.

One fine line to consider is how many guidelines does it take for the piece to be “composed”? In thinking of this, we may consider improvisatory pieces by composers like John Zorn and Christopher Burns. Zorn’s Cobra is essentially a set of cards that a conductor can use to impose rules on an ensemble’s improvisation. Burn’s Injunctions is similar, but uses a set of memorized hand signals with no conductor. If these pieces never sound the same, are they really the same “composition”? While most of Jason’s music isn’t improvised, it does often consist of performer’s constructing their own version of his pieces with their own found materials. The general effect of the piece remains, but the performance differs from performer to performer. I do believe a composition can be a general concept that spawns many variations, but the concept must be strong enough carry some consistency between each performance. This is what makes pieces like Riley’s In C so successful.

Another fine line a composer would need to consider is what parameters can they leave entirely up to the performer? Jason indicated that he leaves pitch up to his performers, but has rarely experienced major variation in what people choose. Does this mean we should let performance practice become a substitute for some notations in our music? I admire Jason’s dedication to leaving parameter’s fully in control of the performer, but also think simple safe-guards like “pitches from any mode” can prevent performances outside of the aesthetic we have in mind. Of course, that risk is something Jason may find appealing.

I found the Contemporary Music Ensemble concert of his music quite enjoyable. There was a nice variety of music that I felt captured Jason’s spirit quite well. Along the lines of Zorn and Burns, Treuting’s piece Oblique Music for Four Plus made nice reference to Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies cards. The last piece on the program, Homage to the Triad, seemed longer than it needed to be, but I still found it interesting to watch his process of creating the gradually changing paintings in tandem with the ensemble’s slowly shifting music. I particularly appreciated that he performed with the CME, even though they were showcasing his compositional work. I’m glad to see the composer-performer identity becoming more present in our community. While academia is still not geared in this direction, it is inspiring to see people like Jason Treuting, Caroline Shaw, and Nathalie Joachim leading careers that are not limited to one traditional path.