Jasmine Thomasian

Upcoming

Saturday, January 16, 2021
Twenty Seconds of 2020 [virtual series]

David Bohn will perform and post 2020 (solo clavietta) as part of his "Twenty Seconds of 2020" YouTube series.

Thursday, April 8, 2021
Fuse Quartet at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Milwaukee, WI)

Fuse Quartet will perform Flutter (SATB sax quartet) on a program of exciting works for combinations of saxophones.

If you'd like to hear what else I've been working on, check out my Works page!

Works

Solo Instr. | Chamber | Vocal // Choral | Visual // Installation | Large Ens.

***Listener experience will be enhanced by the use of quality headphones/speakers

SOLO INSTRUMENTAL

2020 (2020) 20"
Solo Clavietta
A winner of the "Twenty Seconds of 2020" composition competition
Premiered virtually by David Bohn on his "Twenty Seconds of 2020" YouTube series

Spark (2020) 10'
Solo Violin
Written in collaboration with Lane Champa
Premiered virtually on Northwestern's Fall Composition Showcase, December 2020

There's a bug (2020) 3'
Solo trumpet with pre-recorded trumpet and video
Created in collaboration with Kate Amrine (trumpet) and Kevin Joest (video)
Commissioned by Kate Amrine for her "New Music in the Time of COVID-19" series
Premiered virtually (audio only) August 2020
Premiered virtually with video December 2020

Translucent Threads (2019) 8'
Baroque organ and live electronics
Written in collaboration with Zhen Piano
An American Guild of Organists student commission
Premiered in Christ Church (Rochester, NY) May 2019

Color Study III: Organics (2018) 7'30"
Baroque organ and pre-recorded electronics
Written in collaboration with Zhen Piao, with additional assistance from Martin Herchenröder
Premiered in Christ Church (Rochester, NY) September 2018

Solo Instr. | Chamber | Vocal // Choral | Visual // Installation | Large Ens.

CHAMBER

Hocket/us (2021) 8'
String quartet

Sounding Objects (2021) 8'
SATB Saxophone quartet
Techniques developed in collaboration with Joseph Connor and David Schreck

Flutter (2020) 12'
SATB Saxophone quartet
Developed in collaboration with Fuse quartet

Scritch (2019) 5'
Two percussionists on amplified foam blocks
Premiered on a Student Composers' Concert at Bienen School of Music, November 2019
+ Second performance on Bienen's New Music Showcase, February 2020

Move (2018) 5'
Four performers on a stage

Chr_stm_s M_s_c (2018) 4'30"
Sleigh bells and five other instruments
Premiered on a Composers' Concert at the Eastman School of Music, September 2018
+ Second performance on OSSIA New Music's Winter Wind Down concert, December 2018

Wives of the Famous Composers (2016) 5'
Flute, Bassoon, Cello, Percussion, and Spoken Voice
Premiered by IOTA ensemble at I/O Fest, January 2017
+ Second performance on a Composers' Concert at Eastman School of Music, September 2017

Musings (2016) 7'
Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello, Percussion, and Piano
Premiered at Atlantic Music Festival, July 2016

Spring will come (2016) 5'30"
Four C Flutes (and two piccolos)
Premiered at New Music on the Point, June 2016

Solo Instr. | Chamber | Vocal // Choral | Visual // Installation | Large Ens.

VOCAL // CHORAL

On the beach at night (2020) 3'30"
SATB Choir a cappella
Text: "On the beach at night," by Walt Whitman (public domain)
Presented in virtual format on Northwestern University's Winter Composition Showcase, March 2021

Tales of Corporate America (2020, ongoing) 6'
Six performers over Zoom
Text: excerpts from Katherine Bruton's Facebook post series, "Surviving Corporate America," adapted by Claire DiVizio
Original, 6-minute version developed in collaboration with Joseph Connor, Elliott Lupp, Benjamin Penwell, Ruud Roelofsen, and Hans Thomalla
+ Ongoing work to extend and further develop the piece is in collaboration with Claire DiVizio, Joshua Lewis Smith, Jessie Lyons[etc.]

Electric (2020) 5'
Soprano and Piano
Text: "animal electromagnetism," by Claire DiVizio
Premiered by Liza Sobel (soprano) and Lam Wong (piano) on a Student Composers' Concert at Bienen School of Music, Feburary 2020



+ Second performance as part of Chicago Fringe Opera's virtual Sounds of Pride event, September 2020

Almost Lovers (2018) 15'
Mezzo/Soprano Voice(s) and Prepared Piano
Text: excerpts from composer's side of online dating conversations
Written in collaboration with Claire Caverly (soprano), Kyrsten Chambers (mezzo-soprano), Kathie Kane (mezzo-soprano), Alexis Peart (mezzo-soprano), and Sean William Calhoun (piano)
Premiered in Kilbourn Hall at the Eastman School of Music, October 2018

A Birthday (2017) 3'
SATB choir a cappella
Text: "A Birthday," by Christina Rossetti (public domain)
Premiered on Anna Becker's MM Degree Recital at the Eastman School of Music, March 2018

And like coins (2016) 3'
Tenor and piano
Text: graffiti from Point CounterPoint (Leicester, VT)
Premiered in Hatch Recital Hall at the Eastman School of Music, September 2018

Thought of Norea (2016) 8'
SSA choir a cappella
Text: "The Thought of Norea," from the Nag Hammadi Library (public domain)
Premiered by IOTA Ensemble at I/O Fest, January 2016

Creation Telling (2015) 14'
SATB double choir and soloists
Premiered by the Williams College Concert Choir in Thompson Chapel, May 2015 (Brad Wells, conductor)
+ Revised and condensed for a second performance by the Williams College Baccalaureate Choir, June 2015

Solo Instr. | Chamber | Vocal // Choral | Visual // Installation | Large Ens.

VISUAL // INSTALLATION

Chickens R Us (2018) flexible duration
Live video improvisation and two loudspeakers
Premiered by the Eastman Audio Research Studio at the Eastman School of Music, May 2018

Whisper Room (2016) flexible duration
Sound installation for various (found) speakers and pre-recorded whisper tracks in a darkened room
Created for I/O Fest 2016
Installed in the '62 Center for Theater and Dance at Williams College, January 2016

My Bonnie Lass (2015) until required to remove
Visual installation for hundreds of Elizabethans CDs
Installed on the academic-building-facing wall of Lehman Hall at Williams College, May 2015

Clocks (2014) flexible duration
Sound installation for various (found) analog wall clocks and pre-recorded ticking sound
Installed in the Bernhard Music Center at Williams College, October 2014

Solo Instr. | Chamber | Vocal // Choral | Visual // Installation | Large Ens.

LARGE ENSEMBLE

Ricochet (2019) 5'30"
Chamber orchestra
2.2.2.2 - 2.2.0.0 - 2p - h - str

Play (2020) 18'
Brake drum soloist and sinfonietta
1(pic).0.1(bcl).1(cbsn) - 1.1(pic).1(btbn).0 - 2p(1solo) - pno - 1.1.1.1.1
Premiered in Kilbourn Hall at the Eastman School of Music, April 2019 (Andrew Lauler, percussion soloist; Garrett Wellenstein, conductor)

Tapes (2019) 12'
Bass/clarinet, tenor saxophone, 2 trumpets, euphonium, 3 percussionists, and fixed media
Premiered on the OSSIA New Music spring concert in Kilbourn Hall at the Eastman School of Music, April 2018 (William Talley, conductor)
An OSSIA New Music 2017-2018 Student Commission project

Color Study I: S(t)eep (2017) 9'30"
Chamber orchestra
1(pic).1.1.1 - 1.1.1.1 - 2p - pno - 1.1.1.1.1
Premiered by the Graduate Composers Sinfonietta in Kilbourn Hall at the Eastman School of Music, April 2018 (Garrett Wellenstein, conductor)

Color Study II: Pique (2017) 13'
Orchestra
2(1pic).2.2.2 - 4.2.2.1 - 4p - h - pno - str

Riparium (2016) 8'
Wind ensemble
2(2pic).1.2.2 - 2.2.2.1 - 2p+timp

About

Originally from Astoria, Oregon, Jasmine Thomasian (they/them) is a Chicago-based composer passionate about sound, identity formation, and the interpersonal dynamics of Western art music. Jasmine cracks open sounds to examine and transform them. They set up relationships that performers navigate throught (and as) a piece. They incorporate everyday objects and experiences into their concert music. Jasmine's artistic output spans a range of musical aesthetics, with each piece forming around a core question or concept. From unusual instruments to unique topics, Jasmine enjoys taking on projects that challenge them to think and create in new ways.

This is especially true when projects involve collaboration, with musicians or other artists. Current and recent collaborators include:

• Kate Amrine (trumpet) and Michael Martinez (trombone) [2021] | Stasis//Motion//Stasis, for trumpet, trombone, and electronics (forthcoming)
• Dylan Hong, Jared Marble, Samuel Valancy, and Alvin Wong (saxophones) [2021] | Sounding Objects, for SATB saxophone quartet (2021)
• Julian Velasco (soprano sax), Joseph Connor (alto sax), Chris Forbes (tenor sax), and David Schreck (bari sax) {Fuse Quartet} [ongoing] | Flutter, for SATB saxophone quartet (2020)
• Lane Champa (violin) | Spark, for solo violin (2020)
• Kate Amrine (trumpet) and Kevin Joest (video) | There's a bug, solo for trumpet with pre-recorded trumpet and video (2020), commissioned by Kate Amrine for her "New Music in a Time of COVID-19" series
• Claire DiVizio (soprano) [ongoing] | Electric (2020), for soprano and piano; Something to tell, a chamber opera (forthcoming)
• Joseph Connor, Claire DiVizio (librettist), Elliott Lupp, Benjamin Penwell, Ruud Roelofsen, and Hans Thomalla [2020] | Tales of Corporate America, for six performers over Zoom
• Zhen Piao (organ) [2019] | Translucent Threads, solo for tracker organ and electronics, an American Guild of Organists student commission
• Sean William Calhoun (piano), Claire Caverly (soprano), Kyrsten Chambers (mezzo), Kathy Kane (mezzo), and Alexis Peart (mezzo) [2018] | Almost Lovers, an online dating-inspired song cycle for mezzo/soprano voice(s) and prepared piano

Contact

If you'd like to see a score, collaborate on a project, check out my CV, or even just say hi, send me a message!

jmthomasian@gmail.com

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No/iSe

Be/eTHoVeN (2021) 3"
Found Recordings

i = 0;

while (!deck.isInOrder()) {
    print 'Iteration ' + i;
    deck.shuffle();
    i++;
}

print 'It took ' + i + ' iterations to sort the deck.';