J. W. Duquette
Program Notes
"improvisations on the Black Paintings" premiered at the Centre Street Performing Studio in Baltimore. This piece seeks to challenge the idea that composition must be notated exactly and repeatable in order to be valid and accepted. The work is never really complete, and can take multiple forms. It emphasizes free expression over strict form or notation.
Biography
J. W. Duquette is a composer based in Baltimore. He has had works read through by many ensembles, including the ETHEL Quartet and ASKO Schönberg. His collaborative piece CADENCE recently premiered in an alleyway at the Peabody Institute, challenging the idea of the traditional concert experience and encouraging collaboration between departments. He is a founding member of the 1229 Composer Collective, a Baltimore-based experimental music collective that performs both member works as well as the works of the great 20th century experimentalists.
As a student, Duquette has devoted his time to seeking out and learning from great masters, and continues to do so with fervor. During the summer of 2019, Duquette had the opportunity to study with world-renowned minimalist composer La Monte Young at his apartment in downtown New York. During the 2 hour lesson, they discussed composition, and Young taught Duquette the basics of Indian Classical Music and the “raga”. Duquette is also a dedicated teacher, having taught both piano and composition. He emphasizes in his teachings the importance of a lifelong enjoyment of music and art. In 2018, Duquette was awarded the New York State Council of Administrators of Music Education (NYSCAME) Leadership Award.
As an instrumentalist, Duquette is accomplished on both the piano and trombone, having performed at the Sydney Opera House in 2018. During the Spring of 2019, he had the opportunity to study West African Drumming with Jabari Exum, an experienced Djembe player and Choreographer for the film Black Panther.
J. W. Duquette splits his time between New York and Baltimore. He graduated on the Dean’s List with a certificate in composition from the Manhattan School of Music Precollege program in 2018, and has studied with Manhattan School of Music alum Alexander Yagupsky, Yale School of Music alum Deniz Hughes, and Juilliard alum Alan Bash. He is currently studying with renowned composer Michael Hersch at The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, where he is the recipient of the Denes and Mary Agay Piano and Composition Scholarship
Rush Johnston
Set List
1. “Opening Up” (2020) an improvised study on opening up to the new possibilities of expression available to us in quarantine. Music: Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd
2. “Nothingness” (2018) a self-choreographed solo honoring the state of nothingness that is so often overlooked in favor of the presence of something. Music: Introduction; Nothingness by Hayden Calnin, Text: Alan Watts
3. “[Pain]t” (2020) An improvised solo in acrylic on canvas. This work addresses the painful moments faced in during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with healing process of creating art during this turbulent time.
This work can be viewed on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/fusebaltimore/
Biography
Rush Johnston is a dance performer, choreographer, and movement researcher from York, South Carolina. She has trained in many forms of dance since the age of three and has been creating original work for the last four years that ranges from contemporary concert dance to avant-garde performance art. Rush’s solo, "Nothingness” (2017), received an honorable mention in the NDEO national scholarship competition in 2018. Her work has been performed across the country within the context of concert dance, commercial dance, film, and musical theater. She graduated from the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities in 2018 and is now pursuing her BFA in Dance at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University.
Ashna Pathan and Dmytro Nebesh
Set Description
Dmytro and Ashna showcase a variety of their musical works, from class assignments to outside passion projects. Pieces include scored film scenes, interactive video game music, musical theatre works, experimental projects, and more!
Biography
Ashna Pathan and Dmytro Nebesh are both sophomores in Peabody’s Music for New Media program. Both have scored countless films and are well versed in a wide variety of genres of music including classical, rock, jazz, and electronic. Outside of the program, Ashna enjoys composing for musical theatre as well as being a part of Peabody’s Recording Arts department, while Dmytro enjoys participating in game jams and working in sound design.
