Bonnie Miksch
Bonnie Miksch, a composer and performer whose music embraces multiple musical universes, creates both acoustic and electroacoustic works. She is passionate about music which moves beyond abstract relationships into the boundless realm of emotions and dreams. An avid consumer of musical possibilities, she strives to create coherent musical environments where diverse musical elements can coexist. She is best known for her computer music which generally involves the participation of live instruments and voice.
Recent notables include being awarded Oregon's Composer of the Year by the Oregon Music Teachers Association and having a choral work The Ballad of Y2K banned for performance at a local church. Her music has been performed in Asia, Europe, Canada, and throughout the United States. Every tendril, a wish, a recording of her electroacoustic music, is available on the North Pacific Music label. On most days she can be heard whistling or singing in the passageways of Lincoln Hall at Portland State University where she teaches composition, theory, and computer music.
| track samples (30 - 60 sec.) |
| 1. Every tendril, a wish | |
| 2. Inklings on the loose | |
| 3. Ever widening rings of being |
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| 4. Allow my heart to achen | |
| 5. How the locust stole the moon |
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| 6. Solstice | |
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[...] The Portland State University professor has rapidly risen to become one of the state’s most accomplished composers. Her radiant disc of mostly electro-acoustic music conjures some attractive digital soundscapes, but unlike so many products of electronica, it doesn’t stop with achieving a cool sonic effect. “I believe that the power of music comes from its ability to connect the physical world of vibrations with the internal worlds of the mind and of emotions,” Miksch writes in her liner notes. This is music that “moves beyond abstract relationships into the boundless realm of emotions and dreams.” Drawing on real life inspirations like her husband and infant son, Miksch leavens her electronic textures with acoustic instruments (flute, alto sax), that much-used staple of outdoor gatherings and festivals, the didgeridoo, her own voice, and fellow PSU professor Joel Bluestone from the Portland ensemble FearNoMusic in a solo percussion showcase. This promising disc affirms Miksch’s ascension to the top rank of Oregon composers. [...] -- BRETT CAMPBELL - Eugene Weekly | |
