University of Nebraska-Lincoln Glenn Korff School of Music students Eva Shvartcer and Chris Goulet have released a video of their performance of “Salt Creek”, composed by fellow GKSOM student Ian Whillock.
Video Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEgs7q2LMmE&t=108s
“Salt Creek” was composed in the summer of 2017 for Shvartcer and Goulet by Whillock. The title comes from a road that runs along the outside of downtown Lincoln, bringing drivers near Memorial Stadium and into the campus area. With this in mind, Whillock aimed to construct a piece that evoked the various characteristics of this road: bright, excited, and bustling, while still cool and charming. The electronics help create this soundscape, along with musically thickening textures and through interaction with the acoustic instruments.
The video was made and directed by former GKSOM student Shane Anderson.
“Eva and Chris have been good friends of mine for quite a while, so when they asked me to construct a video for Ian's piece, Salt Creek, I absolutely said yes,” Anderson said. “It really was a task to compose the visuals given our constraints with the instruments, but I think that's what pushes your creativity - making something beautiful with minimal options.”
About Shvartcer: Eva Shvartcer started playing violin when she was 7. She was born in Nizhny Tagil, Russia and moved to the United States when she was fifteen. She continued her music education at the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham, where she received extensive training in music theory and aural skills, played in ASFA symphony orchestra and received private violin lessons. She graduated ASFA in 2016 and decided to get her Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln studying violin with David Neely.
About Goulet: Chris Goulet is a sophomore at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, studying for his Bachelor of Music degree with an emphasis in percussion under Dr. Dave Hall and Professor Tony Falcone. Goulet was born in West Hartford, Connecticut and has lived in Flower Mound, Texas since the age of 4. He went to Flower Mound High School and studied percussion under Darrin Hicks. As part of the various marching and concert ensembles at FMHS, Goulet has performed at a multitude of state and national level Bands of America marching contests, as well as performing at the 2015 Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic. He was also a member of the 2016 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Percussion Ensemble which performed as a winner of the PASIC International Percussion Ensemble Contest. He hopes to one day be a driving force in bringing contemporary music and percussion ensemble music to the forefront of modern music.
About Whillock: Ian Whillock is a composer and percussionist currently based out of Lincoln, Nebraska. His diverse background as a percussionist and performer heavily influences his compositional style. His output contains primarily works containing percussion and mixed chamber ensembles, along with electronic and electro/acoustic works. He is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Music Composition at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Glenn Korff School of Music. In program notes, Whillock added, Salt Creek Roadway has always been one of my favorite roads in all of Lincoln. As you approach campus, you arrive at the intersection with Antelope Valley Parkway overlooking Memorial Stadium. I have found at this intersection several times as the sun sets behind the massive structure. These instances were quite fulfilling: all the sun's rays glistening off the many beautiful glass windows while the intimate downtown Lincoln, NE quietly murmurs nearby. Using the setting of marimba, violin, and electronics I attempted to capture and depict the lush colors, sounds, and feelings that made these moments so memorable.