Written by Susan Moore and Barbara Ulman
The beautiful and inspirational Sierra foothills are the perfect environment for artists of all kinds. Our community takes pride in a rich abundance of gallery art, theater, writers’ groups, and musical performances.
Now six of our local composers have formed the Sierra Foothill Composers’ Cooperative to support one another’s creativity, and to share their music with the mountain community through local concerts.
The Cooperative’s first concert will be presented on Sunday, Mar. 23, at 2:30 p.m. in the Oakhurst Branch Library’s music room, and will include the music of Bach, Mozart, Debussy, and Fauré as well as pieces composed by the four founding members of the group. The music will be for various combinations of harp, flute, cello, English horn, piano, guitar, and voice.
Our local composers were nurtured in a variety of milieus, and each offers music in a unique style.
Brad Hufft, of Coarsegold and Long Beach, has been on the faculty of California State University Fresno since 2004. He has produced records, managed bands, toured with a rock band, recorded two albums, and had his art music performed across Europe and the United States. Since 2004, he has been the Executive Director of the Orpheus Chamber Music Ensemble in Fresno; since 2006, he has been the Assistant Director of the Fresno New Music Festival.
John Kilburn, of North Fork, has been composing and performing a wide variety of musical styles, including Classical, Jazz, World, and Electronica music for the past 30 years. He enjoys fusing instruments and styles from around the world to create unique blends of acoustic and electronic music for the orchestral, chamber, and band ensembles used in his many film composition projects.
Susan Moore, of Oakhurst, studied composition in the school of the avant-garde and has been writing and performing music in various styles and for various instruments for more that 30 years. She also studied choral conducting and has performed all over California as a soprano. She has sung with Mountain Arts Chorale, Sierra Chamber Singers, Fresno Choral Artists, and the Chamber Maids for over 15 years.
Barbara Ulman, of Coarsegold, has been performing solo piano and chamber music in the mountain area since 1979. She composes art songs and music for small ensembles and for chorus. Her CD, Music of the Senses, contains some of her compositions covering a span of fifty years. it is for sale in mountain community stores, and online at barbaraulman.com.
The concert on March 23 will be performed by musicians from Fresno and several of the mountain communities. More information will be published in mid-March. For more information call Barbara Ulman (559) 683-7227.
Visit us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SierraFoothillComposers
Get more information on this event at https://www.facebook.com/events/476056259184240/
