Craig Michael Davis | Solo Piano

Craig Michael Davis | Letters to a Terrorist Ballet Opera

About

BIOGRAPHY

Craig Michael Davis is an internationally known composer, conductor, and pianist from California. He travels the world performing a solo keyboard show and with The Craig Michael Davis Ensemble, which he founded in 2015. Living in New York City in his 20s, he received a Master’s Degree in Theory and Composition from the New York University. Moving to Bloomington, Indiana, in 2016, he received a Doctorate in Music Composition, from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. Currently, Craig is on faculty at the Jacobs School of Music, teaching music.

Craig studied predominately with Michael Gordon, Julia Wolfe, Jon Gibson, Lloyd Rodgers, Don Freund, Claude Baker and Aaron Travers. Craig has had works premiered by the L'viv Philharmonic Orchestra, the NYU Philharmonic Orchestra, the JACK Quartet, the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music Wind Ensemble, the Jacobs School of Music Wind Ensemble and the Indiana University Choir. Craig writes for film, theatre, and live performance. His theatre piece, “Letters to a Terrorist,” just placed in the finals of the ASCAP Young Composers Competition. “Letters to a Terrorist” portrays one woman’s journey and life as the wife of the leader of a terrorist organization in Algeria.

As a pianist, Craig has toured The United States and Europe giving performances of his original works. Writing for multiple keyboards with electronic effects such as delays and loops, he often collaborates with painters and dancers to create new works that last anywhere from 5 minutes to 5 hours. Craig has become increasingly in demand in writing and performing music in cross collaborative-genre venues that deal with multiple mediums simultaneously.

His writing has earned a number of awards and residencies, among which include three ASCAP awards, Finalist in the 2015 Sacrarium International Composition Competition and Forum, The 2013 Alan A. Mannason Award for Composition, and The 2012 Henriquez Award for Composition. His music has been played in the United States as well as in Europe.

Craig lives with his wife: Emily, and dogs: Duke (a golden retriever) and Hamilton (a toy poodle), in Bloomington, Indiana. Craig's music is published through Jack Harrison Publishing Co., and his music is distributed through Davenport Records.

S.D.G.

ARTIST STATEMENT

“WHEN YOU TAKE A FLOWER IN YOUR HAND AND REALLY LOOK AT IT, IT’S YOUR WORLD FOR THE MOMENT. I WANT TO GIVE THAT WORLD TO SOMEONE ELSE… NOBODY REALLY SEES A FLOWER – REALLY – IT IS SO SMALL – WE HAVEN’T TIME – AND TO SEE TAKES TIME… SO I SAID TO MYSELF – I’LL PAINT WHAT I SEE – WHAT THE FLOWER IS TO ME BUT I’LL PAINT IT BIG AND THEY WILL BE SURPRISED INTO TAKING TIME TO LOOK AT IT.”

-Georgia O'Keefe

          Music is much like painting a flower, though instead of painting on canvas, as a composer, I paint time. Because our perception of time tends to be linear by default, I have devoted many works to the idea of non - linear time. In this vein, I’m currently working on a cyclical piece that lasts 24 hours in duration. The piece follows the trajectory of our modern 24 hour clock, though there is no beginning or ending to this work. The listener can enter into the sound world at their own pace and stay as long as they please. 

         My work has also been paralleled to that of a sculptor, who sculpts away chucks of clay to reveal the beautiful figure within. Thus, my goal in creating music is often to start with large chunks of sound, then removing any extra notes, my work is left with only the notes that are necessary. Thinking like a sculptor, in War Against the Soul for wind band (see excerpt 1 in ledger), I aimed at creating large, sculpted sound masses using the shape of a cross. In this way, physical images and pictures can be embodied into the sound. 

          Another work, Floating Cities, utilizes this same technique, however, I split this piece, for guitar ensemble, into three groups, each representing a layer of time. You may see from excerpt 2, that the top group is juxtaposed against the bottom group, in a 3:2 ratio. This three against two "macro isorhythm" is not the only metaphor, but those interested in tuning ratios will note that the ratio 3:2 represents a just perfect fifth. Represented in this piece are also ratios 4:3 and 5:4.

                                    I have more recently expanded this sculpting idea, using electronic software (such as granular synthesis, spectral analysis, MAX, and RTcmix), and Digital Audio Workstations (such as Protools, Logic and Digital Performer), to create sound sculptures that cannot fully be actualized by acoustic instruments. In these electronic pieces, I  often take real world sounds (ie. Insect buzzing, train track noise, my wife singing, etc.), analyze their sound spectrum, and change them in interesting ways that make the source unrecognizable. I then create new soundscapes that encompass new sound worlds and aesthetics.  

         Having teachers such as: Michael Gordon, Julia Wolfe, Justin Dello Joio and Lloyd Rodgers, my most recent works encompass an edgy mixture of post-minimalism, and post-rock, yet have a uniquely classical aesthetic. Letters to a Terrorist, is a great example of this. It is an opera-ballet about the wife of a head emir in the G.I.A. in Algeria. Executions, betrayal, and denial mark the opening of this love story where Nadia, the protagonist, finds herself caught between her family and the man she loves, while she wrestles with the teachings of Islam and her husband, Ahmed’s, expectations. 

          I find that this way of musical expression remains relevant to the current culture, yet the pacing, counterpoint, and harmonic complexity, is written in such a way that even the most seasoned musicians can find interest in performing the music. Having grown up on the coast of California and moving to New York City in my early twenties, my music encompasses the freedom and improvisational spirit of the West, while adhering to a very clear East Coast, Downtown New York scene, with rich experimentation. Though my works are very clearing notated so that very little questions arise in the rehearsal process, I aim to leave enough space for musical interpretations that can breathe life to a performance, and encourage musicians to take a flower in their hand, notice it, and let it become their world for a moment.    

NOTEWORTHY PERFORMANCES & COMMISSIONS

2021 Works for Dance, 20th Annual New Music Festival: Reimagining Opera in the 21st Century, CSUF, Fullerton, CA

2021 Clockwork, Wind Trio, Auburn University, Auburn, AL

2020 Horn Quartet No. 2 ‘To: Marion’, FAR Center for Contemporary Art, Bloomington, IN

2020 ASCENSION, Shifting Landscapes, Ruth N. Halls Theatre, Bloomington, IN

2019 ASCENSION, IU Contemporary Dance Department, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Bloomington, IN

2019 Trio, The Craig Michael Davis Ensemble + work based on Joshua Dudley Greer’s Photography, FAR Center for Contemporary Art, Bloomington, IN

2019 Trio, works by Craig Michael Davis and Mike Reardon, Blockhouse, Bloomington, IN

2019 Duo, works by Craig Michael Davis and Mike Reardon, Pourhouse Café, Bloomington, IN

2019 Industry, Music Video Recording, FAR Center for Contemporary Arts, Bloomington, IN

2019 I Never Saw the Point of Breathing, Æther Reed Quintet, North American Saxophone Alliance Region 5 Conference at Marian University, Indianapolis, IN

2019 Death of Venus, film by Sabra Binder, IU Cinema, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

2019 Harmonic Counterpoint, Horn Quartet, Recital Hall at Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

2019 Ever So Slightly, the Wold Changes, 7 harps or 1 harp + 6 pre-recorded harps, Ford Hall, Bloomington, IN

2019 Recital of Works, various ensembles, Auer Hall at Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

2018 Floating Cities, Guitar Ensemble (12 parts), University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN

2018 War Against the Soul, Wind Band, University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, Cincinnati, OH

2018 Floating Cities, Guitar Ensemble (12 parts),SCI National Convention, Bloomington, IN

2018 War Against the Soul, Wind Band, MOXsonic Festival U of Central Missouri, MO

2018 Nuclear Weapons, Percussion Quartet, Oregon Bach Festival, University of Oregon, Eugene,OR

2018 Reflected Light, Cello + Fixed Media, Auer Hall at Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

2018 Solo Piano Show, Piano + Video Playback, The Monroe County Library, Bloomington, IN

2018 I Never Saw the Point of Breathing, Saxophone Triple Quartet, Musical Arts Center, Bloomington, IN

2018 Safe Haven, piano + electronics, MOXsonic Festival U of Central Missouri, MO

2017 Letters to a Terrorist, Opera/Ballet, Excerpts performed by New Voices Opera, IN

2017 Berlin: Symphony of a Great City, Commissioned by the IU Cinema, IN

2017 Oliver Winery Honey Mead Camelot Wine, 30-second Commercial Commission, IN

2017 12 Etudes for Solo Piano discography released on Duke of Davenport Records

2017 12 Etudes for Solo Piano published by Jack Harrison Publishing Company

2017 BTFW New Music Festival Marathon Concert (Composer & Conductor), IN

2017 Floating Cities for 12 Guitars Commissioned by the IU Guitar Orchestra, IN

2016 Solo Piano Etude: No. 12, Premiered by Hitomi Honda at Cornelia Street Cafe, NYC

2016 Innocent Bystander, String Quartet, Performed by Metadata NYC

2016 Death Has Friends, Command-E, DiMenna Center for Classical Music, NYC

2016 Solo Piano Etudes + Live Painting with Ben Cowan, Spectrum, NYC

2016 Where I Am Now, Premiered by Command-E, Firehouse Space, Brooklyn, NY

2015 Re-Creation, String Orchestra, New York University Philharmonic Orchestra NYC

2015 Re-Creation, String Orchestra, L'viv Philharmonic Orchestra, L'viv, Ukraine

2015 Innocent Bystander, String Quartet Commissioned by the JACK Quartet, NYC

2015 Selah Commissioned by Concert Black at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks

2014 White Noise, Performed with Electronics, Interactive Arts Performance Series, NYC

2014 Various Films Scored (Available Upon Request), Los Angeles, CA

2014 White Noise New Music Ensemble Co-Founder, Los Angeles, CA

AWARDS & RESIDENCIES

2018 Oregon Bach Composers' Symposium Residency

2017 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award (Finalist)

2016 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award (Finalist)

2015 Fairbanks Alaska Summer Festival Residency

2015 Sacrarium Composition Competition, L'viv, Ukraine (Finalist)

2013 Alan A. Mannason 1st Prize Scholarship for Composition

2012 Henriques Memorial Award for Excellence in Composition

2012 California State University Summer Arts Program Residency