About
The Phoenix Project: From The Ashes is an initiative to create a new canon of repertoire for musicians who are recovering from Focal Dystonia. The goal for this project is to create repertoire that is musically satisfying, yet approachable for musicians who may have particular performance limitations. It is my hope that this new music will serve as a fantastic contribution to the horn repertoire worldwide and that this concept can be utilized for the future development of new music for any instrument.
The initial project contains five new works that are written for horn and contain the following compositional guidelines:
-Frequent areas of rest
-Avoids large intervals
-Faster passages are slurred
-Freedom with first note timing (no exact first note rhythm with another instrument)
-Range from middle C-5th line F
Meet the Composers of The Phoenix Project
Gina Gillie, Reverie for Horn and Piano
Dr. Gina Gillie is an Associate Professor of Music at Pacific Lutheran University where she teaches horn, chamber music, aural skills, music history, composition, conducts a horn choir, and performs frequently in solo and chamber recitals. At the university, she is a member of two faculty chamber ensembles: the Camas Wind Quintet and the Lyric Brass Quintet. As an orchestral player, Dr. Gillie held the position of Assistant Principal with Symphony Tacoma from 2008-2017. She actively freelances with several professional groups such as the Pacific Northwest Ballet, the Fifth Avenue Theater, the Vashon Opera, the Northwest Sinfonietta, and the Seattle Soundtrack Orchestra. While in graduate school at the University of Madison-Wisconsin, she began her foray into composition, encouraged by her horn instructor, Douglas Hill. As a composer, she enjoys writing chamber music for horn and other instruments, and she frequently receives commissions for a variety of chamber works. Her compositions are published through RM Williams Publishing, Veritas Musica Publishing, and Brass Arts Unlimited and have received several performances both nationally and internationally.
Sean Brown, Concerto for Horn and Orchestra No. 2 “Restoration”
Sean A. Brown is an active performer, teacher & composer/arranger on Whidbey Island in Washington State. He is proficient on all brass instruments, and he teaches a growing studio of 30+ brass students. He is the Principal Horn of the Saratoga Symphony Orchestra of Whidbey Island. He also founded and directs the Whidbey Island Horn Club, the Harbor Brass Choir, and the Penn Cove Brass Ensemble.
Mr. Brown earned a bachelor’s degree in horn performance from Central Washington University, as well as a master’s degree in horn performance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Mr. Brown has performed with the Wenatchee Valley Symphony, Yakima Symphony, Mid-Columbia Symphony, the Festival City Symphony, the Wisconsin Wind Orchestra, and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. Brown has completed 25 original works and more than 40 arrangements, from brass chamber works to full wind band pieces.
Aside from his work as a musician, Mr. Brown is a stay-at-home dad with his young sons, Luke, Logan, & Levi. His wife Holly, also a hornist, is the music teacher at Broad View Elementary in Oak Harbor, WA.
Briay Conditt, champagne Pieta for Horn and Electronics
Briay Conditt is a horn player and composer. Her pieces highlight global issues such as climate change and the refugee crisis. Although her works highlight issues with these topics, she remains an eternal optimist. Her works consistently unfold into hopeful endings.
In 2016, Briay received her master’s degree from the Lamont School of Music with emphases in both performance and composition. She studied composition with Dr. Chris Malloy, Dr. Leanna Kirchoff, and William Hill. She was invited to present her electro-acoustic work Hypocrisy at Sonorities Contemporary Music Festival in Belfast, Ireland. Other highlights included her solo debut at the premiere of Vantablack for solo horn and ensemble by French composer Augustan Braud with the Nebula New Music Ensemble. Her work, Pyro, for full orchestra was performed by the Lamont Symphony Orchestra.
Briay’s compositional sketches are a collection of poems and paintings. As a Colorado native, she finds inspiration in nature and enjoys composing outside. She translates textures in nature directly into musical forms.
Elyse Kahler, Freedom to Be for Horn and Piano
Elyse Kahler holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from Texas Tech University, a Master of Arts from the University of North Texas, and a Bachelor of Music in Composition and with All Level Certification from West Texas A&M University. She writes for a variety of ensembles and levels and has particular interests in fun and engaging music for middle school students and inspiring music for the modern church. Recent projects include Perspectives, a chamber work with modern dance and film in collaboration with Anne Wharton; The Ides of March, a chamber work for Bent Frequency, based in Atlanta, GA (through the Charlotte New Music Festival); and Clarinet Quartet No. 2 for 15:19 ensemble in Pavia, Italy (through the highSCORE Festival).
Aric Vyhmeister, To a Young Child for Horn and Choir
Aric Vyhmeister is a pianist, horn player, and composer. He is pursuing a Master of Music in collaborative piano at the University of Colorado Boulder under Dr. Margaret McDonald and Dr. Alexandra Nguyen. Mr. Vyhmeister is a frequent recitalist in the Denver area and has received commissions for original compositions across the United States. Having worked several years as an aerospace engineer on multiple NASA and commercial space programs, he is actively involved in Science Technology Engineering Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) outreach efforts with the public library system in the Denver area.