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Ann Millikan (1963-    )

Ann Millikan, composerAnn Millikan's music has been described as "tonally challenging yet emotionally involving" (Joseph Woodard, LA Times), "packed with propellant polyrhythmic textures" (New Sounds, WNYC), and "characterized by high energy and a quirky inventiveness that defies easy categorization. Her scoring is clean and transparent and her felicities of orchestration are among the most attractive elements in her work." (Stephen Eddins, All Music). Millikan composes concert music for orchestra, chamber ensembles and choir, as well as experimental and interdisciplinary projects involving installation, theatre and dance. Rhythmic vitality is a powerful force in her music, stemming from previous years playing jazz, African and Brazilian music. Her music is expressive and colorful, moving freely between atonal and tonal/modal languages depending upon the overall desired effect. She creates rich orchestral textures that are characterized by layering, rhythmic juxtaposition, and complex counterpoint. Millikan received her MFA in Composition from the California Institute of the Arts where her mentors were Mel Powell, Morton Subotnick, and Stephen L. Mosko, and her BA in Music–Jazz Concentration (jazz piano, voice and composition) from San Jose State University. She has studied West African percussion from Senegal and Ghana, and many years of classical voice. Her works have been performed by Orchestra Filarmonica di Torino, Orchestra Sinfonica della Provincia di Bari, Emanuele Arciuli, California EAR Unit, Zeitgeist, Citywinds, New Century Players, Oregon Repertory Singers, Grace Cathedral Men's Choir, and Joan La Barbara, among others. Her music is featured on radio broadcasts nationally, internationally, and over the internet. Her awards include a 2011 MN State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant, 2010 McKnight Composer Fellowship, California Arts Council, American Music Center, ASCAP, American Composers Forum, Meet The Composer, Argosy Foundation Contemporary Music Fund, Jerome Foundation, Zellerbach Family Fund, Berkeley Civic Arts Program, and Waging Peace Through Singing (Highest Honors). Millikan is based in Saint Paul, MN and teaches composition at Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists.

COMPOSITIONS                                                            Millikan Links     ~ ~ ~     Works by Genre    ~ ~ ~    Millikan on Millikan
My Island, tenor and piano (1995) [text: Jorge Aquino]
Metal Shop 302, 3 violins, 2 violas, 3 cellos and 1 double bass (or string orchestra) (1996)
K'uei: A SYZYGY, flute, viola and percussion [Mark Tree, cabasa, vibraphone] (1997)
The Medicine of the Spiral, 4 ensembles [6 perc; pf,hp, gtr, perc; str ens; sop w/chorus, perc], 4 actors & 4 dancers (1997)
The Medicine of the Spiral II: Qt Improvisations, voice (or fl/reed/dbl reed), perc, pf (or pitched perc), db (or vc/tmp) (1997)
Suite for Woodwind Quartet, alto flute, English horn, clarinet and bassoon (1998)
Three Reflections, alto flute, bass clarinet, vibraphone, viollin, cello and piano (1999)
Trens Coloridos para Gabriela, fl/picc/alto fl, cl/bass cl/perc, perc, piano/perc/opt. harmonica, vln/perc, vc/perc (2000)
I Woman, narrator and female chorus (2001) [text: Opal Palmer Adisa]
The Color of Blood: Praising the Moon We Are, Part I, narrator, female chorus, West African perc and dancers (2001)
Calendula, tenor saxophone and double bass (2001)
House of Mirrors I, bass clarinet and live electronics (2001)
House of Mirrors II, tenor sax and live electronics (2001)
Water From Your Spring, song cycle (6 songs), soprano and ensemble (2001)
Ave Maria, unison chorus and shruti box (2002)
Tantum ergo Sacramentum, male chorus (2002) [text: attrib. to Thomas Aquinas]
Psalm 78: 14, 15, 17-19, 23-25, male chorus (2002)
Song of Remembrance, female chorus (2002) [text: Ann Millikan]
Advent Music (3 pieces), double chorus (2003)
    - O Sapientia – O Wisdom, female chorus [text: Book of Wisdom]
    - The One Who Is Coming ... [text: Rainer Maria Rilke]
    - La Vieja [written in response to a painting by Patsy Krebs, Quartet]
Choro, chorus (2004)
Red Migration, orchestra (2005)
221B Baker Street, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, synthesizer and drum set (all electronically controlled) (2005)
    - OR fl or synth, clarinet or synth, elec gtr, elec rhythm gtr, elec bass and drum set (all elec. controlled)
Red Migration, fl/picc, cl, perc [vib, tom-toms, sleigh bells, crash cymbal], vln, vc and pf (2005)
Choro do Zeitgeist, clarinet, 2 perc [vibes; marimba] and piano, w/opt. tambourine (2005)
Cantando para a Onça, clarinet, 2 percussionists and piano (2005)
The Woodcarver & The Blacksmith, fl/picc/alto fl, cl/bass cl, perc [crotales, vib], vln, vc and pf (2005)
Choro do Miro, string quartet (2005)
grandmother walks, mist rises, double chorus (2006) [text: Marcie R. Rendon]
From The Bottom Drawer, string quartet (2006)
Landing Inside the Inside of an Animal, orchestra (2008)
Kuiper Belt Wamfle, soprano saxophone, 2 percussion [cymbal, marimba; snare drum] and piano (2008)
Trilhas de Sombra, orchestra (2009)
Ballad Nocturne, piano and chamber orchestra (2009)
Thunder Woman, American Indian flutes, percussion, piano, violin and cello (2011)
House of Mirrors IV, trumpet and live electronics (2011)
House of Mirrors V, tuba and live electronics (2011)
House of Mirrors VI, violin and live electronics (2011)
House of Mirrors VII, soprano and live electronics (2011)
House of Mirrors VIII, ensemble and live electronics (2011)
Xingu, cello and live video (2012)
Dakota Land, chorus and orchestra (2012) [text: Marcie R. Rendon]
Abstrações, soprano and ensemble fl/picc, cl, bari sax, perc, pno, vcl, db (2012) [text: Ann Millikan]
Swede Hollow, one-act opera (2012) [libretto: Ann Millikan]


WORKS BY GENRE                                                            Millikan Links    ~ ~ ~    Millikan on Millikan    ~ top of page ~
Dramatic/Theater
K'uei: A SYZYGY, flute, viola and percussion [Mark Tree, cabasa, vibraphone] (1997)
The Medicine of the Spiral, 4 ensembles [6 perc; pf,hp, gtr, perc; str ens; sop w/chorus, perc], 4 actors & 4 dancers (1997)
The Color of Blood: Praising the Moon We Are, Part I, narrator, female chorus, West African perc and dancers (2001)
Swede Hollow, one-act opera (2012) [libretto: Ann Millikan]

Orchestra
Metal Shop 302, 3 violins, 2 violas, 3 cellos and 1 double bass (or string orchestra) (1996)
Red Migration, orchestra (2005)
Landing Inside the Inside of an Animal, orchestra (2008)
Trilhas de Sombra, orchestra (2009)
    - Kira’s Journey
    - Snow World
    - Battling Oligarn Batrone

Soloist(s) w/Orchestra
Ballad Nocturne, piano and chamber orchestra (2009)
Dakota Land, chorus and orchestra (2012) [text: Marcie R. Rendon]

Choral
I Woman, narrator and female chorus (2001) [text: Opal Palmer Adisa]
Ave Maria, unison chorus and shruti box (2002)
Tantum ergo Sacramentum, male chorus (2002) [text: attrib. to Thomas Aquinas]
Psalm 78: 14, 15, 17-19, 23-25, male chorus (2002)
Song of Remembrance, female chorus (2002) [text: Ann Millikan]
Advent Music (3 pieces), double chorus (2003)
    - O Sapientia – O Wisdom, female chorus [text: Book of Wisdom]
    - The One Who Is Coming ... [text: Rainer Maria Rilke]
    - La Vieja [written in response to a painting by Patsy Krebs, Quartet]
            - Memory
            - Wood Pushing Upward
            - She Pressed Her Cheek Against The Bark
            - Sweet Pine Scent Hovering
Choro, chorus (2004)
grandmother walks, mist rises, double chorus (2006) [text: Marcie R. Rendon]

Chamber
Metal Shop 302, 3 violins, 2 violas, 3 cellos and 1 double bass (or string orchestra) (1996)
K'uei: A SYZYGY, flute, viola and percussion [Mark Tree, cabasa, vibraphone] (1997)
Suite for Woodwind Quartet, alto flute, English horn, clarinet and bassoon (1998)
Three Reflections, alto flute, bass clarinet, vibraphone, viollin, cello and piano (1999)
Trens Coloridos para Gabriela, fl/picc/alto fl, cl/bass cl/perc, perc, piano/perc/opt. harmonica, vln/perc, vc/perc (2000)
Calendula, tenor saxophone and double bass (2001)
221B Baker Street, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, synthesizer and drum set (all electronically controlled) (2005)
    - OR fl or synth, clarinet or synth, elec gtr, elec rhythm gtr, elec bass and drum set (all elec. controlled)
Red Migration, fl/picc, cl, perc [vib, tom-toms, sleigh bells, crash cymbal], vln, vc and pf (2005)
Choro do Zeitgeist, clarinet, 2 perc [vibes; marimba] and piano, w/opt. tambourine (2005)
Cantando para a Onça, clarinet, 2 percussionists and piano (2005)
    - Floresta (Forest)
    - Construindo (Building)
    - Cavalo (Horse)
The Woodcarver & The Blacksmith, fl/picc/alto fl, cl/bass cl, perc [crotales, vib], vln, vc and pf (2005)
Choro do Miro, string quartet (2005)
From The Bottom Drawer, string quartet (2006)
Kuiper Belt Wamfle, soprano saxophone, 2 percussion [cymbal, marimba; snare drum] and piano (2008)
Thunder Woman, American Indian flutes, percussion, piano, violin and cello (2011)

Solo Instrument
House of Mirrors I, bass clarinet and live electronics (2001)
House of Mirrors II, tenor sax and live electronics (2001)
House of Mirrors IV, trumpet and live electronics (2011)
House of Mirrors V, tuba and live electronics (2011)
House of Mirrors VI, violin and live electronics (2011)
House of Mirrors VII, soprano and live electronics (2011)
House of Mirrors VIII, ensemble and live electronics (2011)
Xingu, cello and live video (2012)

Vocal
My Island, tenor and piano (1995) [text: Jorge Aquino]
The Medicine of the Spiral II: Qt Improvisations, voice (or fl/reed/dbl reed), perc, pf (or pitched perc), db (or vc/tmp) (1997)
Water From Your Spring, song cycle (6 songs), soprano and ensemble (2001)
    - A Call to Awaken – “Quietness”
    - Sacrifice – “The Friend comes…”
    - Longing – “Water From Your Spring”
    - Surrendering – “Dissolver of Sugar”
    - Rapture – “A Great Wagon”
    - Union – “The Freshness”
Abstrações, soprano and ensemble fl/picc, cl, bari sax, perc, pno, vcl, db (2012) [text: Ann Millikan]


MILLIKAN  LINKS                                                            Works by Genre    ~ ~ ~    Millikan on Millikan     ~ top of page ~
Ann Millikan: On The Move (Frank J. Oteri, NewMusicBox)
Final Installment, Ann Millikan’s "House of Mirrors" (Andrea Canter, Jazz Police)
"Swede Hollow" Is the Subject of a New Opera ( Susannah Schouweiler, KnightArts)
"Swede Hollow" Opera Premiere

Composer's website   . . .   contact Ann Millikan:  here

Millikan @ American Composers Forum
Millikan @ American Music Center
Millikan @ AMPERS
Millikan @ Answers.com
Millikan @ Classical Archives
Millikan @ Facebook
Millikan @ House of Mirrors
Millikan @ Jazz Ink
Millikan @ LinkedIn
Millikan @ MN Artists    also    here
Millikan @ MySpaceMusic
Millikan @ ReverbNation
Millikan @ Sequenza21
Millikan @ Sigma Alpha Iota
Millikan @ USA Projects
Millikan @ Women Arts
Millikan @ WQXR
Millikan @ Yahoo! Music

Publisher
Millikan @ Composer's website
Millikan @ Sword Dance Publishing Co.
                   1043 Grand Ave., Suite 280
                   Saint Paul, MN 55105
                   (651) 778-9611

Streaming Audio
Millikan @ Composer's website
Millikan @ Classical Archives
Millikan @ last.fm
Millikan @ MN Artists    also    here
Millikan @ MySpaceMusic
Millikan @ New Sounds/WNYC
Millikan @ PRX (Public Radio Exchange)
Millikan @ ReverbNation
Millikan @ Rhapsody.com
Millikan @ WQXR

Recordings
Millikan @ Composer's website
Millikan @ Amazon.com
Millikan @ ArkivMusic
Millikan @ CD Universe
Millikan @ ClassicsOnline
Millikan @ Innova Records
Millikan @ itunes

Video
Millikan @ YouTube
Millikan @ Google Video
Millikan @ NewMusicBox
Millikan @ Vimeo
                                                                                                                                             ~ top of page ~
Millikan on Millikan: On the Move/NewMusicBox (VIDEO)







Millikan on Millikan: Composer Ann Millikan/10,000 Fresh Voices (streaming audio)
Ann Millikan, composerComposers Speak on the Web at Pytheas
                            ~ click on composer picture to listen ~







. . . and check out more    Composers Speak on the Web    at Pytheas

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