Contact: Maridith Geuder
A state composer and jazz pianist is writing a major commissioned piece for a Los Angeles concert series of 20th century music.
Mark Applebaum, assistant professor of music education at Mississippi State University, will provide music for Gloria Cheng-Cochran to perform in the 1998 Piano Spheres.
Cheng-Cochran, a world-class pianist with the L.A. Philharmonic, is among five pianists appearing this year in Piano Spheres, which focuses on works that are technically and musically challenging. She is active in the promotion of contemporary music.
Applebaum said he is the only composer commissioned to provide a new work for the festival. "I received the commission from Los Angeles philanthropist Betty Freeman after she and festival founder Leonard Stein heard one of my compositions on tape," he added.
An innovator whose works have been featured throughout the United States, Europe and Japan, Applebaum also currently is composing a five-movement work inspired by Birmingham, Ala., jazz musician Sun Ra. Describing Sun Ra as "a visionary composer and pianist who developed his own self-mythology," he said, "The structure of my work, tentatively called 'Disciplines,' is inspired by him."
A Chicago native, Applebaum holds degrees from Carleton College and the University of California at San Diego. He received earlier commissions from the Merce Cunningham Dance Co., Paul Dresher Ensemble, American Composers Forum, and the Jerome Foundation, among others. His works have been premiered in Germany, Sweden and Italy.
Additionally, he has found time to build electro-acoustic instruments out of junk, hardware and found objects for use as compositional and improvisational tools. In 1996, Innova Records released "Mousetrap Music," a CD of his sound-sculpture improvisations.