Tyler Eschendal is a composer and percussionist originally from the suburbs of Detroit and now resides in Los Angeles, CA. A love for rhythm, pulse, and layering heavily influences his music, as well as an interest in introducing sample-based procedures found in electronic music to acoustic and live instrumentations. Tyler’s music has been performed at institutions across the U.S. and by such ensembles as the Los Angeles Percussion Quartet, yMusic, the Norfolk New Music Ensemble, and Sō Percussion. He holds a B.M. in music composition from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati studying with Michael Fiday, and a M.M. in composition from the University of Southern California studying with Ted Hearne, Sean Friar and Don Crockett.
Tyler’s orchestral piece Zarathustra Mixtape was selected for the Grand Rapids Symphony EarShot New Music Readings, where it will be workshopped and read under the direction of conductor Jacomo Bairos. Public performances will take place on Friday, September 28 and Saturday, September 29, 2018 at The Morton as part of ArtPrize. More information here
Tyler spoke with us about his piece and the upcoming readings.
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| Composer Tyler Eschendal |
American Composers Orchestra: What was your reaction to finding out your piece had been selected for the Grand Rapids Symphony EarShot New Music Readings?
ACO: You describe your piece as a “mixtape” of Richard Strauss’Also Sprach Zarathustra, “splicing, stretching, shifting, layering, reorganizing, and most importantly, re-contextualizing” the composer’s 1896 tone poem. Can you talk about your first encounters with Also Sprach Zarathustra, and why you chose it for the basis of your own orchestral work?
ACO: What are you doing to prepare for the readings? Are there any changes you have made to your piece?
ACO: What do you hope to gain from this experience?
