Page 2C EUGENE REGISTER-GUARD, Sunday, Jan. 13, 1963
Visiting Orchestra to Play Keller Composition
By DAN WYANT
Of the fUgUUr-Guard
When Conductor Victor Al
essandro brings the San An
tonio Orchestra to Eugene
Thursday night for a Civic
Music Assn. concert, the open
ing number of the program
will be a work by Homer Kel
ler, University of Oregon
teacher and composer.
The performance, in a way,
reinstates a relationship be
tween composer and conductor
that dates back to the late
1930s when both were stu
dents at the Eastman School
of Music in Rochester, N.Y.
There, the student Alessan
dro conducted one of student
.Keller's first successful com
positions, "Serenade for Clar
inet and Strings," a selection
which subsequently was re
corded by an Eastman group
on the Mercury Record label.
Allesandro will conduct one
of Keller's later compositions
at the Thursday night con
cert. Entitled "Overture 1947,"
it was commissioned by the
Nashville, Tenn., symphony
orchestra when the composer
taught at the University of
Michigan In 1947.
Folk Dance Rhythm
It is a composition which
Keller described this week as
a "short overture . . , bright
and rhythmic, with sort of
folk dance rhythms."
Keller, 47 and single, has
been on the staff of the Uni
versity of Oregon school of
music since 1998. He teaches
composition and music theory,
and still finds time to com
pose. "Frankly," he said, "you get
busy teaching, though, and
find you're not devoting the
proper time to composition.
I've been teaching the year
. around since I came to the
University of Oregon. I want
to take next summer off and
devote it to composing."
With his short haircut, eye
glasses and genial air of a
business executive, Keller
doesn't fit the popular concept
of the serious, "longhair" com
poser. But music is not only his
profession but his primary in
terest off the Job as well.
"When It comes to hobbles,"
he said, "I guess I haven't any
except for regular workouts
at the YMCA."
Besides numerous shorter
works, Keller has three sym
phonies to his credit His
first won a cash award and
was given Its premiere in Car
negie Hall in 1940 by the
New York Philharmonic Or
chestra. Works Performed
His Second Symphony was
first performed In 1950 by
the National Symphony Or
chestra of Washington, D. C.
His Third Symphony re
ceived Its first playing by the
Honolulu Symphony Orches
tra in 19S6. The former Uni
versity -Eugene Symphony
Orchestra was the first to
play the symphony in the con
tinental United States, In
19S9. The Third Symphony
has since been recorded by
the Japanese Philharmonic
Orchestra.
In short, Keller enjoys an
International reputation for
his work.
Unfortunately, fame Isn't
necessarily accompanied by
fortune if you're a serious
composer. Keller's royalty
checks for the Mercury rec
ords have ranged as low as
three cents.
"I'm not very commercially
minded," he said. "I do some
thing because I find it excit
ing." Electronic Music
He's happy with his job and
wants to continue to combine
teaching and composing.
"I like teaching very much,
particularly working with
young composers," he said.
"But I do want to take more
time off to compose and to
experiment with electronic
music."
This latter field of music is
Keller's newest Interest. To
gether with Don Hunter, of
the university's audio-visual
department, Keller Is teaching
a course in electronic music
this term for the first time.
Here, sounds are produced
by a "tone generator," or
electronic oscillator, then re
corded on magnetic tape. Or
recordings are made of noises
from nature bird calls, for
example or from the sounds
of city streets or factories.
The pitch and rhythm of
the sounds can then be varied
by the speed of the recorder.' .
All sorts of combinations are
possible on the finished tape,
giving a composer a whole
new approach to music.
Absorbing, Not Art
One of Keller's students
produced a taped composition
from the sounds of bottles
breaking in a metal container.
Another composed a tape re
cording from the sounds he
heard in a sawmill. These
both will be played as part of
a student composition recital
Tuesday night at the school
' of music.
"Electronic music is not an
art yet," said Keller. "It is
still experimental. But more
and more serious composers
are working with electronic
music. I find it absorbing."
Keller said some .refer to
the technique as "totally or
ganized music" since sound
can be controlled to an abso
lute degree of volume and
pitch, and the duration of
tones can be controlled to the
l1000th of a second. He add
ed: "In a way it's a frightening
thing, because you might say
It dehumanizes music. But
you could say the same thing
about any keyboard instru
ment In comparison with the
humsn voice. I'm sure it will
never replace the musician."
Homer Keller: Combines Teaching and Composing
Program Lists Electronic Music
An unusual concert at Uni
versity of Oregon Tuesday at
8 p.m., will include student
compositions in electronic
music. The public is invited.
The student composers are
members of a new course In
electronic music offered this
year in the university's school
of music, and taught by Ho
mer Keller, associate profes
sor in the music school, and
Don Hunter, director of the
audio-visual department.
The works, taped for the
concert, are collage (music
concrote), according to Keller.
Compositions by students
include works by Dennis At
kinson, Pat Chaffin, Kristine
Goplen, and Barbara Poss
man, all graduate students
from Eugene; Keith Taylor,
graduate student from Ketchi
kan, Alaska; Michael Nannice,
sophomore from Grants Pass;
Steven Wolfe, freshman, Don
ald Addison, sophomore, and
Ralph Towner, senior, all of
Eugene.
Concluding part of the con
cert will be representative
tapes and recordings of elec
tronic music by such inter
nationally known composers
as Hillcr, Mel Powell, Raaij
makers and Earls.
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