Next "Brown Bag" on Dec. 1 takes the creative process past the premiere

School of Music faculty Rob Deemer and Andrew Siegel host a talk about using the creative process to bring artistic vision to life.

Joining the Arts & Humanities Brown Bag Series’ year-long exploration of creativity, SUNY Fredonia Assistant Professors of Music Rob Deemer and Andrew Seigel, together with SUNY Fredonia students Michael Mendoza and Isaac Tayrien, will give a talk entitled, “From ‘What if…?’ to ‘What next?’: Taking the Creative Process Past the Premiere.” The event, happening on Wednesday, Dec. 1 at noon in room S104 of the Williams Center, is free and open to the public. It will be immediately followed by a "Brown Bag Dessert" -- an informal conversation with some of the featured speakers.  (While this secondary event is designed for students, it remains open to all.)

As creators know too well, existing pressures often prevent them from fully developing the opportunities that lie within their creations. Whether a creator has just created a journal article, musical composition, theatrical performance, or scientific breakthrough, he or she is frequently driven to leap into the next project, rather than take full advantage of their just-completed creation. In this talk, School of Music faculty and students will explore ways to delve further into one’s own creations and achieve a truly successful creative life and career.

Drs. Deemer and Seigel will discuss how they have reached beyond the initial creative impulse and past the premiere performance in order to discover a fuller capacity for invention. Deemer will draw on his work as a composer, collaborator, and entrepreneur, and Seigel, on his work as a clarinetist and performer.

Mendoza and Tayrien will also join the discussion, providing a student perspective informed by their explorations of performance and self-promotion through Chorda Inferna, a new music ensemble they have formed as part of Dr. Deemer’s New Music course. Since the beginning of the semester, they have not only created a performance repertoire, but they have also created print and online publicity materials and have begun initiating live performances in Fredonia and surrounding metropolitan areas.

Dr. Rob Deemer serves as the head of music composition at SUNY Fredonia. He is extremely active today as a composer, conductor, educator and advocate for the arts. His music has been performed by the Rascher Saxophone Quartet, U.S. Army Orchestra (Pershing’s Own), and Brightmusic Ensemble, and he is currently beginning his first year as the composer-in-residence with the Buffalo Chamber Players. Deemer has composed for film, theatre, and dance, with his scores being performed at festivals in Cannes, Los Angeles, and New York. As an author, he is currently co-authoring Music in Sound Film. He co-founded one of the few radio programs in the country to focus exclusively on living composers.

Dr. Andrew Seigel is the Assistant Professor of Clarinet at SUNY Fredonia. He recently joined the faculty following positions at Southeastern Louisiana University, Michigan State University, Albion College, and Spring Arbor University. Dr. Seigel currently serves as the second clarinetist of the Western New York Chamber Orchestra, and also plays with the Erie Philharmonic. As a chamber musician, Dr. Seigel plays in the Fredonia Woodwind Quintet. He also performs as half of The Silverwind Duo with his wife, flutist Nicole McPherson.

Chorda Inferna is the duo of guitarist/composer Michael Carlos Mendoza and cellist/composer Isaac Tayrien. Combining the subtlety of classical music with the intensity of popular music, Chorda Inferna blends acoustic and electric instruments to present a one-of-a-kind listening experience.

The Arts and Humanities Brown Bag Lectures, sponsored by the Fredonia College Foundation's Carnahan-Jackson Humanities Fund and the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, feature new, creative and scholarly work by SUNY Fredonia faculty and students. These talks are typically held on the first Wednesday of the month, October through May. Each program is free, and all campus and community members are welcome.