Meet Salt Lake City’s Logan J. Blackman and some of his music orchestra conducting philosophy: Let’s start by having you describe your sound to our readers… Logan J. Blackman : Symphonically, my sound is very grand and cinematic. However in my chamber works, I tend to take a much lighter tone. My Bassoon Duets, “The Logic of a Mad-Man” is nothing but one big satire/comedic piece. Is it true you’ve been making music since you were a child? Logan J. Blackman : Yes! I have been making music since I was 12, but I began writing at around 14. Discover additional details at Logan J. Blackman.
UK Symphony Orchestra is part of the UK School of Music at the UK College of Fine Arts. The school has garnered a national reputation for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as music education, composition, and theory and music history. To hear Robinson, Blackman and Maestro Nardolillo talk about the upcoming concert, visit WUKY’s “UK Perspectives” interview with them here: http://wuky.org/post/uk-symphony-orchestra-brings-tragedy-and-triumph-stage#stream/0.
Mason appealed to reason with his deftly rendered solo passages even though the xylophone and drums kept playfully interrupting the discourse. Near the end, however, all the instruments seemed to agree to disagree and Mason, with his virtuosic reciprocity, got the last word. So what is love? No one knows for sure. Socrates said the beginning of wisdom comes from understanding the limits of our knowledge. This was Bernstein’s premise as well. Before the Three Meditations from Mass, Nardolillo announced the presence of two people in the audience who knew Bernstein personally and that guest cellist Benjamin Karp (principal cellist for the Lexington Philharmonic) had played under Bernstein’s direction at Tanglewood. This knowledge intensified the presence of Bernstein’s spirit for the remainder of the program. As for the three Meditations for cello and orchestra, the third movement, Presto, best captured that spirit.
Currently a music performance junior at UK, Blackman has studied conducting with Lucia Marin and Daniel Chetel, composition with Mike D’Ambrosio at Murray State University, bassoon with Professor Scott Erickson of Murray State University, organ with Bobbie Sue Chumbler of Paducah, and piano with Malissa Heath of Paducah. At UK School of Music, he is currently studying conducting with Nardollilo, composition with Professor Joseph Baber, and bassoon with Professor Peter Simpson. Read even more info on Logan J. Blackman.
When Blackman got to the University of Kentucky, he started working on adapting “Prayer” into an orchestral work, at first simply transcribing it. But then, he started to do more, and the work attracted attention. “He joined the orchestra as an undergraduate bassoonist, and it soon became clear that his interests were wider than just playing the bassoon,” UK Symphony Orchestra director John Nardolillo says. “I knew he composed, and he asked me if I would look at the score to this piece he’d been working on. Then he asked if he could take some conducting lessons. So he was working on conducting and I looked at the score, and the score is interesting, and his level of commitment and involvement and interest in conducting, composition and performing is quite high. The story of the piece is compelling, and it seemed like we were in a position to help him with those things.