GOOCH, WARREN (b. 1954)

Warren Gooch received his Doctorate in composition from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Masters degree from the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and Bachelors degree from the College of St. Scholastica. Composition instructors have included Stephen Dembski, Joel Naumann, Mary Mageau, Eric Stokes and others, representing varied aesthetic philosophies ranging from those of George Crumb and Milton Babbitt to those of Howard Hansen and Nadia Boulenger.

 

Gooch's music has been recognized through numerous grants, commissions, awards and significant performances via organizations such as the National Federation of Music Clubs, Minnesota Orchestra, American Choral Directors Association, Music Teachers National Association, Percussive Arts Society, International Trumpet Guild, Music Educators National Conference, College Music Society, Composers and Songwriters International, the Composers Guild and a number of regional arts agencies.

 

The Slovak Radio Orchestra, under the direction of the late Robert Black, recorded one of his orchestral works, and his music has been performed at music festivals across the country and in Europe. Publishers include Kjos, Flammer, Spectrum, Plymouth, Walton, Eagle's Wing, Augsburg and Alliance Publications.

 

His work as music theorist has been acknowledged by the College Music Society, and Gooch has authored a manual in the Benward Music in Theory and Practice textbook series (Brown & Benchmark).

 

Professional memberships include BMI, Society of Composers, American Music Center, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, College Music Society, Macro Analysis Creative Research Organization, Music Educators National Conference, Music Teachers National Association, Minnesota Composers Forum, and others.

 

Gooch is currently coordinator of the Theory/Composition Area at Northeast Missouri/Truman State University, where he has been a finalist for the university "Educator of the Year" award. Prior to this position, he served as Composer-in-Residence for a Wisconsin school district and as secondary school music educator in Minnesota. He is also active in church music.

 

"Dragon Music" is intended to be teaching music that will expose students to some stylistic elements of contemporary music while at the same time addressing certain performance problems. The three short pieces are "atmospheric," and have been supplied with "evocative" titles in an attempt to capture the interest and fancy of the piano student. None of the pieces are difficult, but they do require concentration and attention to detail. As is true of much contemporary music, the pieces are unified by motivic (as opposed to thematic) interplay.

 

Composed in 1984, "Dragon Music" was awarded a Prize in the Composers Guild, Inc. International Composition Contest of that year. The piece has been performed on recitals by both student and professional pianists.

 

"Out of the Primordial Ocean" is a work scored for eight percussionists which involves the manipulation of a set of rhythmic and pitch motives that gradually evolve as the piece progresses. The work begins quietly and eventually builds into a sustained isorhythmic section which leads to an extended solo for timpani. The piece closes with a brief coda recalling earlier motivic material. The influence of gamelan music is evident throughout the work.

 

"Out of the Primordial Ocean" was composed for W. Michael Hooley and the Northeast Missouri State University Percussion Ensemble who premiered the work in the spring of 1982 at a Percussive Arts Society conference.