Music alumnus Stephen Barr (DMA, composition, 2007) has been back at the CAC recently to work with members of the WVU Symphonic Band, who will perform his work, In aeternam, during a concert Tuesday, Nov. 8, at 7:30 p.m.

Barr now works as a conductor, composer and orchestrator in the greater Pittsburgh area, and is assistant professor and director of choirs at Slippery Rock University. As a composer, he works in a variety of mediums—from concert music for choirs, wind bands, orchestras, and chamber groups, to contemporary film scores and music for media in orchestral and electronic styles.

While at WVU, he was awarded a prestigious Arlen G. and Louise Stone Swiger Doctoral Fellowship. Later, he was a resident at the Atlantic Center for the Arts and the Susan and Ford Schumann Film Scoring Program at the Aspen Music School and Festival in Aspen, Colorado, where he studied composition and film scoring with John Corigliano, Jack Smalley, and Jeff Rona. He has also studied conducting with eminent American choral conductor Robert Page.

“In aeternam means ‘for eternity’ in Latin,” Stephen said. “The title is kind of a catch-all for a number of emotions or ideas that went into thinking about and composing the piece. Overall, the piece is a response to two major events that happened in my life during the summer of 2009: (1) the untimely death of a loved and respected faculty member here at SRU, and (2) learning that my wife and I were expecting our first child (Zachary, born in June 2010).

“The piece was composed in 2009 for the Slippery Rock University Wind Ensemble and premiered in November 2009.”

According to the Program Notes: In aeternam is not so much a eulogy as it is a meditation on the gamut of human emotions and how they play through the various “seasons” of our lives. At times, it mourns and feels the keen sense of loss—a void—that comes after the passing of an opportunity, a relationship, or a loved one. But it also rejoices in the warmth of friendship and love, and the exhilaration, pride, and promise of rebirth and rejuvenation that comes with new ventures, chance meetings, and new life. It regrets and grieves, seeks to encourage and uplift, and is penitent for having done wrong. It sings of the resolve of human will, the strength and compassion of spirit, faith in a higher purpose and power about all things, and our need for humility when considering our place in the world and the awesome expanse of the cosmos. But above all this, In aeternam seeks to reflect our sincerest desire to give and receive charity, sympathy, kindness, companionship, trust, and more to and from our fellow man, and our expectation that good will come of our lives. For it is one of our most basic human responses in all seasons of life to always look forward to the future and see a reason for optimism, perhaps the single most important emotion of humanity: hope.

“I was at the Creative Arts Center for one afternoon on Tuesday October 25, and worked with the Symphonic Band for about an hour,” Stephen said. “They performed and I conducted and gave them feedback based on what I heard and also my insights as the composer of the work.

“I found the WVU Symphonic Band to be a great group of musicians. They had already reached a high level of proficiency in understanding and performing my work under their director, Chris Nichter, and were very receptive and responsive to my critiques. It was a real treat to just come in and be able to make music with such a well-prepared group. I will be at the concert and I’m looking forward to hearing the final product!

“I have many fond memories of my time at the CAC, but above all working with my peers in the composition studio, singing in and conducting the Concert Choir, and conducting the Wind Symphony in some of my own works are standouts. Weekly composition master classes with Dr. John Beall (WVU Composer-in-Residence) and the other composition majors were so valuable for all of us, as we were able to get and receive lots of feedback on our music. Every single professor I studied with at WVU contributed to my growth while I was a student there; I took something valuable away from every course I took. But I owe huge debts of gratitude to John Beall and Dr. Kathleen Shannon for helping me become the composer and conductor I am today.”

For information about Stephen Barr, including his blog, videos of some of his works, and much more, see: http://www.stephenbarr.com/about/

For an interesting interview with Stephen, see “5 Questions to Stephen Barr” on the blog of Thomas Deneuville called “I care if you listen”: http://thomasdeneuville.com/blog/2011/08/5-questions-to-stephen-barr-composer/