JASON CRESS (b. 1982) is an active composer in a wide variety of genres and mediums. His work ranges from large ensemble to chamber/solo, vocal to electronic and is often somewhere in between. Mostly found within the concert music setting, Cress's music fuses contemporary technique with romantic ideals – often creating surprising sound worlds and intensely subtle narrative which has been described as “energetic, and intimate, portraying a myriad of emotions.” During the 2009-2010 season, several premieres of Cress’s compositions will include a solo timpani work for virtuoso percussionist Cory Hills commissioned by Cory Hills, a flute/piano work for the DuoSolo Contemporary Ensemble in conjunction with the DuoSolo Emerging Composer Contest, and a solo piano work with digital effects for virtuoso pianist Nathanael May commissioned by Nathanael May. Cress has received numerous commissions and performances from a variety of ensembles, including Belmont University Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble, Alternative Energy Quintet, The Puppets Revolt String Quartet, and Nashville New Music Chamber Ensemble. He has also been commissioned by the 2009 Tree of Life Creative Campus Project at the University of Kansas to compose music for Evolution of Perception, a multi-disciplinary work that combines music, dance, and sculpture. Recent honors and awards include a 2009 Midwest Graduate Music Consortium invitation hosted by Northwestern University, a 2008 soundSCAPE New Music Festival invitation in Pavia, Italy, a 2008 and 2009 Gamma UT New Music Conference invitation hosted by The University of Texas at Austin, a 2008 Con/un/drum Composition Competition commission founded by percussionist Cory Hills, a 2006 Wheaton College Best Film Score Award, winner of the 2005 Belmont University Orchestration Contest, and honored at the 2005 Middle Tennessee Collegiate Student Composer’s Recital. Currently, Cress is studying music composition at the University of Kansas under the instruction of Bryan 'Kip' Haaheim, James Barnes, and Forrest Pierce. In 2005 he received a BM in music composition from Belmont University, where he studied with William Pursell, and Don Byrd. From Mansfield, Ohio, Cress was introduced to music through the trumpet by studying with Ettore Chiudioni, principal trumpet of the Mansfield Symphony, and his training in composition began at the Richland Academy of the Arts. Other composition teachers include Brian Hulse, Jeffrey Mumford, Mijil Wisaraningtias, Dana Wilson, and Phillip Keveren. |
