Concert highlights original Alaska-inspired compositions
July 31, 2012
907-474-7588
7/31/12
Local pianist and composer Etsuko Kimura Pederson will play her original compositions at a free concert Wednesday, Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. in the Davis Concert Hall at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Pederson will be joined by a number of other UAF artists, including Paul Krejci, Jamila Hla Shwe, Eric Retterer, Franz Felkl and Theresa Mary Vanhyning, as well as by Colorado dancer Judy Kreith.
Pederson is a Fairbanks-based pianist and composer who earned a master’s degree in music from UAF in 2005. She describes her music as, “…free and modern, combining changes of key signatures, time signatures and tempo with some atonal elements.”
While much of Pederson’s music is considered modern, she still composes in some traditional styles. For example, “SRP4 Rocket” is a jazz big-band piece, which has been played by the UAF Jazz Band. This piece was inspired by her experience as a member of the UAF Alaska Student Rocket Project in 2003. It commemorates a successful rocket launch.
Pederson’s music has also helped raise money for various causes. Six of her pieces have been released on a songwriter’s CD series, “We Are All One” in Japan. Sales of the series benefit the United Nations Children’s Fund. In addition, Krejci and Pederson performed a concert in Juneau to raise money to support Tohoku University’s efforts to recover from the 2011 tsunami in Japan.
ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Summer Sessions at summer@alaska.edu; 907-474-7021 or summer@alaska.edu.
ON THE WEB: http://www.uaf.edu/summer/
AV/07-31-12/030-13