A Man with a Gun Lives Here, by Steve Snowden
Performed by line upon line Matthew Teodori, Cullen Faulk, and Adam Bedell Mvt. 1 - Be Prepared to Defend Yourself (0:14) Mvt. 2 - There are Thieves About (3:07) Mvt. 3 - A Man with a Gun Lives Here (5:52) vicfirth.com/artists/line_upon_line.php ABOUT THE PIECE: Most prevalent during the Great Depression, hobos were nomads who roamed the United States taking work wherever they could. In their extensive travels, hobos learned to leave notes for each other, giving information about places to camp, where to find a meal, or dangers that lay ahead. This unique Hobo Code was known to the brotherhood of freight train riders and used by all to keep the community of traveling workers safe, fed and in work. Life as a hobo was difficult and dangerous. These vagabonds developed their own secret pictographic language to help other hobos to food, water and work or to direct them away from dangerous situations. The Hobo Code is a fascinating system of symbols understood among the hobo community. Because hobos weren't typically welcomed (and were often illiterate), messages left for others in the community had to be easy for hobos to read but look like little more than random markings to everyone else to maintain an element of secrecy. Scrawled in places where hobos were likely to convene, the purpose of the code was not only to help other hobos find what they needed, but to keep the entire lifestyle possible for everyone. Each movement of this piece is based on one of these symbols and, just like those resourceful hobos, makes use of very limited materials. All activity is centered on a single bass drum. Other items utilized include steel plates, rubber balls, and a paper bag containing 3 lbs of loose buckshot. ABOUT THE COMPOSER: Steven Snowden creates music for a diverse array of settings including theater, dance, film, multimedia installations, and the concert stage. He has focused much of his recent work on interdisciplinary collaboration and remains active as a performer in both acoustic and electronic mediums. Raised in rural Southwest Missouri, Snowden began composition studies in 2002, received his Masters degree in composition at the University of Colorado and DMA at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a co-founder/director of the Fast Forward Austin new music organization and his works have been performed by many outstanding ensembles at numerous festivals and concert series across five continents. He has recently received awards and fellowships from the Aspen Music Festival, the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, the Austin Critics' Table, Copland House, ISCM World Music Days, Future Places Portugal, MACRO, IC 2013, The Mizzou New Music International Composers Festival and the ASCAP Morton Gould Awards among others. He was also the recipient of a 2012-2013 Fulbright Grant to Portugal in music composition/technology where he researched the augmentation of interactive motion tracking systems for use in large-scale interdisciplinary collaborations. He's currently a visiting professor and composer in residence at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. ABOUT THE PERFORMERS: Formed in 2009, line upon line percussion is committed to seeking new ways for percussion instruments to advance contemporary music. To date, the ensemble has commissioned and premiered 8 new works for percussion with 13 additional works currently in the collaborative process. In 2011, the Austin-based trio released a disc of commissioned, homegrown music and premiered their award winning project, seeing times are not hidden, a site-specific work for custom chimes. April 2013 brought the North American premiere of Hugues Dufourt's massive, evening-length masterpiece, Erewhon. After nominations in 2011 and 2012, the trio was named Best Ensemble by the Austin Critics' Table in 2013. The Austinist called line upon line "the premier new music percussion ensemble in Texas and the South." line upon line maintains educational and outreach roles with the Austin Chamber Music Center and has performed and taught at numerous academic institutions around the United States. November 2012 marked their first appearance at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. The group has previously performed at the Fusebox Festival, SXSW, Fast Forward Austin, the Victoria Bach Festival and the International Festival-Institute at Round Top.
