William Campbell's “Together We Rise” Album-Release Concert at St. Ambrose University -- April 29.
Saturday, April 29, 7:30 p.m.
St. Ambrose University's Galvin Fine Arts Center, 2101 North Gaines Street, Davenport IA
Held in conjunction with the debut of his full-length concept recording of piano and electronics titled Together We Rise, an album-release concert with St. Ambrose University professor William Campbell will be held in the university's Galvin Fine Arts Center on April 29, the contemporary-classical composer stating of his latest, "This music was created in my belief that we can all work for the common good and justice for everyone within our society.”
Previously at Pima Community College and Missouri State University, Campbell is Professor of Music Theory & Composition at St. Ambrose, where he was department chair for eight years and has served on faculty since 2005. The gifted educator and musicians earned degrees from the University of Arizona (B.M.), the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (M.M.), and the University of Oregon (Ph.D.), and having led contemporary music at churches for more than 20 years, Campbell is the Director of Contemporary Music at Davenport's St. Paul Lutheran Church. Additionally, Campbell has composed the scores for full-length feature films and documentaries, with his score for Fourth Wall Films' locally produced Sons & Daughters of Thunder receiving the 2020 Award of Excellence from the Iowa Motion Picture Association. A longtime collaborator with film director Skye Fitzgerald, Campbell has also scored the films Hunger Ward, which was nominated for an Academy Award in 2021; Lifeboat, nominated for an Oscar and a News & Documentary Emmy in 2019; and the Oscar-shortlisted 50 Feet from Syria.
In his latest recording Together We Rise, the first half of the album introduces and expands on themes that are used cyclically over the full 44 minutes of music. After a short introductory track, the album starts relatively dark and rhythmic, with forward motion and some mysterious reflective moments. The title track is an anthemic piece, and along with other solo piano compositions "Let This Darkness Be" and "Drive All Night," the works highlight Campbell's abilities at the piano. Other tracks such as "Web of Life" and "Approaching the Summit" combine the piano with synthesizer and electronics with overlapping patterns in a post-minimalist style. The second half of Together We Rise, meanwhile, is primarily devoted to a multi-movement piece titled "Sanctuary Suite" that ends with an interplay between the song of a white-throated sparrow and the composer at the piano.
Bringing together aspects of his film scores and solo piano music, Campbell weaves together a unique musical experience, and the album's creator stated, "I’ve always loved the sound of a good piano, and yet I’ve also been interested in ways I could expand on that beautiful sound. The music on this album, then, moves beyond the piano in a few different directions.
“I created a new piece of equipment I call a ‘mute stick,'" Campbell continued, "that I place on a small range of the grand piano strings to get a muted sound without my hands touching the strings. The result is sort of similar to a pizzicato sound on string instruments, and when I use it and simultaneously press down the sustain pedal it becomes quite resonant. This extended technique effect is an essential part of two of the tracks on this album: 'Emerging' and 'Web of Life.'
“Another way I expanded the sound is by looping certain motives or short musical ideas, that repeat throughout the piece and allow me to build more textures around these repeating patterns. I’m also incorporating synthesizers on a number of the pieces, which create a much larger sound world. I’ve always had keyboards around and in the studio, but I haven’t used them on previous solo albums. The sounds I’m using on this album I created and used for a recent film score I composed and they just naturally felt like they should be part of this new music.
"Most of these patches (sounds) are sonically akin to a full string section in an orchestra and help fill out the sound beyond the piano. They’re not on all the tracks on the album, but when used they help move the listener along in the music. Finally, I used some ambient electronics effects including a subtle delay and some special reverb. This, combined with the other techniques I previously mentioned create a more cinematic sound than previous albums of just solo piano. After all, I do love film and ambient music, and I compose film scores, so it seemed totally natural to combine these worlds of piano and electronics.”
The album-release concert for William Campbell's Together We Rise will take place in the Galvin Fine Arts Center of Davenport's St. Ambrose University on April 29, admission to the 730 p.m. event is $30, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)333-6251 and visiting SAU.edu/galvin.
