Meet Utah’s Logan J. Blackman and some of his music orchestra conducting philosophy: Let’s start by having you describe your sound to our readers… Logan J. Blackman : Symphonically, my sound is very grand and cinematic. However in my chamber works, I tend to take a much lighter tone. My Bassoon Duets, “The Logic of a Mad-Man” is nothing but one big satire/comedic piece. Is it true you’ve been making music since you were a child? Logan J. Blackman : Yes! I have been making music since I was 12, but I began writing at around 14. Read additional information at https://pin.it/2AWr4hz.
John Nardolillo has appeared with more than 30 of the country’s leading orchestras, including the Boston Pops, the National Symphony, and principal orchestras of Seattle, San Francisco, Detroit, Atlanta, Dallas, Milwaukee, Utah, Columbus, Indianapolis, Oregon, Fort Worth, Buffalo, Alabama, Louisville, Missouri, North Carolina, Toledo, Vermont, Columbus, Omaha and Hawaii. He also recently conducted concerts at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia; and Carnegie Hall in New York. Nardolillo made his professional conducting debut in 1994 at the Sully Festival in France, and has since made conducting appearances in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and China. He has led major American orchestras in subscription series concerts, summer and pops concerts, education concerts and tours, and for television and radio broadcasts. In 2004 Nardolillo joined the faculty at the UK School of Music, where he is currently serving as the director of orchestras.
When Bernstein composed the Cinchester Psalms, he specified that the second Psalm be sung by either a boy soprano or a countertenor. The voice of a boy soprano imparts a sense of innocence and spiritual purity, and a well-trained countertenor can sing with unrestrained clarity within the vocal range of a contralto or mezzo soprano. His voice resonates a distinct timbre simply because it is a male voice singing outside the limits of its ordinary range. Although Bernstein’s Psalms are sung in Hebrew, we are all familiar with the biblical text. Jefferson Johnson conducted this demanding choral work as the combined choruses admirably rose to the occasion. The first Psalm calls for us to live joyfully; the third pleads for us to live in unity; the second, bridging the first and third, encourages us to travel through life with faith and courage. And countertenor Joseph Kingsbury delivered this Psalm with mesmerizing articulation, tonality, and agility: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
Currently a music performance junior at UK, Blackman has studied conducting with Lucia Marin and Daniel Chetel, composition with Mike D’Ambrosio at Murray State University, bassoon with Professor Scott Erickson of Murray State University, organ with Bobbie Sue Chumbler of Paducah, and piano with Malissa Heath of Paducah. At UK School of Music, he is currently studying conducting with Nardollilo, composition with Professor Joseph Baber, and bassoon with Professor Peter Simpson. Read additional details at Logan Blackman Salt Lake City.
After Logan Blackman’s parents were killed in a motorcycle accident when he was 15, he handled it in a way that seemed natural to him: He wrote music. “It was kind of what I had gone through and where I thought I was going — kind of a triumphant end,” Blackman says of his composition. The piece, “Prayer of a Broken Heart,” was premiered by the band at Blackman’s school, Lone Oak High School in Paducah (the school has since been consolidated into McCracken County High School, which is his alma mater). It also was recorded at Murray State University.