By Cassandra Hardman, Staff Writer

Published in print Apr. 8, 2015

UNC-Greensboro’s Globe and Cosmos series will continue with one of the most talked about and celebrated composers of the modern day, Philip Glass. The Globe and Cosmos is UNCG’s year long celebration of both William Shakespeare and Galileo Galilei’s 450th anniversary, as envisioned by Dr. Peter Alexander, Dean of the School of Music, Theatre and Dance. His hope was to bring together diverse talents and expertise across the UNCG campus. Glass, who wrote an opera about Galileo, will be appearing live in concert at UNCG Tuesday, Apr. 14.

Glass and his tremendous impact and composition style, often described as “minimalism”, have secured his name in history. Glass is the best-known musician from The Juilliard School, the site of inspiration for many American artists including composers Steve Reich and Terry Riley. Glass had been guided in music by his father since a young age, playing the flute at six and performing by ten. In an interview with The Guardian’s Laura Barnett, Glass says, “There was no question about whether I would be a musician – I already was a musician. The only question was where I would study, and who I would study with.”

Throughout the beginning of his career, Glass was not exactly satisfied despite his achievements. His compositional style from the 12-tone scale and advanced rhythmic and harmonic forms were no longer meaningful in his creativity, so he began to travel and worked with numerous legendary teachers in Aspen, C.O. and Europe. When he landed back in New York, forming the Philip Glass Ensemble, his new musical style progressed and was stamped “minimalism”. 

Glass himself shies from the minimalism tag, preferring to call his compositions “music with repetitive structures”. Glass’s music and creative technique has him considered to be not only one of the most influential but one of the most provocative, visible and controversial composers of the 20th century. Simplifying traditional harmony and rhythm, his pieces harness repeated and varied a few basic musical ideas. His later compositions include several operas including “Einstein on the Beach” and “The Voyage” as well as symphonies and music for dance and films such as “The Hours”.

Recently, UNCG music composition junior Kaitlyn Wagner created an electronic piece “I, Philip” inspired by Glass. On Wagner’s SoundCloud page she says the piece pays honor to Glass because of its repetitive nature and bizarre interpretation of additive processes. The four-chord progression is in relation to the popular music of the ‘60s, which is when the equipment used was designed and produced.

In an interview with Tokafi, Glass noted he also had a fascination with synthesizer, saying, “Well, I was working with electronic pianos and keyboards . . . the minute the first synthesizer had became available, and that was in the late 70s, I immediately switched over to those.” Both Glass and Wagner, who was interviewed recently by The News & Record, have said that the synthesizers are not the same and have distinctly different sounds. 

The UNCG School of Music, Theatre and Dance, in partnership with the Department of Music Studies and the Office of Sustainability, will present The Philip Glass Film Festival, a series featuring the music of Glass. It will begin Tuesday, Apr. 7 and feature documentaries about Glass, documentaries with music composed by Glass and film versions of operas by Glass.

The following Tuesday, Apr. 14, Glass will perform live with violinist Timothy Fain at 8:00 p.m at Aycock Auditorium. Tickets are $20 and $25 for adults, $10 and $15 for UNCG faculty and staff and $5 for UNCG students.