RICK SOWASH: AN ANNOTATED BIO-BIBLIOGRAPHY OF HIS VOCAL WORKS D.M.A. DOCUMENT. the Degree Doctor of Musical Arts in the Graduate

Transcription

1 RICK SOWASH: AN ANNOTATED BIO-BIBLIOGRAPHY OF HIS VOCAL WORKS D.M.A. DOCUMENT Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Musical Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Susan M. Olson, M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 2004 Document Committee: Professor Loretta Robinson, Adviser Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt Dr. David Frego Approved by Adviser School of Music

2 Copyright by Susan M. Olson 2004

3 ABSTRACT Richard Rick Sowash (b. 1950) is a late 20 th century American composer who has composed over 250 pieces in many musical genres. According to Sowash, he has modeled his life as a composer after Charles Ives, although his music is far from the style of Ives. Sowash is a multi-talented composer, having written music for a wide range of ensembles. His works have been performed in a number of different venues, from church congregations to a public concert at the Cannes Film Festival. Sowash has composed nearly one hundred original vocal works. None of these pieces has been published to date. This document will bring these unknown works to the attention of vocal students, performers and teachers for future examination and performance. Included in this document is a comprehensive biography of Rick Sowash; a biography of one of Sowash s most set poets, Sara Teasdale, including comment on Sowash s compositional settings of Teasdale s poetry in Bright April and Teasdale Songs; and, an annotated bibliography of his original works for solo voice and accompaniment. ii

4 Dedicated to my family iii

5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you to Rick Sowash for his collaboration with me on this project. His beautiful music and inspiring personality have made this work a joy. I would also like to thank the many people who have cooperated with me in order to finish this document. I have profound gratitude for my adviser, Professor Loretta Robinson, for her wonderful teaching and unwavering support of me and all of my endeavors during my D.M.A. degree. A special thank you to Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt, for her allowing me to fulfill part of my recital requirement with the OSU Chorale, for her support of me and this project, and for her help in its revisions. I am grateful to Dr. David Frego for his support of me during my degree program. I appreciate Dr. Robin Rice for serving on the committee for my recitals and for my general examination. Thank you to all of the faculty that I had the pleasure to study with during my time at The Ohio State University. I thank the Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs for the opportunity to continue my studies. Your good thoughts, prayers, support and encouragement have been so important to me. Finally, I thank God for the many gifts I have received and my family and friends for their constant encouragement, support, and unconditional love. iv

6 VITA March 21, Born Evanston, Illinois B.M. Vocal Performance, Capital University Conservatory of Music M.A. Vocal Pedagogy, The Ohio State University Instructor of Voice, Kalamazoo College Adjunct Instructor of Voice, Western Michigan University Lecturer of Music, Ohio Dominican University Lecturer of Music, Ohio Dominican University 2001-present... Graduate Teaching Associate, School of Music, The Ohio State University 2002-present...Adjunct Lecturer of Music, Ohio Dominican University Major Field: Music Vocal Performance FIELDS OF STUDY v

7 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Page Dedication...iii Acknowledgments...iv Vita.. v Chapters: 1. Introduction Biography of Rick Sowash One Poet: A Biography of Sara Teasdale, including comment on her poetry used in Rick Sowash s compositions BRIGHT APRIL (1980) and the TEASDALE SONGS (1998) Bibliography of original works for voice Conclusion 97 Appendices: A. List of original chamber works 98 B. List of original choral works C. List of original keyboard works.124 D. List of original chamber opera works 126 E. List of original orchestral works.127 Bibliography 129 vi

8 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION An active composer, Richard Sowash has written over 250 works for many combinations of instruments and voice. Many of his almost one hundred solo vocal works remain little- or unknown because they are not currently published. Proponents of his music are far ranging, from Les Gavottes, based in Nice, France to the former Gregg Smith Singers, here in the United States. Sowash s solo vocal works are intimate and beautiful, thought-provoking works of art. Written for solo voice and piano, as well as for voice, piano, and a variety of instruments, or voice and instrument alone, these compositions are graced with lovely melody, clean tonal movement, and accessible text setting. Rick Sowash is currently not included in any music reference book. There have been a few articles written about Sowash and, specifically, about his recorded chamber ensemble works. There is presently no published, in-depth examination of Sowash as a significant American composer, however. This document will provide an in-depth biography of Rick Sowash and the poet, Sara Teasdale. It will also bring these unknown compositions to the attention of vocal teachers and performers for future performance and study. 1

9 Purpose and Limitations of the Study The purpose of this study is three-fold: to provide a biography of Rick Sowash for the performers of his music; to reveal characteristics of one of the poets whose texts Sowash has set; and to provide performers, teachers and scholars with a comprehensive bibliography of his solo vocal works. A biography of Rick Sowash can be found in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 is a brief biography of one of the poets, Sara Teasdale, whose texts are favored by Sowash. This chapter will also include commentary on two sets of songs that Sowash has composed, Bright April (1980) and the Teasdale Songs (1998). The fourth chapter contains the annotated bibliography of Sowash s original works for solo voice. The appendices include a complete list of his compositions by genre and a bibliography of sources used in the writing of this document. Procedures Preparation for this document included a number of areas of research. The first area was the development of Sowash s biography. This began with the collection of the limited information that was published about Sowash and his music, including articles and music reviews. Additionally, interviews were conducted with Sowash over the period of a year and a half. These interviews were done both in person and through electronic mail. The interviews were transcribed and the biography developed. Rick Sowash worked directly with the author on this biography, ensuring its accuracy. Finally, other interviews were conducted through electronic mail with persons Sowash named as integral to his musical life. The second section of this document, found in Chapter 3, pertains to one of the poets whose work Sowash frequently sets, Sara Teasdale. This section also includes 2

10 commentary on a cycle and a set that Sowash has written to Sara Teasdale s poetry, Bright April and the Teasdale Songs, respectively. Through a brief biography of Sara Teasdale and the comment on Sowash s songs to Teasdale text, some general observations of Sowash and his compositional style and process are determined and discussed. The third area of research for this document was the annotated bibliography, found in Chapter 4. The research for this chapter included locating a list of all of Sowash s works for solo voice. None of these solo vocal works is presently published nor could be found in any online catalog. Because there are no holdings in libraries, Sowash graciously allowed the author to examine his personal library of manuscript copies. The manuscript copies of the music were examined to discern the following information for inclusion in this document: title, medium, compositional date, poet of the text being set, dedication, vocal range for the singer, and registration with ASCAP. The composer s notes, if included with the composition, were examined for information about the compositions. An annotated bibliography of the original compositions for solo voice was created from this data. A complete listing of Rick Sowash s compositions to date is included in the Appendices. The following information was included in the appendices if available: medium; number of movements, if applicable; composition date; and registration with ASCAP. Appendix A includes Sowash s original chamber works. These include various combinations of instruments in an alphabetical listing. The numerous original choral works written by Sowash are included in Appendix B. Choral personnel needed for 3

11 performance divide this appendix into sections. Appendix C includes the original keyboard works. The one original chamber opera is included in Appendix D. The original orchestral compositions written by Sowash are included in Appendix E. 4

12 CHAPTER 2 BIOGRAPHY OF RICHARD (RICK) SOWASH Early Years: Richard (Rick) Sowash was born in Mansfield, Ohio in January of 1950 to Richard Sowash, Sr. and Pauline Hoff Sowash. Richard Sowash, Sr. owned and ran a print shop in Mansfield, Ohio. Pauline Hoff Sowash was a homemaker. Richard Rick Sowash is the eldest of three children and is named after his father. His brother Jonathon is a lawyer living in Athens, Ohio and his brother Bradley is a jazz musician and arranger living in the metropolitan Columbus, Ohio area. Rick Sowash was surrounded by music from his earliest days. His mother sang and played the piano and his father played the trumpet. Life in the Sowash household was filled with jazz, swing and big band music that was played by his father, while his mother would sing and play the popular tunes of the early 1950s. By the age of six or seven, Sowash had become accustomed to sitting at the piano and trying to imitate sounds he had heard. First, he concentrated on sound effects. He would question how he thought a train sounded and then try to figure out how to get that sound across to listeners. When he had figured out one of these sound effects he would move on to the next. How would chimes sound? Birds twittering? Before Sowash was in the second grade his mother showed him how to build a chord in his left hand. This opened up a whole new realm of possibilities for him in his 5

13 juvenile music making. She also showed him how the chord could be broken up so it could be constantly moving. He then worked on using the block chord, alberti- or walking-bass in the left hand while his right hand improvised melodies. As Sowash became more proficient in this improvisation, his mother again taught him something new. When I was a little older, maybe eight or nine, my mom showed me how I could make a song by taking a three- or four-note musical shape, and then repeating it, going up or down a step each time. I was instantly intrigued by that, and I ve been intrigued by that ever since! 1 Sowash took piano lessons as a child, though he did not like to practice. Another annoyance for him was having to learn and play other people s music. He spent much of his time trying to figure out ways that he could make these classic works better. His teacher, Mrs. Dean Eckert, allowed him to express his creativity to a point but also impressed on him the importance of learning a piece as it was written. During Sowash s junior high school years, there were a few significant events that would lead him toward his career as a composer. One such event was hearing the Dvořák Cello Concerto played by an amateur symphony in the Mansfield area. This was the first big piece of serious classical music that I d ever heard, and, believe it or not, Leonard Rose was the soloist. That really got me interested in composing. 2 As many children would believe, During this performance, Sowash heard instruments that he had not heard before. This added to his ever-expanding hunger to understand the how of music composition. 1 Tuttle, Raymond. Rick Sowash, Outsider Composer. Fanfare (September/October 2002): Ibid. 6

14 Sowash wrote a number of compositions while in junior high school, although most were exercises for learning. He was lucky to have two enthusiastic and supportive teachers during his junior and senior high school days. They were both excellent teachers and Sowash credits them with teaching him ninety percent of what I needed to know to be a composer. 3 One of the teachers in his rural junior high school in Lexington, Ohio approached him with an idea that would lead Sowash to another significant moment in his young life. When I was in seventh grade, he [Mr. Roderick Evans] noticed me fooling around on the piano before music class started, and he suggested that I write a piece for the choir. He invited me to find a text I liked a poem, a Bible verse, anything and he d help me set it to music. Well, I had no concept of this, and I didn t even know where to begin, but he kept pestering me Finally he said, OK, if you can t find a text, then why don t you just write an Alleluia. Just have the choir sing Alleluia over and over again, and at the end they sing Amen. I thought I could handle that, so I agreed. 4 Using the ideas that he had learned from his mother, and working with his teacher, Sowash s first piece for public consumption grew and evolved. When the time came for its performance with the choir even though he had played a large role in the composition, Mr. Evans announced to the audience that I was the composer. I took a bow and got the credit, everyone made a fuss, my parents were pleased, and I was really proud and happy. 5 With this first positive experience in composing for the public, Sowash readied himself for more compositions by taking any music class that was offered at his school. Sowash was involved not only in the choral side of music. In high school he played the timpani in the concert band and orchestra and the bass drum in the marching 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid. 7

15 band. His having another wonderful teacher during his high school years gave him an opportunity to try something new musically. His orchestra conductor, Mr. Jan Dunlap, was also supportive of Sowash s endeavors and encouraged him to write an orchestral piece. In his senior year of high school, Sowash wrote a piece for the orchestra, handscoring each part. The orchestra premiered this new composition with Rick Sowash conducting. These junior and senior high school experiences primed Sowash for new opportunity and learning. His appetite had been whet by two excellent teachers and the support and encouragement from them. As a high school senior, I thought that I d been exposed just to the tip of the iceberg, and that when I went to college, then I d learn about all of music s intricacies. But just the opposite was true. 6 Rick Sowash s college experience was not too harmonious. College Years: Entering a prestigious school in 1968, Sowash was hopeful that his college years would help to make him the best composer possible. Not wanting to limit himself to studying only music, he did a dual degree program to receive a Bachelor of Science in Composition and a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature. Sadly, it is only his comparative literature courses that really brought him happiness in his school experience. A long time ago, I made a policy of not telling anybody where I went to college or with whom I studied. I don t want to give the college or my professors any credit! Lots of composers like to make long lists of all the big names that they ve studied with. What we re supposed to derive from that, I suppose, is the sense that those big names have imparted some tradition or secret to their pupils. That s just hooey! 7 6 Ibid. 7 Ibid. 8

16 The thing that seemed to be lacking from Sowash s college experience is the freedom he needed to be who he was not having to fit the stereotype of what a composer was in the late 1960s. The trends of contemporary composers of the time, at least the ones with whom Sowash came into contact, were firmly rooted in the avantgarde movement and contemporary 20 th century techniques. To be forced to compose pieces in the style or manner prescribed by teachers who were not allowing broaderminded thinking was paralyzing for Sowash. Sowash quit school two different times. Although he vowed never to go back, he returned. My parents, who had come through the Depression and World War II, had a dream that their kids would go to college. It was of transcendent importance to them 8 During the brief hiatuses from college, he worked for his uncle riding shotgun in a delivery truck and also in the local library. One summer he came home and just kept working into the fall before his father noticed that he hadn t gone back to school. The summer before what would be his senior year, Sowash married JoAnna Ackerman in Belleville, Ohio and she traveled back to school with him and worked while he finished his degrees. Sowash did finish both of his degrees in 1973 and then, with his wife, promptly returned to his homeland, to Ohio. Mansfield, Ohio: Returning to Richland County, Ohio in the summer of 1973, Sowash had the dream of writing music that would celebrate his little part of the world. I hit on this idea that Thoreau espoused, which is that you embrace your inner land, the village where you 8 Ibid. 9

17 were born, the area that was yours. Embrace that area and build your art out of your experience there so it is truly indigenous and rooted. 9 This idea to be a regionalist composer was not new to Sowash as he had read of many writers and composers that had also taken that approach. He wanted to be to Richland County, Ohio what Dvořák was to Bohemia or Charles Ives was to Connecticut. Sowash s first job after college was as a camp counselor at a Boy Scout Summer Camp. Being an Eagle Scout himself, he enjoyed the opportunity to teach aquatics to the children at the camp. After that summer s work, the Boy Scouts offered Sowash a fulltime executive position as a spokesperson promoting Scouting. 10 Although the Boy Scouts were important to Sowash, he believed that he wanted to do something with his music. The opportunity came as a church musician. In the fall of 1973, Sowash took the position of Director of Music at the First English Lutheran Church in Mansfield, Ohio. There was a large music program already established at the church and it was Sowash s job to make sure that it ran smoothly. Besides the position as Director of Music, Sowash and his wife actually lived in the church, as sextons, during their three-year tenure. Sowash remembers that his life was very busy and said, I directed the choirs. I wrote music. I gave lessons. I had a concert series. I did all kinds of things musical with the church. 11 It was during Sowash s time at the church that he met Gregg Smith, the conductor of the Gregg Smith Singers, when Smith s group came to sing as part of the church s concert series. This acquaintance would be important to Sowash in later years when he 9 Rick Sowash, Personal interview #2, December Rick Sowash, Personal interview #4, January Rick Sowash, Personal interview #2, December

18 wanted to become a member of ASCAP, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. As a composer must be sponsored to become a member of ASCAP, it was of great benefit to Sowash that he and Gregg Smith were friendly. Smith sponsored Sowash in his bid for membership. Even though Sowash was engaged in the day-to-day operations of the church, he regularly took time to compose. The movement away from the academic world allowed him to begin writing the kind of music he wanted. He no longer had to worry about pleasing professors or the scrutiny of the other students. Still holding to the idea of being a regionalist composer, Sowash said, I felt I had to know what the tradition was. Just growing up there wasn t enough. So, I really set about a very rigorous, personally imposed program of reading regional [mid-west] writers. 12 He was emerging as his own composer, not having to follow the whim or will of anyone else. Belleville, Ohio: After three years at the church, Sowash was in need of a change. He had saved money and was eager to buy a house in nearby Belleville. Belleville was an important little village because I had met her [Jo, his wife] there. I thought it was a charming little Ohio village and I wanted to write music of that township. 13 With the move to Belleville, the Sowashs believed they had found their permanent home. Although he was firmly rooted in the idea of being a regionalist composer, some of the work Sowash was reading was challenging to his definition of regionalist. Aaron 12 Ibid. 13 Ibid. 11

19 Copland, a composer whom Sowash respects, broke the mold for him of how a regionalist composer was identified. Sowash admits, I studied Copland as a regionalist. This is kind of curious Copland isn t identified with any one particular part of the United States, but he wrote pieces, in a way, for different segments of America. For instance, he wrote The Tender Land as his mid-western expression, he wrote Rodeo and Billy the Kid as the West, and then Appalachian Spring, of course. He wrote the score for Our Town, evoking a New England kind of feeling. 14 Sowash s wider understanding of regionalism helped Sowash to look beyond the small village experience and, in later compositions, embrace the idea of evoking the emotion of a specific place and not only a region. It was in Belleville that Sowash believes he really spread his wings as a composer and finally began writing what he calls good music, and I think I ve been writing good music ever since. 15 One of his most well-known and delightful pieces, Four Seasons in Belleville, was written in his early years there. The piece was actually finished in 1977, although it went through a number of different transformations before its final version was complete. Unlike many composers, Sowash does not scoff at the idea of going back to a composition to rework it and make it better or more accessible. Four Seasons in Belleville, which Sowash still considers one of the half dozen best pieces I ve ever written, 16 was originally scored as an oboe concerto, but it also had stints as a string quartet and a piano sonata before Sowash settled on its final form as a piano trio for violin, cello, and piano. 14 Ibid. 15 Rick Sowash, Personal interview #4, January Ibid. 12

20 Sowash admits that the compositions he wrote in his younger years had too many ideas. 17 His early work tends to use many different melodies without ever developing any of them fully. This has actually created a wonderful treasure chest of ideas for the more mature composer. It is now, after years of composing, that Sowash recognizes that one of these little motives is enough to create a wonderfully complete piece of music. When Sowash left his church position he spent some time freelancing. I mainly wanted to be a composer and a writer at that time. 18 He wrote two novels while in Belleville, Bubbleflash and Bright Angels Feet, which were both parables about Belleville. Both included some sort of cause for thought, a philosophy woven into them. 19 Only the first of the two novels was published and sold to members of the Belleville community. To supplement his income while trying to compose and write books, Sowash took a job as a learning disabilities tutor. Then, in 1978, a friend mentioned that there was an opening at WOSU, the classical music radio station in Columbus, Ohio, for a radio announcer and music programmer. Sowash applied and got the job. That was another time that I learned a lot about music because now I had to devise commentary for the music. In those days we didn t just say, and now a Mozart Symphony and not even tell who was conducting. We not only told who was conducting but we also would tell a little about the era, any interesting stories about the symphony or why it was written, and something about the composer. We were obliged to do that by our director, Mary Hoffman, who had this vision of the radio station as an educational station, not just wallpaper for the ears. We were expected to come up with interesting things to say and to say them interestingly Ibid. 18 Rick Sowash, Personal interview #3, January Rick Sowash, Personal interview #2, December Ibid. 13

21 Sowash worked at WOSU for just two years, but the experience he gained in those years helped to further shape him as a composer. He loved the opportunity that radio broadcasting offered listening critically to the music and then trying to find a way to convey relevant information to the listeners that would be both informative and understandable. Radio has continued to play a large part in Sowash s life. The things he learned while working at WOSU went far beyond information about composer s lives and their music. He began learning about the industry, about what was listened to and what was tossed to the side. Radio is where it s at for the contemporary composer. When we played something that was abhorrent to the listeners, we heard about it immediately. On the other hand, when we played something that listeners found new or charming or wonderful or fresh, we would hear about that immediately too. Ever since then, without pandering, I ve always written music with an ear to how it will come across on the radio. 21 Because of the things he learned while working in radio, he was and continues to be able to get his pieces heard by a listening audience through radio. In the late 1970s, Sowash s contributions to his community were abounding and about to go even further. He and his wife were very active on the Opera House Restoration Committee in Belleville, which helped to preserve and restore a 130 seat opera house in the village. After helping to restore the theater, Sowash actually spent time performing there. One thing that emerged is that in my early thirties I began to wake up to these Cy Gatton stories that I heard growing up. I began to take a real interest in these and interviewed people that knew or remembered him and I looked in the 21 Tuttle, Raymond. Rick Sowash, Outsider Composer. Fanfare (September/October 2002):

22 old newspapers and remembered the old stories that I heard growing up. I put together a one man show and did it in the Belleville Opera House to raise money for a citizen s action group I did this show seven or eight times. 22 This love of storytelling would lead Sowash into a new line of work, though it would take a number of years for this work to become established. While working on the Belleville Opera House Committee, helping to restore their community s theater, the Sowashs were doing some restoration of their own. They bought a farmhouse on the edge of Belleville and restored it themselves, opening it as a bed-and-breakfast in This establishment was called the Frederick Fitting House, named after the gentleman who built it. We did it ourselves, with our own elbow grease and for the next eight years we ran that country inn, renting rooms to people, having weddings in the backyard, doing banquets and all kinds of events and, by the way, all this time writing music and researching folklore, being a Scoutmaster, and then a father when the children, Shenandoah and John Chapman, came along in 1982 and They ran the inn until 1988, when they decided to sell and move to Gambier, Ohio. Then, in 1980, a group in Mansfield, Ohio decided to save one of its historic theaters downtown. Because Sowash already had experience on a committee restoring a theater, he was asked to lead this non-profit organization. So, in 1980, Sowash left WOSU in Columbus to become the arts administrator for the theater restoration project. The Mansfield theater project was a much larger undertaking than the Belleville Opera House. This was a 1500 seat theater that employed one staff member, Rick Sowash. Sowash recounts those first years, I did everything. I raised money. I recruited volunteers. I booked programs. I changed the marquee. I was the janitor. I did 22 Rick Sowash, Personal interview #2, December Rick Sowash, Personal interview #4, January

23 everything. I answered the phone with no help at the beginning. 24 Community support for this project was high and within six years the organization had grown and had a staff of seven. From the grand re-opening in 1986, with Bob Hope as the headliner, the Renaissance Theater in Mansfield, Ohio hosted many well-known entertainers including Bill Cosby, Itzhak Perlman, Johnny Cash and Judy Collins. Soon after the re-opening, Sowash realized that he was ready to move on to something else. He had enjoyed restoring the theater but had no desire to maintain it. So, I announced that I would be resigning and as soon as I announced that I was asked if I would run for public office. I ran for county commissioner and I won. I was county commissioner for four years. 25 Knowing that he wanted to do other things, and being a believer in one-term politicians, Sowash served his homeland of Richland County until December 31, Mirecourt Trio While living in Belleville, Sowash had an opportunity that would allow his music to go beyond Ohio to a wider public. As a young composer, it would also help to shape him and his compositions. His relationship with the Mirecourt Trio began when Sowash saw a call for scores in the opportunities update newsletter published by the American Music Center in New York. The chance Sowash took paid off in a relationship that would last many years. The Mirecourt Trio was a well-established and respected piano trio that had their beginnings at California State University at Fullerton, where all of the members were on 24 Rick Sowash, Personal interview #3, January Ibid. 16

24 faculty. Having secured the prestigious artists-in-residence positions at Grinnell College, in Grinnell, Iowa, the Mirecourt Trio was looking for new music to play. They put out a call for scores and received dozens of scores from many different composers. One of the scores received was by an unknown from Ohio, Rick Sowash, who sent them his recently completed Piano Trio No.1: Four Seasons in Belleville. They later told Sowash that of the dozens of scores they had received, only two had caught their fancy; Sowash s score they had read through with their eyes popping. 26 Sowash was pleased, certainly, but skeptical of the prospects of the composition getting out to the public since he had received little interest in his compositions from the professional music world. premiere. His skepticism was well-founded because of his own experience with the piece s Since Four Seasons had flopped utterly when premiered, I regarded it as a failure, and had sent it to the Mirecourt Trio with little hope of their liking it. When they offered to fly me in for their performance of the piece, I was surprised. But I went and when I heard them play, I was astounded It was like seeing a crippled child suddenly made whole 27 The musicianship displayed by the trio ignited Sowash s creativity and their friendship was solidified. As a young composer, Sowash welcomed the ideas that the Mirecourt Trio gave about his compositions. Sowash admits, they were good for me because they were critical. They didn t just accept the music and move on. We would actually sit down and 26 Rick Sowash, Personal interview #5, February Ibid. 17

25 rip the score apart. We actually got out the scissors and made big changes. 28 Although this was good practice for him in his early composing life, Sowash believes he is beyond that now. 29 By the end of the Mirecourt Trio s tenure at Grinnell College, Sowash had written eighteen works for them piano trios, piano trios with clarinet, cello and piano pieces, and even a chamber opera for piano trio and singers. In their relationship, Sowash learned about structure, and not falling into a structure that might seem static. After Grinnell, the Mirecourt Trio went their separate ways, but left a legacy of their playing of Sowash s music on two compact discs. Gambier, Ohio: The move to Gambier, Ohio, in 1988, offered Sowash the opportunity to write a couple of compositions on commission that would be premiered during his years in Gambier. It also renewed his frustration with the academic community and cemented his avoidance, with some exceptions, of academics. Sowash had his own studio in Gambier an out building at the back of their property where he could compose without interruptions. It was in Gambier where Sowash composed Anecdotes and Reflections, which is a portrait of America, and was written on commission. 30 The commission came from a group in Yellow Springs, Ohio, a cultural community that hosts a chamber music series. They have the resources to bring in major chamber ensembles and were able to secure the Mirecourt Trio to premiere Sowash s new composition. 28 Ibid. 29 Ibid. 30 Rick Sowash, Personal interview #4, January

26 I have some friends in Yellow Springs who were great advocates of my music. One in particular, Jane Baker. She s a cellist and she was a big shot in the chamber music series and she conceived the idea of having a Rick Sowash Festival, a weekend where they would premiere a new work and have a choir, a community chorus, do some of my choral music they made a big deal out of it. It is the only Rick Sowash Festival that has ever happened, in Anecdotes and Reflections was an important composition for Sowash and continues to be one of the pieces he believe to be his finest. The other composition commissioned was for a clarinetist who lived near Sowash in Gambier. Written with the same intent as Four Seasons in Belleville, Twelve Months in Gambier: College Town Diaries captures the essence of each of the months in a sleepy college town. It is a suite of unaccompanied clarinet solos, each movement representing one of the months. Many of those movements developed into larger works subsequent to that. I would not have written that piece if she hadn t have [sic] asked me and I wouldn t have written that piece if I hadn t lived in Gambier. 32 Although the academic community did not embrace Sowash s presence in Gambier, the days spent there were generally happy, especially for his wife. In 1994, the Sowash family endured a tragic loss. A fire destroyed the out building that housed Sowash s studio, along with many heirlooms from his wife s family and the children s papers and toys from earlier years. 33 Virtually everything was destroyed, everything except these wooden filing cabinets that held most of Sowash s 31 Ibid. 32 Ibid. 33 Ibid. 19

27 manuscripts. The only thing that was salvaged was my music. I lost a few scores that I ll never be able to recover, including the orchestral overture I wrote in high school. 34 This loss was the catalyst that would eventually bring him to Cincinnati, Ohio. Les Gavottes Sowash s relationship with the Mirecourt Trio was coming to an end because their tenure at Grinnell College was over and each wanted to go on to new endeavors. But they had left a wonderful gift for Sowash, two compact discs that would cross the ocean and suggest a new adventure. This adventure began with a young clarinetist in Paris, who was always on the lookout for new and interesting clarinet music. As a clerk in a music store, he was able to spend a lot of time looking through new music. One day he ran across the Mirecourt Trio s CD of Sowash s Chamber Music with Clarinet. He enjoyed this music immensely and wrote to the record label, Gesparo, asking how he could get the sheet music for this wonderful music. 35 This began a pen-pal relationship that would eventually get Sowash an introduction to the clarinetist of what would become Les Gavottes. After a time of correspondence, Sowash was invited to visit Paris. It was the first time Sowash was in Paris, or Europe for that matter, and he fell in love with the city. While visiting with this clarinetist, he had the opportunity to meet this young man s teacher, Lucien Aubert, who is the clarinetist for Les Gavottes. A friendship sprang forth before Sowash ever wrote any music for their ensemble. 34 Ibid. 35 Rick Sowash, Personal interview #5, February

28 Aubert enjoyed Sowash s music and asked if Sowash would write four pieces for him a reed trio, a clarinet quintet, a trio for clarinet, cello and piano, and a piece for reed trio and piano. 36 It was in the next four years that Sowash wrote those pieces for Aubert, one in each of the genres. Aubert wanted one more trio, for clarinet, cello and piano, which he premiered in This performance was not all that Sowash had hoped for because the technical ability of the cellist was weak and couldn t compete with the caliber of Aubert s performance. Circumstance forced Aubert to move from Paris to Nice, where he founded a new trio that took the name Les Gavottes. Looking for music for the new trio to play, Aubert remembered the trio that Sowash had written for the group that was is Paris. He hadn t yet read through it and offered it to the other musicians in his trio as an option. They played through the work and were impressed. Les Gavottes contacted Sowash to let him know how much they enjoyed this composition. Sowash was sent a casually-made CD of his trio and had the opportunity to hear them play. He was impressed with their playing in what Sowash calls a European style. 37 Sowash explains his meaning of European style when he says, time and space are understood very differently in France than they are here. Space is a totally different thing. Here, everything is big, everything. In France, everything is tiny Similarly, time is different, though it s the opposite. Here, time is tiny, we don t have much of it. It s a precious commodity. We don t want to waste it. The language we use to describe time is that we spend it or waste it. Almost never do we talk about passing time. But, in France, you do What that means for a musician is that they play with vast leisure, as if in complete assurance that no matter how long the fermata is, no matter how slow the tempo is, the audience will not be bored Ibid. 37 Ibid. 38 Ibid. 21

29 This first CD was just the beginning of a relationship that continues to this day. The fruits of this venture have given Sowash another ensemble for whom to write piano trios. The piano trios written expressly for Les Gavottes have been numerous, eleven following the initial one that Sowash wrote for Aubert. Each of the new trios has been a kind of corrective to the one that came before. 39 The first three of the piano trios were recorded by Les Gavottes at the Monte Carlo Philharmonic Hall, and released on the CD, Enchantement d avril, in In Cincinnati, Sowash continues to write for Les Gavottes, and actually has ideas for three more trios. Cincinnati, Ohio: 1994-present Sowash s move to Cincinnati couldn t have been at a better time. His daughter was just entering junior high school and not enjoying the experience. Shenandoah was a talented young person and so the family researched fine arts schools in Ohio. The best school they found was in Cincinnati and, wanting to stay in Ohio, they decided to take the insurance money they received for the out building fire and the sale of their house in Gambier and put it toward a new home in a new city. If we wouldn t have had that fire we never would have moved to Cincinnati, which turned out to be a really good thing for me. 40 Sowash s move to Cincinnati would allow him to develop as a writer and a composer. The storytelling that Sowash began in Belleville had blossomed into an enjoyable niche for him and he was being invited to tell these stories farther and farther from his home. After spending years telling the Cy Gatton stories, and making a video of 39 Ibid. 40 Rick Sowash, Personal interview #4, January

30 them, Sowash was approached by a small book publisher and asked if he would be willing to write these stories down. 41 This book was published in 1993 as Ripsnorting Whoppers. Since the publication of this first book, Sowash has made writing and storytelling his primary living. Sowash subsequently has had two other books published, Heroes of Ohio in 1998 and Critters, Flitters and Spitters in He spends many weeks throughout the school year visiting with students and telling his tall tales. As an author-in-residence, he meets with small groups of students and talks with them about Ohio and writing. I have spoken to 250,000 school children. When you speak to 100 schools a year for 10 years you re talking about a quarter of a million students. 42 This career choice is not for the glory of performing, though performing is something that Sowash enjoys, but for the opportunity to create nourishing environments for people. The idea of creating nourishing environments is not a new concept to Sowash. He speaks of this idea that drives him saying, I ve had a commitment in my whole life to creating nourishing environments. It could be a country inn, it could be an historic theater, it could be a preservation, a musical composition, a good book, a speech that inspires or entertains or induces laughter. I want my energy to go into making environments that nourish human beings and I oppose the forces that would strip human beings of their nourishment. 43 This idea is true of Sowash s work with children but is also very true in the way he lives his own life. With this being a foundation, it is no surprise that the idea is also integral to his compositions. 41 Rick Sowash, Personal interview #2, December Rick Sowash, Personal interview #3, January Ibid. 23

31 In his time in Cincinnati, Sowash has mainly written for three different people or groups the mezzo-soprano Diane Haslam, the trio Les Gavottes in Nice, and the Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church choir in Cincinnati. Obviously, each one of these offers him a different venue, from solo art songs to chamber works to choral anthems and hymns. The work continues for Les Gavottes and Mt. Auburn while, having written 28 pieces specifically for Ms. Haslam, Sowash has not been writing many art songs recently. Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church It was Sowash s work as an author that, ultimately, connected him with Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church. Although Sowash was persuaded by his wife to find a church, it wasn t until he had an encounter with a reporter from the Cincinnati Post that he came into contact with the director of Mt. Auburn s choir, Chris Miller. The reporter, Camilla Warren, found out that Sowash was also a composer and had written choral works and she insisted on being given some samples for her choir director. 44 Through Camilla Warren s sheer persistence, Miller and Sowash finally met in This first meeting was not at all as Sowash had expected. Miller s main reason for meeting with Sowash was to get Camilla off his back because she was bugging him so much. 45 Miller hadn t even looked at Sowash s music, it was still sitting on his piano at the church. Even the attempts Sowash made during their meeting to talk to Miller about his choral music met with limited enthusiasm. Sowash did not expect much to come from this meeting. 44 Rick Sowash, Personal interview #5, February Ibid. 24

32 About four months after their initial meeting, Sowash received a call, early one Sunday morning, from Chris Miller. Miller had taken the opportunity to read through some of Sowash s compositions and his choir was singing one that particular Sunday morning. He invited Sowash to come to the church and hear his piece being performed. Sowash did go to the church that morning and listened to the choir sing his anthem. After the service, Miller invited Sowash to join the choir as a bass. Despite being on the road many weekdays, Sowash still finds time in his schedule to sing with the choir at Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church. He has written about eighteen pieces for the choir, very specifically for that church choir. 46 His compositions are shaped by the relationships Sowash has formed with members of this congregation. He writes pieces for the people who are there at a given time and delights in the work Miller does in getting the most amazing things out of the most mediocre singers. 47 Sowash includes himself in this category and writes his own choral music to highlight the gifts of group. One of the joys of Sowash s experience with the Mt. Auburn choir has come through the variety of genres that the choir sings. We do Duke Ellington. We do Pergolesi. We do Sowash. We do Samuel Barber. We also do the old chestnuts like With the Voice of Singing. It s just all over the place. We do African music Ladysmith, Sweet Honey in the Rock. I love being in the choir. 48 Many of Sowash s most important friendships are based on relationships he has built while singing in this choir. 46 Ibid. 47 Ibid. 48 Ibid. 25

33 Current Musical Activities and Thoughts Sowash s current work is based on his thoughts regarding the purpose of composing and its relationship to the people it touches. He says, truly healthy music making is not done for money or prestige, it s truly done in a gift-fashioning way. That is my ideal. My ideal, also, is that my music will make friends for me. Even with people I never meet, but especially with people I do meet. To have my choral music generate friendships, and my chamber music to generate friendships, and my vocal music to generate friendships is a deeply touching and important thing to me. I suppose it s my ultimate motivation as a composer. 49 This motivation continues to be the impetus that Sowash needs to compose. Although many performers benefit from his musical endeavors, his compositions are almost exclusively written for specific people. While writing for specific people does have its limitations, these do not upset Sowash. In his early years of composing he believed he would write symphonies and big concertos. Sowash did write one symphony in college that was never performed. He also has written a few orchestral works, one-movement concerto-type pieces, which have been performed by amateur orchestras. The bulk of his work has been chamber music, choral anthems and art songs. This practice will continue for Sowash because the work that I have written to date has been true to my vision even though it was partly shaped by circumstance. It turned out to be true to my vision. That s why I am at peace with it. 50 It is not that Sowash wouldn t write a larger piece if asked. If the opportunity did arise, Sowash would welcome it. 49 Ibid. 50 Ibid. 26

34 Presently, Sowash has ideas to write three more piano trios for Les Gavottes. He will certainly continue to write for the Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church choir. Ultimately, Sowash will compose as he feels the impulse. His impulse is not only internal but also external. External things can happen that inspire you or shape your direction. I always think that s a religious thing, too, the hand of God 51 Certainly Sowash will continue to find motivation that will inspire him to create beautiful new compositions. 51 Ibid. 27

35 CHAPTER 3 ONE POET: A BIOGRAPHY OF SARA TEASDALE, INCLUDING COMMENTS ON HER POETRY USED IN RICK SOWASH S COMPOSITIONS BRIGHT APRIL (1980) AND THE TEASDALE SONGS (1998) Early Years: Sara Teasdale was born in 1884 in St. Louis, Missouri, during the height of the late Victorian Era. The fourth child in a middle-class family, she was a late child in her family, her nearest sibling almost 16 years older than she. Teasdale s mother, Mary, must have been particularly embarrassed by the news of pregnancy at forty years of age. This may have contributed to the strict Victorian ways in which Teasdale was brought up. Teasdale s life was riddled with illness, probably manifested by the extreme caution in which she was raised. Although there was often no source for Teasdale s illness, she was always a fragile soul. Looking at her personality, it would be fair to include her with a number of other, and probably more well-known women poets -- Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Barrett- Browning, and Christina Rossetti -- who had her same passionate character and incredible poetic talent that thrived on pain. Her fondness for poetry initially came from her sister, Mamie, who tutored her at home until Teasdale was nine. In the years that she did attend school she was regarded as a likeable young woman who was already being noticed as a poet. Teasdale never did attend college full-time. Early 20 th century belief held that academic studies were overwhelming for a young woman and should not be 28

36 undertaken. An example of this type of thinking, written by Dr. Ralph Parsons and found in the New York Medical Journal of 1907 reads, a woman s nervous system has been developed at the expense of other bodily organs and structure. The delicate organism and sensitive and highly developed nervous system of our girls was never intended by the creator to undergo the stress and strain of higher education, and the baneful results are becoming more and more apparent as the years go by. 1 Although academic study was never very important to Teasdale, she studied French and German in her young adult life and astrology in her later years. It is important to understand the constraints imposed on women during this era to better understand the achievement of Sara Teasdale. As William Drake states, the pattern of life imposed on an intelligent girl of the Victorian middle-class encouraged her in the creative arts, yet undermined her confidence and rendered her precariously unfit for practical success. 2 In other words, it was all right for Teasdale to produce high quality poetry, possibly even better poetry than her male counterparts, but it would not be tolerated if she wanted either the same recognition or treatment by the public. The Potters: Graduating from Hosmer Hall in 1903, Teasdale looked to the world optimistically. It was from this point that Teasdale began her maturation as a poet. Teasdale joined a group in St. Louis called the Potters, which was established in This group would prove to offer Teasdale a glimpse of the possibilities of life as a professional poet. The Potters was a women s group that held common interest in the creative arts -- poetry, music, dance, art -- and would come together to support and 1 Drake, William. Sara Teasdale: Woman and Poet. San Francisco: Harper and Row Publishers, p Ibid. p